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The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is our favorite festival of the year. This festival allows you to explore the world’s finest food, wine, and entertainment on a smaller scale while enjoying the World Showcase at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. Epcot festivals are included in the entry price of your Epcot admission ticket, but the price of the food is not included.
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Our other favorite festivals we have blogged about are The International Festival of the Arts and The International Flower and Garden Festival. They also have The International Festival of the Holidays that we have only attended once and weren’t as impressed (maybe blame the holiday crowds?) because many of the menus are sweets, and we love savory!
Have you ever heard of people drinking (and eating) around the world at Disney? That’s at the World Showcase! Epcot’s World Showcase has eleven permanent countries centered around a beautiful lagoon. During festivals such as Food and Wine, they add dozens of food and drink stands throughout the showcase.
What are the eleven countries represented in Epcot?
Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada are the permanent countries represented in Epcot at Walt Disney World.
What are some of the additional stands represented during Food and Wine?
To name a few: Australia, Ireland, Brazil, Greece, Spain, The Alps, Kenya, India, along with specialty stands such as The Noodle Exchange for Vietnamese and Thai food, Coastal Eats for seafood, and Simmering Sips for Mimosas. These booths change for each festival and new ones are usually introduced each year.
Mark and I have been attending the Food and Wine Festival since 2017 and have tried to make a trip at least twice during this four-month event. For many years, this festival was considered a Fall event and ran from September to November, but it gets a little longer each year. In 2023, the event ran from July 27 – November 18 and ended just a couple of weeks after the Wine and Dine Race Weekend and right before the Holiday Season kicked off.
How does the Food and Wine Festival work?
Upon entering Epcot for any Festival, you want to grab a “passport” and look through the menus. Once you know the items you’d like to try, start walking! The Epcot loop is about 1.2 miles, and we usually walk around it at least twice to see all the options and work off some of the calories. We always start in Mexico – yes, we are those people! (Unless we come in the back entrance, it’s France!)
Hot Tip: Go into the Port of Entry gift shops or the official Festival gift shops, buy a wristband gift card, and load it up with funds. Most items are $5-15 at the stands, and it’s super easy to order and scan your wristband gift card instead of pulling out cash or swiping a credit card dozens of times – plus, you can set a budget much easier!
Each stand will also have a menu to show you the items, pricing with ingredients. Plus some photos of the food and drinks. Next, you stand in line to place your order, get your receipt, then hand it to a lovely cast member, and they give you the food when it’s ready. Your next step is to find a table (or a trash can- IYKYK) and enjoy it! Don’t forget to snap a photo, as the food and drink are usually worthy of an image. Then at the end of the night, it helps you remember what you tried. Plus you can mark it off in your passport! Enjoy the following photos from all the years we have been attending!
Most of the stands are smaller portions or very shareable. Two or more people can sample dozens of different culinary creations. As I’ve said, we usually attend the festival 2-3 times during its run and make an effort to try new things each time. That is how we can successfully fill up our passports!
Is eating at just the festival enough?
YES!! Each year, the festival evolves with new stands and new menu items. They also bring back the popular staples, and the original eleven counties have unique stands outside of the usual quick service and sit-down restaurant options. When we go to any of the festivals, we eat and drink only from the festival stands. It tends to be more than enough food for the day so no need for reservations!
What is Eat to the Beat at Epcot?
Eat to the Beat is a concert series during the Epcot Food and Wine Festival in the America Garden Theater. Eat to the Beat is free with Epcot admission, and performances occur thrice a night. Showtimes are typically 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM, and 8 PM on Fridays through Monday.
Pro Tip: Sometimes, you will see the artists having fun around the theme parks during the weekends of their performance, so keep your eyes peeled!
The lines to get in can be long, and you aren’t guaranteed a seat if you don’t get there early. The Eat to the Beat Dining Package is one way to get around that. These Dining Packages include a meal at a select Epcot restaurant and a guaranteed seat at the concert on the same day. Each package includes an appetizer, entree, and dessert or one full buffet, depending on where you eat, along with one non-alcoholic drink. You can find all the details here when available for the new season.
The bottom line is that Epcot is one of our favorite parks, and it’s in large part due to the incredible festivals that they have each year. Oh, and because Guardians of the Galaxy is the best ride on the planet! So, we highly recommend not leaving this park off your next Disney trip!
p.s. All of the custom Minnie Ears and Disney shirts you see in our photos were either purchased on Amazon, Etsy, Hot Topic, Target, or at the official Disney stores! Find ALL of our affiliate links on our SHOP!
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I haven’t been to Epcot since 1997…looks like they have added some really fun things since then! I may have to put this on my vacation radar! LOVE me a good food and Wine Festival!
YES! It is a completely different park now and its my personal favorite of all 4!
Looks interesting and fun! 😁