How to Prepare for EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival
It’s almost time for the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival! The festival begins on July 27th and runs until November 18th.
2022 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival
This is the biggest festival that EPCOT hosts and there are over 25 food booths to check out this year. There are also returning things like the Eat to the Beat Concert Series, Emile’s Fromage Montage, and more!
Eat to the Beat Concert Series
If you’re planning a trip (or multiple!) to the festival and don’t know where to start, we’re here to help! Let’s talk about how to prepare for EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival.
Planning Your Day
First and foremost, you need to figure out what you want your theme park day to look like. Decide if you want to be in EPCOT all day, go to EPCOT first and then hop to one of the other parks, or start at another park and hop to EPCOT.
Remember, you can’t park hop until 2PM, so take that into account. If you do decide you want to park hop at some point, make sure you get a park hopper ticket!
If you plan on just being at EPCOT all day, you can just buy a 1-park ticket for EPCOT on the day you want to go. After you’ve sorted your tickets, you need to make a Theme Park Reservation for the date and park you plan on being at.
Also note that if you’re an Annual Passholder, you do NOT need a theme park reservation to go to EPCOT after 2PM.
When thinking about the actual day(s) you want to go to the festival, you might want to take things into consideration like holiday weekends. Long weekends will typically be busier in Disney World in general.
If you can’t decide when exactly to go, take a look at the Eat to the Beat schedule to see if there are any artists that you want to see performing while you’re there! These are basically small concerts included with the price of admission.
Photo: Disney
If you do find an artist you want to see, you can consider getting the Eat to the Beat Dining Package while you’re at the park. This will give you a full sit-down meal at select restaurants and reserved seating for the show.
With the exception of this dining package, I personally wouldn’t recommend making a dining reservation during your day at Food and Wine since you’ll be eating the festival food. But, if you are the type of person who needs to sit down for at least one meal, go ahead and make a lunch or dinner ressie somewhere in EPCOT!
Photo: Disney
Once inside the park, remember that the food booths do not typically open until 11AM and they close when the park traditionally closes. So, if you stay in the park for Extended Evening Hours, the food booths will all be closed.
And keep in mind activities like Remy’s Hide and Squeak and Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit. These are scavenger hunts around the festival, so you’ll want to purchase your map earlier in the day so you have enough time to complete the hunt.
What to Eat & Drink
Before you go to Food and Wine, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the menus so you can take note of what you want to eat and drink! We’ve got all of the full menus right here.
Photo: Disney
I suggest highlighting the items you definitely want to try or making a short list of what your must-try dishes are and where you can get them. This way, you won’t get to the end of your day and realize you forgot to get something you really wanted! It’s a nice thing to have handy.
Be aware of things at the festival like Emile’s Fromage Montage, AKA the cheese crawl! There are several different items at the booths around the festival that qualify for the crawl.
Photo: Disney
If you want to do the crawl or if you’re already going to be eating these items anyway, make sure you get your stamp for each to complete the crawl, because you get a prize (and the prize is a free dessert!). You can check out which items qualify right here.
Photo: Harrison Cooney
Budget
Budgeting is usually a very important part of planning for a Disney trip! Even though the prices of small plates at the festival seem reasonable, they can add up.
The prices for each individual item aren’t out yet, but they will be as we get closer (we’ll let you know when we see them!). But in the past, food items have ranged from $4.50-$9.50, while alcoholic beverages cost more.
Once you know the prices, budget out for each item you might want to try so you can come up with a number you’re comfortable spending at the festival.
If you want to make sure you stick to a budget, put the amount you’re okay with spending on a Disney or Visa gift card and only use that to buy festival items! When that runs out, you know that you’ve hit your budget.
What to Bring with You
You don’t HAVE to bring anything special with you to the festival, but there are some items that might make your trip a bit more enjoyable or easier! Let’s talk about them.
The first thing we’d recommend is a water bottle. I personally think the collapsible ones are great because they can fold up small in your bag when you’re not using them!
It’s super important to stay hydrated when you’re going around the festival because it’s still likely going to be very hot outside. You’ll also probably be eating food with a decent amount of sodium, and if you’re drinking alcohol, that just adds another reason to stay hydrated!
Other optional items are some reusable utensils. This way, you don’t have to keep grabbing the disposable ones at every single booth.
Or, you could just get one pair of disposable ones at a booth and keep them with you throughout the day, they’re a pretty durable plastic! Whatever works best for you.
If you plan on eating multiple dishes at one booth, it could be a good idea to bring a small, foldable tray that lets you carry several items. This will especially make it easier when you’re looking for a surface to eat on!
Moderne Spread
This is a more general item that you should probably take to the theme parks anyway, but hand sanitizer and/or sanitizer wipes are great to keep with you. You can clean your hands before you eat and right when you’re done, because some items can be super messy!
Some other general items important to have during the festival (or really any time at Disney World) are breathable and comfy clothing items, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a portable fan. Even in the fall, Disney World is usually HOT and you don’t want to become so overheated to where you can’t enjoy the festival.
Photo: Coppertone
A good pair of broken-in walking shoes is another necessity. You might end up going around the park several times to eat everything you want!
If you’re prone to getting a bit of an upset stomach at times (especially when eating many different kinds of food) bring some Pepto or Tums tablets so that you can enjoy your day!
Make sure you get the right walking shoes!
Also, know that you need to have your ID with you if you plan on drinking any alcohol! You will have to show your ID at the festival booths to buy alcohol, sometimes even if you look well above 21.
Finally, don’t forget to pick up one of the small Food and Wine Festival booklets once you’re in the park! This will have everything you need to know about the festival, from menus to entertainment options.
Emile’s Fromage Montage, 2022
So, there you have it — happy festival-ing! We can’t wait to check out EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival this year, and we hope this made you more excited for it too.
Stay tuned for more Disney World tips, tricks, and info.
