2015 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

jakeman

Well-Known Member
What were crowds like this past weekend? Opening weekend looked insane. DW and I are going next Friday and Saturday, hoping thing calm down a little by then.
It more than likely won't be any better on Friday and Saturday.

We used to go over Columbus day weekend, but about 6 years ago it became fairly unbearable due to heavy crowds. If you can manage a week day of any sort (even the Thursday before) you'll notice a marked difference.
 

mbtohill

Well-Known Member
We went last year around the same time Thurs-Sun and never felt like the crowds were CRAZY....I'm hearing that this year, on both Saturdays at least, they were INSANE. We go 15th-18th this year, so missing Columbus Day Weekend.

We have gone during the week in the past, but wife is working at elementary school now, so hard to get weekdays off
 

Baltar

$4 billion for EPCOT
I'm going on Friday and Sunday and Thursday of our trip from Oct 16-25. I'll probably get out of World Showcase on Friday night before it gets nuts. Saturdays are the worst though.
 

OvertheHorizon

Well-Known Member
What were crowds like this past weekend? Opening weekend looked insane. DW and I are going next Friday and Saturday, hoping thing calm down a little by then.
I was there on Saturday and I can honestly say that I've never seen so many people at Epcot. I've been to Food and Wine before, but this was my first time on a Saturday. The lines for the kiosks were long. In many cases, you would spot a line that began so far away that you wondered how people knew what they were waiting in line for.
 

Figment82

Well-Known Member
We went last night from around 5-7 and it was very pleasant. There were on and off rain showers so that may have played a part, but we hardly waited for any of the booths. Maybe 2-3 max ahead of us and most booths had 3 CMs working the registers. They weren't using the extended queues or duplicate lines. We even got to see Carla from The Chew filming a segment in Germany, which was a fun bonus.
 

Baltar

$4 billion for EPCOT
I was there on Saturday and I can honestly say that I've never seen so many people at Epcot. I've been to Food and Wine before, but this was my first time on a Saturday. The lines for the kiosks were long. In many cases, you would spot a line that began so far away that you wondered how people knew what they were waiting in line for.
Normally we don't book too many ADRs at Epcot during F&WF because we enjoy the booths. But after last year, we decided that was crazy. I'd much rather sit down for a meal than wait in too many long lines!
 

brb1006

Well-Known Member
I'm picturing some guests who get overserved at the food and wine festival to end up like Uncle Waldo from The Aristocats with the amount drinks they serve.
 

commandorabbit

New Member
I was there on Saturday and I can honestly say that I've never seen so many people at Epcot. I've been to Food and Wine before, but this was my first time on a Saturday. The lines for the kiosks were long. In many cases, you would spot a line that began so far away that you wondered how people knew what they were waiting in line for.
This was our experience on Saturday as well. Had two young kids with us and we didn't even attempt to get in a food kiosk line. Just way too many people. Looked like some lines had to be about a 20 minute wait at least. The Africa kiosk got behind on food and the line waiting for people to pick up their food was all the way back behind the entrance!

Friday wasn't much better. Best bet was for around 11 am. Dinner time, forget it.

It actually made for a pretty stressful evening and I doubt I will go back on a Friday or Saturday.
 

DisneyDebRob

Well-Known Member
To be fair, Bison is very lean and gets EXTREMELY tough, dry and flavorless if you cook it much past medium. I applaud the CG waitstaff for being knowledgeable in their product and maintaing the quality CG is known for.
I understand what your saying to the poster but no congrats to the waitstaff for turning him/her down. They are paying for whatever they order and they are well aware of what it might taste like. If I want a burger come out like a hockey puck they should do it.
Glad they brought back the chicken sausage at Canada.:)
 

mbtohill

Well-Known Member
What's the report on this past weekends crowds? Heard things were a bit more manageable on Saturday night? DW and I arrive on Thursday.
 

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
What's the report on this past weekends crowds? Heard things were a bit more manageable on Saturday night? DW and I arrive on Thursday.

Then you should go on Thursday and Friday during the day.

We just came back from a Wednesday through Sunday trip. We went first thing Wednesday morning and it was really nice. There were so many new booths added into the mix. Something else that was greatly improved upon is that there were more places to eat your food. Many were standing tables but they were welcome, and some areas even had covered places to eat. The cheese and wine booth area was very nicely done, as were the new sustainable chew locations outside of the Innovations West building. And the crowd level was very manageable as we found that we did not wait long at any of the booths.

Saturday, however, was absolutely ludicrous. Epcot was completely packed to the gills with people (some being rather unpleasant as the alcohol was obviously starting to set in). We ended up not even getting in line for anything because the amount of people in line at each kiosk was ridiculous. I mean, in Mexico, the line was probably just shy of 100 people! It was a complete waist of our time as it was hot in the sun, and the queues are not covered. Cars were actually parking on the grass areas around the parking lots. Aside from capping the number of people allowed in Epcot on any given day during this event, I don't know how else to avoid that from happening. For me though, it was completely not enjoyable on Saturday. We were not there at night however.

What I would tell anyone that asked me about this is go to Epcot during the week early in the day. The crowd levels are much lower and it provided for a genuinely enjoyable experience for us. There were ample areas with tables to eat, with some providing cover from the sun. Also, if you enjoy fish, the grouper in the Dominican Republic is excellent.
 

mbtohill

Well-Known Member
Then you should go on Thursday and Friday during the day.

We just came back from a Wednesday through Sunday trip. We went first thing Wednesday morning and it was really nice. There were so many new booths added into the mix. Something else that was greatly improved upon is that there were more places to eat your food. Many were standing tables but they were welcome, and some areas even had covered places to eat. The cheese and wine booth area was very nicely done, as were the new sustainable chew locations outside of the Innovations West building. And the crowd level was very manageable as we found that we did not wait long at any of the booths.

Saturday, however, was absolutely ludicrous. Epcot was completely packed to the gills with people (some being rather unpleasant as the alcohol was obviously starting to set in). We ended up not even getting in line for anything because the amount of people in line at each kiosk was ridiculous. I mean, in Mexico, the line was probably just shy of 100 people! It was a complete waist of our time as it was hot in the sun, and the queues are not covered. Cars were actually parking on the grass areas around the parking lots. Aside from capping the number of people allowed in Epcot on any given day during this event, I don't know how else to avoid that from happening. For me though, it was completely not enjoyable on Saturday. We were not there at night however.

What I would tell anyone that asked me about this is go to Epcot during the week early in the day. The crowd levels are much lower and it provided for a genuinely enjoyable experience for us. There were ample areas with tables to eat, with some providing cover from the sun. Also, if you enjoy fish, the grouper in the Dominican Republic is excellent.

We're you there this past Saturday? Someone on another board posted that they crowds Saturday around dinner time were very manageable. No more than 10 minutes wait for anything. We don't get to town until Thursday evening, so we'll do as much as we can on Friday and go from there I guess.
 

michmousefan

Well-Known Member
We're you there this past Saturday? Someone on another board posted that they crowds Saturday around dinner time were very manageable. No more than 10 minutes wait for anything. We don't get to town until Thursday evening, so we'll do as much as we can on Friday and go from there I guess.
Too bad you can't go Thursday evening...
 

mbtohill

Well-Known Member
Too bad you can't go Thursday evening...

I know, I know, we normally go during the week, but DW's job doesn't make that possible any more. Last year we went at the same time of year and did Thursday evening - Sunday morning and it was fine. Crowds this year seem CRAZY!
 

Sonconato

Well-Known Member
We're you there this past Saturday? Someone on another board posted that they crowds Saturday around dinner time were very manageable. No more than 10 minutes wait for anything. We don't get to town until Thursday evening, so we'll do as much as we can on Friday and go from there I guess.
We would agree with @flyerjab about Saturday. We were there about mid afternoon and were floored by the crowds! We were there just to see "38 Special" so we couldn't speak about the lines to the rides. The lines for booze were huge. My guess is that the lines to the rides were short because most of the people were there only to drink...a lot! Something we had never seen before until this year is that on Saturday, there were groups of people with matching T-shirts boasting their goal of getting drunk. And many were just that, unpleasantly drunk! It also seems like there aren't as many food booths as before, the majority are for drinks, but I could be wrong.

Sunday was a much, much better experience. We went back for a second time, again to see "38 Special", and it was clearly less crowded. We saw NO groups with matching T-Shirts and most of those drinking were responsible. We liked Sunday so much better, when we were watching "38 Special" we felt like this guy! (Sound quality is bad)
 

flyerjab

Well-Known Member
We're you there this past Saturday? Someone on another board posted that they crowds Saturday around dinner time were very manageable. No more than 10 minutes wait for anything. We don't get to town until Thursday evening, so we'll do as much as we can on Friday and go from there I guess.

We were there on Saturday, but not in the evening. We went for the Parisian breakfast at the France Pavilion (which was quite enjoyable). Our breakfast was late and we stayed for quite some time before venturing out to DHS to do 2 quick rides (half of the park's rides). Then back to Epcot we went, only to find that it was a mob. This was early afternoon though, but you would have thought that all of Orlando was there. It was not an enjoyable experience at all when compared to Thursday afternoon. And yes, at that time there already were people there on their way to loaded-ville, USA. Quite sad really.
 

TBrooker11

Active Member
Going Wednesday mainly to see Sugar Ray. What do you guys think the chances of getting a seat for all 3 shows is like? Also any other tips? First time going to Food & Wine at Epcot. Thanks!
 

Sonconato

Well-Known Member
Going Wednesday mainly to see Sugar Ray. What do you guys think the chances of getting a seat for all 3 shows is like? Also any other tips? First time going to Food & Wine at Epcot. Thanks!
I would have no idea since it's during the week because we, unfortunately, can only make the weekend events. You might be able to see all three shows but your seats might not be all that great. When we went to see "38 Special", we made sure to make fastpasses as early as it were possible and then, to get the best seats we could, we followed the guests that were in the first shows fastpass line so that we were first in line for the second show which we had fastpasses for. We had to stand an hour and a half but we were able to watch the first show from there and then, once seated, we couldn't get any closer. We were about 5 feet from Don Barnes! It was well worth the wait. If you try and sit to see the first show before your fastpass (if you choose to get one), you will run the risk of being way in the back of the fastpass line. It all depends on where you want to sit. If you want up front, get a fastpass, be the first in line, and first pick is yours.
 

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