While we love EPCOT’s International Flower and Garden Festival, we can’t help but get excited for the next festival that EPCOT will be hosting!
With the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival ending next month, we are awaiting news about the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival. With special merchandise, entertainment, and, of course, food, we are getting ready for one of the best times of the year at EPCOT.
While no dates have been announced yet, we have a sneaking suspicion that we will be getting more information about this festival soon. Last year, the dates for the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival were announced on April 12th, 2023, so we are hoping to get this year’s dates soon. Last year, the dates were July 27th until November 18th, which is lengthy for a festival, as this year’s EPCOT International Flower and Garden dates were cut down shorter from the previous year.
Another clue is that CommuniCore Hall and Plaza, located in World Celebration, will open on June 10th. According to Disney, this space will be used to bring EPCOT’s festivals “to the center of Disney World.” This makes us wonder if the opening of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza will coincide with the start of the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival.
Even though we do not have much information about this year’s EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, we have some unspoken rules about this festival from past years.
Come In With a Game Plan
Just like any EPCOT Festival, coming in with a game plan can help you prepare for the day’s success! It can also be fun to get a glimpse of all the yummy food available during the festival.
We love getting the printed festival passport, but if you want to get your hands on one before you attend the festival, you can actually find a version on the My Disney Experience app. This can be a great tool before and during the festival.
You can also read up about some of our past experiences with the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival here!
Reading up on last year’s resources and going through the festival passport, either online or with a physical passport, can set you up for a smoother day in EPCOT. Knowing where you want to go and what you want to try can also save you time, as you can just head straight to the booths where you want to dine!
Skip Booths with Long Lines
Unfortunately, not only do rides have lines, but so do festival booths. Some booths at festivals are super popular. For example, during the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, the POP Eats! booth tends to draw long lines, which means you could be losing precious time in the park.
If you see a long line at a booth you want to try, you are totally welcome to wait! As for us, we tend to skip the long line and either try a different booth or circle back later in the day to see if the line has gone down.
While it can be disappointing to see the booth you want to try have a long wait, this is a good opportunity to check off another booth on your list or even try something that you did not originally plan to try.
Use Your Dining Plan Credits
Did you know that if you are using the Disney Dining Plan, you can apply your snack credits at most festival booths?
That’s right! This can be an extremely good value if you use your snack credits on more expensive dishes at booths, giving you more bang for your buck! It can also be a great way to save up on quick-service or table-service credits, as you could spend a day eating around the world with snack credits.
While we totally understand wanting to use snack credits on classic snacks like popcorn and Mickey Bars, festival booth food is priced higher than these classic treats, so they can make your Dining Plan more valuable.
Skip the Meal, Snack Around the World Instead
If you are not on the Disney Dining Plan, no sweat! You can also use the hack above in a similar way. Instead of planning to have a quick-service or table-service meal, you can snack your way through the day at the festival booths!
If you have a lot of booths and dishes that you want to try, you may not be hungry for a full meal later. With so many options at the festival, you could make a whole day of just snacking around the world.
Certain dishes are even big enough to be split so everyone can sample them. Planning a day on your trip to focus on the festival can be more relaxing. You can go at your own pace based on how hungry you are.
Go to a FREE Concert
During each festival there is special entertainment that can be found at the America Gardens Theatre. During the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, the Eat to the Beat Concert Series takes place.
Some performances here have pretty recognizable names, last year, performers like Boyz II Men, 38 Special, and Sheila E. played sets at EPCOT.
While performance dates have not been announced yet, we did a little research, and it seems like Sheila E. will be returning to the Eat to the Beat Concert Series. We checked her website, and she has performance dates at Disney World on September 20th and 21st.
Each day, the featured musician plays three 30-minute sets at the America Gardens Theatre. The showtimes are 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM, and 8:00 PM. If you see the name of an artist or band that you like, plan your EPCOT day to align with their performances. Even if you do not know who is performing or just happen to stumble upon a performance, sitting down for the concert can be a great way to take a break, hear some good music, and take in one of the special festival offerings.
Check Out The Odyssey
We have been obsessed with past themes at The Odyssey for festivals. Currently, The Odyssey is decked out in all things Orange Bird for the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival. Last year The Odyssey was themed to Muppet Labs for the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival.
Here, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew joined the festival as taste testers. The official name of this experience was the Brew-Wing Lab, and the infamous pickle milkshake could be found here.
While the theme for The Odyssey has yet to be announced, we are hoping that the Muppets make their return this year!
Visit CommuniCore Hall and Plaza
Earlier, we mentioned the opening of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza. This will not only be the center of EPCOT festivals, but there are some other experiences that you will want to check out here!
Fans of Encanto can get excited as Disney is bringing Encanto to life on stage! From June 10th to September 6th, ¡Celebración Encanto! will take place on the CommuniCore Hall Plaza stage multiple times a day. The show will feature multiple songs from the movie for you to sing along to!
If you have missed meeting Mickey and his pals all in one place, they will finally get their residence back! When CommuniCore Hall opens on June 10th, the Mickey and Friends meet and greet will also open. We have even already seen the sign for this meet and greet go up!
Participate in Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak Scavenger Hunt
Each EPCOT Festival has a scavenger hunt that you can participate in! Currently, at the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, you can partake in Spike’s PolliNation Exploration, where you search for Spike in certain gardens around EPCOT.
The scavenger hunt for the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival usually is Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak Scavenger Hunt. This scavenger hunt takes you all around EPCOT looking for everyone’s favorite chef rat, Remy!
While the scavenger hunt has not been confirmed for this year, we can assume that this experience will be returning in 2024, as it has been a staple of the festival. You can purchase a scavenger hunt map for $9.99 at certain shops around the park. Once you complete the hunt, you can turn in your map for a special themed prize! Don’t worry, if you do not get around to completing the hunt, you can still redeem your map for a prize.
Participate in Emile’s Fromage Montage
You have heard of a bar crawl, but have you heard of a cheese crawl? Well, during the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival, you can take part in Emile’s Fromage Montage!
Snag a festival passport and follow along to collect stamps. Certain booths offer a cheese that is part of Emile’s Fromage Montage. When you order the participating item, make sure to hand over your passport and get it stamped. Once you have collected six stamps, you are able to redeem a prize!
Last year, the prize was Strawberry Cheesecake Soft Serve topped with a Mini Cheesecake and Graham Cracker Crumbs in a Specialty Cup. This prize was worth it to us as it was delicious!
We hope this cheese crawl will return in 2024 — it’s so much fun!
We can’t wait for the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival to return this year! As soon as we get more details, we will make sure to share them with you!
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I Love Food n Wine. I plan to visit Disney for Food n wine in 2025. I think my Son would love the Scavenger hunt
We have attended both the Food and Wine Festival and the Flower and Garden Festival, having just attended the latter a few weeks ago. Our game plan for that was to not make a dinner reservation but to eat small plates at the kiosks. Our plan was thwarted as the lines were so long at the kiosks compared to our past experiences. Many were 30 minutes which defeated the thought we would spend less time eating and be able to enjoy EPCOT more. We wound up eating at Connections Eatery. Not quite the same as the kiosks.