25 Years of Eating and Drinking Around the World In Epcot

Updated 8/1/21

It was difficult missing travel in 2020 especially the trips to new places and different countries. But it’s the trip to Disney during Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival that I missed the most, especially since it was the 25th year of the festival. I should have been making a couple of trips there in 2020 but instead I was at home reminiscing about past years instead. I have a couple of trips scheduled for 2021 that hopefully will happen.

There has always been something special to me about Epcot. Alot of people think of this as an inferior park compared to the other Disney Parks. For me it has always been my absolute favorite! I could literally walk around the world showcase every day and never get bored with it, it just brings me such joy!

I’ve always loved to travel so before I was able to travel to other countries, Epcot was how I experienced other countries, their cultures and their food and drinks. Granted, Epcot is in no way the same as traveling the world, but to young, poor 20 something living an hour away from Epcot, it was the closest I could get.

Epcot is host to 4 different festivals each year that all have their own special qualities, but The International Food and Wine Festival is definitely my all time favorite. Each year it seems to grow in popularity. The dates of the festival get longer and longer and the number of different food and drink booths increase each year.

This year the festival runs from July 15 thru November 20, 2021.

The festival offers tasting size food that range in price from $4 – $9 and both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks from $4 – $11. This is on top of the daily admission price to the park.

It can definitely end up being quite an expensive day, but in mind it’s totally worth the price. Definitely something you should set aside some extra money for if you want to be able to try a little bit of everything.

Some of my favorite food and drinks from the prior years of the festival include:

Ireland – Guinness Baileys Shake (seriously craving this it’s my favorite!) and the warm Irish cheddar cheese and stout dip served with Irish brown bread

Canada – Canadian cheddar cheese and bacon soup served with a pretzel roll. As if you can’t tell, I love cheese! Even though it’s soup, it’s still really good in the hot Florida weather.

France – La Passion Martini Slushy – Vodka, Grey Goose Le Citron, Cranberry and Passion Fruit Juice.

Hawaii – Kalua Pork Slider with pineapple chutney and spicy mayo.

Italy – Baked ziti and Italian Margarita, who wouldn’t love a Margarita made with Limoncello?!

Mexico – Pork Belly taco and a Mexican craft beer with a liquer floater.

These are just a few of the tasty foods and drinks you can try.

At certain booths you can also get flights of beer, wine or champagne. They come in these not so classy cardboard flights that I think are a pain in the butt to carry. I’ve definitely had my fair share of accidental spills. But hey it’s great to try the different beers if you can’t choose from just one.

Along with the food and drinks to try they have exhibits (normally based on who sponsors the festival) like art sculptures made from chocolate and other candy, cranberry bogs, etc. These are always fun to check out.

Included with your admission to Epcot is the Eat to the Beat concert series that also occurs during the food and wine festival. There are some great performers from the 80s and 90s that they have play each night. Such as Boyz II Men, Starship, Tiffany, 98 Degrees, Smash Mouth, Kenny G and Billy Ocean. It’s so much fun seeing these concerts especially for those of us who grew up when these musical groups/singers were popular. There are three shows each night and they fill up quick. A great way to guarantee a seat is to book a dining package for lunch or dinner that includes guaranteed seating in the show. Otherwise, if you don’t get in, the show is outside, so you can still hear the performance.

Check out my video (sorry for my awful background singing) from seeing Boyz II Men in 2019, they are so good in concert, if you’ve never seen them and have the chance, definitely check them out!

Just like in 2020, the Eat to the Beat concert will not be taking place, but they will have local entertainment performing. Although I love to see the big acts perform, I think it’s great that they are showcasing some great local bands and singing groups!

With so much to eat, drink, see and listen to, who wouldn’t love to check out Epcot’s International Food and Wine Festival.

My biggest tip would be to avoid the weekend if you can as it tends to get pretty busy then, a week day visit has much more manageable crowds.

Anyone else hungry after reading this? lol