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

[chip&dale&fun]

I guess you are right, there are no tickets! I always say we are getting tickets when in fact you do just sign up. Maybe I secretly wish there were tickets, I always worry our names won't show up when we check in. I love PFTS but it sure is getting expensive. And you can't cancel and get a refund like you used to be able to do. We are having a family reunion and will be staying in a GV and 1BR at BW; that is why I need so many "tickets".
And yes, I fully expect to be reimbursed for the majority of them !!
Its going to be so much fun

I agree with the other poster to ALWAYS take the reservation number with you. While it did not happen at PFTS - it did for a tastings. I was booked two different ones, same day - instead of two different days. Luckily they had space and I had the reservation number so they could adjust....
Whew!

 

[lilyv]

A few more food and wine details from an Australian source:

"MELBOURNE'S famous laneway culture and street art, and Victoria's fine food and wines, will be celebrated at an international festival in the US next month that attracts 1.3 million visitors.

Tourism Minister Tim Holding will announce on Thursday that Victoria has been selected to be one of four great food cities of the world on show at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The other cities selected for the festival are believed to be New Orleans, Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro.

Victoria's exhibit is believed to include a re-creation of a Melbourne laneway, including graffiti street art, leading to a Queen Victoria Market-style setting where Victoria's fine food and wine will be on show.

Tourism Victoria will spearhead the international promotion to showcase some of the state's finest chefs, winemakers and local produce."

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/laneway-culture-on-display-at-us-festival-20080725-3l3l.html

 

[dizneykid]

Very nice!!! Thanks!

 

[KPSmithSr]

I can only hope that the delay in publishing the schedule is due to coordinating the new and exciting things they are planning for us!!!!!

 

[lehto]

One year we showed up to PFTS and they couldn't find our name on the list. I nearly needed jumper cables to shock my heart back into action when the girl with the list said we didn't have a reservation. Thankfully, I had my confirmation number in my purse-I can't stress enough to bring it with you. It took a few minutes, but they sent someone to check our number and what happened was instead of a "D" for our last name, the person that took the reservation put a "B". Made for a good few minutes of anxiety, so that's why I'd like to see actual tickets issued.

We had the same problem two years ago, they had mis-spelled our last name (adding extra letters.) The good thing is that they told us how it was spelled on their listing since it was mis-spelled for all of the events that we had signed up for. This way we didn't waste a lot of time checking in since we already knew our reservation was going to be spelled wrong...

 

[BriarRosie]

I saw some great points about confirming the events, but I wanted to add something that I do.

If you're staying at a Disney resort, you can get a printed confirmation of any ADRs or Food and Wine Festival dining events you've booked. It always helps to have your confirmation numbers handy, if needed. I just ask the cast member that I'd like a printout of my dining and festival events, and let me tell you, it's handy!

The festival event printouts are especially handy because it:
1. Details the event, description of it. And all the disclaimers the cast member told you (or should have told you) when you booked it.
2. Offers the location of the event. (California Grill? The Odyssey? World Showplace?)
3. Lists the start and end time of the event. If you thought your food and wine pairing started at 3:30pm but it says 3pm on the sheet, go with the sheet.

This is so important because all the food and wine pairings that I've done have all started at different times. One might start at 2:30pm; another at 3pm; yet another at 3:30pm. If you booked a couple of these on different days, and confused the start times, this will save your bacon.

Any ADRs you booked should be another printout, as well. Review all of the events. If there's a discrepancy, compare the list to the confirmation numbers.

And for anyone staying offsite, provide the confirmation numbers at any Guest Relations in the parks or Downtown Disney to get a printout.

 

[groverdog]

I saw some great points about confirming the events, but I wanted to add something that I do.

If you're staying at a Disney resort, you can get a printed confirmation of any ADRs or Food and Wine Festival dining events you've booked. It always helps to have your confirmation numbers handy, if needed. I just ask the cast member that I'd like a printout of my dining and festival events, and let me tell you, it's handy!

The festival event printouts are especially handy because it:
1. Details the event, description of it. And all the disclaimers the cast member told you (or should have told you) when you booked it.
2. Offers the location of the event. (California Grill? The Odyssey? World Showplace?)
3. Lists the start and end time of the event. If you thought your food and wine pairing started at 3:30pm but it says 3pm on the sheet, go with the sheet.

This is so important because all the food and wine pairings that I've done have all started at different times. One might start at 2:30pm; another at 3pm; yet another at 3:30pm. If you booked a couple of these on different days, and confused the start times, this will save your bacon.

Any ADRs you booked should be another printout, as well. Review all of the events. If there's a discrepancy, compare the list to the confirmation numbers.

And for anyone staying offsite, provide the confirmation numbers at any Guest Relations in the parks or Downtown Disney to get a printout.

Great tips! We are staying at Boardwalk and I will get the printouts right after we check in. I am getting so excited and we aren't even going until early Nov!

 

[groverdog]

Thanks. I'm sure the list will get longer, (I hope they have more then one item at each booth,) and maybe they'll have your meatballs.

I hope so but kind of doubt it. The booth for Scandinavia wasn't even there last year and I don't see it on the list this year.
What are they thinkin'?

 

[chip&dale&fun]

I saw some great points about confirming the events, but I wanted to add something that I do.

If you're staying at a Disney resort, you can get a printed confirmation of any ADRs or Food and Wine Festival dining events you've booked. It always helps to have your confirmation numbers handy, if needed. I just ask the cast member that I'd like a printout of my dining and festival events, and let me tell you, it's handy!

The festival event printouts are especially handy because it:
1. Details the event, description of it. And all the disclaimers the cast member told you (or should have told you) when you booked it.
2. Offers the location of the event. (California Grill? The Odyssey? World Showplace?)
3. Lists the start and end time of the event. If you thought your food and wine pairing started at 3:30pm but it says 3pm on the sheet, go with the sheet.

This is so important because all the food and wine pairings that I've done have all started at different times. One might start at 2:30pm; another at 3pm; yet another at 3:30pm. If you booked a couple of these on different days, and confused the start times, this will save your bacon.

Any ADRs you booked should be another printout, as well. Review all of the events. If there's a discrepancy, compare the list to the confirmation numbers.

And for anyone staying offsite, provide the confirmation numbers at any Guest Relations in the parks or Downtown Disney to get a printout.

This is a great tip. Can we have it posted on page 1 with the tips???

And also, just when you thought the schedule is safe, times can be changed. There were for one of my events and the schedule saved me.

 

[TDC Nala]

This is just a tip and not festival information so I am not inclined to post it on the first page.

When the schedule is released it will take up a LOT of space on that page.

 

[Paul in CT]

Can anyone tell me when the F&W Festival starts each day? Is it at 11:00 AM "rope drop" or do the kiosks only open for dinner and later? Thanks for any info.

 

[webray]

Can anyone tell me when the F&W Festival starts each day? Is it at 11:00 AM "rope drop" or do the kiosks only open for dinner and later? Thanks for any info.

Booths open at 11am / basically they are ready right at that time.

They are open until the park closes, and for the night time extra magic hours they have stayed open which has been fantastic.

 

[Paul in CT]

Booths open at 11am / basically they are ready right at that time.

They are open until the park closes, and for the night time extra magic hours they have stayed open which has been fantastic.

Thank you very much! I have been trying to get this info for quite a while. We are arriving early in the day and were hoping to "lunch around the world". It looks like we will be able to do so. It will be our first visit during F&W.

 

[TexasCourt]

Yeah, no one is exactly happy about this.

On a purely selfish note I'm angry because we're leaving to go out of town on August 22nd and won't have any computer access until we get home on the 25th, so as far as we're concerned we've already been shut out of most of things we thought we might want to book (based on last year's schedule). That's why I just gave up and booked regular ADRs for our trip instead.

Regardless of our personal plans, however, it's a very inconsiderate move on Disney's part to give people 48 hours to digest all the information and then try to make reservations. And it's doubly inconsiderate to wait until one month before the festival opens and expect that people can adjust their existing travel and dining plans if they need to.

I don't get it.

WOW. I really don't get it at all either. It seems as though Disney is just trying to peave off their loyal customers. Ridiculous.

On another happy note, I have just discovered all of your TR and have been engrossed in them ALL day! They are AWESOME! When is your next trip to the World?!?!

 

[Forever42]

Thank you very much! I have been trying to get this info for quite a while. We are arriving early in the day and were hoping to "lunch around the world". It looks like we will be able to do so. It will be our first visit during F&W.

You definitely will be able to. Just be aware, the lines are very long during "traditional" meal times - 12-1,1:30, and 5-7, especially on the busier weekends.

 

[Stevegriswold]

For the Eat to the Beat.

1.How far in advance do you have to get there?
2. Any time slot better, or have a shorter wait line 5:45, 7:15, 8:30 PM
3. I assume it is included in your park ticket. If not what does it cost and do you bring snacks from the kiosks with you if you want to eat?

Thanks
Steve

 

[disneyfav4ever]

On another happy note, I have just discovered all of your TR and have been engrossed in them ALL day! They are AWESOME! When is your next trip to the World?!?!

I'm not Brenda, but I think her next trip is in Oct. I am also looking foward to her next set of dining reviews.

 

[oybolshoi]

I guess we approach this differently. We have our reservations, have our flight - then whatever is happening during the time period we're there - we'll look at and decide if we're interested. We include a Saturday so we can do the Party for the Senses, but anything else will just be icing on the cake. We enjoy the kiosks a lot and enjoy "eating around the world."

Actually my husband and I do the same thing you do - we pick our vacation for October and book the flight and room and then wait on F&W programming to be released, keeping our fingers crossed that there will be some "good stuff" offered during our stay. But it still annoys me that by the 25th of August we will only have 43 days until our trip ... I'm not willing to roll the dice and leave all those nights open with no dining reservations for us on the off chance that there will be a festival event that we could book. So I went ahead and planned as though there wouldn't be any special events that we will particpate in this year.

So aside from being really annoyed at the delay for details from a company that has conditioned most of us to plan for things at least six months in advance, I can't say that we are being adversely affected. However, I know that there are a lot of people who wait to make their vacation plans until those details are released and they choose their events and then make travel reservations accordingly. I feel for those folks because in my opinion they are really being squeezed for time and money at this point.

And I don't understand how a company that releases program information for Christmas in late May / early June can struggle so to provide us with details for something that kicks off in 60 days. And the comment I got from one CM about it being tied to "pinning down guest chefs" is bogus because every event has a disclaimer that it can change at any time for any reason and Disney is not obligated to refund the cost based on those changes.

They just need to put some of us in charge of the whole thing!

A few more food and wine details from an Australian source:

"MELBOURNE'S famous laneway culture and street art, and Victoria's fine food and wines, will be celebrated at an international festival in the US next month that attracts 1.3 million visitors.

Tourism Minister Tim Holding will announce on Thursday that Victoria has been selected to be one of four great food cities of the world on show at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

The other cities selected for the festival are believed to be New Orleans, Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro.

Victoria's exhibit is believed to include a re-creation of a Melbourne laneway, including graffiti street art, leading to a Queen Victoria Market-style setting where Victoria's fine food and wine will be on show.

Tourism Victoria will spearhead the international promotion to showcase some of the state's finest chefs, winemakers and local produce."

http://www.watoday.com.au/national/laneway-culture-on-display-at-us-festival-20080725-3l3l.html

Great information - thanks!

WOW. I really don't get it at all either. It seems as though Disney is just trying to peave off their loyal customers. Ridiculous.

On another happy note, I have just discovered all of your TR and have been engrossed in them ALL day! They are AWESOME! When is your next trip to the World?!?!

I'm disappointed, I admit it - out trip is not shaping up the way we originally hoped it would, and like I said ... we'll be shut out of most of the things we probably would have wanted to book just because of our travel plans in August. Too bad.

And thanks for the comments on the TRs ... you're too kind!

Our next trip is scheduled for October 8 - October 17 ... can't wait for it to get here already!!

 

[ReggieB]

Just to double confirm what the CM's info is saying (and what is up on the first page of this thread) I just called DD, and a very nice lady looked up the details, and confimed that booking starts 25th August. She spent some time looking the info up, so that date is what CM's are getting told. Though for all I know maybe she looked up the info on disboard!!

How fast do the reservations for Party 4 The Senses sell out? I know all the other events fill up pretty quick.

I feel bad for you oybolshoi. I'm travelling on the original assumed date for bookings to start, so we've both done a role reversal. I hope you are able to work something out.

 

[Mousecollecter]

So excited Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween and Food & Wine Festival all in one week how awesome is that!