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

[gottalovepluto]

How many food items can an average person eat in a day? It'll be our first visit to F&W in early November and we have one full day in Epcot from rope drop to closing. I'm trying to plan our QSDP credits, but I have no idea how many items one can realistically eat. The plan is to have a quick snack at the hotel for breakfast and eat our way through Epcot, so would we be looking at 8, 10, 15 items each? There is obviously some variation in portion size, but I'm clueless at this point so any insight would be helpful.

Good q.... First off remember, food booths don't open until 11, so you can't start until then! And imho you can definitely eat 15 dishes a day if split between 2 people. If I was going with someone nonstop 11am-9pm (when booths close I think- prob depends on park hours?) I would plan 20 dishes. But splitting is KEY. Also, water and breaks! Browse shops, ride that boat ride in Mexico, basically the 2nd most important thing: Pace yourself.
To recap: I say 20 total dishes possible IF...
-split everything
AND
-discipline to pace yourself (do not pig out at 11:15am because you're starving, been there, tried that, did not end well)
(also, if you don't like a dish- don't eat it! plenty of good stuff to fill up on!)

 

[sherlockmiles]

But splitting is KEY. Also, water and breaks!
(also, if you don't like a dish- don't eat it! plenty of good stuff to fill up on!)

Excellent points!

 

[brewhome]

I have a friend at EPCOT right now that's been posting pics of her F&W goodies, and she's at this very moment attending the tequila lunch... boy, do I wish I was there with her right now instead of eating my boring lunch at work! But the good news is... I will be there to enjoy the festival myself in 20 days! Woot woot!

 

[randumb0]

When do they typically send out the emails about PFTS with the details?

 

[CosmicGirl]

I think it depends on what else you have planned that day. We shared 10 items and several drinks (including full sized ones) one day and were full but we had an Ohana dinner that night and didn't want to eat too much. Another day we shared 10 items and drinks but had the Halloween party that night.

Good question...last week when DH and I were there I think we each had about four adult drinks and three food items each day (we went to Epcot at least once the five days we were there). At the hotel we would grab a quick yogurt or small muffin before heading to the parks. We are not really big eaters so I think it can vary from person to person on what you want to eat and how much.

If you are there all day with no dinner plans and if you share the individual items you can very easily get to 15+ items, sometimes an "item" if shared is just one bite....others are a bit bigger. DW and I share everything and are able to taste quite a bit in a full day....and we are GOING TO BE THERE THIS WEEKEND !!!!

Good q.... First off remember, food booths don't open until 11, so you can't start until then! And imho you can definitely eat 15 dishes a day if split between 2 people. If I was going with someone nonstop 11am-9pm (when booths close I think- prob depends on park hours?) I would plan 20 dishes. But splitting is KEY. Also, water and breaks! Browse shops, ride that boat ride in Mexico, basically the 2nd most important thing: Pace yourself.
To recap: I say 20 total dishes possible IF...
-split everything
AND
-discipline to pace yourself (do not pig out at 11:15am because you're starving, been there, tried that, did not end well)
(also, if you don't like a dish- don't eat it! plenty of good stuff to fill up on!)

Thank you all! We were indeed planning to split everything so we can try more and supplement solely with water and coffee (a must for my mom). I did consider the fact that booths don't open until 11, that's where the resort smoothie, morning coffee, and maybe a quick bite from les Halles come in . We're aiming for Soarin' and maybe a character meet & greet in the morning, followed by the booth crawl with boat rides, movies, and shops inbetween. Now... to get the wish list from 39 down to 15-20 .

And to mbtohill: have a great time!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

When do they typically send out the emails about PFTS with the details?

I received the "instructions" email ~4pm on 9/21 for the 9/23 party.

 

[MrsScooby]

When do they typically send out the emails about PFTS with the details?

I received the "instructions" email ~4pm on 9/21 for the 9/23 party.

I went to the October 14th PFTS and didn't receive an email with instructions. Thankfully due to this thread I pretty much knew what to do and where to go.

IMHO, the party was fun, the food was good and the entertainment was good as well. I went with my husband and we had a reserved table. We didn't have any issues with our table being too close to a food station or other tables so maybe that depended on where you were assigned and some places were a tight squeeze where others were fine...

There were plenty of entrée options for us, we ran out of stomach room before we ran out of options. My husband's favorite was a lamb chop entrée and mine was an elk dish with pomegranate seeds. The chocolates and other desserts were very good but we were pretty full by the time we got to dessert so hard to really judge their quality at that point.

Loved the women playing violin for entertainment-they did play a lot of rock and country rock (including the staples-"Devil went down to Georgia" and "Sweet Home Alabama") so if that wasn't your type of music then I can see why someone wouldn't care for it. However for us it was very entertaining and we didn't leave until after they were done and we were done eating.

However, when my husband heard how much I paid for admission his first response was that he didn't think it was worth the money. After a couple of days of trudging through the heat at the Food and Wine Festival, he did admit that with the unlimited alcohol and the quality of the food and the reserved table with the lovely air conditioning that maybe it wasn't such a bad deal....
I think he would have appreciated it more if we went towards the end of our trip rather than the beginning.

Anyway, we liked it but not sure if we would do it again as it was pretty pricey and we're hoping a November trip might be more tolerable with less heat for Food and Wine.

Laurie

 

[tkbk]

HELP- Skywalker Chardonnay at the Oct 7 PFTS- does anyone know if it was 2014 or 2015 vintage? It was my favorite white of the night, the Pinot was pretty darn good too so if you know the answer do you also know which vintage the Pinot was too? Thank you

 

[Kcross3625]

Good q.... First off remember, food booths don't open until 11, so you can't start until then! And imho you can definitely eat 15 dishes a day if split between 2 people. If I was going with someone nonstop 11am-9pm (when booths close I think- prob depends on park hours?) I would plan 20 dishes. But splitting is KEY. Also, water and breaks! Browse shops, ride that boat ride in Mexico, basically the 2nd most important thing: Pace yourself.
To recap: I say 20 total dishes possible IF...
-split everything
AND
-discipline to pace yourself (do not pig out at 11:15am because you're starving, been there, tried that, did not end well)
(also, if you don't like a dish- don't eat it! plenty of good stuff to fill up on!)

Thanks for the good advice. I noticed there were some food booths in Future World. Do you know if they open earlier than 11 am since Future World opens earlier ?

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thanks for the good advice. I noticed there were some food booths in Future World. Do you know if they open earlier than 11 am since Future World opens earlier ?

They all open at 11:00

 

[tde1969]

Sitting here now at the signature dining experience at tiffans. We did the one last year at jinkos and were so impressed. The chefs would come out and discuss each dish and the pairing. Well this year they have decided to do a conservation presentation. Its kind of like a timeshare presentation and a distraction during what would otherwise be a great meal. Just wish disney would have let us known. I feel like they knew they had a captive audience and decided to force this upon us. Please no flames no issues here with conservation efforts, non-profits or volunteering for great causes. Just didnt expect it tonight when we paid a decent amount for a signature dinner.

 

[gwynne]

Sitting here now at the signature dining experience at tiffans. We did the one last year at jinkos and were so impressed. The chefs would come out and discuss each dish and the pairing. Well this year they have decided to do a conservation presentation. Its kind of like a timeshare presentation and a distraction during what would otherwise be a great meal. Just wish disney would have let us known. I feel like they knew they had a captive audience and decided to force this upon us. Please no flames no issues here with conservation efforts, non-profits or volunteering for great causes. Just didnt expect it tonight when we paid a decent amount for a signature dinner.

Oh dear, I wouldn't be happy either. They absolutely should have informed guests. If you book a relaxing dinner you should have one. If you book a dinner and a conservation presentation that's fine too. But they are very different events and guests should know ahead of time what is planned for their fairly expensive evening.

 

[georgina]

We have been here all week, and I was curious how the World Showcase would be tonight (Friday). While it was extremely crowded, food lines only seemed to be long between about 6-7:00. We ate with no lines between 5-5:30, then again after the 6:45 concert. Didn't see any people behaving badly at Epcot, did see one group on the Boardwalk later who seemed to be obnoxiously inebriated.

 

[gharter]

How many food items can an average person eat in a day? It'll be our first visit to F&W in early November and we have one full day in Epcot from rope drop to closing. I'm trying to plan our QSDP credits, but I have no idea how many items one can realistically eat. The plan is to have a quick snack at the hotel for breakfast and eat our way through Epcot, so would we be looking at 8, 10, 15 items each? There is obviously some variation in portion size, but I'm clueless at this point so any insight would be helpful.

Great question with many answers. Each year, we look at the list of kiosks and put together a list of what we want to try. In our case, we did a wine and food pairing on 2 of the days we were at EPCOT. Really good, but took 2-3 hours, a lot of food and wine, so really cut back the number of places we could try.
Also, will you be eating an evening meal somewhere or is working around the world lunch and supper? If not, 8-10 for the entire day is doable. A lot depends on what you will be drinking. Wine is generally a smaller portion. If you are drinking beer, many are a 12-16 pours which obviously fills you up faster.
We had a great time in October, hope you do as well.
My suggestion is plan ahead as to where you want to stop and try food or drinks. Without a plan, there is so much that it can be overwhelming.

 

[CosmicGirl]

Great question with many answers. Each year, we look at the list of kiosks and put together a list of what we want to try. In our case, we did a wine and food pairing on 2 of the days we were at EPCOT. Really good, but took 2-3 hours, a lot of food and wine, so really cut back the number of places we could try.
Also, will you be eating an evening meal somewhere or is working around the world lunch and supper? If not, 8-10 for the entire day is doable. A lot depends on what you will be drinking. Wine is generally a smaller portion. If you are drinking beer, many are a 12-16 pours which obviously fills you up faster.
We had a great time in October, hope you do as well.
My suggestion is plan ahead as to where you want to stop and try food or drinks. Without a plan, there is so much that it can be overwhelming.

Thanks for your input . We're not big on alcohol so it'll be a full day of booth food and water/coffee. Oh and a mango lassi . Other than a snack for breakfast before 11 we're not planning to eat anywhere else. The wish list is at 39 items but based on your and other members' replies it looks like we have to cut that list in half with two people.

 

[Astryd]

Sitting here now at the signature dining experience at tiffans. We did the one last year at jinkos and were so impressed. The chefs would come out and discuss each dish and the pairing. Well this year they have decided to do a conservation presentation. Its kind of like a timeshare presentation and a distraction during what would otherwise be a great meal. Just wish disney would have let us known. I feel like they knew they had a captive audience and decided to force this upon us. Please no flames no issues here with conservation efforts, non-profits or volunteering for great causes. Just didnt expect it tonight when we paid a decent amount for a signature dinner.

Oh dear, I wouldn't be happy either. They absolutely should have informed guests. If you book a relaxing dinner you should have one. If you book a dinner and a conservation presentation that's fine too. But they are very different events and guests should know ahead of time what is planned for their fairly expensive evening.

im not sure I understand how you didn't know there would be a conservation presentation during the event. It specifically states that in the information about the event. This is directly from the Disney website.

October 20, 2017: Tiffins
Take off on a taste-infused trek at Tiffins, where Asian cuisine is the highlight of the experience. Throughout the evening, you’re invited to listen in as Dr. Jason Fischer from Disney’s Animal Kingdom park speaks about the Siberian Crane Conservation project he supports in Asia.

• Chef: David Njoroge, Chef de Cuisine
• Location: Tiffins at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park
• Time: 6:00 PM
• Price: $199 per person—plus tax, gratuity included

Show Less


I am sorry you didn't have the experience you thought you were going to have, I hope at least the meal was good.

 

[gottalovepluto]

--

 

[ImprovGal]

im not sure I understand how you didn't know there would be a conservation presentation during the event. It specifically states that in the information about the event. This is directly from the Disney website.

October 20, 2017: Tiffins
Take off on a taste-infused trek at Tiffins, where Asian cuisine is the highlight of the experience. Throughout the evening, you’re invited to listen in as Dr. Jason Fischer from Disney’s Animal Kingdom park speaks about the Siberian Crane Conservation project he supports in Asia.

• Chef: David Njoroge, Chef de Cuisine
• Location: Tiffins at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park
• Time: 6:00 PM
• Price: $199 per person—plus tax, gratuity included

Show Less


I am sorry you didn't have the experience you thought you were going to have, I hope at least the meal was good.

I wonder if that bit of detail was there from the start, or if it was only recently added. I don't remember seeing it when events were first listed.

 

[tde1969]

Wow just embarrassed i never saw that. Nothing was said when we purchased and the emails said nothing about it. No one at the tables around us has Any idea they would be doing a presentation. I guess in the future ill ask.

 

[VrBchJ]

Sitting here now at the signature dining experience at tiffans. We did the one last year at jinkos and were so impressed. The chefs would come out and discuss each dish and the pairing. Well this year they have decided to do a conservation presentation. Its kind of like a timeshare presentation and a distraction during what would otherwise be a great meal. Just wish disney would have let us known. I feel like they knew they had a captive audience and decided to force this upon us. Please no flames no issues here with conservation efforts, non-profits or volunteering for great causes. Just didnt expect it tonight when we paid a decent amount for a signature dinner.

I agree with your assessment but we loved meeting. Next time we'll go to Jelly Rolls with you! May see tonight at PFTS.