We hope you brought your appetite because it’s almost time for the 2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival!

This year’s event is scheduled to run from July 27th to November 18th, and we can’t wait to try out everything the festival has to offer. We’re expecting some delicious eats, iconic entertainment, and mesmerizing merchandise, along with plenty of other experiences confirmed to return. But, there are a few things we’re still waiting to hear about — and we’re sharing everything we know.

Back in the before 2020 times, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival used to host seminars and demonstrations, book signings, chef meet and greets, and other low-cost or free events that were terrific opportunities to enhance your festival experience! But, since the festival’s return following the pandemic, these special events have yet to return. We were hopeful 2022 was the year and were sorely disappointed. Will 2023 bring about the return of seminars and demonstrations at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival? Here’s what we know.

2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is an annual celebration of global cuisine in Disney World. The dates for the 2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival are July 27th through November 18th. And if you ask us, we’re pretty darn excited about it. So far, we know that quite a few festival offerings will be returning — but we’ll get to that later.

Disney has confirmed that over 25 delicious Global Marketplace Food Booths will be at this year’s event, which is arguably the most exciting news of it all. You read that correctly — over 25 different booths with drinks and eats for you to try.

The food booths at the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival offer small, tapas-sized plates and/or small servings of alcohol that are associated with the region of the world or theme that the booth represents.

In addition to food booths, the Food & Wine Festival also features live entertainment, special merchandise, scavenger hunts, and other park activities, and in the past — food and beverage seminars.

Past Seminars and Demos

In the past, Disney hosted quite a few different special events that took folks’ Food & Wine experiences to the next level. Culinary Demos, Beverage Seminars, Food and Beverage Pairings, and Mix It! Make It! Seminars were typically offered from year to year, allowing guests to really be part of the action.

These events used to be held at the World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, which is often where Disney hosts festival-specific events. We’ve seen food booths pop up here from time to time, and it’s also been used for festival merchandise. The seminars and demos took place on various days of the week depending on which one you were interested in attending.

Culinary demos let you behind the scenes and into the minds of some iconic chefs, while food and beverage pairings allowed guests to wine and dine even more than they already had at the festival. The Mix It! Make It! Workshops varied based on availability, but we’ve seen some awesome hands-on events like cheese-making and cupcake decorating.

Everything CONFIRMED To Return This Year

Disney has not released the full list of Global Marketplaces for the 2023 festival, but The Fry Basket, Flavors From Fire, Canada, India, and Spain are all returning this year.

The Eat to the Beat Concert Series will also be BACK in 2023! These music events feature “internationally recognized artists as well as local bands” that perform on the America Gardens Theatre stage.

And for those of you who love to explore the park through the EPCOT Festival scavenger hunts — Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak (the Food & Wine scavenger hunt) will be returning this year, along with Emile’s Fromage Montage!

Of course, there will also be plenty of Food & Wine merchandise in the parks and beyond, but Disney still hasn’t confirmed whether or not the seminars and demos will be returning. There’s still time before the festival rolls around, though, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

What We Know

Disney is keeping quiet when it comes to further details about the 2023 Food & Wine Festival. Since the dates and initial information were announced, we haven’t heard a peep. This doesn’t necessarily mean that food and beverage seminars aren’t returning this year, though. EPCOT is undergoing a massive transformation, and part of that includes the construction of CommuniCore Hall and Plaza.

A dedicated festival area was previously announced for EPCOT to serve as the new “home base” for EPCOT’s seasonal Festivals and live events! CommuniCore Hall and CommuniCore Plaza will be housed in EPCOT’s World Celebration, bringing EPCOT International Festivals “to the center of Walt Disney World,” according to Disney.

And, construction is slated to be completed in “late 2023.” While that could mean anything from August through December, the Food & Wine Festival runs through mid-November, so there is a chance this area could be done just in the nick of time.

The hall will boast a demonstration kitchen, a mixology bar, and exhibition and gallery space — sounds pretty perfect for those seminars if you ask us!

So, while there’s no way for us to be certain at this moment, it’s very possible that we could see the return of food and beverage seminars and demonstrations to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival this year. At the very least, we’ll have our fingers crossed and will let you know of any updates.

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Everything You Need To Know About the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

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What’s your favorite part of the Food & Wine Festival? Let us know in the comments!

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