Walt Disney World has created a clever solution for guests hoping to enjoy a festival at Epcot when the park reopens on July 15. The “A Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival” will be a new event that’s a hybrid of the paused Flower & Garden Festival mixed with elements from everyone’s favorite Food & Wine Festival that’s normally held in the fall.
Beginning July 15 and continuing until an unspecified date in the fall, Epcot’s new festival will feature the many topiaries of Flower & Garden with 20 select marketplaces offering food and beverages from around the world.
A full description of the “A Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival” can be seen below, via the Disney Parks Blog.
This new take on the foodie festival will debut July 15 and continue through the fall, offering over 20 signature global marketplaces like Hawaii, Hops & Barley, and Islands of the Caribbean, spaced out around the park. And, if you’ve ever imagined a world where the floral fun of Flower & Garden is sprinkled in with the global goodies of Food & Wine, here’s your chance – guests will be able to see our newest topiary, Remy, in the France pavilion and find Flower & Garden merchandise. For scavenger hunt fans, Remy’s Ratatouille Hide and Squeak scavenger hunt returns. And stay tuned as Food & Wine merchandise joins the fun later on after the festival begins.
Disney states that this will be the longest festival yet, though they didn’t offer a specific number of days that the festival will run.
Unfortunately, Epcot won’t host the many concerts that are usually scheduled during their festivals due to concerns over social distancing. However, they will use the America Gardens Theatre to host familiar Epcot entertainment such as Mariachi Cobre, the JAMMitors and others.
We applaud Disney’s creativity in combining Flower & Garden and Food & Wine in an attempt to make something memorable for guests. That being said, we wonder how this will play out when Disney is striving to maintain reduced capacity and social distancing at their theme parks. Epcot’s festivals, particularly Food & Wine, are known to bring out large crowds where social distancing would be nearly impossible. Disney will have to keep a close on its attendance to prevent their hybrid festival from turning into a congested problem.
