From Bites to Beats: EPCOT Food & Wine Festival 2024 Highlights

 Yellowcard performs at Eat to the Beat – Photo credits: Brooke McDonald

The 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, Walt Disney World Resort’s annual months-long celebration of global food and drink, is in full swing now through November 23, 2024.

This year’s festival kicked off on August 29—more than a month later than last year—and even though September in Central Florida can still be sweltering, fall flavors definitely hit better post-Labor Day.

This is still the Food & Wine festival you know and love, but there are some noteworthy updates, including an expanded festival footprint, new global marketplaces and delicious dishes, and new musical acts in the Eat to the Beat concert series, including one that just broke a festival record.

Here, we round up what’s new and notable, alongside some not-to-miss returning favorites.

CommuniCore Hall Debuts as a Festival Location Hosting a New Global Marketplace

CommuniCore Hall, part of EPCOT’s reimagined World Celebration neighborhood, officially opened in June, but Food & Wine is the first festival to set up shop in the new space. Inside the building, a new food marketplace, Macatizers, serves up four different takes on macaroni and cheese.

Two were previously on the menu at the Mac and Eats booth in 2022—Traditional Macaroni and Cheese with herbed panko and a plant-based IMPOSSIBLE Chili Macaroni and Cheese with sour cream and cheddar—but the big winners this year are the two new dishes, Truffle Macaroni and Cheese and Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese, a Philly cheesesteak-inspired take on traditional mac.

Also on the Macatizers menu is an extensive lineup of drinks, poured at the sizable bar alongside the kitchen and food service area. Three beers and two trios of wines are each available on their own or as part of a flight of three.

Also in CommuniCore Hall, there are tables and chairs, and a large selection of festival merchandise. If you can snag a table, this is a good spot to escape a downpour or cool off in the AC on a hot day.

Just outside, opposite the CommuniCore Plaza Stage, the Festival Favorites marketplace serves an eclectic menu of Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies, BBQ Pork Rinds, and a Key Lime Tart.

True to its name, Festival Favorites also gives a new home to the Irish Milk Shake, in past years served at the Ireland marketplace, but didn’t return this year. Made with Guinness Stout, Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur, and Vanilla Ice Cream, it’s a grown-up favorite. There’s a non-alcoholic shake option here too—Frozen S’mores, a chocolate milkshake with marshmallow syrup, mini marshmallows, chocolate shavings, and a graham cracker.

Somehow, The Pickle Milk Shake Returned

For a second year now, the Brew-Wing Lab at the Odyssey will either delight or disgust guests with the infamous Pickle Milkshake. Still sparking debate, the tangy green concoction, topped with whipped cream, fresh dill, and chocolate “pickling spice,” has reappeared to challenge more palates. 

Alongside the shake, most of last year’s wing dishes are back, though the Unnecessarily Spicy, Yet Extremely Tasty Wings have upped the ante, swapping Scotch bonnets for Carolina reapers to deliver even more heat. 

Vegan visitors can still enjoy the Impossible Buffalo Chicken Tenders with plant-based blue cheese, ranch, and celery, but last year’s even more delicious option, the Buffalo Brussels sprouts, has disappeared from the menu. To make up for it, vegetarians have a new savory option: Fried Pickle Spears with dill ranch, which have moved over from the Fry Basket.

A New Festive Fall Zone

When the festival was starting in mid-to-late July, a pumpkin-lined, harvest-themed collection of booths would have been difficult to appreciate with autumn nowhere in sight. But with the later start, ‘tis the season—even if September temperatures do still regularly reach the 90s.

Harvest Hollow is the new name given to the area of the park spanning the pathway alongside the Imagination Pavilion, connecting World Celebration to World Showcase. Three new marketplaces—Bramblewood Bites, Milled & Mulled, Forest & Field, and are all focused on seasonal ingredients and flavors, serving dishes and drinks like Autumn Chili, Cast Iron-roasted Brussels Sprouts and Root Vegetables, and Cider Mill Donut Hard Cider.

Fast Food Classics Go Gourmet

Theme-park versions of fast-food standards often get a bad rap, but not at this festival, where hot dogs, burgers, and fries all get a serious glow-up.

New this year, Flavors of America is serving up four regional takes on the classic hot dog: New York, Chicago, Carolina, and Southwest style, topped with all the local fixings.

At Flavors From Fire, there are plussed burgers for meat eaters, vegans and vegetarians. The Steakhouse Blended Burger is a beef and wild mushroom slider topped with truffle brie cheese fondue, arugula, and truffle potato chips on a sesame seed bun.

The perennial favorite Impossible Slider gets a new approach this year as a Montreal-style Burger Slider, topped with cheddar cheese and tomato jam on a sesame seed bun.

Grab a burger, dog, or both on your way to the Fry Basket where you can pick up a Fry Flight with gourmet Truffle-Parmesan, Barbeque Bacon, and Sweet Potato Casserole Fries.

On the flipside of fancy fast food, we love this festival for its taster portions of dishes that would be wallet busters at a table-service restaurant, like the $13 Roasted Warm Water Lobster Tail with garlic butter from Coastal Eats.

Global Grazing

Snacking and sipping around World Showcase on smaller festival portions makes it easier to taste your way around the world. Try Potato and Pea Samosas with coriander-lime cream and a Mango Lassi from India, Spanish Charcuterie and Red Sangria from Spain, Brioche aux Esgargots from France, hand-held sushi from Japan, or the latest polarizing pick from Italy, Italian-style “Nachos”—beef ragout, pasta chips, tomato sauce, and dried ricotta cheese.

There are lots of international picks for less adventurous palates too. For a mini Oktoberfest, go for a bratwurst on a pretzel roll with mustard and a Weihenstephaner Festbier from Germany.

Waffles topped with berries and whipped cream for Belgium are always a hit with my kids, along with the Pão de Queijo cheese bread from Brazil.

Emile’s Fromage Montage

Emile’s Fromage Montage is also back for 2024, offering guests a cheesy challenge to seek out some of the festival’s tastiest cheese-forward dishes. There’s no additional cost—just order any five items from the lengthy lineup, collect stamps for each in your festival passport, and redeem them for a complimentary completer prize.

Among the eligible dishes are longtime favorites like the Griddled Cheese from Greece, the creamy Canadian Cheddar and Bacon Soup from Canada, and the Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese from The Alps, plus plenty of newcomers like the Pumpkin Mascarpone Ravioli from Forest & Field and any macaroni and cheese dish from Macatizers.

Eat to the Beat Brings Music Fans in Droves

EPCOT’s Eat to the Beat Concert Series brings a mix of well-known and local acts across various genres to the America Gardens Theatre throughout the Food & Wine Festival, and 2024 has been no exception.

Fan favorites like Joey Fatone and Friends, Boyz II Men, and Hanson have returned to packed crowds. However, this year’s concert series made a particularly big splash with the festival debut on September 8 of pop-punk band Yellowcard, which brought in record-breaking crowds, lead singer Ryan Key told the audience during the band’s second day of performances on September 9.

Fans showed up early, with some waiting hours in the standby queue, which stretched from the theater all the way to Refreshment Outpost, a quarter of the way around World Showcase Lagoon. Even those who couldn’t get into the theater gathered near the American Adventure pavilion to catch Yellowcard’s energetic seven-song set.

Sporting Disney-themed T-shirts throughout the performances, Key shared his love for Walt Disney World with the crowd, adding a personal touch to an already electric night.https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_r0kD0uDD2/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.travelpulse.com&rp=%2FWorkArea%2FContentDesigner%2Fdialogs%2Frichtextentry.aspx%3Ffolderid%3D1409%26contentid%3D554976#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A9405.5%7D

As a special highlight, Yellowcard was joined by guest Chrissy Costanza during each set to perform the live debut of their cover of “A Whole New World.” This pop-punk version of the classic Aladdin song is one of 12 tracks on the newly released Disney album A Whole New Sound, which dropped on September 6.

The album features reimagined Disney songs by rock, alternative, and pop-punk bands, and Yellowcard’s performance added a fresh twist to the concert series.https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_reDx5I7b1/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fadmin.travelpulse.com&rp=%2FWorkArea%2FContentDesigner%2Fdialogs%2Frichtextentry.aspx%3Ffolderid%3D1409%26contentid%3D554976#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A10021.799999982119%7D

Fans of the album will also be treated to performances from We the Kings, who contributed a cover of “Go the Distance” from Hercules to A Whole New Sound. They’re set to take the stage at Eat to the Beat from October 11-12.

Eat to the Beat concerts continue nightly at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8 p.m. through November 18, 2024. For those looking to skip the long standby queues, the Eat to the Beat dining package offers a meal and guaranteed seating for one of the night’s performances.

Seasonal Scavenger Hunts

Scavenger hunts remain a fantastic way to keep kids entertained and engaged during Epcot’s festivals. First up, Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak challenges you to find festival mascot Remy hidden around the festival marketplaces with a different ingredient in each spot. Just pick up a map and stickers for $9.99 at various merchandise locations throughout the park, and whether you complete the hunt or not, you can still swing by a redemption spot to claim your prize.

As Halloween approaches, a second hunt kicks off, adding some seasonal fun to your visit. Pluto’s Pumpkin Pursuit runs from September 27 through November 1 and is a festive search for decorated pumpkins scattered throughout Epcot. This one works the same way—pick up a game board and stickers for $9.99 and, find the pumpkins (or not) and collect your prize.

Four Festival Merchandise Collections

New year, new gear. Four merchandise collections debuted for this year’s festival: the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival Collection, the Chef Mickey Mouse Collection, the Chef Remy Collection, and the Chef Figment Collection. We particularly love the colorful 60s-inspired designs of the Figment collection and an adorable Chef Remy ornament. 

This article originally appeared in TravelPulse.