If you’re looking to visit an EPCOT festival, there are a few things you need to know prior to your trip.

There are four festivals throughout the year at EPCOT, which include:

• Festival of the Arts (mid-January through late February)
• Flower & Garden Festival (early March through early June)
• Food & Wine Festival (late August through mid November)
• Festival of the Holidays (late November through late December)

Each festival is unique with one celebrating the arts, another honoring gardening and horticulture, one all about food and wine, and the final festival educating guests about how different cultures celebrate the holidays.

Festivals are one of the reasons I love spending time at EPCOT. To assist you during your visit at the park when a festival is happening, I want to share 9 EPCOT festival dining tips that will save you time and money.

In this article

EPCOT Festival Dining Tips To Save You Time & Money

Always grab a festival passport

Each festival has its own special passport that you can find around the park, including:

• Next to the maps at both park entrances (at the front or via the International Gateway near the Disney Skyliner)
• Inside select stores
• Near the cash registers at each booth
• At festival marketplaces

The passports include festival information, including all of the booths and menus. You can also search for this info on your phone in the My Disney Experience app.

However you decide to look up the information, if you choose to participate in the festival-specific activity that earns you a free prize, you will need a physical passport. More on that below.

Set a budget (and get a gift card)

There’s always so much to eat and drink at EPCOT festivals, which may become a problem for your bank account.

If you want to save money, set a budget! It can be $50, $75, $100, or whatever is best for you.

One of the best ways to ensure you stick to your budget is by purchasing a Disney Gift Card. Load whatever amount onto that gift card (has to be a minimum of $25 and no more than $500) and once you spend it all, you’re done.

You can purchase a physical gift card or an e-gift card that you can load onto your mobile wallet. Better yet, if you get one of the cute festival gift cards, you can wear it like a bracelet. This is much more accessible than digging around in your purse or getting out your phone/wallet every time you pay. Plus, it’s way more fun!

Share festival food

One of my top tips to anyone who wants to eat and drink all the things at Walt Disney World is to — share. This way, you can try more! In the end, you’re also saving money compared to if multiple people in your group buy the same menu item.

And if you don’t like something, there is hopefully someone with you who can eat the rest so you’re not wasting food.

The other good news is that smaller portions are usually served at festivals, so you won’t fill up as quickly compared to an actual meal.

Order a small drink (or get the flight)

If you’re a beer and/or cider fan, the festivals typically offer two beverage sizes — a 6 oz. or a 12 oz.

Try ordering the small size so you don’t pay as much. You can always go back for the bigger size if you fall in love with something.

Some of the booths also offer flights of three. If there’s a booth that has a couple beers/ciders you want, get the flight so you can try all three options — and save money in the process.

Book a dining package

During EPCOT festivals, you can book dining packages for the concerts and shows that occur daily.

The dining packages are only available at select EPCOT restaurants and gives you reserved seating for whatever performance is happening that day at the America Gardens Theatre in the America pavilion, along with a meal.

These include:

• Candlelight Processional Dining Package during Festival of the Holidays
• Disney on Broadway Dining Package during Festival of the Arts
• Garden Rocks Dining Package during Flower & Garden Festival
• Eat to the Beat Dining Package during Food & Wine Festival

Dining packages are nice if you don’t want to wait in line for one of the shows and when someone super popular is set to perform. Trust me, sometimes the line is long.

Knowing you have a reserved seat reduces stress and saves you time from waiting in line. But, dining packages certainly aren’t for everyone since some are on the pricier side.

Alternative: If you don’t want to wait in line or pay for a dining package, you can listen to the performances on the America Gardens Theatre stage right in the America pavilion. There are plenty of tables. Sometimes you’re even allowed to stand right outside the theater to watch the show.

Check on Passholder discounts

Sometimes — not all of the time — Disney World Annual Passholders will receive a discount at select booths for a limited time.

The discounts only apply to food and non-alcoholic beverages. And you normally have to use a form of cashless payment to receive the discount.

You can check the Passholder Buzz section in the My Disney Experience app or the Passholder perks page online to see if any festival booth discounts are being offered during your visit.

Ask if you can modify a dish

While this won’t save you time or money, it’s still a great tip for festivals. Did you know menu items can sometimes be modified at the festival booths?

Now, to be clear, this isn’t always the case, it won’t be an option at all booths, nor can you do it with all offerings. But, sometimes, you can ask if an ingredient can be excluded from a dish if you simply don’t like something or for dietary and allergy purposes.

For example, since I’m vegetarian, I’ve asked before if meat can be withheld from a particular dish. Again, this depends on the dish, but my request has been accommodated on multiple occasions.

Sometimes you can also modify flights, like the Fry Flight we’ve seen at The Fry Basket during Food & Wine or even a beer/cider flight. All you have to do is ask and see!

Know that you will most likely still have to pay the same price for the item. To see if the dish can be modified, ask at the cash register.

Keep in mind that your food may take longer to prepare, depending on your request. So be patient, because, after all, they are doing you a favor.

Don’t forget your complimentary prize

As you’re eating and drinking your way around the festivals, there’s a chance for you to earn a free prize.

Each festival has its own “walk” or “stroll” that allows you to collect a stamp for specific festival menu items that are noted in your passport. When you purchase these (usually you have to buy 5), you’ll get a stamp in your passport.

These include:

• Festival of the Arts: The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine
• Flower & Garden: Garden Graze
• Food & Wine: Emile’s Fromage Montage
• Festival of the Holidays: Holiday Cookie Stroll

Once you’ve collected each stamp, you’ll bring your passport to the location noted in your passport. All you have to do is show all of your stamps to a Cast Member, they’ll place a completer stamp in your passport, and then give you your complimentary prize.

You can do this at your own leisure, but in order to claim your prize, you’ll need to get all of your stamps by the end of the festival.

Plan your menu ahead

Planning your menu prior to an EPCOT festival is a great way to stick to a budget.

Menus are always released before a festival begins, so you can comb through each booth to see what you want to order. Fortunately, Disney World even posts prices online for festival menu items!

This way, you can tally the cost and make sure you’re sticking to your budget before you start eating and drinking.

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Do you have any EPCOT festival dining tips? Let me know in the comments!