Crowds during Food and Wine fest.

[boggydoll]

How are the crowds in the other parks during the Food and Wine Fest @ EPCOT in Oct. ?

I can't decide when to book our trip. If the F&WF is going to add a lot to the crowds then I will book something at another time.

 

[mkutch]

The crowds aren't bad at all. I've been 3x during that time of year (Mid Oct to Mid Nov.). The crowds are typically light and the weather is great. It's my favorite time to go down there (besides Christmas of course). Book the trip!!!

 

[Darian]

DW and I were at the F&WF last year Oct 19-23... which was during the first week it was open. There were a lot of people BUT not horribly so. The lines for food and beverages at the "country" booths were pretty short... just long enough to let you get a good view of the treats they have for sale and then to decide which ones to get!

I have heard on the DIS that opening day is a horror and should be avoided. Aside from that go when its convenient.

Anyone heard if the schedule for the 2003 F&WF seminars has become available? Now that is what I'd make my travel dates around! The seminars are the thing to do. Don't miss 'em!

Darian

 

[boggydoll]

Thanks that is a relief. I really want to go mid Oct. so it is not too rainy but still nice and hot for the waterparks.

 

[Darian]

Thats why we plan on being down there in late oct. Plus who would want to miss MNSSHP?

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says....................Make sure part of your trip is during the F&W festival. Great op to try new things.
BTW The later you get into the year the better chance for less rain, and hurricanes. Late October would be good. Mid October will put you there during the PGA golf tournament, that adds many thousands to the parks.
Please try the F&W festival. You may find a new favorite food!
Had my first crab cake ever at EPCOT, and have had thousands since! The samples are rather small, so don't look for "value", but see it as a chance to try new things cheaply. If you don't like it you only blow 2-4 dollars.
I tried the crab cakes for one reason. I love crab, plain crab. Go to a restaurant and I saw the cakes for $12 to $20 as an entree. I wasn't gonna blow that much cash, to see someone turn my beloved crab into a cake! But for 3 bucks, lets try it!
BTW... Cheddar Cheese soup in Canada, the quesiadillas in mexico, the ribs where the meat fell off the bone, I forget which country.
You will pay, but you will never get to sample so many different foods in a day. Or two, as you will go back for more!

 

[cleo]

Great points, Disnee Dad!

Epcot is so huge that even when the crowds are heavier it absorbs them fairly easily. The Food and Wine Festival really is not to be missed. Do plan for quite a bit more time at Epcot during the festival however, because you may find youself walking back and forth a lot looking at the offerings at each of the booths.

 

[boggydoll]

We hadn't planned to do any of the F&WF b/c we have very young kids who would be bored. But we'll see.

I am glad you mentioned the PGA tournament, that is the kind of thing I want to avoid. do you know the dates?

Many thanks for the heads up.

 

[meuseman]

Disnee Dad - Good call. Totally agree

Ribs were in Germany. So good!!!

 

[ahutton]

The crowds for F&WF pick up considerably after dark, when most other parks and areas are closing down. If you want to enjoy sampling we have had the best luck doing so in the afternoon. DD loved the New Zeland lamb chop! They also had a kids booth that had some cool stuff for her.

 

[Krispe]

We were there in 2000. We stayed at the Universal studios area for Halloween and then went over to the Disney Resort for the rest of our trip. It was wonderful! Crowds were light and the weather was great.

The food and wine festival was totally great! All we did was snack and drink! The nights were a little chilly, not too bad, we just had very light weight jackets or sweatshirts and we were fine.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says............................... Get passports for the kids to get stamped at each country. Let them make masks and stuff. There are spots at every country to do arts and crafts. The samples are small enough you will finish your's before they finish the art stuff! Go midweek and at lunch time to early evening. Then go the front of the park as everyone heads to World Showcase. Spaceship Earth, a walk on and many of the other rides will be rather short as well.
Thats right, the ribs were in Germany! Went back at least three times! Was kinda feeling ripped off because it was like "OK, I know I like them, give me the three pound slab for $20.00!!!
But nooooooo, only samples! lol
Avoid EPCOT at night and on weekends, and you will never run into the dreaded crowds some other people seem to run into.
On last trip we did a EPCOT to MK to EPCOT in the evening to catch Illuminations and shop a little. The french stand had 4-5 people at 2:00 pm when we left. When we passed by at 7:00 the line was around 30!
I'm too lazy to find out when the tourny is, my guess is Oct.15-18 for the main rounds. Then give yourself a week, most will come before, but many will take the extra week after the tourney.

 

[disneefamily]

Disnee Dad Says.................................OK, I.m not that lazy, and it's a good thing as I guessed wrong on the dates.
FUNAI Classic at WDW is 10/20 to 10/26, with the real tourney on from 10/23 to 10/26.
If you can get in around 11/1 or 11/2 and leave 11/9 or 11/10, your trip will be sweet!!! If you can add extra days, Veterans's Day will be crowded, but it becomes your personal park from the day after Vet's day all the way up to the weekend before Thanksgiving. The dream 10 day trip would be from 11/13 to 11/22, getting out as the first Thanksgiving guys get in.
If you want maps send me a PM, they will be one year old, from our 11/02 trip, but the time is right, and you get to touch and feel the real thing!
We have four trips at this time of year, so ask away!

 

[boggydoll]

Well I think we will be sticking with our original dates, 10/18-10/25 We really want to do the water parks, so I'm concerned Nov. might start getting cool. I appreciate all your ideas, but I'm going to hope the golfers stay on the course. Thanks.

 

[jenelope]

We went during both the Food and Wine festival and the Golf Classic last year and didn't find it particularly crowded. We even went to the F&W on opening day! However, we also did the festival as lunch instead of dinner. Maybe that was the difference. Anyway, the longest lines were around the most familiar foods- US, Italian, Canadian and Australian.

My favorites were the Swedish, French and German booths, in that order. To me, the great thing about this festival is the ability to try new things without committing to a large, expensive portion. I highly recommend splitting the dishes. We tripled our capacity for experimentation by always carrying extra forks and splitting every dish. It saved us from either getting too full or throwing away what we didn't like.

 

[Dancind]

So do you carry cash for these samples? We usually charge everything to our room, does seem like this would slow things down a lot. Not going yet, but hope to someday soon! Diana

 

[jenelope]

We paid cash for all of ours. A lot of people did use room charge, but it seemed to go much faster with cash.

 

[Darian]

Did anyone try the aligator the Florida booth was serving? What was it like? I didn't have the courage.... maybe this year?

Darian

 

[mkutch]

Eat the aligator--it tastes like chicken. Be brave that's what the small samples are for!!!

 

[madcoco]

Didn't try Alligator there but have had it a number of times. Imho thought it was pretty good but not spectacular .The best being a smoked spread that they use to serve at Narcoosee's at GF. We loved the Grouper Cakes and the Key Lime wine they served last year at the FL booth. It is nice to go when it first opens as some stands can get long lines. However what we found to be a bit annoying over the years, is some booths do not open at advertised times. Hope they bring back Spain again. It was a wonderful addition.