2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Review & What You Need to Know

It’s the tastiest time of the year! The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival kicked off on August 29. The festival continues through November 23, 2024, giving guests plenty of days of tempting tastes, live entertainment, and festival fun for all ages. We enjoyed opening day, returned the following day, and have the information you need to make your visit the best yet. Read below for why you don’t want to miss this year’s festival!

1 – One of the Most Popular Festivals at EPCOT

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is one of the more popular festivals at EPCOT. Many guests make plans to visit in the late summer and fall so that they can enjoy the festival offerings. While the other festivals at EPCOT offer food and beverages, the offerings are not as plentiful as the Food & Wine Festival. The food and beverage items are truly the stars of the show, and it’s the reason most guests come back year after year.

2 – Global Marketplaces 

This year’s festival offers over thirty Global Marketplaces, themed locations throughout the park offering a wide variety of bites and sips. Several guest-favorite Global Marketplaces return to this year’s festival, including The Fry Basket, Flavors from Fire, Greece, Canada, India, and Spain.

Click here for the full menu lineup for this year’s Food & Wine Festival.

Visit our Instagram Reel below for prices and Disney Dining Plan snack designations for all Global Marketplaces and locations with Festival offerings.

There are five new Global Marketplaces this year. Macatizers and Festival Favorites are at the new CommuniCore Hall in World Celebration in the middle of EPCOT. Macatizers offers a roundup of macaroni and cheese dishes along with beer and wine selections. This was a popular spot on opening day and offers a nice break from the heat since it is indoors. There is limited seating inside and a small merchandise shop inside. Next to Mickey & Friends, the new Festival Favorites offers a variety of favorite dishes from past festivals. For example, the Ireland booth is no longer operating this year; however, guests can still get the popular Irish Milk Shake at Festival Favorites.

Along the walkway between World Showcase and the Imagination is where you’ll find the three other Global Marketplaces: Forest & Field, Milled & Mulled, and Bramblewood Bites. There is also a new seating area called Harvest Hollow in between Milled & Mulled and Brablewood Bites that is a great spot to relax and enjoy your food and beverages.

Returning for its second year, Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey invites guests to go on a flavorful adventure featuring the culinary creations – and madcap mishaps – of Muppet Labs. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his trusty partner, Beaker, have concocted some items you don’t want to miss. Wing options include both traditional chicken wings and plant-based options. The famous pickle milkshake is also back for guests to enjoy (or not).

3 – Eat to the Beat Concert Series presented by Florida Blue Medicare

Musical acts from yesterday and today take to the stage during the Eat to the Beat Concert Series each evening. The live musical performances at the America Gardens Theatre will occur nightly, with local bands performing Tuesday through Thursday and well-known artists taking the stage each week from Friday to Monday.

Some of this year’s lineup includes:

• • Aug. 30-31 – The Fray
  • Sept. 1-2 – Sugar Ray
  • Sept. 6-7 – Hoobastank
  • Sept. 8-9 – Yellowcard (NEW)
  • Sept. 13-14 – Tiffany
  • Sept. 15-16 – MercyMe
  • Sept. 20-21 – Sheila E.
  • Sept. 22-23 – The Wanted (NEW)
  • Sept. 27 – Luis Figueroa
  • Sept. 28-29 – Mau Y Ricky (NEW)
  • Sept. 30 – Jesse & Joy (NEW)
  • Oct. 4-5 – Aloe Blacc (NEW)
  • Oct. 6-7 – Joey Fatone & Friends
  • Oct. 11-12 – We The Kings
  • Oct. 13-14 – Switchfoot
  • Oct. 18-19 – David Archuleta (NEW)
  • Oct. 20-21 – Billy Ocean
  • Oct. 25-28 – Hanson
  • Nov. 1-2 – Haley Reinhart featuring Emily Estefan, Casey Abrams and Janel Parrish  (NEW)
  • Nov. 3-4 – Boyz II Men
  • Nov. 8-9 – Magic! (NEW)
  • Nov. 10-11 – Parmalee (NEW)
  • Nov. 15-16 – Smash Mouth
  • Nov. 17-18 – 98 Degrees

Special packages are available that include dinner in one of the park’s world-class restaurants and guaranteed seating for a concert performance. The Eat to the Beat Dining Packages are available at select EPCOT restaurants Friday through Monday and offer guaranteed seating for performances. Learn more at TasteEPCOT.com.

4 – Scavenger Hunts

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival also offers fun for the whole family. Another highlight for many is the scavenger hunts and food strolls, encouraging guests to interact and explore World Showcase together.

Emile’s Fromage Montage is a fun way to sample delectable cheeses served in a variety of ways. With the purchase of any five cheese dishes listed on the back of the Festival Passport, guests collect a stamp. Once they have collected five stamps, they can visit Shimmering Sips hosted by CORKCICLE for a specialty treat.

Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak is a “Ratatouille”-inspired adventure that is très magnifique! Explorers can purchase a map and stickers from select festival merchandise locations and search for Remy statuettes throughout World Showcase and the Global Marketplaces. Whether or not they complete the hunt, they can redeem their map to receive a special festival keepsake.

During October, or while supplies last, Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit is the perfect way for kids of all ages to usher in the gourd times. It is easy to join in the fun. Guests purchase a special map and stickers, then search throughout EPCOT for hidden Disney character-themed decorative pumpkins. Maps can be redeemed at the end of the hunt, whether or not they are completed, for a spooky festival keepsake.

5 – Spectacular Merchandise to Savor

Crave-worthy festival merchandise collections ensure that the festival magic continues at home. Three new collections are available for purchase and include:

• • The 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival Event Logo Collection features commemorative apparel, accessories, kitchen essentials, and more.
  • The Chef Mickey Mouse Collection is a new collection featuring home decor items, plush, and apparel.
  • The Chef Remy Collection includes a character kitchen timer, drinkware, apparel, and more!
  • The Chef Figment Collection features guests’ favorite purple dragon donning his chef hat!

Look for the perfect festival memento at the Creations Shop, Food & Wine merchandise kiosks throughout EPCOT, and in World Traveler at International Gateway.

Two new exclusive Disney Gift Card wristlets showing artwork featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. These cards are available at merchandise locations throughout EPCOT during the festival. You can use them to pay easily at Global Marketplaces, merchandise locations, and anywhere else a Disney Gift Card is accepted!

6 – So Much More to See and Do

In addition to enjoying the festival, guests can explore the endless possibilities that EPCOT has to offer. Since last year’s festival, many new offerings have opened, including “Luminious the Symphony of Us,” Dreamer’s Point and World Celebration Gardens, and CommuniCore Hall and Plaza. Guests can help save the galaxy on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, shrink to the size of Remy on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, dine with Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, and so much more.

Editor’s Note: Walt Disney World provided us with complimentary theme park tickets to EPCOT and a Disney Gift Card to enjoy some festival offerings. However, as always, the thoughts and opinions contained in this article are entirely our own.