We have always gone last week of October - 1st week of November. The crowds are usually quite reasonable. You may want to watch out for "Soaps Weekend", the crowds are larger, especially in MGM. As for Food and Wine - LOVE IT!! Don't go on the weekend though, then a lot of locals come in and it gets VERY crowded. We have gone on a Tuesday and there was no wait for anything!!! The weather is still really good then, I will have a hard adjustment going in April and not getting my Food and Wine fix!!