The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival opened August 27 and runs through November 21, 2026, giving Walt Disney World its longest-running culinary event an 87-day stretch to mark a milestone year.
This edition doubles as the festival’s 30th anniversary, and Disney built the celebration into the menu itself rather than just the marketing.
Thirty years gets its own icon on the menu
Disney Parks Blog confirmed that 30 items returning from past festivals, some reimagined with new ingredients, now carry a dedicated 30th-anniversary icon inside this year’s Foodie Guide. The move gives longtime attendees a built-in scavenger hunt of nostalgia layered over the new dishes rolling out at the Global Marketplaces.
Disney has not released a complete Global Marketplace roster, but three dishes are locked in according to Disney Tourist Blog: Street Corn-style Dumplings at Gyozas of the Galaxy, a Grilled Bushberry-spiced Shrimp Skewer at the Australia Marketplace, and a Kirschwasser Torte at The Alps.
Connections Eatery is debuting a BBQ Braai Chicken Pizza, a Caramel-Apple Cheesecake Baumkuchen, and a Frozen Waffle Old Fashioned cocktail.
MiceChat estimates the festival will ultimately field between 32 and 36 Global Marketplaces once every booth phases in, with a handful historically joining a few weeks after opening day rather than launching all at once.
Cheese takes over CommuniCore Hall
This year’s headline addition skips the Global Marketplaces entirely. Starting September 18 and running through November 8, CommuniCore Hall hosts Cheers to Cheese, an interactive exhibit exploring the history and culture behind cheese, according to Disney Parks Blog and Undercover Tourist.
Inside that same space, a new stand called The Wedge, hosted by Dairy Does More, serves a Cannoli Milk Shake, a cheese flight, and inventive macaroni-and-cheese builds.
Cheese carries a second thread through the festival, too. Emile’s Fromage Montage returns as the long-running food stroll where guests buy five marked cheese dishes across the Global Marketplaces, collect a stamp for each in a Festival Passport, and redeem the finished passport at Shimmering Sips for a treat.
Between the exhibit and the food stroll, MiceChat noted that cheese is doing an unusual amount of work for a single festival theme this year.
Three artists make their EPCOT debut
Music remains the festival’s other anchor. The Eat to the Beat Concert Series runs nightly from August 27 through November 16 at the America Gardens Theatre, with three sets each evening at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8 p.m., all included with standard EPCOT admission.
Several artists are making their EPCOT debut this year. The lineup includes country singer Lauren Alaina, indie-pop group Fitz and the Tantrums, and blues-rock performer Grace Potter. Grammy-nominated duo The War and Treaty will also join the newcomer slate.
Returning favorites anchor the rest of the schedule, including Boyz II Men, Yellowcard, and The Beach Boys, names that have become recurring fixtures of the series in past years.
Genre variety drives the booking pattern more than any single throughline. Headliner acts tend to play weekend runs, while local Central Florida bands fill the Tuesday-through-Thursday slots, spreading the lineup across pop, rock, country, R&B, and blues rather than clustering around one sound.
Guaranteed seats now cost between $36 and $99
Seating for Eat to the Beat remains first-come, first-served unless guests book a Concert Series Dining Package, which opened for reservations on July 16. WDW Magic reports package pricing runs from $36 to $99 per adult depending on the restaurant and meal. Each package pairs a meal, dessert, and a nonalcoholic beverage with a guaranteed seat toward the front of the theater.
Guests who skip advance planning still have an option. A same-day, quick-service version is sold in person at Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Drafts & Barbecue, priced at $36 for guests 10 and older and $21 for guests ages 3 to 9.
One notable gap in the restaurant lineup: Coral Reef Restaurant closes starting September 8 and will not reopen until later in the year, removing it from the dining-package roster for a stretch of the festival.
What else returns, and what’s still missing
Remy’s Ratatouille Hide ‘n’ Squeak is also returning this year. The scavenger hunt sends guests through World Showcase pavilions to find hidden Remy figurines. Maps and stickers are available at merchandise locations, according to Disney Food Blog. A new Waiter Mickey Mouse PhotoPass Magic Shot is rolling out across several World Showcase pavilions, including Mexico, China, Italy, Japan, and France.
The festival’s ambitions still have limits. The full slate of 2019-era seminars, celebrity chef panels, and special dinners has not returned. So far, the Parisian Breakfast at Chefs de France is the only confirmed special-event offering this year. Guests chasing that scale of programming elsewhere can attend the Food & Wine Classic at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts. That runs alongside the EPCOT festival as a separate, ticketed event.
Pricing across the festival’s everyday offerings stays in familiar territory. Undercover Tourist notes most food items land between $5 and $10, with drinks ranging from $6 to $16 depending on portion size, and festival gift cards require a minimum $15 activation at merchandise locations throughout the park.
.jpg){kind=link}