Is food and wine getting out of hand?

[JJsmama]

I like food and i like wine but i did not enjoy F&W and will make a point NOT to go back for it. My sister and i went last year and she is a real foodie. We were so excited, but it was just wall to wall crowds. I dont know what i was expecting, but i was not expecting rows of temporary food huts with long lines and lots of people there just to get drunk. i agree with OP about that. It was our experience too. I think i was expecting something much more elegant, more like a cocktail party-- just being honest, eventhough that is not very practical. To us, F&W was just too crowded and ugly and detracted from beauty and enjoyment of 'regular' WS. I am happy for the people who love it, but i will happily avoid it.

 

[wilkeliza]

I like food and i like wine but i did not enjoy F&W and will make a point NOT to go back for it. My sister and i went last year and she is a real foodie. We were so excited, but it was just wall to wall crowds. I dont know what i was expecting, but i was not expecting rows of temporary food huts with long lines and lots of people there just to get drunk. i agree with OP about that. It was our experience too. I think i was expecting something much more elegant, more like a cocktail party-- just being honest, eventhough that is not very practical. To us, F&W was just too crowded and ugly and detracted from beauty and enjoyment of 'regular' WS. I am happy for the people who love it, but i will happily avoid it.

You would probably really enjoy Party For The Sense or the offerings that are in the Festival Center if that is what you were expecting.

 

[DisneyRobin]

My kids love Epcot and love the food and wine fest. We've been going for many years and have never had a bad experience with drunks or anything like that. The only issue is the crowds and lines. I try to go during the day and avoid the weekends and nights. Then, it's more manageable... And so much fun!!

 

[tamhugh]

When our kids were younger, we stopped going during Food and Wine because even then, we saw a lot of sloppy drunks. Last year, DH and I went on our first trip for F & W by ourselves and actually had fun just drunk watching. One couple, in at least their 40s or early 50s were making out against the wrought iron railing around the lagoon and fell right over the fence. On the bus back to our hotel, a very drunk young man was standing in front of me (I was seated) and getting very friendly with his girlfriend. He kept rubbing himself against my leg (ewwwwww) and I was afraid to tap his shoulder and ask him to stop because I was sure he would get sick on me if he turned his head.

This year, we are returning with our grown children and other family members for a trip to celebrate several milestone birthdays. We won't, however, be putting on a drunk show.

 

[PoohsFan1]

We just got back yesterday and went to F&W twice during our trip (we made sure it was not during the weekend). The park was crowded (to be expected) and while my girls and I were at MNSSHP this past Friday, DH decided to head over to Epcot to walk around, hoping to get lucky and get in to eat at Teppan Edo, then to enjoy Illuminations....he texted me about an hour into our party and said that he only got as far as the France pavilion where he encountered 2 different parties getting into fights with other F&W patrons with 2 different cast members trying to diffuse the problem at both altercations. After he saw that, plus the fact that it was wall to wall people, he decided to head out and go to DTD (a.k.a. Disney Springs) instead. Last night at the airport, we were talking about F&W and we both agreed that it is a fun festival, however we have done it twice now and we think it may be our last....now F&G festival is our favorite and we cannot wait to get back to that .

 

[tcherjen]

We went last year and didn't have any problems. We are going next week and I hope we don't encounter this. That really stinks.

 

[DOOM1001]

After he saw that, plus the fact that it was wall to wall people, he decided to head out and go to DTD (a.k.a. Disney Springs) instead. Last night at the airport, we were talking about F&W and we both agreed that it is a fun festival, however we have done it twice now and we think it may be our last....now F&G festival is our favorite and we cannot wait to get back to that .

The Flower and Garden festival is starting to become "Food and Wine festival lite" since they've been adding more and more booths just like F&W in the last couple of years.It's definitely nowhere near as crowded,there's only concerts in the weekends and it hasn't reached the popularity of F&W,but I have a feeling as they add food and drink booths and word spreads that there's a similar festival in the Spring the crowds will eventually become close to F&W.The one good thing F&G has going is that it's a longer festival so the crowds will be more spread out.Busch Gardens over in Tampa also added a Food and Wine festival over the Spring and it also was very popular with concerts and lower prices on the food items,seems like these events are big money makers.

 

[RhodyChief]

Part of me truly wonders if some people think F&W is the only place where public intoxication in a crowded area takes place.

Go to any sporting event (especially one that's in an outdoor stadium when it's hot out) and you'll see extremely belligerent drunks getting into fistfights with no regard for the safety of those around them, including children. To expect public drunkenness to be a rare occurrence at a festival that focuses on food and ALCOHOL is a little naive.

 

[phyllis1966]

My kids love Epcot and love the food and wine fest. We've been going for many years and have never had a bad experience with drunks or anything like that. The only issue is the crowds and lines. I try to go during the day and avoid the weekends and nights. Then, it's more manageable... And so much fun!!

Yep, us too. Our DD has loved the F&WF since we first attended, accidentally (we hadn't yet heard of it), in 2002 when she was 3.5 years old. She loves to eat! We have attended several times since then, and in recent years, have stuck to weekdays and early afternoon on weekends. We've seen many a tipsy/loud person, but luckily never anything worse than that.

 

[ellie05]

I seen two stumbling drunk parents walking down Main Street. We were wondering why would they let them in, it was clear they had just gotten to the park. I also seen drunk people at Epcot and during F&W. I don't think the drunks are just part of F&W.

 

[Under the Library]

We were at Epcot last year on St. Patrick's Day. Plenty of parents enjoying the libations that day. We didn't have an issue with the other patrons but had fun watching some folks. We will be at F&W on the last weekend this year. I'm not really thinking we are taking our kids in to a den of debauchery. We've seen some of the loudest drunken dudes at our AMC with the bar there at the theater.

 

[capegirl]

As others have pointed out, poor behaviour is not exclusive to EPCOT. Neverthelss, the
pub crawl vibe is likely to attract those who indulge in too much alcohol, just as PI did before it's demise. I think many of us have high expectations when we vacation on Disney property, but I don't think we should be totally surprised when we witness drunken behaviour in this environment. What we should expect is a very strong security presence from Disney. Disney sells alcohol, that said, it is their responsibility to remove from the parks anyone whose behaviour is unnacceptable, as well as refusing to serve alcohol to anyone who is clearly intoxicated. Unfortunately there will always be individuals who believe that a vacation or a night out on the town, is a license to abandon personal responsibility.

 

[tsswatkins]

Just returned from a trip October 2 to October 9 of this year. My family purposely avoided Epcot on the weekend due to poor experiences during the F&W Festival on the weekend during our last trip (two years ago). However, we still managed to have a bad experience again. We were at the Chase viewing area for Illuminations. A middle age woman with two small children in a double stroller parked near us at the railing, along with her husband and parents. She was drunk out of her mind. About five minutes into the show, she started throwing up and doused two older ladies (who were absolutely adorable and sweet) standing between us and the drunk. When she finished, she collapsed back into the kid's stroller (kids were standing at the railing for the fireworks). When the lights finally came back up after the show, two CM's came to check on the uproar where the incident had occurred. They ended up bringing a wheelchair to cart her out. Can you say mother of the year award?

Needless to say, there's a good chance we will skip Epcot if we vacation again during the F&W Festival.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Just returned from a trip October 2 to October 9 of this year. My family purposely avoided Epcot on the weekend due to poor experiences during the F&W Festival on the weekend during our last trip (two years ago). However, we still managed to have a bad experience again. We were at the Chase viewing area for Illuminations. A middle age woman with two small children in a double stroller parked near us at the railing, along with her husband and parents. She was drunk out of her mind. About five minutes into the show, she started throwing up and doused two older ladies (who were absolutely adorable and sweet) standing between us and the drunk. When she finished, she collapsed back into the kid's stroller (kids were standing at the railing for the fireworks). When the lights finally came back up after the show, two CM's came to check on the uproar where the incident had occurred. They ended up bringing a wheelchair to cart her out. Can you say mother of the year award?

Needless to say, there's a good chance we will skip Epcot if we vacation again during the F&W Festival.

Wowsers. By far the worst account of F&W I have read here IMHO. Just, no. Your kids > your need for a drink. Grow up.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Just returned from a trip October 2 to October 9 of this year. My family purposely avoided Epcot on the weekend due to poor experiences during the F&W Festival on the weekend during our last trip (two years ago). However, we still managed to have a bad experience again. We were at the Chase viewing area for Illuminations. A middle age woman with two small children in a double stroller parked near us at the railing, along with her husband and parents. She was drunk out of her mind. About five minutes into the show, she started throwing up and doused two older ladies (who were absolutely adorable and sweet) standing between us and the drunk. When she finished, she collapsed back into the kid's stroller (kids were standing at the railing for the fireworks). When the lights finally came back up after the show, two CM's came to check on the uproar where the incident had occurred. They ended up bringing a wheelchair to cart her out. Can you say mother of the year award?

Needless to say, there's a good chance we will skip Epcot if we vacation again during the F&W Festival.

Wow thats really bad! what the heck is wrong with some people? I havent read all the pages in this thread but im just curious, do the booth attendants still sell alcohol to people even though they see the customer is clearly extremely intoxicated?

 

[wilkeliza]

Wow thats really bad! what the heck is wrong with some people? I havent read all the pages in this thread but im just curious, do the booth attendants still sell alcohol to people even though they see the customer is clearly extremely intoxicated?

They aren't suppose to but yes it happens. The big issue is that they person who is clearly intoxicated may not be the one buying the alcohol. Usually they send the more sober person up to go get the booze and then bring it back so that they don't get denied services.

 

[sunshinemelody]

They aren't suppose to but yes it happens. The big issue is that they person who is clearly intoxicated may not be the one buying the alcohol. Usually they send the more sober person up to go get the booze and then bring it back so that they don't get denied services.

I remember someone coming up with the idea of using MB's to determine how much alcohol someone has received and should. Heck, if the MB's one day can read alcohol content levels that'd be entertaining, but alas. But maybe the idea should actually be implemented. If you're staying in the parks all day, you drinking up to two drinks per hour should not be a problem for you. Take your time. Be leisurely. It's not a freakin' race.

 

[goofyintoronto]

They aren't suppose to but yes it happens. The big issue is that they person who is clearly intoxicated may not be the one buying the alcohol. Usually they send the more sober person up to go get the booze and then bring it back so that they don't get denied services.

Yes thats what I was thinking. When you want a drink, there's always a way to get it. So sad that someone can get so out of control in a public place like that...I'd ban that woman from epcot. Awful.

 

[sunshinemelody]

Yes thats what I was thinking. When you want a drink, there's always a way to get it. So sad that someone can get so out of control in a public place like that...I'd ban that woman from epcot. Awful.

I wonder if this just one of those things that get people "suspended" from the park for awhile, but not banned. After all, she just got drunk, she didn't burn down Le Cellier.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I wonder if this just one of those things that get people "suspended" from the park for awhile, but not banned. After all, she just got drunk, she didn't burn down Le Cellier.

ha ha, burn down le cellier. yes I think banning for a short period would be more appropriate than a life time ban.