Will you be visiting the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival for the first time in 2026?

Whether you’re a seasoned EPCOT Food & Wine Festival goer or new to the whole EPCOT festival game, we’re going to do our best to make sure you’re prepared. For starters, we’ll be getting you reviews for every single festival food booth, and outline all there is to see and do at the festival, too. But before we get into that, let’s talk about what you need to know if you’re going to the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.

The 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, which runs from August 27th through November 21st, will feature dozens of global marketplace food booths throughout World Showcase, as well as additional locations in the park. There are also some fun activities you can take part in during the festival, including Remy’s Ratatouille Hide ‘n’ Squeak Scavenger Hunt, where you’ll search for hidden Remys throughout World Showcase. Find them all, and you’ll earn a prize!

You can also indulge in a Cheese Crawl, called Emile’s Fromage Montage. You’ll be tasked with ordering five of the suggested cheesy snacks, and when you do, you’ll get a prize!

There is also LIVE entertainment. Some of your favorite bands from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s will take to the stage at American Gardens Theater for the Eat to the Beat concert series.

So, yes, there is a lot to eat, see, and do…so here are the procedures you need to follow for the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Get there early

Because there is SO much to the festival, you’ll want to make sure you get to EPCOT early, especially if you have plans to sneak some EPCOT rides into your plans, too. We recommend taking advantage of rope drop, but it’s even better if you can use Early Theme Park Entry, which is available to all Disney World guests. This will get you into EPCOT 30 minutes before everyone else.

Now, the festival booths won’t all necessarily be open that early, but that gives you time to knock out a few rides, grab your festival passport, and be ready when the booths start to open. Lines can get long at the booths, so this will give you a head start.

Pick up a festival passport

The festival passport is your guide to the festival and includes all the food booth menus, information about all the activities, showtimes for the Eat to the Beat concerts, and more. The festival also includes what you need to participate in Emile’s Fromage Montage, too — when you eat an item on the list, you’ll get a sticker for your passport.

You can pick up a passport at a display just after you enter EPCOT through either of its entrances or at any of the festival food booths. If you have trouble finding one, just ask a Cast Member.

Map out your plan

Before you even GO to EPCOT, you should already have an idea of which food booths you want to hit, and which ones are your priority (don’t worry…we’ll help you with that). You don’t want to be running back and forth all over World Showcase and retracing your steps, after all.

So figure out which booths you’re going to visit and a strategic route that will get you to them without having to do any backtracking. We’ll drop a map of the food booths before the festival starts, so be looking for that!

Bring your appetite

Festival day is NOT the best day to visit an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, trust us. There is a LOT of food at the festival, and if you don’t arrive hungry, you might end up missing out on a lot of it. Have a small breakfast (if you must) or have a late breakfast at one of the food booths (there’s even a food booth dedicated to brunch food and drinks).

Likewise, don’t book any table service meals for the day. Make the festival your meals, and you’ll be able to try out more food and drinks.

Budget

The food and drinks at the festival are generally served in small portion sizes, so you will end up ordering a lot more than you intended, meaning you could spend a lot of money throughout your festival day. You should set a budget so you don’t go TOO overboard and stick to it.

A good way to help you budget is to invest in a special festival gift card that you can put a certain amount of money on. Then you can just use that to pay for your festival food and drinks, and know when you’ve spent all the money you’ve allocated for the festival.

Figure out your merchandise strategy

Will you be wanting festival souvenirs? If so, figure out when you want to shop…do you want to do it early? Or do you want to do it after you’re finished eating and drinking everything? Do you want to do it in the middle of the day? Set aside some time for shopping.

You’ll also want to know HOW you’re shopping for merchandise. Which store (or stores) are you planning on visiting? There are also kiosks set up throughout World Showcase with festival merchandise, too. You don’t want to be running from one location to another, so make a plan.

Go multiple days

The best strategy to really feel like you’re getting the most out of the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is to go multiple days, if you can. One day really isn’t enough time to try everything, or even everything that might be on your food and drinks list. Multiple days means you’re not rushing from one food booth to the next.

Now, we know not everyone can make room in their vacation for multiple days in EPCOT, but if the festival is your priority, you should really consider it. If you can’t, though, you’ll want to make a list of priorities. For example, pick three food booths that are your top priorities, and then have another list of your secondary priorities if you manage to get through your first three.

Stay for a show

Remember that Eat to the Beat concert series we told you about? You might want to stick around for the show! They usually happen several times in the afternoon and evening, so you have plenty of chances to see some of your favorite performers LIVE.

In the past, we’ve seen John Stamos with the Beach Boys, Mercy Me, The Fray, Hanson, Bowling For Soup, and other major acts. If you want guaranteed seating, you might also want to consider an Eat to the Beat dining package.

Get the DFB Guide

The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is the largest EPCOT festival of the year, and it can be tricky to navigate, even if you’ve been before. Well, we’ve put together our best tips, tricks, resources, and advice in one handy guide that you can pre-order right now so you can handle the festival like a pro.

Our guide includes every festival food booth with information on all the food and drinks, as well as details about everything else the festival has to offer.

We’ll be covering everything about the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, so stay tuned to DFB for more.

I’ve Tried Every EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Hack in Disney World, and I’m Sharing the 7 That Work Every Time

Will you be going to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival this year? Let us know in the comments!