To Food & Wine or Not

[pcoleman]

Going down for super quick trip end of October. Flying in on a Thursday hoping to check in hotel by 1:30pm. Plan on heading over to EPCOT for afternoon and evening. Food & Wine Festival will be going on during this time. I have never been to this festival and am excited to try new experience. This is my question/problem. I have reviewed the menus posted. Identified maybe 8-10 options I may like. I am a VERY picky eater and have several food allergies so I can't just "pick things off". I also do not consume alcohol in any form. Should I still try and find something I might like or just blow off this area of the park? Epcot is my least favorite park so I never alot a whole day here. Hoping those that are expierienced with the festival can provide some assistance.

 

[powellrj]

If you are going to be there anyway, I would try it once. We don't drink, but we enjoy trying new things to eat. Maybe go over the menus before you get there and see if there is anything you may like to try.

 

[hildarumpole]

My kids have food allergies, so they have limited choices to start. We contacted Special Diets before our trip last fall and were told to avoid any booths that had any of their allergens, because of cross-contamination risks prepping food in limited space. So we mapped out where we could go, but still wanted to check for hidden allergens. It was very difficult. One booth told us we'd have to wait for a manager, which could take up to 30 min. No thanks. Some were able to answer questions quickly. In 5 hours, they tried 2 different foods from the booths. They got some food from the regular QS places where they are used to dealing with allergies. Crowds pick up considerably throughout the afternoon and into the evening and lines get very long. We decided it wasn't worthwhile and went to regular restaurants the rest of the trip.

 

[Nancyg56]

My question is why do you go to the WS in Epcot? WE go during F&W and the food and beverages that we have are simply a bonus. If you basically skip the Countries normally, than I would skip this portion for F&W and explore a different park.

 

[Micca]

You said you're a picky eater/allergies and you do not drink alcohol. Sounds like it would be more of a hassle for you to do F&W than just going to one of the TS restaurants and having a regular meal.

 

[bootlord9000]

We traveled as two picky eaters last year and didn't find anything that was worth the effort or heat at F&W. We ended up eating at the American Pavilion. Unless you just really want to watch Illuminations, I'd go somewhere else. Probably HS since there's two nighttime shows that are nearly impossible to catch in one night.

 

[Leelo]

We haven't been to Food & Wine but we went to Flower & Garden and tried the food booths. We don't drink alcohol and my husband is a very picky eater. We were generally not very impressed, even by the ones that had great blog reviews online. We are going to be at Disney during Food & Wine this Fall and will probably give it one more shot but only if it is convenient. No special trips. I think it would be worth a try at least once for most people though. Food allergies: At F&G, most of the dishes were pre-made and not cooked to order so you would definitely need to consult those menus or ask about ingredients.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Going down for super quick trip end of October. Flying in on a Thursday hoping to check in hotel by 1:30pm. Plan on heading over to EPCOT for afternoon and evening. Food & Wine Festival will be going on during this time. I have never been to this festival and am excited to try new experience. This is my question/problem. I have reviewed the menus posted. Identified maybe 8-10 options I may like. I am a VERY picky eater and have several food allergies so I can't just "pick things off". I also do not consume alcohol in any form. Should I still try and find something I might like or just blow off this area of the park? Epcot is my least favorite park so I never alot a whole day here. Hoping those that are expierienced with the festival can provide some assistance.

I'm a little confused as to why you are going to EP at all if it's a super quick trip and EP is your least favorite park? But I'll bite!!! I would say, don't bother with the kiosks. The lines can get super, super long and, quite honestly, I've never eaten anything there that has really blown me away (the kiosks during the holidays are a different matter). If you aren't a foodie, have allergies and are a picky eater, I don't think waiting in those lines will be worth it for you. Don't get me wrong, EP is actually my FAVORITE park and I will still walk around WS during F&W. I just prefer to skip the kiosks (mainly the LINES at the kiosks) and eat at a tried-and-true QS or TS I know I will like. I also don't like walking around with small plates trying to find a place to eat in country after country and I don't like walking and eating at the same time! I would suggest simply doing what you would like to do in EP that evening and not worrying about standing in line for small plates of food you may or may not like.

 

[georgina]

I was thinking along the lines of DisneyWishes14, confused why you are going to Epcot at all. I went for an afternoon last year in November on a 2-day trip (but I like Epcot). I tried maybe 3 foods from the booths and I was full. I did have a few drinks also. If there are 8-10 items you may like, why not try a few? I enjoy the WS and had fun walking around the countries as always. Did not find the lines at the food booths too long at all, and I was there on the last Sunday of F&W.

I am going back with DH in Oct and planning to be at Epcot for a few hours at least 5 days of our trip. Have you checked out who will be the musical entertainment when you are there?

 

[MrsDuck]

Honestly, I'd skip it. I am picky and don't drink. F&W holds little appeal and I can't stand the crowds. Heck, I wouldn't even go to EPCOT. Book a TS that sounds good to you.

 

[L&Lfan]

In all honesty, picky eaters, people with food allergies and non-drinkers would probably NOT enjoy the Food and Wine Festival especially if they are on a super short stay. As others have suggested, book a table service restaurant where they can more easily cater to your needs.

 

[L8blumr2]

Also, I would consider going earlier in the day rather than later (maybe pick another day), you may have a better experience

 

[raddisneyfan]

Food allergies, don't drink, don't really like EPCOT--why bother with the FOOD and WINE festival?! I certainly wouldn't if it became a hassle. Personally, I love it and will be there almost every day of my 10 day stay in September.

 

[karrit2000]

Food allergies, don't drink, don't really like EPCOT--why bother with the FOOD and WINE festival?! I certainly wouldn't if it became a hassle. Personally, I love it and will be there almost every day of my 10 day stay in September.

I'm with you. I go every year specifically for F & W and never seem to get to try everything I want. My problem is my Mom has Dietary issues so she has a hard time deciding what she can or will eat & we end up doing a lot of back tracking because she needs to skip many of the items & can never make a decision, makes my time less enjoyable.

 

[Auntie_Maim]

This year's F&W will be our first visit, and my plan is to hand printouts of the menus to DH and DS and tell them to make their priorities. Depending on how much overlap there is, maybe we'll do a round-robin of people choosing which booth we go to. (But I go first because I planned this whole trip so there.)

 

[Pkltm]

DH is a picky eater, and doesn't drink and I have food allergies, we just avoid the booths that we must and we have a blast. 8-10 things is actually a fair amount to try in one afternoon.

 

[Sparky Duck]

Where we live F&W is not that exotic, so we don't delve in too much. So you can still enjoy Epcot WS and not be buried at F&W

 

[pcoleman]

Only doing half day at EPCOT. There are couple of rides we usually just go in and do. I just thought since we will be there already and its a fesival I've never done it might be worth a try. Thanks for the thoughts. I'm thinking we will just do our rides and head to another park.