Why You Should Skip EPCOT’s Eat to the Beat Dining Packages

Disney4me · August 19, 2023

EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival is in full swing!

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Food and Wine Festival is here!

We ate everything at this year’s festival so we could give you a full review, but the food isn’t the only exciting part of this event. You can also experience the Eat to The Beat Concert Series, which provides live music from many different bands every night of the festival. You can grab dining packages for these concerts, but here’s why we don’t necessarily recommend them.

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You’ll Miss Out on The Booths

One of the biggest reasons is that if you decide to eat at one of the participating restaurants for your dining package, you won’t be able to save room for more festival booths!

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2023 Belgium Booth

The EPCOT restaurants are going to be around on any given park day, but the festival booths and their offerings won’t be. So save that stomach space and grab some items from the booths instead to create your own dinner.

We ate everything at the booths to bring you our recommendations for the very best of this fest! You can watch our video right here.

The Normal Seats Aren’t Necessarily The Best

There’s a lot of seating in the America Gardens Theater, and a dining package means you’re guaranteed a seat inside the theatre. However, those are the best seats in the house.

America Gardens Theater

Many of those on our team have said that they love sitting at the picnic tables outside Regal Eagle Smokehouse or standing around the America Pavilion and watching the show from there! It still gives you a great view of the stage, it’s not as loud, and to some, the picnic tables may be a little more comfortable than the wooden benches of the theater.

The Shows Rarely Sell Out

It’s also pretty rare for shows to sell out, even for more popular artists, so finding a seat in or around the theater without a dining reservation (and therefore guaranteed ticket) is easy most nights.

Eat to the Beat Standby

If you’re concerned about finding a seat, you can line up for the show around half an hour in advance to make sure you grab one, but it’s largely unnecessary most of the time. Or you can sit down with a meal at one of those picnic tables we mentioned before the show to eat, and then stay to watch the performance.

Eat to the Beat Sign

Dining packages CAN be a great way to go if you’re dining with a larger group, especially if that group has some kids or picky eaters, or you’d rather have a solid plan for dinner and the show instead of being more go-with-the-flow. You make the decision that’s right for you and your group!

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Eat to the Beat Same Day Dining Package sign

As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news!

Get our insider tips for the Food and Wine Festival here!

IT'S WINE & DINE TIME!

Food & Wine Festival can be a bummer. You stand in line waiting for what looks like the perfect treat, and it's a bust. But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience.

If you're planning a day or a week at the festival, we've got every performance, activity, and tasty nosh detailed out so you can make the most of your time and money. Listen, it's a tough job eating and documenting the nearly 200 bites and sips, but we do it all for YOU!

Save 20% on the 2023 DFB Guide to EPCOT's International Food & Wine Festival with code CHEFS.