World Showcase without a Festival?

[Sked081899]

What's the world showcase like without a festival? We are doing an adults only trip in the summer and plan to spend some quality time there, but as far as I can tell there is nothing special going on in the summer. Is it just as much fun without a festival? Are there a lot less food/snack items? Should we plan a TS meal too?

 

[Barbydoll8]

The booths are not there so other than the normal snack carts (and there is usually at least one per country) everything is counter service or TS for meals. The exception to this is Mexico right now as they are building a new cantina so they have a temporary booth set up for margaritas and some small tapas.
I like WS anytime of the year so if you are into exploring in general, you should have a good time. Be warned as there is very little shade in WS and it's hot.

 

[xlsm]

I don't find it to be much different, except you don't have a little themed booklet with stickers to mark every festival booth you visit There are still the usual food kiosks that are always there (which, I admit, I would still visit even during a festival b/c they have my favorites! I'm looking at you Kaki-Gori in Japan and School Bread in Norway!!)

Have fun on your adults only trip!!

 

[stephtron312]

The food is still amazing, and it's a lot less crowded! I always consider F&W to just be WS on steroids as I still eat my way through that area even if it's festival-less. Gotta have my Norwegian School Bread, German Bratwurst, Moroccan Shwarma, Mexican Tequila and candy from Japan and England! So you can definitely fill up without a TS but the restaurants in WS are incredible as well. (Marrakesh is a personal fave!).

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

We really enjoy WS without a festival - tends to be less crowded and there are plenty of places to get "small bites" and drinks. It is fun to explore each country - go into the shops and some have small "museum" places...you'll have a great time --as one poster did point out, there is not much shade and it can be very hot walking around-

 

[disnut8]

What's the world showcase like without a festival? We are doing an adults only trip in the summer and plan to spend some quality time there, but as far as I can tell there is nothing special going on in the summer. Is it just as much fun without a festival? Are there a lot less food/snack items? Should we plan a TS meal too?

Let's just say that my husband and I end every single Disney day at Epcot no matter when we are there. And we seldom do Future World. So, for us, there is plenty to do at World Showcase without a festival. And we've been just about every month in the year. Check out an entertainment schedule and you can probably just do that for an evening. You can enjoy snacking around the World. Pull up a list of the dining places (counter service) and see what is available. And best - Person A gets fish and chips in the UK while Person B waits to get something in Mexico while Person A is eating while walking. Or - do what my family did. Son (age 35) picked up nachos in Mexico, husband picked up something in Norway, I got something in China and then we all sat down with our our daughter-in-law and grandkids in America for their burgers and fries. And we all stayed together while we did this with the kids' eyes looking at all the food and changing their minds at each country. Oh - and husband and I had a beer in our hands during all this. Nope, you don't need a festival.

 

[DrunkJam]

The food is still amazing, and it's a lot less crowded! I always consider F&W to just be WS on steroids as I still eat my way through that area even if it's festival-less. Gotta have my Norwegian School Bread, German Bratwurst, Moroccan Shwarma, Mexican Tequila and candy from Japan and England! So you can definitely fill up without a TS but the restaurants in WS are incredible as well. (Marrakesh is a personal fave!).

Just out of interest, what candy do you like in UK?

 

[Sked081899]

Perfect! Thanks everyone! Definitely looking forward to this and good to know about the lack of shade!

 

[Shanti]

What's the world showcase like without a festival? We are doing an adults only trip in the summer and plan to spend some quality time there, but as far as I can tell there is nothing special going on in the summer. Is it just as much fun without a festival? Are there a lot less food/snack items? Should we plan a TS meal too?

We avoid World Showcase in summer because it is miserably hot. Strong sun + heat + concrete = unpleasant.

 

[Parker Clan]

Not crowded and pleasant!
Call me crazy but I enjoyed my time in August more with no festival rather than in March. Although it was gorgeous weather it was far too crowded for my liking,, 65 minute wait for Spaceship Earth.. No thanks.
We love sauntering around Epcot.. So much to see and so much food. But we are huge Epcot lovers so call me biased

 

[dismomkc]

Glad I stumbled upon this I was wondering the same thing! I'm excited to spend some time just wondering through the World Showcase... our first trip with kids was in December and I feel like I rushed through! I'm excited to just walk around, slow down and take it all in!

 

[disnut8]

We avoid World Showcase in summer because it is miserably hot. Strong sun + heat + concrete = unpleasant.

Have you ever just gone into the seating area for the China movie? Air conditioned and you can see things. You don't have to stay for the show. Blessed in August. Going through shops is great. And my little hint that has actually had someone offer me $5 for it while there - I take a washcloth in a plastic bag and wet that down in a restroom and then run it over every exposed part of my body. Gets me going every time. There are a lot of things to do to cool down while at World Showcase. You just have to not think about the heat and see what else is there.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We too love the WS any time of year. We love sampling the QS food. Also love when it isn't that crowded.

 

[Disneylover99]

We prefer WS without a festival.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

We enjoy WS any time of year, but we definitely prefer it during F&W and F&G (in that order).

I would plan a TS meal, personally. While there is food to sample here and there throughout WS, it is nothing like during a festival.

Summer can be a little tough; we duck into stores for some A/C along the way... just as Walt intended...