This EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Problem Makes Your Trip 10x HARDER

One of the most popular EPCOT festivals is just around the corner, starting on August 28th, and we’re ready to grab our forks and dive into delectable dishes across the park. The 2025 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is almost here!

2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

While this festival comes with new snacks to try, entertainment to watch, and merchandise to buy, it also comes with some problems you need to know about before scanning in and grabbing your festival passport.

First up, beware of the weather!

Food & Wine starts at the end of August, which brings in the heat. Many of the food booths are directly in the sun, so when you’re waiting in line, you might be questioning your desire to try that new snack you’ve been hearing great things about.

Waiting in line

A lot of the menu items are also geared towards the fall, which is great in theory, but not so spectacular when you consider that Orlando barely has a fall season. Don’t get us wrong — we love the Cheddar and Bacon Soup served with a pretzel roll at the Canada booth, along with the Filet Mignon with mushrooms and mashed potatoes, but when it feels like you’ve been walking around in a sauna, these dishes might not sound appealing.

One of our favorite festival eats!

If you’re thinking, “well, I could grab my food from the hot sun and then sit inside the air conditioning with my dish to cool down,” think again. While there are some indoor seating areas, the majority of them will be outside, and even worse, you might struggle to find tables. Many of the tables are high tops with no chairs, which can make you feel rushed during your meal.

Flavors From Fire

Another part to be aware of is the popularity of this festival. Despite running from August 28th to November 22nd, three whole months, this is a fan favorite festival that has people coming in time and time again.

Lines can get long on weekends

Many guests will come in after their work days to grab dinner in the parks, so even the evening time can be busy. That’s also when the Eat to the Beat Concert Series is, where artists perform in the American Gardens Theater. Some of these bands bring in HUGE lines like The Fray and Boyz II Men. The Beach Boys and Bowling for Soup are new this year, and we’re expecting big lines for them, too!

Eat to the Beat

Now that you know some problems with the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, how do you conquer them?

We recommend prioritizing your list. While you’re probably going to want to try 50 different foods across the booths, you should pick one or two that you can’t live without and then keep the others as back up. While the food booths can crank out food pretty fast, it feels like there are always long lines, and you don’t want to be stressed trying to get everywhere.

Food and Wine Passport

Don’t be afraid to split up your group, too! If some want to grab drinks from one booth and food from another, splitting up your group can help you make the most of your time.

Avoid the crowds

While there are definitely some dishes we could gobble up entirely by ourselves (okay, a lot of dishes), these are great opportunities to share, too. You won’t have to worry about fully settling down for a meal if you’re splitting one quick plate of dumplings before heading to the next.

Pão de Queijo: Brazilian cheese bread

For dealing with the weather, don’t forget to take those breaks inside. Whether you pop in to check out the merchandise or spend an hour sitting in the Odyssey, taking a break in the air conditioning can help you stay in the parks longer.

Some indoor seating

We’re going to be bringing you full coverage of the 2025 Food & Wine festival, so make sure you keep following Disney Food Blog for more!

FULL MENUS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 2025 EPCOT FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!