Thinking of heading to the 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival? Not even sure where to start planning?

We’ve got you covered! So far, we’ve shared a look at the booths that are confirmed to be at this year’s festival, the entertainment coming to the festival, and more. But, now we’re going to break it all down for you in one place, and give you some of our top tips to conquer the festival!

Dates

First thing’s first, you need to know when the Food & Wine Festival will be taking place. The 2021 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival will be taking place from July 15th through November 20th, 2021.

That’s a pretty long stretch of time! Should you go at the start of the festival? Closer to the end? There are a variety of reasons why you might pick one over the other (especially due to the opening date of some booths — more on that in a second).

Click here to see our thoughts on when you should book a trip to the Food & Wine Festival.

Food and Drinks

Next, let’s dive into one of the most IMPORTANT things at this festival — the food and drinks!

So far, Disney has already released the complete list of ALL of the food booths that will be available at this year’s festival. The list includes things like The Alps, Australia, The Donut Box, and more! We’ve already started to see some of the booths pop up in EPCOT.

Keep in mind that you’ll find booths for this festival around World Showcase, inside of the World Showplace building (between the United Kingdom and Canada), and in Future World too.

Included in the list of booths for this year are a few returning booths. But, some booths from the past won’t be coming back.

Click here to see what you need to know about these returning booths.

The list also includes 8 new booths that will be joining the festival this year! There will be a new Kenya booth, a booth aimed at giving guests a taste of New England with lobster creations, and even a booth dedicated to noodles and another one dedicated to Mac & Cheese!

Not all of these new booths will open on the first day of the festival though!

In fact, Disney has announced that 9 of the booths at this year’s festival (some of which are returning booths, and some of which are new booths) won’t open until October 1st. The list of booths that won’t open until October 1st includes The Alps, Brazil, the new Mac & Eats booth, and more.

If visiting one of these booths is important to you, then you’ll want to take a close look at your plans. If you were thinking of visiting EPCOT during August or September, you may want to delay that trip so you can sample items from the booths that won’t open until later.

Just remember that October 1st marks the start of Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebrations. Park Passes have already started to fill up around that time and there will be LOTS of new things drawing people to the parks, and to EPCOT specifically.

On October 1st, EPCOT’s new fireworks show, Harmonious, will debut. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and La Creperie de Paris will also open. It’s going to be a BUSY day. If you want to try something from the booths that won’t open until October 1st, but you don’t want to get stuck in the crowds, you may want to wait until a bit later in October or even November to go.

Click here to see the full list of booths that won’t open until October 1st.

Okay so we’ve talked about the booths, but what food items will be served specifically at those booths? Disney hasn’t shared all the details yet but we’re on the lookout! Be sure to check this page in the future, as we’ll be posting full menu details there when they’re released!

We have, however, gotten a list of the items that will be at the Joffrey’s Coffee locations in EPCOT for the festival.

And we’ve gotten a list of the items that will be on the cheese crawl that is part of the festival. The cheese crawl’s official name is Emile’s Fromage Montage! If you get all 5 cheesy dishes that are listed for the crawl, you can get a special prize at the end.

You may look at the number of booths that will be available at the festival this year (it’s a LOT) and wonder how you can get it all done. Well, we can help!

In our DFB Guide to the Food & Wine Festival, we’ve got a TON of tips all about how to conquer the festival. In the Guide, we break down the full list of booths, we share our tips from previous festivals, we share information you should know about the festival, AND we even have festival strategy plans for you!

That’s right, we’ve done the planning for you! We’ve got a 1-day strategy, a 2-day strategy, a budget strategy, and even special “crawls” designed for specific food types (like a seafood crawl, chocolate-lovers crawl, and more)! 

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE 2021 FOOD AND WINE GUIDE. USE CODE CHEFS TO GET 20% OFF! 

Entertainment

The Food & Wine Festival is about so much more than just the food and wine though. There’s also lots of entertainment to enjoy. This year, you’ll get to catch many of the same acts we’ve seen during recent festivals, including performances from Mariachi Cobre, the Jammin Chefs, and the Voices of Liberty.

Typically, during the Food & Wine Festival there is a concert series called “Eat to the Beat” which brings popular bands from recent decades to the stage in the America Gardens Theatre. This year, however, it appears those Eat to the Beat concerts will not be taking place. Instead, a different series of live concerts called The America Gardens Bandstand will be performing.

The live concert series will happen Friday through Monday nights featuring local bands from Central Florida, which is very similar to what was announced for the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival.

Click here to see the new concert experience that came to the Flower & Garden Festival this year.

Activities

If you’re looking for activities to do (outside of eating and drinking or checking out the cool entertainment), then you’ll want to look into the Remy-themed scavenger hunt that will be returning to the festival this year!

Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak is a great activity for adults and kids to participate in. To participate (and win a PRIZE) you’ll want to buy the map and stickers from select Festival merchandise locations.

Then, you’ll go hunting around World Showcase for various statues of Remy with certain food items. You’ll mark those on your map and bring it back to participating locations later in the day. Then, it’s time to choose your prize!

This activity can be especially great for little kiddos who might not be as excited about trying all of the unique food and drinks as you are. It’ll help keep them entertained and motivated to make their way around the park.

Click here to see more about this activity!

Merchandise

Of course, we can’t forget about the merchandise! During each festival, there are typically all kinds of themed merchandise for fans to grab, including some Passholder exclusive items. So far we’ve seen a first look at the 2021 Food & Wine Festival merchandise, which includes a Be Our Guest collection, a Remy Shake Things Up Collection, and more.

If you love Corkcicle cups, then you’ll totally want to check out the exclusive Shimmering Sips Corkcicle that will be available at select Festival locations this year.

We still don’t have a price for this new offering, but we’ll be on the lookout for more details!

Click here to get a first look at the Festival merchandise!

Special Events & Celebrity Chefs

One of the signature things that is typically available at the Food & Wine Festival is a series of special events. Usually, you can sign up for culinary demonstrations and beverage seminars, meet celebrity Chefs, and even check out some low-cost demonstrations.

Additionally, the Party for the Senses special event is typically offered. This is a popular event that gives guests the chance to sample lots of dishes from a variety of tasting stations. In our DFB Guide to the Food & Wine Festival, we have details about all of these events which have been offered in the past so that you can learn more about each of them.

This year, however, Disney has not announced any special events, seminars, demonstrations, celebrity Chef appearances, or Party for the Senses offerings for the 2021 Festival. 

Marathon

If you’re looking to burn off a few of those calories after eating your way around the world, then you can participate in the 2021 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, which will be returning to Disney World this fall!

This year’s Villians-themed Wine & DineHalf Marathon Weekend will take place from November 4th through the 7th, close to the end of the Food & Wine Festival.

You can sign up for a variety of races including a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and 2-Course Challenge, as well as a post-race party. And there will be virtual races for those who can’t be there in person.

Registration has opened for Club runDisney members, and it will open up for general registration access soon! We’ve got an entire section in the DFB Guide to the Food & Wine Festival about the half marathon weekend, details about the offerings, transportation, and more, so you can know just what to expect.

Click here to learn more details about registration for the Wine & Dine races!

Tips

Alright, now that you’ve got a general breakdown of what you need to know about the Festival, it’s time for some TIPS!

First tip — if you’re looking to avoid big crowds, try (if you can) to avoid visiting the Festival on the weekends or during the evenings. These are the times when the locals tend to visit EPCOT for the Festival, which can lead to long lines and large crowds.

Second tip — don’t forget to grab your Festival Passport as you enter the park. These booklets are totally FREE! They contain a complete list of the menu items you’ll find at each booth. They’ve also typically got a place for you to put a sticker (or in the olden days, get a stamp) when you’ve eaten at a particular booth. AND if you’ll be completing the cheese crawl, you’ll need this booklet to keep track of what items to grab and which ones you’ve already had.

Third tip — BUDGET! Eating your way around the Festival can get extremely expensive if you don’t set a budget. You can click here to see our top tips for budgeting at the Food & Wine Festival. And if you grab our DFB Guide, you’ll actually find an entire section dedicated to budgeting for the festival, as well as a budget strategy for conquering the festival.

Check out our links below to learn even more about the Festival and get more tips:

• Click here to see the ultimate packing list for the Food & Wine Festival
• Check out the 5 DFB Videos to watch before you visit the Food  & Wine Festival this year
• See what 5 mistakes you’re making at the Food & Wine Festival
• Learn about 9 myths about the Food & Wine Festival
• See if EPCOT Festivals are getting more expensive?

And click here to see what Disney WON’T tell you about the Food & Wine Festival, but we will!

There is a LOT to see, do, and eat at the Food & Wine Festival this year. We’re working to provide you with all the latest information and updates. We hope this guide helps you get a taste of what to expect this year.

Click here to see our best of the fest list from last year’s Food & Wine Festival!

If you want more information, be sure to check out our full DFB Guide to the Food & Wine Festival. And stay tuned for more details, full reviews of all the booths, and our list of top Festival picks!

CLICK HERE TO BUY THE 2021 FOOD AND WINE GUIDE. USE CODE CHEFS TO GET 20% OFF! 

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Will you be heading to the Food & Wine Festival this year? What questions do you have about the Festival? Tell us in the comments!

The post The Ultimate Guide to the 2021 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival first appeared on the disney food blog.