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how much money for food and wine fest
- Thread starter maryszhi
- Start date
Sweet Melissa
Well-Known Member
Oh, they take far more than cash. This is Disney. They'll take just about any form of payment you have.
That said, I'd allot at least $50 per adult per day. The food won't kill you, but the drinks really add up.
That said, I'd allot at least $50 per adult per day. The food won't kill you, but the drinks really add up.
DisneyDebNJ
Well-Known Member
This ^^^^ We use the snack credits for the kiosks in WS, and get a gift card, at the beginning of our trip. The drinks can definately add up, so can alot of the food, if you decide to save your snack credits for other parks. Having the gift cards also helps me keep an account of how much Im spending.
Sweet Melissa
Well-Known Member
The ability to do that would definitely make the dining plan more attractive to me.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
Each sample is on the order of $5 - $6 or so, so it depends on how much you want to try.
Remember, these are sample sizes. No more than a bite or two.
If you want to do any of the pay seminars, then that is more money.
As others have said, there are very few times that anything is cash only at WDW - credit card, room charge, DDP snack credit, gift card, it is all accepted.
-dave
Remember, these are sample sizes. No more than a bite or two.
If you want to do any of the pay seminars, then that is more money.
As others have said, there are very few times that anything is cash only at WDW - credit card, room charge, DDP snack credit, gift card, it is all accepted.
-dave
The Incredible Schmulk
Well-Known Member
I think your question has pretty much been answered from every angle, so I'll give you the strategy we like to use when we do the rounds. This will help you figure out on average how much you might spend a day, but also help keep that expense down.
1. Eat a really light breakfast. I'm talking no more than a banana or a cup of yogurt, and eat it early. I know with all of the walking you'll be doing, it doesn't really sound like enough to fend off the hunger pangs, but you'll make it just fine.
2. Start hitting the booths as soon as they open, and if you can, begin in France. This will help you avoid some of the crowds. Since the rope drop for World Showcase happens at the International Gateway right before the bridge to the France pavilion, most people will be queuing up to the booths closer to the main entrance of World Showcase. By one o'clock, you can count on pretty much every booth being mobbed, though. This is why it's best to start early, get your lunch on and then break out.
3. Share everything it is possible to share. If you're like us, and you would like to try at least one thing from every booth over the course of your stay (multiple visits to Epcot, of course; you need to pace yourself, people), the best way to maximize your exposure while minimizing the cost is to share a plate between two or three people. You're only tasting samples, so just pretend like you're in Costco on a Saturday grabbing little cups from the stands at the ends of the aisles. You can always go back for more later on in your trip if you really like something, but at least this way, you're not wasting money on two plates of a dish that no one really cares about.
4. Space out your drinking. We definitely like to imbibe on our Food and Wine adventures, but those drinks add up faster than anything else in the festival. Your best course of action here is to get a drink from maybe every third or fourth booth, as opposed to every one you hit. If you go back three or four times over the course of your entire vacation, you should be able to easily try all of the beverages you'd like to sip without breaking your daily budget or vomiting over the rail into the lagoon. It's a win freaking win situation.
Good luck, have fun and I suggest looking at the festival booth menus before you get there and deciding what you feel is a must-try and definite-skip to get a ballpark estimate of how much cash with which you'll be parting ways. Dishes usually range between $4 and $8, but I'd say the average is closer to the low side of that.
1. Eat a really light breakfast. I'm talking no more than a banana or a cup of yogurt, and eat it early. I know with all of the walking you'll be doing, it doesn't really sound like enough to fend off the hunger pangs, but you'll make it just fine.
2. Start hitting the booths as soon as they open, and if you can, begin in France. This will help you avoid some of the crowds. Since the rope drop for World Showcase happens at the International Gateway right before the bridge to the France pavilion, most people will be queuing up to the booths closer to the main entrance of World Showcase. By one o'clock, you can count on pretty much every booth being mobbed, though. This is why it's best to start early, get your lunch on and then break out.
3. Share everything it is possible to share. If you're like us, and you would like to try at least one thing from every booth over the course of your stay (multiple visits to Epcot, of course; you need to pace yourself, people), the best way to maximize your exposure while minimizing the cost is to share a plate between two or three people. You're only tasting samples, so just pretend like you're in Costco on a Saturday grabbing little cups from the stands at the ends of the aisles. You can always go back for more later on in your trip if you really like something, but at least this way, you're not wasting money on two plates of a dish that no one really cares about.
4. Space out your drinking. We definitely like to imbibe on our Food and Wine adventures, but those drinks add up faster than anything else in the festival. Your best course of action here is to get a drink from maybe every third or fourth booth, as opposed to every one you hit. If you go back three or four times over the course of your entire vacation, you should be able to easily try all of the beverages you'd like to sip without breaking your daily budget or vomiting over the rail into the lagoon. It's a win freaking win situation.
Good luck, have fun and I suggest looking at the festival booth menus before you get there and deciding what you feel is a must-try and definite-skip to get a ballpark estimate of how much cash with which you'll be parting ways. Dishes usually range between $4 and $8, but I'd say the average is closer to the low side of that.
Bocko57
Well-Known Member
Hello. My wife and I went last year and had a great time. We placed $150 on the Festival Card and spent about $50 more so in total we spent around $200. We didnt sample everything but we got a good taste of most things. If we stopped at booth we would both try something different and try each others. I recommend going and just sample as much as you can.
cornandacobb
Well-Known Member
Is there actually ANYWHERE in DW that accepts cash only?
Nothing is cheap...and most people travel with numerous people resulting in substantial purchases whether it be a gift shop, gift cart, F&W kiosk or drink cart.
Good tips above.
I don't like to walk the world with cash and either use gift cards or the credit card/debit card attached to my resort room key(not sure if you are staying on Disney grounds...if so, link your credit card).
But yeah, liquor could dictate how much you spend.
And yes, share with your party.
Nothing is cheap...and most people travel with numerous people resulting in substantial purchases whether it be a gift shop, gift cart, F&W kiosk or drink cart.
Good tips above.
I don't like to walk the world with cash and either use gift cards or the credit card/debit card attached to my resort room key(not sure if you are staying on Disney grounds...if so, link your credit card).
But yeah, liquor could dictate how much you spend.
And yes, share with your party.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
The last place I recall seeing cash only was during the 2010 after party for the Wine and Dine half marathon. That year, instead of gift cards, they had given out vouchers for a free drink and a free food. They waaaaay underestimated the number of people attending and the race finsh / bag retrevial was horrendous - I didn't get into the bag tent until 40 minutes after I finished (and then they could not find my bag, but thats another story). The upshot was, towards the end of the party there was a huge influx of people trying to "cash in" their vouchers. They lines were insane. They gave CM's trays, loaded them down with drinks, and had them selling them on the pathways. They would take either a drink voucher or cash, but they were not set up with a POS card reader. The following year they handled the party better, and used gift cards, so there was no rush to get your voucher used, as it was a "normal" gift card and could be used whenever (or wherever) you wanted.
-dave
materbuddy
Active Member
I know my DFiL easily spent $150 in one night, but he had to try everything.
FitzherbertFreak
Well-Known Member
Honestly, it depends on how many people are in your party, and how much food you can handle. My family was feeding four, and we love our food. I recommend having money loaded on to the F&W prepaid cards. We spent at least $200 the first day.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
It also depends on how much you want to drink. $4 for a taste and another $4 for a sip adds up pretty gosh darn fast. As mentioned, grabbing one of the F&W fest gift cards is usually an easy way to pay without having to drag your wallet/card back out every 20 feet. You can easily recharge them as needed as well. I think the only time we ever needed cash at F&W was when one of the kiosks lost their network connection and couldn't accept cards.
I'd wager 5-6 tastes per person per meal. Obviously your mileage will vary, but at least $20-30, or the same as a TS meal. When we do F&W, we plan on just snacking our way around WS for lunch and dinner, so that would be 2 meals worth, even though it takes you 6 hours to make your way through it all.
I'd wager 5-6 tastes per person per meal. Obviously your mileage will vary, but at least $20-30, or the same as a TS meal. When we do F&W, we plan on just snacking our way around WS for lunch and dinner, so that would be 2 meals worth, even though it takes you 6 hours to make your way through it all.