**2010** Epcot Food & Wine Festival ENDED 11/14. 2011 FESTIVAL 9/30-11/13

[YodasMom]

Hmmmmmmmm.....Still have not received an e-mail from TiW, as usual. Like others have said, a lot of us have already arranged our schedule with other FW events.

Parts of this one event look really nice, but fortunately for those of us going this week, there are a lot of really special events going on at the same time and this particular week is really jam-packed with great FW offerings. I'm not usually that lucky for the week I normally book.

 

[ElizabethB]

Re the GG -- for comparison, I just got announcements for a couple of upcoming food events (of course the GG offerings are not in the same league with these events):

White Truffle Dinner at Per Se in November for 60 people: $1,195 per person

Culinary Weekend in New Orleans with Emeril Lagasse in November for 30 people - 3 days and 2 nights: $2,800 per person

So, perhaps the GG is a bargain and I just didn't realize it! If Disney takes out the 4-day ticket, the GG may well sell out.

 

[ppiew]

Yes, it seemed poorly organized/promoted from the beginning. It almost seems like the offering was an afterthought. No details were out ahead of booking date - in fact booking was AFTER the 'lines were open' to book other events! However, I have read where because of this, they did offer cancellation to some of the prebooked events and allowing a rollover into GG.

I do think they are playing 'catch up' to get this rolling. I know the Truffle Dinner will be great, but the dinner at Atlantic Dance is billed as kind of an hors d'oeuvres type thing. Hopefully they up this stuff. Re the PFTS - no, there will be NO Wine View Lounge. It states it is a mini PFTS in a "living room setting." Guessing this is in the first part of the 'tent' - the whole tent won't be used for this small of a group.

Certainly hope they up the wine quality! The wines for the Truffle Dinner at Movie Ride don't look that great - all Italian and mostly in the low $20's and less.

Well, can't complain now - anxious to see how it all plays out. I am sure the feedback will determine a lot how and if it is offered again next year.

 

[siggy57]

37 days and counting finally coming home to ssr can't wait oct 16th-oct 22nd going to see EXPOSE' BABY and oh yeah going to MNSSHP first time.
See ya at the world!
MISSY

 

[FoodLover]

I know the Truffle Dinner will be great, but the dinner at Atlantic Dance is billed as kind of an hors d'oeuvres type thing. Hopefully they up this stuff. Re the PFTS - no, there will be NO Wine View Lounge. It states it is a mini PFTS in a "living room setting." Guessing this is in the first part of the 'tent' - the whole tent won't be used for this small of a group.

Certainly hope they up the wine quality! The wines for the Truffle Dinner at Movie Ride don't look that great - all Italian and mostly in the low $20's and less.

I just re-read the email and it does say the Atlantic Dance event is a "reception-style dinner." So presumably that's a heavy hors d'oeuvres thing, as you say. There isn't a lot of detail in the description.

I missed the "living room setting" part of the PFTS description, and the fact that it's on a Tuesday. I'm wondering where they will hold it. You could be right about the front section of the "tent." The only other options that occur to me are the The Attic at BoardWalk Inn, the American Adventure Parlour, Ariel's at the Beach Club, or the Living Seas Salon. The Parlour and The Attic are truly "living room" settings... but I can't imagine squeezing 100 people into them, even standing. Describing the Salon or Ariel's that way would be stretching it.

As for the wines, I think there's a typo on the Truffle Dinner description. It must be Batasiolo wines (I hope), not "Batasilol." They do make some very good Barolos. A 2001 bottle retails for $70-$80, so hopefully they're bringing in some of the better vintages. Or have you seen a more detailed wine list for that event?

Yeah, in light of the points you raised, my assessment of the value goes down a bit.

 

[blissventure]

Yes, it seemed poorly organized/promoted from the beginning. It almost seems like the offering was an afterthought. No details were out ahead of booking date - in fact booking was AFTER the 'lines were open' to book other events! However, I have read where because of this, they did offer cancellation to some of the prebooked events and allowing a rollover into GG.

I do think they are playing 'catch up' to get this rolling. I know the Truffle Dinner will be great, but the dinner at Atlantic Dance is billed as kind of an hors d'oeuvres type thing. Hopefully they up this stuff. Re the PFTS - no, there will be NO Wine View Lounge. It states it is a mini PFTS in a "living room setting." Guessing this is in the first part of the 'tent' - the whole tent won't be used for this small of a group.

Certainly hope they up the wine quality! The wines for the Truffle Dinner at Movie Ride don't look that great - all Italian and mostly in the low $20's and less.

Well, can't complain now - anxious to see how it all plays out. I am sure the feedback will determine a lot how and if it is offered again next year.

I'm thinking that Disney has a great opportunity to make this event really memorable. Here's hoping they make it extra special for you and all the attendees.
Positive feedback and glowing recommendations could really open the door for Disney to offer even more events such as this.

 

[chip&dale&fun]

For those of you booked, really have fun at the Grape Getaway....I took another look....not that we can go this year because of schedule and also because of cost, but just to review.

The park hopper convention ticket doesn't make sense to me based on the schedule. Perhaps this is unfair but with the loaded schedule for food and wine, when will you have time to really enjoy park hopping? Perhaps that might be part of the VIP treatment....I was trying to fit in an Animal Kingdom visit between a few deminars, but --- decided not to push it. Guess that is part of the luxury of living close to the Kingdom? Are the tickets good for any 4 days, or just for the time of the GG? If they are good past the time of the GG this makes good sense for folks who want to add on time??? True be told I have never heard of a "convention ticket".

I really need to get moving and complete my market place score cards. Very behind this year....

 

[TDC Nala]

I thought briefly about booking another weekend, but I don't have $1600 to spare. It occurs to me that is almost as much as I just paid for my 15-night cruise. That got rid of the thoughts I might have had about actually doing the grape getaway.

Although if you can transfer those tickets...my mother needs tickets in November.

 

[ElizabethB]

I agree about the cruise! Yachts of Seabourn, one of the world's most deluxe and exclusive cruise lines, offers a cruise to Italy and Spain for 7 nights in November for $1,999.

 

[redzinner]

Some more details from Scott Joseph (via Pam Brandon I would think) regarding The First Bites Opening Reception on Sept 30.

 

[arbolita]

Once the Festival starts, is there going to be a new thread with food pics/discussion, or will that be in this thread as well?

 

[TDC Nala]

There won't be a new sticky thread once the festival starts. Anyone is welcome to post here on this thread, or start their own. Anyone looking to do their own review that they anticipate will require a full thread should post it on the Reviews board.

 

[redzinner]

Food Kiosks are up. An area to the left as you 'cross over' from Future World to Food & Wine Nirvana has been blocked off with the high block-out boards ... pardon our dust kind of thing. It's across from that big balloon kiosk and coffee booth. I think it's going to be the 15 Beer Booth. There is no sign on it yet.

 

[kabuki]

Food Kiosks are up. An area to the left as you 'cross over' from Future World to Food & Wine Nirvana has been blocked off with the high block-out boards ... pardon our dust kind of thing. It's across from that big balloon kiosk and coffee booth. I think it's going to be the 15 Beer Booth. There is no sign on it yet.

Doing the Happy Dance!

 

[dgbg100106]

Food Kiosks are up. An area to the left as you 'cross over' from Future World to Food & Wine Nirvana has been blocked off with the high block-out boards ... pardon our dust kind of thing. It's across from that big balloon kiosk and coffee booth. I think it's going to be the 15 Beer Booth. There is no sign on it yet.

 

[pmdeve]

15 Beer Booth!!!!!! This is our first time to Food and Wine Festival. My husband is going to be thrilled when I tell him about that booth.

 

[TDC Nala]

Hold your excitement until you find out how much it costs and how many of the 15 beers you are able to taste for one payment.

 

[OhioDisneyDad]

Can someone tell me if the food kiosks will take the KTTK cards for charging to your room or do you have to buy the F&W reloadable cards?

 

[pinky4disney]

Can someone tell me if the food kiosks will take the KTTK cards for charging to your room or do you have to buy the F&W reloadable cards?

Last time I was there for F&W, I was able to charge my room via KTTK card.

 

[onelilspark]

Can someone tell me if the food kiosks will take the KTTK cards for charging to your room or do you have to buy the F&W reloadable cards?

And I'll borrow some advice from earlier in the thread...sometimes their machines go down or are really slow. In those cases, it's handy to have a little bit of cash on hand!