rhodyrick
Registered: April 2009
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Tue November 17, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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many food options
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Cons:
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too crowded
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Attended the Food & Wine from Nov. 6-8, the last weekend of the event. This was the second year in a row and look forward to this event, but I think I will skip it next year. The crowds seemed larger than I remember and it just took too long at each booth. Food portions seemed fair and the prices were ok.
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legalrb
Registered: November 2009
Location: Southern New Jersey
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue November 3, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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This was our first trip to Epcot specifically for the Food & Wine Festival; we being myself and my husband, both 40 something, and our 8 and 12 year old boys. We planned to spend a Friday & Saturday afternoon/evening 10/23 and 10/24 visiting the countries and booths; no hard ticket events booked as we knew our boys would not enjoy them (yet!). Friday was a tad crowded but the lines moved quickly and we were able to sample many items and we all enjoyed the entertainment in the various countries. Saturday was another story. October was warmer than we remembered and was also forgot about the lack of shade in the World Showcase! The crowds were outrageous and it was a "pub crawl" type atmosphere. the lines were much too long to wait and sample foods/drinks. As for the crowds, I have never seen such behavior in my 30+ years of visiting WDW and not just intoxicated visitors; horrible language, barely dressed women and truly inappropriate displays of affection. We will attend again next year because our Friday experience was good but we will plan to attend mid-week only. I'm not sure where those folks we ran into on Saturday came from but I'm happy to leave them Saturday and Sunday to themselves!I should also note that it was only in the World Showcase that we were disappointed on Saturday; the same day the other areas of Epcot were wonderful as usual. Ditto for the other parks throughout the rest of our stay; family friendly and enjoyable. We weren't afraid the let our boys a few steps ahead of us anywhere or anytime except Saturday at the World Showcase; they weren't allowed out of our sight!
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mattyg
Registered: November 2009
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Tue November 3, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Nicely spaced out kiosks; good-looking menus
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Cons:
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Closed too early!
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We had planned to try several different dishes, I even saved my appetite for them after dinner. We began watching Impressions, and before I knew it, I was only able to try the Cheese plate at the Cork, Ireland booth. All the booths were closing at 9PM and I was ready to eat! Please leave them open later!
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OneLtlSpark
Registered: March 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 27
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Review Date: Mon November 2, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Variety of food and drinks
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Cons:
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Our second trip to the Food & Wine Festival was just as we had hoped: full of adventure, tasty, and fun!
Highlights included Louisiana with their crawfish etouffee and sazerac. Both tasted just as good as my guy and I remembered from a past trip to New Orleans. The sazerac was an especially nice change from all the wine and beer offered.
The escargot from Paris was especially good - full of garlic flavor and amazingly fresh snail.
Also tasty were selections from Morocco, New Zealand and Ireland.
The Food & Wine fest has become our favorite event in the "world" - and is a great way for two adults and food lovers to experience Epcot. I simply cannot imagine visiting Epcot now at any other time of year.
We attended the week of 10-26 and had the pleasure of watching John Waite perform at Eat to the Beat. Though it was unfortunate that the crowd wasn't familiar with him - John Waite put on an exceptional performance, complete with his hits from when he was with Bad English and The Babys as well as his solo material. Great vocals - he still hits every note with ease!
We also saw Boys II Men perform and were pleasantly surprised at the show. What a talented trio! From their own hits to a few Motown covers, they really won us over.
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milenac17
Registered: February 2009
Location: Granville, NY
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Sun November 1, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Different food choices
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Cons:
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Drunk, foul mouthed crowds
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I was raving about my last experience at the Food & Wine festival in October 2005, but when we visited there this year (on 10/10/09), I was very disappointed.
In 25 trips to WDW I have never seen Epcot as crowded as it was that day. Not only was it crowded, but many guests were intoxicated. I have never heard such bad language at WDW. Also, as we walked through most of World Showcase, we noticed that it smelled like a brewery. Yuck!
This was my friend's first visit to WDW, and I felt terrible that this was her first experience at Epcot.
Disney needs to figure a way to limit the alcohol and/or provide more security to ensure that every guest has the opportunity to enjoy the event.
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annat856
Registered: September 2006
Posts: 76
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Review Date: Sun November 1, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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sounds like a fun idea
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Cons:
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way too hot
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My family was in wdw 9/26 - 10/3 the first week of the festival. we went to Epcot 2x. I had planned on trying some samples and going to the concerts as part of the fun. But it was sooooo hot there's no way I could walk around eating samples in that heat. I'm so glad I went ahead and made ts ressies because in that kind of heat I need ac to be able to eat. The other problem I see is that if you have people in your party with food allergies this is going to be hard.
It looked like something fun to do for a date but dragging around a big family and trying to dodge the drinkers is not fun.
If my DH and I can ever go in Oct. by ourselves, then I'll try it again but otherwise it's just a waste of time.
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RobinT
Registered: August 2009
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Sun November 1, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Many food samples to try..most very good
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Cons:
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loud rude people.. not the usual Disney standard for behavior
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We went to our 1st Food and Wine festival on 10/23. Overall, we had a good time. Most fo the food we tried was very good,some was a bit pricey for the size of the sample. We spent around $50 for the 3 of us to sample all we wanted. My 11 yr old son tried many foods he otherwise would never have tried. We went on a Friday, so it wasn't too crowded, and spent most of the afternoon and evening walking around and sampling. THere were a number if ppl who had too much to drink and were very loud. We don't drink and at the prices that were being charged for alcohol, we couldn't understand why so many ppl had too much to drink.
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rsnovak
Registered: October 2008
Posts: 12
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Review Date: Fri October 30, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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food samplings
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Cons:
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too much drinking
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We were at Disney from Oct. 17th thru the 24th. We come if not every year, every other year for sure, and always make it during the Food and Wine Festival. I noticed last year there seemed to be a lot of drinking and loud behavior going on. This year was no better! We had advanced dining reservations at Rose and Crown and were seated outside only to have a group of about 6 seated next to us who talked way too loud and did nothing but laugh so loud we couldn't hear each other talk-and I couldn't believe the language they were using. Another day we were sampling the Cheese soup at Canada(wonderful) and we were standing by some tables in the area and there was a group of people by a nearby table who were stumbling around and almost knocked the table over. I have always enjoyed sampling what the countries have to offer and this years selections were great and the size is just right so you have enough room to sample more than one. I like that the selections change from year to year, but I do look forward to my favorites like the cheese soup and the peroggies. I miss the topiaries that used to be there in other years---I looked forward to seeing them and they seemed to add something to the festivities. It's fun walking from country to country and watching their performers---the chair balancing act in France is wonderful, and the group from England cannot be missed--they sound like the Beatles. I haven't decided if I will go back next year during the festival or not--we have been thinking about going right after it ends.
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LynnM
Registered: October 2008
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 7
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Review Date: Wed October 28, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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food and wine samplings
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Cons:
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weekends too crowded
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We always enjoy this event, it is alot of fun. The samplings were good as usual. But, I have always enjoyed seeing the topiaries and they are sadly gone.
Food and wine sampling prices are fair, merchandise a bit pricey. Weekend crowds are tough.
During our visit, we saw Taylor Dayne and she was excellant! What a treat.
All in all, it is an enjoyable event.
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Billd
Registered: January 2006
Location: Southeast Pa.
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Wed October 21, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Variety of the food offered
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Cons:
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price increases, some portions smaller
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We just returned from our 6th annual visit to this event (10/10 - 10/17) and we enjoyed this one as much as the previous ones! The atmosphere in the Park was fun, the majority of the food offerings were good and the cost - reasonable.
The difference in this year, to previous years was the absence of the areas like the Home Depot outdoor area, the expanded exhibits for cities (like last year's New Orleans display), and the overall smaller collection of Festival souvenirs.
It seemed like there was less in the Festival Center as well.
We spent a couple of afternoons/early evenings in the Park, sampling the food and adult beverages in a leisurely manner, which we found was the best way to enjoy this event. We did not encounter drinking parties or drunks that were mentioned in previous posts.
We were disappointed to see a number of price increases from last year, especially on those items that also saw a portion size reduction!
As was mentioned in other posts - the topiaries were mostly gone as well. Sorry to see that, as that was always a nice touch. One other change we did notice, and that was at the American Pavilion - was the character that played Geo. Washington - had changed as well as the outside show that this team performs.
Also this year, instead of doing a "ticketed event" we had a very nice dinner at the California Grill.
Overall, another enjoyable visit to the "World" for a fine event.
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eeyorelovesstitch
Registered: September 2008
Location: cape may, nj
Posts: 24
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Review Date: Tue October 20, 2009
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 2
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Pros:
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variety of samplings available
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Cons:
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drunks
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I will never try to book into Disney during this time if at all possible. Too many foul-mouthed drunks. Disney needs to control this or close it down. For the prices, how are they getting so drunk? Where's security? Why are children being subjected to such behavior in a place known for children's fun & fantasy? Really needs to be re-thought-out somehow. Sorry if I offended anyone, just tellin' the truth here. Very disappointed and it wasn't our first food fest, but possibly the last.
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msf7
Registered: June 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 26
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Review Date: Sat December 6, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Lots of food choices
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Cons:
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More crowded; too much drinking
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When we booked our trip this year, we did not realize it was during the Food & Wine Festival until later. We thought it might be interesting to check out since we do like to sample different foods. It was more crowded than we thought it would be and much harder to navigate the world showcase.
There were lots of food choices, but we chose not to sample them due to the high cost for such small samples. We would rather spend our DDP points and money on something more substantial.
We were very disappointed over how much drinking was going on. It appeared that some people used this as an excuse to get drunk and exhibit poor, boistrous behavior.
It would be more enjoyable if, somehow, they could figure out a way to make this event more family friendly.
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wyomom1972
Registered: December 2006
Location: Wyoming
Posts: 26
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Review Date: Thu November 6, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Food, entertainment, beer!
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Cons:
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Small portions for the price.
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We were in DW 10/25-11/3 and almost everynight we visited Epcot mainly for the F&W Festival. Since this was our first experience, I have nothing to compare it to, but we enjoyed ourselves! Almost all the foods were sampled by Hubby and I and we enjoyed 98% of them.
Like many other people have stated, the portions are very tiny for the price.
As for decor, again, I have nothing to compare it to, but the decor was minimal by any standard. I guess I expected more flair, but not a big deal.
We enjoyed listening to the different bands play including Alantic Rythym Section. Louisiana had great music going and walking farther down the road towards Canada, Off Kilter was putting on a great show.
Because of the F&W, Hubby is convinced we need to visit again during that time of year so I would have to say the Festival was a success.
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swimmom702
Registered: November 2008
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Mon November 3, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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fun evening
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Cons:
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folks drinking way too much
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We had dining reservations in Epcot the evening of October 18th at the German Pavilion. Our reservations were at 5:15 so it was early in the evening when we showed up at Epcot. My husband and I enjoy a glass of wine/beer and our children (8 and 12) have been to festivals and we were not at all worried about dinner during the food and wine fest.
We were so shocked by the drinking and behavior!
Running in front of kids taking pictures with Snow White (Snow White did scold a couple of women who ran up and tried to get photos with her while she was taking a picture with a little girl - it was very funny).
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desmanm
Registered: March 2006
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Tue October 28, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 5
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Pros:
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Still a Lot of Things to Try
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Cons:
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Too Many People "Testing" too Much Liquor
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This makes at least three years that I have attended this event one or more times. As usual, there were a number of new tastes to sample and the enjoyment of those areas (New Orleans!) that provided glimpses of culture, as well.
The downside - something that seems to wax with each passing year - is the mass of recreational drinkers that seem to be unaware of their own limits. Why anyone would want to go to an event like this, in a place dedicated to fun for the entire family, and pay huge prices for the same beer and wine that they could get at a fraction of the price elsewhere, puzzles me.
What differed this year, from those preceding, is that these folks were impacting others' ability to enjoy the day. I fear what can happen in years to come, should this escalation continue.
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