2018 Epcot International Food and Wine Festival: August 30 to November 12, 2018

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I know the weekends are busy with locals, but it seems most comments on that refer to Fridays and Saturdays. What are Sunday evenings like? We arrive on a Sunday, are planning to do MK that morning/afternoon since its a party day, but don't have evening/dinner plans. I was debating going into Epcot and finding dinner there, but I can avoid it if the crowds are bad on Sunday evenings as well.
 
I know the weekends are busy with locals, but it seems most comments on that refer to Fridays and Saturdays. What are Sunday evenings like? We arrive on a Sunday, are planning to do MK that morning/afternoon since its a party day, but don't have evening/dinner plans. I was debating going into Epcot and finding dinner there, but I can avoid it if the crowds are bad on Sunday evenings as well.

Expect Sunday to be fairly busy until around 7 or 8
 




Can I be the only naysayer here on the French Family Traditions lunch?

The setting was beautiful; it's been many years since I've been to Chef Pauls (before it was Chef Pauls).

My recollection is from 2 years ago so bear with me, maybe something changed but we were served dishes that were available either in Chefs deFrance or the French food booth.

The cheese course was delicious. The entree, I believe beef bourguignon, was...meh. Similar to what is served downstairs. The escargot was the.exact.same.dish.served.at.the.food.booth. Very disappointing.

The desert was some sort of pastry that was tasty but seemed hard and stale.

I was a solo diner and was seated with a couple and their teenage daughter, lovely people. But none of them drank. And it was very awkward for me to have more than a few sips of my wine as I felt...judged.

So, let me finish by saying, I thought the food was underwhelming and my wine experience was hampered by my not wanting to offend my dining companions, with their teenage daughter, by having an indulgent wine luncheon.

I'm set for the Parisian breakfast and may try something else (based on availability) but I won't be doing the French Family Luncheon again based on the lackluster food.


Oh one more thing...the bread served was FABULOUS. There were different breads for the various courses.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I can totally get why that wouldn’t have been the best time. My friend and I were seated with a couple from NC and an older local couple that went almost weekly. Between the NC couple and us, some what the local couple, we had many empty bottles of wine on the table by the end of the meal. The more everyone drank, the chattier everyone became. We were all quite tipsy by the end and really enjoyed the wine and conversation which made it an overall experience.
 
We went last year. I didn't even know I liked beets until I then.. I also loved the Parisian brunch.
Here's my post from last year.
My favorite event at the Food and Wine Festival was the Italian Lunch.
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We started with an amazing Beet salad.
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This pumpkin risotto was perfect.
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There was a pork dish. I don't eat pork, so they served me chicken marsala.
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The dessert was perfect!
Ha. I’m not a beet fan either. Truth be told, I’m quite picky. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t eat half of what’s served. That said, I’m truly looking forward to the lunch. Really, really appreciate you sharing your menu and pictures!
 
Just want to say THANK YOU for all the info and keeping this thread going. I recall you’re not going this year so that really makes it even more amazing you’re helping us all out with your time :)
Thanks so much! :thumbsup2

I enjoy hosting this thread, I believe this is the 3rd year? Hopefully I can make it back to the F&W Festival in 2020 in time for its 25th anniversary. Looks like I picked a good year to skip the F&W festival with all of the different issues that have occurred.

So I'll be living vicariously through everyone's trip reviews and experiences for this year's Festival so please be sure to post them with lots of details!
 
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I can totally get why that wouldn’t have been the best time. My friend and I were seated with a couple from NC and an older local couple that went almost weekly. Between the NC couple and us, some what the local couple, we had many empty bottles of wine on the table by the end of the meal. The more everyone drank, the chattier everyone became. We were all quite tipsy by the end and really enjoyed the wine and conversation which made it an overall experience.
We didn't have this happen at the French Family lunch but really enjoyed it. They even gave me a special dessert for my birthday. We did however end up the past three years being seated with great groups at the Italian Regional Lunch and had the wine flowing. We even ended up touring the food booths the next day with the family we were seated with.
 
Its always amazing how the tables start out kind of quiet and certainly are not that way by the end of the event. We've been fortunate to be seated with some really fun people at the Mediterrean and the Italian ones the last 2 years.
 
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I can totally get why that wouldn’t have been the best time. My friend and I were seated with a couple from NC and an older local couple that went almost weekly. Between the NC couple and us, some what the local couple, we had many empty bottles of wine on the table by the end of the meal. The more everyone drank, the chattier everyone became. We were all quite tipsy by the end and really enjoyed the wine and conversation which made it an overall experience.
We also had a great time with the other guests we were seated with. In fact, we saw them again the next year at the Burger Bash (or whatever they called it) and had another nice visit.
 
We did that last year (and have it booked for August this year again) - it is an awesome event - very nice food, you get to chat with so many different people from all over the world and a monorail car for just your group. It is highly recommended.

And if you look for more events - the Savor, Sip and Sparkle event at the California Grill is really fun as well. (dates are not out yet)
Would love to hear about Savor, Sip and Sparkle, especially about what food is served. I was able to get a 9:15 on Sunday night. We have a 12:50 brunch ADR at California Grill earlier that day. At least the hours are spaced that we could be hungry again.

Between brunch and Highway two days later, adding this may be overkill so I’d love to learn more. Decisions, decisions.
 
Would love to hear about Savor, Sip and Sparkle, especially about what food is served. I was able to get a 9:15 on Sunday night. We have a 12:50 brunch ADR at California Grill earlier that day. At least the hours are spaced that we could be hungry again.

Between brunch and Highway two days later, adding this may be overkill so I’d love to learn more. Decisions, decisions.

We did Savor, Sip & Sparkle last year. I did a guest review on All Ears - you may be able to search that site and find it. There was sushi, mini lobster rolls, flatbreads, I think chicken skewers. Desserts were mini tarts, cheeseecake, that sort of thing. And lots and LOTS of sparkling wine.
 
does anyone actually carry food trays around during the food and wine event? its not the worst idea i kind of like it lol. i just want some sort of fold up one with a cup holder lol
 
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