F&W Dwindling ???

[Hikergirl]

Dh and I went for the first time this year and really enjoyed it. We did see groups of people with their group shirts on, some were drunk, some were tipsy but I never saw anyone out of control or throwing up or anything like that.
I can't compare past prices and portion sizes but we were okay with both. We enjoyed plenty of high priced drinks at minimal cost thanks to the vouchers, and we spent quite a bit on food but probably not as much as we would have if we went to a TS restaurant every night. we knew going there this was a splurge vacation for us, I don't think F&W or anything else at WDW is meant to be budget.
I don't know if it is dwindling, but I hope they never stop doing it because its the only way I can get dh back to WDW LOL

 

[Praying Colonel]

We went to F&W for the first time 9/30 - 10/2. Friday night was a cluster. We had ADRs at Tokyo Dining, so didn't plan on eating at booths, just wanted to get a lay of the land. I expected drunks, but it was as if people had simply given up. They were tripping, falling, spilling and smoking all over the place. There were also a lot of strollers and very cranky young children. I've never seen so many strollers in the World Showcase. So between dodging and weaving among the drunks and strollers, we decided we'd only visit F&W at opening and leave early afternoon. Saturday started out fine, but it quickly became very busy, with long waits at booths, so we left earlier than anticipated. We would have spent more money, but between lines and lack of efficiency at getting orders out at some of the booths, it just wasn't worth the hassle.

Last Monday, DS14 had a day off from school, so we went to Magic Kingdom. We decided to give F&W another try at lunch. Obviously, a Monday is going to be much less crowded, so we were able to try some new things and had a much more pleasant time overall.

I know Disney has been promoting F&W to families, but from what I observed, it's probably not the best choice for young children. Friday was a nightmare, but even on Monday, in the early afternoon, we witnessed lots of breakdowns. Rolling on the sticky floor, kicking and screaming, at Club Cool is not fun for anyone.

Definitely the right approach on a weekend (and Friday evening qualifies IMHO).

IMHO Disney's approach to F&W is a microcosm of what annoys many of us about the way Disney's been doing business in recent years. Shave value here, raise costs there, generally reduce the overall guest experience that made us fans in the 1st place. At some point a guest reaches a point where it doesn't work for them; Disney's just hoping it isn't too large a group. Maybe they've guessed wrong this time.

 

[cheryllarsen]

Was packed and we went on a weekday. Lines were low in the food lines tho.

 

[cheryllarsen]

They did take our fair share of $$. We wouldn't do it a second time however.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but in all the years I've been going to F&W I've never seen anyone falling, tripping, or throwing up. Never.
I have seen people drinking and having a good time... Good for them!!
I have been known to have numerous drinks myself, and when I find a beer I like I double fist so I can have a back up.

I really don't care if somebody else doesn't like it.

MG

I could have written this post (except for the double fist part). I had never witnessed drunken people at the F&W until this past October on an evening EMH night. It wasn't a time when you'd see a lot of kids out and about in the World Showcase, but there were a few groups of people obviously feeling their oats. One young man tripped and spilled a beer all over my sister. Another kid fell down on the ground like a sack of potatoes. These guys were with different groups too. I gotta wonder if Epcot is the new place to go for bachelor/bachelorette parties.

I have to admit that reading some posts here over the last few months, I was getting kinda cranky that complaints on the boards about drunks in the parks would lead to restricting my own ability to imbibe. Like Disney would react by instituting policies to address the problem.

But it's no urban myth. There are people who drink too much at the Festival, and I have seen them myself.

Now, if I get ever rushed at a Disney restaurant, I can say I've seen it all at the World.

 

[HopperFan]

Was there 10/31 late afternoon, early evening and was VERY surprised at the lower crowds and virtually no lines at kiosks. Kinda wish I didn't have late dinner plans or I would have enjoyed sampling it more.

 

[bobbyshawatl]

I was in Disney from October 19th through the 26th. We booked during this time, specifically since we always enjoy the Food & Wine Festival. During our trip, we ended up hitting EPCOT 3 days of our trip, on Thursday, Monday and Tuesday. We knew enough from past readings to avoid the weekends, and even heard horror stories of the crowds on that Saturday during our trip. The non-weekend days were fine, the booths not very crowded, and we really enjoyed the food offerings. We're not really drinkers, so I think we only got a couple of drinks... so most of our spending was food. I totaled up all the F&W spending we did, and it came to $215.65. That covered a LOT of little plates of food, but accounted for replacements for 4 meals (1 lunch and 3 dinners) for 2 people. So, basically that comes out to average $26.95 per meal per person. That's about in range of any other meal on the Disney property, so if you're not drinking, the F&W is a fun and excellent replacement for an out of pocket meal.

 

[Nancyg56]

there is similar with the hard ticket parties... didn't disney add some CM discount days to MNSSHP nights due to lackluster sales? Seems like Disney has found the tipping point.

I think this is true. The issue that Disney seemed to overlook when they cut back on what used to be included in admission and then raised prices across the board, is that for most people there is a finite amount of money allocated to vacation spending. I refuse to buy something just because it is there, and once I hit my budget, I am done. Also, if the cost of any one item is out of my comfort zone, I walk past it, so if the snacks and cocktails are too high, I skip them. It matters not if I can afford the items, I wont buy something that is overpriced even by Disney standards.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but in all the years I've been going to F&W I've never seen anyone falling, tripping, or throwing up. Never.
I have seen people drinking and having a good time... Good for them!!
I have been known to have numerous drinks myself, and when I find a beer I like I double fist so I can have a back up.

I really don't care if somebody else doesn't like it.

MG

I have not seen these displays of drunkenness either, but my daughter just told me that her husband almost tossed a group of people off the boat in Three Caballeros, they were that disruptive. DSIL is pretty even natured, so the group had to be pretty awful for him to be so mad.

1) Glad you were happy with the experience.
2) Obviously, people do enjoy the F&W, as Disney keeps expanding it.

Perhaps they extended it one weekend too many!

WE have the Big E here in our area. It is a gynormous fair, filled with crafts, booths with just abut anything you want to buy, animals and animal competitions, amusement rides, food, food, food, and alcohol and bands. It is a lot of fun, but Holy Expensive! People like going, but I know that for us, as well as a lot of folks I know, just because it is there does not mean we will continue to spend a fortune on a yearly basis. This year my DGD was there as part of her agriscience class and DD and I spent a lot of time wandering around looking at the descriptions of cocktails. Everyone was more expensive than the one before. SO we would say, "we will have to come back and split that one." and move on to the next.....which never came. We ended up with coffee as we left.

The issue when you price individual items too high is that folks end up buying nothing. They look, but they want to buy the "right" item, and often end up buying nothing.

I believe that as an organization, Disney needs to revisit some of their recent practices of cutting back on staffing, little perks, and shows and entertainment. They need to stop charging for viewing areas. You want to dessert parties? Fine. But remember that there is a limited number of guests who buy into those spots. Evening entertainment is a draw. Remember that parades and evening entertainment draws people into the parks, Remove but don't replace and Disney has an empty park on their hands. Disney needs to start compensating guests when they add more hard ticket events to the MK. Give us a reason to want to go during that time frame by adding something at the other parks.

I love Disney, but I have to consider the entire picture when I plan my stay.

 

[minniqt7]

We also enjoy it very much. I am glad they have extended it. It gives more people an opportunity and spreads out the crowds. We are fortunate to be able to go two times this year. We space out our spending and try as many items and drinks as we can. We fill two gift cards with the amount of money we wish to spend and go have fun. We were able to enjoy many offerings this year and all the foods were very good.We usually share. We did go on a Saturday afternoon for the first time and it was very hot and crowded so we did minimal eating and drinking that day . Went on a Sunday and weeknights and it was busy but manageable. We have never seen falling down drunks but we have experienced a few rowdy groups and people really enjoying themselves but not to the extent as some have reported. Maybe we have more tolerance I don't know. Looking forward to our trip in a week!!!!!!