Epcot's Food and Wine Festival Is Still Happening This Year, but Things Will Be a Little Different

Last year's festival kicked off on Aug. 29 and ran until Nov. 23 — almost a full three months of celebrating culinary creations and luscious libations. This year, the festival's opening day will coincide with Epcot's reopening on July 15 and "continue through the fall." No end date has been given, but according to Disney, this year's festival will be the longest yet.

The highlight of this food-lover's festival is sampling small bites, sweets, and beverages from the food booths set up throughout Epcot's World Showcase and Future World. Last year's festival saw more than 30 of these global marketplaces, but this year's pared-down version will feature closer to 20, and they'll be more spaced out around the park, presumably to accommodate social distancing.

Guests should have had until June 1 to check out the floral festivities at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival, but it was cut short due to Disney World's closure in mid-March. For those who didn't get a chance to check it out, Disney recently announced that the world's cutest rodent chef — Remy from Ratatouille — will still be on display in the France pavilion.

Each of Epcot's festivals has some type of fun scavenger hunt that encourages guests to explore every corner of the World Showcase. Though this year's festival will be modified, Disney has planned a brand new hunt that celebrates both the Food & Wine Festival and the Flower & Garden Festival. It costs fewer than $10 to purchase a map, and you get a small prize for turning in your completed map, making it one of the least expensive souvenirs you can find at Disney.

The abrupt halt to Epcot's springtime festival must have left them with quite a bit of leftover merchandise on their hands, because when the Food & Wine Festival opens, you'll still be able to pick some up. In fact, actual Food & Wine merchandise won't even be available until sometime after the festival opens.

The Food & Wine festival typically hosts a number of fun and educational cooking demonstrations, beverage seminars, and other special events. As of right now, none of these appear to be available during this year's limited-offering festival.