The popular Food & Wine Classic at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin returns for its twelfth year Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. each day.

The event showcases the resort’s many restaurants, including Shula’s Steak House, Il Mulino New York Trattoria, Kimonos sushi, and Todd English’s bluezoo, with a special appearance by English himself.

New to the lineup this year will be selections from Amare, the Mediterranean restaurant at the soon-to-open Walt Disney World Swan Reserve. In all, there will be more than 20 food stations, each paired with carefully selected wine, beer and sake accompaniments, over 100 total.

In addition to the restaurants, the Swan and Dolphin culinary team have created special food areas just for the Classic, including Hawaiian-themed the Pig & the Poke; Chinatown; and the return of the popular Beer Garden, with Korean barbecue, wagyu sloppy joes, and traditional poutine. And of course an array of craft beers.

Gatlin Hall Brewing has finally opened on South Orange Avenue and with it two new concepts – Willy’s Original and Frenchy’s Wood-Fired – from the team that owns and operates Big Fin Seafood Kitchen and Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe. And the new brands couldn’t be more diametric to the existing full-service restaurants.

But their offerings are certainly familiar. Willy’s offers a line of smash burgers and it’s pizzas that are wood fired at Frenchy’s. They are two-thirds of the dining options, along with Da Kine Poke, at the food hall, which is anchored by the brewing facility.

When I went by Shin Jung on June 27, 2019, a day after a fire had swept through it, I look at the damage and thought, “No way they’ll reopen here.”

Shin Jung has reopened there.

The building, a converted original single-family home, perhaps the only one remaining within miles in either direction on Colonial Drive, has a new look, one that is more open and brighter, thanks to new picture windows on the front and side.