Food and Wine Festival Tips

OMG!!! the fwf is awesome, there are so many awesome booths i don't know where to start just hit them all! My favs are new zeland for the lamb, PR for the chicken and rice, and china for the dumplings.

Hi and welcome!

We will be there at the same time

No advice other thanbe prepared to eat a LOT lol

WDW will put out a map and a list of the food booths shortly before the F&W Festival. I used that to plan ahead regarding what booths I really wanted to stop at. There are so many choices. My best advice would be to minimize your food intake before you get to the festival so that you'll be hungry enough to try all of the scrumptious treats. Some of our favorites from last year were the shrimp taco from Mexico with a patron margarita, the Kailua Pork Slider from Hawaii with a Kona Longboard Lager, and the lettuce wraps in South Korea. I also enjoyed the Fishermans Pie in Ireland with a Guiness too! Here's a link to last years booth list and menus just to give you an idea of what to expect.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw_nextgen/CoreCatalog/WaltDisneyWorld/en_us/Media/InternetMediaType/Event/EpcotInternationalFoodAndWineFestival/2011-food-and-wine-map.pdf

Just make a plan, you pick a direction either clockwise or counter clockwise and from there just hit every booth. End of necessary planning.

I agree with Kris1971 - check the list of booths and food offerings ahead of time so you can start out concentrating on the stuff you REALLYREALLYREALLY want to try and save the rest for later. And eat a very light breakfast (hello, granola bar!) on your F&W Fest days.

However, Vettelover is also correct - you will eventually want to hit every single booth. There's something good to eat at all of them.

Which leads to my advice - plan on spending at least two full days grazing at Epcot so you can experience as much as possible. And maybe park hop over on another day (or more) to hit favorites or things you missed. For me, a F&W Fest vacation is all about the F&W Fest. Everything else is incidental.

I'll be there the same time as you! This is our first f and w festival but I heard if you have the dining plan you can use the snack credits at a lot of booths. Someone can verify I'm sure!

Yes you can use your snack credits.
& Allie!

When you're there, you can buy a "gift card" that they'll swipe every time you buy food (when not using the DDP). This card is very convenient. A couple of tips: Keep the receipt! You'll need it if you lose the card. The card comes on an elastic coil so you can wear it around your wrist. But they can break. If you do lose your card, report it ASAP at Guest Services. As long as no one has picked up your lost card and used it, you can get your money back.

Welcome! The FWF is awesome. I'll be there for last weekend of the festival in November. The Disney Food Blog has a lot of great information on the festival as well.

In addition to grazing around the world, the festival has a lot of great events planned at an additional cost (except the Eat to the Beat concert series which is free). I attended two of the events last year - a wine seminar (around $10) and the Italy Food & Wine pairing (around $65). Both were worth it. Check out the events to see if there are any you would be interested in. They bring a lot of celebrity chefs for demonstrations.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012-epcot-food-and-wine-festival/

Aww you leave the day before I arrive.

Yes, you can use your snack credits for food. Check prices and use the snack credits for the more expensive eats. Like the lobster roll
If you're going with other people buy and share food or beverages. You'll save money and get to sample more stuff. Dont forget to stop in at the welcome center behind the universe of energy aka the Ellen ride. Lots of fun stuff to buy including wine, beer, booze, kitchen stuff and clothes. There are food seminars and drink seminars as well.
Dee

Hi! We will be there Oct 14-21st and looking forward to the F&W Festival. We were there three years ago and had a great time trying foods we may not have tried otherwise!

I agree with other posters--when the map comes out take a look at what you may want to try.
I had a few things circled and when we got there, tried a few more.
Our DD- even bought my DH and I a glass of champagne from France. (It was the kind we had at our wedding).

As far as sharing samples like Dee said, if it is just the two of you, good idea! But, we are taking our 26 year old DD, our 18 year old DS, and our 15 year old DS. The boys will eat anything that is not nailed down! No sharing at our table! LOL!!
See you at WDW!

Lisa

Best advice I can give is to avoid F&W on the weekend. From late afternoon Friday, thru Saturday, WS is extremely crowded, as many locals are in attendance as well. Sunday is not as crowded, but Monday-Thursday is best for short lines, especially for lunch.

An option to consider on your arrival day is The Food and Wine Classic at the Swan/Dolphin. We attended the Friday session last year, and thought it was well worth the money. Have fun and enjoy F&W!

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/03/17/2012-swan-and-dolphin-food-wine-classic/

Welcome! I have never been to FWF but I just wanted to say hello and that you came to the right place to get some help and ideas!

Don't go the last night. We did last year and it was the worst! People getting sick everywhere. Drunks stumbling all over and crowded, oh my god. That was the worst experience we ever had at Disney. I went into the restrooms in the UK section near the red phone booths and walked right out again. Apparently the last night of the F & W festival is a local night to celebrate but I forget what they called it. We just left the park after dinner it was so bad.