A Guide To EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival [2022]

There are many things that attract guests to Walt Disney World. Beyond the magical vacation experience, the special events that Walt Disney World hosts always bring crowds from all over the world. One of the most popular events is EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

This post will be a guide to everything you need to know if you plan on attending the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

What is Epcot International Food & Wine Festival?

EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is a way for you to “travel” around the world and try food from all over the world.

Now if you’ve been to EPCOT before, then you know about the World Showcase. Where you can find 11 different pavilions representing various countries around the world. Each one offers the country’s own culture, food, and experience to guests who enter.

Fun Fact: Disney is all about authenticity, and making experiences as magical and real as possible. This is why if a cast member works at an EPCOT at one of the Pavillions, they must be from that country. For example, any cast members you find at the Japan pavilion will be from Japan, and the same goes for all the countries.

During the Food & Wine Festival, there are even more countries represented throughout the World Showcase, bringing a wider variety of food and beverage options.

But food isn’t the only thing that the Food & Wine Festival brings to the table. There is also a bunch of fun activities, live performances, and more to see and explore during the event.

What are the dates for the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot 2022?

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival takes place every year from mid-summer to the end of November.

This year, the festival started on Thursday, July 14, and goes until November 19, 2022.

The Festival takes place daily, allowing guests to enjoy the festivities any day of the week. There are special events, like concerts, that only happen on select nights, so be sure to continue reading to figure out when is the best time for you to go.

What to Expect at EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

Because the festival occurs daily at EPCOT for a few months, there are a lot of things to see. Everything from live performances, to so much delicious food, and are all in addition to everything else that EPCOT has to offer!

Attending the Food & Wine Festival is definitely something that should have some planning, especially if you have never visited EPCOT at Walt Disney World before.

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At the International Food & Wine Festival, you can expect a lot of food options. And I mean a LOT!

EPCOT is known for having some of the best food all around! Now add in an International Food & Wine Festival, and you could probably spend a week there and not try all of the different food options!

Whether you are a picky eater or have any dietary restrictions, there will be various food options available. Disney is also well known for its customer service, and great accommodations for any dietary restrictions that any guests may have. All you have to do is say something!

What goes great with good food? Live entertainment! And the International Food & Wine Festival provides just that! With live performances happening nightly, Eat to the Beat is a great way to enjoy good food and music!

Food & Wine Festival: Eat to the Beat

An often popular feature of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is the live performances! That’s right, during the Food & Wine Festival, you can find a wide variety of live performances.

Everything from some internationally recognized artists, and top charting musical acts, to local Orlando bands as well!

Concerts take place nightly from July 14th through November 14th! There are usually 3 concerts per night, taking place at 5:30 pm, 6:45 pm, and 8 pm. Each concert/performance usually lasts about 30 minutes.

Which gives you plenty of time to see a concert while also having time to explore the different booths!

These concerts are free with an admission ticket to EPCOT! And tickets are located at the Americal Gardens Theater, which is between Japan and Italy by the water.

Below is the full list of live performers that will be performing during the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. The local artists will be bolded, and the top charting-musical acts will be non-bolded, to help show the difference between the two.

July Artists

14 & 15: Baha Men
16 – 18: Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
19 – 21: C’Nergy
22 & 23: Tonic (NEW)
24 & 25: Jeremy Camp (NEW)
26 – 28: Country Airways
29 & 30: Taylor Dayne
31: Tiffany

August Artists

1: Tiffany
2 – 4: Element
5 – 8: Joey Fatone & Friends
9 – 11: Latin Ambition
12 & 13: The Devon Allman Project
14 & 15: Christopher Cross
16 – 18: Epic
19 & 20: Steve Augeri (former Journey lead vocalist)
21 & 22: Air Supply
23 – 25: Evolution: Motown
26 & 27: Blanco Brown (NEW)
28 & 29: 98 degrees
30 & 31: M-80s

October Artists

1: Stokley (NEW)
2 & 3: Sheila E.
4 – 6: Latin Ambition
7 & 8: Mark Wills
9 & 10: 38 Special
11 – 13: The Vybe
14 & 15: Robert Randolph Band
16 & 17: Newsboys (NEW)
18 – 20: 506 Crew
21 & 22: Ray Parker Jr. (NEW)
23 & 24: Billy Ocean
25 – 27: M-80s
28 – 31: Hanson

November Artists

1 – 3: Country Airways
4 – 7: Boyz II Men
8 – 10: Foreigners Journey
11 & 12: Kenny G
13 & 14: Sugar Ray

Additionally, Walt Disney World does offer a special dining package for guests who wish to enjoy dinner and reserved seating for the concert. For more information about the Dining Packages, check out Eat To The Beat Dining Packages.

Food & Wine Festival Activities

Along with trying a bunch of delicious food, and adult beverages there are other activities that can be a lot of fun for everyone. Some of the top two activities are Remy’s Ratatillouie Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt and Pluto’s Pumpkin Hunt.

Remy Ratatillouie Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt

This activity returned this year for another year of fun! Throughout EPCOT you can find little Remy (Yes the rat from Ratatouille), all around with different items. Purchase a sticker map, find all of the Remy’s, show your completed sticker map, and get a free prize!

The sticker maps can be purchased at Port of Entry, Creations Shop, and World Traveler at International Gateway. Maps cost $9.99, and there is a limit of 5 maps per guest.

Once you’ve got your map, you can go around EPCOT and try to find all of the hidden Remy’s! There are 15 Remy’s that need to be found to complete the full sticker map.

When you have found all of the Remy’s and completed the sticker map, you can go to the designated areas to get your prize. (You can always go to the designated area prior to finishing your map if you wish).

The prize usually includes a themed item for the event such as a tumbler or a mug. Usually something fun, festive, and exclusive to the Food & Wine Festival.

Pluto’s Pumpkin Hunt

A new activity at Walt Disney World! If you’ve visited Disneyland during the Halloween season then you know exactly what to expect! Pluto’s Pumpkin Hunt will be available from September 29th until October 31st (while supplies last).

This activity doesn’t last the whole Food & Wine Festival, so be sure to check it out while it is at the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

Similar to Remy’s Ratatillouie Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt, the sticker map can be purchased at Port of Entry, Creations Shop, and World Traveler at International Gateway. Maps also cost $9.99 with the same limit of 5 maps per guest.

Just like with Remy’s Hide & Squeak, you search throughout the park for decorated pumpkins. The pumpkins should look like different Disney characters.

As you can tell from the photos, the pumpkins can be everywhere, and while some are very obvious, some are slightly more hidden! Making it truly a fun scavenger hunt!

Find all 13 pumpkins and you can go get a Halloween-themed prize. Usually a Halloween-themed travel tumbler.

Emile’s Fromage Montage

This activity takes you on a journey of enjoying a variety of different cheese dishes throughout the festival. Making participating really easy!

Using your Festival Passport, find Emile’s Fromage Montage menu items at certain global marketplaces. Every time you purchase one of the select dishes, you receive a stamp at the location.

Once you’ve collected 5 stamps (there are 10 different menu items that count, keep scrolling for the options) you can show off your passport for a prize at the Shimmering Sips marketplace!

At Shimmering Sips marketplace, you can receive a special dessert! Not just any dessert, this special dessert is served in a Food & Wine Festival cup!

Food & Wine Festival Global Marketplaces

The most popular attraction of the Food & Wine Festival is of course the world-renowned food options that are available. I mean let’s be honest, even without the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT, there are some incredible dishes from all around the world.

With the Food & Wine Festival being in town, that just means there are even more excellent food and wine options. (And don’t worry they serve other adult beverages other than just wine).

EPCOT Marketplaces

In order to fully understand how much gets added to EPCOT during the Food & Wine Festival, we need to understand what it is like without the festival. So let’s take a look at what the park looks like without all the extra added Food & Wine booths.

Note: that I am only focusing on the World Showcase area of EPCOT, as that is primarily where the Food & Wine Festival activities are located. There is definitely much more to EPCOT than just the World Showcase, and I do recommend those other parts too.

There normally are 11 incredible pavilions to check out and explore. Each Pavillion at the least showcases specialty food originating in that home country.

For example, the Canadian Pavillion offers Poutine! Which is a delicious dish that is very common in the provinces of Canada. The Germany Pavillion offers Brawtworst, the Japan Pavillion offers a variety of sake, udon, and sushi.

At the International Food & Wine Festival, there are over 25 different booths with delectable food options to try! Additionally, there will be a few booths that will open up in August, providing even more food choices for guests to enjoy.

Food & Wine Marketplaces

Let’s break down all of the different marketplaces/booths that will be exclusively open for the International Food & Wine Festival.

Tip: Scan the QR code in the picture for the Festival information to open in the Walt Disney World app.

All of the numbered dots around the world showcase are all different booths that will be open for the Food & Wine Festival. And that is in addition to the ones that are regularly open ‘around the world’.

There are a lot of different options to try out, it can be a bit overwhelming. I’ve broken down all of the restaurants with where they are on the map, making it easier to plan a bit for your trip.

And yes, putting a little work into planning a visit to Epcot will really make all the difference.

1. Coastal Eats
2. Mac & Eats
3. Fry Basket
4. Flavors from Fire
5. Brew-Wing at the Odyssey
6. Noodle Exchange
7. Swanky Saucy Swine
8. Mexico
9. China
10. India
11. Kenya
12. Refreshment Outpost
13. The Alps
14. Germany
15. Spain
16. Italy
17. Hops & Barley
18. Japan
19. Greece
20. Tangierine Cafe: Flavors of the Medina
21. Belgium
22. Brazil
23. France
24. Ireland
25. Appleseed Orchard
26. Canada
27. Refreshment Port
28. Australia
29. Shimmering Sips
30. Earth Eats
31. Hawai’i

As you can tell from the list above, there are quite a few marketplaces that are exclusive to the International Food & Wine Festival!

Late Opening Marketplaces

These marketplaces are going to be at EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, they just won’t be open the whole time. Most of these aren’t going to be available until August 15th, unless otherwise noted.

Coastal Eats – located near Mission: SPACE, this marketplace offers seafood dishes along with cocktails, wine, and beer.

Mac & Eats – located near Mission: SPACE, this marketplace offers a variety of macaroni and cheese options like you have never seen before!

The Noodle Exchange – located near Disney Traders, this marketplace offers a variety of flavors from the Far East served with noodles!

Hawai’i – located near the Port of Entry, this marketplace offers tropical flavors that highlight both the sweet and savory tastes of the islands of Hawai’i.

If any of those places sound good (who am I kidding, they all sound good), then be sure to plan your visit to the International Food & Wine Festival to be after August 15, 2022, so that you can enjoy these additional booths!

Early open for Breakfast

For the most part, the marketplaces open up at 11 am. This means that if you get there at the rope drop, then you have to wait a few hours before you can dive right into the Food & Wine Festival.

However, there are a few select marketplaces that will be open for breakfast! They will start serving breakfast options around 8:30 am (unless otherwise noted). There is not a lot, so if you want to enjoy some good food early in the morning I recommend going to one of these booths.

Belgium is open for breakfast! Belgium is one of the few booths that will be opening when the park opens up. They will serve some delicious breakfast options too!

For breakfast, the Belgium booth is offering two different types of Belgium Walffles. One with a berry compote and whipped cream, one with chocolate ganache!

Add a chilled coffee with Godiva chocolate liqueur and you are all set for a perfect breakfast to kick of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival Special Menus

With all of the different marketplaces, there are a ton of new menu items for this festival. Listed below are some of the newest food items that you can find throughout.

Emile’s Fromage Montage Menu Items

If you plan on participating in this cheezy activity then here is a preview of the items that qualify. Remember you have to purchase 5 items from the menu and get stamped in order to receive your special prize.

As you can tell from the menu, there are a lot of delicious options to choose from in order to get your special prize at the end.

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FAQ: EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

Below are some of the most common questions that are asked around the Food & Wine Festival. Most of the questions are specific to the Food & Wine Festival, however, some of the last few are EPCOT specific.

If you have any further questions, or a specific question, feel free to message me. I am also a travel agent that can help you plan your trip!

How long is the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot?

Overall, the Food & Wine Festival runs for about 3.5 – 4 months in total. The Festivities start when EPCOT park opens which is 8:30 am on most days.

However, most of the food marketplaces/booths don’t open up until around 11 am. There are a few exceptions of course, that provide some breakfast options that open up at 8:30/when the park opens.

Is Epcot Food and Wine Festival worth it?

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is absolutely worth it! Since the festival has no additional cost (other than park admission) there really is no reason not to enjoy it!

There are various delicious food and beverage options (including some specialty adult beverages). There is fun merch to purchase, as well as free live performances.

You really can’t go wrong attending the Food & Wine Festival. In fact, the only negative thing that I have heard about it is that guests wish that they had spent more time at the Festival because there was so much to see and do!

How much does it cost to go to Epcot Food and Wine Festival?

The Food & Wine Festival itself doesn’t cost any additional cost. Guests who wish to attend, need a valid park admission ticket, and a valid park reservation in order to go!

Prices for the different food options vary, but can usually run between $5 – $8. Beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic can generally run between $5 – $10, depending on the drink.

It is important to remember that most of these food options are smaller portions, not quite a full meal, but a little bit more than a snack.

Can you walk around with alcohol at Epcot?

Yes! You can absolutely walk around Epcot (as well as a few other parks) with alcohol. The only rule is that you aren’t allowed to take it back to your hotel or vehicle.

In other words, guests won’t be allowed to actually leave the parks with the open container. Cast members will require you to either toss it or chug it at the turnstiles before you leave.

Do you need a separate ticket for Epcot Food and Wine Festival?

No! That is one of the great things about going to the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, is that there is no additional ticket that needs to be purchased.

All guests need is a valid park admission ticket, and a valid park reservation (or a park hopper ticket, then you can hop over after 2 pm). Without either one of these, you will not be allowed into the park.

Can you use Disney Gift Cards at Epcot Food and Wine?

Yes! Like most of the stores at EPCOT, the booths take all forms of payment. Cash, card, MagicBand, gift card, and even the Disney Visa Reward Dollars (available only to Disney Visa members).

For this Food & Wine Festival, EPCOT also offers a special International Food & Wine Festival gift card wristlet.

A themed gift card on a little wristlet making it easy for you to carry around. Just load up the gift card for your fun day at the festival.

What is the best day of the week to visit Epcot?

Realistically, the best day of the week to visit EPCOT will depend upon what you are looking for in your experience. Which I why I always hate saying that you should go on this day over that.

The weekends are going to be more crowded than the weekdays. But if you are attending the Food & Wine Festival, maybe there is a performance or concert that you are really wanting to see and they only are playing on a weekend.

The Wrap Up: EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival

There is a lot to see and do at the International Food & Wine Festival! From live entertainment to great food, it is going to be easy to get swept up in everything.

To really capitalize on your time, create a bit of a game plan, and know which food booths you must visit!

Also know if you can, take more than one day to enjoy the Food & Wine Festival! Seriously, nearly everyone who attends spends more than one day at the park. Those that spend only one day, wish that they spent at least 2 days there!

I cannot stress this enough, create a general game plan together for how you want to tackle the festival! And make sure you try lots of food, drink lots of cocktails or mocktails, enjoy the free concerts, and take lots of pictures. But most importantly, have fun!