2017 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: August 31, 2017 - November 13, 2017

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Last PFTS or last WVL?

I know I won't pay for WVL again On the fence on the PFTS.

I would appreciate some input from those who have been to PFTS this year. We have reserved seating booked and I wonder when we should be at the tent. It says that we won't have access until 7:30pm, but the CM during booking advised to arrive by 6:45pm at the latest. What would you recommend?

They were letting reserved seating guests sit at 7:15 with the Wine View Guests this week so I agree with your CM, get there a little early

 

[MrsScooby]

"I would appreciate some input from those who have been to PFTS this year. We have reserved seating booked and I wonder when we should be at the tent. It says that we won't have access until 7:30pm, but the CM during booking advised to arrive by 6:45pm at the latest. What would you recommend"?

I'm wondering that as well but it seems that the only reviews we've seen so far are from people that were in the WVL

I'm also wondering the same. First time for PFTS-do I bring the confirmation number I was given at booking?

 

[randumb0]

I'm also wondering the same. First time for PFTS-do I bring the confirmation number I was given at booking?

It wouldnt hurt to have it, but you will only need your name and i.d.

 

[Mika02]

I still need to do my review of PFTS Reserved view. I will try to work it tonight.

Short Version

I attended with my Mom and her BF. We had a small intimate table in the Blue section right in front of the stage. We had a great time. Plenty of food to eat and drink nothing ran out. We were celebrating my mom's 60th Birthday and she is still talking about how great of a time she had and thanking me. Arrived at 7:15pm and dragged ourselves out at about 9:30 party was still going but we had a 3 hour ride Fort Lauderdale. I felt like I received a great value for what I paid.

 

[NoMoneyThanks2Disney]

This was our first PFTS, so I don't have anything to compare it to. We did reserved seating, and loved it! We checked in at American Gardens around 6:45, listened to Everclear for about 20 minutes then walked over to the party. We probably got there about 7:25. The doors were already open, so we walked straight in and to our table. There was a line to check in at the party, so if you can, I recommend checking in at American Gardens to avoid that. We were going to do desserts first to avoid lines, but found that we didn't really need to do this. Early on most booths had no lines, and later on the longest line I was in had maybe 4 people. I was curious, and checked on my phone and general seating was still available for this party day of, so maybe attendance wasn't at normal capacity. We had an absolute blast. The staff were fantastic, bringing my mom some soda water and a coke for me. I tried every dish, some more than once, except 2 that weren't really my thing. We would definitely do PFTS again!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yesterday was my last day at the Festival.

I tried the chicken and corn bread dish at Farm Fresh and loved it. Very tasty. I had some filet and cheese soup at Canada. Both were excellent. The beef skewer at Patagonia was tiny and mashed boniato served with it was one small teaspoon. Poor value. The cheese and stout dip at Ireland was too salty.

At this point, I am wondering if I will ever go again. Between the threat of hurricanes this time of year, the hassle of planning around the Halloween parties, and the ridiculous prices of the wine samples at the Festival, I am now questioning whether it's worth it. This was my fourth F&W and the first time I wasn't head over heels in love with it.

There are other trips out there you might fall head over heels for- it's ok! For instance, if you want to keep a Disney theme going Disneyland has the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival Mar-April (although if you want a break from high prices it's NOT the even for you, also don't expect to see any info on it until Jan/Feb...). Nothing wrong with to the West Coast (after all, we're the Best Coast ). And if you're ready to take a break from Disney all together? Do it! Maybe you'll get the bug to go back to F&W in a couple years and you'll enjoy it more then!

 

[Allison]

I just tried it. Uh, I don't get the hype. Tough chicken, bad gravy and an "ok" cornbread. I tossed a lot of it

Nope, my wife and I weren't crazy about it either. It was a big disappointment after seeing all of the rave reviews.

I was looking forward to this dish and was so disappointed. I didn't even finish it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

LOL - just finished reconciling my credit card statement that included our F&W trip..........BEST REASON to purchase a gift card!!! OMG - I thought I was going to go batty checking each and every kiosk charge! I had a gift card for 1/2 and my Disney Visa for the other half - thank goodness! Next year - 95% gift card!!

off to take some aspirin.....

THAT is why I charge to room, pay with gift card and send the balance to my credit card! I would have gone cross eyed trying to reconcile all those charges on a credit card statement!

 

[Allison]

Has anyone done the Parisian Breakfast yet this year? Taking my mom Nov. 4 and it's our first special F&W event. I've read reviews of past years, but very curious how 2017 compares!

We enjoyed it very much. Several people I talked to about it called it the best value for what you receive for any of the events. Mimosas flowed freely, service was great and the food was yummy.

 

[VAtink]

I got the survey and I trashed the Wine View Lounge at PFTS. Sadly this is probably my last year for PFTS based on this year. Too bad as I really enjoyed it.

I did the exact same thing this morning. Hopefully they get their act together for the next one!

 

[gottalovepluto]

This was our first PFTS, so I don't have anything to compare it to. We did reserved seating, and loved it! We checked in at American Gardens around 6:45, listened to Everclear for about 20 minutes then walked over to the party. We probably got there about 7:25. The doors were already open, so we walked straight in and to our table. There was a line to check in at the party, so if you can, I recommend checking in at American Gardens to avoid that. We were going to do desserts first to avoid lines, but found that we didn't really need to do this. Early on most booths had no lines, and later on the longest line I was in had maybe 4 people. I was curious, and checked on my phone and general seating was still available for this party day of, so maybe attendance wasn't at normal capacity. We had an absolute blast. The staff were fantastic, bringing my mom some soda water and a coke for me. I tried every dish, some more than once, except 2 that weren't really my thing. We would definitely do PFTS again!

Is the Reserved Seating pre-assigned? Like, if you're not first in the door do you get stuck in some awful in the corner out of the way spot or is everyone's tables assigned before everything gets started? Also, how long was that line looking when you arrived? We're arriving from Beach Club on the Sat of the final weekend of Food and Wine coinciding with Veterans weekend and am expecting Epcot to be a madhouse. Thinking just waiting in the normal line might work out better for us... So happy to hear you had a wonderful trip, this will be our first PFTS as well!

Random question for anyone who went to PFTS: is it necessary to bring a light jacket (I do get cold easily)- better q do they crank the AC? Gonna be wearing a summer dress but don't want to spend the night freezing...

 

[JerseyJanice]

There are other trips out there you might fall head over heels for- it's ok! For instance, if you want to keep a Disney theme going Disneyland has the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival Mar-April (although if you want a break from high prices it's NOT the even for you, also don't expect to see any info on it until Jan/Feb...). Nothing wrong with to the West Coast (after all, we're the Best Coast ). And if you're ready to take a break from Disney all together? Do it! Maybe you'll get the bug to go back to F&W in a couple years and you'll enjoy it more then!

Before my trip last week, I went in 2010, 2011 and 2016 (during Matthew). It was disappointing to me how wine was treated in this year's Festival. Samples of wine at the booths were $3.00-$5.00 in those years. Samples of wine or beer were served with the cooking demos.

Even beer was stripped down this year, both in size and variety of selection. I swear another poster told me that they had the outdoor Biergarten this year. They were incorrect. I looked for it.

My trip companions and I think that the lesser selection, higher pricing and smaller sample sizes of wine and beer are attempts to slow people down from imbibing too much at the Festival. It's also some of that Iger touch IMO. ;-)

 

[VAtink]

Is the Reserved Seating pre-assigned? Like, if you're not first in the door do you get stuck in some awful in the corner out of the way spot or is everyone's tables assigned before everything gets started? Also, how long was that line looking when you arrived? We're arriving from Beach Club on the Sat of the final weekend of Food and Wine coinciding with Veterans weekend and am expecting Epcot to be a madhouse. Thinking just waiting in the normal line might work out better for us... So happy to hear you had a wonderful trip, this will be our first PFTS as well!

Random question for anyone who went to PFTS: is it necessary to bring a light jacket (I do get cold easily)- better q do they crank the AC? Gonna be wearing a summer dress but don't want to spend the night freezing...

Can't speak to the assigned seat for reserved seating, but when we arrived around 6:30 the line wasn't horrible yet. When we got there we were the fourth group in line and it moved fast, and there were a handful of people standing around waiting for the door to open who had checked in before us. The line did get pretty long fairly soon after we arrived though.

As for the jacket, my mom who I went with is also someone who gets cold easily, and she brought a sweater which she ended up having to put on, but not until later in the night. She found it to be pretty warm for the first hour and a half or so, but then it cooled off closer to the end.

 

[NoMoneyThanks2Disney]

Is the Reserved Seating pre-assigned? Like, if you're not first in the door do you get stuck in some awful in the corner out of the way spot or is everyone's tables assigned before everything gets started? Also, how long was that line looking when you arrived? We're arriving from Beach Club on the Sat of the final weekend of Food and Wine coinciding with Veterans weekend and am expecting Epcot to be a madhouse. Thinking just waiting in the normal line might work out better for us... So happy to hear you had a wonderful trip, this will be our first PFTS as well!

Random question for anyone who went to PFTS: is it necessary to bring a light jacket (I do get cold easily)- better q do they crank the AC? Gonna be wearing a summer dress but don't want to spend the night freezing...

When we checked in at American Gardens they already had our table number loaded, so it is pre-assigned. The line at the party was maybe 10-15 people deep when we got there. Not really horrible, but we were happy we got to go in without waiting in it.

I'm also that person wearing a sweater to work in July because I get cold easily. I wore a sleeveless top, and never once felt cold during the party. I did partake of the alcohol and mingled quite a bit, which probably helped.

I hope you have a great time!

 

[Jays2013]

We enjoyed it very much. Several people I talked to about it called it the best value for what you receive for any of the events. Mimosas flowed freely, service was great and the food was yummy.

Thank you so much! We're looking forward to it.

This has been the year from hell for my mom: She lost her sister to lung cancer in the spring--and in the middle of that ordeal, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, and planning for Disney got her through a lot of the treatment. She's so excited to see WDW with her grandsons and do the Halloween party. And this is something special I planned just for the two of us.

(And that's why WDW means so much to me. Anticipating and planning for it has gotten my family through a lot!)

 

[sherlockmiles]

She lost her sister to lung cancer in the spring--and in the middle of that ordeal, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat it, and planning for Disney got her through a lot of the treatment.
(And that's why WDW means so much to me. Anticipating and planning for it has gotten my family through a lot!)

HUGE HUGS to your mom!! (i'm a sister survivor!)

I performed in the Main Street Parade and at Hollywood Studios in the middle of my chemo treatments (I had 6 treatments and performed between #3 and #4). My entire treatment plan was scheduled around me being able to get on that plane!

I wish you the most magical trip ever!!

 

[tony67]

I had no plans to go to food and wine this year, but was given a 2day park hopper so I did make it over.

Overall I was not particularly impressed - most items were bland and average at best.

beer selection not impressive at all IMO

Speaking to many locals they say the flower and garden is a much better event - Disney has really squeezed any enjoyment out of this for me.

In Germany they now have a giant $10 pretzel - i was hoping it would be better than the standard Disney pretzel and more like the ones they used to make in the German Pavilion - unfortunately it was not

They are no longer selling shots during F&W - that is probably a good idea as it does get out of hand sometimes

What really annoyed me here and in Norway was that the beer they sell at that carts was now much smaller - I asked the cast member about it and he said it was smaller for food and wine.
really - that is just beyond the pale IMO

Oh and just a general comment for the anti-alcohol folks - why can't you just mind your business - you have no idea who you yelling at - and if they are not stumbling around, making trouble and obviously drunk that what is your point?
I saw a women berate a guy who had two beers (that he was drinking) in his hands when he was getting in the line to wait for the Pandora ride.

it's a 60 minute wait - and I got talking to him since he was behind me in line and was bothered by the women - he was an Air Force officer on leave and this was his first trip to Disney - I dont know who these people are that feel they can yell at people for consuming what Disney is selling

 

[randumb0]

We enjoyed it very much. Several people I talked to about it called it the best value for what you receive for any of the events. Mimosas flowed freely, service was great and the food was yummy.

Parisian Breakfast is definitely the best value. It's a bit of a carb overload though

 

[Simba's Mom]

Speaking to many locals they say the flower and garden is a much better event - Disney has really squeezed any enjoyment out of this for me.

So glad to hear this about the flower and garden festival. We've already decided that this may be our last F&W-we're going to try the flower and garden festival in the spring and maybe go to that every year instead of the F&W. Also, the bands are more of "our generation".

 

[goofy78]

Only 9 days left for our first F&W experience! We will be there over Columbus Day weekend, the 6-10. I assume the long weekends are quite busier than usual. I am very excited but also a little nervous for the crowds. My plan is to go during the early hours of the day (11:00am start) and avoid the area at night. Just curious on what kind of crowds to expect during the day? Thanks!