EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Unlocks New Immersive Cheese Experience for 2026 Guests

Fall is creeping closer, and that can only mean one thing for Disney World fans: the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is right around the corner. Every year, EPCOT slowly starts dropping little hints about what’s coming, and this year is no different.

Details are trickling out about returning favorites, new marketplace treats, and now a brand-new addition that cheese lovers will want to hear about. EPCOT just confirmed a fresh, interactive experience built entirely around one of the most beloved foods on the planet, and it’s set to be a highlight of the 2026 festival. Here’s everything we know so far.

What Is the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, Anyway?

If you haven’t experienced it yet, the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is basically a giant, park-wide celebration of global cuisine. Guests wander from marketplace to marketplace scattered throughout World Showcase, sampling small plates and drinks inspired by cultures from around the world. It’s part food crawl, part cultural tour, and part concert series, with live entertainment throughout its run.

Fans love it for a few reasons. It’s a chance to try dishes you’d probably never stumble across otherwise, all in one afternoon, without needing a passport. It’s also a great excuse to explore EPCOT in a totally different way, since the festival adds pop-up kiosks, food stalls, and demonstrations that only show up during this window. This year, the festival kicks off on August 27 and runs through November 21, giving guests nearly three months to eat their way around the world.

A Brand-New Cheese Exhibit Is Coming to CommuniCore Hall

Now for the big news. EPCOT is bringing a brand-new, hands-on exhibit to the festival, and it’s all about cheese. The experience will delve into the history of this dairy staple, featuring fun trivia and interactive elements for guests to explore along the way. It’s set to open inside CommuniCore Hall, giving visitors a dedicated space to learn something new between marketplace stops.

The exhibit won’t open right when the festival does, though. It’s scheduled to run from September 18 through November 8, which is a slightly shorter window than the festival itself. That’s because CommuniCore Hall currently has another tenant. The space is hosting GoofyCore for Cool Kids’ Summer through September 8, so the cheese exhibit needs to wait its turn before it can move in. Once it does, it’ll have plenty of time to welcome curious guests looking to nerd out over cheese facts before the festival wraps up in late November.

A Sneak Peek at This Year’s Menu

While the full lineup of marketplaces and dishes for 2026 is still being finalized, Disney has already teased a few returning favorites to tide fans over. Three fan-favorite bites are confirmed to return to the festival this year.

Gyozas of the Galaxy will bring back its street corn-inspired dumplings, filled with chicken and topped with tomatillo salsa verde, a corn salad, cotija cheese, lime crema, and fresh cilantro. Over at the Australia marketplace, guests can look forward to another round of the grilled shrimp skewer, seasoned with bushberry spice and served alongside sweet-and-sour vegetables and a coconut-chili sauce. And for dessert lovers, The Alps marketplace is bringing back its Kirschwasser torte, a rich treat layered with cherry-brandy buttercream, fondant, sugared almonds, and a cherry compote.

Keep in mind that not every marketplace opens on day one. Some booths roll out on a staggered schedule throughout the festival’s run, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the Foodie Guide once it’s released. That guide will lay out the complete menu and let guests know exactly when each marketplace opens its window. There’s clearly a lot more cooking behind the scenes, and it sounds like this year’s lineup is shaping up to be a tasty one.

Cheese Lovers Have Another Reason to Celebrate

The new interactive exhibit isn’t the only cheese-focused perk headed to EPCOT this year. Emile’s Fromage Montage is also confirmed to return for another round at the festival. This self-guided food trail sends guests on a hunt across select Global Marketplaces for cheese-inspired dishes.

Here’s how it works: as you try each eligible dish along the trail, you collect a stamp in your festival passport. Once you’ve filled it out by sampling everything on the list, you earn a special festival treat as your reward. It’s a fun way to turn snacking into a bit of a scavenger hunt, and it gives cheese fans an extra incentive to try dishes they might have otherwise skipped.

The Countdown Begins!

Between a brand-new interactive cheese exhibit, the return of Emile’s Fromage Montage, and a menu that’s already teasing some seriously good bites, the 2026 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is shaping up to be one worth planning a trip around. And this is likely just the beginning of the reveals, so expect more marketplace announcements and menu details as the festival’s August 27 start date gets closer.

So, are you excited for this year’s festival? With cheese taking center stage in a whole new way, it might just be the perfect excuse to book that fall trip to Disney World.