I miss the Food & Wine Festival we used to have!

[Ron from Michigan]

I miss how much fun the Food & Wine Festival used to be. I loved the daily wine tastings and speakers from those wineries. The daily cooking with chef classes etc. we went to the Party of the Senses several times and it was so much fun.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

Sadly it's just a bunch of food booth that are out pretty much all year round. I remember some of the unique things too like the cranberry bog. I almost like the Festival of the Arts better (cant believe I said that) as they have the all the art booths too.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

I miss it too. I keep hoping that someday the events will return but it's looking less likely as time goes on. In the meantime, if looking for something similar, there's the La Cava Experience in Mexico (tequila), Sangria University at Coronada Springs resort, and Wine Bar George is doing 90-min wine tasting classes with George himself on select Mondays and Tuesdays. The Swan and Dolphin are hosting their annual Food & Wine Classic event Nov 10-11. And the Waldorf Orlando and Hilton over in Bonnet Creek are hosting walking progressive dinners on Fridays and Saturdays in October and early November.

 

[SkyGuy]

Sadly it's just a bunch of food booth that are out pretty much all year round. I remember some of the unique things too like the cranberry bog. I almost like the Festival of the Arts better (cant believe I said that) as they have the all the art booths too.

Festival of the Arts is our favorite because of all the art booths. It definitely makes it feel like more of an event than just the same old food offerings.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I miss ALL the events of the past they were Events ! So much better than what they try and pass off now as an event ! I miss everything y’all just mentioned about Food & Wine I miss things they used to do for Christmas too ! So sad !!

 

[jimim]

Listen it’s pretty much year round “phone it in event”. The food makes all the money they need so no reason to try and up the game. And the food is no where near the quality it used to be.

 

[kanerf]

Mixology sessions, cooking sessions and all sorts of tasting sessions. The celebrity chefs and vintners. The beer school at the American Pavilion. Party for the Senses. Food & Wine is a mere shadow of what it was.

 

[jillt2ph]

I always wanted to do the Parisian breakfast and the candy sushi class.

 

[john7994]

Why bother, the overwhelming clientele seemingly isn’t interested - how many “drinking around the world” shirts and disorderliness in the making does one need to see before determining that all you need are drink and food stops every few steps to keep the people happy …

 

[drenalin'junkie]

We don't drink but are HUGE foodies and the xtras were a wonderful part of F&W. Our honeymoon had a F&G festival trip in it and we fell in love with the festivals there as we've always loved neighborhood and local festivals. The pared back versions are still nice but the shows, events and classes were a step beyond.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Like so many other things, we haven't come back since COVID. The Food and Wine used to be an every year "must-do" for us. I remember when the 45 minute wine tasting sessions, as well as the food making with a sample (including wine) were free. Now, sadly, all that's gone. But the drunks are still there. So we're not.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

The Food and Wine festival in California Adventure still has mixology classes, special dinners, and some demos. Their festival is in the spring and it is fun. If you want some old school festival fun you could try DCA/Disneyland.

 

[Pens Fan]

I am hoping that once Wallcot is finally complete they will offer some of those events again. I know they've gutted the plans for the big festival center, but it sounds as if they still plan on using that space for special events. So maybe next year?

As it exists right now Food and Wine is my least favorite of all the Epcot festivals. It's pretty much just the food booths and the concerts. We honestly prefer the food at Festival of the Arts and Flower and Garden. There might not be as many booths, but what they have seems to be a better quality and more interesting. Festival of the Holidays is a little heavy on the sweets for me, but Candlelight Processional and the story tellers still put it ahead of F & W. We are skipping F & W this year for the first time in quite a while as we have other plans for this Fall, and I'm not even sad about it.

 

[fla4fun]

Epcot is really getting away from the hands on participation during the festivals. There used to be a lot of gardening tutorials you could attend during F&G that aren’t done anymore as well. There used to be some creative things to do during the Arts festival, but all that is left is the mural paint by number.

My favorite festivals, in order of how much I enjoy the current form, are:

Festival of the Arts
Flower & Garden Festival
Festival of the Holidays
Food & Wine Festival

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I always wanted to do the Parisian breakfast and the candy sushi class.

We did this breakfast and it was really great.

 

[raidermatt]

The "drinking around the world crowd" is easier to please and brings in more quick $'s.

 

[drenalin'junkie]

The "drinking around the world crowd" is easier to please and brings in more quick $'s.

Sad but true. We don't mind the crowds and some of the group tshirt designs are hilarious. We just liked having more options to do small group stuff.

 

[gottalovepluto]

You are not alone. I’m hoping the events come back when they get the new spaces finished in the center of Epcot. I also suspect getting chefs and vendors to commit as far in advance as they needed to was difficult with all the turbulence in the restaurant industry caused by Covid.

Although I wasn’t becoming a fan of what they were turning it into. I don’t want to pay $20 just to watch some cooking demonstration, I want to watch and then eat it!

 

[k5thbeatle]

I miss how much fun the Food & Wine Festival used to be. I loved the daily wine tastings and speakers from those wineries. The daily cooking with chef classes etc. we went to the Party of the Senses several times and it was so much fun.

Agree. It's just a shell (at best) of what it once was. Now it's basically food booths which are practically run year round and not much else.

It used to be special.

 

[k5thbeatle]

The "drinking around the world crowd" is easier to please and brings in more quick $'s.

That's the truth and the key to everything. $$$$ talks and.....