Food and Wine 2008

rtiller

rtiller

Active Member
My wife and I are thinking about visiting EPCOT in 2008 during the Food and Wine Festival. If we go it will be the first week of the Festival, after the opening weekend. Is this a good time to go? We have heard that the crowds in EPCOT can be big during this time but thought we might be able to avoid them if we go during the week.

What suggestions do you have if you've attended before? This will be our first time going to the festival.

Thanks!
 
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goofyfamily

New Member
We have gone down the last five years for the first week and are going again next year . We don "t go specifically for The Food and Wine but enjoy being there at that time. I dont think it is that crowded we enjoy the Eat to the Beat concerts that are held during the festival.. There are lines at the wine vendors but nothing unusual. Yeah it is less busy during the weekdays than weekends but that is normal all year. I have never thought it was unbearable that time of year. Hope this helps a little
 
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LowesChevy

LowesChevy

Well-Known Member
Like Goofyfamily said, the weekends are busier at Epcot. We were down this year and also plan to return the first week of October. I think I am going to visit Epcot our first day on Friday to avoid the weekend crush we experienced this year. WS was really congested and the lines were long, but during the week it was not crowded and more enjoyable. It was also Columbus Day weekend while we were there, so that increased the crowds as well.

We enjoyed skipping lunch a couple of days and munching our way around the WS. After 2 portions, I was pretty full. It was a nice way to enjoy and try a lot of the different stands without being stuffed. :) Enjoy
 
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rtiller

rtiller

Active Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the feedback so far. If anyone has more please keep it coming.

We will be staying at "Home" (BCV) so we'll have quick and easy access to EPCOT but I'm sure we'll make a stop to at least the Magic Kingdom while we're there.
 
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WDWcouple

WDWcouple

Member
My wife and I will be there... I definitly recommend entering the park through the International Gateway.... If we are not staying at one of the connected resorts we usually take a taxi to the boardwalk eat breakfast at the boardwalk bakery and walk to Epcot. We always use the taxi because its usually a long day of drinking. Remember that during the F&WF Epcot gets a lot of overflow from adults that went at other parks during the day and that want to have a drink in the evening.

Eat to the beat is always fun, but dont kill yourself trying to get on line. You can hear the concet just fine anywhere from Japan to Italy.
 
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BSikor

BSikor

Active Member
Get to the free wine seminars early. 30 minutes on average. longer if its something very popular like Champagne the like. On average, they only let in 100 people and they fill up fast. The food demos only let in a certain number but only the first 30-40 get to eat.
 
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I-4Warrior

New Member
Food and Wine makes Epcot a madhouse whether you go the first week, the last week or any week in between, though to my experience (maybe it's just how I've perceived it, anyway) that the first week isn't quite as heavy as the others. No matter when you go, you'll run into heavier volume, but choosing to go on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday is a lot less painful than the other days during the week. Other than that, Food and Wine is still one of the highpoints of my year, and I do trust you'll enjoy it. Sign up for special events as soon as you realize you want to take part, as they tend to fill up quickly.
 
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rtiller

rtiller

Active Member
Original Poster
In regards to these special events. Do you sign up at the park or is this something you can/should do before your trip?
 
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Tenny317

Tenny317

New Member
It's really not exceptionally busy. Weekends are worse but I've been there on a weekend for it and it was unbearable or that bad, I found. The Food and Wine Festival is totally worth it! It's my favorite of the festivals, it's soooo much fun! If you do the festival pace yourself and do it over 2 days. It's too much food and drinks for one day!!! But so much fun!
 
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Brwneyedgirl72

Brwneyedgirl72

Active Member
We go every year for my mother's birthday in the second week of October and it is never too terrible. Friday and Saturday nights tend to be be busiest, but we always go to the Food & Wine fest at least 3 times during that time period. It is also my favorite time of year to visit EPCOT - enjoy!
 
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philipneil

New Member
My fiancé and I will be there the second week of October for our honeymoon (POR). It's our first time for the F&W fest and we're very excited.

A couple of questions:
When will the details for this year's fest be published and how soon can we begin to sign up for some of the dining events?

Also, while it'll be my 14th trip, it will be the first time I've visited during the school year. How is attendance at the other parks in October during the food and wine fest?

Thanks for the help and happy planning to all those who'll be joining us down there.
 
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Tiggerish

Tiggerish

Resident Redhead
Premium Member
Each year the F&W Fest seems to expand.

Last year, it ran for six weeks, from Oct. 1 to approximately Nov. 16. I think that this year, it will be starting at the end of September.

Special dining events must be reserved and paid for before you arrive. Generally, the reservations line for these events opens up mid-July. In previous years, they have announced the schedule of events in May or so, giving people plenty of time to make plans for the special events, as many visitors (myself included) would be flexible enough to plan the dates of their trip to make sure to be able to go to certain events or see particular celebrity presenters. Not so last year--they released the schedule only two or three weeks before the reservation date. And these special events get booked up FAST.

I was there for the first week of the 2007 F&W Fest (it was our sixth F&W Fest overall) and it was fine, capacity-wise, during the week (although the weather was yucky). We learned our lesson about weekends in 2006, and saved our visits to the other parks for Friday night through Sunday! This year, we will likely return to our usual November visit.

Hope there was some helpful info there, feel free to ask specific questions.
 
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rtiller

rtiller

Active Member
Original Poster
I feel like I should know the answer to this but I don't. When staying at the BCV or BWV can you use the International Gateway to get to the Monorail station (to head to MK) before the park opens or am I stuck using the bus?

While we will be going for F&W we will be checking out MK and possibly one of the other parks during our stay. We've only stayed at BCV once since we became DVC members and I'm not sure if we can use Epcot as a means to an end or not.

Thanks!
 
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crazydaveh

crazydaveh

Active Member
rtiller said:
I feel like I should know the answer to this but I don't. When staying at the BCV or BWV can you use the International Gateway to get to the Monorail station (to head to MK) before the park opens or am I stuck using the bus?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

No you can't. I've tried many times and never have I been successful. Usually we take a bus from MK to the Yacht & Beach Club and walk over through the International Gateway (yes we stay on property so don't start yelling about misusing the buses).

As for the crowds, I was there on September 28th this past year, the first day. It wasn't crowded at all. It was hot and come time to open, the beer hadn't been tapped yet! Since I used to work for Shamu back in the beer house, I was nice enough to tap a few kegs for the nice CM's because they didn't know how (senior citizens working that day) and were looking for a way to get the beer to the guests.

The weekends will be busy, and it gets busier as more locals remember that it's going on. The first few weekdays shouldn't be too bad.

Have fun.
 
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rtiller

rtiller

Active Member
Original Poster
So I was able to book some ADRs for our stay (which has changed to September 29-October 3 instead of arriving on the 30th!!!). We couldn't get into Le Cellier for dinner so we will settle for lunch on our first day at the parks. We booked the Flying Fish Cafe for dinner shortly after we land on Monday and we will finish off with dinner at Boma on Thursday night, our last night.

We are planning on Wednesday being a full day at Epcot for Food & Wine (lots of both).

This whole schedule may change depending on what events are announced and when they announce them for Food & Wine. That brings me to my question: When will the schedule be released and when can I book any of the events held for Food & Wine?

Thanks.
 
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