2017 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: August 31, 2017 - November 13, 2017

PFTS update 1

I decided to try the transport from the front of the park to the party. Uh.......it's suppose to start at 6:30. It's 6:50 and they just have us sitting around at the front of the park. Not impressed.

It's now almost 7 and the "Minnie Vans are staring to show up. Party one and 2 just got taken to a van. I am party 6. You pay extra to get in at 7:15. We may still be waiting on a van at 7:15
 
Last edited:
PFTS update 1

I decided to try the transport from the front of the park to the party. Uh.......it's suppose to start at 6:30. It's 6:50 and they just have us sitting around at the front of the park. Not impressed.

It's now almost 7 and the "Minnie Vans are staring to show up. Party one and 2 just got taken to a van. I am party 6. You pay extra to get in at 7:15. We may still be waiting on a van at 7:15
Bummer!
Hope you had a great time once you got to the party.
 


Can someone explain please. I've not been able to find anything on this.

In the Odessey building where the Craft Beers are located they are selling a Lime/Orange mixture of cotton candy. They also have a cotton candy non-alcoholic drink in Light Lab.
 


I'd be interested to know how you made out.You certainly do. That's one of the Wine View Lounge perks.

Any reviews of last night's PFTS??


The short version I'll try to do a long one later. The entertainment was very good the party was fun and most of the food was good. Amazingly the worst stations were one from planet Hollywood, which tasted like it had instant mashed potatoes and one from homecoming, Which was served on a biscuit I think was not cooked. ( i've never had fried chicken that sweet before yuck)

Morimoto was very nice and his dish was creative and tasted great. The beef dish from Raglan Road was amazing.


Now the real negative. If You paid for the wine view lounge, I would try calling and seeing if you can downgrade to reserve seating. I've never been able to justify this on a price basis, but this year it felt like a rip off. There is no longer any upgrade of wine, reserve seating is Let in at the same time as the lounge, you are sharing your seating space with the dance floor, they didn't even give us a special glass this year. They did bring around a couple of cheeses but you had to be sitting at your table when they happened to roll the cart by. There was no bar and the welcoming cocktail was a glass of champagne


Very disappointing to pay the same as prior years and receive dramatically less. We have a group going to One in October and I am going to call tomorrow to try to change our singing to either reserved or general.

The general seating was long tables with a lot of people at them, you will not be seated at your own table
 
Last edited:
We are going in a few weeks. Last minute trip and I tried to get the Italian wine vs beer lunch. But it is sold out.
How likely is it for a cancellation?
I have been able to find spots for mix it, make it everyday. And the beverage seminars.
Are these fun? Worth it?
 
F&W special dining events are sold as non-cancellable & non-refundable so the chances of picking up a cancellation are slim to none.
 
Just got back today from our week at F&W. The food was great as always, Canada and France were once again our favorites. I also really liked the chicken dish at the India booth.

We did PFTS WVL last night, and were disappointed. The event itself was fine, our disappointment was more of how disorganized the start of the event was and how little you actually got for the price of the WVL. We arrived around 6:30 expecting something similar to the Burger Block Party last year where the check in was inside and people formed a line in there and then they let people in at their tiers designated time. Instead it was kind of a cluster. We checked in outside in front of the big doors out front and they didn't have enough lanyards for WVL people, so they told us to wait to the side for more to be brought out. There were a bunch of people over there waiting for theirs, so it looked like we were in a line, so others assumed it was a line to check in, we ended up having to tell a number of people getting "in line" behind us that it wasn't a check in line and they had to go back to the very long line next to us to check in. After about a 30 minute wait, during which that area became packed, they opened the big doors to the next holding area, still outside, so everyone filed in there. Finally, they brought all the WVL people backstage to their entrance. We had been in there for about 2 minutes before they let the next tier in (or maybe they just let everyone in at that point, it got crowded fast!) If we had not done the Burger Block Party last year we would have thought this even was just ok, but since we had that to compare to, we found they really missed the mark on this one. Last year the top tier got 15 minutes in the room before the next tier was let in to pick up food, plus we really missed having the check-in inside...it so much nicer rather than yesterdays waiting outside 30-40 minutes in the heat while all dressed up!

Our other experiences at F&W were excellent though! We did the tequila lunch again and loved it once again. The food booths did not disappoint, we came SO close to trying something at each one! Next year that is our goal! I'll post more detailed reviews of our events and of course all the food soon!
 
I'm really sad to here how disorganized and downgraded the reviews are for PFTS. We choose the WVL for something extra special and it seems like most of the perks are gone, especially being let in early as that perk is listed on the explanation of the event tiers. How can you be short lanyards you know how many ressies you have? I hope those that attended contact guest services about your experiences. With the precious little that defines the tiers I sorry but I want to get what I paid for, for that price. Really trying to manage my expectations so as not to be disappointed. I hope there are more positive reviews as well. Did you get the swag bags at the end this year?
 
Are the beverage seminars and mix it, make it reserved seating?
We are going with 2 others and they are making the reservations separately. So will we be able to sit together?
 
I plan to complain about PTFS. Just have to dig up an address


Culinary and beverage seminars are seated based on when you arrive. Just get in line with whomever you want to sit with
 
WVL was worth it because of extra time, artisanal cheeses, dedicated bar, gift bag with special glass- it sounds like all of this was absent last night???
 
I also attended PFTS last night and was also in WVL. This was my first PFTS so don't have a reference point. I totally agree with VAtink about how disorganized check-in was. They ran out of lanyards not once but twice and it does seem to defy logic when there are clearly reservations that indicate how many will be needed. I was lucky to meet a really lovely couple while awaiting our lanyards and that passed the time quickly but it was HOT. I spoke with several event veterans and all remarked how previously check-in was indoors - the speculation was that now that there were more tables for guaranteed seating there wasn't the logistical room to do it anymore.

The lounge area was adjacent to the apparently new dance floor and was pretty packed with tables. There was also just one primary entrance/exit with nearby tables and it just seemed an odd design to support traffic flow. I had read about the WVL exclusive cheese station and bar. There were mobile cheese carts (the base of which were shaped like cows) but as OrangeCountyCommuter pointed out, you had to be at your table when the cart came by to partake. They did make several passes. There was a bar but it was backstage. It was unadvertised and I wouldn't have even known it existed if I didn't see a server delivering a martini to another table.

WVL entered through a backstage door but the reserved group were hot on our heels through the front. The back entrance was lost on me as a "perk" - especially as we walked past the dumpsters, LOL. The server gave me a good tip to use the 15 min gathering up all I wanted to try and "storing" it at the table and then being able to "relax" when the general admission entered. That strategy worked well for me and even with the reserved group gaining access, I didn't wait in any lines.

I really enjoyed the food. Morimoto was very gracious, shaking hands, posing for pictures and signing menus. Their offering was very interesting. Calimari that mimicked pasta, an uni foam and some ham. It was served in a cute little tin can. I also enjoyed a taco from Frontera, the chicken thigh biscuit from Homecoming, the ahi tuna from Boathouse. I didn't have anything that I hated.

I enjoyed most of the entertainment. They started with a good acoustic duo, then an amazing guitar player, an Irish band & Irish step dancers from Raglan Road and the House of Blues gospel choir was also great. Not entertainment but they had models milling about advertising offerings available for purchase from various stores- not a big deal but seemed a bit odd.

Overall, I had a nice time and again have no prior PFTS experiences for comparison. It did get off to a rocky and disorganized start but overall really enjoyed the event and would go again. Would I splurge on WVL again? IDK. it was nice to have server clearing plates and bringing new silverware and refilling water. There was a gift bag with some pastries for the morning, some coffee beans, twining tea, almonds and you got the glass that says WVL. I didn't use the reserved concert seating or transportation from front of park. Is that worth the price differential? I'm not sure-- think they have ample opportunity to step up the "VIP feel".
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top