New Epcot Food and Wine Premium Package for onsite guests only

[RebelHawk]

Lots of confusion with the CMs that is for sure. I just got off of a 45 minute call with a CM who kept trying to book the LIVE event. Once I finally got her to look up the premium event details she had me wait on multiple holds as she investigated it. When she came back she told me that since my hotel reservation is for Friday to Monday I couldn't purchase the premium package. She insisted that you had to have a Tuesday or Thursday resort stay to book this.

When I told her we were staying at the Swan she said that she could note my reservation in the CM special note section so that our gift package could be delivered. Knowing that Disney and the Sheraton restorations systems are linked I then asked her how she would know if we were staying for that Tuesday night or not and she didn't have an answer. I elected not to book it since she said this was a non refundable event.

Has anyone else attempted to book this without a Tuesday or Thursday hotel reservation or staying at the Swan/Dolphin?

 

[plumsiren]

I don't see the value. I could, however, see paying that, and rather than getting silly little extras, having the ability to purchase, say, one of every food item offered, or it entitling you to 50% off unlimited purchases for one person.

 

[kaylasmom07]

The Live! Event is only held on a Tuesday or Thursday, and you have to tell them which day you want to attend the event when you book the premium package because it includes admission to event. Maybe that is why she wasn't able to book you.

 

[ethanwa]

Lots of confusion with the CMs that is for sure. I just got off of a 45 minute call with a CM who kept trying to book the LIVE event. Once I finally got her to look up the premium event details she had me wait on multiple holds as she investigated it. When she came back she told me that since my hotel reservation is for Friday to Monday I couldn't purchase the premium package. She insisted that you had to have a Tuesday or Thursday resort stay to book this.

When I told her we were staying at the Swan she said that she could note my reservation in the CM special note section so that our gift package could be delivered. Knowing that Disney and the Sheraton restorations systems are linked I then asked her how she would know if we were staying for that Tuesday night or not and she didn't have an answer. I elected not to book it since she said this was a non refundable event.

Has anyone else attempted to book this without a Tuesday or Thursday hotel reservation or staying at the Swan/Dolphin?

Tip of the day: In case like this, get off the phone and call back until you get a CM who understands what you are trying to do. Waiting on the phone for 45 minutes is a waste of your time. It's quicker just to get someone more competent.

Happens all the time with me, even with Disney.

Ethan

 

[thestevied]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...enjoy-epcot-international-food-wine-festival/

Official confirmation of gifts per guest, not per room

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...enjoy-epcot-international-food-wine-festival/

Official confirmation of gifts per guest, not per room

Good find, thestevied.

There are guests who are calling to book the Premium and are being told that each guest does NOT get a $50 gift card, that it is one per room. I can see the bottle of wine being one per room and maybe the truffles and possibly a bag if a bag is actually included, but not the gift card, wine glass, magic band or credential. Those should be per guest, not per room. What is accurate?

Pam Brandon on August 4th, 2014 at 10:55 am
The package is per person, so each person who orders the package receives one of each item, including everything in the amenity gift and gift card.

I just called to ask about this, and the Cast Member stated only one $50 gift card per room. Would someone please give us the official word on if the gift bags, MagicBands, and gift cards are per person or per room?

Pam Brandon on August 4th, 2014 at 10:56 am
It is one per guest.

 

[Lorelei528]

Great news that this is per person for the gifts, not per room!

I was going to book it the other day but I wasn't sure about this. Now I won't have the $ until next Friday and am hoping our day for the party is not sold out!

Keeping fingers crossed! I think DH will really like all the extras!

 

[Raenstoirm]

Anyone have any confirmation about the VIP areas and how long you can use them? We have a split stay with a cruise in the middle, so our trip is rather confusing. I was under the impression the VIP area was just for one day, but if it is for longer that maybe worth it.

EDIT Disney just said this You may use the lounges as much as you want Monday – Thursday of a one week period.

 

[ChrisNY2]

Has anyone else attempted to book this without a Tuesday or Thursday hotel reservation or staying at the Swan/Dolphin?

Yes - I have a stay Saturday October 4-Monday October 6. She linked it to my party choice of October 28th. (I'll be back that later week but wanted my magic band and other perks for the earlier stay.) We'll see what happens

When the CM was reading me the details from her paper, she accidentally read the part that said "When booking, enter the guest's resort reservation number in the comment section of the reservation." So if you call back, tell them the date you want the party, and then tell them you're at the Swan and provide your confirmation number, it should work.

 

[CookieGVB]

Has anyone successfully booked this lately? I was just on the phone and it doesn't seem to be available to book. Anyone have the magic touch and were you able to get them to figure out the right thing and actually book it?

****
edited to add: I gave it one more try, and finally found a CM who knew how to book the event - but it took some doing. It books by the date of the Late Evening Party that you choose to attend. Each other CM had no idea what date to use - tried to use the date we were checking in (which was not a Tuesday or Thursday), so the event was coming up "unavailable". Patience paid off.

 

[BrittyRo]

I'm curious about this because I have the Tutto Gusto Wind Down booked for 10/2 (which obviously starts at 9:20) and we are trying to decide if we want to add this on too? I see that it starts 9:45. If we have the wind down booked would we be able to just mosey over to the block party?

 

[Raenstoirm]

Just booked for Sept 25th. The first time I called the Cm said it was sold out. The second call lead me to a very nice cm that had to get a supervisor to get it to go through. Apparently there are a couple boxes they have to check and if they miss one it comes back not available.
We have twins do this winter, so this is our last adults only trip for a long time so I figure the price was worth it.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

When she came back she told me that since my hotel reservation is for Friday to Monday I couldn't purchase the premium package. She insisted that you had to have a Tuesday or Thursday resort stay to book this.

This would be correct. The After Hours party is only on Tuesdays or Thursdays. You can choose which day to attend but you must be attending over one of those days.

The VIP "lounge" areas would be no good to you either because they are not available Friday-Sunday, only on Monday-Thursday. You would be paying a heck of a lot for no After Hours party and only a partial day of access to the VIP areas.

 

[DVC_Corrys]

We booked on July 31st to ensure our spot. This will jump to $250 or $299 next year. Mark my words....

Since we booked when it was unclear on the per room or per person we did separate reservations for myself and my wife with two different credit cards. Figured it couldn't hurt!

 

[TheGoodes73]

We are booked for this, and are VERY excited. 4 adults, one 10 year old - Staying at the Boardwalk from Oct 2-10.

It took over an hour on the phone with the CM, but I didn't mind. She had to put me on hold multiple times to get the information needed - but in the end, I feel pretty confident that I have the correct information. She was excellent at hunting down the info we needed.

My first question was if I could purchase a package for my 10 year old, and it took 15 minutes to get the answer: YES - but the price is the same $199. No bottle of wine for the child (of course), but she said there will be a non-alcoholic gift in it's place - she didn't know what it was.

No DVC, AP or Visa discounts available.

After multiple holds, she was able to confirm that the gift bag with the goodies are per person, not per room. Everyone gets the wine, gift card, chocolates, magic band and party ticket.

We had to decide what night we wanted to attend the party - we decided on Tuesday.

She said the gift bag would be given to us at check-in - and that we had to visit the welcome center at the festival the day of the party to pick up our "food/drink tickets" for the party.

We check in to the Boardwalk on Thursday, Oct 2nd. She said that the gift bags will be there when we arrive. She said that we can begin using the VIP areas on Monday, and that we could use them as much as we want until Thursday Oct 9th at 8:00 p.m. The credentials for the VIP area are included in the gift bag - the credentials include the dates we are allowed access.

She could not confirm if there was seating available in the VIP areas (but my fingers are crossed). The use of a standing table would also be much better than balancing the food on a smelly trash can. I'm assuming the cast members that will be "running" for the food will have hand held devices that will run your credit card/gift card or magic band (like they do on the airplane).

I think the value for this package is good. $50 gift card, $79 party ticket, bottle of wine, F&W festival wine glass and chocolates & the specially themed magic band really make it worth it. If you add up all of that, it leaves about $40 - and I think it's worth the extra $ to have access to these VIP areas for 4 days - using my math, it's only $10/day. Only time will tell if it truly is a good deal. To each their own. I work really hard for my money and I like to splurge when I'm on vacation - I'm worth it

I will not be surprised if they raise the price next year.

I am so excited for this, and will report back when we return. I'm guessing there will be some bumps along the way since it is so new.

 

[TheGoodes73]

We are booked for this, and are VERY excited. 4 adults, one 10 year old - Staying at the Boardwalk from Oct 2-10.

It took over an hour on the phone with the CM, but I didn't mind. She had to put me on hold multiple times to get the information needed - but in the end, I feel pretty confident that I have the correct information. She was excellent at hunting down the info we needed.

My first question was if I could purchase a package for my 10 year old, and it took 15 minutes to get the answer: YES - but the price is the same $199. No bottle of wine for the child (of course), but she said there will be a non-alcoholic gift in it's place - she didn't know what it was.

No DVC, AP or Visa discounts available.

After multiple holds, she was able to confirm that the gift bag with the goodies are per person, not per room. Everyone gets the wine, gift card, chocolates, magic band and party ticket.

We had to decide what night we wanted to attend the party - we decided on Tuesday.

She said the gift bag would be given to us at check-in - and that we had to visit the welcome center at the festival the day of the party to pick up our "food/drink tickets" for the party.

We check in to the Boardwalk on Thursday, Oct 2nd. She said that the gift bags will be there when we arrive. She said that we can begin using the VIP areas on Monday, and that we could use them as much as we want until Thursday Oct 9th at 8:00 p.m. The credentials for the VIP area are included in the gift bag - the credentials include the dates we are allowed access.

She could not confirm if there was seating available in the VIP areas (but my fingers are crossed). The use of a standing table would also be much better than balancing the food on a smelly trash can. I'm assuming the cast members that will be "running" for the food will have hand held devices that will run your credit card/gift card or magic band (like they do on the airplane).

I think the value for this package is good. $50 gift card, $79 party ticket, bottle of wine, F&W festival wine glass and chocolates & the specially themed magic band really make it worth it. If you add up all of that, it leaves about $40 - and I think it's worth the extra $ to have access to these VIP areas for 4 days - using my math, it's only $10/day. Only time will tell if it truly is a good deal. To each their own. I work really hard for my money and I like to splurge when I'm on vacation - I'm worth it

I will not be surprised if they raise the price next year.

I am so excited for this, and will report back when we return. I'm guessing there will be some bumps along the way since it is so new.

UPDATE -

Guest Services called to tell me that they are not going to have any Tuesday night Epcot Live parties. They will only be held on Thursdays.

We were given the following options:
Move our Late Night Live party to a Thursday
Attend an Illuminations Dessert Party instead
Get partial refund $84/person refunded
or full refund

Luckily we have Oct 2nd (Thursday) open. We recently changed our flights and now arrive Oct 1st instead - I guess I must have had ESP or something.

So we took the Oct 2nd Thursday party. She confirmed that our credentials for the VIP areas would be valid Oct 2nd, and then again M-TH Oct 6-9th.

We couldn't choose the Oct 9th Thursday party because we already have MNSSHP that night. They would have moved that for us to accommodate, but we didn't want to change it.

Still looking forward to trying this new event/package. Will post review and outline of events when I return.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

this is confirmed for sure. All Tuesday After Hours parties have been cancelled.

 

[Lorelei528]

We are booked for a Tuesday!! Who do I need to call? I have not received any communication yet from Disney..

 

[Lorelei528]

I called dining and of course they had no idea, they transferred me to guest services and they don't know either..I'm on hold

We can't attend the Thursday party, so I need to get the partial refund.

Anyone else talk to them yet?

 

[Lorelei528]

Ok, then they transferred me to another dept, actually they couldn't transfer me, they gave me another number to call.

I called and of course their office is "closed". I left a message and will call back tomorrow.....

ugh. Hate this kind of stuff and having to do all the extra work etc.