2020 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival - Has Now Ended.

[helenm29]

I think I'm at that point where I don't feel comfortable out there. I am Diabetic and over 60 so a little more susceptible to things...I don't see how they are going to be handing out food to people and be able to eat the food ...you will probably be wearing a mask so they will probably be dirty. If I can get at least most of my money back, we're going next year. Good luck and have fun to every one who gets to go this year...please stay healthy and safe!

 

[Lilsia]

I think I'm at that point where I don't feel comfortable out there. I am Diabetic and over 60 so a little more susceptible to things...I don't see how they are going to be handing out food to people and be able to eat the food ...you will probably be wearing a mask so they will probably be dirty. If I can get at least most of my money back, we're going next year. Good luck and have fun to every one who gets to go this year...please stay healthy and safe!

They won't make guests wear masks. They can make their employees do so but there will be too much push back from guests if that is one of the requirements to get into the park. People, especially kids, will be taking them off all the time. They know this and I can't see them even trying to attempt this kind of requirement.

 

[Micca]

We have a F&W trip planned in October, but I don't know how they can pull it off (if the park is even open.) There are just too many variables serving food outdoors. Hope I'm wrong though and we all get to go

 

[RickP330]

We are attending in mid October, What sites are you guys following to keep abreast of the schedule of dates release? I want to stay on top of it so I can get my ADR's in, I don't want to miss out on anything!
Much Thanks,
Rick

 

[Lilsia]

We are attending in mid October, What sites are you guys following to keep abreast of the schedule of dates release? I want to stay on top of it so I can get my ADR's in, I don't want to miss out on anything!
Much Thanks,
Rick

The Disney Food Blog will have the most comprehensive information and they are the ones who get it out first. Definitely sign up for their emails.

 

[crazy4wdw]

We have a F&W trip planned in October, but I don't know how they can pull it off (if the park is even open.) There are just too many variables serving food outdoors. Hope I'm wrong though and we all get to go

I'm thinking the same thing. It will difficult for Disney to pull the festival off this year. You'd need to have social distancing for people standing in lines for the booths and for people to eat their selections from the booths. Attendance at the food and wine pairings would have to be scaled down (you couldn't have people sitting next to each other at tables). I'm sure Disney's energy will be focused on the parameters of just getting the parks back open and running. I also wonder if the Halloween and Christmas parties will need to be cancelled.

 

[crazy4wdw]

When does detailed info usually come out? I'm sure "usual" is more difficult this year...

We're already past some of the announcement dates from last year.
Official dates for the 2019 festival were released on April 3rd and information on the culinary demonstrations, beverage seminars, and special events was released on April 29th.

 

[Mazz519]

We have plans for a Oct Visit but just dont see this happening... Last year we went in Sep for 5 days and only went to Epcot.... This year we were planning the same

 

[tinkerbell1991]

I can't wait to visit again this year

 

[Doug S]

Pete made a great point last night that the booths are actually a more preferable option since you don't have to be inside. If there are hand sanitizing stations right before you get your food and the dishes come with the utensils already provided, I think the festival could work. Obviously they'll scale back and only have the super popular booths open, which I'm fine with. It's been getting pretty overwhelming the last few years.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Pete made a great point last night that the booths are actually a more preferable option since you don't have to be inside. If there are hand sanitizing stations right before you get your food and the dishes come with the utensils already provided, I think the festival could work. Obviously they'll scale back and only have the super popular booths open, which I'm fine with. It's been getting pretty overwhelming the last few years.

Wouldn’t it be better to have more booths though? To spread out the crowds more?

 

[merry_nbright]

Following

 

[crazy4wdw]

Pete made a great point last night that the booths are actually a more preferable option since you don't have to be inside. If there are hand sanitizing stations right before you get your food and the dishes come with the utensils already provided

I still have concerns with social distancing. Can Disney really make sure that people are six feet apart while waiting in line for the booths? I have been in several grocery and drug stores over the last few weeks where the floors have six foot distances marked on them and most people ignore them.

 

[OKW Lover]

Can Disney really make sure that people are six feet apart while waiting in line for the booths?

Of course they can't. Its up to the individuals to be responsible for their actions.

 

[tuckymom]

Perhaps I'm naive but I have a hard time seeing WDW parks closed until 2021.

With that being said, I don't see F&W happening this year. The lines can be long, stretching into the walkway areas, with lots of employees in small tight booths preparing food...then add in the drunk people who can barely stand up straight, much less follow social distancing guidelines.

 

[Doug S]

Wouldn’t it be better to have more booths though? To spread out the crowds more?

I was thinking more along the lines of dishes available. Profit is going to be the big focus for Disney, followed by dishes that don't require touching with your hands. If they have only a quarter traffic (assuming extreme capacity limits) of what usually comes through, there's no way they can offer the variety they've been doing the last few years.

The lines can be long, stretching into the walkway areas, with lots of employees in small tight booths preparing food...then add in the drunk people who can barely stand up straight, much less follow social distancing guidelines.

A lot of food dishes are prepared backstage and just reheated in the booths. I would assume this becomes standard practice for nearly everything so they can only staff the booth kitchens with 1 or 2 people. There's no way we see lines as crazy as they've been for the past few years. If they do go with an entry reservation system, it's just going to be impossible to get an Epcot reservation on weekends during the festival. I feel like most people will follow social distancing well if CM's aren't screaming to fill in all the available space anymore. I've personally always stayed a good bit behind the group in front of me in line. Not just for health reasons, but who really smells that good after a few hours outside in Florida

 

[gharter]

We're already past some of the announcement dates from last year.
Official dates for the 2019 festival were released on April 3rd and information on the culinary demonstrations, beverage seminars, and special events was released on April 29th.

Good to know. I thought we had information by now last year.
Not too surprising they would be behind in announcements at this time.

 

[brewhome]

I’m thinking that if they are still limiting attendance through the fall (and I hope they do!), they may be able to still hold the Festival with a few modifications. While I don’t really want them to remove any booths (because I love to eat and drink all the things!!), they might need to take out a few in the areas where they are more packed in, such as the IG, the area where the Cheese Studio and Chocolate Studio are, and maybe in Germany. Then they could add in more standing tables and spread them out more. They could also get rid of the self-serve silverware and napkin dispensers and hand that stuff out at the booth with the food, have more hand sanitizer stations set up around the booths, mark up the lines for appropriate spacing, etc. I don’t typically attend the special events but I think if they cut the number of people down for each and build in appropriate spacing, they could make it work. They’d probably also have to rethink the ones that have a buffet, like the Parisian breakfast... perhaps turn them into plated events or cancel those.

The Festival is a huge money maker so I really think they are going to figure out a way to make it work. I’m one of those people that gladly overpays for small drinks and bites because I just love it so much... and there are many more people like me. We had to reschedule our March girls trip to October and we have an anniversary trip planned for November, so it just happens to be that this year we’ll be there twice during Festival time. For the October trip, we have one TS ressie for Wine Bar George and we will just roll with QS if there’s no F&W, or check for last minute ressies. For the November trip, my ADR day is Monday so I think we’ll make a few more TS than we normally would as a backup plan, and if the Festival does go on we’ll cancel them.

 

[gharter]

The Festival is a huge money maker so I really think they are going to figure out a way to make it work.

I agree. I just wonder how different it will be with all the changes that most likely will still be in place. Will it still have the same feel? Of course, that can be said for all of WDW.
Hoping it happens and we are able to keep our reservations for this fall.

 

[shoegal9]

I think the festival will happen- and I don't think that masks will be mandatory anymore by then. I read on another thread that a June wedding was rescheduled for the end of August and a Disney wedding coordinator told them that by that time they don't think masks will be a requirement anymore. Of course, everything is speculation and should be taken with not just a grain, but a handful of salt. But if evidence of slowed disease transmission in hot, humid weather with sunlight proves to be the case, I can see the mask requirement being changed to to optional come Labor Day. Also, although no festival dates have been confirmed, I do remember hearing in March and April (after the closure) that bands were signing on to the Eat to the Beat concert series. So, that probably means that some sort of planning is ongoing. I have a reservation from 8/31-9/13, so I am just keeping my fingers crossed for major improvements in the next three months.