Epcot International Food & Wine Festival - Food And Wine Festival

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival takes place late each year in Epcot inside Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, typically from late September to mid-November.

The activities, themes and corporate sponsors have changed over the years since the festival began in 1995. Special kiosks are set up around the World Showcase with food and drinks that reflect various countries.

Admission to the basic festival is included with park admission, but guests must purchase the food and drink separately. Activities have included concerts, books signings and demonstrations. Certain special events require a separate admission pass.

History

The miniature train display in the Germany Pavilion was created for the first Epcot International Food and Wine Festival in 1995.

George Kalogridis, president of the Walt Disney World Resort since 2013, conceived the idea for the festival.

On February 15, 2016, it was announced that Disney California Adventure would be hosting its own Food & Wine Festival, only on the weekends, during April 2016, after a five year hiatus.

2014

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the 2014 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival was to include 100,000 dessert portions, 360,000 beer servings, 300,000 wine pours, 1.5 million tapas-size food samplings and visitors from over 25 nations.

The event ran from September 19 to November 10, a total of 53 days, which was the longest in the festival's 19-year history.

The 2014 booths were Africa, Australia, Belgium, Block & Hans, Brazil, Brewer's Collection, Canada, China, Craft Beers, Desserts & Champagne, Farm Fresh, Fife & Drum, France, Germany, Greece, Hawai'i, Hops & Barley, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Patagonia, Poland, Puerto Rico, Refreshment Port, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Terra, and the Refreshment Cool Post.

2014 Eat to the Beat Concert Series

Eat to the Beat is a series of concerts during the festival at the America Gardens Theater. Performers performed three times during the day, at 5:30 pm, 6:45 pm, and 8:00 pm. The performers for the 2014 series were Jo Dee Messina, The Pointer Sisters, The Commodores, Christopher Cross, Hanson, Air Supply, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Sugar Ray, Fuel, Sister Hazel, Richard Marx, Billy Ocean, Night Ranger, Smash Mouth, Jim Brickman, Los Lonely Boys, Wilson Phillips, Dennis DeYoung (original member of STYX), 38 Special, Boyz II Men, David Cook, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

2015

The 2015 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival ran from September 25 through November 16. The 2015 festival saw the additions of new booths including the Cheese Studio, the Wine Studio, Intermissions Café, The Outpost, Chew Lab, and Sustainable Chew, the latter two being inspired by the ABC show The Chew, as well a Dominican Republic booth. Also, the Ocean Spray Cranberry Bog returned for its fourth year after a one-year absence. Two countries did not return from the 2014 lineup, Puerto Rico and Singapore.

2015 Eat to the Beat Concert Series

The lineup included the return of Dennis DeYoung, Starship with Mickey Thomas, Christopher Cross, The Pointer Sisters, 38 Special, and Air Supply, alongside newcomers Tiffany, Maxi Priest, Everclear, and Chaka Khan.

2016

The 2016 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival runs from September 14 through November 14. The 2016 festival sees the additions of new booths including the Brewer’s Collection, the Chocolate Studio and the Islands of the Caribbean. Not returning from the 2015 lineup include the booths of Fife & Drum, The Outpost, and Terra. The Wine Studio will combine with the Cheese Studio to become the Wine & Dine Studio, while The Chew Lab and Sustainable Chew will combine to become The Chew Collective. The festival also includes new premium events at some of the Disney resorts for the first time, including events at Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Village Resort & Disney's Yacht Club Resort.

2016 Eat to the Beat Concert Series

The lineup includes the return of Dennis DeYoung, Starship with Mickey Thomas, Fuel, Sugar Ray, Los Lobos, Wilson Phillips, Blues Traveler, Christopher Cross, 38 Special, Chaka Khan, Billy Ocean, Hanson, Boyz II Men, Sister Hazel, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and Air Supply, alongside newcomers Wang Chung, BoDeans, Plain White T’s, Jeffrey Osborne, Toad The Wet Sprocket, Living Colour, Soul Asylum, & Delta Rae.

2017

The 2017 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will run from August 31 through November 13.