How much to budget for F&W Epcot?

[mousefan73]

So I am so excited that in our annual trip the F&W is already on. I looooove food and looooove wine/ciders/beer


I did some research and my God are the portions tiny! Can anyone comment on the portion sizes? Basically I am a pig and I love to eat good food. I have no shame.

So how much have any other foodies and wine connoisseurs out there spent in one evening?? To get full ( I plan to make this my main meal of the day).

Also, My goal is not to get drunk, I will accept getting a bit tipsy but as my mom and kids will be with, I need to control myself.. And also I want to taste and enjoy with food.

Also any tips on which food items are great and a good cost/portion ratio?

I am guessing 50-75???


ps. pls move if this fits more in the dining thread.

 

[CAS239]

I would say $75-$100

The portions are really small and the drinks are small as well. If it's going to be your main meal(s) you need quite a bit as they're intended to be snacks.

The portions can fit in the size of your hand

 

[merry_nbright]

I'm taking $100 in gift cards, just to be on the safe side. I've never used that much there, I've been to the last two, but it's always good to have more than less.

 

[Doug S]

On my trip last year I spent about $50/day. Most food items are under $5 and booze will run anywhere from $5 for a thimble of beer or wine to $10+ for strong cocktails. I found the cocktails to be the best bang-for-your-buck booze wise. Most of the beer and wine is not very special and way overpriced.

 

[Anal Annie]

We went down the past couple of years. The first year I was on my own as DH was there for a work conference. We were there for 4 nights and I had all of my charges from my band go to a separate card. I think I spent about $250 (this was spread all across all parks / all meals & drinks for the duration). Last year we went together and I would say we spent about $650 in 5 days (in all parks) BUT DH got his own little F&W gift card and put money on it for his drinking (as he drinks more than me so he paid extra for his). I think he spent like $100 or $125 extra on beer. Maybe $150. Again, this amount was more than just F&W. We found that if we went to F&W to say "eat lunch" we'll eat at about 3 different kiosks. We often split the items so we're in effect trying 6 different things. Three each was enough for me to say I was full. Not STUFFED to the point of being ready to EXPLODE but not hungry any more either. I think each of our "meals" when we did this averaged about $16-17 per person - FOOD ONLY. I felt like the wine glasses from the kiosks were a rip off (they were tiny and weren't usually even full) so I only bought full size beverages (like margaritas in MX or Grey Goose Slushies in France for example). So I guess to estimate a "meal" consisting of 3 items plus 2 full size drinks I would budget about $35 per person.

 

[thepicklebee]

I am a light eater - I often opt for an app as an entree as a meal - and I can eat two to three F&W portions for a meal, depending on the item. Some are more filling, like the lamb chop, and the mac and cheese. I also only drink liquor so the tiny beverages aren't my go to. In a full day at Epcot, as a couple we could easily spend $150 getting a couple items/drinks at different booths over the course of the day.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I am a big eater. At Flower & Garden (2015) I had 4 of the food items (tacos al pastor, seafood ceviche, brisket burnt ends hash, kung pao chicken bun) 2 drinks (margarita and la vie en rose slush) and a cucumber water. I spent about $43 and was full. Prices have gone up on most of these items by $1 or so.

This year my DH is joining me. I am looking forward to splitting some dishes, so I can try more than just 4 things this time around. I'm looking at you seared scallops, beef tenderloin tips, beef teriyaki udon, and shrimp & grits!

 

[elcmum]

We went last year (DS11 and myself). I used an app (and now can't remember the name of it) but prior to the trip I read through the blog posts and read reviews of the food and made a list of items that I thought we would like to eat.

The end result was we spent about $100 total (no alcohol) on food that day, and there were times that I felt like I just snacked and ate all day and other moments when I felt like it was the best thing ever.

I highly suggest going into F&W with a plan... otherwise you will stop at every single booth.

As for me, I really liked the Korean BBQ and mac'n'cheese at Farm Fresh (so did DS). I really loved the Aussie lamb and hummus fries (Greece?) and DS enjoyed the nitro ice-cream and waffle from Belgium. Funny things happened and we're actually going back again this year, so the things I wouldn't try again would be strudel from Germany and heirloom tomato salad.

For the price and the portions, though, you really can't go wrong. If you don't like something, you're only out a few bucks. Love it? Go back again.

 

[PaintsWindColors]

DH and I budgeted $100/day for food - but that's using F&W in place of two meals and only one of us was drinking. We shared each portion just to decide if we liked it and went back for more.

 

[DizDaD7]

There's a huge range of what people spend...& how hungry ones' appetite is compared to others.

All in all I'd say $50 on an avg. is a consistent enough number.
France's Beef Bourgenaise short rib & mashed potato is delicious & about 6.25 or so. Good buy!
Hops & Barley has 2 of my favs'. Smoked Beef Brisket on garlic toast. (Nice size) 5.25 & the Lobster roll for 7.50 I think...
Italy has a traditional baked ziti & chicken parm..although I've had way better, it still is good & the portion for $$ is very good.
Patagonia has a nice beef skewer & also a beef empanada..Respectively priced at 4.75 & 5.75.
Austrailia. My DD swears by the Lamb chop---> Her Fav. & my DS loves Brazils Pork belly with black beans. I like the latter.

Drinks can vary from place to place, but I don't care what the price is from one to another...It's usually minimal. IMHO

 

[Anal Annie]

We went last year (DS11 and myself). I used an app (and now can't remember the name of it) but prior to the trip I read through the blog posts and read reviews of the food and made a list of items that I thought we would like to eat.

The end result was we spent about $100 total (no alcohol) on food that day, and there were times that I felt like I just snacked and ate all day and other moments when I felt like it was the best thing ever.

I highly suggest going into F&W with a plan... otherwise you will stop at every single booth.

As for me, I really liked the Korean BBQ and mac'n'cheese at Farm Fresh (so did DS). I really loved the Aussie lamb and hummus fries (Greece?) and DS enjoyed the nitro ice-cream and waffle from Belgium. Funny things happened and we're actually going back again this year, so the things I wouldn't try again would be strudel from Germany and heirloom tomato salad.

For the price and the portions, though, you really can't go wrong. If you don't like something, you're only out a few bucks. Love it? Go back again.

That Farm Fresh Loaded Mac & Cheese is SOOOOO good!! I found the recipe online to make it at home - but it's not quite as good. I always have to have that at least 2x per trip!! And I want my OWN!! I'm not sharing that one!! I also love the fillet & cheddar cheese soup in Canada and the Escargot Croissant in France....

 

[PSUGuy]

The last 2 years we took our own wine in insulated bottles, saved a ton of $$ which we used on the food. The Fisherman's Pie in Ireland is pretty substantial and I agree with the Ziti and Beef Bourgenaise also.

Bill From PA

 

[stinkpickle]

What are these "budgets" that you speak of?

 

[stinkpickle]

Honestly though, we always combine a F&W day with a mid-day meal at Biergarten or Via Napoli, so that probably skews our numbers a bit.

 

[JennyDrake]

I am also a Hard Core Foodie and I'm a non-drinker. You can go through some serious money FAST @ F&W LOL! I easily ate through $75 in ONE afternoon/evening--again, no alcohol.

 

[hetzeltj]

For the food isn't most of the food eligible to redeemed as snacks on the DP?

 

[DizDad513]

How much you got?! No seriously, about $75 per person should do. If you go with a partner you can try more and share. Tip, if you are on the dining plan, almost ALL food is a snack credit. When we are there on the dining plan we save our snack credits and use those at F&W (except for items under $4, we use gift card for those). So with using snack credits on the items over $4 and paying with a gift card for the alcohol and anything under $4, we spend about $30-50 per person. Alcohol is great to sample at the F&W kiosks, but you get a better deal going to the traditional watering holes in the pavilions.

 

[Accident]

For the food isn't most of the food eligible to redeemed as snacks on the DP?

I'm pretty sure all of it is (the food, not the drinks).