Cali Food and wine vs Epcot food and wine

[jlwhitney]

How does the Cali food and wine compare to the epcot one?

We will be there for Cali's opening weekend , will it be crazy crowded because of that?

 

[j9isawesome]

It will be crowded for DCA standards but not as bad as Epcot on any f&w weekend. Our lines don’t get as crazy long & our guests don’t get crazy drunk w/as much frequency. Epcot has something like 30 booths but DCA only has 12 or 14 booths & they seem to spread them around the park more than they do at Epcot (but Epcot is bigger so you probably walk around the same distance in the end). The lanyard deal is a better value at Epcot & can’t be used on booze at DCA so really do the math if it is worth it if you were thinking of doing that. The quality of food & drinks are similar at both festivals. The price & portion sizes can be a bit of a better deal out at Epcot but it’s not too bad at DCA imo. It’s a bit different than Epcot’s but I really love DCA’s festivals & hope you will too.

 

[jlwhitney]

It will be crowded for DCA standards but not as bad as Epcot on any f&w weekend. Our lines don’t get as crazy long & our guests don’t get crazy drunk w/as much frequency. Epcot has something like 30 booths but DCA only has 12 or 14 booths & they seem to spread them around the park more than they do at Epcot (but Epcot is bigger so you probably walk around the same distance in the end). The lanyard deal is a better value at Epcot & can’t be used on booze at DCA so really do the math if it is worth it if you were thinking of doing that. The quality of food & drinks are similar at both festivals. The price & portion sizes can be a bit of a better deal out at Epcot but it’s not too bad at DCA imo. It’s a bit different than Epcot’s but I really love DCA’s festivals & hope you will too.

Thank you more worried about having increased crowds then food and wine. We may sample something if it sounds good but overall food and wine has never really been our thing.

 

[rentayenta]

I have only been to Epcot's F&W once and DCA's twice. I much prefer DCA's; I like DCA as a whole much more than Epcot. I find the quality of items to be similar and DCA is a little less crowded. We also live 8 miles from DCA v cross country for Epcot so I might be biased.

 

[ej119]

Been to DCA's F&W three times (four in March 2019) and Epcot F&W once (going back for seconds in September). I like the intimacy of DCA's festival, but the sheer quantity of booths in Epcot is amazing -- we could only scratch the surface during our week-long visit in 2017. However, Anaheim's weather trounces Orlando's, so I found it difficult to drink red wine or eat hot dishes in Epcot (in October!) whereas DCA should be lovely, but might have a little rain in March.

A recurring report for the past few years out of DCA's F&W opening weekend is that they seem to underestimate quantities and run out of items. Maybe that won't be an issue in 2019.

 

[Iceman93]

If all you're worried about is surging crowds due to the F&W festival at DCA, then don't worry. At all.

 

[j9isawesome]

Thank you more worried about having increased crowds then food and wine. We may sample something if it sounds good but overall food and wine has never really been our thing.

You should be fine then. The bump in crowds it draws are pretty focused on the festival related activities. Ride lines don’t get crazy long because of the festival. If it’s the crush of crowds you want to avoid then just look at the park map and avoid where the booths are concentrated (in front of Little Mermaid ride & along the main path leading to that part of the park, but you could take the path that goes by Grizzly River Run instead to avoid it), the rest of the park is still pretty normal crowd wise.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Day & night. Crowds are MUCH lighter at DCA. Being about 1/3 the size of Epcot F&W makes it a lot easier to walk as well!