Can you believe it’s almost time for EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival?!

This year is going by SO fast, but we are definitely excited for the festival to begin! It kicks off on July 14th and runs alllll the way until November 19th. So, you have a very long time to check out all the festival has to offer! We’ve already seen what all of the food booths are going to be at the festival, but there is even more you can do to prepare for your trip, let’s get into it!

Look at Booths & Menus

You gotta be prepared for what food you want to eat during the festival! Sure, you could just wing it, but then you might miss out on certain dishes or forget about things you wanted to try.

So, to do this, we suggest reviewing what food booths will be at the festival and what their menus look like. This year, there will be over 25 booths at the festival.

To help you plan even more, we create an exclusive map every year so you know exactly where each food booth is and don’t get lost! With so many booths, it’s easy to miss where some of them might be, so it’s great keep the map handy.

Click here to see ALL of the food booths and menus for the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival!

Set a Budget

We update the prices on the food menus as soon as they’re released so that you can plan on how much money you’re going to spend. Make sure to take the time to add up how much your must-have food and drink items will cost, and then give yourself some cushion for other things you might want to try!

Also, keep in mind that sometimes prices increase from festival to festival, so you can’t exactly rely on last year’s budget.

A good way to stick to your budget during a festival is to get a pre-paid Disney gift card so you have the exact amount you want to spend on it and can’t go over!

We also have 3 different budget plans for EPCOT festivals that you can take a look at and use as your guide! Check them out right here.

Check out our budgeting tips from last year’s festival! 

Plan Ahead

You should make sure to have somewhat of a plan going into your festival day. If you want to get to the food booths right when they open, you should get into the park before 11AM. If EPCOT isn’t your first park of the day, remember that you can’t park hop into the park until 2PM, so that cuts your time at the festival short.

It’s also a good time to consider advance dining reservations. Do you want a sit down meal during your festival day? Or, would you rather save all that stomach space JUST for festival foods? Just be mindful that sit down meals can take longer than expected at times and that food booths close RIGHT when the park closes (they also can close down for bad weather!). So, factor that in to your plan for the day!

In previous years, before the pandemic, we would suggest you be mindful of your FastPass times, but now FastPasses have been replaced with Disney Genie+. You can no longer make reservations to skip the lines in advance. Instead, you make them the day of and you can only make one at a time (except for the 120 minute rule). If you want to use Genie+ at EPCOT during the festival, you’ll have to remain flexible, since you don’t know what time your Lighting Lane (old FastPass lane) reservations will be at.

Also, if you’re planning on using the virtual queue or buying an individual Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, you will have to be up by 7AM to snag those in the morning, or be in the park at 1PM to try and get in the virtual queue if you missed the 7AM one. And, keep in mind going on the ride will take away from being at the festival.

If you’re interested the Eat to the Beat Concert Series, you’ll want to go ahead and look at the concert lineup to see who is playing while you’re at the festival! There are also Eat to the Beat Dining Packages available, which you can reserve right now. These include a meal at select EPCOT restaurant and guarantee you a seat for that night’s concert.

Click here to learn more about Eat to the Beat!

Get the DFB Guide to the 2022 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival!

If you want to be SUPER well-prepared, go ahead and order the DFB Guide to the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival! Inside, you’ll find touring strategies, every food booth menu item, a full daily schedule, and so much more. It can help you save a lot of time and maximize your fun, and it’s a great lifeline to have when you’re feeling overwhelmed by the festival!

We’ve been going to the festival for decades, so the guide has our very best tips and info to help you out!

Click here to get the DFB Guide to the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival!

We’ll be keeping you up to date on EVERYTHING going on with EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival, so make sure you stay tuned to DFB for news and updates!

Click here for insider tips for the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival!

Are you going to Food and Wine Festival this year? Tell us in the comments!

The post 4 Things You Must Do Before the 2022 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival Begins! first appeared on the disney food blog.