Epcot's Food & wine festival

[tallvine]

hello - I will be in Disney from 9/23 to 9/27 with friends . None of us have experienced the food & wine festival in Epcot. We don't want to spend extra money on expensive ticketed events ( like gourmet meals) . what can you tell me about the event, costs involved etc. Can we just walk around & "sample" things? Approx how much can we expect to spend walking around sampling a few food items/ beer/wines? thanks!

 

[JohnnyB2]

Hi The F&W festival starts on 9-25 this year. Be aware that the first Fri & Sat should be very crowded. Food samplings are roughly $2 to $5 with beer & wine more expensive about, $7.50 to $8.50 ? (the normal Disney charge)
It would be very hard to say how much to spend as everyone has different tastes and budgets. But is alot of fun and you should go.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

We have gone every year - spend $100 a day eating around the world.

 

[aja319se]

Oh I'm glad you posted this. I'll be tuning in to read. We will also be there and I don't know anything about the event at all. What type of events are there where you need to purchase a ticket vs do not need additional ticket??

 

[stlouisdisneyguy]

Hi, We also will be there the same weekend. I have been the past 6 years, been at all times, but like the last poster said, the first weekend, and in my opinion the last weekend are extremely busy, and Friday and Saturday nights always seem to be packed. Food and drink are anywhere from the $5.00-$7.00 range. We primarily just do eats and beer, since neither of us are big wine fans. We buy Disney gift cards to use at the booths. This has worked really well for us, and you get your balance after each transaction. You can buy them online, or they sell gift cards right there at the F & W Festival. We easily spent over $100.00 or more a night, but we drank and sampled alot for the money. Have fun!

 

[siskaren]

Here's a link to information about this year's festival:

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

And here's a link to a listing of last year's offerings (I'm sure they'll have this year's posted soon):

http://allears.net/tp/ep/fw08/fw08b.htm

 

[J3nn78]

If you are on the dining plan (which is free then) you can use your snack credits for the food items at the booths. We saved all of ours (had 14 total) to eat around the world last year.

LOVE the F&W festival!

 

[DoBug]

You didn't mention if you will have the dining plan but in the past people have been able to use the snack credits for the food at the different countries kiosks. We are hoping that will be true this year too but don't know yet.

also I think there are some free wine and cooking seminars but we haven't tried those. I think you have to get to them early because they fill up.

yum!

 

[aja319se]

Is it an all day event or only during certain hours?
I love the DIS I'd be so lost with out you all!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's all day - the seminars start usually around 10 (in the old Wonders of Life building, mostly). The food booths open at 11 AM; they're located all around World Showcase Lagoon, and World Showcase opens at 11.

There are also (varying degrees of expensive ) dinners and events throughout the Festival.

And, there's going to be a thread on the Restaurants board specifically dedicated to the Food & Wine Festival - as soon as information is released.

 

[stlouisdisneyguy]

Having been a bunch, in my opinion , it gets more and more crowded as the day wears on. If you are not wanting to deal with big crowds then early in the day is usually pretty good. I have experienced some long lines at night, and sometimes they move pretty fast, and sometimes they dont. All in all, it is a blast, and I love it! Cant wait to go, I got Disney fever so bad. September cannot get here soon enough

 

[Corryn]

Like another poster said, we purchase the F&W gift card - it wraps around your wrist with a plastic blue coil so it's easy access and we didn't have to worry about searching our pockets for money.
We are going back this year with our daughters and their friends and we will be purchasing one for their use also. It's very easy and since they'll know they have a limit, they'll be wise with their purchases.

 

[kipster81]

sounds very cool. Excited to go this year. Never had a chance to experience it.

 

[tallvine]

thanks to everyone! I love the idea of using a gift card/ or purchasing a F&W pre-paid wristband. No - we're not on the dining plan - I recd a 40% off PIN code via email ( don't ask me how - I've only been once before and have never registered on any of the Disney sites!!) so we've used that to take advantage of 40% off the value season rates at the Grand Floridian for our stay- figured it's the only time we'd be able to afford to stay there!