9 Epcot 2021 Food and Wine Festival Tips

With a festival as long as Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, there’s a lot you need to know, especially when it comes to planning.

This year’s 2021 Epcot Food and Wine Festival started on July 15 and runs through Nov. 20, 2021. It’s a lengthy event.

Plus, with the festival happening during Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration, you’re definitely going to want to make sure you’re as prepared as possible.

If you want tips on how to save money, the best places to sit and eat, the best booths to try, where you can find vegetarian options, and more, go no further!

Here are 9 Epcot Food and Wine tips that will hopefully help you leave the festival full and happy.

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Use A Disney Gift Card

Not only are there really cute Disney gift card designs (as you can see above) themed to each respective Epcot festival, but gift cards are the way to go if you want to stay on a dining budget.

By purchasing a Disney Gift Card, you can select the amount you want to add to the card (a minimum of $25 to a maximum of $500).

This means you can choose how much you want to spend. When your card balance is gone, it’s gone. Of course, you can always reload more money onto your Disney Gift Card, but this is a good way to try to stick to a budget.

You can purchase gift cards across Disney World theme parks and resorts, along with buying one online and adding it to your digital mobile wallet after you receive it via email. You can also purchase a hardcopy to be delivered via U.S. mail.

If you’re looking for the best values at this year’s Food and Wine (aka get your bang for your buck), we have a write-up on exactly just that.

Best Places To Sit

morocco pavilion outdoor seating - epcot

Just say no to eating on trash cans (if you know, you know) and yes to eating at an actual table.

There are plenty of tables and chairs around the World Showcase for you to enjoy your Food and Wine selections.

But, you definitely want to keep in mind the following best seating areas at this year’s festival.

Best Indoor Seating Areas

Epcot Experience (Odyssey Events Pavilion; between Test Track and Mexico pavilion)
The American Adventure (America pavilion)
Restaurant Marrakesh (Morocco pavilion)
Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina (Morocco pavilion)
Canada Far & Wide (Canada pavilion)

Best Outdoor Seating Areas

France gazebo (France pavilion)
Next to Earth Eats (between Imagination! and Refreshment Port; near Starbucks as you enter World Showcase towards Canada)
U.K. pavilion
Morocco Marketplace (Morocco pavilion)
America pavilion
Germany pavilion
Lotus Blossom Café (China pavilion)

There are plenty of standing tables scattered around, but the ones previously mentioned provide both tables and chairs.

You Cannot Mobile Order

Japan booth menu epcot international food and wine festival

Mobile Order is not offered at any of the Food and Wine global marketplaces.

This means, you will have to wait in line to order, pay, and pick up your food and/or beverages.

Some booths get longer lines than others, but more often than not the lines usually move pretty quick.

There are also menus nearby each booth, so make sure to take a look at those before getting line so you know what to order when it’s your turn at the cash register.

You can even browse all of our Food and Wine Festival menus and pages complete with items, prices, reviews, photos, and more.

Where To Get A Festival Passport

A festival passport is filled with all kinds of information about, you guessed it, the festival!

From booth details, to merchandise, to entertainment, to exclusive festival activities, you can find it all right in this little booklet.

There are passports specifically made and themed to each festival. As you can see, Food and Wine features Remy, the mascot of this particular event.

You can pick up your passport right as you enter Epcot (either at the front entrance close to Spaceship Earth) or via the International Gateway (by the Disney Skyliner).

There are stands with passports; you can’t miss them. You can also usually find them in several gift stores across the park, and most food booths will also have them (they are usually by the cash registers).

Be sure to hang onto your passport! Don’t throw it out after each park day and get a new one when you return.

First of all, that’s wasteful. Secondly, you’ll want to keep it if you’ve been gathering stamps for Emile’s Fromage Montage (more on this below) but haven’t completed the challenge. Otherwise, you won’t get your special prize!

Important Detail When Purchasing Alcohol

If you plan on partaking in some alcoholic beverages, note the following. When ordering at the booths, there’s a rule that restricts 2 drinks per each adult.

So, for example: If you want to buy a total of 4 drinks from a booth, one adult would either have to stand in line twice or you can send two adults to the cash register to order. If you choose the latter, know that you don’t have to pay for the drinks separately (they can be on one tab).

The Best Booths To Try

germany booth menu epcot international food and wine festival

There’s a total of 34 booths this year. That’s — a lot. There are some that serve great offerings, whereas others are just ok.

So, to save you time and money, be sure to check out the list of our 7 favorite Food and Wine booths, which include:

You really can’t go wrong with any of these booths.

Vegetarian Options Are Limited

If you’re a plant-based eater or consider yourself a vegetarian, there are a range of options at Food and Wine.

But! There aren’t as many vegetarian menu items compared to what’s available to meat-eaters.

Even though vegetarian offerings are limited, there are still several foods that I (the resident vegetarian at WDW Prep School) recommend.

In my opinion, you can find the best vegetarian Food and Wine choices at the following booths:

This list may expand once we are able to eat some more vegetarian dishes served at other Food and Wine booths that opened in August (after our initial festival trip in July). So stay tuned!

Another tip: if you find yourself in a pinch and you can’t find something to eat at any of the booths, there are a handful of Quick Service spots in Epcot that serve worthy vegetarian and/or plant-based choices.

Popular Booths With The Longest Lines

There will always be more popular booths than others This also means, these marketplaces will usually have the longest lines.

Of course, you have to factor in the time of day, the season, the day of the week, etc. In general, and depending on several elements, Food and Wine just might be busy.

But, if you want to hit up the most popular booths (before the lines grow and they run out of select items — yes, this happens), these are the kiosks to focus on first thing:

You may even want to rope drop select booths before the line grows. Thankfully, certain marketplaces have added more cashiers (like France) to help keep the line moving.

You Don’t Have To Finish Festival Activities In One Day

Remy's ratatouille hide and squeak map epcot food and wine

First of all, did you know there are two fun activities exclusive to Food and Wine? They are:

For the scavenger hunt, you purchase a map and stickers ($9.99) from either Port of Entry, Pin Traders, or World Traveler (at the International Gateway). You simply hunt for small figurines of Remy and place the corresponding sticker on your map.

Once you’ve found each Remy, take your completed map to Disney Traders, World Traveler, or Gateway Gifts to receive a prize — one of four Disney-themed bowls (Figment, Remy, Belle, or Mickey and Minnie).

As for Emile’s Fromage Montage, you purchase 5 cheese dishes from the associated booths listed in the passport.

If you decide to play, you need to get a stamp in your passport when you purchase each item. The cheese dishes are:

Crispy Barbecue Pork Rinds with Pimento Cheese (The Swanky Saucy Swine)
Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Toasted Macadamia Nuts (Hawaiʻi)
Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham, Onions, and Cheese (Germany)
Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey (Greece)
The Corned Beef Corner Route: Smoked Corned Beef with Crispy Potatoes, Cheese Curds, Pickled Onions, and Beer-Cheese Fondue (Flavors from Fire hosted by The NFL on ESPN)

After you’ve collected 5 stamps, bring your passport to Shimmering Sips for a complimentary prize that’s unique to this year’s festival. Hint: you can eat it.

Tip: You don’t have to finish either of these all at once. You can work to complete both across multiple park days. Just don’t lose/throw away your map and/or passport!

2023 Food & Wine Booth Map

Check out all the booths from the 2023 Food and Wine Festival on the map below, including our favorite overall booths. We’ve also listed locations for indoor and outdoor seating.