5 Major Changes We're Expecting For The 2024 Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Can you believe we’re only a few months away from the start of EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival?

EPCOT

This year, the festival runs from August 29th through November 23rd, 2024, and while we know about some of the booths and offerings returning for the festival, we’re still waiting to hear the full list of booths, menus, and special events/offerings that will be available. However, we do already know that some major changes are expected to take place, so prepare yourselves!

Some Offerings May Move

By the time the festival opens, Communicore Hall and Communicore Plaza will have been open to the public for over 2 months (as long as everything goes as planned with the June 10th timeline), and we’re hoping to see some festival offerings include these new spaces!

CommuniCore Hall

Now, we’re not expecting the spaces to be used to their full potential just yet, but we’d love to get a taste of how some festival offerings will be run! As of now, Disney hasn’t mentioned anything about if these locations will be used, but we’ll be keeping our ears listening!

Test Track Construction

Test Track will be closing for reimagining in June as well, which means it’s very likely construction walls will be up during the festival, which could affect how you get to certain booths.

Test Track

Just like we’ve seen with other construction walls in EPCOT, it can affect certain walking paths, making navigating the park a little difficult. There is often at least one booth over in World Discovery near Test Track (often right across from the ride really), so keep in mind it may take an extra minute to get around!

Read the first permit filed for the big Test Track changes!

Menu Changes

This one isn’t as unexpected, but sometimes it still can catch us off guard each year — menus WILL change!

2023 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival

Now, this may mean that some dishes you weren’t a fan of are gone, BUT it could also mean that some of your favorites are replaced as well. As of right now, we don’t have menus for all the booths (or the list of the booths coming to the festival), and it’s likely we won’t get them for a few more weeks.

When will Disney announce the menus for the Food and Wine Festival? Here’s what we’re expecting

Crowds May Be Larger

Now, the Food and Wine Festival is much shorter this year than it has been previously, which means that some people who booked their trips ahead of time are missing the festival, but OTHERS may be choosing to move their dates to fit within the shorter period of time.

Food and Wine Festival Crowds (2023)

This means that crowds could be larger throughout the whole duration of the festival, in comparison to previous years when we’ve seen the highest crowds on the opening and closing weekends, and on weekends in general. Weekdays will still likely be lower crowds than weekends though, so if you’re looking for lower crowds, those are the days to aim for.

Seminars and Low-Cost/Free Events MAY Still Be Available

We are crossing all our fingers and toes that we’ll see the Food and Wine seminars and demonstrations, book signings, chef meet and greets, and more low-cost/free events return for the 2024 festival! However, Disney hasn’t announced anything about these offerings just yet.

Spaceship Earth

In previous years, these events have been held in the World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, and we’ll have to wait and see if they’ll stay in that spot, or move locations now that there are additional areas they could be held at (again, as long as that Communicore construction goes as planned). We’ll be sure to bring you all the latest Food and Wine news, so stay tuned to DFB!

Learn everything there is to know about EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival here!

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!