EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival 2025 Tips: What to Eat, When to Go & Hidden Secrets

If there’s one event that transforms EPCOT into a foodie paradise, it’s the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. Each year, Disney fans and food lovers flock to taste global flavors, sip creative drinks, and enjoy live entertainment. All this while soaking up that unmistakable EPCOT magic. But with so many food booths, limited time and big crowds, knowing what to eat, when to visit and how to navigate it all can make or break your festival experience.

In this post, I’ll share my strategy tips from my recent visit. Which menu items are worth your hard-earned money, and which can you skip? How do you avoid the heaviest crowds? What are some insider tricks for catching the Eat to the Beat Concert series? Plus I’ll give helpful hints on tackling Florida weather and ride wait times for you theme park adults.

And if you’re hungry for even more festival coverage, I’ve got full menu reviews and strategy videos coming to my YouTube channel. Be sure to check those out for a closer look at the flavors and fun!

The 2025 festival is in full swing and lasts through November 22. It is easily the most popular festival that EPCOT offers throughout the year. What started as a 30-day festival with a handful of food tents has turned into a three-month extravaganza!

The festival is very popular with locals, and a lot of visitors will add a day at EPCOT once they realize the festival is happening during their visit. The menu options change every year, and in 2025 there is even a new Global Marketplace in the mix – Goyzas of the Galaxy!

You’ll find the Global Marketplaces all along the main route through World Showcase, so it’s easy to make one big loop and try as many different food and drink options throughout the day. You’ll also find culinary and craft demos, plus most weekends you can take in free music during the Eat to the Beat concert series. And if you want an extra sweet treat, complete Emile’s Fromage Montage (from “Ratatouille“) for a specialty gift unique to this year’s festival! Check out my Sneak Peek blog post on the festival for more details.

While most of the food at the festival is good, this year has some definite hits. And some definite misses…

Let’s talk the can’t-miss items first. The China booth has a Smoked Duck Bao Bun every year, and it’s delicious. The Hoisin sauce pulls it all together, and the bun is nearly perfect every time.

If you love pourable cheese, don’t miss the Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese and Alpine Ham at The Alps booth. For people like me with tiny tummies, this is a full meal by itself!

The Global Marketplace in France is a must. I liked almost everything that booth offers, but the Chilled French Cosmo was the most refreshing drink I tried all day. Don’t miss it.

In the American section before you fully walk into World Showcase, you’ll find several booths and seating areas. I tried the Cast Iron-seared River Trout at Bramblewood Bites and gobbled it and the vanilla-butternut squash puree it laid on right up.

But hands down my favorite menu item was at Milled & Mulled. The Apple-Cinnamon and Caramel Mini Churros Sundae with vanilla bean gelatto was the perfect amount of sweet, crispy deliciousness. It’s a nice size portion, but you may still find yourself licking the bottom of the bowl like I did…

Of course there are menu items that I tried so you don’t have to… the Pumpkin-Mascarapone Ravioli at Forest & Field was a miss. It’s a tiny portion, the ravioli was too rubbery, and the dish smelled like feet. No joke.

I love Italian food, but I was sorely disappointed by the Tortellini alla Vodka in Italy. There was barely any sauce on top, and the tortellini were tiny, not the full-size pictured at the booth. Not worth the money.

I was excited to try the Griddled Cheese at the Greece booth, but I couldn’t finish it. The piece of gouda was warm and gooey but the flavor was off. I liked the honey on top, but it was doused with pistachios and the mix of tastes just wasn’t good.

This event is extremely popular with locals, which means evenings and weekends will be the busiest. I noticed a major influx of people coming into World Showcase after about 4pm, and another major influx around 8pm before the fireworks. So if you can get to EPCOT early during the week, you’ll have less people to contend with in the food lines.

While there aren’t many rides at EPCOT, they are popular ones, so I still suggest purchasing a Lightning Lane pass before your visit Especially for the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster. If you want to ride the rides, you’ll want to rope drop EPCOT and hit the rides first, then be ready inside World Showcase as the food booths open.

As for time of year, the first few weeks of the festival are busy because a lot of kids are still out of school, and Labor Day weekend is a busy weekend. But starting in mid-September you’ll see a noticeable drop in families at the park, which frees up ride lines and overall crowdedness in the park. The food lines are still going to be long, but maybe not AS long. Avoid Labor Day and Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day weekends for sure. October and November are great for weather. Just know the closer you get to Thanksgiving the busier the park becomes.

Who doesn’t want a free concert with their global treats? Eat to the Beat is a staple at Food & Wine, and being Disney, gets decent acts from every genre. The concerts are free and generally happen three times per day, but seating fills up VERY quickly.

If you want to see the concert for free, you’ll need to be in line at least 45 minutes early. This will get you into first come/first served amphitheater-style bench seating. The concerts are less than an hour long, and you won’t get in if you’re late.

If you don’t want to wait in a long line, you can have your Travel Advisor add on the Dining Package when reservations open up. This package lets you pick which restaurant inside EPCOT you want to eat lunch or dinner at and what time, and then you are guaranteed preferred seating at a designated show. There is a different line you’ll go to for the concert, and you won’t need to get in it more than 15 minutes before the show. The price of this package is determined by which restaurant you choose, so be sure to have your Travel Advisor give you the restaurant options ahead of time.

The concert schedule is out for the full festival, so check out my Sneak Peek blog post for the lineup. Let me know in the comments who you are most excited to see!

Florida weather during rainy season is no joke. It often changes on a dime, and you can certainly experience multiple types of weather in a single day. If you plan to visit in August or September, be sure you take a poncho or an umbrella with you. And take an extra pair of socks! It’s not worth getting a blister just because your feet got wet.

You’ll also want to bring a water bottle or two. There are refill stations all over the park, so save yourself the money and bring a water bottle. You’ll also want a portable fan that clips on you, or the type you wear around your neck. The mister fans work well when it’s humid. I also bring a cooling towel and wear it around my neck so I can wipe the sweat away.

In October and November the daytime temps are more bearable, but evenings can get cool, so bring a jacket. And again, there’s a good chance it will rain at some point, so be prepared.

Standby wait times for rides are shorter in October and November, but not by much on the more popular rides. Guardians, Test Track, Remy’s Ratitouille Adventure and Frozen will almost ALWAYS be busy, no matter what time of year. So scope out the Lightning Lane price and decide if you think that’s worth it to avoid waits. If you truly want to experience all the food and drink options, you’ll have time to ride all or most of the rides only once.

A good touring plan is to eat in short bursts. Find a bench, group of picnic tables, or sit inside the Muppets Brew-ing Lab and grab two or three menu items to try. The portions aren’t large, and this gives you a chance to eat a few items while you rest. Then use the rides to cool off or get out of the rain. If you plan to stay all day, don’t overdo it! Pace yourself, take plenty of breaks, and get inside to cool off when you need to. And make sure you have comfortable walking shoes! I have arthritis in my knees, so this is a must for me. The On Cloudtilt sneakers are a GAME CHANGER when it comes to a 25,000 step day!

I can appreciate people who like to just “wing it” (see what I did there?) at these types of festivals without a plan. But having a simple strategy can really make your festival visit more enjoyable. It will also save you time, money and frustration! Know what you want to try, if you want to ride certain rides, and what unexpected things to plan. That’s where using a Travel Advisor comes in handy!

I’m a certified Disney Vacation Specialist. I help you find the perfect room, the right tickets for what you need and make any reservations so you don’t have to. But the most fun part for me is helping you create a personalized plan that covers everything YOU want to experience at EPCOT and beyond. I’m all about strategy! Plus I’ve actually BEEN to the Food & Wine Festival, so not only do I have money and time-saving tips for you, I’ve also made plenty of mistakes so YOU don’t have to!

If you’ve never been to Food & Wine, you must check it out at least once! Especially if you’re a foodie. Be sure you scope out which menu items to try, see which concerts interest you, then we can start planning when you should visit.

There are still two food booths that will open in September, so be sure to follow along on my social media channels for menu updates. The buttons to my pages are below. If you’ve been to Food & Wine, tell me your favorite menu item in the comments!

When you’re ready to start planning, just email me here or fill out the form below. I’d love to help get you to the most Magical Food Festival on Earth!

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