EPCOT’s International Food & Wine Festival 2026 is here! The festival started last Thursday on August 27th and runs through November 21st. This year celebrates 30 years of the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival so it is sure to be amazing! There are a lot of new dishes to try this year and lot’s of cheese! A whole section of cheese! So if you are a big dairy fan, this festival is for you. Let’s check out opening weekend at Food & Wine Festival 2026!
NEW at Food & Wine Festival
Booths
We have a new booth at Food & Wine festival for 2026! The Wedge is a whole new booth this year inside Communicore Hall and featuring, you guessed it, cheese! The menus has a selection of cheeses, even a wine and cheese pairing as well as different types of Mac and cheese. This booth is also where you will find the canola milk shake. Now you’ll have to wait a little longer to get your cheese fix here, this booth does not open until September 18th. A few other delayed openings this year are Festival Favorites opening September 9th and Coastal Eats, Earth Eats, The Alps and India all opening October 2nd.
Food
There are nearly 100 new food items at this years food and wine festival! On top of the Wedge menu, here is a list of some of the new dishes you will find at Food & Wine Festival 2026:
- Chermoula Chicken Hummus Bowl, Spiced Flank Steak Hummus Bowl, Raw el Hanout Cauliflower Bowl & Chocolate Pistachio Cookie – Morocco
- Spicy Temaki Hand Roll, Beef Wagyu Tamaki Hand Roll & Mango-Apple Fruit Pearl – Japan
- Basil Pesto Chicken Dumpling & Edamame Dumpling – Gyozas of the Galaxy
- Smoked Brisket and Cheddar Melt – Hops & Barley
- Buffalo Dill Pickle Wings & Sweet Chile-Lime Plant Based Chicken Strips – The Odyssey
- BBQ Braai Chicken Pizza, Caramel Apple Cheesecake Baumkuchen & Frozen Waffle Old Fashioned – Connections
- Smoked Chocolate Bread Pudding – Flavor from Fire
- Lemon-Almond Olive Oil Cake – Earth Eats
- Tostada de Osso Buco, Taco de Camaron & Paleta de Moras – Mexico
- Caramel Cream and Gjetost Norwegian Brown Cheese Bolle – Norway
- Dumpling Trio – China
- Sweet Potato Mealie Pap – Refreshment Outpost
- Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese & Tartiflette – The Alps
- Weiner Schnitzel – Germany
- Cinnamon Pretzel Cold Brew – Sommerfest
- Croquetas de Jamón & Paella Caldoso – Spain
- Stromboli, Pollo al Marsala & Almond Panna Cotta – Italy
- Spicy Strawberry-Mango Smoothie – Block & Hans
- Pumpkin Pie Funnel Cake – Funnel Cake Stand
- Chicken Slouvaki Gyro – Greece
- Belgian Waffle – Belgium
- Moqueca de Camarao – Brazil
- Boef Braise vin Rouge et Echalottes, Gateau du Pomes de Terre & Creme Brûlée Pistache, Confiture de Fruits Rouges – France
- Seoul, South Korea: Bo Ssam Pork Putine & Spiced Apples Slushy – La Poutinerie
- Bruleed Sweet Potatoes – Bramblewood Bites
- Spicy Black Bean-Mushroom Chili – Forest & Field
Concerts
One of my favorite things about an EPCOT festival is the concerts! There are a handful of new artists performing at Food & Wine Festival 2026:
- The War and Treaty – September 4-5
- Couch – September 11-12
- Fitz and the Tantrums – September 13-14
- Grupo Mania – September 20-21
- Rey Ruiz – October 5-6
- Allen Stone – October 21-22
- Lauren Alaina – October 26-27
- Big Head Todd and the Monsters – November 4-5
- Grace Potter – November 9-10
Remember that if there is an artist you really want to see, you can book a dining package for a guaranteed seat! This is available throughout different restaurants in EPCOT. You can even do it as a walk up at Regal Eagle, just get there early!
Festival Extras
There is no shortage of things to enjoy at Food & Wine Festival 2026, even if you’re full and can’t eat anymore! The tiny train village has gotten a makeover for the festival! There is even someone eating off a trash can. This is so cute and you will find a different or new detail every time you look at it. Communicore Hall will have an entire interactive exhibit dedicated to the history of cheese when it open mid September. Emile’s Fromage Montage is back with more cheesy fun as well as Remi’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt. I’m not a huge fan of the prizes for this one but they are cute I guess. It’s like a magnetic tie tac foe game. Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit will be back September 25-November 2 for a little Halloween fun! There is definitely something for everyone at this festival!
Merch
No good EPCOT festival is complete without tons of cute merch! There are a few collections this year, including a whole line for Annual Passholders. Most things are limit of 2 which is good. The color schemes are sticking to those dark blues and reds for the fall season. Remember in 2024 when we got the funky, hippie looking, purple Figment merch? I personally loved that! I always feel like the Food & Wine merch is a little boring but that purple year was good!
Conclusion
Full transparency, Food & Wine Festival is my least favorite EPCOT festival. Flower & Garden Festival is my all time favorite! The others just have something special about them to me and this one feels a little bland. And as much as I love cheese, it doesn’t love me so all the cheese is a lot. It’s also not off to a great start for me. We went Friday to go see Hanson, of course we went to sing Mmmbop at the top of our lungs and feel young again. Well, THEY DIDN”T PLAY IT! We went to the second show and I guess they did not feel the need to play it in all three shows. I’m just wondering what else anyone came to hear them sing? It was very disappointing!
I am half joking, this is not actually a problem, nor does it make me not want to go to Food & Wine again, but come on! I guess I’ll just have to go to another concert to make up for it, shucks! Hahaha! I hope you get to go to Food & Wine Festival 2026. Whether it’s my favorite or not, it is always a good time! Thanks for reading and have a magical day!