7 Things You Need to Know Before Going to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival has just begun, and we’re so excited!

EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

We’ve already brought you the full menus for the event, a sneak peek at the merchandise (plus the merch you can get online), and information about how this year’s Fromage Montage (the festival’s cheese crawl) is changing. And now, we’re bringing you some information that you need to know before you head to the festival!

1. It Will Be Hot

Look, it’s summer in Florida. If you decide to head to EPCOT during the beginning of the festival, you’ll have to brave the Florida heat (and afternoon rain showers). You’ll want to plan accordingly for the heat, and that includes drinking lots of water, especially if you’ll be enjoying some of the alcoholic offerings at the festival.

Make sure to drink lots of water!

You’ll also want to think about the types of food that you’re ordering. Is a rich, hot, and very thick Cheddar and Bacon Soup from the Canada booth really what you want to be eating when it’s 100 degrees out (no matter how tasty!)? We recommend taking it slow and pacing yourself so you can eat and drink what you want without feeling sick or uncomfortable! Don’t forget — Disney World quick service locations give out free cups of water!

2. You Won’t Be Able to Try Everything Right Away

There are a few booths at this year’s festival that will not be available when the festival begins. These booths are Coastal Eats, Hawai’i, The Noodle Exchange, Mac & Eats, and (possibly) Brew-Wing at the Odyssey. Brew-Wing is a bit of a mystery because Disney resources have it listed as a booth opening later, while others don’t.

Food and Wine Booths

The booths that open after the festival starts will be available beginning on August 15th.

3. You Probably Won’t Be Able To Do It All

You might not want to hear this, but it’s likely that you won’t be able to do everything at the festival, and that’s okay! We recommend checking out the menus for each of the booths and making a list of what are absolute must-gets for you, so that you can prioritize getting those items.

Check out the menus and make a game plan!

The festival spans five months, so if you’re local and go a lot, you’ll have more opportunities to try everything you want to, but if you’ll only be able to make it to the festival once, we recommend making a game plan before you head to the park.

4. What’s New and What’s Returning

The EPCOT Food and Wine Festival has a mix of both new and returning menu items.

There are both new and returning food items!

We recommend checking out our list of all of the menu items for this year’s festival. It will tell you what’s new and what’s returning, so you’ll have all the information you’ll need during the festival.

5. Expect Big Crowds

The Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT is very popular and can get very crowded! Pack your patience if you’re heading to the festival on a weekend (as that’s when it’s typically busiest) or on nights when a popular band or artist is performing for the Eat to the Beat concert series.

Food and Wine Crowds in 2021

If you want to avoid days where popular artists are playing, check out the full lineup of performances here. We’re betting the Boyz II Men concert day will be very busy.

6. It’s Not Just About Eating and Drinking

Yes, it’s called the Food and Wine Festival, but it’s not just about the food and drinks! There’s a lot more to do during the festival like Remy’s Hide and Squeak (which is a scavenger hunt all around World Showcase).

You can play Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak!

There are also several different merchandise collections on sale, and as we mentioned before, the Eat to the Beat Concert Series.

7. You Won’t Be Able to Get Started Right At Park Open

EPCOT will open earlier in the morning than the festival starts. For example, on July 14th, the first day of the festival, EPCOT will open at 8:30AM, but the festival booths do not open exactly at that time.

EPCOT will open before the festival starts

We noticed festival booths start to open around 10:30AM-11AM, so if you’re heading to EPCOT just for the festival, you’ll get to sleep in a little bit that day! The only exception to this is the Belgium booth which is open for breakfast each day.

If you’re heading to the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival this year, make sure you check out our list of the menus before you go, as well as the booths you won’t be able to visit when the festival starts.