*2013* epcot food & wine festival 9/27-11/11

[Quacktatty]

Could someone tell me if shipping is available for wine at the Festival Center? I don't think packing it in my suitcase would end well.

 

[JustTinking]

Any reviews/pics/menus from tonight's PfTS? Will be there next week!

Are any tickets to the seminars available/held back to sell "day of"? A few we wanted to attend are sold out for purchase but I wasn't sure if each day had a set of tickets available?

We were at F&W last week during the week. The sold out seminars were definitely 'sold out' and no additional tickets were available. Plenty of other seminars had lots of space, just depends on the popularity of the seminar.

 

[Quacktatty]

There are tickets held for chef's guests day of, if the chef doesn't use them all they will be opened up to the public. But you need to get to the Festivsl Center first thing to try and swoop them up. And it's not a given that any will be available.

 

[redzinner]

Could someone tell me if shipping is available for wine at the Festival Center? I don't think packing it in my suitcase would end well.

It hasn't been available in years past. You need a special license to ship alcohol in Florida and I don't believe Disney messes with it.

There are bottle bubble wrap sleeves for suitcase packing. Most of the wines being sold at the F&WF are available on a National level at your local store.

 

[FriendofPan91]

Just came back from Food and Wine Festival and hands down that was the best time I've had at Epcot. (I worked there are a year) They weren't doing the festival yet when I worked there so everything was all new to me. All trips to WDW will be planned around this event from here on!

We were on the dinning plan and saved all of our snack points for the F&W day. It was GENIUS!!! I would however buy and additional prepaid card to use. 5 snack points just weren't enough and the food taste so much better when you don't have to pull any money out.

We also got all of stamps!!! Love looking at the passport now that we are home!

 

[margareton27]

Any reviews/pics/menus from tonight's PfTS? Will be there next week! Are any tickets to the seminars available/held back to sell "day of"? A few we wanted to attend are sold out for purchase but I wasn't sure if each day had a set of tickets available?

We were just at the Parisian breakfast yesterday and the manager of Chefs de France said that although the Grand Marnier event was 'sold out' there were still tickets so go to see him. Perhaps a manager at the restaurant can help if it is a restaurant event?

 

[Twigs]

Could someone tell me if shipping is available for wine at the Festival Center? I don't think packing it in my suitcase would end well.

We use vinni bags, they work well and can be used for anything fragile too.

http://www.vinnibag.com/

 

[conandrob240]

I think I'll call back. I asked about 5 or 6 midweek daytime seminars that were not with anyone famous and each day she said " no, all of the seminars for that date are sold out". She also said mexico tequila lunch sold out every day of our 5 possibilities and not sure that sounds right either. Hmmm.....

 

[ryansstitch]

We were at F&W last week during the week. The sold out seminars were definitely 'sold out' and no additional tickets were available. Plenty of other seminars had lots of space, just depends on the popularity of the seminar.

I have purchased same day tickets for events that "sold out" within a day or 2 of reservations being open. Just go first thing in the morning and try. Worst that can happen is you can't get in, which at this point is what you've got anyway!

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

We were just at the Parisian breakfast yesterday and the manager of Chefs de France said that although the Grand Marnier event was 'sold out' there were still tickets so go to see him. Perhaps a manager at the restaurant can help if it is a restaurant event?

I booked the Grand Mariner at 1 pm. It starred at 2:30


Some suggestions. Give them the restaurant and the start time. That seems to be how they find it. Use the real name. This one is not Grand Mariner, but Taste Shake and indulge

By the way I had a great time at both the Parisian Breakfast and the Grand Mariner event.


Update on chase lounge. This morning any chase card gets you in and a wristband to illuminations. Wristbands to concert required a Disney chase card

 

[Chisoxcollector]

My wife and I attended Party for the Senses last night. It was our first time. We had reserved seats.

We walked by the World Showcase at about 5:30. At that time they were already checking people in, but nobody was waiting in line yet. We checked in, and walked around some. We came back at about 6:30, and the doors were already open, and people were waiting inside.

When you enter the building, they ask what type of ticket you have. General admission are steered to the right, where they pick up their plate, wine glass, etc, and then wait. WVL and Reserved are steered to the left. They are not given their stuff, as it is already at their tables.

We arrived at 6:30, and there were probably 10 parties ahead of us in the Reserved line. There were probably 5 parties in the WVL line, and maybe 50-75 people in the General Admission area. By the time they started letting people in, the General Admission area looked like a big mob.

At approximately 6:55, they let the WVL people in. The WVL is right in the middle of the room, directly in front of the La Nouba stage.

At approximately 7:10, they let the Reserved people in. The reserved seats are mostly clustered all around the WVL area. They have different sized tables for different sized parties. My wife and I had a small 2 seater.

I don't remember the exact time general admission was let in, but I think it was 7:25 - 7:30. You couldn't miss it, as there was a bull rush of people trying to get to tables.

My wife and I had a great time. La Nouba was pretty good, though they spent most of the time playing music and singing.

The food was mostly excellent. My favorite dish was the Roasted Round Trout from the Raglan Road table. Some other great dishes were Blackened Diver Scallops with Tasso Ham (Cooking Like the Big Dogs), Bourbon Braised Bacon Grilled Cheese (FatShorty's), & Flash Cured Tuna (Concha y Toro). The only dish from the entire event that I didn't care for were the Lamb and Sweet Potato Cornish Pasties (Disney's Boardwalk Resort).

All of the deserts were excellent. In particular, the Lime Raspberry Macaron and Lime Sorbet (Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie) and Cakebites (CakeLove) were outstanding. And here's a tip... snag a few Cakebites (they come in little jars) to take with you on the way out! The girl handing them out recommended doing that!

We aren't big drinkers, so I can't help much there. The one thing I did enjoy was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit beer. For you non drinkers, they did have ice cold water all over the place, and also a table with Peach Tea.

Overall we had a wonderful time. I could definitely see us attending again next year!

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions!

 

[LisaS]

At approximately 6:55, they let the WVL people in. The WVL is right in the middle of the room, directly in front of the La Nouba stage.

At approximately 7:10, they let the Reserved people in. The reserved seats are mostly clustered all around the WVL area.

Last year many of the Reserved tables were in front of the stage but the WVL and the rest of the Reserved tables were separated from that area by a wide walkway. We booked Reserved seats last year but were assigned a table on the wrong side of the walkway and as soon as a show started, the walkway was filled with people standing between us and the stage. We couldn't see a thing, even if we stood up at our table.

It sounds like they changed the layout this year and that both the WVL and all of the Reserved seats have an unobstructed view of La Nouba. Am I understanding correctly? If so, I'm glad to hear this!

 

[BriarRosie]

My wife and I attended Party for the Senses last night. It was our first time. We had reserved seats.

We walked by the World Showcase at about 5:30. At that time they were already checking people in, but nobody was waiting in line yet. We checked in, and walked around some. We came back at about 6:30, and the doors were already open, and people were waiting inside.

When you enter the building, they ask what type of ticket you have. General admission are steered to the right, where they pick up their plate, wine glass, etc, and then wait. WVL and Reserved are steered to the left. They are not given their stuff, as it is already at their tables.

We arrived at 6:30, and there were probably 10 parties ahead of us in the Reserved line. There were probably 5 parties in the WVL line, and maybe 50-75 people in the General Admission area. By the time they started letting people in, the General Admission area looked like a big mob.

At approximately 6:55, they let the WVL people in. The WVL is right in the middle of the room, directly in front of the La Nouba stage.

At approximately 7:10, they let the Reserved people in. The reserved seats are mostly clustered all around the WVL area. They have different sized tables for different sized parties. My wife and I had a small 2 seater.

I don't remember the exact time general admission was let in, but I think it was 7:25 - 7:30. You couldn't miss it, as there was a bull rush of people trying to get to tables.

My wife and I had a great time. La Nouba was pretty good, though they spent most of the time playing music and singing.

The food was mostly excellent. My favorite dish was the Roasted Round Trout from the Raglan Road table. Some other great dishes were Blackened Diver Scallops with Tasso Ham (Cooking Like the Big Dogs), Bourbon Braised Bacon Grilled Cheese (FatShorty's), & Flash Cured Tuna (Concha y Toro). The only dish from the entire event that I didn't care for were the Lamb and Sweet Potato Cornish Pasties (Disney's Boardwalk Resort).

All of the deserts were excellent. In particular, the Lime Raspberry Macaron and Lime Sorbet (Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie) and Cakebites (CakeLove) were outstanding. And here's a tip... snag a few Cakebites (they come in little jars) to take with you on the way out! The girl handing them out recommended doing that!

We aren't big drinkers, so I can't help much there. The one thing I did enjoy was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit beer. For you non drinkers, they did have ice cold water all over the place, and also a table with Peach Tea.

Overall we had a wonderful time. I could definitely see us attending again next year!

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions!

Sounds like you had a great time! I wanted to point out to those who read this review that the offerings change each week. So you won't see some of the great stuff here like Cakebites again. But I know they'll have some awesome new stuff each week.

 

[BwoZoo22]

Just came back from Food and Wine Festival and hands down that was the best time I've had at Epcot. (I worked there are a year) They weren't doing the festival yet when I worked there so everything was all new to me. All trips to WDW will be planned around this event from here on!

We were on the dinning plan and saved all of our snack points for the F&W day. It was GENIUS!!! I would however buy and additional prepaid card to use. 5 snack points just weren't enough and the food taste so much better when you don't have to pull any money out.

We also got all of stamps!!! Love looking at the passport now that we are home!

Welcome to the club! We have gone to F&W every year for the last 12 years (this will be our 13th). It's the reason we go! We like to keep our passports too; we usually rate the food at each booth in them.

When you go back, think about some of the special events. We love doing them and have one scheduled for each day of our trip. Disney has been adding new ones, which is great for us return customers!

How were the crowds? F&W seems to be getting more and more crowded each year.

 

[BwoZoo22]

My wife and I attended Party for the Senses last night. It was our first time. We had reserved seats.

We walked by the World Showcase at about 5:30. At that time they were already checking people in, but nobody was waiting in line yet. We checked in, and walked around some. We came back at about 6:30, and the doors were already open, and people were waiting inside.

When you enter the building, they ask what type of ticket you have. General admission are steered to the right, where they pick up their plate, wine glass, etc, and then wait. WVL and Reserved are steered to the left. They are not given their stuff, as it is already at their tables.

We arrived at 6:30, and there were probably 10 parties ahead of us in the Reserved line. There were probably 5 parties in the WVL line, and maybe 50-75 people in the General Admission area. By the time they started letting people in, the General Admission area looked like a big mob.

At approximately 6:55, they let the WVL people in. The WVL is right in the middle of the room, directly in front of the La Nouba stage.

At approximately 7:10, they let the Reserved people in. The reserved seats are mostly clustered all around the WVL area. They have different sized tables for different sized parties. My wife and I had a small 2 seater.

I don't remember the exact time general admission was let in, but I think it was 7:25 - 7:30. You couldn't miss it, as there was a bull rush of people trying to get to tables.

My wife and I had a great time. La Nouba was pretty good, though they spent most of the time playing music and singing.

The food was mostly excellent. My favorite dish was the Roasted Round Trout from the Raglan Road table. Some other great dishes were Blackened Diver Scallops with Tasso Ham (Cooking Like the Big Dogs), Bourbon Braised Bacon Grilled Cheese (FatShorty's), & Flash Cured Tuna (Concha y Toro). The only dish from the entire event that I didn't care for were the Lamb and Sweet Potato Cornish Pasties (Disney's Boardwalk Resort).

All of the deserts were excellent. In particular, the Lime Raspberry Macaron and Lime Sorbet (Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie) and Cakebites (CakeLove) were outstanding. And here's a tip... snag a few Cakebites (they come in little jars) to take with you on the way out! The girl handing them out recommended doing that!

We aren't big drinkers, so I can't help much there. The one thing I did enjoy was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit beer. For you non drinkers, they did have ice cold water all over the place, and also a table with Peach Tea.

Overall we had a wonderful time. I could definitely see us attending again next year!

I'd be happy to try to answer any questions!

Great review, thanks! We are doing reserved seating for the first time this year. We usually do WVL because we hate the opening stampede for general admission. It's so expensive though! So I was glad to see Disney add the reserved option. I didn't realize they would have 2 person tables for reserved; figured we would be sat at a large table with strangers. Either way is fine, though.

 

[conandrob240]

I think the opening " stampede" is very exaggerated. We have gone to PFTS every year for the past 5-6 yrs and never waste the extra money on a seat. Yes, it is a little crowded but no one runs or pushes. It is a large crowd flowing well through a huge opening. No cause for alarm or fear for injury.

I can't wait!

 

[Chisoxcollector]

It sounds like they changed the layout this year and that both the WVL and all of the Reserved seats have an unobstructed view of La Nouba. Am I understanding correctly? If so, I'm glad to hear this!

There were reserved tables behind the walkway behind the WVL. So those may very well have been obstructed. Our table was off to the side of the WVL, and the only time we were obstructed was when the WVL staff was standing off to the side of the WVL entrance.

I wanted to point out to those who read this review that the offerings change each week. So you won't see some of the great stuff here like Cakebites again. But I know they'll have some awesome new stuff each week.

Doh! I knew this, so I'm not sure why I was recommending particular items!

I think the opening " stampede" is very exaggerated. We have gone to PFTS every year for the past 5-6 yrs and never waste the extra money on a seat. Yes, it is a little crowded but no one runs or pushes. It is a large crowd flowing well through a huge opening. No cause for alarm or fear for injury.

I agree that there probably is no fear of injury (though somebody tripping wouldn't be a big surprise), but I feel the term "stampede" accurately describes it. 90% of the GA people were "Run/walking"... basically walking as fast as humanly possible without breaking into a sprint. Some were bobbing and weaving trying to pass others. No pushing or anything like that, though.

 

[BwoZoo22]

There were reserved tables behind the walkway behind the WVL. So those may very well have been obstructed. Our table was off to the side of the WVL, and the only time we were obstructed was when the WVL staff was standing off to the side of the WVL entrance.

It's nice to see that the WVL tables have been moved. That was our only complaint about WVL, the crowds blocked the stage. I did find the show a bit loud in the past, so not sure how the WVL up by the stage will be. Can't wait to find out where our reserved table will be! So looking forward to PftS!

 

[Chisoxcollector]

I forget to mention, there was an empty table in the WVL that I walked by about 50 times. The placecard read "Reserved for Sister Hazel".

 

[BwoZoo22]

I forget to mention, there was an empty table in the WVL that I walked by about 50 times. The placecard read "Reserved for Sister Hazel".

Cool! Wonder if they realize what they missed out on!