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

[brnrss34]

Yes the Eat to the Beat dinning packages could be booked online.

 

[patster734]

"What's Cooking With.." was also available to book online last year.

 

[greigallen]

Will be there Sept. 2 - 16. Can't wait!

 

[Patsydust]

First time for wine and dine fest!! Doing the running challenge as well! Can't wait!

 

[123Dis4Me]

What is the running challenge?

 

[ilovejsparrow]

Found this menu from French Family Meal traditions from 2015, thought I'd share! It was a fabulous event.

 

[ilovejsparrow]

Sorry- here's the second page

 

[ilovejsparrow]

How do special events like French Family Meal traditions and the other food & wine pairing meals (like the hopefully-still-more-affordable-because-my-budget-is-starting-to-hurt Mediterranean one) handle allergies? We have a family member with gluten & dairy allergies and another who is allergic to a couple different fruits. We'd love to do one, maybe two of these events but given the price tags going and not being able to eat some courses would be a huge disappointment.

My husband and I sat next to a couple at French Family meal traditions that had several food allergies. She said she noted it while making the reservation. The restaurant already had the information and had a special menu printed for her to account for her allergies. I personally do not eat seafood, and I noted while making my reservation that I would prefer my meal to have no seafood. Luckily, our meal did not have any on the menu, however they told me that if they did, they would have made me something different. Our server was wonderful and told us that they would do their best to accommodate all allergies and food preferences.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

What is the running challenge?

The Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon weekend is Nov 2 - 5. There's more info on the runDisney site. I think the challenge is running both the 10K and the half marathon. There's also an after hours party in Epcot the night of the half.

 

[magickingdomprincess]

When are the booth menus normally released? We haven't been to F&W for a few years and so excited to see what yummy food we'll get to try!

 

[captaindavidhook]

Yes the Eat to the Beat dinning packages could be booked online.

when do they become available to be booked?

 

[loves to dive]

When are the booth menus normally released? We haven't been to F&W for a few years and so excited to see what yummy food we'll get to try!

The actual items on the menus are normally released after the TIW event (I think the 15th of this month). The prices aren't normally released until they put up the menu boards in the park.

 

[brnrss34]

when do they become available to be booked?

I think a couple of days after everything was bookable by the public last year so around the end of the month.

 

[Corbie]

DH and I are seriously considering getting the Dining Plan (alas, not free) for our stay in October intead of paying OOP as originally planned. This is because we plan to eat our way around Epcot at least twice. We've never used the dining plan (in fact, first trip).

Can someone explain to me how snack/counter service credits work at the booths? If I exchange a CS credit for 3 snack credits (as mentioned above) must they all be used at the same booth? Will the food items offered at the booths during F&W count as snacks? All? Some? Which ones?

I really appreciate the help so we can decide if in this instance DP might actually save us money!

 

[mara512]

DH and I are seriously considering getting the Dining Plan (alas, not free) for our stay in October intead of paying OOP as originally planned. This is because we plan to eat our way around Epcot at least twice. We've never used the dining plan (in fact, first trip).

Can someone explain to me how snack/counter service credits work at the booths? If I exchange a CS credit for 3 snack credits (as mentioned above) must they all be used at the same booth? Will the food items offered at the booths during F&W count as snacks? All? Some? Which ones?

I really appreciate the help so we can decide if in this instance DP might actually save us money!

In the past you must purchase 3 items at the same booth in exchange for a CS. To see if it truly would save you money, I would suggest waiting for this years booth menus/prices to be published. You can then see which items are eligible for a snack credit on the dining plan. You can then see which items you want to try and calculate your OOP cost versus using the dining plan.

 

[karrit2000]

DH and I are seriously considering getting the Dining Plan (alas, not free) for our stay in October intead of paying OOP as originally planned. This is because we plan to eat our way around Epcot at least twice. We've never used the dining plan (in fact, first trip).

Can someone explain to me how snack/counter service credits work at the booths? If I exchange a CS credit for 3 snack credits (as mentioned above) must they all be used at the same booth? Will the food items offered at the booths during F&W count as snacks? All? Some? Which ones?

I really appreciate the help so we can decide if in this instance DP might actually save us money!

Personally I do not get the dining plan as it isn't cost effective for the way I usually eat while at WDW. Also I find that snacking at the booths is more than enough for me most days so having a dining plan that includes TS meals would not be worthwhile for us as we book a lot of the special dining events in Italy & France. So those are our big meals. We don't find the need to book other TS meals during F & W other than an occasional Character Breakfast. If they still offered the CS plan that originally included 2 snack credits per person each day it would possibly be worth it. If you trade in a CS credit for snack credits they need to be used at the the same booth at the time you make the exchange. Most food items have in the past counted as snacks event the Canada Filet & the Lobster Roll. I didn't follow the posts last year as we ended up not making our annual F & W trip but in the past some CM's at some booths would not do the exchange from CS to snack credits.

 

[DisKaren]

Personally I do not get the dining plan as it isn't cost effective for the way I usually eat while at WDW. Also I find that snacking at the booths is more than enough for me most days so having a dining plan that includes TS meals would not be worthwhile for us as we book a lot of the special dining events in Italy & France. So those are our big meals. We don't find the need to book other TS meals during F & W other than an occasional Character Breakfast. If they still offered the CS plan that originally included 2 snack credits per person each day it would possibly be worth it. If you trade in a CS credit for snack credits they need to be used at the the same booth at the time you make the exchange. Most food items have in the past counted as snacks event the Canada Filet & the Lobster Roll. I didn't follow the posts last year as we ended up not making our annual F & W trip but in the past some CM's at some booths would not do the exchange from CS to snack credits.

The QSDP this year does give you 2 snack credits per person per night. They did this instead of a dessert with the CS meals, which is fine with me.

 

[karrit2000]

The QSDP this year does give you 2 snack credits per person per night. They did this instead of a dessert with the CS meals, which is fine with me.

That's good to know. Shows how long it's been since I did any of the dining plans. It probably cost's way more than I'd want to spend for it though. Maybe I'll look into it for my solo trip at the end of September.

 

[DisKaren]

That's good to know. Shows how long it's been since I did any of the dining plans. It probably cost's way more than I'd want to spend for it though. Maybe I'll look into it for my solo trip at the end of September.

It's $48 and change this year per person per night. I think it would be hard to get your money's worth without some serious research and planning on maximizing each credit! We are only doing a dining plan next month because it's "free"!

 

[karrit2000]

It's $48 and change this year per person per night. I think it would be hard to get your money's worth without some serious research and planning on maximizing each credit! We are only doing a dining plan next month because it's "free"!

Well I have a couple of months to do some research to see if I can make it work. I think I payed about $30 for it when I did the QSDP the first year it was offered & I definitely got my moneys worth back then but I only did it for part of a split stay.

Back on topic I need some new F & W news. I need to know what morning I need to get up at o dark thirty to book my special events.