Food and Wine Fest...so so

[jwutony16]

I do not know if my expectations are too high for the food and wine fest but I just came back and I was a little bit disappointed this year. Three years ago it was amazing and the last two years to me has gone downhill. Maybe I am being too harsh but the quality is going down. You easily spend $100 dollars and you do not leave satisfied. I could be completely wrong.

 

[WDWmazprty]

Is it the food that is not good or is it the variety?

 

[Master Yoda]

I have found that food and wine is kind of like an illicit drug. That first high is incredible and you spend the rest of your life chasing that dragon.

You are like a kid in a candy store on the first year. The whole experience is new, you are trying food that you have never heard of before and you are just overwhelmed by all the options.

When you make it to your second year, what was exotic last time is just normal now. You enjoy the new booths and the ones you missed the year before, but the shine has kind of worn off.

It becomes somewhat old hat by the third year and beyond. It is still fun, but the "wow!" just is not there anymore.

 

[Sloan]

While I know that most guests consider the food booths around World Showcase to be the Food & Wine Festival, I've found that the only way to really keep enjoying it is to experience as many of the special events as possible. The "hard ticket" events like Party for the Senses, the Signature Dinners, French Regional lunches, tequila tastings, etc. are what really 'make' the festival for me ... and I've found that the quality of those events has really held up, and a few have even gotten better and better. Party for the Senses is the only one I'm really on the fence about - the price kept climbing, I think they started selling too many tickets, and the entertainment has been hit-and-miss - just great some years, others quite mediocre. I have the first week of November booked for this year, so I guess I'll see for myself soon ....

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

We love F&W and go every Fall. However, I do find myself being disappointed in some foods, by way of comparison to years prior. It's still to me, a foodie's paradise. Just as @Sloan said, hard ticket events really make it special, but truth be told I haven't booked any, in several years and have never attended Party for the Senses, yet still enjoy the experience. @Master Yoda kinda hit the nail on the head, the *wow* factor is missing, however, we still enjoy F&W immensely. Regarding the kiosk offerings, they fluctuate IMHO, some years there are lots of nice options, and others, sub par offerings, but one thing is a constant, the prices keep going up. For my family, F&W is very nostalgic, lots of memories, not of outstanding food though. We use our snack credits on the dining plan to purchase the samplings. (so we don't feel the sticker shock as much) Having said all this, Fall is still a great time to go, and I honestly think, everyone should try F&W atleast once. Me? I'll still go every year

 

[dreamfinder]

Completely agree with @Master Yoda For most people the first trip is "Holy schnikies!" And then after that you need to seek out something new each trip. And when they only swap out one or two kiosks, and only a handful of food items, it's hard to find that new spark.

 

[jwutony16]

Is it the food that is not good or is it the variety?

I think it is a little bit of both. It just seemed scaled down

 

[JCtheparrothead]

I do not know if my expectations are too high for the food and wine fest but I just came back and I was a little bit disappointed this year. Three years ago it was amazing and the last two years to me has gone downhill. Maybe I am being too harsh but the quality is going down. You easily spend $100 dollars and you do not leave satisfied. I could be completely wrong.

My wife and i just got back and we thought the same thing. With a couple exceptions it jut seemed obvious what the countries served. Nothing exciting, nothing fancy, just obvious. We spent about $100 and we both said we really were not enticed to ever go back for it.

 

[ABQ]

I think it is a little bit of both. It just seemed scaled down

I went last year and though I have not gone this year, reading the picture by picture expose that was put up on the front of this site, it does appear the booths around the World Showcase number exactly the same as last year, though the offerings have changed. However, those could still be well down from 3 years ago. Not sure what may have changed with regards to the hard ticket events though.

 

[mbtohill]

Wife and I just got back from 3 consecutive trip and we LOVE it more and more every year. I think the food quality is pretty consistent and although the variety from year to year is minimal I don't know that they can change/add too much on a year to year basis with 29 booths already, how many more can they add? I could see them rotating different countries otherwise not sure where else they can add.

I will say that for my wife and I, the joy of spending 3 child free days walking around Epcot eating and drinking and people watching, enjoying the sights and sounds is absolutely WONDERFUL.

Can't wait to go back next year.

I

 

[jaklgreen]

I love the F&WF and go every year(for the past 4 years). The only thing that is a disappointment to me is the 3D dessert party. I LOVE dessert, but the quality and selection at the 3D party is horrible. If they kept it in line with the quality of the few desserts you get at the PFTS, then it would be worth it to go again. Last year Keegan Gerhard made desserts for the PFTS, yummy!!! In my opinion they serve embarrassingly bad desserts especially for the price. I don't want linzer cookies that look like they came out of a box and rice crispie treats at an event that charges that much money. The year they replaced a dessert table with the nasty Baby Cakes cupcakes(which was so bad I spit it out) is the last year I went. I wanted to ask for my money back it was that bad.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

i just wish they'd change what they offer each year from each of the booths.