You’re going to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival! Hooray!

Ok. Now what?

In 2017, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival will take place August 31 through November 13. That’s 75 days of discovering new dishes, enjoying interesting wines, and learning about exciting cocktails and craft beers.

But unless you’re independently wealthy, you probably won’t be enjoying the entire two and a half month stretch.

Luckily, we know a thing or two about planning a GREAT Epcot Food and Wine Festival trip. We’ve even compiled our best tips in our DFB Guide to the Walt Disney World Food and Wine Festival, available right now for pre-order.

To get you started on everything from choosing your dates, to what to pack, and how you pay for it all, let’s check out our best tips for Preparing for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, From Start to Finish.

1) Schedule Your Dates

It may seem basic, but get the calendar out and decide when you’d like to visit.

But really, it’s not so basic, right? There are all kinds of things to consider: When are crowds the largest? What’s the weather like? And OMG is Hanson going to be there this year??? (Spoiler Alert: Yep. They are.)

Unfortunately, with respect to schedules, if you have to plan in advance, you’re going to have to do so with some unknowns. Disney always puts out the final schedule of events, for everything from Special Events to Demonstrations and Seminars, pretty much at the last minute. Even Eat to the Beat is coming later and later (although we do have that full lineup — see it here!)

Our suggestion? Plan as much as you can based upon weather, crowds, and a general idea of when Special Events have taken place historically. For a look back at all of the details of previous Festivals, check out our Disney Food and Wine Festivals Page. [Read more…]