EPCOT Food & Wine Festival 2026 Guide: What Is Open and What Comes Later
Page last reviewed: August 28, 2026. Festival dates, marketplace openings, entertainment, and booking details can change, so confirm the current Disney event information before planning around one offering.
Planning the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is easier if you make one decision first: is your priority the food or a specific concert? The festival runs August 27 through November 21, while Eat to the Beat ends five days earlier on November 16.
Disney has now published the 2026 menus, and the festival is open. The planning catch is that several marketplaces arrive later: Festival Favorites begins September 9, The Wedge begins September 18, and Coastal Eats, Earth Eats, India, and The Alps do not open until October 2.
In This Article
- Festival dates, admission, and phased marketplace openings
- 2026 menus and a realistic booth strategy
- Eat to the Beat concerts and dining packages
- Family activities and scavenger hunts
- What to verify before your EPCOT day
For a complete park-day plan, pair this coverage with our EPCOT festival calendar, EPCOT planning guide, and Lightning Lane guide.
2026 Food & Wine Festival Quick Details
- Festival dates: August 27-November 21, 2026
- Location: EPCOT, with most Global Marketplaces around World Showcase and nearby park areas
- Admission: Included with valid EPCOT admission
- Park reservation: May be required depending on ticket or pass type
- Eat to the Beat: Nightly August 27-November 16
- Menus and prices: Published; see our 2026 menu and booth-planning guide
The festival itself does not require a separate event ticket. Food, drinks, scavenger-hunt maps, and dining packages cost extra. That distinction matters when building a budget: admission gets you into EPCOT and the standby concert queue, not unlimited festival samples.
Plan Around the Marketplace Opening Calendar
Choose your EPCOT date around the offering that matters most. Concert dates are fixed, but the food lineup is phased. Festival Favorites starts September 9; The Wedge and its Cheers to Cheese exhibit run September 18 through November 8; and Coastal Eats, Earth Eats, India, and The Alps open October 2.
An August or September visit still has plenty to eat, but it is not the same lineup an October guest will see. If one dish is essential, verify its marketplace and opening date in My Disney Experience before building a route around it.
2026 Eat to the Beat Concert Schedule
Eat to the Beat takes place at America Gardens Theatre in The American Adventure pavilion. Shows are included with valid EPCOT admission, but standby seats are limited and first come, first served.
| Dates | Performer |
|---|---|
| Aug. 27; Sept. 1-3 | Evolution: Motown |
| Aug. 28-31 | Hanson |
| Sept. 4-5 | The War and Treaty |
| Sept. 6-7 | Yellowcard |
| Sept. 8-10 | Fly Guys |
| Sept. 11-12 | Couch |
| Sept. 13-14 | Fitz and the Tantrums |
| Sept. 15-17 | Latin Ambition |
| Sept. 18-19 | MercyMe |
| Sept. 20-21 | Grupo Manía |
| Sept. 22-24 | Metro Latino Band |
| Sept. 25-27 | Element |
| Sept. 28-29 | New Found Glory |
| Sept. 30-Oct. 1 | Smash Mouth |
| Oct. 2-4 | Champagne Orchestra |
| Oct. 5-6 | Rey Ruiz |
| Oct. 7-8 | Tiffany |
| Oct. 9-11 | Viva Latina |
| Oct. 12-13 | The Fray |
| Oct. 14-15 | STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas |
| Oct. 16-18 | Jaclyn Hayden |
| Oct. 19-20 | Ben Rector |
| Oct. 21-22 | Allen Stone |
| Oct. 23-25 | SoundUp |
| Oct. 26-27 | Lauren Alaina |
| Oct. 28-29 | Bowling For Soup |
| Oct. 30-Nov. 1 | Southbound |
| Nov. 2-3 | Boyz II Men |
| Nov. 4-5 | Big Head Todd and The Monsters |
| Nov. 6-8 | M-80’s |
| Nov. 9-10 | Grace Potter |
| Nov. 11-12 | The Beach Boys |
| Nov. 13-16 | The Hooligans |
Disney may adjust entertainment schedules, so confirm your date on the official Eat to the Beat calendar before locking in a dining package or changing a park reservation.
For a complete park-day plan, pair this coverage with our EPCOT festival calendar, EPCOT planning guide, and Lightning Lane guide.
Is an Eat to the Beat Dining Package Worth It?
A dining package is most useful when the performer is a top priority and you do not want to spend as much time waiting in the standby line. The package includes a qualifying meal and guaranteed seating in a reserved section for a concert later that day.
There are two catches. EPCOT admission is not included, and seating within the reserved section is still first come, first served. The package buys seat certainty, not a specific chair or a shorter park day.
Guests who already wanted a table-service meal may find the bundle convenient. If the goal is to graze at festival booths, adding a full restaurant meal can work against that plan. Same-day packages may be available at Regal Eagle Smokehouse, but availability is not guaranteed.
Festival Activities That Are Not Concerts
Food & Wine is not only a chain of snack stops. Disney has confirmed three returning activities that can give a visit more structure:
- Emile’s Fromage Montage: Buy qualifying cheese dishes, collect stamps in the Festival Passport, and redeem the completed crawl for a reward.
- Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak: Search for Remy figures around the park using a purchased map and stickers.
- Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit: A limited-time fall scavenger hunt with a keepsake after completion.
The scavenger hunts work well for families who need a purpose between booth stops. Pluto’s shorter Halloween window is the planning catch: it is not available for the full festival, and boards and keepsakes can sell out. Guests can redeem a board without finding every pumpkin, but each board earns only one keepsake.
A First-Timer Strategy That Leaves Room to Change
- Choose one concert, dining reservation, or major attraction as the fixed anchor.
- Pick four or five booths after Disney publishes the Foodie Guide.
- Start festival eating before the dinner rush if your schedule allows.
- Share samples when you want variety without reaching your limit too early.
- Keep one hour unplanned for a longer line, weather break, or a dish you discover in the Festival Passport.
Weekday afternoons usually make the simplest first visit because local after-work and weekend crowds have not fully built yet. Florida heat and storms still matter in late August and September, so indoor attractions are useful reset points between outdoor booth stops.
Festival dining can also extend beyond kiosks. The 2026 Parisian Breakfast at Chefs de France is a separately priced reservation on select festival mornings and makes more sense as the day’s main meal than as an add-on to an aggressive booth plan.
What Is Open Now—and What Comes Later
Most Global Marketplaces, the free Festival Passport, Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak, Emile’s Fromage Montage, and nightly Eat to the Beat concerts are available now. Harvest Hollow opened August 28 after missing the festival’s first day.
- September 9: Festival Favorites begins.
- September 18–November 8: The Wedge and Cheers to Cheese are available in CommuniCore Hall.
- September 25–November 2: Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit runs for its shorter Halloween window.
- October 2: Coastal Eats, Earth Eats, India, and The Alps open.
The official menus are detailed enough to set a budget, but prices, availability, operating hours, and allergy handling can still change. Keep one backup dish on your route and confirm same-day operations in the app.
Watch the 2026 Festival Food Review
EPCOT Food & Wine Festival FAQ
When is the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival?
It runs daily from August 27 through November 21, 2026.
Does Food & Wine require a separate ticket?
No separate festival ticket is required. You need valid EPCOT admission, and a park reservation may be required for some admission types.
Are Eat to the Beat concerts included?
Yes. Standby concert seating is included with valid EPCOT admission but is limited and first come, first served.
Are the 2026 Food & Wine menus available?
Yes. Disney has published the official menus and prices, but several marketplaces have later September or October opening dates.
Which 2026 Eat to the Beat performer or festival activity would anchor your EPCOT day? Let us know in the comments below; we would love to hear your plans.
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