Something BIG Is Missing From the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

The 2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival has officially kicked off in Disney World.

We’ve already made our way around the food booths, eating pretty much everything. We also enjoyed some festival entertainment, as well as played a fun scavenger hunt for a cool prize. However, there is something that is missing from this year’s festival, and it’s something that’s been missing since 2019. We’re trying to solve the mystery of why.

In the before times (the time that existed BEFORE 2020), the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival used to have fun demonstrations and seminars. Many of these culinary and beverage demonstrations were free, while others cost a small fee to attend. Some were even run by celebrity chefs like Buddy Valastro, Cat Cora, Robert Irvine, Jamie Deen, and more.

After Disney World reopened in 2020, a modified festival was held, the Taste of EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Health and safety policies were in place at that time, which meant that Disney did not have demonstrations or seminars. At the time, that seemed to make sense.

However, when the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival returned in full force in 2021, we still didn’t have any demonstrations or seminars. The same goes for the festival in 2022, as well as this year’s festival in 2023. Although things are technically “back to normal” in Disney World, we have to wonder why these activities are still missing. So let’s take a look at this mystery.

One of our best guesses as to why the demonstrations and seminars haven’t returned is because CommuniCore Plaza and Communicore Hall, which is part of EPCOT’s massive transformation, aren’t completed yet. These new structures are part of a new festival area, which would give EPCOT a place to put demonstrations and seminars, as well as other festival activities.

CommuniCore Plaza is an outdoor area that will host outdoor performances. CommuniCore Hall will be an indoor space that’s a “fully purpose-built structure in festival programming.” It will be an exhibition and gallery space that can host food, art, and other experiences. It will also have a demonstration kitchen and mixology bar. So this is likely where future EPCOT Food & Wine Festival seminars and demonstrations will be held.

So it’s not ready, and we get that. But why not host at least some demonstrations and seminars at World Showplace? The building is right there, so we’re perplexed as to why Disney isn’t using it to bring back those beloved festival activities.

This becomes even more of a mystery when we look at Disney California Adventure’s Food and Wine Festival, which ran earlier in 2023. On the West Coast, the Food and Wine Festival has hosted culinary demonstrations, beverage seminars, wine tastings, mixology courses, and other activities for the past few years. So why haven’t those returned to Disney World?

Perhaps we’ll never know why the seminars and demonstrations have not yet returned to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. Maybe once CommuniCore Hall is completed, we’ll see them return (it certainly seems as if the building was meant for these activities).

We’ll certainly keep an eye on things, though, and keep you updated on ALL things in Disney World, so be sure to check back with AllEars again soon.

COMPLETE GUIDE to the BEST Eats at the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Why do you think the demonstrations and seminars haven’t returned to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival yet? Let us know your best theories in the comments!

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