How to Save Money at Epcot Food and Wine Festival

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By McGMom
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Epcot Center

Food and wine is expensive everywhere, but especially costly on Disney World vacations. Good news! There are ways to save money when visiting the happiest place on earth specifically to enjoy the Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Every fall Epcot hosts a huge celebration for lovers of food, wine and culture. You can easily spend a small fortune enjoying even a single day eating and drinking your way around the World Showcase. Here are some easy ways to save money, eat some amazing food and sample wine from around the globe.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Internet access for planning and research.
Walt Disney Tickets.

Step 1

Make sure your Disney World vacations are during the time when the Food and Wine Festival are in full swing. The first and last weekends of the festival are sometimes a little ‘leaner’ on opportunities for tasting.
Step 2

Check out the online menus before you go. Of course, you probably don’t want to plan out exactly what you will eat and do. It is fun to walk around and respond to an enticing smell! If you know some of what you want to be sure to try, however, it will help you budget your money and your time.
Step 3

Decide if you want to attend any of the ‘big’ ticketed events. This is where you would spend a lot of money. You might consider instead enjoying all the free tasting you can. If you think you would like to attend one of the special events, purchase your tickets well in advance of your vacation. Many of these opportunities to cook with a celebrity chef, experience unlimited samples of food and wine or simply relax with a fine pairing of upscale entrees and alcoholic beverages sell out quickly.
Step 4

Buying a souvenir? Buy a useful cookbook after one of the culinary demonstrations . Have it signed by the author at no cost right there. A schedule of official book signings is posted each day.
Step 5

Set aside some time each day to sit in on the complimentary culinary demonstrations . You will be given a decent size portion of the food, a cooking demo by a popular chef, and a comfortable break from the sun and heat. Additionally, you will get a copy of each recipe you sample. These are printed on nicely decorated paper, and can be placed in a binder for an inexpensive and meaningful souvenir of your Disney World vacation.
Step 6

Explore the park fully. You may find children’s recipes, information on honey or spices, and lots of photo opportunities with food themed topiaries. The Festival Center has been located in Future World in previous years. Make sure you have a sense of where you are going; Epcot is a big Disney World park.
Step 7

Want to try it all for less money? Share each appetizer size sample between two people. This might seem silly, but you will get to try everything, and then decide if there are things you would want a full portion of for another trip around the world! Plan on spending between $2 and $5 for each appetizer size sample.
Step 8

There are free beer and wine tastings each year. You will need to line up early, but can enjoy shade, some cold beer or wine and various information on the beverages as well. In 2008 there were more than 1200 beer and wine seminars over the course of the festival offering complimentary samples.
Step 9

Enjoy a free concert – or a few of them! The Eat to the Beat Concert Series offers daily entertainment on the stage at the America Garden Theatre.