Epcot has added a few new flavors to how guests can enjoy the annual International Food & Wine Festival! It was announced today that Disney will be adding two new experiences for guests during the 2014 festival. The first of the two add-ons sounds like a cross between Epcot’s After Hours Wind Down and Animal Kingdom’s Harambe Nights:
Epcot Food & Wine Festival – Late Nights LIVE! street party will run from 9:45 p.m. to 1 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday during the festival between the United Kingdom Pavilion and World Showcase Plaza. The event includes six tastes (food and beverages) from select marketplaces, live music, entertainment, and a DJ.
The cost of the street party will be $79, plus tax. Epcot admission is not required for entry after 9pm.
It was also announced that for guests staying at a Disney Resorts Hotel, a new Premium Package will be available:
Now for some brand-new “Premium” fun! From noon-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday during a select festival period (September 22-November 6), the Epcot Food & Wine Festival Premium Package is an opportunity for guests staying in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel (or the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels) to sip and savor in style. The package includes an in-room gift with wine for guests 21 and older, a festival wine glass, truffles and credential for the Premium Package Areas at the festival – plus an Epcot International Food & Wine Festival MagicBand and a $50 Disney Gift Card to start the fun. The credential gives access to 10 VIP “Premium Package Areas” around World Showcase Promenade where you can order items from Marketplaces and have them delivered to you – no waiting in line. You can also bring your favorite marketplace treats into the Premium Package Areas and just relax. The package also includes one admission to Epcot Food & Wine Festival – Late Nights LIVE!, which you can attend on Tuesday or Thursday night.
The cost of the Premium package is $199, plus tax and theme park admission.
When you do the math for the premium package, it certainly seems like a great deal. A gift card, admission to the street party, a magic band, wine, and perhaps best of all- a place to eat! Anyone who has been to Food & Wine knows how valuable it is to have a decent place to put your tray down. Add in the fact that you can bypass some of the lines from the Marketplace by having the food delivered to you and this sounds like a home run.
We’d love to know what you think about these new experiences. Let us know in the comments if you’ll be checking out either of these new experiences at this year’s Food & Wine Festival.