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2014 Epcot Food and Wine Festival
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
HRHPrincessAriel
Well-Known Member
This is my thought.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
So I went today and I've got a few thoughts....
It feels cheap. In years past, the festival was well decorated, topiaries, etc. Very little of that. The merch seemed very "blah" as well but I dug figment being on this years logo. The logo had a year in the far corner which leads me to speculate that this logo might stick for awhile. Not all the merch seems to be out yet.
It was very busy for a rainy, Monday afternoon. Felt like what an average weekend would be if it werent festival season.
The portions seemed extra small and the prices seemed high. Seriously, for $7.25, I can go to publix, buy my own filet and grill it at home and get 4x the portions. (Mental note, buy truffle oil to make truffle butter)
Big fan of the cheese plate at the Barley and Hops. Highly recommend, tho pricey at $5.
The cheddar cheese soup is still excellent. Another highly recommend.
Didn't try the ribeye taco but @roodlesnouter did and he liked it, so I'll pass that on.
Why is Brazil next to France? For that matter, it seems like every available square inch in the World Showcase is taken up by this festival.
For you "Hanson" fans, the 'mmmmmHops' beer is essentially an I.P.A. Its very hoppy, which in english means its rather bitter. If you are craft beer drinker, a fan of IPAs OR if budweiser is as adventurous as you get, you wont like it.
So lets talk beer & the "drunkytown" for a second. We're all aware that its nothing but 6oz pours... which means you're paying $9 for a 12oz beer. There wasn't much drunk behavior today, or if there was I didnt see it. Walked through the craft beer place in the Odyssey building, great layout - bad selection. Avoid the Florida State Pilsner. Tasted like Schafer beer. Nice air conditioned place for people to drink out of the way of the main family crowds. Great choice by Disney to move it there. Between that and changing the pours, I think a lot of the alcohol problems will be reduced.
Some of the choices seemed odd. Like at Refreshment Port, serving the normal Chicken Fingers and putting Sweet & Sour Sauce on the side and charging $9 screams of rip-off. Likewise with all the signage and evidence of the upcharges & exclusivity. Its gone beyond crash commercialism and you leave feeling milked.
Overall, it was fun but ... ehhhhhhh.... was just OK. I'd love to do Party for the Senses but dear lord, aint nobody got that kinda money.
It feels cheap. In years past, the festival was well decorated, topiaries, etc. Very little of that. The merch seemed very "blah" as well but I dug figment being on this years logo. The logo had a year in the far corner which leads me to speculate that this logo might stick for awhile. Not all the merch seems to be out yet.
It was very busy for a rainy, Monday afternoon. Felt like what an average weekend would be if it werent festival season.
The portions seemed extra small and the prices seemed high. Seriously, for $7.25, I can go to publix, buy my own filet and grill it at home and get 4x the portions. (Mental note, buy truffle oil to make truffle butter)
Big fan of the cheese plate at the Barley and Hops. Highly recommend, tho pricey at $5.
The cheddar cheese soup is still excellent. Another highly recommend.
Didn't try the ribeye taco but @roodlesnouter did and he liked it, so I'll pass that on.
Why is Brazil next to France? For that matter, it seems like every available square inch in the World Showcase is taken up by this festival.
For you "Hanson" fans, the 'mmmmmHops' beer is essentially an I.P.A. Its very hoppy, which in english means its rather bitter. If you are craft beer drinker, a fan of IPAs OR if budweiser is as adventurous as you get, you wont like it.
So lets talk beer & the "drunkytown" for a second. We're all aware that its nothing but 6oz pours... which means you're paying $9 for a 12oz beer. There wasn't much drunk behavior today, or if there was I didnt see it. Walked through the craft beer place in the Odyssey building, great layout - bad selection. Avoid the Florida State Pilsner. Tasted like Schafer beer. Nice air conditioned place for people to drink out of the way of the main family crowds. Great choice by Disney to move it there. Between that and changing the pours, I think a lot of the alcohol problems will be reduced.
Some of the choices seemed odd. Like at Refreshment Port, serving the normal Chicken Fingers and putting Sweet & Sour Sauce on the side and charging $9 screams of rip-off. Likewise with all the signage and evidence of the upcharges & exclusivity. Its gone beyond crash commercialism and you leave feeling milked.
Overall, it was fun but ... ehhhhhhh.... was just OK. I'd love to do Party for the Senses but dear lord, aint nobody got that kinda money.
hpyhnt 1000
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the report! From what I've seen in pics, I agree that portions seem to be a bit stingier than in recent years. And with the recycled decor at the front, it doesn't surprise me that the appearance felt "cheaper" as you call it.
Still looking forward to going and 2 weeks and comparing to previous years.
shipley731
Well-Known Member
We did Party for the Senses 3 different times years ago. The first two times we went, it was still right around the $100-$1150 price point and no special seating areas. We enjoyed it & felt it was well worth what we spent. The 3rd time we went, the party was $140pp and seemed fairly crowded. Any seating had been grabbed up & people weren't willing to let you share a little table space. This hadn't happened on our previous trips. This was still before they started the reserved seating stuff. We decided to take some time off from Party for the Senses after that experience. Since the price has steadily climbed & I just don't feel like it's worth it anymore. Especially since the DH & I attended a similar event in New Orleans during their Wine & Food Fest that's held in May. Similar set up except it was held on the floor of the Superdome, there were something like 50 New Orleans restaurants participating, better wineries, & some specialty cocktails thrown in as well. I has John Besh his own bad self serve me his dish from August. They also had the chef's from that season's Top Chef participating. The event was $99 and all of the proceeds went to charity.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
At the booths only 6 oz pours are available. In the pavilions the regular selections for that pavilion should still be a standard size.
wdwtopten
Well-Known Member
PeterMarcus
Active Member
Yeah, over the course of our time there, I saw the Germany beer bar in the restaurant waiting area, the Rose and Crown, and the bar in the new Spice Road all serving normal drinks, including the normal selection of spirits and mixed drinks for the latter two. We had a couple pints in R&C ourselves.
The American kiosk (the lobster Alfredo one) was 6oz beers, as was the new craft beer section in the Odyssey, but I didn't personally look into the American Pavilion's craft beer section.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
Hops and Barley will be selling samples. Fife and Drum and Liberty Inn looks like their menu has additions, but no changes to their other selections. The craft beer stand beside the funnel cake (Block and Hans) looks like it has been converted to sell wine for the duration of the festival.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
At the normal beverage locations that sell larger portions.
For example, inside the Liberty Inn counter Service location. They sell normal sized beer.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Nope. That's a wine booth. Because we all want wine while we smell funnel cake, right?
jakeman
Well-Known Member
They are pretty unbearable if you are only used to the weekday crowd.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Why was there yesterday. And it felt like a busy weekend from the rest of the year. Lots of cast members… How do I know that? Because clearly cast members aren't smart enough to put their IDs away after they come through the gate.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
We were there this past Saturday around 5:00 PM and the crowds were heavy, but manageable. We didn't wait more then 5 minutes to get served at any of the Food and Wine kiosks. Don't know if it got worse later in the evening.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
Not from a behavior standpoint, just from a crowd management standpoint.
misterID
Well-Known Member
I was going to say that the behavior is as bad as the crowds from my experience.
Pumbas Nakasak
Heading for the great escape.
Party hard.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
Meh...I've never experienced anything horrible, but I'm not going to get into a micturiting match about what we've have or haven't seen over the years.