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

[TDC Nala]

I know that this happens every year, and every year it is a huge cluster bleep, but it peeves me to no end that there is not a clear system to make reservations for the special events.

i have been on vacation for the last week out of the country so it was impossible to get on-line or call and book anything. I am DVC, chase card holder, and annual pass holder. I called to book the special events today and the CM said that everything that I wanted to do was booked. PFTS, the yachtsman lunch, the Parisian breakfast, the tequila lunch...everything.

Granted, I am only going to be there for a weekend and so i have a couple of days to work with. But dag nabit, I spend a crap-ton of my money at WDW. I would love to be able to book things, too. Every year the same dang thing happens. Not to mention it is completely unclear as to when you can book what and when. just make a website, make all the dates and times clear and I will be cool.

grrrrrrrrr

jennifer

It's not over yet. Call back tomorrow and try to get through as soon as you can. Not all seats were available today. It appears a small percentage was available only.

Yes, it is annoying to go through Disney dining phone hell two days in a row. Those who got through in the first half hour are happy (for the most part), but the rest of us are not.

 

[ellie0311]

You guys posted these while I was writing my post. : ) According to the IPO CM who talked to the reservations folks, only 10% of the Sweet Sundays seats were released today. So, hopefully we will all get in tomorrow!

Thanks, glad to hear this. The first CM I talked to stumbled over many things so I called a second time just to be sure. That CM just told me "well the advantage of being a card holder is that you have first crack, they won't release any more seats tomorrow, it is sold out. The phones have been ringing since 7". Not the most magical CMs I have ever encountered. Looking forward to trying again tomorrow!!

 

[JenKatt]

It's not over yet. Call back tomorrow and try to get through as soon as you can. Not all seats were available today.

Yes, it is annoying to go through phone hell two days in a row. Those who got through are happy, but the rest of us are not.

DH just called back and seemed to get a CM with a clue. According to her, WVL seats will open tomorrow along with additional seating.

 

[TDC Nala]

That happened to me too, two years ago. The CM couldn't find the event I asked about in the list and replied "I can't find it so that means it is sold out". I called back later and another CM said "I can't find it. Can you hold for a minute?" Then she found it and booked it for me.

Remember when calling tomorrow that it may really help to have with you:

1) The full, official name of the event (if a CM is looking for "Signature dinner" when the actual title of the event is "Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining" they might just give up and say they can't find it, so it must be sold out)
2) The time the event takes place - the time can be really helpful in trying to distinguish between a festival event and a regular restaurant reservation
3) The name of the restaurant (if it's in a restaurant)

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

My CM was very clear that it was limited spots today with more opening tomorrow. She also
Seemed better trained then what I usually encounter so I think there is hope

However I think it may be time to complain to Disney instead of each other.

 

[woodleygrrl]

It's not over yet. Call back tomorrow and try to get through as soon as you can. Not all seats were available today. It appears a small percentage was available only.

Yes, it is annoying to go through Disney dining phone hell two days in a row. Those who got through in the first half hour are happy (for the most part), but the rest of us are not.

I hope you are right. That is not what the CM told me when I called this am. Hope you are getting this from a good source. she clearly stated that they were sold out and there were no more seats for any of the events that I was looking for.

hey, I have been on this crazy-train before. I know these CM's are not always the best informed and that they say different things to different people. But just to confirm: you know this for a fact that there are more seats available for events tomorrow? All events or just some events? which ones?

 

[TDC Nala]

I'm not getting it from a source at all except for what has been posted here. Disney phone cast members are not a good source. If you ask three of them you will get three different answers. We've got a report here that someone got from a club level IPO that 10% of the Sweet Sunday capacity was open for booking today and that's it. We've also got LOTS of people being told "there are no more seats anywhere for anything, that's it for the entire festival." The CM I spoke to, who could find no availabilty for one guest in any of the four events I asked for after an hour on hold (I was on hold an hour last year and got everything I wanted), said it was because only limited spots at each event were offered today.

I'm going solely on my experience and I refuse to believe that full, final capacity for every food & wine event was sold out solidly within an hour of the phone line opening this morning. Never happened before and I don't believe it happened now.

For example, it is extremely rare for PFTS general admission to sell out. It did today on at least three dates. One of my friends was told there were "very few" general admission spots left for her PFTS. This was a half hour after the phone lines opened. And these bookings are open only to Disney Visa cardholders. If they usually don't sell out to the general public, what would make them sell out completely to Disney Visa cardholders today? There was no discount, and the event hasn't changed any.

As for how many seats are still available and at which events...I can't possibly know that, but I am not going to give up based on what happened today and will be calling tomorrow.

 

[woodleygrrl]

I hope you are right. I will tell you one thing though, I really am writing a nasty-gram to disney this year. I am getting sick of the lack of transparency in the process.

At the end of the day all I want to do is spend some more money. Why can't they make that easy? why?

 

[mdsd8700]

Disney phone cast members are not a good source. If you ask three of them you will get three different answers.

Sadly, this is so true as we all know too well.

I called this morning and after an hour wait was told my seminar was not available but I asked if more would open up tomorrow and was told yes.

I called back much later (no wait) just to double check and see what the situation would be. My seminar was still unavailable but was told again that there would be more spots tomorrow morning.

So I am going to do the whole thing again tomorrow and hope for the best. It definitely is not the best run system. It would however be quite helpful if every CM had the same information.

Good luck to everyone tomorrow!!

 

[ElizabethB]

Very glad we don't want any events this year. Seems like it was madness this morning. Friends who go to F&W every year and have the Disney Visa were unaware (as was I) that reservations for the main events were opening today for Disney Visa holders. They got the email, but it only referred to events like the culinary demos, the wine schools and the 3D dessert party.

Just another perk for the Festival's corporate sponser. I'm tired of being a pawn in corporate games (I'm particularly grouchy since dh and I are also two of millions of pawns in the CBS/Time Warner dispute).

Fortunately, dh and I had already decided there was nothing that interests us this year. The days of the great events are long gone. We will never again see an Exquisite Evening at Epcot where Penfold's is the sponser and the big wine of the evening is Grange (approx $400 per bottle for those who aren't familiar with it)!

Now, most every wine meal is a lunch rather than a dinner, so that evenings are available for all of the free diners on DDP. We're not crazy about a big wine meal at lunch -- and with the prices e.g., $320 + tax for a couple for lunch and the fact that the wines are now quite ordinary and pedestrian, we would much rather have our own quiet dinner with a great bottle of wine. Even the "Signature Dinners" basically include wine from the particular restaurant's non-reserve wine list with little if anything that is special, unique or even remotely interesting. We have also taken to planning our own evenings with other long-time F&W attendees. That way, we order the food we want and we bring our own wines that we think are really special and then we just pay the corkage.

Had we wanted any events this year, I would have been extremely upset that the pre-sale for Disney visa holders was not well publicized. I also think it is pretty annoying of Disney to set aside something like two of only ten places and sell them in advance.

Very glad we don't bother with any of the events anymore. We go around the booths and then we do our own thing.

Good luck to those booking tomorrow. If it's any comfort, I have it from a very good inside source that only a very limited number of seats were sold this morning to Visa cardholders (I still think it's obnoxious that they did this with any seats, but so be it). Also, Nala is right. Don't expect IPO to get any events for you. I tried that once and they were totally useless.

 

[woodleygrrl]

you are so right, sister. I think i am taking this year off, too. Truth is, like you inferred, I can get the some bottles of wine at the grocery store and pay less than $20 a bottle for most of them. At least that was the experience I had a couple of years ago.

I think the part that steams my britches so much is the game they play with the information that they deem to hand out. Sure, i had a bit of a heads-up because of the dis, but it shouldnt have to be this way. And even then I was a having a hard time figuring out what I could book on the 9th v. today v. tomorrow.

 

[HiMagicFan]

boy am I glad that the only thing I wanted to do for F&W was the Marketplace tour from last year and that doesn't seem to be offered this year.

the waiting on the phone would have driven me crazy!

I am happy for those of you who got what you wanted. I will be waiving to you as I pass by doing my samples around the world

Sorry for those of you who didn't get what you wanted.

I laughed when I read some people complaining that it isnt fair that they didn't get their choices...isn't this just a pre-sale? at least there was a day ahead of the general public to purchase items... normally for pre-sale at the places I go to they Never put everything out so I would guess Disney would be the same and the sold out is the pre-sale....I would laugh at Disney if they didn't save some for the big push because then there would go their capital gains....which means that this party will happen again tomorrow morning!!!

So for those of you who have to do this dance tomorrow ~ good luck!

Love reading all your posts - made my day and me smile

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I hope you are right. I will tell you one thing though, I really am writing a nasty-gram to disney this year. I am getting sick of the lack of transparency in the process.

At the end of the day all I want to do is spend some more money. Why can't they make that easy? why?

I think it would be great if it was more organized and at the very least each of the CMs on the phones knew to say the same thing

I do think that Disney likes some of the craziness - there is some truth to the thought that if something is harder to get it makes people want it that much more. Even on here some people said their first choice was sold out so they went with a back-up (but there is a good chance more ticket to that first event will be available tomorrow - was that clearly communicated / known to them before they went with their back-up?)

 

[HiMagicFan]

I think it would be great if it was more organized and at the very least each of the CMs on the phones knew to say the same thing

I do think that Disney likes some of the craziness - there is some truth to the thought that if something is harder to get it makes people want it that much more. Even on here some people said their first choice was sold out so they went with a back-up (but there is a good chance more ticket to that first event will be available tomorrow - was that clearly communicated / known to them before they went with their back-up?)

Yup, you probably got it right...they so like the hype
and even with us complaining - we still come back for more....

 

[cdtommie]

We will never again see an Exquisite Evening at Epcot where Penfold's is the sponser and the big wine of the evening is Grange (approx $400 per bottle for those who aren't familiar with it)!

ElizabethB, we were at V&A's several years ago and the couple at the table next to us leaves and and our server then asks if we would like to finish off a bottle of wine that they barely touched since it would be such a shame to go to waste...turns out to be a more than half full bottle of Grange...definitely a Disney moment!

TDC, not F&W related but I just had to sneak this in.

 

[PSU]

Wow - was away for a few days and missed this Disney Visa thing...I sure do hope there are more slots available tomorrow...seems like they should have given more advance notice of this...

 

[robinm1215]

I think it would be great if it was more organized and at the very least each of the CMs on the phones knew to say the same thing

I do think that Disney likes some of the craziness - there is some truth to the thought that if something is harder to get it makes people want it that much more. Even on here some people said their first choice was sold out so they went with a back-up (but there is a good chance more ticket to that first event will be available tomorrow - was that clearly communicated / known to them before they went with their back-up?)

This is the main thing that annoyed me, that no one had the same or the right info. How can they not communicate to the CMs the information they need to know in order to do their jobs. It is beyond me how an organization like Disney can be that unorganized and inefficient.

I was one of the ones told this event is sold out (PFTS with reserved seating), there is no more availability, we have released all of the seats. I even asked them to check with a supervisor and was put on hold only for them to come back and confirm it. They told me other dates for PFTS were completely sold out (all levels) and I felt pressured to book or I would not get it. So I booked general admission. And I got through in about 30 minutes.

I'm not sure why it surprises me that no one had a clue what was going on. When I found out that this was only a limited release of seats I called back and spoke to a supervisor and told them that I expected them to cancel my original reservation once I secured the reserved seating that I really wanted for PFTS. If I had the right info I would have not booked in the first place. They have taken all my information and said I should call back tomorrow and book the reserved seating (which she did not think I would have any trouble getting) and once she saw that I was booked she would cancel my original reservation.

I think next year I am skipping the special events and just going to enjoy the booths. It's not worth the trouble when Disney makes it so hard to book!

Good luck to everyone tomorrow!

 

[khertz]

Sorry for those who had difficulty. I didn't end up calling until around 9 am eastern and got through in less than 10 minutes to book the 3D Dessert party on 10/25. From the sounds of this thread, I either got really lucky or I was booking something not as popular. Either way, sounds like tomorrow is going to be a madhouse, and I'm glad I'm not going to have to deal with it. Would it be any easier to book online? That was my original plan until the early booking was made available for Disney Visa holders.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I was able to get our two tickets for this event today as well! Didn't ask about the reserved seating - I was having a hard enough time justifying the cost for the regular seating! Just glad to have the reservation done and I was able to link it in MDE. Maybe we'll bump into you there!

Very cool!

Yeah... maybe we can "not officially save tables" for each other...

 

[amywa]

I too also feel disappointed that I booked general admission to PFTS because I was told there were no reserved and only a few GA left on my dates at 07:30 today.
I was worried that I wouldn't get anything if i waited.

Now I find out I could have tried again tomorrow as limited seats were released. Spending a lot of time and money on this trip; they are so organized with customer service in the parks you would think they could work on this area as well.