Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2021

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival has been a guest favorite for many years. Admission is included with your park ticket, but buying food or any items from the event has an additional fee.

Each year there is a sponsor connected to the Festival. In 2021 the sponsor is a company called Corkcicle, a business that mainly sells housewares, especially various items to drink from (ie, insulated tumblers, coffee mugs, coolers, barware, canteens). The company partners with charities and contributes to clean water projects around the globe.

Food Booths are the main attraction of the Festival. These booths can be found throughout Future World and World Showcase and represent many types of cuisines.

The booths have small samples of food offered to purchase, as well as desserts and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.  All in all, there are a total of over 30 “Global Marketplaces,” as they are referred to at Epcot.  Prices of this year’s food items range from about $4.00 to about $9.00, with the majority of items in the range of $5.00. A cup of beer averages $3.00-5.00, while most glasses of wine will run about $5.00-$7.00.

I strongly suggest you look at the offerings before you attend, so you can plan what booths seem most appealing to you. If you will be going to the Festival for a number of days, this is not as important, as you can go back again to try what you missed. But if it’s a one-day visit, you don’t want to fill up on other foods, only to find a booth you REALLY wanted to try. Once you arrive at Epcot, there are Festival Booklets to help you along, but the booklet is also available as part of the My Disney Experience App to check out before you arrive!

Many of the food booths are returning from previous years. Also returning are two experiences guests can enjoy:

Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak Scavenger Hunt:

Guests search for 15 Remy statuettes, and once found, mark them off using maps and stickers. The maps/stickers are available to purchase at a number of places, including Gateway Gifts and Pin Central in Future World Port of Entry in World Showcase and World Traveler at International Gateway for a cost of $9.99 (yes, annual pass and DVC member discounts apply!). Completed maps can be brought to any of the places that sell them for a small prize. FYI: If the map is not complete, you will still get your prize, and although you show cast members the map, you get to keep it to take home!

By the way, it is not mandatory to buy the maps. Anyone can search for Remy and keep track of themselves for no charge at all. Of course, there is no prize if you choose this route.

&

Emile’s Fromage Montage:

Purchase any 5 dishes (all of which contain cheese in some form) from the Global Marketplaces listed in the Festival Passport and collect a stamp for each purchased dish. Once you’ve collected all 5 stamps, bring the stamped Festival Passport to the Shimmering Sips booth for a prize.

Also back are some great musicians! You can find Mariachi Cobre, the wonderful group from Mexico, and The Voices of Liberty, the fabulous acapella group, at the America Gardens Theatre, outdoors on the water in America, daily.  Times can vary; check with a Cast Member or look at the signs posted by the theater.  On the Mill Stage in Canada, the wonderful Jammitors, known during the Festival as the Jammin’ Chefs, perform their great drumming combined with comedy. There is a sign listing the times they play nearby the stage, or you can ask a Cast Member the day you are there.  All of the musical acts are included with admission to Epcot; there is no extra fee to enjoy them.

Here are the food booths that are new to the Festival this year:

Lobster Landing – Lobster tails, lobster chowder, and Lobster dip with chips are served here. The booth is located behind the former Mouse Gear shop, which recently reopened and is now called Creations.

Mac & Eats – You can find four types of this family favorite here, located near Mission Space

The Noodle Exchange – The entire booth serves noodles! There are four different types, some spicy, some not. This booth is just past the spot where Future World becomes World Showcase.

Rotonda Bistro – Located in the American Adventure, serving mushroom and truffle tarts, shrimp salad, and a crab-avocado parfait with Caviar

The Swanky Saucy Swine – Serving a variety of pork dishes, including ribs and “pig ear salad.” This booth is near World Traders, just as you enter World Showcase from the central path leading from Future World.

Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina – This replaces the Moroccan marketplace but still serves traditional Moroccan cuisine such as grilled kebabs, Moroccan bread, and falafel pita.

Brew Wing. Located in the building that houses the Epcot Experience (between Test Track and Mexico). At this spot, guests get a mix of 5 wings (drumsticks and flats) along with celery and a packet of ranch dressing. All orders are gluten-free here.

Some Tips for a Great Food and Wine Experience:

• One of the best ways to set a budget at the Disney Food and Wine Festival and stick to it is buying one of the Official Festival Gift Cards. These festival-themed gift cards come on a wearable plastic band, making it easy to swipe and pay. You can set a limit by only charging the card with a certain set amount of money. If you only want to spend $100, charge it with $100, and you’ll be sure not to go over your set limit. The card is available in most shops at Epcot. The cards can be reloaded as many times as desired. As an FYI, these cards can be used for purchases at most other locations at Walt Disney World, not just the festival; yet since these cards are Food and Wine themed and make a nice souvenir once you’re done using them to pay for items.
• Try to avoid weekends and evenings, when more locals will be at the festival. Food booth lines will be shortest early in the day Monday through Thursday and longest in the evenings on the weekends.

• Arrive with an appetite!
• If you can, attend the festival for more than one day.
• Be daring! Sample at least one or two things that sound appealing that you never tried before
• If you want to get out of the heat and you’re near the American Pavilion, head inside. There are quite a large number of tables set up in the air-conditioned Rotunda area for guests to sit, cool off, and enjoy their food.

• There is plenty of merchandise at the festival, with booths spread out all along World Showcase and some in Future World as well.

• The Appleseed Orchard, which premiered in Canada in 2019 and returned in 2020, is back again this year. Although the food options are limited to Apple Tarts and Apple chips, there are a number of adult as well as non-alcoholic beverages. BONUS: This is indoors and air-conditioned, so it’s another great place to (literally!) chill out if you’re feeling warm.

• The food booths are open from 11AM until park closing.

~Marilyn

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