Epcots International Food And Wine

[KJET54]

WE ARE A GROUP OF EIGHT ADULTS STAYING AT THE BEACH CLUB THE FIRST WEEK IN OCTOBER. WE WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME OF THE STUFF WITH WINE AND BEER TASTING. HAS ANYONE ABSOLUTELY LOVED ONE OF THE SEMINARS OR SPECIAL HAPPENINGS DURING THE FESTIVAL OR WOULD RECCOMMEND ONE OR TWO FOR ALL OUR GROUP?

 

[spiceycat]

I have been during this time but this is the first year I am taking guest my age.

So I can't help you.

but we are thinking of during the wine tasting.

 

[Ozymoe]

WE ARE A GROUP OF EIGHT ADULTS STAYING AT THE BEACH CLUB THE FIRST WEEK IN OCTOBER. WE WOULD LIKE TO DO SOME OF THE STUFF WITH WINE AND BEER TASTING. HAS ANYONE ABSOLUTELY LOVED ONE OF THE SEMINARS OR SPECIAL HAPPENINGS DURING THE FESTIVAL OR WOULD RECCOMMEND ONE OR TWO FOR ALL OUR GROUP?

Hi,

I will be attending the entire Food & Wine Festival this year. I also went to the entire Festival last year. Previously for many years I attended only for a day or two of the Festival. The F&W Festival offerings change from year to year, sometimes just a little, sometimes a lot...and sometimes they aren't offered every year.

Some of my favorite things from last year were the cooking demonstrations. We waited in line usually 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, although sometimes it was longer (depending on the food being demo-ed and/or the chef). There are seats for about 150, but only the first 100 are given a small sample of the food being offered.

I absolutely loved the wine tastings. We usually tasted three 1-2 oz servings. The wine tastings lasted about 45 minutes each and I usually waited about a half an hour in line to ensure getting a seat (there was room for about 100 people at each tasting).

There is (or was last year) a beer tasting that one signs up for in England when World Showcase opens at 11. I learned a lot about beer at that one!...and that I really liked Boddington's Pub Ale with its creamy head made possible by the addition of a widget in the can...despite my aversion to canned beer lol.

There was an array of chocolate desserts offered from a cart outside Italy last year that were a very good value. I think I had all three one evening for about $6...and they were outstanding. A few years back they offered a cooking demonstration (chocolate dessert) in a back room of Alfredo's which was absolutely inspiring (lol) but unfortunately that wasn't on the agenda last year.

Australia and New Zealand offered an outdoor wine tasting as well as a sort of "wine walkabout tasting" ($6) that was interesting. They also demonstrated native Maori dances and played the diggerydoo...phenomenal circular breathing technique mystified me).

The American Pavilion had maple syrup tastings and cheese samplings...both very nice, especially when combined with time out to listen to the Voices of Liberty sing a capella under the dome inside the American Adventure.

Oh...and the concert series was also a great way to round out an evening...I saw Ricky's twins, Matthew and Gunnar (The Nelsons) sing several of their dad's hits...Garden Party, Mary Lou, Travelin' Man...

I also saw the Beach Boys, Chubby Checker and several more perform.

There are several special Food & Wine lunch/dinner events available to book (for a nice chunk of change, but some are worth it IMHO) . If you think you might want to do this I'm pretty sure there are links on disney.com.

There is a lot to do and see during the festival. I stay at Fairfield Cypress Palms and Star Island resorts in Kissimmee, but I know my way around Disney like the back of my hand. If you have specific questions, ask away!

 

[Stitch's Cousin]

I strongly recommend the Party for the Senses on Saturday nights. It's not cheap (~$100 per person), but well worth it! Lots and lots of food and beverages to indulge in. They are all sample-sized, so you can taste many delicacies, but have room to get seconds of your favorites.

 

[Pollito916]

I strongly recommend the Party for the Senses on Saturday nights. It's not cheap (~$100 per person), but well worth it! Lots and lots of food and beverages to indulge in. They are all sample-sized, so you can taste many delicacies, but have room to get seconds of your favorites.

Do you know if this usually sells out right away? DH and I are interested in going, but have not decided yet.

 

[Stitch's Cousin]

Do you know if this usually sells out right away? DH and I are interested in going, but have not decided yet.

It seems to be very popular (more so every year!), so I recommend booking as soon as possible. The night that we went last year was a sell-out.

 

[webray]

Do you know if this usually sells out right away? DH and I are interested in going, but have not decided yet.

Party of Senses does not sell out quickly...so you don't have to make your reservations..well, the first day. But, as soon as you are ready.

We have been able to make reservations for party of senses with as little as two days notice. As far as the pricier events..people book and then many, many cancel. We have spoke with people at the events we have attended that booked just days before leaving for Orlando and have had no problem getting what they wanted.

There is always a booking frenzy the first day.

The free events are also excellent..just pick up a schedule when you arrive and enjoy!

 

[molly2004]

Do you have to queue up and enter a venue for the tastings or are they located all around the World Showcase? Are they offered only at certain times of the day? How do you get a schedule? Are the lines ridiculously long?

Thanks.

 

[lynn71092]

I will be doing my first solo and first Food and Wine Festival.
Ozymoe, I have some questions.
I would like to see Kansas the first night (Sept. 30th), where do I have to go and is that included in the park admission? Do I have to get there early to be able to see and what time does it usually start? Any other suggestions for a first timer would be greatly appreciated!

 

[webray]

I will be doing my first solo and first Food and Wine Festival.
Ozymoe, I have some questions.
I would like to see Kansas the first night (Sept. 30th), where do I have to go and is that included in the park admission? Do I have to get there early to be able to see and what time does it usually start? Any other suggestions for a first timer would be greatly appreciated!

The concerts are included with your park admission. They are at the American Adventure Theatre in world showcase. So just head back there about 30 minutes before concert time, grab a water/snack and sit back and relax.

 

[Ozymoe]

Do you have to queue up and enter a venue for the tastings or are they located all around the World Showcase? Are they offered only at certain times of the day? How do you get a schedule? Are the lines ridiculously long?

Thanks.

To give you the short answers: yes, you queue up and enter a venue for the tastings (except the beer and tea tastings in England...those you sign up and return for). Yes they are located all around world showcase, but the main wine tastings and the main cooking demos were only in 3 spots last year (there were more offered but they were not as large a venue, nor were there actual tastings at the minor cooking demos). Yes they are offered at certain scheduled times of day. There is a special F&W brochure that is available right after you enter the turnstiles that details the events of the festival...dates/times/key for locations. Also the performers were listed and the dates were clear for all the "Eat to the Beat" concerts in this same brochure. No, the lines are not ridiculously long in most cases...but they are long. The line to see the Food Network's Paula Deen WAS ridiculously long however, and one had to wait for two hours to assure one's spot. Another popular chef was a local TV phenom, Jon Ashton aka "The Mad Chef" and the lines for his regular once a week demo could be very long. His antics were hilarious, though!

On weekdays the lines are much more manageable...but even the weekdays seem to get more crowded during the last two weeks of the festival. Even on weekends however, it is doable...you just spend more time waiting in line to assure yourself a spot. If you are going specifically for the F&W festival and are really into learning about food/wine/beer and tea these waits aren't a hardship.

Last year the first Festival event for each day was a wine tasting at 11am and I could generally get a seating for that even just arriving a few minutes prior to that time on weekdays. Then I would spend the next five hours attending 3-4 cooking demos or wine seminars. I passed the time chatting with people as I waited in line. I learned to go to each demo early so I could comfortably sit on the ledge or steps over by the Odyssey in the shade. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the "regulars" from last year again this fall.

Last year there were 3 winetasting locations and two cooking demonstration locations, although the all the major cooking demos were at the Odyssey. There were two beer tasting locations, but only England had you sign up for them so you didn't have to queue up and could return later.

If anyone is interested in meeting and starting the day out together, PM me. There are lots of things (events/best strategies/routes) to share that take too much time to detail if it's not of interest to you...and it might change this year anyway.

I'm an easygoing person and you needn't be worried that you must take even one of my suggestions or stay together all day or part of a day if we meet. I have many friends at the festival and we all end up doing what we want...sometimes we go to a few events together, sometimes we see each other only a few minutes and sometimes we end up doing things together all day...it depends on what we each want to do.

I enjoy being a guide if someone wants that, but I also enjoy just answering specific questions when I meet someone to help them decide what would probably interest them most. It's also easier to gauge waiting-in-line times after entering the park and knowing what the weather actually is for the day. Many time we "regulars" also hear of last minute changes, cancellations, substitutions and/or info on especially interesting demos.

 

[Two4Disney]

The Food & Wine Festival is our favorite time of year at Disney. We've been mulling over the various events but haven't decided on any of them. Was tempted to do the Party for the Senses but it sounded like such a free-for-all. How do you reserve a seat at a table and still get up to taste everything? And do you feel you get so much more than the food booths?

Thanks,
R&K

 

[BriarRosie]

The Food & Wine Festival is our favorite time of year at Disney. We've been mulling over the various events but haven't decided on any of them. Was tempted to do the Party for the Senses but it sounded like such a free-for-all. How do you reserve a seat at a table and still get up to taste everything? And do you feel you get so much more than the food booths?

Thanks,
R&K

There are "stand up" tables as well as other tables scattered around if
you're early enough to get a seat. If you're a party of 2, you might be
able to share a table with another party of 2, or head WAY to the back
of the venue for larger tables.

The food and wine kiosks are set up all throughout the large venue,
so you'll be doing lots of grazing. But there's a huge difference in
food quality at Party for the Senses vs. World Showcase. For me, it's
like filet mignon being compared to hamburger. You're not going to
get Hudson Valley foie gras mousse in World Showcase.

And I was really happy that I could have as many of those foie gras mousse
samples as I wanted. (YUM!) Of course, the menus change from week
to week, with visiting chefs changing. The chef who cooked for my
Lunch and Learn was at the PFTS, and his stuff was GOOD.

Last year, they had some Cirque performers entertain during the PFTS.
It does get a bit loud, but I enjoyed the entertainment. I would be happy
to see them return this year.

 

[Two4Disney]

But there's a huge difference in
food quality at Party for the Senses vs. World Showcase. For me, it's
like filet mignon being compared to hamburger. You're not going to
get Hudson Valley foie gras mousse in World Showcase.

Just what we needed to read.

Sounds great!

Thanks.

-- R&K

 

[Krissalee]

Was tempted to do the Party for the Senses but it sounded like such a free-for-all. How do you reserve a seat at a table and still get up to taste everything? And do you feel you get so much more than the food booths?

Thanks,
R&K

You don't need to reserve a table at Party for the Senses. It is more of an enourmous cocktail party event, with dozens of top rate chefs preparing food, and great wineries serving wine. They give you a wine glass, and a tasting plate with a cut-out for your wine glass. You walk around, sample food and wine. There are a lot of stand up tables, as well as some sit down tables. You just take a few minutes to eat the delicacies, and then you move on. Some people do "camp out" at the tables, but most are courteous and just move on. There is constant movement at the Party for the Senses.

 

[Pollito916]

I am very confused. So even though it is ~ $100 per ticket, you don't need reservations for Party for the Senses?

 

[Krissalee]

I am very confused. So even though it is ~ $100 per ticket, you don't need reservations for Party for the Senses?

You do need to purchase a ticket/entry to Party of the Senses, but there are not reserved tables. You will not be seated ata reserved table for the evening. Instead, you will be given a glass and a plate, and then walk around among a few dozen stations, where food is prepared, as well as wineries that have set up tables. You travel around the room, pick up samples of the food and wine, eat them at either a sit down table, or a stand up table, and then move on to whatever food booth strikes your fancy. And you do this again and again and again.

I would describe it as a gourmet, and very filling cocktail party.

It is a good idea to book in advance, but the hall is very large, so you could probably reserve the day of the Party.

It is an amazing, must-do event for DH and me. ug:

 

[Pollito916]

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[lynn71092]

Do you have to get dressed up for any of this stuff or is it just your clothes you wear to the park? If I get there Sept. 30th (the 1st day) will it be swamped? Would I be better off going Saturday or Sunday?

 

[debbie in Seattle]

At the end of the 'speal' when I made my ressies, the CM mentioned, "no shorts, tank tops, etc". After hearing that, I posted a question on the boards about it (husband doesn't like 'dressing up' on vacation, even though his 'vacation' outfits are nicer than his work outfits) and about 99% of the replies said that dockers, polo shirt are in order for the men. Women don't seem to be such a big deal, nice top and some capris, etc. Seattle has a wine festival each year like WDW is offering and it's great, alot of fun.
Expensive, but the quality of the food, great wine and entertainment well worth the cost. Figure we won't be doing the $4 tastes and doing this instead-we'd have to do a heck of alot of 'tastes' to equal the cost to this, but, you only live once, right?