2014 Epcot Food and Wine Festival.........

[dkrauss]

Hi folks, Heard the news about the 2014 Epcot F&W festival moving up and adding a week. Our trip is scheduled to end on Sept 19th, the first day of the festival. We're considering extending our stay a day or two to attend. Looking for info on whether this is a good idea? Totally understanding this is subjective.........but curious what people think.

We're staying at the WL for our trip but moving to Yacht club if we extend so we can be close to Epcot...........

Heard good things about the F&W..........looking forward to some feedback.

Doug

 

[Greatfalls]

Absolutely you should do it. September is one of the slower times of the year, so you shouldn't have big lines or crowds at Epcot.

 

[nfggirl5454]

I would definitely do it, and it would be especially nice to be at an Epcot resort. Plus, is extending a vacation ever a bad idea? I love the F&W festival, this will be my fifth consecutive year, I think.

 

[dkrauss]

I would definitely do it, and it would be especially nice to be at an Epcot resort. Plus, is extending a vacation ever a bad idea? I love the F&W festival, this will be my fifth consecutive year, I think.

You are so right..........more time at Disney is never bad

 

[TheCollumsDoDisney]

We will catch it at the end. Our check in is the last day. We've never been and have two kids in tow (11,5). Any suggestions on what we shouldn't miss at the F&W festival?

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Absolutely you should do it. September is one of the slower times of the year, so you shouldn't have big lines or crowds at Epcot.

Even though September is pretty slow, opening weekend for Food & Wine will be busy. Lots of locals attend. I would still receommend it and the YC is a great place to stay during the festival. I would just plan on hitting the booths around 11 when they open.

 

[bigskip]

It's worth doing it. I'm headed back for third year running during F&W. As for tips on things not to miss? It's all about the atmosphere and trying different things. The Fillet Minion ( i know! ) from canada is a good spend of a snack credit. Lobster Rolls in the american area are a nice sampler too. On the adult side of things, a flight of craft beer is a nice treat on a hot day.

And make sure you get some free craisins!

 

[wiigirl]

Absolutely you should do it. September is one of the slower times of the year, so you shouldn't have big lines or crowds at Epcot.

 

[prudence64]

This is probably a stupid question, but are we talking free samples like at the grocery store or do you have to pay for everything you want to try?

 

[GenieCat]

We will catch it at the end. Our check in is the last day. We've never been and have two kids in tow (11,5). Any suggestions on what we shouldn't miss at the F&W festival?

If your kids are food adventurous, this would be a terrific time to introduce them to some new flavors. If not, they will likely be bored standing around watching mom and dad eat. You can look at last year's menus to get an idea of what they might like.

Hope you have a time!

 

[JoshuaShaw]

If you enjoy eating and don't mind the extra expense, I highly recommend it. I attended my first F&W in 2011 and it's become an annual tradition.

 

[winthropf]

This is probably a stupid question, but are we talking free samples like at the grocery store or do you have to pay for everything you want to try?

The food are small plates and range in cost from $3-$6. Nothing is free.

I agree with going early on opening weekend. Friday night, Saturday afternoon/evening, and Sunday afternoon will be very crowded with locals on opening weekend. Note that there is usually a soft opening on Thursday for the booth workers to get trained and work out any bugs with the booth setup.

 

[pskelly]

Also don't forget that there is usually a "soft" opening or cast member preview I believe is what they call it on the Thursday. Can still get crowded but nowhere near how crowded it gets that first weekend.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Even though September is pretty slow, opening weekend for Food & Wine will be busy. Lots of locals attend. I would still receommend it and the YC is a great place to stay during the festival. I would just plan on hitting the booths around 11 when they open.

Yep, most weekends and even weeknights can get pretty busy in World Showcase during F&W, but it is definitely fun to experience. We did it once. Now we avoid those weeks, and go after it is over for lighter crowds in WS. Others go year after year, so you may get hooked after you do it once.

 

[dkrauss]

Also don't forget that there is usually a "soft" opening or cast member preview I believe is what they call it on the Thursday. Can still get crowded but nowhere near how crowded it gets that first weekend.

Interesting because Thursday the 18th we'll be at EPCOT (our Drink Around the World day ) So booths may be open that day/evening?

Doug

 

[TDC Nala]

If it works like it has worked every other year, then yes, the booths will be open on the 18th. However, this year is already different from every other year because it's never started this early before.

Just the booths...the festival center was open for cast members only on the Thursday usually.

 

[MHSweb79]

We went right at lunchtime on the preview Thursday last year and almost every booth was open for business. Many had issues with the servers crashing the cash registers and there were other problems as well, but hey, that's what the soft opening is for. Overall, I found the servings more generous on that day than later in the week. The only disappointment was that Germany never had their act together every time we tried to get the sausage/ pretzel roll thing that we really wanted. We did get it several times later in the week though.

My DH and I avoided F&W for many years, thinking it was overhyped and overpriced. Then we tried it and it quickly became our favorite time of year (despite still thinking it's overpriced!) If I had any chance to extend my trip and/ or stay at Yacht Club to hit the festival, I would jump at it.

My advice for those of you like me who really hate to see all that money add up for fairly small portions of food is to get the wrist card, load it up with whatever your spending limit is, and use that. It really doesn't seem like real money (to me) when you spend it off a card. We also asked for Disney gift cards for birthdays and whatnot so we had those to use as well.

 

[beachclub]

Absolutely you should do it. September is one of the slower times of the year, so you shouldn't have big lines or crowds at Epcot.

won't be slower anymore..touring plans meters will have to be drastically adjusted..this extra week is sure to stir up a lot more crowds..

 

[dkrauss]

won't be slower anymore..touring plans meters will have to be drastically adjusted..this extra week is sure to stir up a lot more crowds..

May have to change up our plan based on this info...........Do you think preview Thursday will be crowded?

Doug

 

[TheCollumsDoDisney]

It's worth doing it. I'm headed back for third year running during F&W. As for tips on things not to miss? It's all about the atmosphere and trying different things. The Fillet Minion ( i know! ) from canada is a good spend of a snack credit. Lobster Rolls in the american area are a nice sampler too. On the adult side of things, a flight of craft beer is a nice treat on a hot day. And make sure you get some free craisins!

Oh my husband is the founder of Icy Pint Athletics (IPA) Running Club. About thirty of his members are en Route right now to the princess half. He will LOVE the flight of craft beer!