It’s not “smart crowd management”. It’s profit motive, pure and simple.
1. Eliminate the previously free culinary and beverage demonstrations, leaving the paid booths as the only food aspect of the supposed “food and wine festival”.
2. Eliminate the special events (such as the Party for the Senses and Signature Dinners of the past) because they required higher staffing and coordination/planning investment (even though they certainly were still profitable).
3. Increase the focus on paid “reserved” access to a previously free part of the festival because the crazy Disney consumer has already shown that many are willing to pay more for perceived access.
In some respects, I can’t blame Disney. They are, after all, a for-profit business. At the same point, they have clearly lost sight of what made the F&W Festival so popular in the first place.
Comments for Disney Retcons EPCOT Festival Traditions, Shifting 2026 Perks to High-Tier Packages
Brad
It’s not “smart crowd management”. It’s profit motive, pure and simple.
1. Eliminate the previously free culinary and beverage demonstrations, leaving the paid booths as the only food aspect of the supposed “food and wine festival”.
2. Eliminate the special events (such as the Party for the Senses and Signature Dinners of the past) because they required higher staffing and coordination/planning investment (even though they certainly were still profitable).
3. Increase the focus on paid “reserved” access to a previously free part of the festival because the crazy Disney consumer has already shown that many are willing to pay more for perceived access.
In some respects, I can’t blame Disney. They are, after all, a for-profit business. At the same point, they have clearly lost sight of what made the F&W Festival so popular in the first place.