EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, Sept. 25 - Nov 16 2015

[rpb718]

Disney needs to decide on what to do with this concept LONG before the scheduling deadline and make sure it's well-publicized ahead of time. Their rollout on it has been absolutely klugey for these first two years, and it's reflecting poorly on the greatness that the package could be. I got a phone call from the cast member I scheduled the package with when I called to get it, about twenty minutes after we hung up. She needed to make sure that I wanted to schedule my dessert party for the Monday the package started, or if I wanted it another day... It involved cancelling and rescheduling it three times to get it right. It took me two more months(!) to schedule my culinary demonstration, that I wasn't aware was included until about a week after I scheduled the package. I'm not complaining - we wanted the seating and for the two of us, the package and whatever they chose to include it was worth it for the runners and the reserved seating. The premium package areas not being full shouldn't reflect on the value of the package. It should actually enhance the value of the package.

I agree about Disney needing to finalize all the arrangements and provide comprehensive info ahead of time concerning F&W packages, deminars, meals, etc. Quite frankly, when everything opened up for sale this year it was a major cluster. There was probably a quarter to a third of the pages in this thread created around that time and it was hard to keep up. The general feeling was that the Disney site info was confusing or incomplete, and the CMs called to reserve packages, deminars, etc. were woefully under-prepared and in some cases were relying on last year's information. This is the first time we're scheduled to go down during F&W, and for all I know it's been like this every year, but I got the sense that this year was worse than in the past - and adding the new Sampler Package to the mix didn't help. Like a lot of folks here, even after thinking we had a decent handle on the situation - we still needed to wait until folks were actually at F&W this year before some questions were finally answered. Case in point - what kiosks were included in the Sampler package and also how QS points worked. And there were still some deminars that weren't finalized until after F&W started.

 

[karrit2000]

Unfortunately I don't believe things will ever get better in regards to the F & W info & bookings. Every year we have to wait until the festival actually begins to find out exactly how things are really going to work. Over the years they have tweaked different events but usually not for the better with the exception being the Special events held in France, Italy & Mexico (can't comment on those held in the other countries as we haven't attended those but others have liked them). The ones controlled by the Epcot events team seem to go up in price & down in quality for the most part. We did PFTS once & decided our money would be better spent on the smaller events. We have done a few of the other night time events held in World Showplace over the years but for the most part they've been one & done as they don't repeat them the next year. Whether it's been for lack of paying customers or they really didn't intend them to be repeated who knows. The Burger Party this year was a novel idea but not one I was willing to spend the money on. The 3D Desert Party seemed like a good idea but the time we went it had been a very hot day & we found it just way too much sweet stuff for that length of time. I have a feeling many repeat F&W goers felt the same about it & attendance dropped over the following two years it was held. We use to book a Sweet Sunday's Event each year but once they moved that event to the noisy Festival Center I felt it lost it's appeal and was way overpriced for the sideshow they turned it into. If I'm paying that kind of money for a Premium event meal I don't want to be in the fishbowl of that venue with the people hanging around outside the seating area making so much noise on the other side of the plants that I can't hear what the chef is saying. I don't book any pricey events that they hold in the open like that anymore but will book a seminar or two.

As for the deminar schedules, they have never had them finalized in time for when they start selling them. Even when they were free you never saw the complete schedule ahead of the festival opening and many changed after they published the schedule. They use to hand out a booklet with everything listed in it but they stopped handing those out a few years ago because by the time the festival started a lot of the info was wrong due to schedule changes, presenters dropping out and being replaced by others or rescheduling when they could attend. This year there are still 3 showing TBD on the updated schedule they posted online earlier this week.

I was looking forward to the premium package this year because We enjoyed it last year very much. When they didn't post any info about it I decided to wait it out to see what they came up with. Once they finally figured it out & posted the details we decided it was a big downgrade from last year's package & barely worth the money. I had expected some changes or a price increase but the loss of the after hours party & no $50 gift card were the deciding factors for us to pass on it this year. After hearing reviews of the Dessert Party being a big disappointment I'm glad we didn't get the package. I've done the dessert party before and thought it was decent for the price but the one time I did it was a rainy evening so they served our desserts in the Odyssey Building. I knew they would need to utilize another venue in case of rain and it seems they came up with a poor choice for that. And the reports of the desserts pale in comparison to what I was served in the past. I realize a lot of people booked to make use of the PP areas & food runners but to me the other components of the package this year didn't add up to enough to make the overall package worth the price they are charging for me. Last year we felt there was way more value to the entire package.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I agree about Disney needing to finalize all the arrangements and provide comprehensive info ahead of time concerning F&W packages, deminars, meals, etc. Quite frankly, when everything opened up for sale this year it was a major cluster. There was probably a quarter to a third of the pages in this thread created around that time and it was hard to keep up. The general feeling was that the Disney site info was confusing or incomplete, and the CMs called to reserve packages, deminars, etc. were woefully under-prepared and in some cases were relying on last year's information. This is the first time we're scheduled to go down during F&W, and for all I know it's been like this every year, but I got the sense that this year was worse than in the past - and adding the new Sampler Package to the mix didn't help. Like a lot of folks here, even after thinking we had a decent handle on the situation - we still needed to wait until folks were actually at F&W this year before some questions were finally answered. Case in point - what kiosks were included in the Sampler package and also how QS points worked. And there were still some deminars that weren't finalized until after F&W started.

But they still had us all online waiting to throw money at them (Myself included)

Until we actually refuse to give them $$$ without knowing details they are NOT really motivated to change

 

[loves to dive]

While I didn't book the Sampler Package or the big one, I did do the Med. food and wine pairing and a number of deminars and as a whole had no problem booking them. Mind you, I had done my research, knew sorta kinda what deminars I wanted so when I called the day AP holders could call I could talk the cast member through what I wanted. I went back and forth on the package with the seating area, thinking it might be nice to be waited on and actually be able to sit down, in the end it just didn't make sense for me to spend that kind of money for just that. It turned out I didn't need it anyway, I was always able to find either one of the little cafe tables you stand at (remember you can share those with other parties) or a bench to sit at. I never ate off the top of a trash can, although I did eat off the wall by Africa twice, but just because I was solo and didn't want to take up a table just for myself. I would have liked a little more info. on the deminars other than just where the wine was from. For example, I booked one that had Florida wine, ended up being blueberry wine. Seriously? I live in Georgia where we have winerys all over the place making that kind of wine, I never would have book something with that had I known in advance that was what it was. I booked two that said California and guess what, they were the exact same. Good thing I like the presenter and the wine. The food ones would just say beef or pork or fish so it made choosing a little difficult. I ended up getting one that said beef and was done by the chef at Japan which was nice but I was walking around and saw one being done where the chef was making tampanadas, I think was just listed at pork. Would much rather have had that. Like last year I found having tickets in advance to the deminars really isn't all that necessary, and for the wine ones there really was no benefit from having the Chase seating since none of them were sold out and most didn't have past the 2nd row even filled up. The only advantage to getting there early or having the special seating to the food ones, was you were up front, thus got served before the thing was actually over, people in the back didn't get their food until the chef had been finished cooking for a while. More servers would have helped with that.

 

[Mousetopia]

Actually it almost did... lol! I was asking the CM's a question at one of these seating areas and they volunteered to stamp my book for the 4 booths they were tending. One of the CM's asked me if I wanted to come in and sit down! I smiled then said I wasn't eligible when I realized he was confusing my sampler lanyard with the Premium package. So it could happen...

Well I would love that kind of confusion..would love more places to sit down! Should not only be for premium..

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

While I didn't book the Sampler Package or the big one, I did do the Med. food and wine pairing and a number of deminars and as a whole had no problem booking them. Mind you, I had done my research, knew sorta kinda what deminars I wanted so when I called the day AP holders could call I could talk the cast member through what I wanted. I went back and forth on the package with the seating area, thinking it might be nice to be waited on and actually be able to sit down, in the end it just didn't make sense for me to spend that kind of money for just that. It turned out I didn't need it anyway, I was always able to find either one of the little cafe tables you stand at (remember you can share those with other parties) or a bench to sit at. I never ate off the top of a trash can, although I did eat off the wall by Africa twice, but just because I was solo and didn't want to take up a table just for myself. I would have liked a little more info. on the deminars other than just where the wine was from. For example, I booked one that had Florida wine, ended up being blueberry wine. Seriously? I live in Georgia where we have winerys all over the place making that kind of wine, I never would have book something with that had I known in advance that was what it was. I booked two that said California and guess what, they were the exact same. Good thing I like the presenter and the wine. The food ones would just say beef or pork or fish so it made choosing a little difficult. I ended up getting one that said beef and was done by the chef at Japan which was nice but I was walking around and saw one being done where the chef was making tampanadas, I think was just listed at pork. Would much rather have had that. Like last year I found having tickets in advance to the deminars really isn't all that necessary, and for the wine ones there really was no benefit from having the Chase seating since none of them were sold out and most didn't have past the 2nd row even filled up. The only advantage to getting there early or having the special seating to the food ones, was you were up front, thus got served before the thing was actually over, people in the back didn't get their food until the chef had been finished cooking for a while. More servers would have helped with that.

I only did one wine but it was over half full so well past the 2nd row. Guess it just depends.

 

[AThrillingChase]

Hi all. Had a great day at the Festival!

Got the Sampler Package. Here are the exclusions printed on the credential: "Excludes beers larger than 6 ounces, all tasting flights, all Champagnes, and the Artist Palette at cheese and wine." Used it for a couple of >$10 cocktails. The entitlements are valid through Nov. 16th, except for the Eat to the Beat FastPass, which is for the day purchased only.

View attachment 125897

Thank you for this! Exactly the info I was looking for. I wanted to see if it would let me get my Caipirinha in Brazil for $10 a pop!

ENJOY F&W! THANKS for posting the specifics! SO 8 entitlements can be carried over, but the Eat to the Beat Fastpass has to be used "day of"! THANKS ChrisNY2. Seriously, 3 Dining CM"s including a Disney Dining Supervisor didn't know this about 6 weeks ago when the Sampler info came out and I called at least twice? Come ON!

And this is why I was looking lol.

 

[Disneygeek Amanda]

To anyone at the festival now, how is the merchandise supply? Is there still a lot of most items available or do some things look close to selling out? I'm especially interested in the brews around the world hat with built in bottle opener. I really want to get that as a Christmas present for a family member, but I won't get to wdw until close to the end of the festival.

 

[NicoleLarson]

To anyone at the festival now, how is the merchandise supply? Is there still a lot of most items available or do some things look close to selling out? I'm especially interested in the brews around the world hat with built in bottle opener. I really want to get that as a Christmas present for a family member, but I won't get to wdw until close to the end of the festival.

They had a ton of those in the pop up shop in the craft beers area. My DH and I commented on how that poor CM had the absolute worst job because she had to be bored out of her mind. We didn't see a soul look at one item.

 

[LifeWithLouie]

Unfortunately most of them are premixed and delivered to the stands. But you can always ask

Thanks (sorry it took me so long to thank you)

 

[Disneygeek Amanda]

They had a ton of those in the pop up shop in the craft beers area. My DH and I commented on how that poor CM had the absolute worst job because she had to be bored out of her mind. We didn't see a soul look at one item.

Thank you! That makes me feel better about waiting instead of paying an extra 10 to 15 dollars to get it now.

 

[rpb718]

But they still had us all online waiting to throw money at them (Myself included)

Until we actually refuse to give them $$$ without knowing details they are NOT really motivated to change

Refuse to give them $$$? You silly - that's crazy talk.

 

[heidiboo]

Has anyone been to a culinary demo? I just noticed that there is one available for my week. Just wondering if it's worth the time and money!

Thanks!

 

[loves to dive]

Has anyone been to a culinary demo? I just noticed that there is one available for my week. Just wondering if it's worth the time and money!

Thanks!

I went to two and enjoyed them both. The chef will cook whatever dish they are show casing, you are given a copy of the recipe. They serve a glass of wine with it, about 1/2 glass. The two I went to was the festival white at one the festival red at another. Not the greatest wine but not the worst. Last year they did true pairings with different wines and a wine rep but I understand giving you are only paying $15 that the "house" wine makes more sense. Just before the chef finishes cooking they start handing out the samples, about 4 or 5 bites but both of the ones I went to were very satisfying. My only complaint would be you don't really know what the dish is when you book, just the protein and who the chef is. I had good luck with both of mine, one was the chef at Japan and it said beef, it was a steak/noodle/rice sort of dish that was called soup but it wasn't. The other was a chef from a restaurant in Napa, it said lobster and it was lobster mac & cheese with truffle oil. Excellent. I would get there about 1/2 hour before it starts in order to get to the front of the line. The closer you are to the stage/cooking area the faster you get both the wine and the food.

 

[KkBb]

I'm not in Disney World until the 17th of November, do you think there will still be merchandise out?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone been to a culinary demo? I just noticed that there is one available for my week. Just wondering if it's worth the time and money!

Thanks!

I've got one booked for Wednesday, 10/21. I expect it to be good, since it's about the 6th one I've been to and I enjoyed all the others. But the best was the year they were free, it was raining out, so I spent the entire afternoon just going from one culinary demo to lining up for the next. IMO, it's still worth the time and money.

 

[samsteele]

Has anyone been to a culinary demo? I just noticed that there is one available for my week. Just wondering if it's worth the time and money!

Thanks!

I went to 2 deminars last Fall and I have one booked for my upcoming trip. Last Fall, I had a scallop one with a chef from a trendy Arizona bistro and a white wine pairing. Then a duck with a local Publix chef and I think either white wine or rose. The local Publix chef was incredible and his dish superior. As PP have mentioned, you should get to the Festival Center at least 40 mins before your start time so you can check in and pick up your ticket. Then start to line up about 30 mins before it starts so you can be seated closer to the kitchen, served much earlier and then be on your way when it wraps up. I opted for just 1 deminar this year as I found the 2 last year really did eat up a lot of my F&W time. If killing time before your deminar, check out the new film in the Center, the chocolate shop area and maybe some of the new F&W merchandise offerings in the gift shop.

 

[huey578]

I am thinking about getting the Food and Wine Festival Discovery Sampler Package... thoughts? reviews for those who purchased? TIA

 

[Chernabog#1fan]

Hi - I am sure this has probably been answered, but have a question about using the dining plan snack credits. I know that the dining plan changed to allow a quick service meal to be used for 3 snack credits in the same transaction. Has anyone done that for the food and wine booths? Also, is there any place to see what is excluded as snacks from the booths?

 

[AntJulie]

We did use quick service meals for 3 snack credits (same transaction) at some booths at food and wine--some will not allow it (I think Italy was one of them)--but try anyway maybe different CMs will accept them without a hassle--ENJOY!!