Disneybuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2010
- Messages
- 2,018
I have not seen any reviews of this event on the DIS, and the only ones I could find online were old, or at odds with my experience for this year. Here is our experience, some basic info, and helpful tips.
To start with we had a fantastic time and plan on doing it again.
For those who do not know, Party for the Senses is a food and beverage event held during Food and Wine in the exposition hall between England and Canada at Epcot. It is on select Saturday nights and you must pay to attend in addition to having a park ticket for that day. They bring in chefs and sommeliers from restaurants around the world. Each evening has a different theme and entertainment.
We attended October 21 event. The theme was Disney chefs and they brought in chefs from the offshore Disney locations as well as all the top restaurants at Disney World.
Each attendee receives an etched wine glass to use that evening and keep. That night we attended has a special offering for DVC members with a special glass. It actually was a second glass, a stemless wine glass so we each got to bring home two wine glasses. I booked this thru DVC, so I am not sure how hard it is to book thru the regular dining line. I also booked the first day it was open.
They offer three booking levels: Wine View $329 per person, reserved seating $199 per person, and group seating $179 per person (don’t quote me on those prices or actual level names, but they are close). We paid the $199 for our party of 5 and I thought it was worth the extra $100. We rode in the elevator back at the Boardwalk with someone who did the wine view. They said it was not worth the extra money, to just do reserved. YMMV
The event ran from 7:30pm -10pm. We left the Boardwalk about 6:25 and walked to Epcot entering via the International Gateway. We stopped on the bridge and had a photopass picture taken. We then walked over to the event and there was a decent crowed already there. It was probably around 7 when we arrived. Supposedly there was a check in location at the front, but we did not force our way up there so I cannot say for sure. A few minutes later they let us into the lobby and we were able to check in there. The way they opened doors I would advise everyone to stay towards the left. We then stood in the lobby for a few minutes and then they let us in the main room to begin the evening,
There are many pictures on line that depict the room. In the center of the room on the right when you walk in is the stage. There is a dance floor in front. On either side of the dance floor are the expensive seats with “guards” to keep the commoners out. We were front and center of the stage in the middle of the room. Since we the middle tier we had our own table. As a party of 5 we had a nice sized table. Parties of four looked a little cramped. We had lots of room. The cheap seats were on the ends of the room and there were some large tables with lots of groups mixed together as well as some small tables. I guess it is luck of the draw. If it was just DH and I, I would consider this level as I like to talk to other people.
I am not going to review the food by item. Some I loved, some I was so so on. Some of the so so things our kids loved though. Definitely something for everyone and I loved being able to try lots of different items. I ate some exotic foods (octopus) that I really enjoyed. There were food stations all over the room and most had food on two sides and beverages on the end. You had a larger plate with a wine glass holder in it to walk around with. The food was on small plates they handed you or you picked up and could balance on your larger plate. You could swirl wine in your wine glass and dump it out in a bucket to avoid crossing tastes. They had so many different things to try. We had a ball trying as many as we could. There is a map at your table of the food, but we just walked around and got in lines.
The entertainment I could have done without. It was a singer, saxophone player who played their own adaption of popular music. Not my cup of tea. During her breaks there was a DJ that I much preferred and lots of us danced at that time. I would have been happy with soft dinner music and then a DJ at the end. I did not attend for the entertainment, so it was not a big deal to me.
With the event you receive guaranteed seating to the first two Eat to the Beat concerts that evening. We did not partake so I can’t comment on how well that worked.
Hints:
I had read a review online that said they had issues getting food and to basically grab it quickly. We did this at first. It really was not necessary. When we go back my daughter and I decided we would each pick a station and grab a plate from both sides. We would then bring them back and share. While the portions are small, we are little people and were stuffed before we tried everything. Lots of people were also eating in line.
I would advise dressing above normal park attire for this event. DD and I wore sleeveless dresses, cardigans as we get cold, and Jack Rogers sandals. DH and our DSs wore polos, dress shorts, and Sperry’s. We were dressed like most people. A few people really dressed up. The people who wore tshirts and shorts looked under dressed and I would have been embarrassed if that was me, but they may not have cared at all.
I really think this event should be adults only, and it basically was. I asked at check in and was told there were about a thousand people there. I only saw two infants, one toddle, and two tweens. The infants were fine, but one it seemed like one was held the whole time. I would think that would be difficult with all the holding of plates you have to do to and standing in lines to pick up the items from the serving areas. The toddler was rolling around on the ground crying and needed to leave. I saw one of the tweens walking around with two alcoholic beverages. I thought that was interesting.
My husband and sons are not big wine drinkers, but they had plenty of beer options. Unfortunately they gave you little shot glasses of beer. As we had the extra DVC wine glass they just started using that for beer which worked out great.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.
To start with we had a fantastic time and plan on doing it again.
For those who do not know, Party for the Senses is a food and beverage event held during Food and Wine in the exposition hall between England and Canada at Epcot. It is on select Saturday nights and you must pay to attend in addition to having a park ticket for that day. They bring in chefs and sommeliers from restaurants around the world. Each evening has a different theme and entertainment.
We attended October 21 event. The theme was Disney chefs and they brought in chefs from the offshore Disney locations as well as all the top restaurants at Disney World.
Each attendee receives an etched wine glass to use that evening and keep. That night we attended has a special offering for DVC members with a special glass. It actually was a second glass, a stemless wine glass so we each got to bring home two wine glasses. I booked this thru DVC, so I am not sure how hard it is to book thru the regular dining line. I also booked the first day it was open.
They offer three booking levels: Wine View $329 per person, reserved seating $199 per person, and group seating $179 per person (don’t quote me on those prices or actual level names, but they are close). We paid the $199 for our party of 5 and I thought it was worth the extra $100. We rode in the elevator back at the Boardwalk with someone who did the wine view. They said it was not worth the extra money, to just do reserved. YMMV
The event ran from 7:30pm -10pm. We left the Boardwalk about 6:25 and walked to Epcot entering via the International Gateway. We stopped on the bridge and had a photopass picture taken. We then walked over to the event and there was a decent crowed already there. It was probably around 7 when we arrived. Supposedly there was a check in location at the front, but we did not force our way up there so I cannot say for sure. A few minutes later they let us into the lobby and we were able to check in there. The way they opened doors I would advise everyone to stay towards the left. We then stood in the lobby for a few minutes and then they let us in the main room to begin the evening,
There are many pictures on line that depict the room. In the center of the room on the right when you walk in is the stage. There is a dance floor in front. On either side of the dance floor are the expensive seats with “guards” to keep the commoners out. We were front and center of the stage in the middle of the room. Since we the middle tier we had our own table. As a party of 5 we had a nice sized table. Parties of four looked a little cramped. We had lots of room. The cheap seats were on the ends of the room and there were some large tables with lots of groups mixed together as well as some small tables. I guess it is luck of the draw. If it was just DH and I, I would consider this level as I like to talk to other people.
I am not going to review the food by item. Some I loved, some I was so so on. Some of the so so things our kids loved though. Definitely something for everyone and I loved being able to try lots of different items. I ate some exotic foods (octopus) that I really enjoyed. There were food stations all over the room and most had food on two sides and beverages on the end. You had a larger plate with a wine glass holder in it to walk around with. The food was on small plates they handed you or you picked up and could balance on your larger plate. You could swirl wine in your wine glass and dump it out in a bucket to avoid crossing tastes. They had so many different things to try. We had a ball trying as many as we could. There is a map at your table of the food, but we just walked around and got in lines.
The entertainment I could have done without. It was a singer, saxophone player who played their own adaption of popular music. Not my cup of tea. During her breaks there was a DJ that I much preferred and lots of us danced at that time. I would have been happy with soft dinner music and then a DJ at the end. I did not attend for the entertainment, so it was not a big deal to me.
With the event you receive guaranteed seating to the first two Eat to the Beat concerts that evening. We did not partake so I can’t comment on how well that worked.
Hints:
I had read a review online that said they had issues getting food and to basically grab it quickly. We did this at first. It really was not necessary. When we go back my daughter and I decided we would each pick a station and grab a plate from both sides. We would then bring them back and share. While the portions are small, we are little people and were stuffed before we tried everything. Lots of people were also eating in line.
I would advise dressing above normal park attire for this event. DD and I wore sleeveless dresses, cardigans as we get cold, and Jack Rogers sandals. DH and our DSs wore polos, dress shorts, and Sperry’s. We were dressed like most people. A few people really dressed up. The people who wore tshirts and shorts looked under dressed and I would have been embarrassed if that was me, but they may not have cared at all.
I really think this event should be adults only, and it basically was. I asked at check in and was told there were about a thousand people there. I only saw two infants, one toddle, and two tweens. The infants were fine, but one it seemed like one was held the whole time. I would think that would be difficult with all the holding of plates you have to do to and standing in lines to pick up the items from the serving areas. The toddler was rolling around on the ground crying and needed to leave. I saw one of the tweens walking around with two alcoholic beverages. I thought that was interesting.
My husband and sons are not big wine drinkers, but they had plenty of beer options. Unfortunately they gave you little shot glasses of beer. As we had the extra DVC wine glass they just started using that for beer which worked out great.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer.
