**2011** Epcot Food & Wine Festival HAS ENDED. 2012 Festival 9/28 - 11/11

[snykymom]

PFTS is a large event and usually does not sell out right away if at all. In fact for the past two years they've been selling half price tickets to cast members for the last two PFTS in November.

How about in October? I'm mulling going with my dd on October 15, but that's arrival day and I'm always worried about late planes, etc. And it's still a LOT of money - we're also doing V&A and this is just as expensive! I know others have asked, but is it really worth $125 per person (minus TiW discount)???

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

How about in October? I'm mulling going with my dd on October 15, but that's arrival day and I'm always worried about late planes, etc. And it's still a LOT of money - we're also doing V&A and this is just as expensive! I know others have asked, but is it really worth $125 per person (minus TiW discount)???

I would never book a nonrefundable event on arrival day if I'm flying. Most flights operate as scheduled, but delays and cancellations can and do happen.

Party for the Senses is $145 plus sales tax. (At least the gratuity is included.) There is no TiW discount; at least there hasn't been in the past.

So the real question is if it's worth almost $160 per person. For me, the answer is no. For that kind of money, I expect to be served an excellent multi-course meal with well-paired wines. I don't want to stand in line after line to get tastes of food and samples of wine. If it cost half as much, I might consider it.

Of course, other people disagree with me. They consider it a wonderful way to spend an evening and the highlight of going to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

 

[miste76]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

 

[TDC Nala]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

There's no child menu, no differentation on price between children and adults, and these events are not recommended for children, especially very young children. I don't know about the 2 year old but there will certainly be a charge for the 4 year old. It's my current belief that everyone in the party must be registered and paid to enter the event (all events are prepaid).

If you're going to be in town on October 29 you can look into the Family Cooking event - but I think your children are too young even to enjoy that and there's no indication that children won't be charged full price.

How about in October? I'm mulling going with my dd on October 15, but that's arrival day and I'm always worried about late planes, etc. And it's still a LOT of money

I usually suggest never booking a non-refundable event for an arrival day unless you are arriving a good 5 or 6 hours before the event takes place. Wait until you get there and purchase a ticket from your resort concierge if you want to attend on an arrival night. If you miss it, you will not be getting your money back. And there's no TIW discount on the Party for the Senses. And yes, I am going to a Party for the Senses, I like it better than sitting and being waited on.

 

[PNO4TE]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

I don't know if there would be a charge for your toddlers or not. I assume there would be. However, these two events are really not geared for toddlers, in my opinion. (Please note, that this is my opinion.) It is like a huge cocktail party with enormous crowds and no guaranteed seating.

I tried to find my pictures from previous PFTSs and couldn't put my fingers on them right away. But I will bet that there are posters on this thread who will know where theirs are more readily.

 

[PNO4TE]

I found some...

This is waiting to get into the PFTS venue:

Inside:

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

OK I am going to be VERY blunt here.

This is NOT an appropriate event to bring your two young girls too. It's an adult oriented cocktail party. People will step on them. There will be nothing for them to do. There are not drinks (besides water) for them and the food is probably well beyond what most young children would ever eat. Disney does charge you full price just to convince you that this is a bad idea!

Sorry, but at the age of your children there is just no way they would enjoy it nor would you if you had to deal with them while there. (Nor would you enjoy the looks you would get from other guests who would be pretty shocked to see them there.)

I saw a 10 year old or so at one once. Bored out of his mind does not begin to describe his reaction. I noticed that by 1 hour into the party the parents gave up and left!

 

[AKLFan3]

I have a few questions for those of you who previously participated in a Signature Dinner demonstration...particularly the demonstration at Citricos: what were the seating arrangements? 1 large table, several small tables seating multiple families? Also, would you say it was worth the $175 per person price tag? Thanks!

 

[TDC Nala]

I've been to a number of the restaurant events (not Citricos though) and they always have several larger tables at which multiple parties are seated (California Grill keeps seating me with the same people every year somehow). Your party will most likely not get your own table.

 

[cdtommie]

"Not to be outdone, the Italy pavilion will offer beer and pizza tastings from 2 to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays in its newest restaurant Via Napoli"
This sounds like fun does anyone know if we have to sign up for this and the cost. Looking for more information and can't seem to find it. Thanks,
OK found the information looks like it is going to cost $50. Will I have to call on August 16th or can I make the reservation on line? I was thinking pizza and beer is something my dh would love, do you think it will be worth the $100 for both of us?

Chances are the beer will be the very pedestrian Moretti offerings (owned by Heineken) - they won't be serving any craft Italian beers like Baladin.

 

[Dancind]

How about in October? I'm mulling going with my dd on October 15, but that's arrival day and I'm always worried about late planes, etc. And it's still a LOT of money - we're also doing V&A and this is just as expensive! I know others have asked, but is it really worth $125 per person (minus TiW discount)???

We did this last year and it was almost a fiasco. We were supposed to arrive the day before, had to change our plans after PFTS was paid for. Our flight was late, our towncar was a no show, it took a while to get my annual pass renewed at the gate. We got there right as the doors opened. Took a while and several glasses of wine to calm down.

In summary, I don't recommend it!

 

[AJW]

That's falling down on the job!

I know, I know!

Thanks to RedZinner for the fun By the Numbers info

 

[stasijane]

I was wondering if someone could give me some information on the Food and Wine pairings. This is something we wanted to do during our first trip to the food and wine festival. I noticed they have this in the different countrys, is the servings they have native to that country or do they serve the same stuff just in different locations. I wanted to make sure I choose the right one, or even try more than one if I need to. Thankx!

Also, anyone have any recommendations on which one they prefered over the others?

 

[Tltorrez]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

Why not just hire a sitter for the girls and enjoy the party? My DS8 is a huge foodie. We're taking him with us to F&W. He loves eating his way around the world and he'll enjoy the demos. But on PFTS night he'll be in bed on time with the sitter while we're at the party. While he would actually enjoy the food, we just decided it wasn't an appropriate environment, wasn't worth the cost and getting a good night's sleep at Disney is never a bad idea.

We used the sitter service last trip (so that we could drink around the World during PM magic hours) and it was great.

 

[Tltorrez]

Question about the size of events -- how many people at the Sweet Sundays? What about the culinary and wine demos?

We'd love to see Gale Gand but we aren't particularly interested in filling up on breakfast. And $90 (for 4 of us) would be really high unless it's a fairly intimate event.

We're planning a 3 1/2 day trip just for F&W. We'll do Fantasmic on our half day but the rest will be spent at Epcot. We're thinking to do PFTS as our big event and just eating our way around the world the rest of the weekend.

Sorry if I missed it, but I didn't see an answer to this question. Does anyone know how big these events (Sweet Sundays and Seminars) are?

 

[oybolshoi]

I was wondering if someone could give me some information on the Food and Wine pairings. This is something we wanted to do during our first trip to the food and wine festival. I noticed they have this in the different countrys, is the servings they have native to that country or do they serve the same stuff just in different locations. I wanted to make sure I choose the right one, or even try more than one if I need to. Thankx!

Also, anyone have any recommendations on which one they prefered over the others?

The cuisine will be geared towards the country / restaurant the event is held in. The F&W pairings have really been pared down over the years and are only being held in Morocco, Japan, and Italy. We liked our pairing in Italy a lot; Morocco wasn't quite as good but they do serve big portions. Haven't made it to Japan. In the past we've done F&W events at Coral Reef, Rose & Crown, and Le Cellier and they were all amazing!

 

[franandaj]

OK I am going to be VERY blunt here.

This is NOT an appropriate event to bring your two young girls too. It's an adult oriented cocktail party. People will step on them. There will be nothing for them to do. There are not drinks (besides water) for them and the food is probably well beyond what most young children would ever eat. Disney does charge you full price just to convince you that this is a bad idea!

Sorry, but at the age of your children there is just no way they would enjoy it nor would you if you had to deal with them while there. (Nor would you enjoy the looks you would get from other guests who would be pretty shocked to see them there.)

I saw a 10 year old or so at one once. Bored out of his mind does not begin to describe his reaction. I noticed that by 1 hour into the party the parents gave up and left!

Thank you for saying this. I think most of us were thinking the same thing, but were being too polite to actually post.

I've been to a number of the restaurant events (not Citricos though) and they always have several larger tables at which multiple parties are seated (California Grill keeps seating me with the same people every year somehow). Your party will most likely not get your own table.

On another group that I am in, someone asked about attending one of these events solo, I have never been to any of these dinners at WDW, but I have been to them at other restaurants. A solo traveler is usually seated with other parties and everyone becomes friends soon.

I hope I gave her the right advice. ???

 

[miste76]

OK I am going to be VERY blunt here.

This is NOT an appropriate event to bring your two young girls too. It's an adult oriented cocktail party. People will step on them. There will be nothing for them to do. There are not drinks (besides water) for them and the food is probably well beyond what most young children would ever eat. Disney does charge you full price just to convince you that this is a bad idea!

Sorry, but at the age of your children there is just no way they would enjoy it nor would you if you had to deal with them while there. (Nor would you enjoy the looks you would get from other guests who would be pretty shocked to see them there.)

I saw a 10 year old or so at one once. Bored out of his mind does not begin to describe his reaction. I noticed that by 1 hour into the party the parents gave up and left!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to answer my question. (Some nicer than others... but that's besides the point.) I was unaware that these events were meant to be adult drunkfest... kind of pictured it as an upscale party with different tastings than what was available at the kiosks and some spectacular entertainment (love, love, love cirque de soleil.) With that being said... I'm glad that I know that this isn't the case - and although I will not have a baby sitter for opening weekend of Food and Wine Festival - you all have convinced me that I do need the second (adults only) trip that we were considering.
So, we will only eat at the kiosks during opening weekend (and we will miss the opening reception - guess that's for next year) and then we will go back the first weekend of November to do all of the parties. Just a shame that I can't go to see Buddy the second weekend of F&W fest!!!

 

[JenKatt]

Thank you to everyone that took the time to answer my question. (Some nicer than others... but that's besides the point.) I was unaware that these events were meant to be adult drunkfest... kind of pictured it as an upscale party with different tastings than what was available at the kiosks and some spectacular entertainment (love, love, love cirque de soleil.) With that being said... I'm glad that I know that this isn't the case - and although I will not have a baby sitter for opening weekend of Food and Wine Festival - you all have convinced me that I do need the second (adults only) trip that we were considering.
So, we will only eat at the kiosks during opening weekend (and we will miss the opening reception - guess that's for next year) and then we will go back the first weekend of November to do all of the parties. Just a shame that I can't go to see Buddy the second weekend of F&W fest!!!

PFTS is NOT an adult drunkfest. It is an adult cocktail party. It is very different than eating around the world as far as quality, presentation, and choices. However, nice or not, it's not geared for kids. We have left our son with a sitter or with family when we have gone. I have yet to see anyone under the age of 10 enjoy themselves at PFTS. While it is Disney and things are more kid friendly, this event does not cater to them. And many of us are VERY thankful for that!

 

[Kteacher]

Is there a charge for toddlers to attend an event like Party for the Senses or First Bites Opening Reception? My girls are 2 and 4 years old. Thanks

I have to agree with the above posters-this just isn't an event for small children. It will be much more enjoyable for them (and you ) to take them around WS to sample from the booths.