EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival: 2021 Guide

Heading to EPCOT this fall? Kids will love these activities at the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival.
The 2021 EPCOT International Food and Wine serves up 129 days of tasty fun through November 20, 2021 (Photo: Harrison Cooney)
Photo: Harrison Cooney

The EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival kicked off in July, and while there’s plenty for parents to do at this year’s festival, there’s also a ton of activities for kids to enjoy while exploring EPCOT. And the best part about this year’s Food and Wine festival is that it runs for an astounding 129 days—until November 20!

That means there’s plenty of time to gather your kids and plan a trip to Walt Disney World to experience all that the EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival has to offer.

Guide to the 2021 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

Throughout the festival, there will be new food booths opening and adding dishes, a fantastic self-guided cheese tour, a scavenger hunt, and more for kids and parents to do together. If your kids are older, you can even let them explore individual World Showcase pavilions on their own as you sample bites and sips from the corresponding nearby food booths.

Emile’s Fromage Montage

Kids love gooey melty cheese on just about anything. If your kid, or you for that matter, loves cheese and enjoys trying it in a variety of ways, don’t miss Emile’s Fromage Montage. The self-guided cheese tour takes you around World Showcase—and some of the nearby areas of EPCOT—to enjoy five different dishes that feature a variety of cheeses.

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After you purchase an item on the curated list, you will get a stamp from the food booth for the back of your festival booklet. When you get five stamps, you can turn your booklet in at the Shimmering Sips booth for another edible prize.

Pro tip: Don’t worry if you forget to get your booklet stamped—just ask the cast member at the next booth that has a participating item if they can stamp it for you from your previous purchase. They will likely ask you if you have a receipt to prove you bought an item. Once you provide proof, you’ll get the stamp for the previous snack and a stamp for the item you just bought.

The dishes and participating booths are listed below. It’s not necessary to purchase one of each, just a combination of these dishes that add up to five stamps. For example, if you want two of one item and three of another, that works as well.

Dishes and participating booths:

  • Crispy Barbecue Pork Rinds with Pimento Cheese – The Swanky Saucy Swine
  • Passion Fruit Cheesecake with Toasted Macadamia Nuts – HawaiĘ»i
  • Schinkennudeln: Pasta Gratin with Ham, Onions, and Cheese – Germany
  • Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey – Greece
  • The Corned Beef Corner Route: Smoked Corned Beef with Crispy Potatoes, Cheese Curds, Pickled Onions, and Beer-Cheese Fondue – Flavors from Fire hosted by The NFL on ESPN

Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak Scavenger Hunt

Kids who love the adorable rat Remy from Disney and Pixar’s Ratatouille will enjoy the movie-themed Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak scavenger hunt. To start, you’ll need to pick up a map and stickers from one of three spots around EPCOT: Port of Entry, Pin Traders, or World Traveler. While walking around World Showcase kids will need to try to find statuettes of Remy, which are hidden everywhere from on top of festival booths to deep inside country pavilions. When you find Remy, place the corresponding sticker on your map.

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Once you’ve found every version of Remy and completed your map, you can return to one of the three map purchasing spots to get a prize from Chef Remy himself. Prizes and maps are limited and often run out just before the end of the festival, so if this is an activity you plan on doing then consider doing it early on in the festival season rather than waiting.

Entertainment at the 2021 EPCOT International Food and Wine Festival

Kids and adults can stop to take much-needed breaks and enjoy live music around World Showcase. The JAMMin’ Chefs take to the Canada Mill Stage between the Canada pavilion and the United Kingdom pavilion to make some music using pots and pans. The group is incredibly talented and have been an EPCOT mainstay for years.

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At the America Gardens Theatre, your family can enjoy traditional Mexican folk music from Mariachi Cobre. This is also where you can find the Voices of Liberty, who normally sing inside the American Adventure Rotunda.

During the festival, local bands from across central Florida will also play every Friday through Monday.

Anniversary Celebrations Start on October 1

October 1 is the official kickoff of Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary. The celebration will take place across the entire Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and EPCOT will be a major focal point of the celebration. Starting October 1, guests at EPCOT can finally take a spin on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, the new attraction in the France pavilion. A new crêperie will also open on October 1 in the France pavilion near the entrance of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

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At the same time, EPCOT will debut a brand new fireworks show, Harmonious, which will celebrate Disney music from movies that take place around the world. If you’ve been to EPCOT lately you’ve definitely noticed the barges in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon, which are permanent fixtures for the new show.

There will also be new food booths opening on October 1, including the highly anticipated Mac and Eats booth that will feature a variety of macaroni and cheese dishes. Some festival favorites like Spain and India will also debut on October 1, just in time to celebrate the big anniversary.

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Megan duBois
Megan duBois is a freelance writer who covers theme parks, cruising, food and drink, and family travel. Her work has appeared on Buzzfeed, Popsugar, Insider, Orbitz, FamilyVacationist, The Daily Meal, Family Vacation Critic, TravelPulse, and more. Megan has been quoted as an expert and thought leader on theme parks for Forbes and other outlets.