EPCOT 2022 Food & Wine Festival: A Firsthand Look at the Food, Drinks, Merch and More

The 2022 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, Walt Disney World's annual celebration of food and drink from around the globe, kicked off July 14 and runs through Nov. 19. Featuring more than 25 global marketplaces serving cuisine from six continents, plus a smorgasbord of exclusive entertainment and experiences, this year's festival is overflowing with things to eat, drink and do. Here's a firsthand look at the 2022 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

Grab a Festival Passport as soon as you enter EPCOT and keep it handy. This is the ultimate guide to the fest, detailing each global marketplace's location and menu. For those with dietary restrictions, plant-based and gluten/wheat-friendly items are denoted throughout the booklet for easy reference. The passport also includes info about merchandise and entertainment, but consult the My Disney Experience app for the most up-to-date showtimes and daily offerings.

All eyes are always on the new marketplaces when an EPCOT festival kicks off and The Fry Basket, new in 2022 is a fast favorite (with four kinds of fries, how could it not be?!).

We had to sample everything at the Fry Basket. For lots of variety, try the Fry Flight - Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar (a classic), Barbecued Bacon Fries (tastes a bit like a fancier take on BBQ potato chips, and Toasted Marshmallow Cream and Caramel Whisky (think Thanksgiving sweet potato casserole - in fry form). You can't go wrong with the flight, but even better (in our opinion) are the plant-based Adobo Yuca Fries with Garlic Cilantro Aioli. If you've never had yuca fries, they're a tasty departure from standard spuds. We love the salty, crispy exterior to these, perfectly complemented by the tangy aioli.

The partnership between Disney and Impossible Foods continues to yield new plant-based dishes featuring Impossible meat at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and on Disney Cruise Line. Earth Eats Hosted by Impossible features two plant-based dishes, both of which garnered rave reviews from vegans and meat-eaters alike.

Earth Eats features a returning favorite, the Impossible Burger Slider with Wasabi Cream and Spicy Slaw on a Sesame Seed Bun. New this year, the Impossible Meatball includes two zesty meatballs served on top of herbed polenta with a rustic puttanesca sauce and a drizzle of basil pesto. We've been longtime fans of the slider, but the meatballs might be even better.

It's hog heaven­ at the Swanky Saucy Swine, where the menu is so pig-packed that even some of the drinks include porcine ingredients and garnishes. Returning favorite dishes, the Crispy Barbecued Pork Rinds and Soy-Glazed Sticky Ribs, are joined by a new dish - Grilled Pork Shoulder Lettuce Wrap with charred corn salsa, pickled red onion, and cilantro-lime crema.

To drink, the Bourbon Bloody Mary with Labrot & Graham Woodford Reserve Bourbon Whiskey trades the traditional vodka for a smoky bourbon and is garnished with a piece of bacon.

Last year's Food & Wine festival unveiled a newly refurbished Morocco pavilion with former quick-service location Tangierine Café reinvented as a new festival marketplace, Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina. The marketplace returns this year with a nearly identical menu, inspired by Morocco's medinas, or "old cities."

The marketplace has an open kitchen where you can watch Stone-baked Moroccan Bread being fired up then served with Hummus, Zaalouk, and Zhoug Dips.

Other menu highlights from Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina include the plant-based Fried Falafel Pita with Tahini Sauce, the Chermoula Chicken Kebab and a colorful Pistachio Cake.

Scavenger hunts are our favorite way to keep kids moving through Epcot's festivals, and this year's festival offers two options. Remy's Ratatouille Hide & Squeak scavenger hunt sends you on a search around the festival marketplaces for Remy, the Pixar rat chef of Ratatouille fame. Pick up a map for $9.99 at numerous merchandise locations around the park then start your search for Remy.

From Sept. 29 to Oct. 31, a second hunt, Pluto's Pumpkin Pursuit, a Halloween-themed pumpkin hunt, will also be offered.

As you taste your way around the festival marketplaces, keep your eyes to the sky for Remy lurking nearby.

Once you've completed the hunt, stop by a redemption location to choose your prize (you can still pick up your prize even if you don't manage to finish the hunt).

Choose from one of four cups, which feature character artwork from four of the festival's five merchandise collections.

The festival's main merchandise collection features this year's event logo and an inclusive message: "Food brings the world together."

Other pieces in the collection include a colorful button-down and "Wine Your Way Around the World" cooler bag, ideal for toting a few chilled bottles of wine to your next gathering.

No Disney princess is better suited to represent EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival than restaurateur, Princess Tiana. A new merchandise collection showcases Tiana on clothing, kitchen wares, serving dishes and more.

Unofficial EPCOT mascot Figment gets his own festival collection that includes clothing, kitchen essentials, pins, a Chef Figment MagicBand, and more.

The main mice star in a collection that includes clothing, more kitchen items, including this adorable pizza plate, plus kitchen-themed Dooney & Bourke accessories and more.

Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can purchase exclusive festival merchandise including T-shirts, mugs and bowls featuring Remy.

If you grab a new fork or spoon with every dish, your trash can really pile up. Go easy on the earth by picking up this cute Remy spork for $2.50 at your first marketplace and reusing it as you taste around the world.

Big-name bands and local acts take the stage at the America Gardens Theatre stage nightly at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. through Nov. 14, 2022. Catch star-studded acts like 38 Special, Billy Ocean, Boys II Men, Kenny G and Sugar Ray.

Stop in for a welcome air-conditioning break at Appleseed Orchard, which has temporarily taken up residence in place of the Canada pavilion's Circle-Vision 360 show, "Canada Far and Wide." 360 orchard visuals onscreen help set the scene for sipping apple ciders (including a non-alcoholic cider) and apple-infused brews from around the country. Indecisive? Flights are available for both beers and ciders. This booth is mostly about the drinks, but there's also an Apple Crumble Tart if you're peckish.

The name probably tipped you off but yep, it's all about the brews and the wings at this returning marketplace in the Odyssey pavilion. Choose from five types of wings - Garlic-Parmesan and Traditional Buffalo return for a second year alongside newcomers Sticky Wings with Peanut Sauce and Grape Gel, Sriracha-Lime, and Dry-rubbed Jerk-spiced Wings with Papaya Chili Sauce. Counter the heat with one of three fruit-infused beers or hard ciders-or get a beer or cider flight and try them all.

There's something for vegans and vegetarians at Brew-Wing too. Crispy Brussels Sprouts are tossed in Buffalo sauce then topped with crumbled blue cheese and a dressing so creamy you won't believe it's plant-based.

Every EPCOT festival also has its own food-focused version of a scavenger hunt with a reward at the end. Emile's Fromage Montage is an annual celebration of some of the cheesiest dishes at the Food & Wine Festival. Purchase five menu items from the Fromage Montage lineup, get a stamp for each in your booklet, and redeem for a completer prize at Shimmering Sips Hosted by CORKCICLE (the festival's presenting sponsor).

This Griddled Cheese with Pistachios and Honey from the Greece marketplace gets our vote for best cheese at the festival. Last year, we loved it so much we ordered it multiple times. The good news is Emile's Fromage Montage lets you double up on the same dish so make sure you get those extra stamps if you go for seconds.

New to the menu at the India marketplace, one of our favorite booths at the festival, is a delicious cheese dish that's also part of the Fromage Montage - Crispy Paneer with Mango-Curry Ketchup. Sometimes called "Indian cottage cheese," paneer has a tofu-like consistency and this one is covered in a flavorful breading that pairs well with the tangy ketchup.

The India marketplace is high on our list of best booths at the festival. All three dishes are just $6 or less yet were among some of the most filling and flavorful we tried. In addition to the Crispy Paneer, the booth serves Potato and Pea Samosas and Chicken Tikka Masala, along with wine, beer, and both a non-alcoholic and spiked Mango Lassi.

There are beignets. And then there are THREE CHEESE beignets. A returning favorite at the France marketplace, the Beignet aux Trois Fromages is a warm beignet filled with three cheese blend and trust us - it's as good as it sounds. Other French classics at this booth include Brioche aux Escargot and a classic Vanilla Crème Brulée with House-made Raspberry Jam.

The food may be what has most people talking but this festival is an oenophile's paradise too. Many marketplaces representing popular wine regions, from and Spain to the Alps and Greece, offer wine flights so you can try tasting portion of several varietals, like these three from Greece.

The Funnel Cake stand is a permanent fixture in The American Adventure pavilion, but it often introduces special flavors for festivals, and this one is hands-down our favorite ever. This Mini Piña Colada Funnel Cake is a tropical delight and comes topped with piña colada ice cream, whipped cream, toasted coconut, and maraschino cherry, all drizzled with coconut-rum sauce. Vacation on a plate.

Several of the festival's global marketplaces don't open until Aug. 15, but you should have them on your radar if your dates line up. Mac & Eats will feature three inventive takes on the ultimate comfort food . Coastal Eats will serve two seafood dishes, Baked Scampi Dip and Oysters Rockefeller, plus beer, wine and specialty cocktail the Cape Codder, made with Boyd & Blair Vodka and cranberry, pomegranate, and lime. Hawai'i will serve up island favorites like Kalua Pork Sliders and SPAM Musubi Nigiri.

New to the festival last year, The Noodle Exchange is another marketplace that doesn't open until Aug. 15. With temps in the 90s most summer days, it won't hurt to hold off on this one until cooler fall days roll in, but it's definitely worth a visit once they do.

The Noodle Exchange serves four different bowls of noodles, each in a different steaming, aromatic broth. Choose from Traditional Spicy Vietnamese Beef Pho, Char Siu Pork Udon, Shrimp and Coconut Curry Rice Noodles (our favorite last year), and Tofu Pho with Enoki Mushrooms and Thai Basil. And because "cooler" is a relative term in Central Florida, you may want to wash down that hot soup with a cold Green Tea Pale Ale or crisp, not-too-sweet Riesling.