Food and Wine Festival Questions....

[5lilfish]

Can I get a run down on the Food and Wine Festival? We've been to Disney many times but never during the festival. How's it work? What's included with admission? Is it insanely busy...waiting in lines for everything? Is it fun and appropriate for a 9 year old? I see there is a separate ticket event that you can pay for...around how much is that and what does that get you?

Thanks...
Jess

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I don't know if anybody has time to type all of that, so for information on the offerings, what they cost, and the special events I'm going to just post a link:

www.disneyfoodblog.com

They will have reports on everything that was available last year, including the items you can purchase at Epcot and the ticketed events. I don't believe anything is "free" with your Epcot admission, but there are a number of things you can purchase when you have entered Epcot. There are a good number of ticketed events, not just one.

In my opinion the ticketed events are not geared for or suited to young children. There's no child's price and no child's menu, and you don't get a reduced admission fee for someone too young to drink alcohol...they just aren't served the alcohol.

Is it busy? Yes it is. If you don't like crowds, avoid the weekends altogether. Especially Saturdays, that is when hordes of people in matching shirts descend to drink around the world. Even on weekdays, the later it is in the day, the more crowded it will be.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

The F&W festival has several different components:
- The different food & drink booths. You pay for whatever you want to buy.
- Eat to the Beat concerts. Included with park admission.
- Culinary demonstrations & beverage seminars. Fairly inexpensive tickets.
- Separate events like special meals, last year's Burger Block Party, etc. More expensive tickets than the demos, cost varies by event.
- Probably something else I've forgotten about.

The World Showcase does get very crowded on the weekends, and during the evenings, but there's generally not a huge impact on ride lines in Future World. Most of the locals showing up for the festival aren't coming in to ride Spaceship Earth for the thousandth time.

Whether or not a 9-year-old would enjoy it depends on the kid. I wouldn't bother taking them to any of the demonstrations, seminars, or special events. As mentioned by a previous poster, there's no child price to omit the alcohol, they just don't get it. (Adults who don't drink are in the same boat, but hey.) The concerts aren't usually groups kids have heard of, but they could still have fun, I suppose. A lot of the food is stuff kids might think is "weird" - although if your kid has a palate that isn't geared to just chicken nuggets and pizza, they might enjoy some of it.

 

[PSUGuy]

Our favorite time to go. We're not interested in the events that cost extra, we go for the food kiosks and the Eat to the Beat concert series, three shows nightly, every night. Avoid Sat and possibly Fri evening and WS won't be too crowded, mid week is best. You pay for food samples by the item, they have small gift cards with a wrist band that work best for payment. You 'load' money on them either by cash or by swiping your actual credit card and when you buy an item you swipe and go. You get a receipt showing your remaining balance. This not only speeds up the process but it avoids you having a pocket full of change by day's end.

Bill From PA

 

[BrianL]

EasyWDW will give a rundown with pictures shortly after the event starts (and I'm sure you can find last years). It rates food and drink items by taste and value, and is generally a good read. I always make my plan based off this as going without a plan can lead to me getting too full before getting to some of this stuff I really wanted to try.

I also second the gift card suggestion as it makes things much easier and faster at the booths.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

It's relatively quick to use a magic band as well, although that method is only available if you stay onsite and isn't as well suited to budgeting.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

Can I get a run down on the Food and Wine Festival? We've been to Disney many times but never during the festival. How's it work? What's included with admission? Is it insanely busy...waiting in lines for everything? Is it fun and appropriate for a 9 year old? I see there is a separate ticket event that you can pay for...around how much is that and what does that get you?

Thanks...
Jess

Our current playlist (new videos out each Wednesday) are focusing a lot of Food & Wine. All of the items in this playlist with "Food & Wine" in the title will give you an idea of what some of it is like, especially early in the series. Later we had the Premium Package which is an extra charge so that will not give you as good of an idea.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX-M6xaJhefx5FikUJO1z6FSTKQosHKH5

Included in admission is mostly a lot of food booths and you purchase "sample size" food and drink. They do have FP+ for them or at least they did in 2015. Weekends are very busy with some very long lines, especially later in the day. Weekdays are much better. There is also the Eat to the Beat concert series that is included, but the lines can get long. Otherwise there are seminars you can pay to attend and other special food related events, but those aren't included.

I don't have kids but honestly I think a 9 year old would be bored.

We paid for 2 things last year. The Premium Package was $199 each and got you 4 days M-Th of private seating areas with people running to get your food for you, no lines. Also included were some "gifts" like a wine bottle, glass, LE magic band, LE pin & 4 food entitlements. Also included one food/beverage seminar and Illuminations dessert party. We also bought a package that gave us additional food entitlements and reserved seating at an Eat to the Beat concert. A good way to use the entitlements is on mixed drinks or more expensive items. You end up saving money that way. Again see our videos for a lot more details.

 

[DisneyFan2013]

Can I get a run down on the Food and Wine Festival? We've been to Disney many times but never during the festival. How's it work? What's included with admission? Is it insanely busy...waiting in lines for everything? Is it fun and appropriate for a 9 year old? I see there is a separate ticket event that you can pay for...around how much is that and what does that get you?

Thanks...
Jess

I've been the past four years in a row and I enjoy it. I don't find it to be unbearably busy, but it depends. I think the sun/heat in the World Showcase is really bad, so it's better after dark. I have yet to sample any wine or other adult beverage, so maybe next time. Regarding the food, I enjoy the lamb meatballs, but I don't like the food enough to fill up at the booths and not eat elsewhere. I especially love the Eat to the Beat concerts (Hanson!) and always watch all three shows.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

We attended during F&W last year for the first time, were there the week of Halloween. I didn't find Epcot that much busier than other times we've been. Some of the food booths had relatively long lines depending on time of day. There was a concert one night while we were there and it was pretty crowded around the concert area but not too bad. We really enjoyed the opportunity to try the different food booths, some of which were really good and some of which weren't. I would be a little concerned that they are going to cut back quantity or jack up food prices based on EasyWDW's review of this years Food & Garden Festival but we don't know if that's the case yet or not.

 

[steveyjc81]

Do you think there is any chance F&W will have started by 20 Sept?

 

[mickeygirl78]

Do you think there is any chance F&W will have started by 20 Sept?

Yes - it is running from 9/14-11/14 in 2016

 

[steveyjc81]

Woo hoo - Thank you!!

 

[mickeygirl78]

One thing that would be fun for your 9 year old is to get the passbook and get stamps at all the booths. My nephew and niece love to do that. We are typically on the DDP so we can use our snack credits for some items and that is nice. It is enjoyable to walk around and try some unique offerings. I've never done any of the seminars but I don't think they would interest a child. Watch the Disney Food Blog site for more information. The concerts can be fun. If you have a Chase Visa (doesn't have to be the disney one) you can go to the Chase Lounge (if they have it again this year). We all loved getting a break in airconditioning, they had freestyle soda machines and offered bracelets for the concerts the year I was there (they may not offer this now, this was a couple years ago).

 

[holden]

FWIW, our 8 year old loves FWF! She's been going each year since she was a baby, so maybe that has something to do with it. She loves trying new foods at the booths (if only she would do that at home - LOL). We make shirts so she can check off where she ate. We focus more on the food than the drinks to make it more kid friendly. DD13 loves it too!

 

[Anal Annie]

We went to F&W last year for the first time (just happened to coincide with a conference DH was going to). Our DS (now almost 19) is a freshman in college and was not with us - it was our first trip without him. He is never a huge fan of Epcot tho so it was the perfect time to go without him. I can't imagine a 9 yr old wanting to spend an extended day there. We really enjoyed it tho and have just decided to go back again this year for a quickie 4 night trip. The weekends are really crowded. We were there in early Nov. last year but this time we're going in Sept - the first weekend after it starts actually...so I'm expecting the weekend crowds will be really bad. But that's just when the timing works best for us - plus resort availability is already getting picked over for October so booking in Sept was easier... We did see a lot of people who were drinking heavily around the world showcase - and saw more security than usual. I actually saw someone throwing up in the street across from the Rose & Crown. There were a few rowdy souls for sure. Unusual for Disney we thought. But definitely more drinking than on previous trips. Our first day we were at Epcot from 9 - 9:00 (we had AP's but the other guy from DH's work didn't buy a hopper tix so we were there for the duration). We went all the way around WS 3x. I went to F&W every day for lunch by myself while DH was at his conference. Tried a lot of really good stuff.

I just used my magic band to pay for things but am considering the idea of getting the little gift card on the wristlet for this next trip - just to keep my spending in check. Nothing extra is included with park admission. You pay for everything A La Carte. But there's just a lot of neat food to try (didn't feel the drinks from the extra F&W kiosks were a good value so stuck pretty much to the standard drink stands that are always there). Tastings ranged from about $3.50 to $7 with an average probably around $4.75-$5 each. I found about 3 samples from diff. places to be adequate for or equal to a lunch.

 

[JenLynn]

• DH and I went last year for the first time and enjoyed it.
• We were there the week leading up to Halloween and it was beautiful weather (sunny and quite warm) and it was crazy crowded (we were there on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday before Halloween).
• We had a very good time but it got uncomfortably hot a few times (very little shade and walking around from booth to booth).
• In fact, our best day was after it had rained pretty steadily and then turned into a light drizzle. Crowds were much more manageable then.
• DH is a foodie and he loved trying all of the different foods (I did too, but this was totally up his alley).
• We bought a prepaid card which was a great way for us to budget a bit.
• Most kiosks are set up with a single line that then splits to several different cash registers. We had to wait in a few of these lines for maybe 5 minutes. I can't think of any that were longer than that.
• After you pay you move over to where the food is being handed out. You give them your receipt and they give you your items. There was usually a brief wait here as well.
• There are tables to stand at to eat set up in many areas and we almost always found a spot to perch. We are not very social people, but often shared with other groups.
• Highly suggest getting a passport (they are free) where all the foods are listed and you can get each country stamped. It was a good tool for planning.
• There is so much food! Most dishes were $4 - $7 and were a small tasting/sharing portion. We did not get even close to trying everything we wanted to try. We had preplanned by looking at menus and it was a good thing we did since we had been able to prioritize things we wanted to try.
• Bring an umbrella (good for rain, but also standing in a bit of shade).
• We had heard stories about people being stupidly drunk, but we didn't see anything like that.