The 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival has officially kicked off and we’ve got PLENTY of reviews for you to check out.

We won’t lie to you, though, it can be a lot. A lot of information, a lot of food, and most importantly — a lot of money. Between park tickets, food, merchandise, and more, the cost can really add up. But don’t worry, we’re here to keep you on track with a realistic budget for the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival!

We came, we saw, we ate and drank our way through the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, and you can check out our absolute Best of the Fest items here. But, a trip to this festival doesn’t necessarily come cheap, so we’ve put together an example budget of what you might expect to spend!

Park Tickets

In order to be able to eat and drink around the World Showcase and the rest of this festival, you’ve gotta have valid admission to the park! And, if you don’t already have a Disney World Annual Pass, that means you have to purchase a park ticket. These can vary based on the date of your visit, with popular dates tending to be more expensive.

This year, the Food & Wine Festival runs from July 27th to November 18th, which gives you plenty of opportunities to potentially factor in a trip. Typically, weekend tickets are more expensive than weekday tickets, which might affect your budget.

Luckily, though, we’ve already figured out the cheapest days to visit the festival this year. From what we’ve seen so far, the majority of the “cheap” days take place in August and September. Throughout the festival dates, park ticket prices range from $109 to $159.

Keep in mind that the cost of your trip will vary depending on the date you choose to visit, so make sure you look at the calendar when planning!

Click Here To See the CHEAPEST Dates for the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Food

If you’re planning a trip to the fest, we can probably assume one thing — you’re there to EAT! Other than tickets, this may be the area where you end up spending the most money. Now, this can be a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure sort of situation, but we’ll go over an example. Of course, you’ll find plenty of food booths scattered around the park.

Food items typically range from $4 to $10, and drinks can cost anywhere from $5 to $14 depending on what it is. So, let’s say you can expect to spend around $9 on average for food and drink items at the festival. It’s also important to keep in mind that these are typically smaller portions so don’t expect a huge meal.

But, that ends up kind of working in your favor. There are 28 booths at this year’s festival, along with other EPCOT food locations serving special festival items. Chances are you won’t actually be able to get something from every single booth in one day, and if you did, you’d be looking at around $250 based on the average price of items — quite a steep price.

A more realistic plan would be to maybe plan based on the number of items and not the number of booths you want to visit — let’s say you get a total of 15 items throughout the day. This puts your budget a bit closer to $135 per person, based on the average cost of food and drink items.

Another plan is to share items with people in your group, which not only helps keep room in your stomach for more eats, but potentially more money in your pocket!

One of our favorite ways to stay on budget is to purchase a gift card! You can preload a certain amount on it, and when you’ve run out, you know you’ve hit your limit! You can always reload it if you decide you haven’t had your fill yet.

Merchandise

And then there’s the merch. You don’t have to purchase anything to commemorate your trip, but sometimes you get caught up in the moment and can’t resist. It’s better to have something budgeted than to accidentally overspend! Merchandise prices vary wildly depending on what exactly you’re trying to buy, but we’ve covered a few of the top items below.

Spirit Jerseys at Disney World are usually between $70 to $80, while regular short-sleeved T-shirts are between $30 to $40. Cups like Tervis Tumblers or Corkcicle items run between $25-$35. And, Minnie and Mickey ears can usually be found between $30-$40.

Assuming you pick up a couple of can’t-resist souvenirs, combined with your food budget that probably puts you at around $200 to $250 total for the day. Now, this doesn’t include your park ticket, and keep in mind that this is just an example budget. It totally depends on how much you eat and drink, if you purchase any merch, and whether or not you’re sharing with friends!

But hopefully, this helps you get a general idea of what it will cost to eat, drink, and shop during the festival!

We’re covering everything you need to know about the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, so be sure to following along with DFB for more!

Everything You Need To Eat and Drink at the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

Trying to plan the PERFECT trip to the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival? We’ll be keeping you updated on all of the latest. Click our links below for the information you need to know:

• Learn about the Eat to the Beat Concert Series and Dining Packages
• Check out ALL of the 2023 Food & Wine Booth Menus
• See what eats you’ll need to try to get a PRIZE at the Festival!

And don’t forget to pick up our 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival e-book! See more details about the book below.

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Are you heading to the Food & Wine Festival? Tell us in the comments.

The post A Realistic Budget for the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival first appeared on the disney food blog.