2016 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: September 14 - November 14, 2016

[BwoZoo22]

subscribing..... We have never been to Food and Wine. We are going for the first time in Oct.

You're going to have a great time!

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

Two days before Chase booking was announced, Chase replied to someone on Twitter saying that they had "no indication of an early booking opportunity at this time."

I would say that things aren't unavailable until they're definitely not available, if that makes sense.

 

[lovingeire]

You cannot buy a gift card with a gift card. I bought the $200 one last year and had to pay with my credit card

No you can't buy a GC with a GC but you can load $1 dollar to activate a small one or big one and then transfer the money to make it more confortable.

That's what I thought, but I was confused by the recommendations before about combining gift cards since you have to activate the Festival GC with $200. I normally get Disney gift cards over time, but if the gift is good enough I'll just pony up the money for one when we get there since our second day will be at F&W.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Do these F&W gift cards ever expire?

No

 

[edk35]

You're going to have a great time!

I can't wait. We are flying down on Oct. 17th...my b'day. Then leaving the following Sunday.

 

[Straughn]

I have purchased both the wristlet festival gift card and last year, the full size one with the lanyard. I like the gift cards for several reasons:

1. I can control how much I spend. After you make a purchase, each receipt will show your remaining balance. You know what you started with and what you have left.

2. It is faster than any other method. No entering pins, signing receipts, waiting for credit cards to process.

3. While the Magic Bands are convenient, I prefer the gift cards for another reason. At the end of the trip, I don't get a resort folio which is many pages long because it has a bunch of small single purchases.

 

[brnrss34]

That's what I thought, but I was confused by the recommendations before about combining gift cards since you have to activate the Festival GC with $200. I normally get Disney gift cards over time, but if the gift is good enough I'll just pony up the money for one when we get there since our second day will be at F&W.

I get Giftcards over time at a discount also. Then I visit disneygiftcard. com and combine them up to $1000. So u could purchase oop for $200 one then later combine it with your other Giftcards. That way your not carrying around a bunch of Giftcards.

 

[lovingeire]

I get Giftcards over time at a discount also. Then I visit disneygiftcard. com and combine them up to $1000. So u could purchase oop for $200 one then later combine it with your other Giftcards. That way your not carrying around a bunch of Giftcards.

Last year I combined all of ours except the ones we got for Wine & Dine and it worked well. I should have combined them all onto the Wine & Dine half marathon ones, but I was so excited for them I just carried them around! LOL! Since I do get them over time and mostly free from Swagbucks and the like I'll definitely have some I get in advance. (Some will go towards our resort reservation.) Unless the gift is good enough I'll probably just get the mini one and transfer my others over.

 

[RachelTori]

Question about combining the gift cards: Can they be managed on an app or is it only at disneygiftcard.com? I've been a little nervous about combining all the $50's and $100's I've accumulated!

Thanks!

 

[ellie05]

Question about combining the gift cards: Can they be managed on an app or is it only at disneygiftcard.com? I've been a little nervous about combining all the $50's and $100's I've accumulated!

Thanks!

I don't think there is an app. I never had an issue combining them. Last trip we had a couple of high value GC since we bought our AP and never and issue much better than carrying a bunch of GC. Also if you loose it you can quickly transfer your fund to another one.

 

[brnrss34]

Question about combining the gift cards: Can they be managed on an app or is it only at disneygiftcard.com? I've been a little nervous about combining all the $50's and $100's I've accumulated!

Thanks!

Not an app disneygiftcard.com. Don't be nervous about combining. You can call the number on back of card to verify. You can have up to 5 cards with $1000 on each from the website. If ur super nervous just keep the cards but still combine. I've never had an issue. In fact I had a ticketed event planned that I had to cancel and it went back on the card I combined it on.

 

[RachelTori]

Thank you, ellie05 and brnrss34!

 

[Hikergirl]

I wanted to thank you guys for your recommendation about the Moroccan vs. Mediterranean pairing. I ended up booking the Moroccan because that is what dh requested. I guess I should have asked him first LOL.

 

[vettegirl]

Do we know if they will be doing the fastpasses for the eat to the beat concerts this year?

 

[Teddy189]

First time for F&W for my wife and I! For the culinary demos, what can we expect to get at them? A few food samplings and a few wine samples? Just curious and I haven't been able to find any info of specifics.

 

[loves to dive]

First time for F&W for my wife and I! For the culinary demos, what can we expect to get at them? A few food samplings and a few wine samples? Just curious and I haven't been able to find any info of specifics.

For the food demo the chef will cook the dish in front of you, there are overhead cameras and TVs so you can see it all. There is a moderator there who will be asking the chef questions and sort of filling in the gaps. She is very chatting and likes to taste the wine during the demo and most people dislike her. I have found her sometimes o.k., sometimes gets on your nerves and one time actually saved the day when it was obviously the chef's first time ever presenting and he was just basically cooking and she would have to prompt him to even tell what he was adding and why. You will be served a small sample of what was cooked along with a small serving of either the house white or house red wine. You will also get a copy of the recipe. Unless you book at the Festival Center right before the demo when the item is posted, all you will know in advance is the chef's name, where he cooks and what the main ingredient is, i.e. pork, chicken, shrimp, etc. You will not know the exact dish. I've had some that the dish was about 4 bites and some it was a good half serving of a real serving size. It is a main course dish or dessert. For the wine tastings, you usually get 3 wines from the distributor/vineyard to taste. It's probably about a 3 oz pour. Some will put out crackers to cleanse you pallet with and there are water pitchers and glasses out as well. A representative from the distributor/vineyard will give you background and walk you through the tasting.

 

[Teddy189]

For the food demo the chef will cook the dish in front of you, there are overhead cameras and TVs so you can see it all. There is a moderator there who will be asking the chef questions and sort of filling in the gaps. She is very chatting and likes to taste the wine during the demo and most people dislike her. I have found her sometimes o.k., sometimes gets on your nerves and one time actually saved the day when it was obviously the chef's first time ever presenting and he was just basically cooking and she would have to prompt him to even tell what he was adding and why. You will be served a small sample of what was cooked along with a small serving of either the house white or house red wine. You will also get a copy of the recipe. Unless you book at the Festival Center right before the demo when the item is posted, all you will know in advance is the chef's name, where he cooks and what the main ingredient is, i.e. pork, chicken, shrimp, etc. You will not know the exact dish. I've had some that the dish was about 4 bites and some it was a good half serving of a real serving size. It is a main course dish or dessert. For the wine tastings, you usually get 3 wines from the distributor/vineyard to taste. It's probably about a 3 oz pour. Some will put out crackers to cleanse you pallet with and there are water pitchers and glasses out as well. A representative from the distributor/vineyard will give you background and walk you through the tasting.

Thanks! Sounds like you have been to several of them, so I assume you have enjoyed them and have found them worth while time and cost wise. (Not that $15/ person is unreasonable) We'll have to do one for sure!

 

[loves to dive]

Thanks! Sounds like you have been to several of them, so I assume you have enjoyed them and have found them worth while time and cost wise. (Not that $15/ person is unreasonable) We'll have to do one for sure!

Yes, Sept. will be my third one. I actually do at least one culinary and one wine tasting demo every day of my trip. I go solo and just for F&W so I try to take advantage of a lot of what is offered. I have an AP so Mon-Thurs. we get a discount so the demos are $13 for those days. I have booked them in advance and I have also just walked in the festival center and walked by a board and been interested in the next one and just got tickets. Rarely are they sold out in advance and if you just want to see the demo and not taste the food, there are benches right outside the area you can sit on and watch it for free. The only actual meals I eat the whole time are breakfast and any food and wine pairing meals I've booked, otherwise I eat at the booths and the demos the entire trip.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

For my own sense of closure I emailed WDW Guest Services asking about the Premium Package. A CM called me today to let me know it will not happen for 2016. I know others already said this but I just wanted to add mine to the pile.

 

[Melanie415]

Oh man, no Premium Package We are staying at the BCV and were planning on going over to F&W Monday -Thursday evenings after touring parks earlier in the day with the kids. Kids eat dinner/have fun at camp while mom & dad do F&W. Been dreaming about this scenario for a year. We will be vacationing at Universal/WDW for 20 days and the last 4 we wanted to be more relaxed. Bummer.

How busy is it after 5pm? Are the lines really long? We will be there 10/23-10/28.