Mark your calendars: The 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival presented by CORKCICLE takes place at Walt Disney World Aug. 29 through Nov. 23!

As many guests may know, there’s always something to celebrate in the neighborhoods of EPCOT, from nature and discovery to culture and cuisine. And while the park has so much to offer every day, here are a few things guests won’t want to miss at this year’s festival.

Global Marketplaces

Of course, it wouldn’t be the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival without the FOOD! Foodie fans can look forward to so many mouthwatering returning favorites.

Crave-able Merch

Guests can take home a taste of the fun with magnificent merchandise that keeps the magic alive between visits, featuring beloved friends, like Remy from “Ratatouille” and Mickey Mouse.

And here’s a fun reveal: Everyone’s favorite purple dragon, Figment, will also be cooking up some fun this fall just in time for the festival. Want to see more? Here are a few more things we have up our chef coat sleeve, including fun drinkware from CORKCICLE.

CommuniCore Hall

As we shared in a recent story, CommuniCore Hall will open on June 10 in the heart of World Celebration.

And, once the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival begins, the new space will add exciting fresh elements to the festival. Stay tuned for more!

Eat to the Beat Concert Series, Scavenger Hunts and More

As evening falls, chart-topping musical acts and Orlando’s top talent will take to the stage as part of the Eat to the Beat Concert Series presented by Florida Blue. Performances will take place nightly in the America Gardens Theatre. Eat to the Beat Dining Packages will also return, ensuring guests can get seats for their favorite acts. We’ll have more details soon.

On the scavenger hunt front, guests can purchase a map (while supplies last) for Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak and search to find their favorite little chef hidden throughout World Showcase.

 There is so much to look forward to at the 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

Guests should get ready to clap their hands, paws, or anything else they’ve got, because today we’re digging a little deeper! It’s time to reveal the last batch of musicians hoping to hit the big time at Tiana’s celebration during Mardi Gras season! We’re almost there for the summer opening of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Magic Kingdom Park, and later this year at Disneyland.

The musical tapestry of New Orleans is woven with traditions and voices from all over the world. We’ve gotten a sneak peek at critters who play Zydeco music, and critters who perform Rara music, and now it’s time to introduce guests to critters who bring the jazzy sounds and complex rhythms of Afro-Cuban music to life in the bayou.

Felipe the Frog – Deep among the cypress trees, guests will hear band leader Felipe making musical magic on the piano! Felipe is also the proprietor of an exclusive bayou night club, where the local fireflies love to dance the night away to a musical recipe of hot rhythms and spicy melodies. He’s an old-school family guy, especially to his “family” in the band.

Mayra the Frog – Have guests ever seen a frog play a flower blossom like a trumpet? They will when they meet Mayra; guests should be sure to stick around for one of her toe-tapping solos. Mayra’s the most ambitious of the four frogs and has been practicing her instrument since she was just a tadpole!

Mondo the Frog – Mondo is a natural on the conga drums, which he made as a happy accident when his favorite bottle cap got stuck on his second-favorite acorn. From there, the rhythm in Mondo’s soul took over! He’s very copacetic and accepts what comes, a trait as steady and reliable as his drumbeat.

Isabel the Green Tree Frog – Learning from Mondo’s example, Isabel loves getting lost in the music playing her congas. She’s the youngest member of the group, and there’s nothing she loves more than “going with the flow” and getting to play drums all night long!

From Zydeco to Rara to Afro-Cuban jazz, guests will hear all kinds of musical flavors from critters big and small around the bayou, just like they would walking the streets of the French Quarter in the Crescent City. Of course, not everyonethey’ll meet in the attraction is a musician – among others are a couple of amphibious friends who love to sit back, relax, and catch up on all the gossip from around the bayou. Gloria and Delores the frogs are best friends who love to observe folks as they float in logs down the bayou. Guests shouldn’t be surprised if they keep their watchful eyes on them as they float by.

Also, guests can keep an eye out for Lari the armadillo. This mischievous fella, while quiet in demeanor, seems to always show up where least expected. We hear he has a habit of “borrowing” things that aren’t his (although those things eventually make it into the right “paws”).

Speaking of critters big and small, guests will meet them throughout the attraction, and some really are … big, with an even bigger personality.

Just like Tiana said, we’re getting closer and closer every day with progress on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We hope guests are looking forward to joining these musicians down in the bayou!

Disney updated their Accessibility Services websites for the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, which showcase a variety of tools guests can use to plan their visit, make their time with them more enjoyable and help identify the services they require.

Along with the updates to the websites, Disney is also taking steps to preserve their existing accessibility services to ensure that the guests who truly need these services continue to receive them. Here are the five things you need to know about these updates:

1. Disney adding more Cast Members and investing in specialized training on each coast to help guests identify and better understand the recommended tools and options, based on their needs.

2. The Accessibility Services teams at the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort are here to assist guests with questions they have about our services. They encourage guests visiting to engage with Disney pre-arrival through their website and virtual video chats.

3. Disney is teaming with Inspire Health Alliance’s health professionals, to help their Cast Members, as needed, determine eligibility for appropriate accommodations and ensure that these accommodations are provided only for the guests for whom they are intended.

4. Disney will be making efforts to preserve the Disability Access Service (DAS) for those it’s intended to accommodate -- only those guests who, due to a developmental disability like autism or similar, are unable to wait in a conventional queue for an extended period of time. To help with this, Disney is also extending DAS enrollment for eligible guests from 60 days to 120 days and adjusting DAS party size to include no more than four, except for immediate family members.

5. These updates take effect on May 20 at the Walt Disney World Resort and on June 18 at the Disneyland Resort.