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

[BwoZoo22]

Sorry, the lamb chop was Australia, not New Zealand.

Several years ago, NZ had a Rocket Pesto Lamb Chop that was amazing! It's never made a comeback. And last year we really liked Brazil (Mahi Mahi and Feijoada), but their menu has completely changed, which is good for us returnees.

And no Caribbean this year? Were they there last year (lost my 2012 Passport! ). Portugal?

The potstickers in China are usually good, the Kefta pocket in Morocco, the cheese booth is a personal favorite, I think we loved everything in Hawaii, Germany is THE place for beer tasting (Brewer's Collection), and the Godiva Chocolate Liqueur iced coffee in Belgium is worth multiple visits, as is the Dessert and Champagne booth.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The prices at the Wine Shop are not 'rediculous' but you will still do way better shopping outside of Epcot.

Unless you are importing from Georgia. I have actually paid less at Epcot

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I think it really depends on what you have in your area if the prizes are reasonable or overpriced. For some things, Disney was really reasonable at. If you have a smart phone you can always google what it would cost elsewhere. If its within a few dollars, I'll just pay the extra.

 

[jimmytammy]

We have been to F&W several times and love seeing all the Eat to the Beat shows but never really taken adv. of all the foods. We have stopped at maybe 3 food areas in past yrs.

Well that is about to change Here is our deal...we have our fav WDW restaurants that we are going to be eating at, and leaving at least 2 days open for F&W eats. Give me any and all advice for pacing oneself, so we can try all those places. There will be 3 of us, so we can get 2 or 3 diff. items and share at each place. Some, no matter what dont appeal to any of us, so maybe 2 places we will skip.

 

[woodleygrrl]

We have been to F&W several times and love seeing all the Eat to the Beat shows but never really taken adv. of all the foods. We have stopped at maybe 3 food areas in past yrs.

Well that is about to change Here is our deal...we have our fav WDW restaurants that we are going to be eating at, and leaving at least 2 days open for F&W eats. Give me any and all advice for pacing oneself, so we can try all those places. There will be 3 of us, so we can get 2 or 3 diff. items and share at each place. Some, no matter what dont appeal to any of us, so maybe 2 places we will skip.

is this for real? you go to food and wine and you don't try the booths and go for the concerts instead? really? I have never heard of anyone doing that before. I may have heard one of the acts in the times we have been there. I mean, the food and the wine is kind of the draw.

But ok, here is my advice: Start at 11:00 before the crowds get too big and do 1/2 of the WS on one day 1/2 the next. You will get too full otherwise.

and look at the menus in advance. have a game plan.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I don't know jimmytammy's situation, but we plan trips for a particular time of year crowd-wise, and to coincide with work, etc. We don't specifically plan to go BECAUSE OF any particular event. And the first time we were there during F&W, our kids were very young and made spending much time at booths a little difficult.

All that said, we've been in WDW during MNSSHP, MVMCP, F&W, F&G, SWW... what else? For each of those trips we've taken advantage of some of the special fare - but not all. It's not THE reason we're vacationing at WDW.

This year will be the first time we've booked a F&W event ahead, and have a specific game plan to "attack" those booths. Looking forward to it!

 

[GrumpyFamilyof5]

I don't know jimmytammy's situation, but we plan trips for a particular time of year crowd-wise, and to coincide with work, etc. We don't specifically plan to go BECAUSE OF any particular event. And the first time we were there during F&W, our kids were very young and made spending much time at booths a little difficult.

All that said, we've been in WDW during MNSSHP, MVMCP, F&W, F&G, SWW... what else? For each of those trips we've taken advantage of some of the special fare - but not all. It's not THE reason we're vacationing at WDW.

This year will be the first time we've booked a F&W event ahead, and have a specific game plan to "attack" those booths. Looking forward to it!

agree! we usually go when the kids are off school and DH can be off as well.. we have went to a few things,but when we could plan on a certain weekend.. this will be a first for F&W, but not because we planned on it for that, just happens to be there when we take DD for her Sweet 16th, she loves Epcot. Of course I'm trying to find out about some of the food so we can try it, but it will not be our main focus, still gonna make sure DD gets on her favs like Figment and Soarin and such!!

 

[BwoZoo22]

Give me any and all advice for pacing oneself, so we can try all those places. There will be 3 of us, so we can get 2 or 3 diff. items and share at each place. Some, no matter what dont appeal to any of us, so maybe 2 places we will skip.

Sounds like you have a good game plan already. Share everything, take your time, and review the tasting options ahead to get an idea of what you want to avoid (and it helps build the anticipation as well). Don't forget to pick up a 'Passport' to log your likes and dislikes too!

 

[LisaS]

dH and I also loved:
Spinach and cheese paneer ( i think that's the name) at South Africa which I believe will return to the generic Africa booth.

It's actually "spinach and paneer cheese pocket". Paneer is a type of cheese so saying "cheese paneer" is like saying "cheese cheddar".

I have a friend who always orders the Spinach and Paneer Cheese dish whenever we go to an Indian restaurant. I like spinach in salads, omelets, on pizza, etc., but I don't like the wet cooked spinach that makes up the typical Spinach and Paneer Cheese dish in Indian restaurants. The Spinach and Paneer Cheese Pockets are different. They are not sloppy. Even if you are not a fan of the dish, try the pocket. I agree with ryansstitch, it's very tasty.

 

[jimmytammy]

is this for real? you go to food and wine and you don't try the booths and go for the concerts instead? really? I have never heard of anyone doing that before. I may have heard one of the acts in the times we have been there. I mean, the food and the wine is kind of the draw.

But ok, here is my advice: Start at 11:00 before the crowds get too big and do 1/2 of the WS on one day 1/2 the next. You will get too full otherwise.

and look at the menus in advance. have a game plan.

Yep, for real! I dont actually go for just the concerts but have always been a huge music fan so I tend to look at the shows more as a draw than the food as we have always had our favorite eats at restaurants. I appreciate your input.

 

[jimmytammy]

Thanks for all the input folks

 

[AuroraRora]

The Spinach and Paneer Cheese Pockets are different. They are not sloppy. Even if you are not a fan of the dish, try the pocket. I agree with ryansstitch, it's very tasty.

Thanks so much for this info! I was looking forward to trying this but my friend ordered the sloppy spinach and paneer dish the other day when we were out at dinner, and after seeing it, I was having second thoughts. Good to know its tasty!!

 

[cruisingkat]

We have been to F&W several times and love seeing all the Eat to the Beat shows but never really taken adv. of all the foods. We have stopped at maybe 3 food areas in past yrs.

Well that is about to change Here is our deal...we have our fav WDW restaurants that we are going to be eating at, and leaving at least 2 days open for F&W eats. Give me any and all advice for pacing oneself, so we can try all those places. There will be 3 of us, so we can get 2 or 3 diff. items and share at each place. Some, no matter what dont appeal to any of us, so maybe 2 places we will skip.

I don't know jimmytammy's situation, but we plan trips for a particular time of year crowd-wise, and to coincide with work, etc. We don't specifically plan to go BECAUSE OF any particular event. And the first time we were there during F&W, our kids were very young and made spending much time at booths a little difficult.

All that said, we've been in WDW during MNSSHP, MVMCP, F&W, F&G, SWW... what else? For each of those trips we've taken advantage of some of the special fare - but not all. It's not THE reason we're vacationing at WDW.

This year will be the first time we've booked a F&W event ahead, and have a specific game plan to "attack" those booths. Looking forward to it!

We (DH & I) do go to Disney a lot of the time because of special events. Our annual Oct. trip is our F&W trip and MNSSHP. We only do Epcot during the day taking 3-4 days to try one of each food item at each booth. We divide the WS into 3-4 sections doing one section a day. We stop at each booth and order one of each food item and the specialty drink or wine and share. That usually fills us up and we head back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation. For dinner, we usually end up getting counter service and even then we end up splitting it because we are so full. If we are up to it, we might hit another park in the evening or else just go to DTD or maybe get in a game of mini golf. We used to spend our Wed-Sat evenings at POFQ Scat Cat Club when Elliot Dyson was performing there - however since he is no longer with Disney, I guess we will get be able to get some early night's rest and not be so tired the next day.
In the spring we do a trip to Disney for Flower and Garden. Again our main emphasis is Epcot.
We try to get in a trip in Dec for MVMCP and the Candlelight Processional as well as see all the decorations.
We get to Disney an average of 3-4 times a year- last year we were there 7 times.

 

[hyadi]

We've been to Disney during the food and wine festival twice but have never actually tried anything from it! I really want to do it this year! I was hoping someone could give me some tips for beginners. Also, I've heard that there are wristbands you can buy. Could someone tell me about them? (how they work, how much, are they worth it, etc) P.S. We just want to eat at the booths, no seminars or anything like that

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

We've been to Disney during the food and wine festival twice but have never actually tried anything from it! I really want to do it this year! I was hoping someone could give me some tips for beginners. Also, I've heard that there are wristbands you can buy. Could someone tell me about them? (how they work, how much, are they worth it, etc) P.S. We just want to eat at the booths, no seminars or anything like that

The "wristbands" are basically Disney Gift cards. You just tell the cashier how much you want to put on the gift card and he/she loads it on the "wrist band" card. No extra charge for the cards.

There's no "one size eats all" wristband (I wish there was LOL!)

The best place to get good info is the Disney Food Blog's festival page If this link works it should take you directly to the booth page which will give you all the info but pricing (which we probably won't know until 9/28 or so...)

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013-...val-marketplace-booths-menus-and-food-photos/

 

[BwoZoo22]

We've been to Disney during the food and wine festival twice but have never actually tried anything from it! I really want to do it this year! I was hoping someone could give me some tips for beginners. Also, I've heard that there are wristbands you can buy. Could someone tell me about them? (how they work, how much, are they worth it, etc) P.S. We just want to eat at the booths, no seminars or anything like that

The wrist band pre paid cards are nice. We got a couple of those long elastic cords (frequently seen on key rings or casino player cards) to replace the wrist thing so we could attach it to our shirts or belt loops instead; we thought the wrist portion was uncomfortable. If you have a budget, this is the way to go. And paying is super fast with them.

My biggest beginner tip is to try one of everything, and share it! Too much food if everyone gets their own. And spend several days. Trying to do every booth in one day is 'unhealthy.' And take your time. Sit (or stand at a flat surface) and enjoy the food and drink. I love getting the passport and rating each tasting. We buy a special unique pen each year to do this.

We usually start by heading toward Canada. A majority of the traffic seems to go to Mexico first. Early is always less crowded than late. And if it rains, don't go inside! The lines get shorter during storms!

And most important of all, DO NOT ride Mission Space orange after a full day of tasting/drinking. Not a good scene.

 

[dhorner233]

And most important of all, DO NOT ride Mission Space orange after a full day of tasting/drinking. Not a good scene.

That is some good advice!

 

[thorphin]

Traditionally, on Preview Day, the day before the festival opens, the Festival Center is not open, correct?

What I'm really asking, though, is whether or not the passport is available on Preview Day, or if you really have to get these from the Festival Center.

 

[BwoZoo22]

Traditionally, on Preview Day, the day before the festival opens, the Festival Center is not open, correct?

What I'm really asking, though, is whether or not the passport is available on Preview Day, or if you really have to get these from the Festival Center.

We have always gotten ours from the gift booths or gift shops. The Festival Center had them too, but they were not the only place.

 

[mdsd8700]

In the DFB mini guide there is a map of all the locations of the booths. If anyone has seen this, do you know where the International Gateway comes in? Last year I was able to figure it out (or someone posted it....I don't remember which). Last year it help me decide where to start and end.

Thanks.