Toefood

We go almost every year for the EPCOT Int'l Food and Wine Fest. Seems some things change for the better, some not so, but the one thing you can count on is everything being more expensive. The wine seminars are less frequent and are between 10-15 per person. We sampled Argentinian wine this year, it was a good seminar and quite informative. Several new booths were added- Caribbean, South African, a few others. Food was very good- especially Ireland's Fisherman pie, France's Coq au Vin and Japan's Tuna rolls. A new craft beer booth was added. Even though we nibbled all day, we had the family together for a meal in Mexico. Even at 4:30, it was packed, service was slow and food mediocre. We used to go on Saturday night to the Dinner for the Senses, but an outrageous price of $150 per person (including park admission) discouraged us. They began having primarily Disney chefs and $20-50 wines. For that price, we'd rather go to a Wine Spectator event where you sample $100 reserves. Also, the concert series was strange and I had only heard of one artist! If you go, don't go on the Saturday that they drop the prices for Floridians. The crowds were huge, many people came in groups with matching shirts that had slogans such as "drinking gang" . By late afternoon, it was nothing more than a drunk fest and we saw some bad behavior and language- even though there were plenty of kids around. Next year, we will go on Thursday and go to the Mickey Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom on Friday.
The Halloween party was definitely fun. The prices vary by night,age and advance purchase. We adults paid $67.95 each to watch our grandchild having a great time. However, we loved it too- the parades were spectacular, the events such as "dancing with the villains" were cute and there was trick or treating and plenty of candy for all. What was most fun were all the costumes- both on adults and kids. Magic Kingdom serves no alcohol and it was a nice crowd!
We stayed at Orange Lake resort where we own timeshare property. It's a Holiday Inn resort now, and it is fantastic. They have a water park with a beach and many activities, plus several restaurants, golf courses, and organized activities for all ages. There's a large Publix food mart at the entrance. We were able to save lots of money by making large breakfasts and having our own dinners and snacks. You can completely be car free once you are at the resort, as it has a resort shuttle and a Disney Shuttle.

If you choose to go to the fest at EPCOT- go during the week and get a menu of the food options online. You can't sample it all !

Placename

This sure reads as spam.

Toefood

Exxxxxcuse me? Spam? Which part do you not understand?

sf7307

I don't think spammers include the criticisms this post does - not that I'd ever go, because I'm WDW-averse, but it's still good information!

starrs

Drunks at Disney = sounds ghastley

Midweek in October is the best time to go to the parks, IMO. No crowds, no lines, and perfect weather.

Toefood

well thank you.I went back and reread it- okay the Argentinian wine we sampled was from Terrazzas. The owners were not there, they had "pros" doing the seminar. Last year, we went to MacMurray where deceased actor Fred's daughter, Sally, was pouring the wines and telling stories. This years seminar was more about the climate and elevation of Argentinia which makes the wines different. They had 2 seminars on Sat and Sunday, one at noon the other at 4. They have culinary demonstrations as well, perhaps that's why they have so few wine seminars. In years past, there were about 6 per day and they were free. Of course, that sometimes meant standing in line for an hour!
TheMexican restaurant where we ate was called the San Angel Inn. Though the decor is fun, it is very loud in there and the food was not worth the price. The margaritas, however, were excellent.

chepar

How does this read as spam? I think the OP's post contains good information for someone considering going to the event.

The frequent accusations lately of "troll" and "spam" posts of new/newish posters gets really old sometimes.

MichelleY

Thanks for the information. Perhaps the rise in price to $150 is to keep the rowdies out, but then it also keeps out others who just want to enjoy good wine and food.

Good info and thanks for posting.

Toefood

Yes Michelle, when we first started attending the dinner, we paid 70 dollars and that year met Peter Mondavi and many of the owners of wineries and about 80% of the restaurants were in from other cities. They had quiet music. Now, mostly distributors serve wines, most of the food is by Disney chefs, they have Cirque du Soleil acts and the really high price. Hey, I would never eat at Alinea or French Laundry either. Some of the best food I've had is in tiny villages in Europe. 150 for a meal just has to be really special or be for charity!

gmoney

Placename,

Please ellaborate on your "spam" accusation.

This is a spot on assesment of the Food and Wine festival. I remember going to the F&W festival the first year they had it and it was fantastic. All samples (both food and wine) were $1, $2, or $3 and the wine pours were free hand and quite generous and there were no crowds since it was during slow season. Of course like anything Disney, they figured out that this could be a huge moneymaker and they ruined it, just like they did with the Candlelight Processional and the Akershus restaurant.

NeoPatrick

Spam??? Placename must be a troll.