Question about Food and Wine Festival..

[DisneyJillian18]

We will be in Disney when the festival ends (Nov. 16th) and according to crowd calendar, the best day to attend EPCOT would be the 16th. Will we still have the same experience as any other day, or will they only have a few things out and started the tear down? I am thinking of maybe going Saturday night (arrival day) but I figure it will be crowded with locals.

Any help on the matter would be appreciated!

 

[Cee]

Saturday will be insane, especially since it will be the last weekend of the Festival. If you go on the 16th, all will be open until park closing. It's a spectacular event. Enjoy!

 

[UnderTheRialto]

We will be there at the same time, so this is really helpful. Thanks!

 

[Jack23]

A weekday would be better. If you can't go at that time then go really early on the weekend. FYI World Showcase doesn't open until 11am.

 

[disnut8]

We will be in Disney when the festival ends (Nov. 16th) and according to crowd calendar, the best day to attend EPCOT would be the 16th. Will we still have the same experience as any other day, or will they only have a few things out and started the tear down? I am thinking of maybe going Saturday night (arrival day) but I figure it will be crowded with locals.

Any help on the matter would be appreciated!

It will be crowded with locals but if that's the only day to do it, then go. I'm not going to say nothing will be "out" as in not available but I'd say 99.9% of the offerings will be there. The day the festival will shut down will be after Epcot closes on the last day of the Festival.

Keep in mind in order to enjoy the Festival things on a Saturday night, you will need patience and a good attitude. And remember that the regular food offerings in the normal kiosks and quick service places at Epcot are still in service. If you get there and decide that's it's too much hassle since it's a Saturday night, just go to a "normal" place and get food and drink. Lotus Blossom Cafe is my favorite (not for wine) - pot stickers and egg rolls and then just walk around the atmosphere of the Festival.

Yes, Saturday nights at the Festival are not that great but if you don't want/need the food from the booths, it's quite fun to see others.

 

[Missyrose]

If you do go on a Saturday night, go into it knowing there will be wall-to-wall people and have the utmost patience and you'll be fine.

 

[marthachick]

Maybe a dumb question, but will Sunday, November 15 be any better? Trying to decide our strategy.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The 16th is Monday. It won't be that crowded. Saturday will be.

 

[madalex]

Our first day at FWF is usually a Saturday. But, we always go for lunch only and even then, it is wall-to-wall people. I actually enjoy going on that day and then going back for lunch each day and seeing the crowds diminish day by day. Do whatever you can to stay away on Saturday night. Not only will it be crowded, but there will be a lot of inebriated people who the crowd who can really ruin a night. If you have an alternative day to go (even if it is the last day), go on that alternative day.

 

[tgbanks3]

I have the same schedule. I'm just planning on doing Epcot that Monday the 16th.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

I'll be here waiting for the stories about absolute drunks, puking everywhere and the screaming and fighting at F&W. I''m sure it won't take long...

 

[Lavitz]

Maybe a dumb question, but will Sunday, November 15 be any better? Trying to decide our strategy.

I just finished deciding on park days by using 3 crowd calendars. Sun Nov 15 is kinda up in the air what what I see, it got Most Recommended, Moderately Recommended and Avoid ratings. Really weird since most times the calendars match up pretty well. For what it's worth Wed Nov 11 and Wed Nov 18 had Epcot listed as unanimously Most Recommended by all calendars, and Nov 16 not far behind.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

you may or nay not see screaming, fighting and puking in the bushes. I haven't seen that. But on a Saturday there will be the largest crowds. I guess the larger the crowd, the more chances you have of seeing some of that.

 

[marthachick]

Well we are really not interested in the food or wine (blasphemy to some I know!) I'm just looking to avoid overwhelming crowds.

 

[anpeck]

when I went to F&W a few years back I saw one person completely passed out being wheeled out in a wheelchair, one lady with a huge pile of puke in front of her totally wasted at the pavilion where the bands played who ended up being taken out in a wheelchair because she was so out of it, and one guy that I was certain was going to beat his wife up from the way he kept pushing her and swearing at her. Why was he mad you ask? She was asking him to stop drinking. Hmm... Wonder why? Oh and then there were the kids that were walking around acting up and swearing and having drinking contests. I really did enjoy the festival despite all of that but some of the stuff I saw really shocked me. It's WDW for crying out loud! Surely people can watch their language for a few hours. I'm going again this year but now that I'm a mother I can see me having some choice words for anyone that thinks it's ok to drop the F bomb in front of kids.

 

[KingLlama]

A few months ago, we took our family to F/W on the final night(Monday). We didn't get there until right before dinner time, but the crowds were very manageable. We didn't ride any rides(we were headed to Epcot the next day, so all we did was eat and walk around WS), so I don't remember wait times. But the longest we waited for any food was about 10 minutes. Out of all the booths we stopped at, I only recall maybe 3 or 4 items that were sold out(one was a pierogi, one was a dessert, and I don't recall the others). So there was still plenty of choices on hand.

We had a blast. We made the wise move of going to the Festival Center(that may not be the specific title, but it's in the old Wonders of Life pavilion) right when we got to Epcot and bought a giftcard. It was so much easier just to use that giftcard than it was to use our MagicBands or even cash/CC.

I would highly encourage going on that Monday night.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

On weekdays I tend to do F&W between 11 and 2 seems to get you out before the real crowds arrive, the one time I did go on a saturday I seemed to see more obviously drunk people. I still feel sorry for what I saw one guy do to the troll in Norway, poor troll is probably still traumatized.

 

[DisneyJillian18]

Thanks everyone for all the great replies!
We are for sure going to move our Epcot day over to Monday!