Food & Wine Planning ideas...

[3DisneyKids]

Hi all--

DH and I are going to F&W for the first time this year (and it's an adults-only trip to boot!). I have read up about it on several sites, but as we all know, DVC'ers love F&W, so I figure I'll get the best advice here.

This is my current thought, and I welcome any input:

Get up and out early (easy to do w/out kiddos) and head to EMH at whichever park. Stay there from 8am - 11 or noon. We only really want to do the rides that we can't do together when we have the kids with us. Ours are all young and too short for most thrill rides, so it will be nice for us to actually be able to do EE or Space Mtn. together for a change.

From 11-ish to 3-ish, we'll head home, eat lunch, maybe take a dip or a nap, etc. (we'll have a car and are staying a BCV, so getting around should be easy).

We then plan to head to Epcot and be there from 3-ish - closing in order to experience F&W events. We will have 3 park days total.

Is this enough time at Epcot? Or will we really want to be there all day? We love wine, but don't want to start tasting wine until at least 3pm. (We are more interested in the wine events rather than the food events.)

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[conciergekelly]

My only suggestion would be to eat lunch and skip dinner so you can taste the different foods and wines at the booth. I went a couple of times but was so full from dinner I couldn't enjoy the booths. Just a thought.

 

[mikesmom]

NOT enough time at Epcot!!! We started going to Food & Wine 4 years ago. We are up to a 4 day trip now and expect it to all be in Epcot. Some Notes:

• there are back-to-back (and overlapping) free classes on wine and food. They are the best! They go on every hour all day.
• We have never gone to one of the pay-for events - we are just too full from the booths alone. Of course we are not big eaters but there is a lot to try out

Truly we have spent all day in Epcot (except for a rest break) and we always complain that there wasn't enough time to watch some entertainment or attend some class. I hear ya on getting on the grownup rides, but you might want to consider having your lunch at Epcot.

Truly the Food & Wine Fest is the best of "Disney for Grownups". Just my opinion.

 

[OKW Lover]

One other F&W tip - start out clockwise one day and counter-clockwise the next day. We found that after snacking our way though about half of world showcase, we weren't hungry any more but there was still much more to sample.

 

[paults]

3DisneyKids When are you going? Don't forget the concerts at Epcot.

We are there from OCT 12 to 20 at BWV


The following line-up of performers is scheduled for the 2006"Eat to the Beat" Concert Series:

09/29 - 09/30 - Survivor

10/01 - 10/03 - The Family Stone Experience

10/04 - 10/07 - Starship

10/08 - 10/11 - Loverboy

10/12 - 10/14 - David Sanborn

10/15 - 10/16 - The Beach Boys

10/17 - 10/18 - Little Richard

10/19 - 10/21 - Three Dog Night

10/22 - 10/25 - The Four Tops

10/26 - 10/28 - Gloria Gaynor

10/29 - 11/01 - The SOS Band

11/02 - 11/04 - The Contours

11/05 - 11/06 - Chubby Checker

11/07 - 11/08 - Southside Johnny

11/09 - 11/12 - Jon Secada

Performances are at 5:45, 7:15 and 8:30 at the American Gardens Theater.

 

[Ms. WDW]

I'll be there from the 19th till the 22nd and I can't wait!!

Paults - Thanks for the line up of the concerts; I forgot about them!!!

 

[3DisneyKids]

We're there for Sun - Thursday beginning Oct. 22.

Thanks for all of the opinions so far.

Ok...let's talk about those booths...I know that there are food booths with lots offered for a few dollars each. What about wine tasting? The classes, I understand, run for about 45 minutes and include complimentary tasting--correct? Are there also wine booths? And will the classes fill up early (thus, should we get there ahead of time and plan to wait)?

So many questions, so little time...lol.

 

[mikesmom]

The classes, I understand, run for about 45 minutes and include complimentary tasting--correct?

Yes, there are LOTS of classes. Some are from a particular winery and will give you a "taste tour" of their wines. Others could be on a particular type (like Champagne) and give you tastings of various types.

Are there also wine booths?

Each country's booth will have 2 to 4 food samplings, a couple of wine choices and maybe a beer or two. Just depends. The booth for Australia is a "walkabout". It is actually 4 or 5 booths from different regions with a few wines of each. Last year there were also music and craft demonstrations, items for sale, etc. Australia is the only country that charges an extra fee. Last year it was $5 and SO worth it!

I believe there was also a Champagne and sparkling wine bar. Also chocolate. Sam Adams Beer had their own section with displays and classes.

And will the classes fill up early (thus, should we get there ahead of time and plan to wait)?

Yes, I'd plan to get in line 20 minutes or so early. Most of the classes are held in the air conditioned buildings so it's not too bad.

Such a good time.

 

[m4travel]

We're doing Food & Wine after the DVC DCL Cruise on the Wonder the week of 10/22. After spending most of our first Disney cruise (and WDW visit) flat on my back with muscle spasms from our trip from the west coast, we're really looking forward to Food and Wine!

Thanks for the good information!

 

[DVC Grammy]

We're there for Sun - Thursday beginning Oct. 22.

Thanks for all of the opinions so far.

Ok...let's talk about those booths...I know that there are food booths with lots offered for a few dollars each. What about wine tasting? The classes, I understand, run for about 45 minutes and include complimentary tasting--correct? Are there also wine booths? And will the classes fill up early (thus, should we get there ahead of time and plan to wait)?

So many questions, so little time...lol.

There is a free booklet listing all the EP events, both free and paying. They're available all over, and IIRC, at the entrance gates. Having one means you can look up the activities planned during your stay and fashion your days around those that interest you.
I'm not sure if there's a schedule online that lists everything. Maybe someone on these boards would know .
Have a great time..........we'll be there from the 17th through the 27th .

 

[Ms. WDW]

Here's a starting point. http://allearsnet.com/tp/ep/foodwine.htm There's lots of great information on this site. Check the links on the left side.

 

[Tamar]

We can't plan our days without the detailed schedule. In addition, there is a spot by the Odyssey where they post what chefs will be demo-ing the following day. Since I'm a vegetarian, that's really important to me that I don't stand in line to watch a chef make a pork dish or something with beef (I like seafood, tho, and there were lots of demos with seafood dishes when we were there last year). We found it safest to get in line for the demos we wanted to see at least 30 minutes in advance. There are Orlando residents who just come every day and that's all they do....go from one free seminar to another. If you're not one of the first 80-90 people in a chef demo, you don't get a free taste during the demo.

The free wine demo/tastings usually have 3-6 different wines to taste. The best wine I had was at 11am one morning. The marketing director for the winery said mornings are when your taste buds are at their most sensitive, so that's a perfect time to sample wine. Who am I to argue with an expert???

We'll be there starting November 5, and plan to spend the majority of each day at Epcot (unless there's a day that's all meat), then after F&W ends we'll hit the other parks (we're there until the 14th).

 

[ttfn3]

Great thread. We're heading to BWV at the end of October for our 2nd
F & W Festival. I am SO looking forward to it. Our priority is Epcot. We'll have our DS along, and luckily he also LOVES Epcot. I'm leaning toward hitting Epcot our first day, so I can get a booklet and checkout the events for the week. Depending on the crowd, we may then hop to another park (love those park hoppers!).

The free wine tastings are SO much fun. You don't get a whole lot of wine, but it's FREE. A great way to sample some wines and figure out what you want. We actually attended one that DS tagged along. We had to sit in the back of the room, and a very nice CS gave DS a basket of graham crackers to keep him occupied.

We have also found extra entertainment along the way. I'm not sure the plans this year, but 2 years ago there was an Australian exhibit with wine flight (great fun), and a Spain exhibit. Both had special entertainment.

We liked to buy food samples and share. If we liked it, we could always buy more. We don't go to the extra pay events and find so much to do that it's okay. The concerts are fun also. We caught the Turtles & the Commodores a couple of years ago. Now that was a blast from the past!

Staying at BWV is a great place to be during F & W. I like your plan to take a break each day. A great way to relax and pace yourself.

 

[DisneyHumbug]

Thank you to all the veterans who have given tips! Such good ideas. I'm going in less than a month for the first time with 24 yo DD who is really into champagne.

 

[mikesmom]

I feel compelled to give you all a warning!

Going to Food & Wine can have severe (financial) unforseen consequences!!

Before our first F&W fest DH and I were adventuresome cooks that liked to try new things, collect cookbooks (and actually USE them) and liked wine with dinner. I must admit that we weren't very adventuresome with wine - the "house white" in the box was fine for us. You actually don't see a lot of wine variety in the middle of Oklahoma. After Food & Wine we discovered Wine with a capital "W". The tasting classes showed us new wines we liked and loved.
We started buying a couple bottles at the Fest and bringing them home in the backpack.
Then we started exploring wine shops when we were out of town.
We added a wine line item to the grocery budget.
Eventually we were ordering wine by the case from New Zealand!

Beware - Food & Wine can be hazardous to your budget. You have been warned

 

[3DisneyKids]

Thanks everyone! I am so glad I started this thread! We are long-time wine enthusiasts and have been to Napa several times, as well as the Temeculah region in So. California (so that we could combine wine tasting with a trip to DL, of course! ), so I just know that F&W will be a thrill for us and may well become an annual "must do" for me and DH.

 

[Ms. WDW]

I've never even been to the F&W and I've alread told DH that this time of the year will be added to our "WDW" time! Now that our DS is almost out of HS and on his way to College, we have no reason to take "summer only" vacations.

I'm counting down the days.....25 more to to!

 

[3DisneyKids]

bumping, as per request....

 

[sheryl0521]

Ahhh - we decided not to go this year and I am now starting to regret it! We have enjoyed the last 2 years and decided to take one off, but we plan on getting back next year.

The Party for the Senses was a great time and sells out fast. If you are able to catch a ticket - I would jump on it!