Actually, Nora Carey ran the Festival for five years 2004-2008. I don't know who ran the Festivals before that, although we've been attending since 1998. Mary Ann Hunnel started running the Festival beginning with the 2009 Festival.
Nora was laid off in the big round of layoffs in March 2009, as was John Blazon, who ran wine and beverages for Disney and was the key wine expert for Festivals prior to 2009. He was responsible for the Vertical Tastings, which were superb. Dh and I miss them.
According to Linked In, Nora is now Executive Director of the Bocuse d'Or USA Foundation. John Blazon is now Vice President at Spire Collection, the top tier wines in the Kendall-Jackson group of wine companies.
Although we are all anxious to know the details, I have some sympathy for those running the Festival. It must be a huge job to coordinate and accommodate celebrity appearances, vintner schedules, etc., especially given the limitations on use of Disney restaurants that may be in place now given the popularity of the
DDP.
Moreover (and this is pure supposition and opinion as I have no first-hand knowledge), it seems to me that the Festival was looked upon as something of a "loss leader" originally -- that is, an advertising and promotional activity to publicize Epcot, encourage attendance by people who didn't ordinarily visit Disneyworld, promote the international aspects of Epcot, etc.
It seems to me that (again supposition and opinion) especially since Iger took over and even more so with the economic downturn, Disney's willingness to subsidize the Festival has declined substantially. I get the feeling that the Festival now must either make money or at least break even. Hence, the significant price increases for the events, and even the samples at the kiosks, in the last couple of years especially.
Again, I could be wrong, but as a long time Festival observer, that's my opinion.
It is hard to be given corporate instructions to (i) organize and promote a huge Food and Wine Festival, no doubt one of the largest (or possibly the largest) of its kind in the U.S. in terms of the length of the Festival, the number of events and the sheer numbers of people who participate in one way or another and (ii) turn it into a profit center -- or at least make sure it loses no money.
So, I'm as eager as the next person for more details -- especially on the vintners. But, I appreciate the enormity of the tasks facing the organizers. Perhaps they were premature in announcing the booking date. No doubt there is a great deal of scrambling going on at the moment!
I guess we won't be spending much on F&W merchandise this year. 
