Food and wine newbie

[Kick Save]

We've been to WDW many times, however we're about to make our first trip during the food and wine festival. (We = me, the mrs, son 9, and son 5) We all love Epcot, so going to F&W won't be a problem. I'm just wondering what to expect.

We have ADRs for every night, so grazing around the world one night really isn't an option. I am thinking we start some snacking for a lunch one day, though.

Any tips on what to expect, or how some of you tour the festival would be great.

[ChrisX]

Hey Kick,

Last year was the first time that my wife and I were able to go to the F&W festival so here are a couple of things I learned as a newbie.

We went on a Friday, and if you schedule allows I would avoid doing this. We started grazing/meandering around the showcase at about 4:30-5:00 and the crowds were relatively small but by 6:00-6:30 the place had really started to fill up. Many locals apparently shoot down there are on a weekend or use it as a enjoyable Happy Hour after work on Friday.

Secondly, I know you said you could not do this because you had ADR's every night, but we used the F&W as a dinner and it worked great. First, there are so many booths and options that you will want to try alot of different things. Even though the portions are relatively small after 5-6 different booths we were actually pretty full. Secondly, it is not a cheap experience. The two of us did not drink and we probably spent somewhere between $35-40 (I can see how a couple can easily double that amount). So if you are on a dining budget you might be able to justify spending that much if it is you dinner rather than a lunch/afternoon snack.

Those are the two main things that stick out in my mind. Hope it helps.

[GIOny]

We went one day to the Food and Wine Festival and we did the same thing as ChrisX in that we didn't have a sit down dinner that night, we just literally ate around the world and it was more then enough. My advice to you is to pace yourself, get the booklet they have at the beginning of the countries giving you the rundown of what each country is offering, so this way you may not want to fill up on stuff that you really don't like. Go for the stuff that sounds really appealing and don't forget the cheddar cheese soup in Canada YUM and if your a drinker the champange with the pomegranate juice in France is really good. So much good stuff, but keep in mind it takes a long time to get through it all!

[PolynesianMedic]

I went for the first time last year and I have to tell you I was completely unprepared for the amount of "new" countries that are there for this time. There are booths set up everywhere there is an open spot in World Showcase. Plus there were booths set up in the Wonder of Life Pavilion and there are demonstrations going on inside the Odyssey restaurant. I was only there for a few days, and did not allow enough time to make my way through everything. If I were to go back again during this time, which I do plan to do, I am going to make sure that I have at least a day and a half to see everything that is there. I felt that there was enough to justify the extra time. As far as getting enough to eat, there is more than enough to eat and I am sure that you can find something at almost all of the booths, if not all of them.

[lorilovestigger]

Food and Wine Festival Marketplaces (Food Booths) - Epcot

Maybe this will help. Deb has a lot of information about F&W on her site.

I'll be there for the first weekend and plan on spending the day there on Friday. Hopefully I can hit it before the crowds pick up. I was there a few years ago and it was unseasobably hot that I didn't really enjoy it. All I ate was a lobster roll in America. I still can't believe there was all that great food and I ate in America. I don't plan on doing that this year!

Have fun!