Free Dining and the Food and Wine Festival

[Zooey72]

Me and my wife are planning on going to Disney in Sept and are hoping free dining will be available during the Food and Wine festival. We want to do the Deluxe Dining plan which will give us 10 snacks a piece during our stay. Spending the extra money to upgrade from the regular to deluxe plan we are going to want to maximize the amount of signatures we eat at. The plan is to eat a signature for lunch and dinner for 3 days, and than a table service and a Signature for 1 day, and use our snack credits to eat around at the Food and Wine Festival (8 snack credits, gotta have a couple of Dole Whips).

I have never gone to the Food and Wine Festival. Does that seem doable? I don't believe you can get wine with a snack credit but is there enough variety of food available to make it worth while? Also it says that the do something special with the signature resteraunts during the festival, what do they do?

 

[sharonabe]

There is definitely enough variety to use up your snack credits. Check easywdw.com or allearsnet.com for last year's selections. All food selections are usually a snack credit.

You are correct that the wine will not be a snack credit; you will have to pay OOP for those.

As to signatures for lunch, I think there are only two open for lunch...Le Cellier and Hollywood Brown Derby. Le Cellier is at EP, so you may not need one there. You may need to rethink that and add in some breakfast buffets or TS instead.

 

[purple figment]

I have never gone to the Food and Wine Festival.

1. Does that seem doable?

2. I don't believe you can get wine with a snack credit but is there enough variety of food available to make it worth while?

3. Also it says that the do something special with the signature resteraunts during the festival, what do they do?

1. Yes. When we had the DxDDP we had 2 TS meals a day - usually breakfast or an early lunch and a late 2 credit signature dinner. There were a couple days when we had both an early sig lunch and a sig dinner.

2. Snack credits could be used for any non-alcoholic food or beverage so you are correct that you cannot get wine.

3. The only signature restaurant in Epcot is Le Cellier and the only carryover is the Canada kiosk offers Cheddar Cheese Soup and a small portion of filet.

There is, however, a series of dinners called "Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining" that are held during F&W at various venues including many of the signature restaurants, but it has no connection to the DxDDP. Prices vary and seating is limited, but here's a list of last year's dinners (scroll down the page just a bit):
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-special-events/

The Disney Food Blog is a good source of information for the F&W and there is usually a dedicated thread here on the Restaurant board as well once more information is released.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You won't be able to get anything that contains an alcoholic beverage with a snack credit. A couple of years ago they had a dish that was simply vanilla ice cream with a shot of Grand Marnier poured over it; you could not redeem a snack credit for that.

You wont' be able to use any type of dining credits for any of the other festival events.

 

[Zooey72]

You won't be able to get anything that contains an alcoholic beverage with a snack credit. A couple of years ago they had a dish that was simply vanilla ice cream with a shot of Grand Marnier poured over it; you could not redeem a snack credit for that.

You wont' be able to use any type of dining credits for any of the other festival events.

I can't use Dining credits for snacks at the food and wine festival? I can live with having to buy the wine oop, but if I can't use snack credits to try different things it isn't really worth it.

Going off youtube they say that the general way the snacks work is that if it is under 5 dollars it is on the plan, higher than that and it is not. In general is that the price range for the food and wine festival?

And in general, is the food and wine festival worth it? My wife is very gung ho about it. We were going to go the day after Labor Day, but if we can get free dining and the festival to overlap we can put it off to the 19th.

 

[jahber]

I can't use Dining credits for snacks at the food and wine festival? I can live with having to buy the wine oop, but if I can't use snack credits to try different things it isn't really worth it. Going off youtube they say that the general way the snacks work is that if it is under 5 dollars it is on the plan, higher than that and it is not. In general is that the price range for the food and wine festival? And in general, is the food and wine festival worth it? My wife is very gung ho about it. We were going to go the day after Labor Day, but if we can get free dining and the festival to overlap we can put it off to the 19th.

Yes, you can use snack credits. If you're asking about the last line of their post, I believe they are referring to using QS or TS credits for the special paid events during F&W.

 

[danceintherain]

I can't use Dining credits for snacks at the food and wine festival? I can live with having to buy the wine oop, but if I can't use snack credits to try different things it isn't really worth it.

Going off youtube they say that the general way the snacks work is that if it is under 5 dollars it is on the plan, higher than that and it is not. In general is that the price range for the food and wine festival?

And in general, is the food and wine festival worth it? My wife is very gung ho about it. We were going to go the day after Labor Day, but if we can get free dining and the festival to overlap we can put it off to the 19th.

I'm not particularly fond of the F&W festival, but I'm a picky eater and don't drink.

However, if I wanted to do what you're projecting, I would do a cost evaluation to decide if upgrading to the Deluxe plan would be worth it at all.

According to current pricing, you would be paying around $44/person/night for the upgrade. If you actually use most of your credits, then it's probably a fine deal, but it may make more sense to simply budget the extra $44/person for snacks and drinks at F&W, especially once you throw in the tipping cost at all the extra Table Service restaurants you're planning.

When I plan trips, I first think about what I think we'll want to eat, then figure out if the dining plan fits us rather than the other way around. Granted, Free Dining is a special case, but if you're seriously about upgrading, then you'll want to make sure the extra cost makes sense.

 

[purple figment]

I can't use Dining credits for snacks at the food and wine festival? I can live with having to buy the wine oop, but if I can't use snack credits to try different things it isn't really worth it.
You can use snack credits for any non-alcoholic food or beverage. As a PP pointed out there have been a couple of food items (like the Dole Whip with the Grand Marnier poured over it) that aren't included because of the alcohol. The signage at each kiosk will show the purple dining plan logo next to the items that qualify.

You cannot use counter service or table service credits at the kiosks or for any of the seminars, wine tastings, or special dining events that are a part of the F&W festival

Going off youtube they say that the general way the snacks work is that if it is under 5 dollars it is on the plan, higher than that and it is not. In general is that the price range for the food and wine festival?
Food at the kiosks range from approx $3-$7, but even the most expensive food items could be purchased with snack credits in past years.

And in general, is the food and wine festival worth it?
We think it is. Our favorite time to go to DW is in the fall for F&W and Halloween.

My wife is very gung ho about it. We were going to go the day after Labor Day, but if we can get free dining and the festival to overlap we can put it off to the 19th.

Also:

You can see the kiosk signage in this article with the prices and purple dining plan logo next to eligible items. Click on the name of each booth:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/FWmenus.htm

While snack credits can be used for eligible items regardless of price at the F&W kiosks, they are more restrictive at the various counter service and food carts. Here is a list of items that are eligible for snack credits:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3215018

 

[sookie]

1. Yes. When we had the DxDDP we had 2 TS meals a day - usually breakfast or an early lunch and a late 2 credit signature dinner. There were a couple days when we had both an early sig lunch and a sig dinner.

2. Snack credits could be used for any non-alcoholic food or beverage so you are correct that you cannot get wine.

3. The only signature restaurant in Epcot is Le Cellier and the only carryover is the Canada kiosk offers Cheddar Cheese Soup and a small portion of filet.

There is, however, a series of dinners called "Culinary Adventures in Signature Dining" that are held during F&W at various venues including many of the signature restaurants, but it has no connection to the DxDDP. Prices vary and seating is limited, but here's a list of last year's dinners (scroll down the page just a bit):
http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013-epcot-food-and-wine-festival-special-events/

The Disney Food Blog is a good source of information for the F&W and there is usually a dedicated thread here on the Restaurant board as well once more information is released.

The bolding is mine.

I thought that Monsieur Paul was a signature? Did this change? Not sure if they are open for lunch or not like Chefs.

 

[sharonabe]

The bolding is mine.

I thought that Monsieur Paul was a signature? Did this change? Not sure if they are open for lunch or not like Chefs.

MP is only open for dinner.

 

[purple figment]

The bolding is mine.

I thought that Monsieur Paul was a signature? Did this change? Not sure if they are open for lunch or not like Chefs.

You're right. I totally spaced out Monsieur Paul and we even ate there on our last trip!

They are open only for dinner.