Heads up: If you’re heading to EPCOT in late October, the park’s hours are CHANGING for two days!
Spaceship Earth
On both October 23rd and 25th, EPCOT’s opening will be delayed by an hour. The park will open to the public at 10 AM each day, with Early Entry for Disney World hotel guests beginning at 9:30 AM instead of 8:30 AM, but it’s for a good reason.
These delayed openings are due to the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. EPCOT is the starting and finish line for runDisney races, which in turn affects the park’s operating hours. The 23rd and 25th, respectively, coincide with the Wine & Dine 5K and the Wine & Dine Half-Marathon.
©Disney
Of course, these runDisney-influenced alterations aren’t the only dates on EPCOT’s calendar that guests need to be aware of in October. The month also plays host to a large chunk of EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival, which runs from August 27th to November 21st this year. As always, the event — which is included in EPCOT admission — is loaded with foods from all around the world spread across the park. October even saw the final four booths at this year’s festival — India, The Alps, Earth Eats, and Coastal Eats — open on October 2nd.
Seafood Pot Pie
In addition to the food, the festival is well known for the included Eat to the Beat concert series. Scheduled acts for the remainder of October include:
- 18th: Jaclyn Hayden
- 19th – 20th: Ben Rector
- 21st – 22nd: Allen Stone (NEW)
- 23rd – 25th: SoundUp
- 26th – 27th: Lauren Alaina (NEW)
- 28th – 29th: Bowling For Soup
- 30th – 31st: Southbound
Eat to the Beat
Extended Evening Hours
Extended Evening Hours offer two extra hours to guests staying at Disney Deluxe Tier or Deluxe Villa resorts at select theme parks on select evenings after the park closes to the general public. October’s remaining Extended Evening Hours offering for EPCOT is October 19th from 9 PM to 11 PM.
World Showcase
The Extended Evening Hours perk is available to guests at the following hotels:
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Jambo House
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas – Kidani Village
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – A Disney Vacation Club Resort (The extended evening theme park hours benefit applies to Disney Vacation Club Cabins only.)
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Walt Disney World Swan Hotel
- Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort
BoardWalk Inn
EPCOT is dealing with some runDisney-influenced changes to the park’s calendar in October. Stay tuned to DFB for more coverage of Disney World’s calendar.
Before you head to the park, know EVERYTHING the Food & Wine Festival has to offer this year!
These Disney Adult EPCOT World Showcase Hacks Are Getting Out of Control
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