food and wine booking tutorial
july 25 (friday) bookings open for:
Festival center "deminars"
possibly pfts (general admission) and 3d dessert party (general admission) (it worked last year, but tiw has sent out communications saying this is only for deminars)
for tiw/dvc/ap and golden oak residents only
discounts of $2 off "deminars" are being offered to tiw/dvc/ap/golden oak for weekdays (mon-thurs) only.
Book by phone at 407-wdw-fest or online at epcotfoodfestival.com. Phone booking at 7 am eastern.
July 29 (tuesday) bookings open for:
"select" special events (limited availability)
for chase cardholders only.
By phone only at 407-wdw-fest, opening 7 am eastern
if you call on july 29 and are told an event is sold out, you can call back on july 31 to try for the remaining inventory.
July 31 (thursday) general booking opens for all events.
Most events book by phone only at 407-wdw-fest, opening 7 am eastern
some events ("deminars" and general admission only for pfts and 3d dessert) may be booked online at epcotfoodfestival.com (please note the disney food blog has indicated there will be no online booking for the pfts on october 25 only. Not sure where that info came from so keep it in mind if you are interested in that date).
Remember that all festival events are paid for in full at time of booking and are not cancellable or refundable. However, if you need to cancel, you can always try calling wdw with an explanation. There's no wait list, because the events are not cancellable. It's sometimes possible to pick up a no-show spot on the day of and you'll pay for the event then.
Some helpful hints for that phone call
1. Once you get through, do not hang up. Even if you don't hear any hold music. Hanging up and redialing will just send you to the back of the queue.
Remember that 1 hour plus waits are not unusual on booking day.
2. If you are calling in the am on 7/31 and are being told the event you are booking is sold out:
Use your judgment. If it's a small event (< 50 guests) and you got through outside an hour to an hour and a half after 7, then the event may very likely be actually sold out. But remember 2013 when about half the events didn't load in the booking system until about 40 minutes after booking opened, and some phone agents were telling callers that events were sold out? Keep an eye on this thread, see what others are being told before you write your event off entirely. If you can't watch the thread, it can't hurt to call back later if you think something seems "off"
3. Have the full name of the event as published by disney available. For example, ask for "dining through the decades: A tribute to walt disney" instead of "the walt disney dinner." the phone agent may know what you mean, but they may not. If it's not a large event, you don't want them to waste precious time searching for the event on their list. Also have the time available, especially for signature restaurant meals, so you are sure the agent is booking you for the correct event and not a regular restaurant reservation.
4. Have your credit card ready to go, and your tiw/ap/dvc membership numbers if you will need them. One thing i always do is that if they ask if i'm staying onsite, i say i am not, because if i say i am, the agent then spends a bunch of time trying to locate the correct room reservation for the reservation including asking for reservation numbers (and as i have 3 separate ones it takes time).
Next time, put a warning label on your link....
