EPCOT Food & Wine 2026 Guide – Menus, Magic Shots, and a Whole Building of Cheese

The EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival returns August 27 through November 21, 2026, for the festival’s 31st year. Everything is included with regular EPCOT admission, though food, beverages, and merchandise are purchased separately. The run again stretches nearly three months, from the last week of August through late November.

Here’s everything we know so far. Disney is still holding most of the details back, but there’s enough to start planning around, including one addition that changes what CommuniCore Hall does for the fall. We’ll be updating this guide throughout the season as each announcement lands.

Last updated: August 9, 2026

What’s New This Year

The headline addition this year is “Cheers to Cheese!”, an all-new interactive exhibit opening in CommuniCore Hall on September 18. Disney says it will explore the history, culture, and fun facts surrounding cheese through a series of interactive displays.

Two things worth noting. First, it opens three weeks into the festival, so anyone visiting in late August or the first half of September will miss it entirely. Second, it’s a great example of what CommuniCore Hall was purpose-built to be: a flexible indoor space that can be re-themed for whatever season EPCOT is currently in, rather than a permanent attraction in its own right.

Also new is a Waiter Mickey Mouse PhotoPass Magic Shot, debuting in several World Showcase pavilions including Mexico, China, Italy, Japan, and France. More on the PhotoPass lineup further down.

A First Taste of the Menu

Disney has not yet unveiled the full Global Marketplace lineup, but three returning dishes are confirmed: Street Corn-style Dumplings from Gyozas of the Galaxy, the Grilled Bushberry-spiced Shrimp Skewer from the Australia Marketplace, and Kirschwasser Torte from The Alps Marketplace.

That’s a deliberately safe opening hand. Three proven crowd-pleasers, no surprises. The more useful detail is that some Global Marketplaces will again open later in the festival rather than on day one. If you’re building a trip around a specific booth, an opening-weekend visit is a bit lighter in what’s available. 

Festival Favorites Return

The three activities that anchor most guests’ festival days are all back.

Emile’s Fromage Montage sends guests around the park sampling select cheese-inspired dishes and collecting stamps in a festival passport, with a special treat waiting at the end for anyone who completes it. Paired with “Cheers to Cheese!” opening in CommuniCore Hall, cheese is doing an unusual amount of heavy lifting at this year’s festival.

We have an article about Emile’s Fromage Montage worth exploring:

Emile’s Fromage Montage: A Cheese Extravaganza at EPCOT

Remy’s Hide & Squeak, the Ratatouille-themed scavenger hunt, returns for families searching World Showcase for the little chef and his hidden ingredients. Maps are purchased at festival merchandise locations and redeemed for a prize once completed.

Eat to the Beat is back at the America Gardens Theatre, still included with EPCOT admission on a first come, first served basis, with dining packages available for guaranteed seating. 

Eat to the Beat concerts will take place nightly from August 27 to November 16, 2026, with three showtimes (5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m.). This year, 8 new acts join the lineup, including Grammy-nominated The War and Treaty, indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums, and American Idol runner up, Lauren Alaina.

Here’s the 2026 schedule (all entertainment and artist appearances are subject to change without notice):

• August 27 – Evolution: Motown
• August 28 to 31 – Hanson
• September 1 to 3 – Evolution: Motown
• September 4 and 5 – The War and Treaty – NEW
• September 6 and 7 – Yellowcard
• September 8 to 10 – Fly Guys
• September 11 and 12 – Couch – NEW!
• September 13 and 14 – Fitz and the Tantrums – NEW
• September 15 to 17 – Latin Ambition
• September 18 and 19 – MercyMe
• September 20 and 21 – Grupo Manía – NEW
• September 22 to 24 – Metro Latino Band
• September 25 to 27 – Element
• September 28 and 29 – New Found Glory
• September 30 and October 1 – Smash Mouth
• October 2 to 4 – Champagne Orchestra
• October 5 and 6 – Rey Ruiz – NEW
• October 7 and 8 – Tiffany
• October 9 to 11 – Viva Latina
• October 12 and 13 – The Fray
• October 14 and 15 – STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
• October 16 to 18 – Jaclyn Hayden
• October 19 and 20 – Ben Rector
• October 21 and 22 – Allen Stone – NEW
• October 23 to 25 – SoundUp
• October 26 and 27 – Lauren Alaina – NEW
• October 28 and 29 – Bowling for Soup
• October 30, 31, and November 1 – Southbound
• November 2 and 3 – Boyz II Men
• November 4 and 5 – Big Head Todd and The Monsters – NEW
• November 6 to 8 – M-80’s
• November 9 and 10 – Grace Potter – NEW
• November 11 and 12 – The Beach Boys
• November 13 to 16 – The Hooligans

Guests can line up before the concert to grab a seat, but spots are first-come, first-served, so our tip for making sure you get a good spot is reserving a Concert Series Dining Package. These pre-fixe meals are available at most sit-down restaurants in Epcot (cost varies depending on the restaurant, but they all include reserved seating for the show). They also count as one table-service meal for the Disney Dining Plan.

Festival Merchandise First Look

Disney previewed several pieces from this year’s collection, starting with chef-inspired Mickey and Minnie ears complete with a miniature chef hat.

Apparel includes a festival T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a baseball cap.

On the practical side, there’s a churro-themed tote bag and a pastry-lid mug.

The piece most likely to sell out first is the commemorative wine glass, designed to fit inside the festival tray. It’s a small design touch that solves the perennial problem of juggling a drink and two food plates across World Showcase.

PhotoPass Magic Shots

Disney PhotoPass photographers will again offer exclusive festival Magic Shots throughout EPCOT. They’re free to view in the app and included if you have Memory Maker or a PhotoPass package.

Alongside the new Waiter Mickey shot, returning favorites include the Giant Empanada, the Leaning Tower of Cheeza, the Swedish Chef, and Chef Figment.

What’s Still Missing

Read that list again and notice what isn’t on it. Longtime guests will remember when Food & Wine meant culinary demonstrations, beverage seminars, Disney chef presentations, and signature experiences like Party for the Senses. Those were the parts of the festival that actually taught you something and justified the “Wine” half of the name. All of it disappeared after the 2019 festival, and none of it has come back.

What replaced it is what you see above: marketplaces, concerts, scavenger hunts, and merchandise. That’s not nothing, and the Global Marketplaces remain genuinely good. But the festival that spent its first two decades building a reputation as a legitimate culinary event has spent the years since operating as a very well-run food court crawl with a passport.

Seven festivals have now come and gone without the demos returning, which increasingly looks less like a pause and more like a permanent decision. Disney has given no indication that’s changing any time soon… but we still hold out hope that some of that old magic can still return.

Still to Come

Plenty remains under wraps: the complete Global Marketplace lineup, full food and beverage menus, the booth opening schedule, the Eat to the Beat band lineup, and any additional offerings. Those typically arrive in Disney’s annual Foodie Guide a few weeks before opening day. We’ll be updating this guide as each piece is announced, and with our own photos from the marketplaces once the festival opens on August 27. Bookmark this page and check back.

Whatever shape it takes, Food & Wine remains one of Walt Disney World’s signature events. For three decades it has introduced guests to new flavors, inspired a wave of imitator festivals across the theme park industry, and given millions of visitors a reason to spend an autumn afternoon walking World Showcase with a plate in one hand and a passport in the other.

Let’s Hear From You

Would you like to see the culinary demos and beverage seminars return, or is the marketplace-focused festival the version you prefer? What are your favorite booths, returning dishes, concerts, and festival memories? And what would you most like to see added this year?

Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear your thoughts!