Drinking around the world, during F&W

[JConklin]

Hi Everyone!
My fiance' and I are going to Disney World this October for our honeymoon!! (so excited!!) And we are planning on spending the day at Epcot during their Food and Wine Festival. We wanted to try the drinking around the world adventure, but with the F&W booths, were curious if it would be better to do the usual 11 countries or try the drinks mostly from the booths?

So, what are your opinions? Have any of you done the drinking around the world? What were your favorite drinks? And for those who have done F&W, how big are the drinks from the booths?

Thanks!!

 

[kpearl]

First, congratulations on your upcoming marriage! My fiance and myself are getting married this September and visiting the World for our honeymoon right after. So we'll be there during F&W as well! This will be our first F&W experience and we plan on spending a day dedicated to drinking around the world and sampling all the different treats the booths have to offer.

I read a few F&W TR/DTR on here to see pictures/see suggestions and I also looked over this blog to see last years menus (although I'm sure there will be some changes, it seems like they keep a lot of the same items) http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-booths-menus-and-food-photos/. Going by this I did a "F&W snack/drink list" on my PTR with photos of items that I need to try during my time down there I hope this helps!

 

[JConklin]

First, congratulations on your upcoming marriage! My fiance and myself are getting married this September and visiting the World for our honeymoon right after. So we'll be there during F&W as well! This will be our first F&W experience and we plan on spending a day dedicated to drinking around the world and sampling all the different treats the booths have to offer.

I read a few F&W TR/DTR on here to see pictures/see suggestions and I also looked over this blog to see last years menus (although I'm sure there will be some changes, it seems like they keep a lot of the same items) http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2015-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-booths-menus-and-food-photos/. Going by this I did a "F&W snack/drink list" on my PTR with photos of items that I need to try during my time down there I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for the tips and congrats! And congratulations yourself!! Have fun on your honeymoon!

 

[danny1649]

I'm not being judgmental but know your limit. I've seen so many puking into bushes. Congratulations and have magical time at WDW. Please I don't think or implying you are going to be drunk. But heads up you will run into a bunch that didn't know their limit.

 

[PaintsWindColors]

I completed Drinking Around the World with just the 11 pavilions in 2014 and then completed a revised version of it last year for the Flower and Garden festival. I say 'revised' because there were some items offered at the booths that sounded more interesting than the typical drinks offered at the pavilions. For year-round options, I enjoy the Grand Marnier slush from France but at the Flower and Garden festival they had the La Vie en Rose slush (vodka, St Germain Liquor, and white/red cranberry juices) so I opted for that instead. I am going to F&W for the first time this year and will probably try to stick to the booths to complete the challenge but go back for my faves if I have time.

 

[georgina]

Never been to F&W, it's on my list for the future, but my favorite drink at the regular booths is Tipsy Ducks in Love at the China Joy of Tea kiosk. Have a great trip!

 

[loves to dive]

If you are only going to be there for one day it's going to be hard to both eat and drink at every booth. We've done the drink around the world during F&G and stuck to beer one day, did wine tastings the next and food booths in between. There were 3 adults and we shared everything. If you are drinking at the regular booths and not food and wine booths, the servings can be full sized. If you are drinking at the F&W booths, they are much smaller and are focused more on wine and a few beer offerings. I don't think it would be possible to hit both the F&W booths and the regular booths in one day.

 

[lpizzuro123]

If you are going to be there for F&W Festival, make sure you get a special F&W Passport (given out free). It lists all the countries F&W booths and all their food and drink offerings. You can follow along with the passport and when you get something to eat or drink at the booths make a little check mark next to what you had. Each booth also has a stamp and they will stamp your passport when you order the food. This is fun to do, and you can keep a list of what you had and also make notes in the passport. It's a great (free) memory of your honeymoon.

 

[ars0525]

Look at the booths first & see if you want to try those since the countries are always there. The booth drink sizes are smaller from what I have seen/tried.

I agree with know your limits/keep track of how you're feeling...especially in the hot sun.

Also to avoid the crowds & lines try to go on a week day rather than Sat/Sun.

Congrats, have fun, enjoy!!!

 

[Stefecatzz]

I would advise #1: taking advantage of free ice water to go from any QS or full service lounge in the park to stay hydrated. Heat stroke can really catch up on you seemingly without notice & is no way to spend any amount of a vacation.

And 2: when the menus are released for F&W, look them over to see if there are drinks that sound appealing to you & also look at the menus for the stands/lounges to have a rough idea of things you want to try before you get there. Keep in mind, value has been way less in the past couple years since they began only serving sample sized portions of drinks with no option to get regular size. But if I'm not mistaken, this year for F&G, they went back to regular sized drinks so maybe they will do the same at F&W? I understand the reasoning behind wanting to limit portions for guests who overindulge but if I like something, I want a full sized not a tiny sample.

Congrats btw & have a safe, fun trip!

 

[com_op_2000]

Try the tequila sampler (3 shots) at the bar inside the EPCOT Mexico pavilion La Cava del Tequila.
At the Scottish stand try the scotch shots platter.

 

[wilkeliza]

Stay hydrated! Drink water between every alcoholic beverage. It may not seem hot but too many people get dehydrated drinking around the world.

There are 22 or more stops during F&W (that includes the regular 11 countries) so if you want to do the F&W addition of Drink Around the World it is best to share. Do not buy flights. Pick one beverage in each country and split it between you and your fiance. Also pace yourself. You have from 11 am until 9 or 10pm to drink. There is no need to be through with the countries and onto round 2. Some people try to pack in 2 of 3 rounds in the day and then end up stupid drunk. If at any point you feel yourself getting beyond tipsy stop, eat, have water and wait it out before getting another. Some drinks are deceivingly alcoholic. There was one shot flight in Japan that tasted like jolly ranchers. My friend got me piss drunk on them. They were there during the Holidays Around the World thing and not F&W but since that experience I warn everyone that a drink may be more alcoholic than it tastes haha.

 

[cobright]

I consider myself something of an alcoholic savant and possibly an expert on drinking around the world. For credentials, I have completed a single day DATW trip during F&W; this I consider to be my magnum opus. Prior to that trip I had also completed a single day Double DATW (around the world twice in one visit) and before that I made a complete DATW tour two days in a row.

Here are my tips for success:

• Start practicing now.
  • Any mention of drinking amounts or rates of drinks that follow are personalized to my own experience. Find where your own limits are well in advance of your trip if possible.
• Burst drinking is more efficient than pacing yourself.
  • What this means is instead of one drink every 60 minutes or whatever, it's best to drink 3 drinks in one hour and then take an hour off. Contrary to popular belief, your body does not metabolize alcohol at a constant rate, You will burn through the drinks faster if you load the system then take a shorter break to clear it out.
• Shots and cocktails are easier to manage than beer and wine.
  • This is another one that is counter-intuitive. But the reality is, like a strong coffee from starbucks, once you get a bit of wine or beer into you they start going down pretty fast. But they load the alcohol into your system with a lot of buffer and you can get far down the rabbit's hole before you realize you've been over-served. Then you got a long slog back to sobriety or worse, your judgement declines past the critical event horizon and you increase your intake until you're the guy puking in the shrubs.
  • Three short drinks then take 30-60 minutes eating and drinking ice tea. You'll probably be ready for another 2 or 3 drink burst.
• Obvious stuff, have a trustworthy drinking buddy. Preferably one who will be more sober than you.
• The Singapore Sling from China Pavilion is murderous. This drink upset my first attempt at a F&W DATW, 3 drinks from the end. Should have had a canto-loupee, can drink those non-stop.
• Hydrate yourself in a very specific fashion
  • What I mean here is it is better to drink a lot of non-alcoholic drinks before during and after your trip around the world but you don't want to fill up on water as that will actually slow down the processing of the alcohol.
  • Instead, drink iced tea or iced coffee or water and a mild diuretic supplement. You want to be flushing your system not filling it with water. Expect to pee a lot.
• Finally, don't be afraid to back down a notch and take 2 days to clear the checklist. No shame in that. Throwing up on a kid in the line to Maelstrom ... as I have seen happen ... is shameful.

 

[LuciMarie]

Congratulations first off. I know three other couples all spending their honeymoons (delayed or otherwise) in Disney this October.
I agree with everyone above regardless of how you do it stay hydrated. I also agree with modified drinking travels. If you spend two days in Epcot spend one day doing the regular and the second on booths.
From my own experience at F&G if you travel with someone else and split your drinks you could probably do the regular Drinking Around the World and get whatever you want at the booths.
I'll be there for F&W as well. I generally will do a drink or food at every other booth on my first loop around (because I really love walking through Epcot). On my second loop I'll take a look at everything else.
Honestly get one of the F&W passports ahead of time (or download the PDF online in September) and let that help you decide.