**2011** Epcot Food & Wine Festival HAS ENDED. 2012 Festival 9/28 - 11/11

[ShuisFan584]

I'm not sure if this link will work here, but here are some ratings from last year's Food & Wine from allears.net: http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=DicEz9_2bsc4e64CYreJRN0W7f0HOFaLSJpaG3K7fG0bQ_3d.

 

[gometros]

When is the half marathon?

 

[horselover]

Thank you everyone for your input on Sweet Sundays. I'm going to think long & hard about it. Someone mentioned trying to see Buddy at his culinary demo instead of the Sweet Sunday event. That's not a bad idea. That's how I saw Warren Brown last year & I really enjoyed him. I really don't care about the buffet. I guess I have until 8/16 to decide.

That pic of the portion compared to a quarter is about right on some of the booth items. Seems spot on for the chocolate cake with Bailey's sauce they served in Ireland last year. I've never seen anything so small in my life. Total waste of money.

 

[RachelTori]

I was at the party last year, as a friend of runners. We were very upset that they had been pushing ticket purchases even up through the day of the race. When we went to the check-in over at WWOS they were encouraging people to purchase tickets. My friends, who had worked so very hard to prepare for this race, were unable to get anything to eat or drink. I am not going this year. I will support my friends up to the entrance to Epcot and then let them celebrate inside at the party. I believe it should be limited to the runners and only people they personally invite with a limit to the number of tickets sold to runners.

Oh, how well I remember. It was awful. Elin, we should have just stayed on your patio and cheered the runners on, then had them come over to your room!!!

Disney did call many of us who wrote letters and they really seemed sincere that changes would be made for this year's party; but now the cost went up!!!

I can honestly say that was the most frustrating event I have ever attended -- at Disney or elsewhere!

No thanks!

 

[ugadog68]

In case you missed it, the food listing (no prices) for each of the 2011 booths is now posted on a DisBoards blog: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/index.htm#diningexperiences

So the booths from last year have identical menus this year?

 

[LilyWDW]

Okay, so some odd questions...

1) Is it easy to tell if an item has specific ingredients? My mom is allergic to mushrooms. I will still try the items, but I don't want her to accidentally eat something she shouldn't.

2) Are the pours of wine large enough for 2 people to each get a sip? I can not drink much due to a medical condition, but a few sips here and there would be fine (it's not a serious issue so no worries... I just do it to prevent symptoms kwim). So, can we get one, I get a sip, and mom finish it?

3) About how much money would you budget for just the booths? I'm worried I won't have enough!

4) Are any of the "events" at the festival welcome center worth it? Like the culinary demos? We don't have the time to do a big event (the trip is already pretty packed with stuff to do), but might want to do something small.

Thanks in advance! This thread really has helped me out!

 

[TDC Nala]

1) is kind of difficult at the booths. They either have ingredient books there, or you have to go to the Festival Center and get an ingredient list. It's reasonably easy to tell whether or not things have mushrooms in them though. You could ask at the booths but I don't know if I'd trust the person serving to have the correct information when responding to an allergy, unless they have the ingredient books. I do not believe the personnel at the booths are able to prepare special items. If it's something like the mushrooms are in a sauce you may be able to ask for the item without the sauce but I don't think they can guarantee against cross-contamination at all.

2) They are small. If you are really talking about just wanting a sip, then it will work. But they really are small.

3) It's easy to hit $100 for two people on both food and beverage samples if each buys their own.

4) Some are. Depends on your taste and what you think is a good event. I like some of the culinary demos but with the price they are now I will do them only if I am interested in seeing the chef. I only did one last year. I don't think the wine seminars are worth the money but there have been better reviews on some of the spirits seminars. Better check before you sign up for any culinary demos and make sure the chef is not preparing a dish that includes mushrooms. They may not have that information until the day of the demo, which makes it difficult for you to sign up for one in advance.

 

[TDC Nala]

When is the half marathon?

The half marathon takes place at 10 PM the night of October 1. The Finish Line Party begins at 10:30 PM.

So the booths from last year have identical menus this year?

Either that, or the posted list is not accurate.

 

[AJW]

Agreed. They were really pushing the ticket sales for the afterparty at that TiW Preview Presentation.

No kidding?! That afterparty was a mess last year! I'm surprised they're pushing ticket sales so hard; the place was absolutely MOBBED. Then again, I guess that's a huge profit center.

(Oops, didn't realize that my sentiments were already amply expressed by other posters!)

 

[AJW]

In case you missed it, the food listing (no prices) for each of the 2011 booths is now posted on a DisBoards blog: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/guides/epcot/events/index.htm#diningexperiences

Yep -- this is last year's list with some of the new booths added in. They haven't posted menus for 2011 yet. There is no Spain, USA, or Puerto Rico booth this year.

 

[TDC Nala]

Yep -- this is last year's list with some of the new booths added in. They haven't posted menus for 2011 yet. There is no Spain, USA, or Puerto Rico booth this year.

AJ, thank you for confirming that this is not an accurate menu list. There is a warning in the first post that it isn't the final list.

 

[Tltorrez]

Question about the size of events -- how many people at the Sweet Sundays? What about the culinary and wine demos?

We'd love to see Gale Gand but we aren't particularly interested in filling up on breakfast. And $90 (for 4 of us) would be really high unless it's a fairly intimate event.

We're planning a 3 1/2 day trip just for F&W. We'll do Fantasmic on our half day but the rest will be spent at Epcot. We're thinking to do PFTS as our big event and just eating our way around the world the rest of the weekend.

 

[LilyWDW]

1) is kind of difficult at the booths. They either have ingredient books there, or you have to go to the Festival Center and get an ingredient list. It's reasonably easy to tell whether or not things have mushrooms in them though. You could ask at the booths but I don't know if I'd trust the person serving to have the correct information when responding to an allergy, unless they have the ingredient books. I do not believe the personnel at the booths are able to prepare special items. If it's something like the mushrooms are in a sauce you may be able to ask for the item without the sauce but I don't think they can guarantee against cross-contamination at all.

2) They are small. If you are really talking about just wanting a sip, then it will work. But they really are small.

3) It's easy to hit $100 for two people on both food and beverage samples if each buys their own.

4) Some are. Depends on your taste and what you think is a good event. I like some of the culinary demos but with the price they are now I will do them only if I am interested in seeing the chef. I only did one last year. I don't think the wine seminars are worth the money but there have been better reviews on some of the spirits seminars. Better check before you sign up for any culinary demos and make sure the chef is not preparing a dish that includes mushrooms. They may not have that information until the day of the demo, which makes it difficult for you to sign up for one in advance.

I appreciate your answers. With the allergy issues, it is really only if she eats the mushrooms. For example, the other day she ordered a steak and didn't realize it came with mushrooms on top. All she had to do was give them away (I was happy, I love them). As long as she does not actually ingest them, she doesn't have a reaction. It's odd, but I have seen her have a reaction before (mushrooms in an Egg Roll) and it's a full blown thing.

I would really just want a sip. It's just so I can get a taste of it more then anything. I'm really sad about not being able to fully indulge, but the side effects would be no fun to deal with especially at Disney.

We have two full days set aside for Epcot (plus possibly another afternoon). For one of them we do not even have any meals planned, but plan to literally snack our way around. The other we plan to snack for lunch and then have Les Chefs for dinner (restaurant choice by my mom). We plan on sharing everything (even if it would only be a bite each). If we find something we REALLY liked, we might get a second then. I will also be the only one eating anything with mushrooms (sorry mom lol).

I think what is throwing me is that there is so much we want to do. We might skip the culinary demos this year and do them another time. I'm thinking we should focus on the booths, the overall experience, and the concerts (I do want to see Sugar Ray while we are there). I just feel like we are missing so much by not doing a "special" event, but I don't know how I could even start to make them work with our current plans.

I really do appreciate the information and the personal experiences I am reading here. It helps to figure things out.

 

[Inkmahm]

Does anyone know if I can use Disney gift cards to pay for the F&W events that I reserve on August 16th when we can call in or do I have to pay with a credit card?

 

[Tess]

I was at the party last year, as a friend of runners. We were very upset that they had been pushing ticket purchases even up through the day of the race. When we went to the check-in over at WWOS they were encouraging people to purchase tickets. My friends, who had worked so very hard to prepare for this race, were unable to get anything to eat or drink. I am not going this year. I will support my friends up to the entrance to Epcot and then let them celebrate inside at the party. I believe it should be limited to the runners and only people they personally invite with a limit to the number of tickets sold to runners.

Oh, how well I remember. It was awful. Elin, we should have just stayed on your patio and cheered the runners on, then had them come over to your room!!!

Disney did call many of us who wrote letters and they really seemed sincere that changes would be made for this year's party; but now the cost went up!!!

I can honestly say that was the most frustrating event I have ever attended -- at Disney or elsewhere!

No thanks!

I remember both of you talking about that race party. Ron and I did our cheering from the benches along the Boardwalk at BC. Frankly, we couldn't have stayed awake for any late night party ; but darn glad we weren't part of the mess. It sounded horrific.

 

[Inkmahm]

That pic of the portion compared to a quarter is about right on some of the booth items. Seems spot on for the chocolate cake with Bailey's sauce they served in Ireland last year. I've never seen anything so small in my life. Total waste of money.

That is one of our favorites! It is SO rich that the serving size is just right. It is one of the few items where DH and I each get our own serving because we love it so much. I'll have that choc cake probably 4 or 5 times during our trip.

 

[Inkmahm]

Yep -- this is last year's list with some of the new booths added in. They haven't posted menus for 2011 yet. There is no Spain, USA, or Puerto Rico booth this year.

I LOVED that chicken soup at the Puerto Rico booth last year. Disappointed that it won't be back.

 

[GuardMusic]

AJ, thank you for confirming that this is not an accurate menu list. There is a warning in the first post that it isn't the final list.

Sorry - I just found it on the wdwinfo dot com blog (sponsor of DisBoards) and presumed they had posted accurate & timely info.

 

[snykymom]

1) is kind of difficult at the booths. They either have ingredient books there, or you have to go to the Festival Center and get an ingredient list. It's reasonably easy to tell whether or not things have mushrooms in them though. You could ask at the booths but I don't know if I'd trust the person serving to have the correct information when responding to an allergy, unless they have the ingredient books. I do not believe the personnel at the booths are able to prepare special items. If it's something like the mushrooms are in a sauce you may be able to ask for the item without the sauce but I don't think they can guarantee against cross-contamination at all.

2) They are small. If you are really talking about just wanting a sip, then it will work. But they really are small.

3) It's easy to hit $100 for two people on both food and beverage samples if each buys their own.

4) Some are. Depends on your taste and what you think is a good event. I like some of the culinary demos but with the price they are now I will do them only if I am interested in seeing the chef. I only did one last year. I don't think the wine seminars are worth the money but there have been better reviews on some of the spirits seminars. Better check before you sign up for any culinary demos and make sure the chef is not preparing a dish that includes mushrooms. They may not have that information until the day of the demo, which makes it difficult for you to sign up for one in advance.

OK, I'm getting myself confused. I know that I can book Party for the Senses, and a Chocolate thing. But what about the culinary demos? Is that a "bookable" event, or is it just show up and hope you get in? Is there a schedule? There are a couple of chefs we really want to see. Am I correct in assuming that if they haven't been announced at a "big" event they'll be there for a demo (if their name has been announced)?

Help!

 

[ugadog68]

Sorry - I just found it on the wdwinfo dot com blog (sponsor of DisBoards) and presumed they had posted accurate & timely info.

I read on the disney food blog that the menus will be posted on www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine on August 12th.