MissM Oct 23, 2016

THIS!! I was there yesterday. We got in around 2:30 because of a huge bumper-to-bumper crawl on I-4. The lot was already really full but they were directing us all the way to the end and fill in the spaced. We wound up 4 rows from the front in Imagine so it was excellent for an easy walk to the front of the park. Bag check on that side was a walkthrough but the lines extended halfway across the plaza at the turnstyle. It just got worse from there. The sheer number of booths, lines for booths, stands and other clutter made the walkways narrow and highly crowded. Add in people stopping in the middle of the path in clumps and groups and it was a struggle to make any progress. We had 3:20 Via Napoli reservations and by the time we got in and got walking towards WS, it was 3pm. Took us 25 minutes at a dedicated pace to make it to Italy to check in for our lunch. (They were reservation only and were turning walk-ups away.) We were there for Toad the Wet Sprocket. Seating was near full but it was relatively easy to walk up 30 minutes before, find a seat and hang out. We wound up watching all three sets (approx 20 minutes each) so we'd watch, have to leave the theater, wander off for 10 or 15 minutes and then come back. We had fun but jeez. It was definitely hard to get anywhere due to the cramped walkways and the sheer amount of STUFF everywhere! This reminded me why I typically avoid Food & Wine. It's just not worth dealing with that many drunk people in such large numbers and such close quarters.