Nov. 13, 2006: Not Just Food Booths

[Werner Weiss]

I know this doesn't have much to do with Yesterland, but I just posted an article about events at the 2006 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, which ended on Sunday, November 12.

Link to Not Just Food Booths: The Other Side of the Food & Wine Festival at Yesterland.

What are your thoughts about the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival?

[herb2linda]

Thanks for the great article and reviews. Next year I will plan on going at least 5 days and not my usual 3 days.

I have always just visited the temporary booths outside and in the past I really liked them but this year I was disappointed. I my eyes most were trying to get as many people as possible to pay and then wait forever to get there food, if they had it. Many many booths had two cashiers but after that they led into only one line, one long line. After my second try, I took my ticket stub back to the cashier and asked for my money back. I then only looked for lines that were more organized. A few had the two cashiers but also had lines roped off, one line more that cashier and the other for that cashier. Once you got up to the server, there was a server for each line. Those are the booths I lo0ked for the rest of the night and I only found two more. Very disappointed. Even at seven/eight o'clock vendors were out of food. Again, very disapointed which makes me even more want to book those events on the "other side". Thanks for the insight.

[Dustysage]

We love the Food and Wine festival. This year seemed particularly crowded, but that may have had more to do with our limited time there and inability to wait in long lines. We had to skip the VERY long lines in France, but did weather the crowds for a chance to sample the liquid delights of Italy and Austraila.

We have one nice tip for everyone. The Fountain View turns into a wine tasting location in the afternoons/evenings during the festival. It has a much more extensive list of available wines to sample than the booths around the World Showcase. The Fountain View had a nice selection of wines from around the world. We were able to spend quite a bit of time in this uncrowded location sampling some amazing wines and chatting up the very friendly staff. We'll be back next year.

-Dusty

[figment1986]

Originally Posted by Dustysage

We have one nice tip for everyone. The Fountain View turns into a wine tasting location in the afternoons/evenings during the festival. It has a much more extensive list of available wines to sample than the booths around the World Showcase. The Fountain View had a nice selection of wines from around the world. We were able to spend quite a bit of time in this uncrowded location sampling some amazing wines and chatting up the very friendly staff. We'll be back next year.

-Dusty

great tip... I will be back there on 10/16

The crowds have been getting larger every year because of the heavy promoting it all around florid this year.. (even advertising it with annual pass tags on the end of radio commercials and on the billboards...

[Werner Weiss]

Originally Posted by herb2linda

I my eyes most were trying to get as many people as possible to pay and then wait forever to get there food, if they had it. Many many booths had two cashiers but after that they led into only one line, one long line. After my second try, I took my ticket stub back to the cashier and asked for my money back.

Perhaps it was because we were there toward the end of the Food & Wine Festival, but I found that the new system of separating the cashier from the actual food service made the lines at the International Marketplaces (food booths) move more quickly and efficiently.

I was disappointed that most booths did not show samples under plastic domes, as was always the case in the past. It's nice to have an idea of what you'll be getting. I'm not sure I would gave spent $6.50 for a lobster roll if I had realized it was lobster salad on something like a tiny hot dog bun.

Overall, I enjoyed the International Marketplaces.

[Werner Weiss]

Originally Posted by Dustysage

We have one nice tip for everyone. The Fountain View turns into a wine tasting location in the afternoons/evenings during the festival.

That's a good tip. I hope that the Fountain View will again be a wine bar in 2007.

The wine bar also had "Meet the Winemaker" sessions most afternoons. Winemakers and winery representatives would be scheduled for an hour or two. It was a chance to have an informal conversation with a wine professional while sipping wine from his or her winery.

[cellarhound]

Thanks for that article...

You know, it was this type of discovery of wine and how it influinced culture that started the whole Golden Vine thing in DCA. I think what Mondavi envisioned was something akin to replicating the popularity of their To Katon Estate in Oakville in DCA. In fact the spire on the building is very simular to Mondavi's estate.

From having poured at a few events in the LA area, there really needs to be more education regarding wine and food across the board.

Although part of me questions the decision to build the Golden Vine to begin with, it seems to me to be under utilised for the purpose of wine and food education. It would be better if there were events on going... Other wise it is a restaurant and wine bar with a wine exhibit...

[Food_and_Wine_Fan]

I've been attending the Epcot Food and Wine Festival since 2000 with only missing last year. I did notice that the Festival was busier this year, but then WDW attendance levels have been steadily recovering from 2001, which was the first time I attended any of the additional cost events.

This year a buddy and I attended two Party for the Senses, and the Burgandy Wine School. I would have liked to have taken in more, but the cost on the events limits the number of items we can try.

I expect that I'll be back for the Party for the Senses again next year. This has been a favorite event although they need a few more of the small tables for the grazers like myself that don't have someone to hold down a table while others fetch the food and wine. I found the event this year to be a big improvement over 2004 (I missed 2005) when PftS was starting to let in wineries like Little Penguin (just a shade better than jug wine). This year there were more than a few wineries with premium wines to show off like Caymus. While I'm disappointed that the price has jumped from $95 to $125 it still seems like reasonable deal. Whenever I visit the California Grill, the bill is often in the $120 per person range if we've been indulging in some good wine and had appetizers and dessert in addition to the main course. There were a couple of the dishes that didn't appeal to my pallete but I think I got my money's worth, particularly when considering the souvenir Riedel crystal wine glass to take home.

I was a little hesitant about bringing home wine in my checked luggage, but I decided to give it a try. I have semi-rigid luggage (hard on 3 sides), so I took my Disney wrapped wine, put a couple of extra layers of bubble wrap around each one and then wrapped that in clothing. The wine survived the trip back to Vancouver without any problems! Next year I'm thinking of bringing hard cardboard wine tubes for extra insurrance though.