Strategies for F & W?

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Could someone please point me to a source or offer any tips for F & W? I've never been and haven't researched it - but will need to do so now.
Not even sure what to consider? Use a QSDP? Out of pocket?
Thank you for any advise.

 

[JZCubed]

Could someone please point me to a source or offer any tips for F & W? I've never been and haven't researched it - but will need to do so now.
Not even sure what to consider? Use a QSDP? Out of pocket?
Thank you for any advise.

I enjoy reading Josh's take at EasyWDW:

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/epcot/epcot-2018-food-and-wine-festival-review-index-and-menus/

https://www.easywdw.com/easy/food-and-wine-festival/

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I thank you for this info!

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Also keep an eye on this forum.

Each year there is a sticky dedicated to the current F&W which includes menus, seminars, musical acts etc as the information becomes available.

 

[siren0119]

We just did a F&W day in September as part of an adults only weekend. It was AMAZING fun, but we only focused on enjoying the food and wandering around Epcot. No seminars or shows or anything like that.

RE: the QSDP versus OOP...the food booths use snack credits, you can convert 1 QS to 3 snack credits but they all have to be used at the same booth. While it's convenient I don't necessarily see value in that unless you just want to try one or two booths as part of a longer trip to WDW.

We budgeted $150PP for the day and didn't even hit all of the booths. We did manage to hit a significant number of them, and were fat and happy by the end of the day We got there at noon and basically ate and drank our way around the festival up until about 20 minutes before IllumiNations. What you would need to spend OOP really depends on what your goals are. $200 is probably a safe number to aim for if you want to try everything (not including any paid demonstrations/classes) as I expect the prices this year will be a little higher than last year.

 

[rwdavis2]

Pay out of pocket, IMHO. It's just simpler and you don't have to be concerned if the conversion is cost effective. The up to $200 a day for 2 people is pretty accurate. Maybe even low depending on how long you are there.

 

[skyblue17]

When we were at WDW for a week during F&W last fall, we ended up at Epcot on three separate occasions. We specifically wanted to attend Eat to the Beat concerts, multiple times even, so we had a full Epcot day, a half Epcot (late afternoon/evening day) and then ended up returning again on our last day. This was great for trying more things and returning to favorites. I think attempting to knock out all you want to sample in one day would be daunting! Also, when the options come out, go through them and pick out the things you want to prioritze. It was definitely easier having an idea of what I wanted to try and making sure to do that instead of wandering around and saying "ooh that looks good!" and then being too full when stumbling upon something else. Especially if time is limited!

 

[rwdavis2]

Yes, review the menus before you go. Helps to narrow the choices.

 

[Captain Kittens]

Its super easy....walk around the World Showcase and grab food and a drink from every kiosk.

We didnt buy a specific ticket and just paid as we went. My wife and I were also pretty hammered towards the end

 

[poooh]

We went this past year and tried to divide the booths evenly into two days. We used the list on easy WDW linked above to figure out what we were interested in at each booth. On the first day we went through the Active Eats booths near The Land, the chocolate and cheese booths near Imagination, the booths near Showcase Plaza (almond breeze, Australia), and then made our way from Canada to France. On the second day we started at the other side and ate from Mexico to Morocco and then had time to go back to any booths from the previous day for seconds of our favorites. I looked at all of the menu prices beforehand to budget. I spent about $150 for everything I wanted to try, but I am vegetarian and don't drink much alcohol.

We purchased one of those collectible F&W design gift card lanyards at the festival center. They need to be at least $250 but you get a cute lanyard with a chef Mickey slider attached and if we had any left over balance, they could be used on anything at Disney, like a regular gift card. Getting a gift card just for F&W is a great idea. It helps you keep track of your spending by looking at the remaining balance on the receipt after each booth. Otherwise, we would have blindly charged god knows how much to the room or to our card.

 

[gharter]

I'm a big fan of the Disney Food Blog Food and Wine ebook they do each year. Its about $15 or less.
While you can find all that information othe places for free, I like having everything in one place to read and review. They have all the kiosks and menu items available, the bands, all of the wine tastings, food and wine pairing options, etc.

 

[2vets]

Some good suggestions here - I'll second the gift card idea, it's absolutely the fastest way to get through the lines. You can buy them at any of the little kiosks. There are smaller denominations available on the wrist cards, you can load them up as needed.

For instance, here are the ones available last year: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/b...ational-food-wine-festival-a-perfect-pairing/

Like others, I'd also recommend checking out plans, menus and reviews before you go (Disney Food Blog +/- the associated book is great, and you'll see many reviews here in people's TRs as well). You'll be surprised at the things you'll love that wouldn't normally be on your radar.

You need a few days if you want to try it all. I've tried to do it all in a day (this was a years ago when there were fewer booths, too) - and it is (ahem) ill-advised!

Beware booze overindulgence - it's so easy to overdo it in the hot sun. You almost certainly don't desire to be that guy/girl puking on the topiary or staggering into little kids.

And finally, like so many, many things at Disney...the best way to avoid lines and hordes of people is to get to the booths early. We grazed for lunch and tried to get out of the World Showcase by about 3. It's downright pleasant from 11-about 12:30/1.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Boy - I never expected to get such detailed info - thank you all so much!

 

[jerseygal]

We just did a F&W day in September as part of an adults only weekend. It was AMAZING fun, but we only focused on enjoying the food and wandering around Epcot. No seminars or shows or anything like that.

RE: the QSDP versus OOP...the food booths use snack credits, you can convert 1 QS to 3 snack credits but they all have to be used at the same booth. While it's convenient I don't necessarily see value in that unless you just want to try one or two booths as part of a longer trip to WDW.

We budgeted $150PP for the day and didn't even hit all of the booths. We did manage to hit a significant number of them, and were fat and happy by the end of the day We got there at noon and basically ate and drank our way around the festival up until about 20 minutes before IllumiNations. What you would need to spend OOP really depends on what your goals are. $200 is probably a safe number to aim for if you want to try everything (not including any paid demonstrations/classes) as I expect the prices this year will be a little higher than last year.

We were there in October, did not have to use snack credits at same booth!
If you can plan your trip, avoid weekends, especially Fri and Sat night, very crowded. We were there on Sunday evening, it was crowded but not as bad as a Fri or Saturday. During the weekdays, especially the daytime was very pleasurable! There will be many threads on F&W going forward probably starting in the summer with people planning. So fun to read on the threads reviews of the food! Enjoy!

 

[Jostuandme]

There is an app called wdw food and wine that is excellent and also lists all the other festivals and what they are serving at each booth. It updates automatically each season and you can mark what you love or want to try right on the app.many filters to use. You will love it and it’s convenient having it on your phone. It color codes the booths on your map too.

 

[kaytieeldr]

We were there in October, did not have to use snack credits at same booth!

Nah, individual snack credits work fine. It's when you convert a QS credit to the three snacks that all three credits need to be to be redeemed in the same transaction.

 

[2hapykdz]

Could someone please point me to a source or offer any tips for F & W? I've never been and haven't researched it - but will need to do so now.
Not even sure what to consider? Use a QSDP? Out of pocket?
Thank you for any advise.

What do you want to know??? I only go at F&W now. We go for 4 park days and it's a full day at Epcot...and then we do another half day there. And on Free dining....I use all my snack credits...and any QS we don't use can be used for 3 SC at food kiosks( has to be 3 items at the same kiosk though) It is AWESOME....really need 3 separate times to sample because there are so many items and only so much room in my belly!!!LOL

 

[smcabee]

Go early in the day and enjoy the food for lunch and/or early dinner, Catch the early show of the bands at the American Garden Theater, DONT GO on the weekends and get out early before it gets crazy crowded.

 

[jerseygal]

Nah, individual snack credits work fine. It's when you convert a QS credit to the three snacks that all three credits need to be to be redeemed in the same transaction.

Yes, thanks for clarification.. we used snack credits not counter service credits.

 

[Shughart]

Beware booze overindulgence - it's so easy to overdo it in the hot sun. You almost certainly don't desire to be that guy/girl puking on the topiary or staggering into little kids.

This! We unintentionally went during F&W because this is when our group of 10 could go to accommodate vacation time of a union worker and we won't ever go during it again unless we plan on participating. My kids definitely witness some drunk and disorderly