The 31st annual festival runs August 27 through November 21 with more than 30 Global Marketplaces. Booth menus are already posted, and Cheers to Cheese! opens in CommuniCore Hall on September 18.
The longest festival on EPCOT‘s calendar starts tomorrow.
The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival runs August 27 through November 21, 2026, its 31st year. Everything is included with regular park admission, with food, drinks, and merchandise purchased separately.
That is nearly three full months, from the last week of August into late November.
What is new at Food and Wine 2026
Cheers to Cheese! opens in CommuniCore Hall on September 18, an interactive exhibit exploring the history, culture, and assorted facts around cheese. Disney describes it as a series of interactive displays.
For anyone working through Emile’s Fromage Montage, the festival’s cheese-focused passport challenge, it is an obvious stop.
The full booth menus are already posted
Disney released Global Marketplace menus ahead of opening, and booth signage has been going up around World Showcase.
More than 30 Global Marketplaces are running this year, plus additional locations around the park serving festival items.
WDW News Today reported that individual booth menus started appearing shortly after the general festival maps were installed. Returning booths include Gyozas of the Galaxy near Guardians of the Galaxy in World Discovery.
Beverage pricing at several booths runs $6 for a 6-ounce pour and $9.75 for 12 ounces, which is roughly the pattern across the festival.
Emile’s Fromage Montage and how the passport works
The cheese challenge is the festival’s most-completed activity, and the rules are more forgiving than people assume.
Guests try five different cheese-focused items across the festival, collecting stamps in a Festival Passport. Items can come from five different locations or from the same one visited repeatedly.
Completion is not time-limited within the festival. A stamped passport can be brought back to EPCOT any time through November 21.
Eat to the Beat concerts and this year’s lineup
The concert series returns at America Gardens Theatre, included with EPCOT admission on a first-come, first-served basis.
Concerts run nightly from August 27 through November 16, with three showtimes at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8 p.m.
Eight new acts join the lineup this year, including Grammy-nominated The War and Treaty, indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums, and American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina.
Dining packages are available for guaranteed seating, which is worth considering for the bigger names on weekend nights.
What is not coming back to Food and Wine
The festival’s full slate of seminars, special dinners, celebrity chef panels, and similar enhancements has been absent for several years. Disney Tourist Blog notes that with the festival opening and no announcements made, those seem unlikely to return in 2026.
Their assessment is blunt: this is meant to be EPCOT’s flagship festival and has become the year’s weakest event by substance.
Discounts, merchandise, and planning notes
A few practical items before you go.
Tables in Wonderland members, Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club members, and Golden Oak residents may be eligible for a $2 per-person discount on beverage seminars and culinary demos held Monday through Thursday. Those discounts are phone-only.
Festival merchandise includes apparel, chef-themed ear headbands, a sweatshirt, baseball cap, wine glass, food tray, and mug. Wearable festival gift cards are available with a $15 minimum activation and work anywhere Disney Gift Card is accepted.
The festival is one day shorter on each end than last year, which Disney Tourist Blog reads as another step back toward the event’s pre-2020 length.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Disney Parks Blog (2026), the August 27 through November 21 dates and the Eat to the Beat details
WDW News Today (August 21, 2026), the booth menu rollout, the Gyozas of the Galaxy example, and beverage pricing
MiceChat (August 2026), the Cheers to Cheese! opening date and the Eat to the Beat lineup additions
Disney Tourist Blog (August 2026), the shortened run, the absent seminars assessment, and the wearable gift cards
Disney Food Blog (August 23, 2026), the passholder discount structure and the Chase sponsorship change