How long is the wait at the booths during F&W?

[KatieCollette]

I know it will vary a lot during different times, but if you could share your experiances and what day of the week and time it was I would appreciate it!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We go every single year and the worst time to go is Fri and Saturday all day...its packed and the lines can be 20-35 people deep. The best time to go is Sun late afternoon until Thurs late afternoon....otherwise you will be battling with the locals and the weekenders

 

[KatieCollette]

Ahhh you just made me so happy with your post! Because those are the exact days we will be going!

 

[softballmom3]

We go every single year and the worst time to go is Fri and Saturday all day...its packed and the lines can be 20-35 people deep. The best time to go is Sun late afternoon until Thurs late afternoon....otherwise you will be battling with the locals and the weekenders

Second that. We were there 2nd week of October last year and never waited more than just a couple of people.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

We went the Weds. and Thurs. afternoons leading into Columbus Day Weekend last year and I don't recall ever having more than maybe 4 or 5 people ahead of us. I'd say we never waited more than 7 minutes from getting in line to getting our food.

 

[Kay1]

Yes, avoid the weekends like the plague and you'll have a great experience.

 

[hurleysweety]

Yes, avoid the weekends like the plague and you'll have a great experience.

This made me smile. Not to hijack the thread, but would an ADR at Epcot during F&W on the weekend be just silly?

 

[KatieCollette]

This made me smile. Not to hijack the thread, but would an ADR at Epcot during F&W on the weekend be just silly?

IDK! We are going to Epcot twice on our trip, and we made dinner ADR's for both nights. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I'm going to cancel my Akershus for one night. I'm going with 3 guys, they don't want to go to a princess meal after all! I figure we'll just snack all day around the world and be fine. I would have canceled both dinners, but my DH has his heart set on eating at the Rose and Crown.

 

[leebee]

What about Sunday of Columbus Day weekend, though? Is it a holiday in Florida, or just in the northeast? We really don't have any other choice of day, so maybe I don't want to hear bad news, but will we really regret doing Epcot/Food&Wine on Sunday, 10/9?

 

[kathyell]

I was in Epcot this past Thursday, when they were having a preview night. I thought some of the lines *looked* long, but when I actually got into one, I was surprised at how quickly the line moved. Don't necessarily bypass a booth because the line looks long. They are serving a very limited menu of stuff and typically the amount of time it takes to serve each guest is pretty quick.

We were at Food and Wine last year, too, but we walked past a lot of booths where the line looked "long" to us. I wish now that we'd just got in line and waited to see if we got to the front quicker than we thought we would.

 

[Mr. Pig]

IDK! We are going to Epcot twice on our trip, and we made dinner ADR's for both nights. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I'm going to cancel my Akershus for one night. I'm going with 3 guys, they don't want to go to a princess meal after all! I figure we'll just snack all day around the world and be fine. I would have canceled both dinners, but my DH has his heart set on eating at the Rose and Crown.

We usually have at least one meal a day other than the snacks. Snacking is good but it is nice to sit down to a full meal so keeping the Rose and Crown is reasonable. You are going more than one day so you don't have to try everything the first day.

We have always stayed away from weekends and during the week the worst I have seen are about a dozen people in line and normally it is only a couple of people in line.

 

[bobbyshawatl]

I was at Epcot for the opening day of the Food and Wine Festival on Friday. We arrived around 11:00am at the park, and hit a couple of the future world rides (Nemo, Figment and Mission Space), which were all walk-ons. Then headed to eat. We started on the Mexico side, which apparently everyone else did. They were PACKED, with dozens of people each in the Argentina, Caribbean and Mexico booths. I decided I wanted a map, so circled back around to one of the festival shops, and ended up heading the other direction, starting at Canada. The booths were more manageable that direction, with usually less than 10 people at each booth. By the time we made it around the world, it was well after lunch, and before dinner time, so the booths were not so bad. Had some GREAT food and was so glad I hadn't used very many snack credits throughout the week of my trip!

 

[KatieCollette]

Had some GREAT food and was so glad I hadn't used very many snack credits throughout the week of my trip!

I'm glad you had a great time! I think we will start with Canada and work or way around that way thanks to your advice. And we also are saving most of our snack credits for this.

 

[we3peas]

Locally Columbus Day is NOT a holiday from work here. It might be a federal holiday(banks and courts) but school is in session in Orlando, unless it is private school and they set their own rules.

 

[KatieCollette]

What about Sunday of Columbus Day weekend, though? Is it a holiday in Florida, or just in the northeast? We really don't have any other choice of day, so maybe I don't want to hear bad news, but will we really regret doing Epcot/Food&Wine on Sunday, 10/9?

Well my son has off the Thursday and Friday before Columbus day. We also have off the Thursday and Friday before Halloween, which is why we are going that week. We live in the Midwest.

 

[ars0525]

We did the Saturday of Columbus weekend 2 years in a row. Lines at the booths (especially later in the afternoons), crowds, lines at rides, etc... Not terrible awful, but not always the most enjoyable (who wants to wait 20+ minutes for a sample of food?)

We did the last Wednesday in October last year....wonderful! No waiting at booths, no waiting for rides, room to walk about. Very nice!

 

[HadesTX]

We just went on Saturday & Sunday & the difference was like night & day.

Saturday was long lines from the beginning. I only went to one kiosk & quit. Bad, bad, bad.

Sunday I sampled everything I wanted to & the longest line was 10 people deep. Much nicer.

We left the WS side of the park around 3pm both days.

 

[TDC Nala]

If you are going on a Saturday, enter at 11 or as soon thereafter as you can - and head for the booths in the MIDDLE of the showcase, say between Morocco and Germany. People will stop at the closer ones and there will be fewer lines in the middle - at least until the crowds catch up.

Sunday had longer lines in the early afternoon (not as long as Saturday lines) and by evening the lines decreased significantly.

Statistically the most popular F&W booths are Canada and Ireland. That may also end up being true this year. The Ireland line was never less than 20 people deep all weekend to my observation.

 

[KatieCollette]

Really? Ireland and Canada? Their foods didn't look particularly appetizing to me, except for the Lobster and Scallop Fisherman's Pie from Ireland. I can't wait for the hops and barley and French booth!

I want from the
French booth- Escargots Persillade en Brioche , Creme Brulee au Chocolate au Lait, and Parisian Cosmo Slush

Hops and Barley Booth- New England Lobster Roll

 

[madalex]

The booths are staffed differently depending on crowd level. During busy periods, there will be two registers open at some booths and the registers will be separately staffed from the people who give you the food. During less busy times, the person who takes your order may also be responsible for getting the food and giving it to you. Thus, a long line may move quickly if the booth is well staffed, while a short line may move slowly if the opposite is true.