Is it too early to start talking F&W?

[jiggerj]

Humor me!!! :)

This will be my first F&W so really not sure what to expect- well except alot of Food and Wine-:D

I understand that booths are set up in Epcot but how many and where? I have also heard that you can get recipe cards/ or a cookbook from the event?

I have heard that the Party for the Senses is a biggie but I wont be there over a Sat. night- What else do you enjoy about the F&W festival? Any idea of who will be performing?

Would love to hear about all your experiences to pump me up! :goodvibes

[Rozzie]

whhooa! Laura, I was just going to start a F&W thread! Fun! We did the Lunch & Learn last year, and I am really really hoping to do another one. For the life of me, I forgot when they released all the dates and schedule last year, I am thinking end of summer, maybe?

Somehow my mom is now going with us. She begged us to take her, and put me on this guilt trip about how it's her 65th bday and all. :p I really want to go to the Party of the Senses also. I heard it is worth every penny! Anyone have experiences to share from that?

Laura, also a must do, and I so hope they have it again, is the Australian Walkabout Wine Tour in the WS. DH and I actually shared a tester card, which was great. We really have to pace ourselves for the day, if you know what I mean....:laughing:

[jiggerj]

Laura, also a must do, and I so hope they have it again, is the Australian Walkabout Wine Tour in the WS. DH and I actually shared a tester card, which was great. We really have to pace ourselves for the day, if you know what I mean....:laughing:

Oh! More info please!! What is the tester card? Tell me! Tell me! :jumpingbe

What are your dates Roz? Hopefully the first week of Oct? :D

[Rozzie]

Oh! More info please!! What is the tester card? Tell me! Tell me! :jumpingbe

What are your dates Roz? Hopefully the first week of Oct? :D

No October, still storm season. :sosad: Nov 3-9. Good news is Stimpy will be there too! Kungalooosh!! I hate I keep missing the gang down there....I guess I will have to wait for Dec 07.

You buy a card, and at each station they stamp it, and they show you on the map what region the wine is from, and give you a generous taste in a glass. DH would try it first, such a wine snob, he sniffs it, rolls it around in the glass, closes his eyes, the whole skit from SNL. I then drink the back wash of his tastes. LOL, not really backwash, but he always gets to taste first, then I try it. Some of their wines are so dry, and he is always my jestertaster to try out "the waters" for me. Dry wine gives me a headache for some reason. Their other wines were absolutely fantastic! Oh, how I can't wait for F & W!!!!!!!

[jiggerj]

No October, still storm season. :sosad: Nov 3-9. Good news is Stimpy will be there too! Kungalooosh!! I hate I keep missing the gang down there....I guess I will have to wait for Dec 07.

You buy a card, and at each station they stamp it, and they show you on the map what region the wine is from, and give you a generous taste in a glass. DH would try it first, such a wine snob, he sniffs it, rolls it around in the glass, closes his eyes, the whole skit from SNL. I then drink the back wash of his tastes. LOL, not really backwash, but he always gets to taste first, then I try it. Some of their wines are so dry, and he is always my jestertaster to try out "the waters" for me. Dry wine gives me a headache for some reason. Their other wines were absolutely fantastic! Oh, how I can't wait for F & W!!!!!!!

Waaaah! I gotta wait till Dec. 07 to met ya!! Very cool Stimpy will be there though! :thumbsup:

LOL!! You have me laughing here with the image of dh! I get a headache from wine too but not BEER! :beer: Do they have something like that for beer too? I know its food and wine not food and beer but what the heck thought Id ask! :)

[Rozzie]

Waaaah! I gotta wait till Dec. 07 to met ya!! Very cool Stimpy will be there though! :thumbsup:

LOL!! You have me laughing here with the image of dh! I get a headache from wine too but not BEER! :beer: Do they have something like that for beer too? I know its food and wine not food and beer but what the heck thought Id ask! :)

:beer: :beer: Beer sisters unite!!!!!!!!!

There was last year, hoping again for this year, a Samuel Adams sit down tasting that was FREEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Yes, you don't say that word a lot at a DVC website, huh??? :ROTFL: You just get in line like cattle and they take so many people in line. We went to the first one, right about 1130. Just DH and I and some senior citizens with ECVs, it was great. We also got a cool Sam Adam beer opener souvie, also FRRRRRRReee! Twas some grannies there drinking me under the table! :beer: :beer:

[nono]

Soooo, my intro to F & W was only about 3 years ago (maybe 4?), when a bunch of work friends decided we should show up at WDW a day or two before our "mandatory fun" meeting at the Dolphin. (Management was new in our division and didn't realize we actually knew how to work, as well as have fun, so we didn't need someone scheduling it and forcing us to attend! :headscrat )

Anyway, we didn't know much about F & W, except that we all thought it was special events like Party for the Senses. So, imagine our surprise on our second day when we were moseying towards World Showcase, all bummed 'cause our meeting started that evening, and we encountered the first hut. Then the second...etc!!!!!:dancingba

Then some woman said, "C'mon hurry we're about to begin" and literally pushed us into some place near the American Adventure???? It was the Sam Adams tasting which indeed was FREE and was 5 or 6 beers poured. :yummy: :yummy: It was really unbelievably fun because we had no idea what we were getting usherd into...I thought it was going to be a show of some sort.

By that point it was about time for us to show up at the Dolphin for the beginning our meeting, and lets just say, apparently we weren't supposed to have any fun before we arrived. In the new management's mind, they were to direct all fun, and it was only to be had on their terms. :snooty: Or perhaps just jealous that they hadn't thought of coming in early and having some fun themselves. :sosad: Regardless, we got a bunch of this :tsktsk: followed by a bunch of :thumbsup: from old time management who thought the new folks were ridiculous.

Anyway, the point of the longwinded story is that, even without a plan, you will have fun at F & W, so don't stress! It is so much fun to try to eat at all 26? booths...not in one day of course! I think allearsnet may still have "menus" from the booths from previous years posted so you can get a feel for what is offered.

[Deep-Thots]

We did at least three events (in addition to all the booths) that I can remember from last year: (Schedule cam out in summer, and you could start to call to make ressies in July, IIRC.)

Party of the Senses (PotS), which was awesome. So worth the money. I felt kinda icky the next day because I ate so much that night. My best advice about this would be "pace yourself." We'll be doing this again this year.

Wine and food pairings. We did one at the Living Seas. Surprisingly, it wasn't all fish (which was nice, since Eric is not really a fish eater). They had three very large "tasting portions" (these were bigger than the ones at the booths) of a particular food (say fliet mignon, string potates, etc.) paired with a wine from a specific company. The chef would come out and explain why he chose this food for this wine. There was only one wine company represented, but they had different wines for each tasting session. This was well worth $40, and if you do one of these, you really don't have to do dinner (or you can do a lite dinner). We might look at doing one of these again this year.

Sweet Sundays. I may have been the chef we had (Wayne Harley Brachman, from Food Network), but I didn't enjoy this all that much. They started with a buffet-style breakfast of eggs, fruit, bacon, and sausage (no pancakes), which was very standard fare. Then Brachman came out and did four presentations of different desserts. I didn't think any of the desserts were that great. It was all staged like a cooking show on TV. I didn't think it was very organized (servers didn't pay attention to what person had or had not yet received a dessert, so people had to flag them down), and it definitely was not worth the $55.

Okay, that's about it.

[Colorado Belle]

I wonder if it is worth it to do DDP during F&W?

I know I want to do party of the senses....and jiggerj there is no reason that you shouldn't come down ONE DAY EARLY and join Pam and I at POS. For goodness sakes!

It looks like the schedule won't be out until July, which is hard on those folks that like to book air much sooner.

[athenna]

Thanks, girlfriend for starting this thread:cheerlead
This just got me so pumped for my 1st F & W!:ale: :margarita
I can't wait:yes:

[Ginger]

We love F&W.

If you like beer, do not miss the InBev FREE beer held on the outside patio beside Rose and Crown. It's several times a day. Get there early to get tickets. Get there early at your return time to snag a table for 2. More beer that way. :)

If some of us are going to be there at the same time we should meet up for a glass of wine.

We hope there will be a PFTS on the Sat we get there. I don't think they announce these until late June or July.

[dvcconvert]

It really depends on how much of a "foodie" you and you're traveling mates are!

I have done everything that the F&W fest has to offer...how much are you and your party "into" wine? If you count yourselves as novices....the 12+ booths set up around world showcase will be enough...if your more that a 'novice'...budget dependent...the signiture dinners are wonderful!..as are the cooking lessons and pairings! :) -- I know this doesn't help much...but I think most folkd need to experience the F&W over a couple of years to make the best choices for them -- as there's SO much going on! :):):)

[Ginger]

If you like the food from the booths, don't forget to buy the F&W cookbook. I think it was less than $10.

[ghost1000]

Tell me more about the tester card. DH's daughter and her best friend are joining us (2-bdr BWV) because they want to do the Food and Wine Festival.

Where do you get the card? How much does it cost? What does it get you? Is it a one-day card, or can you use it multiple days? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Rozzie]

Tell me more about the tester card. DH's daughter and her best friend are joining us (2-bdr BWV) because they want to do the Food and Wine Festival.

Where do you get the card? How much does it cost? What does it get you? Is it a one-day card, or can you use it multiple days? Inquiring minds want to know.

the tester card was just at the winewalkabout set up for Australia. I forgot how much it was, maybe $12? pretty good deal for the amount. Nothing beats the freebie beer stuff nono mentioned and the sam adams promo tent. :)

can't wait! :bluebloun

[RweTHEREyet]

No October, still storm season. :sosad: Nov 3-9. Good news is Stimpy will be there too! Kungalooosh!! I hate I keep missing the gang down there....I guess I will have to wait for Dec 07.

You buy a card, and at each station they stamp it, and they show you on the map what region the wine is from, and give you a generous taste in a glass. DH would try it first, such a wine snob, he sniffs it, rolls it around in the glass, closes his eyes, the whole skit from SNL. I then drink the back wash of his tastes. LOL, not really backwash, but he always gets to taste first, then I try it. Some of their wines are so dry, and he is always my jestertaster to try out "the waters" for me. Dry wine gives me a headache for some reason. Their other wines were absolutely fantastic! Oh, how I can't wait for F & W!!!!!!!

I don't like dry wine either. Last year I fell in love with Banfii's Rose Regale. I am not a wine connoisseaur by any means, but I loved this stuff. I am sure that those that really know wines, probably look down on this one, but that's o.k. with me.

[Rozzie]

I don't like dry wine either. Last year I fell in love with Banfii's Rose Regale. I am not a wine connoisseaur by any means, but I loved this stuff. I am sure that those that really know wines, probably look down on this one, but that's o.k. with me.

Rwe, are we related? :tongue: I jumped for joy, literally, when I found this at our local World Market. Now I can transport myself to the WS, in one small 5 min trip and $13!!!

[jiggerj]

This thread is doing just what I was hoping for it to do!!! Pump me up for F&W!!! I knew I could count on you guys! :thumbsup:

Ok lets talk...FOOD!!!!! Tell me ALLLL about it!.....please! How many countries? Approx. how many booths? About how much does it cost? Which are your favorites? :)

[cobbler]

My mom and I are going this year but only for 3 short nights. I hope we can at least do something good when down there.

[Simba's Mom]

Thanks, girlfriend for starting this thread:cheerlead
This just got me so pumped for my 1st F & W!:ale: :margarita
I can't wait:yes:
And it's also getting those of us who haven't yet done a F&W excited about doing one. Sounds great! Yes, please tell me more about the different food offerings. Little samples from different countries? How many countries? Does everything offered throughout the time the festival runs, as opposed to some events which kind of "peter out" towards the last couple weeks? Like how would it be if we went the first week in November (can you tell me mind is planning)? The festival goes until around the 10th-14th?

[Rozzie]

Food? Canada has their Beer Cheese Soup----yummy! Mexico has their Chorizo Sausage thing that I have always always loved. France had this super yummy dessert, what was that thing? A chocolate Creme brulee I think it was. Just remember it was super yummy.

Okay, I am way hungry now! :help:

[nono]

I heard that last year (which I missed) there was a Singapore hut with TIGER BEER!:beer:

[schatz5k]

Everyone is giving such good info. I will be down on the 12th of Oct for a 3 day moms only getaway. WoooHooo. This is our first time for F&W so I appreciate any and all info.

[RweTHEREyet]

Can someone elaborate on the POS. I am seriously considering this for our trip, but I will have one picky eater in our group. I am not sure I wish to shell out that kind of money for someone that won't eat much. Picky eater is my son's girlfriend. I know he would love to go, and I can't very well take him and not her. :laughing: I would love to know more about the ofods offered. I have read in the past there there are performers from Cirque du Soleil there, does that happen every year?

[dvcconvert]

This link has a sample menu
http://allearsnet.com/tp/ep/fw04_ps.htm

Each night of PotS features different food and often different chef's & vintors.

Each party offers guests at least 40-60 different sampling sized food items--ranging the gammit from "ordinary" to extraodinary. I'd personally be amazed that even a pickier eater couldn't find something they liked!

HTH! :)