F&W first timer

[happiestpoe]

Hiya (apologies if this is not the correct forum)

I'll be heading to Epcot for a long weekend in October-- it'll be my first time attending Food and Wine. I've got what may be a silly question, and one that I haven't really found a satisfactory answer to elsewhere.

I know F&W started earlier this month, and continues to late November. Going in October means I'll be near(ish) the end of the festival. My question is, will things be the same as they are now? Will food offerings be the same, or will certain, more popular items, have sold out? Is F&W still a prominent feature at Epcot even in October, or does it fade somewhat?

I've read and the blogs and watched the videos, so I think I've got a good idea how to proceed, but if anyone's got any expert tips and tricks, I'd love to hear them.

TIA!

 

[DebLovesPooh]

I was there the last day of flower and garden and everything was still in full swing until the end. The only thing they had run out of during the festival, I think, was the prize for the scavenger hunt. It went from being plates to cups.

 

[Turksmom]

Some of the stands don't open until October 1st, so things will definitely be in full swing. We changed our trip from September to November because of that.

 

[happiestpoe]

Some of the stands don't open until October 1st, so things will definitely be in full swing. We changed our trip from September to November because of that.

I'm actually now debating changing to mid-November I think'll it be easier to get the time off then.

 

[OhThePain]

They won't run out of the food options that they are offering now. They may tinker around with the options, like adjusting the presentation, serving size, recipe, etc. If an item is not selling or is losing them money, they will adjust so it sells and / or becomes profitable, but, for the most part, the items that were there the first day will remain that way and be available until the last (and as a PP mentioned even more options are coming October 1st).

 

[hes122]

I think PPs have the basics covered, but I'd recommend downloading the WDW Food & Wine app to your phone. It'll help you figure out how much to budget for snacking around the world.

 

[rwdavis2]

I'm actually now debating changing to mid-November I think'll it be easier to get the time off then.

In our experience, F&W usually ends the Sunday prior to Veterans Day. Not sure about this year though.

 

[Turksmom]

November 20th

In our experience, F&W usually ends the Sunday prior to Veterans Day. Not sure about this year though.

 

[Princessclab]

The only thing I have seen is that some of the specific F&W merch is sold out later on.
Otherwise no other issues for me!

 

[kylenne]

Others have mentioned merch but another things they’ve been doing at the recent Epcot festivals is having a booth with rotating selections. I vaguely remember there being one at F&W this year.

Also depending on where you are staying, I highly suggest having a strategy for how you will hit the booths. The app pp have mentioned is a godsend. Weekends are rough at F&W because of the influx of locals. I went for a long Veterans Day weekend in 2019 and was extremely thankful to be staying at Beach Club so I could leave and come back quickly. Sunday night was much better than Saturday night—I thought all those horror stories about drunks behaving badly were exaggerations until I went on a Saturday night. Friday morning/early afternoon was better still than Sunday.

 

[loves to dive]

Have fun, I'll be there in Sept. and am kicking myself for not booking later in Oct. Some booths won't be open in Oct. and those are the ones I want to try. I wanted to avoid the whole 50th thing, which I now understand will probably last for over a year so best laid plans and all, since I will be back before a year goes by.

Look at the blogs with pictures and reviews and sort of pre-plan what you might want. It can be overwhelming at first. Having said that, we don't. We just walk around and look at the menus and look at the food when people get it and decide then but we eat probably 75% of our meals at the booths and are usually there for at least 4 or 5 days.

 

[Neener16]

We just got back, and with the park pass system the way it is, I do not think a lot of people pick Epcot for the first part of the day, assuming they are park hopping. We found the lines very manageable early in the day, like 11-1130. At dinner time or I should say after 2 o’clock it gets a little more crowded. I will second the suggestion to download the food and wine app. I found it very helpful.

 

[gharter]

There is a food and wine app. Love it! It lists all the kiosks, what food and drinks each has. You can flag the things you want to try at each one.
Also Disney Food Blog put out a really nice ebook about F&W loaded with information.
If you don't have a plan, you will easily miss things that you wanted to try. Even with a plan, that still happens.
Rnjoy!

 

[PetePanMan]

Are Sundays at F&W as crazy busy as Friday night and Saturday?

 

[happiestpoe]

Also depending on where you are staying

I'm definitely staying at an Epcot area resort. But I can't book right now as we're in the UK at my in-laws, and I can only access the UK version of the booking site... which doesn't allow for such short trips. I'll see what's still available next month when we're back Stateside.

 

[happiestpoe]

In our experience, F&W usually ends the Sunday prior to Veterans Day. Not sure about this year though.

It runs through the 20th of November this year.

 

[kylenne]

Are Sundays at F&W as crazy busy as Friday night and Saturday?

During the day, but Sunday evening is much better. The locals tend to clear out because they have work the next day.

 

[slyster]

I didn't even know there was an app....that is a great tip right there LOL!

 

[gharter]

I didn't even know there was an app....that is a great tip right there LOL!

Its WDW Food&Wine. When you update, it updates to the current festival.

 

[freshmanjs]

I didn't even know there was an app....that is a great tip right there LOL!

it’s not a Disney app FYI.