The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic is almost here!

This fun festival will be returning to the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort on November 11th through 12th. We were invited to a media preview of the event, so now we’re coming to you with some tips to help you navigate the Food and Wine Classic like a pro!

Here are our 10 best tips for attending the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic!

Plan Ahead

Before you attend, be sure to look over all the menus of the items that will be available at the event. Although you might want to try and eat EVERYTHING, that would be very hard to do (trust us, we’ve tried). Make note of those items you absolutely MUST try to prioritize the stomach space you’re going to need for the event.

That’s not to say that there isn’t some room for spontaneity, but you’ll also save a lot of time if you know the menus in advance. You’ll also want to go ahead and plan for any seminars you want to attend (we’ll get to that in a bit).

Click here to look at the full menus for the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Food and Wine Classic

Relax Before

This event occurs at night, so you’ll have a whole day to do nothing but relax and prepare to eat and drink to your heart’s delight. This may not be a good day to hit the parks, which might leave you feeling too tired to do much of anything later. 

Instead, spend some time chilling in the pool, book a massage, and take it easy.

Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin!

Get There Early

The festival runs from 5:30PM to 9PM — believe us when we say there is a LOT to see, eat, and drink. So be sure to arrive early so you can get checked in and ready to hit the ground running as soon as the event starts.

There are also sure to be lines for checking in, so the earlier you’re there, the better!

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Bring Your Appetite

This is not the day you’ll want to have a big breakfast or big lunch. Your best bet is to eat light earlier in the day so you’re ready to fill up on items at the festival!

You never want to attend the Food and Wine Classic full — because, then, what’s the point. Bring a healthy appetite with you!

Why It’s Time You Should Go To This Event!

Try Everything You Can

A single ticket for the Food and Wine Classic gets you access to EVERY single food and drink item available. This is unlike the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival where you have to pay for a park ticket PLUS pay for each individual food booth item. So EAT AND DRINK EVERYTHING YOU CAN.

Once you’ve tried your must-eats, be sure to circle back and try other items that look good to you. Or have seconds of your favorites — we won’t judge!

Here Are 13 Things You NEED to Try at the Food and Wine Classic in Disney World

Get Drinks

Yes, EVERYTHING is included in your ticket price for the Food and Wine Classic, and that includes ALL drinks. So if you want to drink up, here’s your chance. Try some new wines and cocktails!

Considering the price of alcoholic drinks, this is where you’ll really get your money’s worth for the price of your ticket.

See Details About Last Year’s Food & Wine Classic Event

Spend The Night

It’s going to be way more convenient to attend the festival if you’re also staying at the Swan & Dolphin Resort. Here’s the cool thing about that: you can bundle your Food and Wine Classic ticket and stay and save a few $$$ on your stay!

It’s also going to make it easier to attend the event if you’re staying at the hotel.

Learn more about this hotel’s food options here

Don’t miss out on additional seminars and entertainment

Did you know you could also attend seminars at the Food and Wine Classic? Although these do cost an additional amount, you could learn all about wine tasting, pasta making, craft cocktails, and more!

To book a seminar, visit the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic website. Also, be sure to not miss out on the live entertainment performing in the Dolphin clamshell fountain each evening. You’ll also find a merchandise tent nearby!

Here’s a full list of this year’s seminars

Bring a friend

It’s not only more fun if you bring a friend along to the festival, but it gives you the opportunity to try even MORE food. Here’s the strategy: everyone gets something different and then you can just have a massive food tasting among friends.

This is actually a tip we give for the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, too, because it’s always a surefire way to try even MORE delicious noms.

Here’s a SNEAK PEEK at the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic in Disney World

Consider VIP Experiences

Want to plus up your Food and Wine Classic experience? This year, the festival is offering two VIP experiences: VIP Champagne and Dessert Party at the Swan Reserve and a Master Sommelier-led Grand Tasting.

Although these experiences are pricey, they are sure to offer you some once-in-a-lifetime dining experiences.

Here are more details about the VIP Experiences

If you do plan on visiting the Food and Wine Classic, tickets are available now and can be purchased from Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic website. Tickets are $165 per person.

If you want to book a stay and seminar tickets, call  888-828-8850 — be sure to ask about room discounts if you’re attending the festival (note that you must purchase your Food and Wine Classic tickets before asking about the room discount).

Seminars Are Returning for the 2022 Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic — Learn More

Will you be attending this year’s Food and Wine Classic? Let us know in the comments!

Disclosure: In nearly all circumstances, Disney Food Blog writers and photographers pay full price for their own travel, hotel, food, beverage, and event tickets. We do this because it’s important to us as journalists to ensure not only that we give you unbiased opinions, but also that you can trust us to do so since we’re paying our own way. On rare occasions, when we are invited by a company to attend a preview as media, and when we choose to accept that invitation, we will always make you, our readers, aware of that situation. Today, we were invited by the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Hotels to attend their media preview of the Food & Wine Classic. Note that when we attend events as media we are 1) Not required to review that event/food on any of our channels, and 2) Not required to review that event/food favorably. You can always count on DFB to give you a 100% unbiased and honest review of any event that we attend, food that we eat, or beverage that we drink. You can see more in our Disclosure Policy. Thank you for reading. — AJ