lisaj
Registered: November 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 80
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Review Date: Fri November 11, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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different choices and well cooked
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Cons:
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portion for price if not on ddp
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Enjoyed some wonderful festival food and drink again this trip. Can't think why we would ever want to visit outside of Food and wine festival as it is such fun. If not on DDP, some of the prices are outrageous for the portions of food but we would still do it.
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TSD1958
Registered: November 2011
Location: Groveland
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Wed November 9, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Food is always good.
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Cons:
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The pricing is too high, and the people are becoming obnoxious!!!
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I am a Florida born native and have been visiting Walt Disney World since I was born. It has become a tradition with both my family and friends to make an annual visit to the Food and Wine Fest every year. I have gone with groups ranging from 40 people too as few as 3.
The food is always good, and I can honestly say that I have only tasted 3-4 items in the last 5 years that I did not enjoy. The largest drawback for me now.....THE COST. I don't ever recall the prices being as high as they have been in the last 2 years. Don't get me wrong, it is Disney World, and the prices aren't exactly cheap to begin with, but it seems that the prices have gone up to an all time high, and the product amount is not worth its cost.
As an example, I was at one of the food booths and purchased a sample that I was craving all day. YES, it tasted great and was every bit as good as I had hoped, but then I checked the menu for the restaurant in that country. I could've had the same item, and had A LOT MORE of it, for roughly $2 more. That in itself was a huge shock to the system. As an a passholder who frequents the resort, I felt as if I had just been pick pocketed.
As far as the EVENT in general, Disney certainly hit the marks. However, as I read in some of the previous reviews, the lines have gotten too long, the waits to long and the food....well....once you see the final result at the end of the day....maybe wasn't worth as much as you thought. There is also a growing issue with people who are there for one reason and one reason alone...to Drink Around The World. While I myself have been apart of this, I can honestly say that the people have become obnoxious and have no respect for the "Family Type" atmosphere. Standing in line for a sampling of food and having to listen to a group of people curse, scream, fall down and belch (all while small children are present) is not my idea of "Disney".
While I return to my opening paragraph, I have been visiting the WDW Resort since I was a child. I will continue to go for as long as I am able to go, and look forward to taking my children to visit the resort as well. I do not encourage a price increase, however, in order to help the guests by keeping the obnoxious drunks at bay, and maybe even help the pocket a little, it might be in Disney's best interest to start charging for the Food and Wine Fest. just as they do for other special events.
These are simply my thoughts on some of the issues. As someone who has been visiting the parks and resorts for more than 30 years, and is also a former cast member, I would hope that Disney begins to take into account the economy and the state that people (including myself) are in. The prices are getting out of hand and a general control/security of people inside of the park is, in my opinion, at an all time low.
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chrisfam4
Registered: June 2011
Posts: 18
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Review Date: Tue November 1, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Variety
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Cons:
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Cost of drinks
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LOVE the Food and Wine Festival! This was our first visit to the festival though we have wanted to go for many years. I did a lot of research (thanks allears!) and took the advice on using the gift cards, avoiding the weekends and pacing ourselves. All the food we tried was outstanding. We only skipped the Japan (we can eat sushi at home), South Korea and Portugal (unappealing), and South Africa (poor value) booths. Belgium, Hawaii, Australia, Germany, and Poland were all terrific. We attended Wed (10/26) & Thurs. (10/27) during the dinner hours. Wed. was super crowded but the park had EMH that night. Thurs. was much better. We went back Fri. (10/28) during the middle of the day and the crowds were low as well. We traveled with our DD(5) and DS(1) and always felt comfortable having them with us. We saw NO innappropriate behavior even around the concert area. DD really enjoyed trying the new foods and even found a few favorites of her own!We stayed under budget and never felt like we missed out on anything. I reccommend you read the food descriptions, check out the prices, decide what you think you want to try, and plan accordingly. DH was at first dissappointed at the portion sizes but realized later they were just right. Anything more would have limited the different foods we would have been able to sample. I am not a big drinker so I didn't try many wines but I will say some were a better value than others based on the size of the drinks. DH really enjoyed the beers and particulary liked the option of the samplers, choosing three 6 oz beers for one low price. We can't wait to go back!!!
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dhussain
Registered: October 2011
Location: boston
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Mon October 31, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great Variety
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Cons:
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So many choices so little time
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There were four of us that spent a week grazing the world showcase. We ate here almost every day for lunch. The weekends were very crowded so it is better to go through on week days. There was a failure with the checkout registers taking the food and wine wrist cards that had everyone paying cash or with alternative credit cards for about 30 min. It takes about three or four lunches to sample each offering so there was plenty of variety. We tried nearly all of them. My personal favorites included the Filet with sweet potato at S. Africa, the Beef Skewer with ChimiChuri sauce from Argentina, and the Chipotle sausage and corn polenta from Canada. All were excellent. I was a bit disappointed that the recipe for the Hawaiian pork sliders with pineapple chutney was not in the festival cookbook. I had a really great experience at Morocco when I was serenaded by the guys making up the plates. My family will be back each year.
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bamagrl72
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Sun October 30, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Great way to try new things
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Cons:
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None
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Visited on a Thursday and Sunday during the day. Crowds were very manageable. The only line that was too much for us was Ireland so we chose to skip it. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would return in the future. We did share a few tables with others but that gave us an opportunity to meet new friends and share reviews of the booths.
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mommasquared
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Sat October 29, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Big selection
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Cons:
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A bit crowded
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Food and drink selections were abundant. If you are using the dining plan you can use your snack options at all the booths. We planned it out and only had to pay for our drinks.
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Starfire
Registered: October 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Wed October 26, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Lots of food!
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Cons:
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Few places to sit down and eat!
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Food was excellent and plentiful.My sister loved the bunny chow and the lamb sliders were just as good as ever! We tried the French, Belgium, Australian, Canadian, South African, (too many to mention),and all the desserts! We attended during extra Magic hours and the only negative was that they stopped selling food after 9 p.m.! So, no more sampling! I went on Test Track instead!
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cheripra
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Tue October 25, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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food booths, cheerful cast members
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Cons:
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no sample displays
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Just spent 2 days at the Food & Wine Festival with my hubby and had a great time! The food samples seems to be a bit larger this year. The only thing I missed was the food samples that they used to set out so that you could get an idea of what the dish looked like before ordering. ( Was a little shocked on a few that we ordered!) Some of the countries had returning dishes, so we were able to skip those booths, and we were able to complete the other countries and look forward to new offerings next year. There were only 4 countries that I didn't care for their food. Overall, one of my favorite things to do at the World!
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sv51
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 2
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Review Date: Mon October 24, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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World travel and cuisine without the travel time!
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Cons:
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Can get rowdy on Friday and Saturday
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We love the Food and Wine Festival and plan our trips to WDW accordinly. We had a party of six adults and everyone found something they liked. We did try everything as at least one person in the group liked it and would finish! Some of the dishes were VERY spicy(hot), so be sure to ask a Cast Member ahead of time if you have tummy issues. Set a budget, put it on a gift card and let the adventure begin!
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JoanneS
Registered: April 2007
Location: Peterborough, NH
Posts: 68
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Review Date: Sat October 22, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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I enjoyed visiting the Food and Wine Festival 10/19 and 10/20. The food I tasted was all very well prepared and presented. Some of the samples seemed a little small, but I just took that as an opportunity to try something else.
What surprised me was that the booths are not staffed by representatives of each country. The staff member at the Australia booth was from Trinidad. And the staff member in Korea was from Florida. I really think this is a missed opportunity, and it makes me wonder just how authentic these recipes are.
I loved the Boolgogi in Korea and the cannoli in Italy, The chocolate lava cake in Ireland was very small for the price.
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snowangel68
Registered: November 2008
Location: TN
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Fri October 21, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Food; Able to try food & wine that normally wouldn't
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Cons:
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Can get expensive
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Took DH to Food & Wine Festival 3 years ago. Now he's hooked, too, and we try to go back every year!
We love that we can try different foods and drinks from around the world, all in one convenient location (and our favorite - Epcot)! I used to be a picky eater, but having tried different foods and flavors at the Food & Wine Festival, I am now trying more foods elsewhere, too.
Faves include the fisherman's pie and molten lava cake in Ireland, the salmon in Canada, the sausage in Portugal, the beef skewer in Argentina, and the lamb chops in Australia.
It can get a little expensive eating and drinking our way around the world. However, we have the Disney Visa, so we use our Disney Rewards to purchase the gift card to use for the F&W booths.
Only went to Epcot 2 days during our last trip and we still did not have enough time (or room) to try everything we would have liked. Guess we have to go back next year.
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FoxgloveDt
Registered: April 2008
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Thu October 20, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fun, reasonable prices, tasty
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Cons:
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We attended the event on 10/14 and 10/17. Both days the crowds were reasonable, though the booths got busier during the lunch and dinner hours. I though the prices were reasonable for the portion size and the food/drinks being offered. I would love to do it on the dinning plan next time so I could use snack credits.
Best tip - purchase one of the gift cards that you can wear on your wrist. They sell them at the ticket booth at the front of the park and at the merchant booths around the World Showcase. This made purchasing food and drinks so easy as we didn't have to keep on going in to our pocket books and wallets. You just hand the cashier the card and they swipe it. You can re-load the card if you run out of money at any of the booths. Plus it is a regular gift card so you can use it at all the parks and resorts for food and merchandise.
The best think we ate was the pork slider at Hawaii. I really liked the Mead at Ireland - I have allergies to the sulfates used in many alcohols and this did not set off my allergies. Plus it is super tasty. I also liked the beef at Singapore though it is VERY spicy. Also the Swedish meatballs with lingonberries was very tasty.
Make sure to get at a passport when you start. We didn't get one until out second day and missed getting a lot of stamps. Also it helps you track what you ate and liked.
I can't wait to do this again. Though I may go later in October next time so the weather is a bit cooler.
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hstuck
Registered: October 2010
Location: boston
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Wed October 19, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great food and wine!
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Cons:
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Another wonderful visit to Disney and in particular the Food and Wine festival! I am amazed every year how they can serve the masses with such great food and wine! In my opinion, the best were:
lettuce wraps (South Korea, I think?)
all of the Hawaii booth!!!! Seriously the best new addition. Those pork sliders...I think I had 4 during my trip.
The New Zealand lamb slider...again...so good.
The best Escargot I have ever had...and en croute so many of the folks who think they don't like escargot are going to love this buttery, garlicky wonder of a dish.
I also love visiting the Whiskers and Wine booth. Heather is an amazing artist!!
Just a great visit and I cannot wait to come back next year!!!!
And I agree with one of the reviewers below...wishing the cookbook had more recipes!
BTW....what happened to the Portugal Wine Bar? I was so looking forward to that!
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IndianaHolmes
Registered: October 2011
Location: Southern Indiana
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Wed October 12, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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We had tried so many thing from 9-30 to 10-8-2011.
We used alot of our snack credits from the delux dining plan which was great.
The fishermans pie from Ireland, the lambchop from Austrailia and the Scallop from New Zealand all stood out.
The tuna sensation at Japan was good, but not cold like we expected for sushi.
It was fantastic and we'll do this again!
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bellebookworm9
Registered: May 2009
Location: 1,194 Miles from Disney World
Posts: 131
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Review Date: Mon October 10, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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We attended the festival on 10/8 and 10/9, expecting huge crowds due to the holiday weekend. However, the terrible weather kept a lot of people from coming out.
Nearly all the food we had was good! Standouts were the Pumpkin Mousse with Craisins (Hops & Barley), Black Pepper Shrimp with Sichuan Noodles (China), Nuerneberger Sausage (Germany), Tres Leches Verrine from Dessert and Champagne and the Primavera Smoothie (Italy).
There were a few things we didn't like. The Boolgogi BBQ Beef from South Korea was incredibly spicy and we weren't expecting it. The Ravioli from Italy was very cheesy, but tasted like Chef Boyardee. And the Parisian Cosmo Slush that most people rave about was way too strong for us, and after one sip each, we tossed it.
We were lucky in that we found a bench to sit on or a table to stand at each time. Cast members were friendly, and lines moved quickly (though they were never really long).
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