Food and Wine on a Friday?

[Disneyfor8]

First time Disney trip scheduled for October. Yay! There are 8 of us (me, DH, our four kids 10,8, and twins 6, and my in-laws). After consulting Josh's and touringplans recommendations, and taking into consideration our other plans outside of Disney, I have scheduled us to go to Epcot on Friday, October 14 and again on Wednesday, October 19. These are fixed and cannot be changed. My question is this: I've read that weekends get really busy at Food and Wine, so I'm assuming we should avoid Friday evening in World Showcase? How would you describe the crowds? (We're from Chicago, so aren't unaccustomed to large groups of people) Also, how would you split up your touring between these two days? We want to hit all the major attractions, eat around the world and the kids want to do Agent Ps, but are otherwise flexible on timing. Our only ADR right now is an 8:05 at Akershus on Friday and I'm hoping FEA is up and running and we can ride first thing after breakfast.

TIA for any recommendations! This is a whole new "world" for me!

 

[glassslippergirl]

Chicago is a major city. How do you avoid large groups in a major city? I live between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and would appreciate some tips.

I would arrange my Friday as follows: start with FEA, then head to whatever other headliner you've not FP'ed (so head to TT if you have FP for Soarin or vice versa). When you go to TT, it's right next to Mission Space, so do that next, preferably with FP. When you go to Soarin, it's in the same building as Living with the Land, so do those together; then, go to the Nemo ride in the next pavilion (Turtle Talk is also good). The Imagination pavilion is close by, too, if you want to do the Imagination ride and/or the Pixar Short Film fest (which was surprisingly good). At this point, it will be mid-afternoon-ish, and you've accomplished most of Future World's headliners. You could call it a day at this point, hitting Spaceship Earth on your way out. Or it's a short walk from the Imagination pavilion to World Showcase, where you could look around. I would save Agent P for your second day. Start that day by hitting anything you missed on the first day, then really focus on WS and F&W. Make sure you see Illuminations on one of the two nights. On the second day, I'd try to eat dinner in one of the WS table service restaurants in addition to snacking as you go. Hope this helps. Enjoy!

 

[hakepb]

I'd guess Friday Evening at EPCOT F&W would feel like a lot like Friday Evening at Taste of Chicago in Grant Park

If you want to hit a few booths on Friday, do them as soon as they open, but before the locals get off work.

 

[loves to dive]

Most people prefer to do FW one day then WS then next Epcot day. Really depends on what you wan to get done and how tired your kids get. I've been to F&W on Friday evenings and while it can be a bit crowded, certainly more so than in the afternoon, it's not un-doable. I noticed last year when I was there, the crowds tended to pit up around 6:30 or 7 pm.

 

[Disneyfor8]

This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! Thanks so much. It really helps hearing from people who've been and understand the layout, crowd levels, how long things take etc. I think it's a great idea to focus on FW on Friday, then WS on Wednesday. glassslippergirl, thanks for essentially planning out my days for me!

 

[PSUGuy]

First, we'll be there on the dates you mentioned. Friday will be a little more crowded during the day than Wed. will be but not enough to discourage us, locals will swell crowds in WS after work hours but we usually stay. We totally avoid Sat. all day, we'll hit another park at RD, hit the pool then Raglan Road for drinks and dinner. Wed. will be the time to enjoy light crowds and hit the kiosks you want to, lightest crowds of the week. Tiffany is performing on Fri., Dennis DeYoung of Styx on Wed.

During F&W we spend every afternoon and evening in WS except for Sat. I'm not a fan of crowds but Fri and Wed won't be bad.

Bill From PA

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Food and Wine is very popular with locals. Once they start getting off work on Friday the crowds at WS do pick up. For that reason I would amend the earlier advice. DO FEA( if it's working on that day) and then do lunch at the Food and Wine kiosks. Save FW for later in the day on Friday when WS will be busy.

 

[Disneyfor8]

First, we'll be there on the dates you mentioned. Friday will be a little more crowded during the day than Wed. will be but not enough to discourage us, locals will swell crowds in WS after work hours but we usually stay. We totally avoid Sat. all day, we'll hit another park at RD, hit the pool then Raglan Road for drinks and dinner. Wed. will be the time to enjoy light crowds and hit the kiosks you want to, lightest crowds of the week. Tiffany is performing on Fri., Dennis DeYoung of Styx on Wed.

During F&W we spend every afternoon and evening in WS except for Sat. I'm not a fan of crowds but Fri and Wed won't be bad.

Bill From PA

Thanks Bill! Really excited for Tiffany and Dennis DeYoung! Brings me back...

Food and Wine is very popular with locals. Once they start getting off work on Friday the crowds at WS do pick up. For that reason I would amend the earlier advice. DO FEA( if it's working on that day) and then do lunch at the Food and Wine kiosks. Save FW for later in the day on Friday when WS will be busy.

Yes, great thoughts! Thanks. That makes sense. This would allow us to get F&W in both days we are there and avoid the worst of each day's crowds. Appreciate the advice.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

First time Disney trip scheduled for October. Yay! There are 8 of us (me, DH, our four kids 10,8, and twins 6, and my in-laws). After consulting Josh's and touringplans recommendations, and taking into consideration our other plans outside of Disney, I have scheduled us to go to Epcot on Friday, October 14 and again on Wednesday, October 19. These are fixed and cannot be changed. My question is this: I've read that weekends get really busy at Food and Wine, so I'm assuming we should avoid Friday evening in World Showcase? How would you describe the crowds? (We're from Chicago, so aren't unaccustomed to large groups of people) Also, how would you split up your touring between these two days? We want to hit all the major attractions, eat around the world and the kids want to do Agent Ps, but are otherwise flexible on timing. Our only ADR right now is an 8:05 at Akershus on Friday and I'm hoping FEA is up and running and we can ride first thing after breakfast.

TIA for any recommendations! This is a whole new "world" for me!

My advice is as long as you don't plan to buy food from the F&W kiosks Friday night, it really doesn't matter. Yes there will be a lot of people in World Showcase but they will be focused on the Food & Drinks at the kiosks. The country pavilions won't be that crowded nor the regular places to eat and snack. In this video towards the end, you can see what it looks like in World Showcase on a Saturday night which is very similar to Friday night. It was in October around the exact same time you will be there from last year.

 

[Disneyfor8]

My advice is as long as you don't plan to buy food from the F&W kiosks Friday night, it really doesn't matter. Yes there will be a lot of people in World Showcase but they will be focused on the Food & Drinks at the kiosks. The country pavilions won't be that crowded nor the regular places to eat and snack. In this video towards the end, you can see what it looks like in World Showcase on a Saturday night which is very similar to Friday night. It was in October around the exact same time you will be there from last year.

Thank you so much! That makes it so much easier to visualize what it will be like. I appreciate your insight on the crowd levels in the other parts of the showcase as well. We were thinking about making an ADR for one of the WS restaurants Friday night. I think we'll go for it!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you don't like the crowds then avoid Friday night.

You'll be ok with an ADR but you might have to push through crowds in some bottleneck type areas. do kiosks in the afternoon and a restaurant reservation in the evening.

 

[WEDWDW]

Just an FYI if you choose Friday-Epcot will be open until 10:00 PM with IllumiNations at 10:00 PM instead of 9:00 PM.

 

[summerlvr]

Just an FYI if you choose Friday-Epcot will be open until 10:00 PM with IllumiNations at 10:00 PM instead of 9:00 PM.

Do the food booths stay open until 10 or do they close at 9? Thanks

 

[WEDWDW]

Do the food booths stay open until 10 or do they close at 9? Thanks

10:00 PM.

(They do not stay open for PM EMH.)

 

[DavidNYC]

I've gone a number of times on Friday but have always had a 5-hour lunch at F&W from about 12-5. Crowds have been very manageable. Frankly, I wouldn't have done an ADR Breakfast on Friday to save room for all the food at lunch. If you have kids you're likely doing it for the characters which is fine. I try to avoid the festival in the evening - especially with kids. I'd hop to another park ideally that evening if you have a hopper or do some pavilion shows, exhibits and FW in the evening if you don't.

 

[PeasandCarrots]

Thank you so much! That makes it so much easier to visualize what it will be like. I appreciate your insight on the crowd levels in the other parts of the showcase as well. We were thinking about making an ADR for one of the WS restaurants Friday night. I think we'll go for it!

You're welcome glad it helped! I hope you have a great time!

 

[CMNJ]

If you don't like the crowds then avoid Friday night.

You'll be ok with an ADR but you might have to push through crowds in some bottleneck type areas. do kiosks in the afternoon and a restaurant reservation in the evening.

I agree there are definitely areas that can be challenging to get through especially if you have a stroller. We have been to Epcot on Friday afternoon/evenings the past two years. Afternoons are fine at WS unless you plan to same a lot of food/beverages at the kiosks (if so be prepared for much lengthier waits than other week day afternoons). Friday nights in my experience are like a zoo-so many people eating, drinking, just hanging out everywhere that it can be difficult to maneuver around the area at times (think like crowds waiting around for parades in MK). FW tends to be a lot quieter at night during F&W so maybe try to spend time there later on Friday?
ETA I just looked at the video posted above and I would say it looks pretty accurate except in areas where the walkways aren't quite as wide and can just feel mobbed as a result. And the line at Italy seems pretty accurate to me for the more popular kiosks.