***Epcot Food And Wine Festival Info 2008***

[DisneyHog]

Question for all you more experienced Food and Wine people. We are attending the festival this year and our friends have to leave on Wednesday of our week. We are going to Cirque Tuesday night at 9 PM and I am trying to decide on food before the show for their last night. Right now I have Jiko booked at 6 PM but I am also considering changing to the Morocco food and wine pairing. We have done Coral Reef and Sake/Sushi before and loved them, but we aren't sure that Morocco would be better than Jiko. What do you think?

 

[oybolshoi]

Question for all you more experienced Food and Wine people. We are attending the festival this year and our friends have to leave on Wednesday of our week. We are going to Cirque Tuesday night at 9 PM and I am trying to decide on food before the show for their last night. Right now I have Jiko booked at 6 PM but I am also considering changing to the Morocco food and wine pairing. We have done Coral Reef and Sake/Sushi before and loved them, but we aren't sure that Morocco would be better than Jiko. What do you think?

This is just my opinion, but I think you're better off sticking with dinner at Jiko. Everyone can choose what they want to eat as opposed to having to eat what is presented as part of the F&W pairing event. Also, and this again is just my opinion based on a past event we did in Morocco, I don't think $55 per person plus tax is worth it at Restaurant Marrakesh. That was the least satisfactory of all the pairings we've tried ... the food, the presentation, and the service were all sub-par compared with other venues.

Hopefully you'll get more than one opinion here to base your decision on. All I can say is that Jiko has been an incredible meal each time we've had dinner there - I don't see how you could go wrong with that.

 

[Mish19]

I will be there the 28th also, and was wondering about the presenters:
9/28: Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito - Baked in Brooklyn, NY

any imput?

I went to the Sweet Sunday two years ago that had Matt Lewis there. His desserts were sooo good! He made delicious chocolate cloud cookies, brownies, and marshmallows. I was not disappointed. In fact, I live in Brooklyn and have made a couple of trips to get the cloud cookies!!

 

[BriarRosie]

Question for all you more experienced Food and Wine people. We are attending the festival this year and our friends have to leave on Wednesday of our week. We are going to Cirque Tuesday night at 9 PM and I am trying to decide on food before the show for their last night. Right now I have Jiko booked at 6 PM but I am also considering changing to the Morocco food and wine pairing. We have done Coral Reef and Sake/Sushi before and loved them, but we aren't sure that Morocco would be better than Jiko. What do you think?

Go with Jiko! I thought the Morocco food and wine pairing was pretty horrible overall, compared to the other pairings I've done. (I've done pairings at Japan, Coral Reef, Le Cellier, Bistro.) I've never had a bad meal at Jiko.

Be sure you get seated by 8:30pm at Cirque if you can. There is a pre-show that you shouldn't miss.

 

[Inkmahm]

Thanks for the update!





OK, this is just my opinion, but don't over-schedule! PFTS on 10/18, then a Sweet Sunday and MNSSHP on 10/19, might be a bit much in such a short span of time! I'd choose PFTS and MNSSHP and skip the Sweet Sunday. (again, JMHO! ) Monday would be a good day to visit some of the food booths on World Showcase and maybe do one or 2 of the free wine seminars or cooking demonstrations.

Your credit card will be charged at the time of booking - and is non-refundable so make sure your mom or sister confirm (and then re-confirm!) what the CM is booking. The phone # to call is 407-WDW-DINE.

Thanks for the advice! I always DO tend to schedule a lot...

 

[oybolshoi]

Thanks for the advice! I always DO tend to schedule a lot...

Don't we all?

 

[SamSam]

Question for all you more experienced Food and Wine people. We are attending the festival this year and our friends have to leave on Wednesday of our week. We are going to Cirque Tuesday night at 9 PM and I am trying to decide on food before the show for their last night. Right now I have Jiko booked at 6 PM but I am also considering changing to the Morocco food and wine pairing. We have done Coral Reef and Sake/Sushi before and loved them, but we aren't sure that Morocco would be better than Jiko. What do you think?

I have to agree with the other posters, stick with Jikos. We enjoy Morrocon food but their Food and Wine pairings are always the same and very boring. We have never been disappointed in Jiko's.

 

[gismo1554]

That's too bad ... I'm so sorry. It's getting more and more difficult for us to plan for some of these events, too, given the price increases. I wonder when Epcot is going to reach a price threshold on some of these events? Sooner or later it's going to get to a point where it just doesn't make sense to spend the money on certain of these events, although I'm sure there are plenty of people who have waaaaay more disposable income than the hubby and I do.

I personally find it frustrating because the variety just isn't there in the food booths any longer, and by that I mean that the menus aren't changing much at all. I can look at my programs from 2006 and 2007 and compare it to the partial list of marketplace booths for this year and I'm less than impressed with the effort to change things up. Granted, there are some new offerings but not many. Take the booth that sells all the Sam Adams beers ... are you telling me that a crab cake and a lobster roll are the only items that anyone from Boston ever eats? Puh-lease. If you ask me it's laziness and complacency on the part of the Festival organizers ... it smacks of a total lack of effort to offer new and interesting tasting portions.

Just my opinion. I know we'll still have fun but they're making it easier and easier to wean ourselves from the Festival and consider other options for our annual October trip. I'm not even sure right now if I want to go back next October before our cruise ... I'm kinda leaning towards USO right now.

Although I agree with you on the booths things I also think an added problem is they go too much with 'What people like' and choose based on previous year. I understand they have to keep popular items but they should limit it to just 1 item per booth the same each year and go with the most popular. Looking at the entries the Canadian booth is identicle to last years!!!

I don't see why they can't make at least 1 new item per booth each year and if its not popular so what! I'm sure that Canadians can do something other than the maple syrup brulee (although the cheese soup should always be there as this has to be the no 1 stop for most people doing food and wine).As said 1 per stand or even 2 per stand being the same wouldn't bother me but all being the same is depressing!

 

[gismo1554]

Sure, and a lot of locals too.

But my impression of the recent moves by Walt Disney World make me believe the following:

1) WDW doesn't care about catering to the locals or frequent travelers because they can make more cash off everyone else who isn't concerned about whether or not they keep things fresh. (Of course their idea of fresh is closing PI to put in more shops.) All we do is cut the potential profit base regarding food and merchandise even though we did shell out for DVC.

2) WDW isn't terribly interested in the custom of childless adults. Families spend more.

HERE HERE! I AGREE COMPLETELY!

 

[gismo1554]

So is Dis ...
The emphasis is theirs. I also found this intriguing, in regard to the Bocuse d'Or culinary competition:
Is there a way to get into the World Showplace without entering the park? Note, it doesn't say "Park Admission included".

Yes there is. You can go through the staff entrance next to Guest Services at the front of the park and through the back way. You can do this for Party for the Senses too as long as you don't want to see the concert before hand. (Also means you get a sneaky look at the backstage areas)

 

[gismo1554]

Here is a guess - this site does not give the location of the Bocuse d'Or Grand Gala, but it does say park admission is not required. Either the gala is not taking place in the World Showplace, or they're waiving park admission like they do for the wine schools. So it's entirely possible there will be a PFTS on 9/27.

As said in previous post you can (and people have) get to World Showplace via Backstage route. People did in 2003/2004 when I worked in the UK pavillion. How they monitor whether you pop out of World Showplace after the event starts I don't know but they do allow you to enter through Backstage area without Park Admission

 

[gismo1554]

Well other than the Tastes of the City things I don't think we're bothering with any events this year. It seems to be that they have arranged everything to fit in to the middle of the scheduled time for food and wine rather than at the front or end! We are going the last 2 weeks and there isn't that much on from what I can see

 

[pixie08]

As said in previous post you can (and people have) get to World Showplace via Backstage route. People did in 2003/2004 when I worked in the UK pavillion. How they monitor whether you pop out of World Showplace after the event starts I don't know but they do allow you to enter through Backstage area without Park Admission

Yep, this is how they handle weddings, dessert parties and special events. Normally "guides" (in the orange and blue epcot uniforms- usually they carry the red blinking light sticks) will stand around the entrances guiding people where and where not to go There are entrance throughout the WS, UK, Italy etc.

 

[Inkmahm]

Your credit card will be charged at the time of booking - and is non-refundable so make sure your mom or sister confirm (and then re-confirm!) what the CM is booking. The phone # to call is 407-WDW-DINE.

Are you sure on the phone number? Someone else who attends each year just told me there is a special number to call but she didn't have it handy...

 

[ElizabethB]

407 - Wdw - Fest

 

[RachelTori]

Are you sure on the phone number? Someone else who attends each year just told me there is a special number to call but she didn't have it handy...

I guess it would have been nice had I given you the correct phone #! Sorry about that! (though I am pretty sure you could also call 407-WDW-DINE for reservations - at least in the past you could )

407 - Wdw - Fest

 

[karrit2000]

I've tried several times to call the regular dining # for F & W events and have always been told I had to call the 407 WDW-FEST #. Once or twice they may have switch my call over to the Fest # without making me hang up to call it myself. I always just call the Fest # now. Last year there was obviously a total meltdown of the system since many peoples calls were answered by the regular dining line staff. The person I got was so useless I had to call back to get the events I wanted that weren't sold out yet.

 

[Steve-O]

They can do amazing things with phones now. I'm sure they make you go to FEST, now, because there are a couple of people who will pick up on that line that know how to tell you, nicely, that they are still in the process of ruining the festival for regulars. Once they open booking on 8/25, I'm sure all calls go into a standard pool whether you dial DINE or FEST. I've never noticed any difference between FEST and DINE once booking opens. You can get a clueless person or a really helpful person no matter which number you dial.

 

[karrit2000]

That may be so but people who called the FEST # Last year were told by the WDW DINE CM's who answered many of the calls the first morning of booking that they couldn't help them because you have to call WDW FEST to book F & W events since they don't have the special events on the regular dining operator computers. It was very poor show.

 

[AshleyMWC]

I'm sure this is discussed somewhere in this long thread, but I can't find it. Does it seem odd to anyone else that there are so few Food & Wine pairings this year? I mean only 3 days- Mon, Tue, and Sat??? And there isn't one for Le Cellier or Coral Reef at all?? Those two were always big in attendance I thought. I am so bummed, as we had planned to do one on a Thursday- which in past years has always been Coral Reef. What the heck Disney?? Has anyone heard if any more will be added?!?!