2012 Epcot Food and Wine Festival *HAS ENDED*

[karrit2000]

Is it acceptable to bring older children to paid events and seminars. We will be at the festival the first weekend and I was wondering if my 11 and 16 year old DDs were allowed to attend seminars and tastings if I pay for them and they only eat but don't drink the alcohol. They enjoy fine dining so they really want to go to events I just didn't know if it was frowned upon.

As long as you are willing to pay the adult price Disney will allow your children to attend the food tastings & seminars. Yours are old enough to probably enjoy the various events if you are willing to pay the price for them to attend. They will not serve alcohol to anyone underage & they do check ID's to insure this. I wouldn't advise registering them for the wine and/or spirit seminars as there is no food served at them. People do register children for the Culinary demos, PTFS, Sweet Sundays and possibly F & W Pairings, Regional lunches, etc. I don't remember if some of the pricier events have age restrictions on them or not. For the culinary demos it's hit or miss as to if the servers will give the extra wine samples to the parents, sometimes they will & sometimes they won't. For the pricier events I personally wouldn't spend the $ for a child attend just to eat the food. Since PTFS to me is too expensive for what you get in such a short amount of time I don't attend and I don't get why parents pay to bring younger children to that event, but I think yours are old enough to enjoy. The one other event that I would advise against registering underage children for if they don't already have a restriction is the Tequila Tasting in Mexico. The Tequila Lunch has plentiful food but the Tequila Tasting is more of a bite size sample portion of each food to go with the Tequila so you're really paying for the Tequila.

 

[TDC Nala]

Is it acceptable to bring older children to paid events and seminars. We will be at the festival the first weekend and I was wondering if my 11 and 16 year old DDs were allowed to attend seminars and tastings if I pay for them and they only eat but don't drink the alcohol. They enjoy fine dining so they really want to go to events I just didn't know if it was frowned upon.

They will be allowed to attend, but you should be aware that 1) there is no price reduction for guests who are too young to drink alcohol and 2) some of the events may not be interesting to them if they are not interested in hearing a lot of talking by and for adults about culinary topics and/or wine or spirits, or being around adults who are getting happy on their booze samples.

I've been going to these events for twelve years. Leaving out the large events like PFTS and the Dessert Discovery and Sweet Sunday (I've seen lots of kids at those, although they are NOT geared for young children), I have seen one child of eleven at a French Regional Lunch and that was it. She was well behaved but seemed bored. Her parents declared that she liked fine dining, but she didn't seem to like much of what was served at that lunch (neither did some of the adults as they were using duck gizzards and that kind of thing). So I'm not sure I would bring a child that young. Older teens who are interested in the culinary arts might be intrigued.

The previous poster mentioned the tequila tasting. I would not bring children to that particular event. There is very little to it other than tequila drinking and discussion of tequila. I might say the same about the Grand Marnier tasting event. Last year somebody wanted to take two toddlers to the tequila tasting. Not only would the event be unsuitable for toddlers and she would have to pay full price for their admission, but those toddlers are taking up seats at a popular event with very limited seating. Older kids, maybe, but with an event like the tequila tasting there is really nothing to it if you can't have the tequila.

I'd go for some of the Festival Center seminars, they won't get the wine sample but if they like to taste food and are good with sitting through all the talking to get a little taste of food, then go for it.

 

[karrit2000]

I did advise against the Tequila tasting.

 

[Wendy&Grumpy]

We're thinking of going in the same time frame since it's my fall break. Our "Home" resort is All Star Sports. We haven't gone in October before, but in peak times we've rarely shared buses because Sports could fill up a bus on its own. We're waiting on the discounts though. Military, AP or GP rates have to be coming out soon.

I just booked Oct 4-7 at ASSp with free dining.

Back to waiting patiently for 3D reservations!

 

[Simba's Mom]

They also had a gal who was on Top Chef once and she made a vegan soup which wasn't what she advertised

Do you mean that young little girl with the southern accent who won Top Chef? I'm not sure if I'd like vegan soup, but I'd love to see her. I'd also love to see anyone you mentioned, especially Robert Irvine or those two (Paula and Rock) from Hell's Kitchen. I saw Keegan Gerhardt once, before I knew who he was-I'd like to see him again now.

 

[TDC Nala]

Do you mean that young little girl with the southern accent who won Top Chef? I'm not sure if I'd like vegan soup, but I'd love to see her. I'd also love to see anyone you mentioned, especially Robert Irvine or those two (Paula and Rock) from Hell's Kitchen. I saw Keegan Gerhardt once, before I knew who he was-I'd like to see him again now.

The one I saw didn't win and she wasn't Southern...the soup wasn't bad, but it wasn't what the published schedule said she would be making. She said she had just had the idea to show us some vegan food. I mean, vegan food is OK but she'd advertised that she was going to use shrimp.

Keegan Gerhardt kind of rocks, I've seen him at Food & Wine before, he was at the first festival I went to in 2001. Robert Irvine's been coming for a few years now. Book his seminar quickly, the tickets go pretty fast.

 

[raraavis]

this will be our first trip during F&W, and i am super excited!! i am not a foodie or anything, but i love to eat and drink! i am only on pg 15 of this thread, but i'm trying to catch up and garner as much info as possible!!

just a couple quick questions (and i apologize if they were asked before; i'm trying to read all the posts on this thread!!).

1. i see people mention using their snack credits from a dining plan (we are considering the quick service one). i didn't know you could build up your credits. i was under the impression that you got 2 counter meals and 1 snack per day, and i thought that meant that was your limit. if you didn't use it, it was gone??? so if i don't use my snack credit for 3 days prior, i can use it at F&W? if i have 7 snack credits available for the whole trip, does that mean i can use all 7 in one day at F&W even if it's my first day on the dining plan???

2. is it still possible to "drink around the world" in one visit if we are also partaking in F&W??

i am sure i will have more questions later. thanks!!

 

[jenneth79]

this will be our first trip during F&W, and i am super excited!! i am not a foodie or anything, but i love to eat and drink! i am only on pg 15 of this thread, but i'm trying to catch up and garner as much info as possible!!

just a couple quick questions (and i apologize if they were asked before; i'm trying to read all the posts on this thread!!).

1. i see people mention using their snack credits from a dining plan (we are considering the quick service one). i didn't know you could build up your credits. i was under the impression that you got 2 counter meals and 1 snack per day, and i thought that meant that was your limit. if you didn't use it, it was gone??? so if i don't use my snack credit for 3 days prior, i can use it at F&W? if i have 7 snack credits available for the whole trip, does that mean i can use all 7 in one day at F&W even if it's my first day on the dining plan???

2. is it still possible to "drink around the world" in one visit if we are also partaking in F&W??

i am sure i will have more questions later. thanks!!

For #1: When you get a dining plan, you get a total number of dining credits, be they Table, Quick Service, or Snack. Let's say you're there for three nights, and you get one snack credit per night of stay... that means you have 3 snack credits. You can use them however you life... either all on your first, last, or any day in between. Another thing to note is that it is per reservation, so if you have two adults that's 6 credits, to use however you like.

As for #2.... do you want the humanly possible (maybe....) or the safe answer? Even outside of F&W, it's hard to drink around the world in one visit. The only time we ever did it we took a full day and shared drinks. With all the added booths, I'd say not only is it pretty difficult, it's downright dangerous to try.

 

[marshwiggle]

Waiting patiently for more info on the three different tickets for PFTS. We've done both WVL and non-WVL, and to be honest, didn't miss the WVL experience. Any more news on what each ticket level will mean?

Disney food blog (not official) says there will be a new middle tier that has reserved seating without WVL access.

 

[disneydom]

So we can book at August 14th but when will they post the info
must plan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[B'rer Karen]

I was just looking at the merchandise on the Disney Food blog, and I like it in general. However, why oh why do they not want to put the date on the merchandise anymore? At least the bottle of wine in the festival artwork has a 2012 vintage label, so if you buy anything with that artwork you'll have the date. But I miss the days when everything had the year on it. I actually asked a CM about that last year and she said something to the effect of "I don't know why they don't but they never had." I corrected her and let her know I had been to the festival for many years and I have merchandise from many years with the date on it. This is something new they've just started in the past few years, and I don't like it.

 

[MarkinMA]

Hi all, can't wait - my dad surprised me with an awesome birthday present and we are having a great father/son trip to Food and Wine 2012 in early October. Staying at the Beach Club 10/2-10/7. Great access to just walk on over. This is my first Food and Wine, and I can't wait. I have been reading all I can (he let me plan it) and want to do as many of the special events as possible. When do they usually start to sell tickets for these events? I am really interested in 3D dessert party, party for the senses, tequila tasting, grand marnier tasting, wine pairing seminars (what'd I miss???)- basically everything. I soooo don't want to miss out on anything, so when do these things come up for ticket sales? I will be on the phone at 7AM - that day.

Thanks so much to all who post and for your knowledge - love the Dis!

 

[TDC Nala]

If it doesn't have the date on it, maybe they can sell them next year instead of sending everything to the outlet.

when do these things come up for ticket sales?

Booking starts August 14. Schedules aren't out yet. Expect them around the end of July.

 

[bek]

I was just looking at the merchandise on the Disney Food blog, and I like it in general. However, why oh why do they not want to put the date on the merchandise anymore? At least the bottle of wine in the festival artwork has a 2012 vintage label, so if you buy anything with that artwork you'll have the date. But I miss the days when everything had the year on it. I actually asked a CM about that last year and she said something to the effect of "I don't know why they don't but they never had." I corrected her and let her know I had been to the festival for many years and I have merchandise from many years with the date on it. This is something new they've just started in the past few years, and I don't like it.

Take another look at the very bottom of the pins. They do have 2012 on them. I definitely want one with Mickey in the Cranberries.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

So we can book at August 14th but when will they post the info
must plan !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 15th????

Disney has become rather complacent.. and as consumers we have allowed this.

We hand over money knowing VERY little about what we are getting from them. As a result, they don't feel a need to 'sell" in advance.

I expect we will get info very late based on the current slow process. So while August 15th was a joke, I expect more early August. My money is on August 7.

 

[B'rer Karen]

If it doesn't have the date on it, maybe they can sell them next year instead of sending everything to the outlet.

That's what I assumed was the reason, but then we are getting new merchandise this year, which is a good thing. So maybe they just want to keep their options open. But I still don't like it.

Take another look at the very bottom of the pins. They do have 2012 on them. I definitely want one with Mickey in the Cranberries.

Yes, I should have mentioned that I know the pins have the date on them, but I don't care about pins. I'm not a pin collector. I do think it is good they put the date on those because pins are mainly for collecting and dating them makes them more collectable and more unique.

 

[karrit2000]

I was just looking at the merchandise on the Disney Food blog, and I like it in general. However, why oh why do they not want to put the date on the merchandise anymore? At least the bottle of wine in the festival artwork has a 2012 vintage label, so if you buy anything with that artwork you'll have the date. But I miss the days when everything had the year on it. I actually asked a CM about that last year and she said something to the effect of "I don't know why they don't but they never had." I corrected her and let her know I had been to the festival for many years and I have merchandise from many years with the date on it. This is something new they've just started in the past few years, and I don't like it.

I agree that some of the merchandise should have dates on it for those that want a dated souvenir. However they commission artists to come up with special artwork that when they date it they can only sell it at full price for the duration of the event. After that they either have to discount it or destroy it. I've pretty much stopped purchasing dated items myself. Some of the special items are nice enough that people want to purchase them as gifts for friends & relatives to whom the dates are meaningless. I know personally I wouldn't want to receive an item as a gift from someone that had the dates of an event they attended but I didn't. For this reason I think it's better that they don't have dates on too many of the items they offer for sale.

I am a fan of Noah's work so I may actually end up buying something this year because most of his regular Disney artwork is out of my price range. I really haven't cared for most of the stuff they've been selling the past several years, especially the rotund chef artwork items.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Finally went and looked at the merchandise.

From the posts on here I expected a lot more Duffy.....

The pins are cute (And actully Duffy in the Chef outfit it cute too!)

I generally buy a pin every year so will get at least one or two. Plus wine glasses....And they don't destroy this stuff.. it goes to an outlet. Come spring there's the Food & Wine stuff. (the week of July 4th I bought Marathon weekend stuff LOL!)

 

[Brian Noble]

We hand over money knowing VERY little about what we are getting from them. As a result, they don't feel a need to 'sell" in advance.

This often happens for events with a lot of "external" participation---it's hard to line up everything that far in advance, because many of the outside people do not firm their calendars up until later. The same thing used to happen with the ESPN The Weekend Schedule, and Flower & Garden has a bit of this too. Just par for the course---and ESPN was probably the worst one in terms of how late information came out.

But, as for Duffy---I'm going to need an insulin bolus, I think!

 

[TDC Nala]

Come spring there's the Food & Wine stuff. (the week of July 4th I bought Marathon weekend stuff LOL!)

Hey I was there July 5. I got February 29th stuff and one of those Epcot world showcase drinks tee shirts that some executive supposedly pulled out of the park because they thought it was not appropriate. They had Flower and Garden stuff too. So if you want reduced festival items and can get to the outlet...visit in the spring.
The last weekend of the festival, they will mark down the Festival-specific items that are still available in the park. Except the Duffy. I think he was still thirty bucks. Saw lots of marked down, pre-dressed Duffies at the outlet so he may make it there at some point, for the Duffy fans.