Going during Epcot food & wine fest.

[trpforever]

Hello, was hoping you call could give me your two cents on what you think. I am going with my husband to Epcot for one day (October 5th) which is during the food and wine fest. We are not going to participate in that event, but I want to take him to explore everything else as he has never been to Epcot. Do you think because of the festival the lines will be longer due to the crowd increase or shorter because perhaps many of the people will be primarily there for the food and wine fest?

 

[Bravo 229]

Hello, was hoping you call could give me your two cents on what you think. I am going with my husband to Epcot for one day (October 5th) which is during the food and wine fest. We are not going to participate in that event, but I want to take him to explore everything else as he has never been to Epcot. Do you think because of the festival the lines will be longer due to the crowd increase or shorter because perhaps many of the people will be primarily there for the food and wine fest?

It just depends on what is going on that day. I've gone dozens of times to the event and have been able to do all of the regular EPCOT attractions with about the same amount of wait times. You'll definatley want to go to Soarin' early in the day because that will fill up quickly. I went on a Saturday last year and was able to visit most of Future World before venturing into World Showcase for the festival in the afternoon. Now later on in the day (before dinner time), WS is going to be packed around the food stops, but the regular attractions shouldn't have any longer lines than usual. You will find that most people spend the evenings going between the food kiosks and watching the free concerts in the America Gardens theatre. As for the regular EPCOT entertainment/attractions, you shouldn't have much of a problem visiting everything. Have fun!

 

[wm49rs]

I would definitely say get what FPs and ride those rides you want early in the morning. As the WS opens the lines and crowds will just increase, although perhaps not enough to be budensome to you enjoying yourself overall.

 

[RICKY MOUSE]

I was at the festival several times last year and it was always crowded, especially crowded on the weekend evenings. Be on the lookout out for people who can't handle drinking. I looked over the few bad seeds and enjoyed myself with my family.

 

[Eljay]

Hello, was hoping you call could give me your two cents on what you think. I am going with my husband to Epcot for one day (October 5th) which is during the food and wine fest. We are not going to participate in that event, but I want to take him to explore everything else as he has never been to Epcot. Do you think because of the festival the lines will be longer due to the crowd increase or shorter because perhaps many of the people will be primarily there for the food and wine fest?

Lucky you, a Tuesday and Kool & The Gang will be at the American Gardens Theatre!
I've seen them at the F & W Fest in years past and they are great!

As mentioned by others, it's busy on the weekends, but you should be fine.
I don't really recall the rides particularly being impacted by the F & W Fest.

I hope you will stay for Illuminations at the end of the evening.

Have a Magical visit! :wave:

 

[Zummi Gummi]

World Showcase will definitely be more congested than normal, but the attractions themselves won't have significantly longer waits, as most of the people in World Showcase are going back and forth between the various events. It's similar to what you see at DHS during Star Wars Weekends and Super Soaps- more people in the parks, but not at the attractions.

However, Illuminations is always significantly more crowded during Food and Wine, because everyone stays to see it. If you want to see Illuminations (and I recommend you do), you'll need to stake out your spot earlier than normal.

 

[Magenta Panther]

It just depends on what is going on that day. I've gone dozens of times to the event and have been able to do all of the regular EPCOT attractions with about the same amount of wait times. You'll definatley want to go to Soarin' early in the day because that will fill up quickly. I went on a Saturday last year and was able to visit most of Future World before venturing into World Showcase for the festival in the afternoon. Now later on in the day (before dinner time), WS is going to be packed around the food stops, but the regular attractions shouldn't have any longer lines than usual. You will find that most people spend the evenings going between the food kiosks and watching the free concerts in the America Gardens theatre. As for the regular EPCOT entertainment/attractions, you shouldn't have much of a problem visiting everything. Have fun!

I agree with this. I've been to WDW twice during the Fest, and I didn't notice any great increase in crowds or anything. MY gripe with the Fest is that after you buy food from one of the many booths, there isn't hardly any place to sit down and eat it. I hate eating standing up! Maybe I'm just weird that way