Use Our 10 Tips for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival to Get the Most Out of Your Experience
Every year when I visit the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, one thing keeps coming to mind. This is Disney's way of getting people to visit during a time when nobody really wants to go on vacation in Orlando.
Kids are back to school, summer heat is still here, and there's the lingering threat of a hurricane.
Yet it works! People love visiting Epcot International Food and Wine Festival because of two things:
1: Food
2: Wine
It's marketing genius!
Even if you don't like wine, pretty much everyone eats food. Even if you don't like the food they serve, there's a good chance you like wine. If you don't like either, they invite old musical acts to give you another reason to visit Epcot. Marketing magic!
As with most things at Walt Disney World, you're not allowed to visit and have fun without a plan of attack. Being the friendly and helpful folks that we are, we thought this is a good time to share our 10 tips for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival so you're prepared to make your way through this culinary madness.
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
Here we go.
1: Know the Times to Avoid
These times to avoid are typically similar for most Walt Disney World events, but are particularly true of the Food and Wine Festival. These are the times when you can expect the largest crowd.

* The First Week
* The Last Week
* Weekends (particularly Saturday)

People get excited for the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, and some want to get there as soon as it starts. That's why the first week gets crowded.
The last week has a big crowd because people realize it's almost over. Oh, crap! We better go get our Food and Wine, because we put it off too long.
The locals (folks like me) generally visit on Saturday because that's when it's most convenient. However, Sunday also has a decent crowd because other locals think they're going to avoid the crowd on Saturday.
If you can arrange your schedule, visit during the middle of the week, particularly before 5:00 PM. Some of us locals like to think we're clever and we sneak into Epcot after work during the week. That ups the crowd level a bit, too.
2: Get the Food and Wine Passport
Disney prints a Food and Wine Festival Passport each year. It tells you what dishes you can find at each kiosk, among other things. It's an excellent resource to get your bearings and plan which dishes and events are most important to you.
You can find the Food and Wine Festival Passport at the merchandise shop as you transition away from Future World and moving toward the International Gateway.
3: Make it Easy to Carry Your Food and Wine
The kiosks serve food in paper boats, and that makes sense. You don't want to have oversized plates and utensils at each location. However, it's difficult to load up at a few spots and then go find a place to dine while holding these paper boats.

If only someone thought of a better way.
Actually, someone did. If you go to the Food and Wine Festival Shop, you can buy a souvenir plate. It's a square plastic plate with a place to hold your wine glass. You can also get some utensils there that, although plastic, are a bit more sturdy than the plastic utensils found at the kiosks.
Of course, you can bring your own tray to carry your food around. The nice folks over at Disney Food Blog recommend this tip and we think it's a great idea. If you didn't pack a cafeteria school tray, then get the plate at the Food and Wine Shop.
4: Plan on Hot Weather
Most of the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival happens after summ...