2014 Epcot Food and Wine Festival 9/19-11/10

[Aerinha]

This was my first fest and before I got here I booked a magical deal for next year... Sort of wish I waited. I am having fun but I think I liked early December crowds better and found the flower show booths cheaper and more manageable both in number and in line length. Yesterday had massive lines but they moved, today had shorter lines but less staff so it took forever (and many CM seems unsure what they were doing). For some reason Puerto Rico was cash only no dining plan or credit. Nothing has wowed me n food has been lukewarm and dried out (potatoes withFrance beef were hockey puc like, tostones were in need of a chainsaw I threw most out as they were that hard, crispy belly was dry and tasteless).

Now the Irish pudding was fab as was the Hopps carrot cake and the creme brulee but so far my reaction has been meh. The pork slider was ok but so tiny for the price.


At the flower show I was so disappointed in had ADRs and was at AKL which was too far to go often. Here I am at YC and I am really thinking tomorrow I don't need two meals at the booths

 

[randumb0]

Attending F&W on the last day, what can we expect in terms of food, beverage and merchandise availability, generally? Is it possible booths will not replenish their items once they sell out toward the end? How about bottles of wine at the festival shop? Are they likely to have limited inventory by the last day?

Some items will be sold out and will not be available

 

[MakiraMarlena]

not much will be limited but they will have sold out of some items. As far as food, they seem to be able to get food back in the booths even though they might sell out for a few hours until more can be prepared. They usually run completely out of some types of beer. Also they may run out of stock on popular bottles. Dated merchandise may be marked down, although they usually do not mark down Duffy or anything really collectible. Shirts, bags, etc. with the date on them will probably be marked down on the last weekend.

For some reason Puerto Rico was cash only no dining plan or credit.

Happens when the computer goes down. Which does occur occasionally.

I'm kind of wondering about all the negative reviews, since I had relatively few food items I'd review negatively this year (tostones, everything at Poland, shrimp roll) and some of the items have been really good (yard bird, bacon hash, singapore fish, salmon at Patagonia, Brazil cheese balls)

 

[TDC Nala]

I haven't been here and have just been looking after doing a lot of cruising and visiting the parks, but I don't want to turn this thread into a debate about the current state of Disney (Walt Disney World in particular). It's okay to discuss this about the festival but for anything outside the festival, it's off topic and there are lots of places on the boards for that discussion.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I wouldn't be shocked. I know I spent significantly less on special events this year than I had in the past.

The one wine seminar I did was practically empty. Not sure it's a true reflection, but I do less every year.

 

[k_hase]

I wouldn't be shocked.

I know I spent significantly less on special events this year than I had in the past.

And here I am spending more than I've ever spent. We've been going to FWF for five years (and Disney since it opened....) and we decided that since we've done V&As it was time to do PFTS and a lunch.

There were some comments above that I agree with, too a degree, about quality of wine and some service, but in general my experiences this year were excellent.

 

[Gryhndmom]

And here I am spending more than I've ever spent. We've been going to FWF for five years (and Disney since it opened....) and we decided that since we've done V&As it was time to do PFTS and a lunch.

There were some comments above that I agree with, too a degree, about quality of wine and some service, but in general my experiences this year were excellent.

We also had a good experience this year ! DH wasn't happy with the size of the beers at the food booth so he went to Rose and crown and got a full size beer. I do think some F&W prices are high but I looked at it as I was getting to try many different items for the same price as buying a sit down meal at one of the epcot restaurants. Now back home in San Antonio I am having F&W withdrawal...not to mention no MK fireworks !

 

[kimmar067]

...today was a DHS day for us...tomorrow is our Epcot day and I am looking forward to it....

 

[akaler2010]

...today was a DHS day for us...tomorrow is our Epcot day and I am looking forward to it....

See you there!!! We are excited!!

 

[zipuzee]

Was there last week. It was crowded but manageable. Favorite food was the potato and leek waffle with beef from Belgium. I'd eat that everyday. Least favorite was the fishermens pie from Ireland and close second was the kefta pocket from Morocco.

 

[nifferearly]

We had a great time at F & W. Did most of the booths on Thurs for lunch. Glad we did it then - there were huge lines on Fri evening and Sun afternoon.

I thought everything we tried this year was very high quality. Favorite new items were salmon & potato pancake from Scotland, teriyaki gyoza from Japan and hash from Farm & Fresh.

We did one culinary demo on Sunday at 1pm. Hosted by Disneyland pastry chefs. They were entertaining and the dessert was great.

We tried the Eat to the Beat dining package because my mom and I are big fans of Jim Brickman. I would absolutely recommend this if you really like the singer or band playing. Our concert was at 6:45 and we arrived about 6:20 and they had already started seating people. I was worried that we wouldn't have a good seat, but we were 3rd row, right in front of him. Perfect seats and it was a great concert! I would've paid to see him at home, so I'm glad I paid $65 each for a nice dinner and those seats instead of waiting in line for a couple hours.

 

[Straughn]

Some days you just get lucky. Stopped by the information booth at the Festival Center to check on availability for this weeks PFS. They had availability in the reserved area as well as general admission. I was thrilled as I had checked several times over the phone for reserved seating and was told it was sold out. The young woman with whom I spoke with said space sometimes opens up the last few days. Since I am solo, I only wanted the reserved area. So I am going to my first PFS this Saturday.

 

[Tozzie]

Some days you just get lucky. Stopped by the information booth at the Festival Center to check on availability for this weeks PFS. They had availability in the reserved area as well as general admission. I was thrilled as I had checked several times over the phone for reserved seating and was told it was sold out. The young woman with whom I spoke with said space sometimes opens up the last few days. Since I am solo, I only wanted the reserved area. So I am going to my first PFS this Saturday.

I did the Party for the senses this past Saturday with the reserved seating and as a solo. It was great to have someplace to sit and also nice to be able to get some food before the general admission entered the venue

 

[LisaS]

I received a survey from WDW today regarding the Food & Wine Fest as I paid for at least one special event or seminar. Many of the questions asked about the value paid for the events, had I ever paid for a F&W special event/demo in past, would I pay for an event in the futture, etc. Some of the question make me wonder if the number of people attending the paid wine and culinary seminars decreased for this year's festival?

Based on our experience in 2013 we planned to scale back on the seminars in 2014, particularly the culinary seminars. Last year the culinary demos we attended were shorter than in prior years and the featured chef prepared only one dish. That was a change from the last few years when we got to taste two and sometimes three things. Since the chef was going to be on stage for a shorter time, they had the demo host entertain us for quite a long time before bringing the chef onstage. Unfortunately I (and several other attendees I spoke to) are not fans of this particular host and felt this wasn't what we paid to see.

For one culinary seminar, we paid extra to see a celebrity chef. After having to endure the demo host for far too long, the celebrity chef was finally introduced and the two of them proceeded to reminisce for several minutes, talking about their kids, etc. I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation and began to feel uncomfortable and bored. Then the celebrity chef prepared one thing and the demo was over. Just not worth the money.

The one seminar we did enjoy last year was a mixology session. The presenter was entertaining and informative and the drinks were great.

Unfortunately we had to cancel our trip this year. If we go back next year, I would consider another mixology seminar and maybe a carefully chosen wine seminar or two but unless I hear the culinary seminars have improved we won't be booking any more of those.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Based on our experience in 2013 we planned to scale back on the seminars in 2014, particularly the culinary seminars. Last year the culinary demos we attended were shorter than in prior years and the featured chef prepared only one dish. That was a change from the last few years when we got to taste two and sometimes three things. Since the chef was going to be on stage for a shorter time, they had the demo host entertain us for quite a long time before bringing the chef onstage. Unfortunately I (and several other attendees I spoke to) are not fans of this particular host and felt this wasn't what we paid to see.

For one culinary seminar, we paid extra to see a celebrity chef. After having to endure the demo host for far too long, the celebrity chef was finally introduced and the two of them proceeded to reminisce for several minutes, talking about their kids, etc. I felt like I was intruding on a private conversation and began to feel uncomfortable and bored. Then the celebrity chef prepared one thing and the demo was over. Just not worth the money.

The one seminar we did enjoy last year was a mixology session. The presenter was entertaining and informative and the drinks were great.

Unfortunately we had to cancel our trip this year. If we go back next year, I would consider another mixology seminar and maybe a carefully chosen wine seminar or two but unless I hear the culinary seminars have improved we won't be booking any more of those.

The culinary demo I did yesterday was about half with the celebrity chef - the first half was the host & the winery host.

 

[JustTinking]

We had good luck last year with both a culinary seminar and beverage. At the culinary we were served a fabulous steak in a red wine reduction, paired with a Monterey Pinot Noir. Exquisite. The beverage seminar was Moet Chandon, we tasted 3 different champagnes, including their new ice wine. Definitely worth $13.

This year was different. We booked a culinary demo for pastry - chef prepared some type of curd foamy thing in a small shotglass - pretty disappointing. We booked a mixology seminar - rum - the presenter didn't bother to show up, so had to be backfilled. We were given mojitos with flavored rum - it was like a long commercial for this brand of flavored rum and not very interesting. Many people left the drinks untouched.

I really agree that it is hit and miss; perhaps one doesn't feel so bad since the price is so cheap, although it's still more than the free seminars of years ago.

Thankfully the wine and cheese pairings, the lunches, and dinners we booked were all excellent. Even the cocktail pairing, which wasn't silly, but quite delicious, was thoughtfully prepared to match the dishes, and with top shelf liquor. I'm not a cocktail drinker but very much enjoyed the pairings.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

deminar with cat cora felt more like selling wine i do not drink and asked for cola after i saw others get it and was told i wasnt allowed because i was alotted wine. cat cora was awesome as was her food.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

And the host has a very high opinion of herself. She is the reason I don't bother. She gets on my nerves

 

[conandrob240]

Thanks for all the posts! We missed it this year for the first time in 7 years because of starting a new job. Can't wait for next year!

 

[FeralCatRogue]

And the host has a very high opinion of herself. She is the reason I don't bother. She gets on my nerves

I thought that myself but was unsure if it was just me not enjoying how it was done so didn't say it.