Epcot Food and Wine Festival Tips: Know Before You Go

The Epcot Food and Wine Festival is a fan favorite amongst most Disney lovers and is often on their Disney Bucket List items. It is held in the fall and combines Disney magic with food and drink from around the world! There is so much to do and see that it can sometimes be daunting if you have never been before. Here are some Epcot Food and Wine Festival tips to help you get the most out of your trip.

You can also learn everything you need to know about Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival here.

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The Food and Wine Festival is huge and offers many delicious options for both food and drink. If you were to try and eat the entire portion of every food that looked good, you’d never finish. Some portions are very generous and can also be very heavy depending on the ingredients. Split the portions with your group so everyone can sample more. Not only will everyone be able to try a larger variety of food, but you won’t get full as easily.

Don’t miss the Festival Center

The Festival Center is located in Future World so a lot of people tend to miss it. You will find a lot of merchandise and knowledgeable staff, as well as lists of all of the activities going on. If you are planning on attending a seminar or demonstration, it will be held there.

Look up information before you go

Since the festival is so large and offers so many options, it is entirely possible that you will miss things. The way to avoid missing an item that you absolutely want to try is checking out the menus beforehand. It is great to see where you might want to spend more of your time.

Budget properly

As you are checking out the menus before you go, be sure to note the prices of each item and set a budget accordingly. If you are going anytime after the first week, a lot of sites will have not just the review of the food or drink, but the portion as well. This allows you to see just how much you are getting for your money. If you already put aside money for the food and wine items, you won’t be as worried during the festival. There is nothing worse than trying to decide if you should or shouldn’t spend that extra cash. Set aside some money before you go so you don’t have that problem.

What is also very important to note is if you are on a Disney Dining Plan, you can use snack credits at the festival. Make sure the item you are purchasing is at least $5 and you will get your money’s worth.

Consider buying a gift card

A great way to stick to your budget is a gift card. If you are nervous that after a few glasses of wine you will forget your budget, this is a great option. The festival offers some adorable Remy themed cards this year! You can load a mini wearable gift card with as little as $15 and you are all set. If you are left with any money on it, don’t worry. A Disney gift card can be used for all things Disney – a meal at a restaurant, a merchandise shop, or even paying for your next vacation.

Have a plan of attack

This is a “take it or leave it” type of tip. If you do not care about the food or drink you try and simply want to go where the wind blows, you will be fine. The problem with not having an idea of how you want to spend your day is you can easily skip over booths. In the recent years, the food and wine festival has also been represented in Future World as well, not just the World Showcase. Having an idea of the must-have items ahead of time helps to avoid disappointment.

Get your favorites first

This is one I learned the hard way. The last time we went down I had my heart set on trying the baked shrimp scampi dip. It was located at Coastal Eats in Future World, and we hadn’t really checked out that area too much until our last day. I figured saving one of the items I wanted to try the most until the end would alleviate the sadness of leaving. The problem was that when we arrived, they were sold out. If I had hit that booth the first day we were there, even if there were sold out, I could have made an effort to try a different day. If there is something you have to try, get it first.

Skip full meals

I know plenty of people who go to the festival and simply snack their way through the day. Those portions can be very large and filling. If you plan on focusing on the food part, don’t feel the need to plan a table service meal that day. The exception is if you are participating in one of the pairing meals that the festival puts on.

There’s more than just food booths

Some people are surprised to find out that the festival goes beyond the booths located throughout Epcot. There are specialty dining and pairing packages, eat the beat concert series, culinary demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and so much more! The price range for these activities can go from free to a few hundred dollars, depending on what you are looking at. If any of the extra activities look interesting to you, book them right away. They can fill up very quickly.

Pack properly

Once again I will talk about how important it is to stay hydrated in a Disney park. I do not go anywhere on Disney property without a 24 hours cold water bottle, it is always in my park bag. If you are drinking during the festival you absolutely need to take advantage of the free ice water offered at quick service locations. Simply refill your water bottle and you are good to go. Another item that is recommended is a tray. It is great to hold your food and drink at the same time while you are walking around. If you don’t grab one before your trip, they sell them in the festival center too!

Bring your kids!

Epcot stereotypically is considered an adult park. Between the lack of rides and that a large portion of the visitors are drinking around the world, this isn’t a place people tend to spend their vacation with their children. A lot of people think that since the festival has wine in the title that this is only enjoyable for adults. This is not true. Even if you have picky eaters, there are plenty of items that would work! The festival menu even marks down items as KA for kid-approved so you can see what they might want to try. And don’t skip Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt! I’m a sucker for a good scavenger hunt myself, and this is a fun way to keep the kids excited about the festival.

Know when to go

If your schedule allows for it, head to Epcot more than once to try everything. As we already talked about, it is a lot of food and you can get full quickly. Make time to go and explore the festival a few times. Going earlier in the day will allow you to enjoy the booths before it gets very crowded.

Locals go for happy hours during the week occasionally, but more so on the weekends. We avoided the weekends since we knew it would be much more crowded and a longer wait for items. However, we did go on one Saturday and were pleasantly surprised by how efficient some of the lines were. For reference, on a Tuesday I paid for an item and received my drink and the whole process took about a minute. On the Saturday we went, the process took about 5 minutes.

In the grand scheme of time, I didn’t think this was a huge deal. Especially considering how many others were in line as well. However, every line operates differently. Not to mention if there are more people there, the booths are more likely to run out of items.