Food and Wine Festival questions....help please!

[boysplustwins]

I know that someone out there can help me here. I am going to DW at the beginning of Oct, and was planning on attending the Food and Wine Festival . Help......
How does it work?
Do I have to pay a seperate ticket price for the Festival?
If not, do I just pay at the individual booths? I am assuming the different countries have booths, right?
Any suggestions for what night, what time of day, etc.

I am going to be travelling with my dh, ds-8, ds-6, and dd/ds-almost 3 (twins) and my parents. Should I plan for the grandparents to babysit, and just me and dh go? We are staying at BWV (boardwalk view )

Thanks for any info......
Janet

 

[krystyana]

Hi....we've been a couple of times...it's throughout the world showcase and you can buy samples from each booth....it's alot of fun.....there's no extra charge to get in the park...you just pay as you go like with any food stops.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

No separate admission required - just pay at the individual booths.

Most people suggest avoiding Epcot during the weekends during F & W, but we were there Columbus Day weekend and had no problem.

 

[Immelman]

it's not a hard ticket event. hit epcot and head over to world showcase. you'll get a map with the booths in each country and their offerings. you'll pay for the food and drinks right at the booth. it can get congested no matter what day or time.

 

[DisneyDar]

Honestly, I found the several times I've gone, most people were without children. Not only can it get very expensive to eat, there is alcohol throughout the World Showcase, and you may want to enjoy yourself without having to worry about the kids.

 

[mkutch]

I love the Food and Wine festival!! I have been 4 times. I have never done the dinners or the cooking lessons but I love just walking around sampling at each of the booths. Now I have to say I did love the "Walkabout" this past year for Austraila. It was six dollars and you could sample 5 wines. It was so nice- the men were young, cute and had fabulous accents. It was a very sociable 45 minutes. I went with my dh, ds (2), ds (7 mo). Dh watched the kids while they napped and I went drinking - that sounds bad doesn't it? I was very responsible. Love it, love it, love it!! I am returning this Oct.!! Sometimes as it gets closer a menu of what is being offered on this site.

 

[lenshanem]

We went last time. It was fun, but something we don't feel compelled to have to do again. We spent a small fortune eating tiny samples. Just be prepared to bring some cash. Even better study the samplings before you start walking around so you have an idea as to what you want to buy otherwise you'll have spent up too much money before you get to the end.

I'm glad to say we did this once, but I'd probably prefer spending the money on a really nice meal instead.

 

[Disney Ella]

It was nice, but I don't think I'd ever spend the money again. For $3.00, you'd get a piece of meat that was 1 inch by 3 inches and the meat was the only thing you got. After stopping at a few of the booths, we decided it would be more cost effective to just go to a restaurant. It would really add up if you brought the whole family.

 

[crzy4mk]

Anywhere I can get last year's list of offerings? I would love to do this when we are there this year!

 

[sunny04]

We were there during Columbus weekend this past year as well and had no problems. I enjoyed it because there were unique options from many different countries. It was lots of fun to me....but here's a question about the dinners and cooking classes as mentioned in an above post...how do you find out about those?

 

[Matt'sMom]

Here's a link to last year's Epcot F & W Fest menus and pricing, plus reviews: http://allearsnet.com/tp/ep/fw04c.htm

Took me a while to find where I had seen info regarding the special dinners and classes... but I found it.

Go to: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/index.htm

They currently still have the 2004 info up, and mention that the 2005 info has not yet been released (aside from the dates during which the festival will be held). Last year's schedule might at least give you some ideas as to what is typically offered, and the relative costs involved.

 

[ncbyrne]

I was there during the F&W festival during Jersey Week last November with my 2 DGDs. The girls are very picky eaters, so they only sampled one thing (a dessert) from any of the booths. And of course they had no interest in any of the special food demonstrations going on around the lake. But the booths are completely out of the way of traffic and we had the same wonderful time we always do at Epcot. However....I really felt like I missed so much of this event by being there with kids. So my next trip this coming Oct will be just DH and me. We plan to spend at least two full days at Epcot and probably hop over after the other parks as well, to take full advantage of everything this fabulous festival has to offer.

 

[boysplustwins]

Thanks so much for all the great info!!!

I *think* that I'll go with DH and leave the kiddos with the grandparents for a night. Much less expensive, and no worries about drinking around the kids.
Janet

 

[cthetulips]

Our kids were a little bored after the excitement of rides when mom and dad did food and wine fest last year. So we didn't push them to stay long and it ended up not being a problem. If you have the offer of someone to watch your children, take them up on it. You'll be more relaxed. Also, it is very expensive (4 shrimp on a skewer = $4) and sometimes the lines for popular foods can be very long (15-20) minutes if you go at a crowded time.
Another note: we couldn't use our Disney Visa Rewards card at every cart. They weren't equipped to handle it. We were able to charge to our room on most. Otherwise, cash is needed.

 

[lomillerin]

Do the booths accept disney dollars? I think I could use my credit card to buy disney dollars and use those?