2008 Epcot Food and Wine Festival Reviews

[NejTheLion]

The lunch was full courses. I don't know about a comparison. I am not going to any pairings this year so I don't know what they're like or if they're worth $55. In previous years they didn't cost that much.

I thought the pairings were nice last year but they were not a full meal.

I did do the Bistro pairing last year and there was no comparison. They served only cold meats and cheeses and not much of each, and tastes of wine. Of course there isn't any Bistro pairing this year.

I can't remember the cost for the wine school at Bistro last year but the cost was similar and the lunch was similar. The wine school lasted all day and featured 18 wines to taste. This was a lunch with four wines, but as much of those four as you wanted. I would guess the wine school was a better value, but then they don't exist in that form anymore. Value didn't enter into my choices for the food and wine festival this year. Everything is overpriced. And there were so few events for my times that interested me I just signed up for whatever I thought was interesting.

Thank you. When the French lunch series was first announced, we weren't sold that it would be a full lunch. Glad to see that wasn't the case

 

[NejTheLion]

For anyone who attended PFTS on October 11, we're all desperately waiting to hear if any of the complaints from the previous week were addressed. Please share when you have a moment!

 

[Forever42]

Plum wine green tea cooler from China - absolutely disgusting. Last year they were great and DH and I were really looking forward to them again...We each got one but immediately regretted it. Tasted kind of like rice wine vinegar and sweet and sour sauce over ice. It was thick! I wonder if we got a bad batch? Anyone else try this recently?

I've had this twice this year, and actually, I think it's great. My complaint in the past was that it was waaaay too sweet. This year, I almost get a savory, salty tang, which I love. I could just stand for it to be a bit stronger.

Wattleseed mousse from Australia - Very good

I had been looking forward to trying this, but was extremely dismayed to discover, after I had taken a bite out of it, that there was gelatin in it (I'm vegetarian).

For anyone who attended PFTS on October 11, we're all desperately waiting to hear if any of the complaints from the previous week were addressed. Please share when you have a moment!

And yes, please! I'm waiting with baited breath, since we'll be at the one this Saturday.

 

[ElizabethB]

It looks the French Regional Lunch was nice. But, as dh said -- it would be perfect for dinner! For lunch, a bit heavy.

When we've done the food and wine pairings at Coral Reef, they have been sizeable portions -- three courses paired with three wines. That strikes me as a better value at $55. And, of course, for years the pairings were the true value of the Festival at $35.

We're not doing any pairings this year, so perhaps the portions have been reduced. They've been generous in years past and have included courses like lobster and high quality beef.

 

[TDC Nala]

It looks the French Regional Lunch was nice. But, as dh said -- it would be perfect for dinner! For lunch, a bit heavy.

When we've done the food and wine pairings at Coral Reef, they have been sizeable portions -- three courses paired with three wines. That strikes me as a better value at $55. And, of course, for years the pairings were the true value of the Festival at $35.

We're not doing any pairings this year, so perhaps the portions have been reduced. They've been generous in years past and have included courses like lobster and high quality beef.

Of course, there are no pairings at Coral Reef this year, so we'll never know if they would have been a good value at $55 apiece. I think last year they were $45.

They were good amounts but they were still not full meal portions.

 

[kabuki]

For anyone who attended PFTS on October 11, we're all desperately waiting to hear if any of the complaints from the previous week were addressed. Please share when you have a moment!

We just got back last night and did the PFTS on the 4th and the 11th. We only have two complaints about the whole night and one had to do with the pushing and shoving of the people trying to get in. We had two people the first week get pushed aside to get closer to the front. This was had nothing to do with the event but the people attending. Our only event upset was the booklet that others have commented on. On the 11th the booklet became color coded on areas to find the chefs and wines but still no listing of food. We thought the food and wine selections were great. The weekend of the 11th was my favorite just on personal preferences of the food offered and wine selections. They had more tables then needed and some left untouched as we walked by. We are not going for the entertainment so I found it less distracting thing year. You could watch if you like but also could go on with out the whole center being interrupted. I have tons of pictures from the whole thing but need to download them. Hope this helps a little.

 

[disneynutz]

Can't wait to see your pictures.

 

[ghidorah97]

We just got back last night and did the PFTS on the 4th and the 11th. We only have two complaints about the whole night and one had to do with the pushing and shoving of the people trying to get in. We had two people the first week get pushed aside to get closer to the front. This was had nothing to do with the event but the people attending. Our only event upset was the booklet that others have commented on. On the 11th the booklet became color coded on areas to find the chefs and wines but still no listing of food. We thought the food and wine selections were great. The weekend of the 11th was my favorite just on personal preferences of the food offered and wine selections. They had more tables then needed and some left untouched as we walked by. We are not going for the entertainment so I found it less distracting thing year. You could watch if you like but also could go on with out the whole center being interrupted. I have tons of pictures from the whole thing but need to download them. Hope this helps a little.

Thanks for the info! Disappointed that the menus still don't list the food, but I'll assume that all of them are already printed so there is no way to fix that for this year. Hopefully they will get the message and fix it for next year (doubtful, but one can always hope).

Can't wait for the pics!!!

Brad

 

[BriarRosie]

Question for you:

How would you say the $135 3-course French Regional lunch compares with the $55 3-course Food & Wine Pairings (either from this year or previous years)?

It looks like the portion size at the French lunch is more of a full course, whereas the Food & Wine Pairings are more like tastings. I would also assume the quality of the food and wine are better. Do you think the two events are priced appropriately in comparison? Thanks!

I thought it looked a lot like the Lunch and Learn series from a few years ago. At $75, they were a full 3 course lunch with wines, and you got a complete demonstration of the meal and a lengthy talk about the wines from the winery rep. I think my all time favorite Lunch and Learn featured Stonestreet wines. When I went to the festival center to see what those wines went for, I was floored that they were around $70-80 a bottle.

I'm doing the French Regional Lunch on 10/19 featuring Burgundy. I'll be reporting back about that.

We just got back last night and did the PFTS on the 4th and the 11th. We only have two complaints about the whole night and one had to do with the pushing and shoving of the people trying to get in. We had two people the first week get pushed aside to get closer to the front. This was had nothing to do with the event but the people attending. Our only event upset was the booklet that others have commented on. On the 11th the booklet became color coded on areas to find the chefs and wines but still no listing of food. We thought the food and wine selections were great. The weekend of the 11th was my favorite just on personal preferences of the food offered and wine selections. They had more tables then needed and some left untouched as we walked by. We are not going for the entertainment so I found it less distracting thing year. You could watch if you like but also could go on with out the whole center being interrupted. I have tons of pictures from the whole thing but need to download them. Hope this helps a little.

I'm disappointed that while the F&W event people fixed the color coding problem, they didn't fix it properly. I can't believe they still couldn't print out the dishes being prepared. Poor planning. What a shame. And I know that there will always be people pushing and shoving. It often pays to hold back if you can.

 

[TDC Nala]

There wasn't a lot of talking involved at the French Regional Lunch. The presenter's accent was so thick it was difficult to understand him. He didn't talk much at any rate. The chef did not speak until the dessert course and he spent most of the time introducing his kitchen staff.

The wine had its effect and no one really cared. But if you were looking for an in-depth presentation about the Bordeaux area you didn't get it. Don't know whether the others will be that way. Food and wine were great though. If you're looking at the cost as covering both the food and the presentation, the food worked, the presentation didn't. Not complaining myself as the food was so good.

 

[TewEpcot]

I was at PFTS on Saturday (Oct. 11) and thought it was fantastic. I didn't miss Cirque; the entertainment that was on hand was wonderful. The layout is much better without the stage in the center; as others have mentioned it leaves much more room for tables. I too am disappointed about not having a book with dishes listed... I couldn't begin to tell you what I ate! I do know that my favorites were a gnocchi dish and a guinea fowl dish. There was a lot of lamb this weekend. The dessert station was phenomenal as were the cheese stations. The new glass this year is a perfect size for carrying around all evening (and I just love this year's logo) and I found the pours to be generous for the most part (I only noticed one "light" pour). All in all in was a great night! It was my fourth? PFTS... I was with a friend who had never been before and she thought it was absolutely the best thing ever.

We also took in the festival on Saturday. I found that the crowds were light from 11-1, picking up in the early afternoon and getting pretty heavy by 3. When we came back (after a trip to the hotel) for PFTS, it was absolutely packed. We tried to get a sherry at the pub after checking in (instead of standing in the mob) and it was 5 deep at the bar (we passed and headed to France for a pomegranate kir, which was delicious). There seemed to be quite a few large groups "Drinking Around the World" with special t-shirts and all. It made for some interesting people watching.

Staff at the kiosks was incredibly friendly; never had any trouble using my Disney Visa rewards card or a promo debit card I had from at&t.
I had:
Spicy Beef Empanada w/ a water (Chile)
Chilled Tomato & Garlic Soup w/ an Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial (Spain)
Samosa with Tamarind Sauce w/ a Kingfisher (India)
Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout w/ a water (Germany)
Seared Beef Medallion with Cheddar Cheese Polenta w/ a Beaulieu Cab Sav (USA)
Cheddar Cheese Soup w/ a Mooseheads (Canada)
Everything was amazing!

My friend had:
Grilled Beef with Chimchurri Sauce (Argentina)
Beef Goulash with a Bacon Dumpling (Austria)
Pork Pot Stickers and Ginger Ice Cream (China)
Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies (Poland)
The pierogies were her fave; beef goulash was her least fave. I had some of the beef with chimchurri sauce and it was very good. Sorry, no pics!

Another F&WF come and gone for me! I will certainly be back in 2009.

 

[webray]

I was at PFTS on Saturday (Oct. 11)
Another F&WF come and gone for me! I will certainly be back in 2009.

Thanks Tew...sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

[JGennaro]

Hi all I'm new to this board but I just love it!! I've been reading through posts and going nuts cause I'm going BACK yet again to the F&W for my birthday weekend..birthday is on October 22nd and I'm going up for Friday, 24th through Sunday, the 26th.

Now my question is what time are the booths going to be open until on that Friday night during the EMH in EPCOT? I saw some early posts about them seeing the booths closing at 10:00 pm - then another saying that only a few stay open til that late and then yet another one saying they received an email from disney saying that the booths stayed open until 11:00 pm..now OBVIOUSLY I'm hoping for the 11:00 pm - has anybody been to the EMH in EPCOT recently - as in last Friday or if there was another one after that?

My other question is about the sausage pizza at the Italy booth - I haven't seen anybody report eating it so I'm wondering how it tastes?? I also want to say that the resorts are COMPLETELY booked for some reason this year - I always go on my birthday weekend and it's never been sold out everywhere until now, HOWEVER, I WAS able to get a room at the Coronado Springs resort ( I usually stay at the Pop Century or the All Star Music/Movies resort ) but it is completely full. I hope I'll enjoy the Coronado as it's my first time there!!

I look forward to all of your responses!!!!

Joey

 

[TDC Nala]

Reports from those who have actually been there appear to be that the booths generally close at 9 whether it's EMH or not, although a few may stay open later and all are closed by 10, despite what that e-mail said. Sorry.

 

[Kteacher]

I was also at the PFTS on the 11th. I was a little disappointed about the lack of food listings in the guide, but other than that we had a great time. I tried a different strategy this year, so instead of finding a table at the beginning of the night and taking turns getting food and drink we worked our way around the room. We had no trouble finding a tall table, and met some great people that night in our wanderings . Once again we depleted the champagne table . We saw Ming Tsai there with his son- I didn't want to bother him because he was with his family, otherwise I would have asked if I could take a picture with him. This was only my 2nd PFTS, but I'm already planning on going again next year.
We split up our eating and drinking tour of the booths around World Showcase over 2 days- would have loved to do 3 days ( we decided a frozen drink tour of World Showcase would be a good idea some day ), but we were only in WDW for the long weekend. The booth highlights for us were the mofongo in P.R. and the mango gingerita in Shanghai.
we had an incredible time, and I can't wait until next Oct.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Hi all I'm new to this board but I just love it!! I've been reading through posts and going nuts cause I'm going BACK yet again to the F&W for my birthday weekend..birthday is on October 22nd and I'm going up for Friday, 24th through Sunday, the 26th.

Now my question is what time are the booths going to be open until on that Friday night during the EMH in EPCOT? I saw some early posts about them seeing the booths closing at 10:00 pm - then another saying that only a few stay open til that late and then yet another one saying they received an email from disney saying that the booths stayed open until 11:00 pm..now OBVIOUSLY I'm hoping for the 11:00 pm - has anybody been to the EMH in EPCOT recently - as in last Friday or if there was another one after that?

My other question is about the sausage pizza at the Italy booth - I haven't seen anybody report eating it so I'm wondering how it tastes?? I also want to say that the resorts are COMPLETELY booked for some reason this year - I always go on my birthday weekend and it's never been sold out everywhere until now, HOWEVER, I WAS able to get a room at the Coronado Springs resort ( I usually stay at the Pop Century or the All Star Music/Movies resort ) but it is completely full. I hope I'll enjoy the Coronado as it's my first time there!!

I look forward to all of your responses!!!!

Joey

We just got back from nearly two weeks at F&W. The booths open at 11am and close just when Illuminations starts. We never saw any booths open past 9:30pm and most were closed up a few moments after 9pm.

 

[kabuki]

Can't wait to see your pictures.

Thanks for the info! Disappointed that the menus still don't list the food, but I'll assume that all of them are already printed so there is no way to fix that for this year. Hopefully they will get the message and fix it for next year (doubtful, but one can always hope).

Can't wait for the pics!!!

Brad

For anyone who attended PFTS on October 11, we're all desperately waiting to hear if any of the complaints from the previous week were addressed. Please share when you have a moment!

Just wantedto give you a heads up I'll start putting pictures in the review area today. I will start with Oct 4th's PFTS so people can see it!

 

[ElizabethB]

Very disappointing about the food booths on EMH night. But, if I were to create a list of my disappointments about this Festival and WDW these days, it would be a really long one.

I'm sure not feeling the "magic".

Time to look elsewhere for our pricey vacations.

 

[betterbutter]

We're back home and have almost caught up on everything. I hadn't been back to work for an hour when my boss told me that a co-worker had taken an unexpected medical leave. She was supposed to attend a conference next week. My boss asked if I'd be willing to attend the conference in her place. He was concerned because it's next week at Disney World, and he wasn't sure if I'd want to return so quickly. Well twist my arm will you!

So I fly in Saturday, and have Sunday to myself. I was able to book the Champagne Master Class on Sunday, and as an added bonus, Caymus Vineyards will be there doing a seminar that day in the early evening.

 

[TewEpcot]

We're back home and have almost caught up on everything. I hadn't been back to work for an hour when my boss told me that a co-worker had taken an unexpected medical leave. She was supposed to attend a conference next week. My boss asked if I'd be willing to attend the conference in her place. He was concerned because it's next week at Disney World, and he wasn't sure if I'd want to return so quickly. Well twist my arm will you!

So I fly in Saturday, and have Sunday to myself. I was able to book the Champagne Master Class on Sunday, and as an added bonus, Caymus Vineyards will be there doing a seminar that day in the early evening.

LOL! Lucky you! Congratulations!!