YIKES! The crowds have shown up again in ONE Disney World park, and for the second weekend in a row, they’re intense.

We hoped that the crazy EPCOT crowds we saw last weekend were a fluke, but after visiting the park yesterday, we are worried we might have just found a new pattern.

If you’ve been following along recently, then you know that we were shocked to find a crazy amount of people in EPCOT last weekend, specifically in World Showcase.

It is currently a very popular time to visit EPCOT with the Food & Wine Festival well underway. A few days ago, the last several Food & Wine booths with delayed openings finally opened for guests to enjoy. So, even though we were hoping crowds would be more manageable this weekend in EPCOT, we were not incredibly surprised to find that the crowds had shown up once again and were ready to enjoy Food & Wine.

We noticed the majority of the crowds at the booths around the park and across World Showcase. However, the wait times also reflected how packed the park was, with some of the highest waits spiking far more than normal.

These are several of the highest wait times we saw in the park yesterday:

• Frozen Ever After: 70 minutes
• Soarin’ Across America: 70 minutes
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: 75 minutes
• Test Track: 105 minutes
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind: 140 minutes

Those wait times are incredibly intense, not to mention that you will likely have very long waits in the Festival booth lines around the park as well. And unfortunately, these crowds are most likely here to stay.

With Halloween right around the corner and the Holiday season following closely behind, we are getting ready to approach one of the busiest times of year at Disney World. And it is not surprising that EPCOT is seeing these crowds first, considering just how popular the Food & Wine Festival is and how many people plan their trips so they can enjoy it.

So if you are planning a trip to Disney World in the next few weeks and visiting EPCOT and attending the Food & Wine Festival is on your must-do list, then we suggest avoiding the weekends. While it has been busy all week, the high spike in crowds is something that is mainly happening on the weekends. So, when planning your trip, schedule your EPCOT day for during the week, and visit some of the other parks over the weekend.

Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass are also a great way to save time on your EPCOT day. These passes will let you skip the lines at participating attractions, giving you more time to enjoy Food & Wine. We also recommend Rope Dropping and getting to the park as soon as it opens to enjoy the lower crowds before the park fills for the day.

Rope Dropping is a really amazing strategy if you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort and get access to the 30-minute Early Entry. 30 minutes might not seem like a lot, but it can really set you up for success through the rest of your day.

Visiting Disney World is an incredible experience, and high crowds do not have to ruin your day. If you have a plan in place, know your party’s top priorities, and are prepared to deal with the crowds, you can still have an absolutely magical trip!

We are here to bring you all the news, tips, and tricks you need to plan your next Disney World vacation, so stay tuned to Disney Food Blog so you never miss anything!

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What do you think of these EPCOT crowds? Let us know in the comments!