First time F&W- need planning advice help

[got15]

We have never really done F&W before- we are going for a short weekend trip in October to do one day F&W and one day Halloween Party. We will be a family of 5- 2 kids under 7. How bad are the crowds? What can we reasonably expect to accomplish? Should we do the F&W festival on a Saturday (no Halloween Party all day) or on Sunday (before we leave for Halloween party)? Is one day better on crowds than the other? Thanks in advance!!

 

[karrit2000]

Saturdays are by far the most crowded for Food & Wine. Not really where you want to be with little ones. I think you'd definitely be better off crowd-wise doing it on Sunday before the Halloween Party but it would make for a very long day. The food booths don't open until World Showcase opens at 11AM so you could experience the attractions in Future World before heading to World Showcase. Most of the F & W Booths are in World Showcase so Future World wouldn't be quite as crowded World Showcase but many of the locals visit on Saturday making it the busiest day of the week. If you have park Hoppers you could spend the early part of Saturday at EPCOT & then go somewhere else later in the day.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

DS has been 4-6 on our MNSSHP trips so far, just to give you an idea of the context of my advice.

For me, F&W and MNSSHP on the same day would be a recipe for a mess. Usually on party day I'm all about "conserve energy" mode in prep for the evening. DS can hang pretty late into the night on a party night, but not if we've been really burning it all day. So I'll usually just do a resort day, take things slow, maybe even nap. I struggle because the day can kind of be a waste, but a fun party makes up for it.

I would do Sat F&W but be there right when it opens. Make that your lunch. You trade shorter lines for mid-day sun/heat, but it can be worth it (from my perspective).

I have on occasion rented a stroller at the park if needed. Epcot and F&W can be a lot of walking. That relates back to the conserve energy comment. F&W is really more for me than him anyway.... so he gets pushed around while I get to enjoy F&W. Win win!

Hope that helps!