fOOD & WINE fESTIVAL

[Texas Tinkerbell Too]

This will be our first trip to the food & wine festival 9/26. If you are on the dining plan are you able to use some QS or snack credits to sample some foods? Can you explain this event to me?

[pox24]

Not sure about the food credits. We went last year and it was great. Lotsa great eats. We spent 2 days just grazing from country to country. It was costly by the time we sampled pretty much at least one snack or two from each booth. One word of advice. If your thinking about going from booth to booth and making a meal out of it, do it at lunch or mid afternoon. From 4pm on the lines were very, very long. Average 20 min each or more! Its a wonderful event.:thumbsup:

[Polynesian Dweller]

At last year's event you could use Snack credits for food, but not wine or alcoholic drinks. Likely will be the same this year but I can't find anything official on the Disney site.

The event has a number of components all based in Epcot. All around World Showcase there are a number of booths setup offering snack size portions of foods from different countries. These are not just the countries that have pavillions but other places such as Australia, Spain, Poland, and so on. They usually have about 2or 3 main food items and representative wine offerings.

Other activites include seminars, wine tastings, special dining experiences with well known chefs, a wine store, and cultural displays. Some of these can be fairly expensive extra cost events.

You'll enjoy it if for no other reason than the chance to graze your way around the World Showcase.:mickey:

[TBY2225]

As stated above, Yes, you can use your SC at the booths.

[Texas Tinkerbell Too]

Sounds like something we don't want to miss. Our kids are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying different cultural foods. That would be nice if we can still use snack credits this year. Thanks for all your help.:D

[BluewaterBrad]

The Food and Wine is one of our favorite times to visit. You will have a blast!!:mickey:

[mrsgaribaldi]

We love the Food & Wine Festival. On are first trip it was going on and we really enjoyed. We try to make it for at least 2 days if we can. I love to try the different foods:mickey:

[JerseyDad]

This will be our first trip to the food & wine festival 9/26. If you are on the dining plan are you able to use some QS or snack credits to sample some foods? Can you explain this event to me?


....first time we went to WDW in 2004...it was Spring time...and of course...no Food & Wine Festival :sad: (didn't even KNOW that the F&W Festival existed!!)

...then we went back that fall...and DISCOVERED the F&W Festival!! :yay:

....proceded to tell the wife that I do not want to go to WDW..unless F&W Festival is in full swing!! We love it!! At least one of our days there we make it a point to "eat & drink our way around the lagoon"!! What a great time...and it's a perfect opportunity to sample foods, wine, and beers that you'd otherwise never get a shot at tasting.

[AHOTE]

Sounds like something we don't want to miss. Our kids are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying different cultural foods. That would be nice if we can still use snack credits this year. Thanks for all your help.:D

I enjoy food, sometimes too much, :) and I'm adventurous only to a point. I used mine last year to try foods that I was afraid to order as an entree for fear I wouldn't like them. :ack: I got to try Escargot for the first time, because I was able to buy just one rather than a whole plate full. Can't hardly wait till November. One pointer, go during the week, Friday through Sunday is crowded :crowd::crowd::crowd:

[Tink<3Mickey<3Cinderella]

I have a few questions about F&WF.......I have been looking at it for our trip in October and been reading post about it. I was originally under the asumption that it was a one time cost like MSSSHP and then you got to eat and drink all you wanted (to a point) is that not the case?

I am going in a large group and I know everyone will not want to participate so my question is, if it is a ticket thing ahead of time does everyone in the group have to participate like the dinning plan?

If it is not a pay ahead of time thing do you have to pay for each drink or food sample you have? If that is the case how much on average are they.

Also does this event go on everyday during the time it is running?

Sorry for all the questions I'm just not very informed on this event and I would really like to take part.

Thanks for all the answers ahead of time!!!!

[Kairi_7378]

There is no admission cost to go to the biggest component of the festival which includes the chance to wander around the booths in the World Showcase and listen to the Eat to the Beat Concerts. (Other than the regular admission to get into Epcot itself.) There are some ticketed events (wine and food pairings and the Party of the Senses) which you have to have a ticket for. Admission to these special events is usually between $35 and $125.

You can use snack credits to purchase some items at the festival. Last year, the prices for food ranged from approximately $3 to $7. The sample portions at many of the booths were on the small side so snacking can get expensive. In order to maximize our snacking we got a menu at the Epcot entrance and we reviewed the menu of what foods were where so we could decide what we wanted to taste.

[Tiggerish]

I have a few questions about F&WF.......I have been looking at it for our trip in October and been reading post about it. I was originally under the asumption that it was a one time cost like MSSSHP and then you got to eat and drink all you wanted (to a point) is that not the case? Oh, boy is it ever NOT the case! If you like to eat and are adventurous, you can spend quite a few $$$!!

I am going in a large group and I know everyone will not want to participate so my question is, if it is a ticket thing ahead of time does everyone in the group have to participate like the dinning plan? Not a ticket thing, so no, everyone does not have to participate. Those who want to sample the dishes from different countries step up to the booth, make their selections, and pay their $$ (or hand over their snack credit). Those who don't, look on and drool. :D

If it is not a pay ahead of time thing do you have to pay for each drink or food sample you have? If that is the case how much on average are they. Yup, you have to pay for the food & drink from the booths. Prices for food range from $3-$7 (lamb dishes being the most expensive), and wines go for $2-$4.

Also does this event go on everyday during the time it is running? Yes, during the event the booths are open the same hours as World Showcase, so they open at 11am and close down prior to Illuminations.

Sorry for all the questions I'm just not very informed on this event and I would really like to take part.
Thanks for all the answers ahead of time!!!!

I trust that you will enjoy it very much.

Same as JerseyDad, we've been going back every year for the F&W Fest ever since we discovered it in 2000!!

My DH is a fairly picky eater, but after seven F&W fests, began to explore new things last year, for instance, he tried buffalo and he enjoyed it! I tried escargot for the first time last year, every year I swore it would be the year but always lost my nerve. They were really, really good and they will be on my list from now on!

Edit: I should also note that the prices being mentioned here are last year's prices. In my opinion, the prices have been going up a bit the last two years, and if the food prices we are all paying nowadays are any indication, we can probably expect the F&W booths to go up some more this year. I hope it doesn't get to the point where I will consider it not worth the $$, becuase I really do enjoy trying all the new and different things.

[Kairi_7378]

I forgot to mention that the prices that I gave you were from last year.

I also forgot to mention that the F&W Festival is worth it just so you can walk around smelling the air in the World Showcase. All of the extra booths make you feel like you are in the middle of a kaleidoscope of food. There are American regional booths mixed in with the foods from other nations, so there will probably be something for even the pickiest eaters to enjoy there.

[wendy*darling]

The Food & Wine Festival is just FUN! :D

We have been 3 times and are going back again this fall.

InfoCentra (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/park/foodwine.asp)l has a very nice description of the types of activities, music and food that is offered. Each year things change a little- and as others have suggested, I too believe prices might be a bit higher.
But you can use snack credits for some of the items. If you save all of your snack credits to use at the F&WF, you could have a pretty nice sampling of the Foods around the World. We usually share all the samples, so we each get a taste- and we can taste more this way than if we ate the whole serving at each site. :sick:

They also sell the wines by the bottle- but unless you are driving, or plan to consume all of it in your resort room, don't plan on buying any. You can't take them in your carry-on on the plane and they will not ship.
I would be a little leery of trying to pack wine in my checked luggage!
We just write down the names and look them up when we get home. We have been able to find most of what we liked at home.

And for the food- they do have a recipe booklet available- so you can recreate many of the scrumptious dishes at home to bring back a little of the magic! :mickey:

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Just like Linda we too used our snack credits and split items. That way we could try more things and not be completely stuffed.

One thing I recommend is the cooking demonstrations that are free. They are a lot of fun and they give you the recipe and then some when you leave.