2016 Food and Wine Festival (Noob)

[inkedupmomma]

Never been, ever! What do I need to know?? Whats not to be missed, what can and should be missed? Just Dh and I going! TIA!

 

[HappyGrape]

Check easywdw pdf report from previous years. He does awesome reviews of every item. And bring tons of cash

 

[Hopefully]

Also check the Disney Food Blog.
Take a look at prior years menus and special events.
Things are pretty much the same year to year.

We love the food booths around World Showcase. We have never tried any of the special "Signature Dining Events" as we are happy to "Nosh Around the World". Be prepared with what you would like to do, as many events sell out within hours of ADR's opening up during the late summer.

 

[craigkerstiens]

You can look back at past years for reviews of booths and once the festival starts a number of reviews will start popping up. In terms of how you should plan, that's entirely up to you. Many will forego a dining reservation and simply wander the world showcase and sample. There are enough booths for you to be able to do this for a number of meals, so if you prefer variety and really want to get the full experience then plan for some lunches or dinners to do this. Others will simply snack here and there, and still do dinner as planned.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Prepare to spend a lot of time in line and not do much else. We did our first IFWF last year and we did enjoy it but the lines to get the food are pretty bad (we went on a weekday). Some of them had a 30+ minute wait so we skipped those. Even in the shorter lines you can still expect to spend 10-15 minutes.

 

[jimmytammy]

Try lots of foods and be sure to check out the musical acts, even if you arent in to the particular band, its free and you may be surprised you will enjoy the music

 

[steviethegreat]

My plan is to get there early and hit the booths we want to try the most first. And then my mom and I are going to split into different lines so that we're not standing there together. Disneyfoodblog also has a lot of information on the food from last year and previous years. It all looks really good! But I think dividing to conquer will save us a lot of time.

 

[FoodieFriend]

Our first F&WF was last Sept & it was wonderful! Because we were at WDW for 12 days, we decided to try the Premium package & we thought it was well worth the high price tag for it. One of the benefits of the package is that you have access to a reserved seating area that have CMs ready to get your food for you. No lines to wait in & areas were shaded. The reserved areas were available from Mon-Thurs only so some might say there's no lines anyway, but I thought the best thing was the seating areas! where everyone else is struggling with plates of food & using the top of trash cans as a table, we had wonderful tables with umbrellas ready for us whenever we wanted. PLUS the CMs were all very kind & fun to talk to while we ate. Having 4 days to try all the booths & time to return if we wanted to try dishes again was wonderful & we thought it was a great extra. btw, we were a group of 4 adults/no kids.

 

[DizDaD7]

Prepare to spend a lot of time in line and not do much else. We did our first IFWF last year and we did enjoy it but the lines to get the food are pretty bad (we went on a weekday). Some of them had a 30+ minute wait so we skipped those. Even in the shorter lines you can still expect to spend 10-15 minutes.

That's what FP's are for...

 

[DizDaD7]

We've done F&W 3 times & anxiously awaiting our 4th this Nov.

Never is it that crazy in our experiences during the weekdays... Even weekends are a lil crazier, but never unmanageable. I don't recall waiting any more than 15 mins. at worst on a weekend......Maybe we were lucky..

 

[Disneyliscious]

That's what FP's are for...

If I ever have to get to the point of using a FP+ (if it were an option) to stand in line for food, I'll need to rethink my priorities lol

 

[DizDaD7]

If I ever have to get to the point of using a FP+ (if it were an option) to stand in line for food, I'll need to rethink my priorities lol

Heh heh....Very true...Let's hope that it never gets 2 that point.

 

[inkedupmomma]

Our first F&WF was last Sept & it was wonderful! Because we were at WDW for 12 days, we decided to try the Premium package & we thought it was well worth the high price tag for it. One of the benefits of the package is that you have access to a reserved seating area that have CMs ready to get your food for you. No lines to wait in & areas were shaded. The reserved areas were available from Mon-Thurs only so some might say there's no lines anyway, but I thought the best thing was the seating areas! where everyone else is struggling with plates of food & using the top of trash cans as a table, we had wonderful tables with umbrellas ready for us whenever we wanted. PLUS the CMs were all very kind & fun to talk to while we ate. Having 4 days to try all the booths & time to return if we wanted to try dishes again was wonderful & we thought it was a great extra. btw, we were a group of 4 adults/no kids.

Premium dining package or is this a premium package especially for F&W?

 

[inkedupmomma]

Thanks for all the info everyone! What are these dining experiences some are speaking of? Different then the normal ADR? I will also check out all the awesome sites you suggested, just wondering if anyone had first hand experience with these doing experiences.

As for lines, WHO CARES!!!! I'm going to Disney withOUT my kids, wahooooo! LOLOLOL Waiting in line with my husband sounds delightful right now. LOVE LOVE LOVE my kids, but going to WDW, especially during F&W one for the first time is going to be awesome. Lines wont matter, no bickering over what rides to go on, or hangry kids, just us, who can do what we want when we want LOLOL. I know I sound awful, but this momma misses alone time with her husband!

 

[PSUGuy]

Avoid WS on Saturday, be prepared to go elsewhere on a Fri night if crowds are too much for you, other than that we've found WS to be not crowded at all during weekdays. The Fisherman's Pie in Ireland is to die for, we grab 2 of them and 2 beers and plop ourselves in the Rose&Crown patio area. They have gift cards on a bracelet, small credit card-like things that you pre load with cash or by your real credit card. When making a purchase at a kiosk you just swipe the card, get a receipt that shows your remaining balance and it saves you from accumulating a pocket full of change.

Don't miss the concert series, the first show is usually the most crowded but some acts are so popular that all 3 are crowded.

Bill From PA

 

[inkedupmomma]

Avoid WS on Saturday, be prepared to go elsewhere on a Fri night if crowds are too much for you, other than that we've found WS to be not crowded at all during weekdays. The Fisherman's Pie in Ireland is to die for, we grab 2 of them and 2 beers and plop ourselves in the Rose&Crown patio area. They have gift cards on a bracelet, small credit card-like things that you pre load with cash or by your real credit card. When making a purchase at a kiosk you just swipe the card, get a receipt that shows your remaining balance and it saves you from accumulating a pocket full of change.

Don't miss the concert series, the first show is usually the most crowded but some acts are so popular that all 3 are crowded.

Bill From PA

Since we will have magic bands, can they be used just like the cards that get swiped? same idea, right? Although I do like the cute wrist cards lol! we are only there wed-monday, so will probably hit it up on the weekend at some point, fully knowing that it will be extra crowded. Thanks for the tips. I still cant find anything on the signature dining though :/

 

[PSUGuy]

Since we will have magic bands, can they be used just like the cards that get swiped? same idea, right? Although I do like the cute wrist cards lol! we are only there wed-monday, so will probably hit it up on the weekend at some point, fully knowing that it will be extra crowded. Thanks for the tips. I still cant find anything on the signature dining though :/

I BELIEVE the MBs will do the trick but for some reason wifey and I just don't like charging to the room or with anything other than a real CC. Besides, the gift card allows you some budgetary control. You pre-load it and you can't go beyond that without putting on more $$.

Bill From PA

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

I would suggest the day you are planning to go to the F&W don't make dinner reservations. In the past we ate a big breakfast a little late so we would be hungry and ready to start or trip around WS around 4:00. Also instead of buying two of the same thing we bough one and shared it, if we really liked it we went back for another.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes MB will work fine. You'll have to type in your PIN with every transaction though.

 

[FoodieFriend]

Premium dining package or is this a premium package especially for F&W?

Since we will have magic bands, can they be used just like the cards that get swiped? same idea, right? Although I do like the cute wrist cards lol! we are only there wed-monday, so will probably hit it up on the weekend at some point, fully knowing that it will be extra crowded. Thanks for the tips. I still cant find anything on the signature dining though :/

Prior to the start of the F&WF, special events & the Premium Packages are released, if you research last year's event on Disney Food Blog, you can see what was being offered. No guarantees on what they're offering this year, but it will give you an idea what you keep an eye out for. I purchased the Premium Package for $199. it was available for use only Mon-Thurs & included access to 11 shaded dining areas with tables & chairs. it was a roped off section only for those who paid for the package. there were CMs at each area who would take your food order & get your dishes very quickly. for our group, THAT was the highlight of the package. for some reason, there's not a lot of seating areas along the World Showcase areas & at most they have benches, but no tables. there are many stories of people using the tops of trash cans as a table if they ordered more than 1 dish & 1 drink per person. it was not something our group wanted to deal with, so we really appreciated having guaranteed tables & chairs to enjoy our food. Some other posts have suggested bringing in your own tray to make eating easier.
The PP also included a food OR drink seminar/demonstration and an Illuminations Sparkling Dessert party both to take place during your use week (Mon-Thurs) as well as a swag bag with a special edition magic band, bottle of wine & wine glass.
For our group & the time frame we were attending, this was well worth it. but from what you mentioned about your schedule above, this might not be a good value for you, plus you don't mind standing in line. Other events you & your husband might enjoy would be the special event dinners or demonstrations offered throughout the week.

We also attended the Parisian Breakfast event that's offered only during F&WF. It was nice but very crowded! Almost rubbing elbows with our neighbors! The food was very good & very filling! Reviews with pictures of this event from '14 are available on Disney Food Blog. We also got a gift bag from Bonne Maman at the end of the event. if you like French pastries & mimosa, this is a good event for you & DH.

For our group, since we don't drink alcohol, a big chunk of events didn't really interest us (mixology demos, tequila dinners, wine pairings etc), but we really enjoyed all the food booths & free concerts. It was something we'd definitely attend again in the future!