It’s almost time for one of the best EPCOT festivals of the year, the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. This festival is also one of the most popular because it brings the Eat to the Beat concert series to EPCOT, as well as a variety of foods and beverages, the Eat to the Beat concert series, fun activities, and more.

That also means that if you visit the festival on certain days, you are inevitably going to face some SERIOUS crowds, but there is a way to avoid most of that. So we’ve put together a list of dates when you should avoid the festival, if you can.

 The EPCOT Food & Wine Festival starts on August 27th and runs through November 21st. You don’t have to buy a separate ticket to attend the festival, but you will need a valid park ticket to enter EPCOT. The festival is generally a lot of fun with SO MUCH great foods and drinks to try, but if you’re going, we suggest you avoid the following dates:

August 27th — Opening Day

The very worst day to visit the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival is on the first day, which is August 27th. That’s because EVERYONE wants to check out the festival, plus many of us in the media are there to get you all the festival details, and you will run into long lines for pretty much every food booth.

If you can only avoid one day, this is the one you should avoid at all costs. Plus, we’ll be there to cover it for you, so you can sit at home and enjoy it from the comfort of your couch through us (plus, we’ll make sure you know which food and drinks are the best to get).

August 29th — Opening Weekend

Likewise, the first Saturday of the festival is generally very crowded because those people who couldn’t go on opening day due to work will be there on that first Saturday, when they’re off. It’s not QUITE as crowded as opening day, but it’s close.

So if you can, also avoid the opening weekend of the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.

Weekends, in general

If you can avoid weekends, that’s probably a good idea, too. Weekends are when a lot of locals visit the festival because, once again, they’re off work and they can pop into the parks each weekend to try something new. You’ll run into some crowds on Saturdays and Sundays.

The best time to visit the festival is generally Mondays through Thursdays, although Fridays are usually not TOO busy.

September 5-7th — Labor Day

Labor Day weekend is always one of the most crowded weekends in Disney World. Many people have all three days off, which means they’re headed to Disney World to enjoy some downtime. That means lots of extra folks are also visiting EPCOT for the festival.

If you can avoid visiting EPCOT during Labor Day weekend, your EPCOT Food & Wine Festival experience will be much less stressful.

October 10th-12th — Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend

Another long weekend for many people happens on October 10th through 12th, which is Indigenous Peoples’ Day Weekend. Three days off means more time in the parks, which also means more people in EPCOT. This is prime festival time right here!

The general rule of thumb is to avoid holidays and long weekends, if you can.

November 11th — Veterans Day

Speaking of holidays, Veterans Day falls on a Wednesday this year, and that’s probably going to be when many locals will visit EPCOT because they’ll have the day off from work (and many kids are out of school). So that could be one of the busiest weekdays you’ll see during the festival.

So if you’re visiting Disney World that week, you may want to visit EPCOT on any other day than Wednesday.

November 21st — Last day

Finally, don’t visit the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival on the last day. This is when a lot of people head to EPCOT to enjoy the final day of the festival and squeeze in one last bit of eating and drinking around the food booths. So if you can visit the festival before that, well, that’s probably your best bet.

We hope this gives you a good idea of when to plan (and when not to plan) your trip to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. We’ll be covering EVERYTHING at the festival on day one, so stay tuned to DFB for all the details, food reviews, and more.

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Will you be attending the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival this year? Share your plans in the comments!