Food and Wine 2015 advice

[pmaurer74]

We are planning to go in October and have never been before. Besides food and wine... what else is unique to the event? I was planning to go on a Saturday but may rethink that and go on a Friday instead.

 

[itchin2go]

thanks! does it start earlier in the day, like when WS opens? would it be possible to get in and see some of it right at opening without the huge crowds?

Yes - During the day on weekdays when we typically went, it seemed (to me) to be no more crowded than WS typically is. I'm told the problems develop on weekend nights.

 

[NewRVLady]

Just snack credits... but... you can stretch them a long way with certain offerings...

Take the Canada booth for instance...

These were some of our FAVES last year-I love this festival-we spent $50-60 each night-love the small plates VS a heavy sit down mweal

 

[patster734]

We are planning to go in October and have never been before. Besides food and wine... what else is unique to the event? I was planning to go on a Saturday but may rethink that and go on a Friday instead.

There are Food and Wine specific souvenirs (tshirts, cups/mugs, cookbooks, etc), daily Eat To The Beat concerts across from the American Pavilion, cooking/beverage seminars.

 

[khurley23]

I extended my trip by a day so that I could be there for opening day of my first ever F & W. Is there anything I shouldn't miss?

 

[maryandtyson]

I extended my trip by a day so that I could be there for opening day of my first ever F & W. Is there anything I shouldn't miss?

The schedule and menus aren't out yet. Once they are announced, look the, over to prioritize. Last year, we especially loved the Patagonia booth. Year before it was the Florida local booth sliders. Just be adventurous and have fun!

 

[khurley23]

When do the schedule and menus come out?

 

[jerseygal]

CAN'T WAIT for the menus to be released! Yummy!

 

[maryandtyson]

I believe July or August for menus. I remember thinking it was later than I thought it should be. Watch wdwinfo, Disney dining and other sites. You can find the, from last year just to get an idea.

 

[Aerinha]

I did it for the first time last October and it wasn't what I expected. I found I preferred the flower show food booths as they were slightly cheaper and had shorter lines.

At F&W, my food was hit or miss. First pork belly was dry and bland. Second try was great. Seemed like if you got there when a fresh batch of whatever came out it was good, but the last one left had spent too much time drying out under a heat lamp and was gross. Seating was virtually nonexistent and I learned why no one would offer me a seat at their table when I invited an older woman to sit with me since I was solo at a table for 5 and her husband and two grown kids suddenly appeared and they all proceeded to speak not English and ignore me so I felt like an intruder at my own table.

Same issue as at flower show, the utensils are nowhere near seating and there is nowhere to rest your food so you have to juggle holding food and pushing a stupid lever to get a utensil. I learned not to buy two things at once as I had to beg a little girl I didn't know to get me a fork.

 

[neptuneflame]

I prefer F&G, but enjoy F&W as well. I love the festival atmosphere and getting to try new things. And the lines for rides are better, too. I just wish they'd do playgrounds at both events!

 

[pmaurer74]

I just looked at a bunch of images of the food at the Food and Wine Festival. Are most of these snack credits on the DDP? I would love to sample of a bunch of these by sharing with DH but I am afraid of getting stuffed after the first few places. If they are not on the DDP what is the price range typically?

 

[helenm29]

We've only gotten to go once when the kiddos were small and didn't want to try anything so my DH and I are going by ourselves this year (kiddos are all grown up!) we have been watching for info. on this years FW and as soon as it pops up we are going to reserve as much as possible! if you can in any way afford to save enough money you should try the Food for the Senses! it's really expensive (depending on your budget)but well worth it. Go on line and look at 2014 fw fest...it'll tell you everything you need to know!

 

[siskaren]

I just looked at a bunch of images of the food at the Food and Wine Festival. Are most of these snack credits on the DDP? I would love to sample of a bunch of these by sharing with DH but I am afraid of getting stuffed after the first few places. If they are not on the DDP what is the price range typically?

Here's a PDF with menus and review from last year's festival:

http://www.easywdw.com/reports12/easywdwfoodwine14.pdf

Almost all the food items have the DDP logo next to them.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

Last year they cost a snack credit each and you get a pretty nice snack size sharable portion for that if you want to try it with another person.