Playing the long game
Image: Disney
Thankfully, the doomsday scenario wasn’t the outcome.
You know the rest. In 1996, Epcot hosted its first event. While the first year seems modest in comparison to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival we know now, it was a daring gambit with long-term dividends. Disney persuaded a few celebrity chefs like John Ash to host cooking exhibitions, using these demonstrations as a key selling point.
The real purpose of the event was to introduce 23 marketplaces, booths offering global cuisine at modest prices. It was something the World Showcase already offered via its international restaurants. The pop-up stores were more temporary in nature, though. They could offer unique foods as limited time options. Disney fans felt compelled to rush to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival while they could. They had no idea if they’d ever have the option again. It was the Disney equivalent of “act now while operators are standing by”…and it worked on a grand scale.
The expansion of the exhibition
Image: Disney
2017 marks the 22nd edition of the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. Disney announced the dates before clean-up was completed on the 2016 version. It lasts a record-setting 75 days and, for the first time ever, the event will begin in August. Originally planned as a way to boost attendance during the offseason of fall, it’s now expanded to include Labor Day weekend, too.
The modern version of the exhibition includes more than two dozen booths reflecting the cuisines of over 20 countries. Some special offerings like the Chocolate Studio and Wine and Dine Studio also enhance the festivities. In 2002, they added ancillary appeal to the party, introducing the Eat to the Beat concert series. As many as 25 bands have performed a trio of nightly concerts over the course of the festival. While many of them are artists whose glory has faded, it’s still a way to see Boyz II Men in concert for the price of Epcot admission. By now, Disney earns so much in revenue during the exhibition that they can easily afford to pay (formerly) popular bands. It’s another inexpensive marketing option for a multi-month party.
Similarly, Disney has vastly increased the number of celebrity chefs that attend. The last couple of years, they’ve even hosted new episodes of The Chew onsite. The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival has become such a rainmaker for the company that the former offseason, September through the first half of November, has become one of the most popular times to visit Walt Disney World. Locals marvel at how crowded the park is during a time they used to consider the best time to visit.
Comments
I don't go to Disney to eat. All of these festivals make me have to choose another time to go. It's hard enough to get around all the variables to make plans and schedule every single minute of a Disney vacation. This just worsens the problem. They're moving real fans out of the process. I can eat anywhere.
I don't mind them adding more festivals such as this. However, I don't personally appreciate the crowd levels that it brings. It gets so crowded in Epcot now at times where it used to be relatively quiet. But of course this is the whole reason to have these festivals so it is a win for them. It would be nice if they would expand the walkways though especially around Mexico so that it doesn't get so congested there.