Beer flights and tasty eats: Everything you need to know about the 2022 Epcot Food & Wine Festival

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The 2022 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is in full swing at Walt Disney World.

The longest of Epcot’s four annual festivals, this celebration of food and drink from around the world features more than 25 global marketplaces representing cuisine from six continents, a popular concert series, limited-edition merchandise and family-friendly activities throughout the park.

With so much to eat, drink, see and do, here are our top tips for making the most of your visit to this year’s Epcot Food & Wine Festival.

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Planning your trip: When to go

Clocking in at a whopping 128 days this year, Epcot’s Food & Wine festival runs from July 14 through Nov. 19, so you still have plenty of time to visit. With Central Florida temperatures and humidity soaring at the start of the festival, we typically prefer sipping, noshing and strolling around the park more during the second half of the fest when the weather cools slightly.

If you’re trying to avoid the crowds, Friday and Saturday evenings tend to be busier with locals, and Mondays are typically busier with out-of-towners, thanks to extended evening theme park hours for guests staying at Walt Disney World’s Deluxe resorts.

The festival also overlaps with both the Halloween (Aug.12-Oct. 31) and holiday (Nov. 11-early January) seasons at Walt Disney World, as well as runDisney’s (sold-out) Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. To add some seasonal fun (or calorie-burning) to the mix, consider planning your visit to coincide with one of these time periods. Check out the schedule and availability for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party if you plan to visit during one of those seasons.

Related: Guide to visiting Walt Disney World

Where to stay

I always recommend staying on Walt Disney World property for convenience and perks extended to guests who stay in a Walt Disney World hotel. This includes early entry to all four theme parks and free transportation to and from your resort (freeing you up to wine taste without needing to get behind the wheel).

If you plan to spend a lot of time during your trip experiencing the festival, your best bets are the Epcot-area resorts — Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, Disney’s Yacht Club and Beach Club resorts and the Walt Disney World Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve, all of which are a short walk or boat ride from the park’s International Gateway entrance.

If you don’t need to be within walking distance, then solid options are Disney World’s monorail resorts — Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort.

Resorts accessed via the Disney Skyliner, which has a station just outside Epcot’s International Gateway, are also a convenient option and include Disney’s Riviera Resort, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

Related: These are the best hotels at Walt Disney World in 2022

How much does the festival cost?

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is included with regular park admission to Epcot. But of course, any food and beverages you try will cost extra.

With so many different food and drink offerings to sample, we like to visit a few evenings during a trip by park hopping — starting our day at a different park and heading over to Epcot in the evening for food, drinks and entertainment.

To park hop, you need a ticket with park-hopping privileges, which enables you to visit additional theme parks after 2 p.m., provided you’ve previously entered the park where you have your theme park reservation for the day.

Eating your way around the festival

As soon as you enter the park, pick up your Festival Passport, aka your “to-eat list.”

This free booklet includes the locations and menus for all of the festival’s marketplaces, plus information on entertainment, activities and merchandise. You can also view menus online and on your phone in the My Disney Experience app.

The Festival Passport also includes helpful notations next to menu items that are plant-based and/or gluten/wheat friendly. Guests with allergies or other dietary restrictions can also consult with a chef or trained Cast Member before placing their order at the marketplaces to ensure dishes are diet appropriate.

Most of the festival marketplaces are located around World Showcase. However, there are several in the park’s World Discovery area, perfect for grabbing a bite before or after riding Epcot’s newest attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (be sure to consult TPG’s guide to riding this epic new coaster).

Can’t-miss marketplaces for the best foods and drinks

Whether you’re a hardcore foodie or a less adventurous eater, one of the best things about the festival is that it gives you the chance to sample a vast range of cuisines.

This includes everything from inventive American dishes and drinks like smoked corned beef and bonfire beer (from the Flavors from Fire marketplace) and oysters Rockefeller and chardonnay (Coastal Eats) with pina colada funnel cake for dessert to international fare like charcuterie and paella (Spain), escargot brioche (France), roasted bratwurst (Germany) and stone-baked bread (Morocco).

Dishes are small and many are priced in a reasonable $5-$6 range, so you can sample taster portions of dishes you might be hesitant to shell out on for a full-size entree — and just might discover some new favorites.

Here’s a sampling of our festival go-to’s to whet your appetite.

The Fry Basket

This year’s festival debuts one new marketplace, and it’s a must-fry!

The Fry Basket serves four kinds of fries: plant-based adobo yuca fries with garlic-cilantro aioli and the fry flight — sea salt and malt vinegar fries, barbecued bacon fries, and sweet potato fries with toasted marshmallow cream and caramel whisky. We loved them all but the yuca fries are definitely our favorite from this booth.

India

The India marketplace has been winning over newcomers to Indian cuisine with its three hearty, flavorful dishes: crispy paneer, potato-and-pea samosas and chicken tikka masala. At just $6 or less, these hefty portions are big on flavor but light on your wallet.

We recommend sharing if you want to save room — all three of these dishes are delicious but filling.

Calling all noodle lovers

Whether you prefer your noodles in a brothy soup or smothered in cheesy goodness, there’s a dish to try come Aug. 15, when two more must-visit booths, both serving up comfort-food favorites, open a month after the official start of the fest.

At the Noodle Exchange, try four different steaming bowls of noodles in flavorful broth — traditional spicy Vietnamese beef pho, char siu pork udon, shrimp and coconut-curry rice noodles, and tofu pho with enoki mushrooms and Thai basil.

Mac & Eats will dish out three different types of mac: traditional macaroni and cheese with herbed panko; cowboy macaroni and cheese with smoked pork belly, brisket burnt ends, pickled peppers, onion straws and barbecue aioli; and even a plant-based option — chili-cheese macaroni and cheese with plant-based sour cream and cheddar cheese.

We haven’t had this vegan option yet but last year’s plant-based mac was so creamy and satisfying that we never missed the dairy.

Related: How to use points to get tickets to Disney World

Earth Eats

There are quite a few delicious plant-based options around the festival for vegans and vegetarians. One booth where the plant-based fare is center stage is Earth Eats, hosted by Impossible.

This year, a returning favorite, the Impossible Burger slider with wasabi cream and spicy slaw, is joined by a new dish, Impossible Meatball with herbed polenta, rustic puttanesca sauce and basil pesto. I love them both and refuse to choose my favorite!

More than just wine

It might be called the Food & Wine Festival, and there are countless wine varietals to keep oenophiles busy, but beer and cocktail connoisseurs also get ample opportunities to taste new tipples. From pumpkin barrel ale and roast coffee hard cider at Hops & Barley to Key lime kolsch from Refreshment Outpost and St. George Ethiopian lager from the Kenya marketplace, brew lovers are spoiled for choice.

If cocktails are more your thing, try the drink that has guests talking for the second year in a row: the bourbon bloody mary from the Swanky Saucy Swine, made with Seaside Grown bloody mary mix and Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve bourbon whiskey, garnished with a piece of bacon.

Wine, beer and cider drinkers who want to taste as much as possible without overindulging should look out for the beer, wine and cider flights which include three taster portions and are available at numerous marketplaces.

The festival’s ‘coolest’ booths

Most of the festival marketplaces are outdoors, so you’ll typically find yourself bellying up to high-top tables or nearby outdoor benches or picnic tables to eat.

If the sweltering Florida sun gets to be too much, beat the heat in one of the festival’s two main indoor marketplaces: Appleseed Orchard in the Canada pavilion and Brew-Wing at the Odyssey (Tangierine Cafe could be called a third but there isn’t enough indoor space to count on it being a guarantee to cool off).

Appleseed Orchard borrows its real estate from the Circle-Vision 360 show, “Canada Far and Wide.” Come here for the apple ciders, apple-infused beers (flights are available if you’re indecisive) and apple crumble tart; stay for the AC and 360-degree orchard visuals.

The name says it all at Brew-Wing at the Odyssey, where you can try five types of chicken wings plus fruit-infused beers, ciders and a plant-based dish — crispy Brussels sprouts with Buffalo sauce. Some of the wings definitely bring the heat, but there are plenty of indoor tables so you can stay cool while you eat.

‘Eat to the Beat’ concert series

Festival visitors can see some seriously big-name bands — no concert ticket needed — three times a night at the America Gardens Theatre. Catch performances from acts like Air Supply, Boyz II Men, Hanson, 38 Special and Billy Ocean every night of the festival at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Check the schedule in advance to make sure you don’t miss your favorite.

Stand-by seating is typically available, but if you have your heart set on great seats to see your favorite band, “Eat to the Beat” dining packages are available at six different Epcot restaurants. For a set price that varies by restaurant, you’ll get an appetizer, entree and dessert (or buffet meal where applicable) and nonalcoholic beverage, plus a guaranteed seat for the concert.

Related: These are the best restaurants at Disney World 

Scavenger-hunt your way around the festival

Disney has come up with an ideal solution for parents who want to keep kids entertained and moving around World Showcase while grown-ups enjoy their drinks and bites.

Every Epcot festival includes at least one seasonal scavenger hunt and they are easily my kids’ favorite part of every festival.

During the Food & Wine Festival, Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak takes participants on a search for Pixar rat chef Remy around the park.

To play, purchase a map for $9.99 from one of a number of shops around the park and look for Remy hiding with some of his favorite ingredients around the festival marketplaces (hint: Look up!). When you complete the hunt (and even if you don’t finish it), you can pick up a prize at numerous redemption locations.

If you’re visiting between Sept. 29 and Oct. 31, you’ll have another scavenger hunt to try — Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit. This Halloween-themed pumpkin hunt previously launched at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney District but makes its Walt Disney World debut this September.

And if you prefer your challenges to be edible, Emile’s Fromage Montage is a cheesy take on a scavenger hunt around the festival. Try five dishes from a list of 10 of the festival’s most fromage-focused fare and collect a stamp in your booklet for each one (duplicates are allowed).

Once you’ve nibbled your way through all five, visit Shimmering Sips hosted by Corkcicle, the festival’s presenting sponsor, for an edible prize (no additional spending required).

Not sure which ones to choose? A few of our favorites are the griddled cheese from Greece, the crispy paneer from India and the warm raclette from The Alps.

Limited-time festival merchandise

You’re likely not surprised that during the festival, “shopportunities” abound, with five limited-time festival merchandise collections available.

Shop souvenirs themed to Princess Tiana, Chef Mickey and Chef Minnie Mouse, Chef Figment, the 2022 festival artwork and event logo, plus a special collection just for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders. In addition to the usual Minnie ears, Spirit Jerseys and MagicBands, Food & Wine Festival merchandise includes themed kitchen and picnic items, from aprons and rolling pins to wine glasses and cooler bags.

‘Be Our Guest’ Spaceship Earth special

Epcot first unveiled its “Beacons of Magic” display, which illuminates Spaceship Earth with “points of light” synced to music, for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary, which kicked off on Oct. 1, 2021. Since then, an additional lighting display and song has debuted for the launch of each Epcot festival. For Food & Wine, Walt Disney Imagineers created a display to the tune of “Be Our Guest” in both English and French, complete with visuals that mimic rising Champagne bubbles and the colors of the French flag.

Extra fun for foodies: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic

If one food and wine festival isn’t enough, plan your visit to coincide with the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food & Wine Classic, Nov. 11-12.

As we mentioned above, the Marriott-owned Swan, Dolphin and Swan Reserve are ideally situated for easy access to Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival. They also offer Deluxe-caliber accommodations on Walt Disney World property for less money than Disney-owned-and-operated Deluxe-tier resorts. They’re also a great use of Marriott Bonvoy points when available for points bookings.

A $165 ticket to the Food & Wine Classic includes unlimited tastings from the resort’s award-winning restaurants as well as bottomless wine, beer and beverage samplings. Held on the resort’s stunning palm tree-lined causeway between the Swan and Dolphin hotels, the event also includes live entertainment, themed areas and add-on interactive seminars.

Related: Review of the Walt Disney Swan Reserve

Bottom line

Epcot’s International Food & Wine Festival adds an extra layer of food, drink and entertainment offerings that enhances a visit to the park.

While festivals do sometimes draw additional crowds, they also help to spread out demand across the park and typically reduce overall wait times for food and beverages with all the additional outlets that pop up.

Even if food and wine aren’t a top priority for your family, the scavenger hunts, affordable tasting-sized menu portions (my kids love to get their own Festival Passport and choose a dish or two to try), and live music all add even more flavor and variety to a day at Epcot.

Featured photo by Brooke McDonald/The Points Guy.