Epcot - F&W Spoilers please!

Wow we were there last week! I didnt know anything about the Chase Visa Lounge. How do you get into this? We have a Chase Sapphire card...do you just need to show this? I will have to remember this for next year. How do the magic bands work for Illuminations??:mickey:

Overpriced, food same as any Mexican place in US and given their penchant for bulls goring horses (yes, they really do this. Google "Mexico Horse and Bull fights") I wouldn't give them a dime!!!!

Other than Mexico, I'd skip dinner altogether and just eat a little at each of the worlds. The food is very good. A little pricey for the portions, but you'll only do it once, so treat yourself.

Have been twice so far.. the crowds are nuts on the weekends but not bad at all during the weekday.

I feel as if the prices have gone up for items this year as almost everything seems to start close to $5 now.

My favorites are:

The pork / kimchi lettuce wrap at S. Korea. My #1 the last few years running actually.

The Mongolian beef steamed bun in China is great. The duck was okay, not bad, but for the $ not worth it at all.

I love the beef tips in Africa. Spicy but so much good flavor.

The second beer flight in Germany is new this year. Glad they are rotating it!

I was disappointed in what they did with the craft beer section at Odysee. I had hopes for it being this really cool exhibition using the space in that building to really do something about beer, the craft movement, how beer is made.. anything. but alas, its just a small bar serving beer thats available in any supermarket and a bunch of tables.

In France, the Gratin de crozet de savoie tastes just like what I make at home. Thats a great thing!

Germany the Schinkennudeln is my favourite. Reminds me of family get togethers and christmas time. All it is missing is the gravy.

Greece: Chicken Gyro was pretty good tasting. Lots of dill in the tzatziki which is always good.

I tended to stay away from the old standbys this year so far but overall the festival seems to be pretty good this year, even though I miss some of the old tents.

etibbetts;2435857 wrote: The Chase lounge is in the America pavilion, you'll see the sign for it and line.

Thanks for bringing this up! Definitely going to have to stop by there on our FWF day. What are the wristbands for Illuminations? They for a special viewing area?

I'd be happy with the coke freestyle machines and a break from the crowds. Have a disney rewards card really does come in handy when visiting the parks.

I didn't ask about the illuminations band, where the area was. The woman handing them out just told me they had those daily and they had Eat to the Beat wristbands only certain days (sat, sun, mon I think...).

The freestyle machines were great! I filled a mug I had with me. It was nice to have a lot of choices.

stephicakes;2435903 wrote: We were just there and I forgot about this lounge!

We were at F&W 9/20-9/27 and stayed at BC so we walked into WS almost every evening. The crowds were heavy even on weekdays so sometimes it was hard to even get through to read the menus for each food kiosk, so pack your patience. We had better luck at lunchtime exploring what was available and not fighting the crowds so much. Weekends were definitely busiest and often it was hard for me and DH to walk side-by-side. But the periodic rain helped thin the crowds out.

The one thing we did enjoy was the microbrewery they have set up in the Odyssey building. It was nice and cool in there and never busy so we could escape the crowds for a minute. The lighting was nice and low and we enjoyed some flights of tasty craft beers.

Enjoy! :mickey:

What is the Odyssey building? I've never heard of that. Thanks!

The Odyssey Pavilion was a restaurant MANY years ago and has been closed for quite some time now. It’s “technically” in FW but it is located between Test Track and Mexico on the east side. I believe now they only use it for business functions/gatherings but someone else will probably come along that can give more info. The Disney website shows it clearly on their areal map. It was a nice air-conditioned break for us during F&W!

We were there last week. The crowds weren't terrible. Got a little worse as the day went on. The lamb chop in Australia was amazing! Possibly one of the best things I've ever eaten. The filet mignon in Canada was really good and so was the mini beef slider in the Hops and Barley Market. I didn't really have anything bad, except at the dessert and Champagne booth. I tried the trio and the frozen s'mores and didn't like either of them.

Wow!!! Thanks for all the tips and spoilers.

Sounds like the Filet at Canada is a must. And the Kimchi at S. Korea, as well. I like most everything, so this is going to be tough.

Lindslou - I think we're going to have to share things!!! :thumbsup:

stephicakes;2436654 wrote: The Odyssey Pavilion was a restaurant MANY years ago and has been closed for quite some time now. It’s “technically” in FW but it is located between Test Track and Mexico on the east side. I believe now they only use it for business functions/gatherings but someone else will probably come along that can give more info. The Disney website shows it clearly on their areal map. It was a nice air-conditioned break for us during F&W!

Oh I've always wondered what that was! Thanks!!

k10;2436698 wrote: Wow!!! Thanks for all the tips and spoilers.

Sounds like the Filet at Canada is a must. And the Kimchi at S. Korea, as well. I like most everything, so this is going to be tough.

Lindslou - I think we're going to have to share things!!! :thumbsup:

Sharing means caring!

We were there Monday and today. Crowds Monday were quite heavy (and absolutely crazy yesterday at MK). Today very warm but far less crowded.

Chase Lounge has been a nice place to cool off, rest up, get something to drink and use a restroom. It does need more seats!

As noted above prices now hover around $5 an item. DW and I did the seafood crawl on Monday. Really liked Brazil and Morocco items.

Craft Beer at Odyssey on a weekday is averaging 5,500 visitors.

Haven't had a bad dish yet and we have 14 destinations marked off in our passport. :mickey:

Lindslou;2436761 wrote: Sharing means caring!

:party::party::party:

The prices being $5 or so doesn't frighten me. Only b/c I've never partaken, so I have no comparison. I'm actually pretty pleased w/ the prices in that sense.

Thank you again for all the tips here in this thread. We had a really, really good F&W experience. Maybe too good.

We were there this Monday. Crowds were nonexistent. Not one of the 10 or so booths we hit up ever had a line. We began around 2pm and were done around 6:30.

All the food was good. We were borderline angry about the high alcohol prices/tiny portions of the alcoholic drinks though. Wines were being poured at 1oz or 2oz, max. Beers are now 6oz. Prices were $5-7 per drink. I love the Grapefruit beer so I bought 2. $9 is steep for 12oz of beer. One Apple Wine was a 1oz shot and was $7. Total ripoff. I had 3 beers, a wine "flight" (total 3oz), a Grey Goose Citron, and another wine. I wasn't even buzzed, and I am a complete lightweight. I spent $33 on alcohol and felt like I hadn't drank anything. They need to lower the prices or up the size of those drinks. Its a poor value. Next time, I will skip the alcohol at the booths and hit up Rose & Crown instead.

Food item standouts were: Pork Belly and Cheese Bread at Brazil, Pork Slider at Hawaii, Warm Chocolate Pudding at Ireland, Sea Salt Caramel Creme Brulee at France, Beef Skewer at Patagonia, Rib Eye Taco at Mexico