My Biggest Mistakes I Will NOT Be Repeating at the 2026 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival

We’re a few weeks away from the end of EPCOT’s International Flower & Garden Festival, and while that’s a bummer, it also means that the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, arguably the biggest festival of the year, will begin at the end of August.

Food & Wine Festival

This year’s Food & Wine Festival runs from August 27th through November 21st, 2026, which yes, means it lands during one of the hottest times of the year, and crowds fluctuate pretty intensely throughout that season (since you’ll go through summer, fall, and the very beginning of winter). Members of our team have been to the festival EVERY year for the past 10+ years, and yet, somehow every year, we make at least one new mistake that we vow to never make again (and we don’t…we just make a different one). If you’re heading to the festival this year, do yourself a favor and make sure you don’t make the same mistakes we did last year.

Forgetting to Drink Water AND Electrolytes

You’ve heard it approximately 14 million times, with at least 10 million of those being from us alone: DRINK WATER while you’re in the parks in the heat. However, that’s not the end of the story. When it’s hot outside, and you’re sweating buckets, it’s important to not only keep yourself hydrated with water, but to ALSO drink electrolytes to replace what you’re sweating out.

Powerade has electrolytes!

There’s a reason why you see athletes and those out in the sun a lot drinking a mix of water AND a drink with electrolytes, such as Powerade, Gatorade, or you see them adding electrolyte packets into their water. This is because electrolytes are essential minerals, like sodium, calcium, and potassium, that you won’t get in water regularly, but they’re incredibly important in helping your body regulate its functions, especially in the heat. Do yourself a favor and be ready to find the balance between drinking lots of water, ALSO getting electrolytes, while also balancing the fun drinks you’re getting throughout the day too. It’s a little hard, but it’s absolutely manageable.

Eating In The Eat

While you may think you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, when it’s 100+ degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity is making you feel like someone is covering you with a wet paper towel the moment you step outside in the parks, there ARE indeed rules for eating, especially if you’ve got a sensitive stomach.

Passion Fruit Cream Slush at EPCOT Food & Wine Festival (2025)

This is especially true for items that have lots of dairy in them, or raw fish, such as sushi. We’ve heard some horror stories from members of our team on what can happen if you eat these heavier or more delicate items in the heat of the day (spoiler alert: sometimes they don’t mix well with the heat, and you may not feel the greatest), so we recommend eating those items earlier in the morning, or after the sun has come close to setting for the day.

Keep Cool WHENEVER You Can

When it’s THAT hot in Disney World, it’s important to stay cool whenever you can, and however you can. That means that, whenever there’s an opportunity, we recommend heading inside to take advantage of the AC. If you’ve grabbed food from a festival booth, instead of eating at a table (or on a trash can) outside, step into a quick-service restaurant to enjoy the AC, or at the very least, find some shade.

Festival lines can get long!

We also recommend bringing what you need to keep yourself cool when you are outside, such as fans, cooling towels, sunglasses, umbrellas — whatever works for you. If it will help keep you out of the sun, or help keep yourself cool on bright, hot, sunny days, it’s absolutely worth bringing into the parks, even if that means you bring a slightly bigger bag.

Underestimating How Filling Booths Can Be

Festival booths are known for having smaller portions at lower prices, which makes it much easier to snack around the festival throughout the day. However, we’ve seen firsthand how people think they can eat at a booth basically every hour, grabbing at least 1-2 items at each booth, and if you’re eating the whole portion yourself, or not sharing, that can become VERY filling VERY fast.

Frozen S’mores from Festival Favorites

It’s just something to keep in mind while you’re planning, because in this case, it’s common for your eyes to be bigger than your stomach, especially on, you guessed it, hot days. Be flexible and ready to change your plans around if needed, and really listen to your body!

Refreshment Outpost full spread

We’ll be at day one of the festival to bring you all our reviews and the updates you need to know to have a successful festival day, so stay tuned to DFB!

Everything We Know About This Year’s Food and Wine Festival!

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!