Best Places to Stay for Food & Wine Festival

May 5, 2022

The Walt Disney Company has confirmed the dates of the 2022 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival!

This year’s festival will start on July 14th, 2022, and run through November 19th, 2022.

With 129 days of Food & Wine to enjoy this year, that got me debating something. Which hotels are the best choices for this festival?

The Obvious Choices

I’ll start with an explanation of my thinking here. The first thing I did was check availability on the DVC Rental Store Confirmed Reservations page.

When I wrote this, the site listed just over 100 possible reservations for the festival dates.

So, I’m going to factor in that the event runs from July through November.

For now, let’s say that you’re going at any point during the Food & Wine Festival. When you choose options, three resorts will tower above the rest.

Specifically, Disney’s Beach Club Villas and Disney’s BoardWalk Villas reside a short walk from the International Gateway.

Similarly, Disney’s Riviera Resort remains only a quick ride on the Disney Skyliner away from the same area.

Obviously, these three places provide the ideal locations for this and all other festival dates.

Disney’s Beach Club Villas (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

Alas, other Disney Vacation Club guests know this and prioritize those DVC hotel rooms over all the rest.

In other words, if you can book one of these places, you should do it now and feel incredibly lucky that you snagged a room.

Personally, I rank Beach Club first of the three, but that’s because I swim a lot while on vacation. Stormalong Bay, the hotel’s mini-water park, adds value for me.

If you’re not planning to swim, you’ll save plenty of DVC Points/money by staying at the BoardWalk instead.

Disney’s Riviera Resort (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

During Food & Wine, I would only pick the Riviera if I cannot find a room at those other two hotels, but there’s a caveat here.

Riviera is flat out better than BoardWalk, in my opinion. I’d choose the Riviera in almost any other situation because the resort is nicer, and the restaurants are exquisite.

During the festival, I’d pick BoardWalk solely because of the convenience. However, if you’re okay with a Skyliner ride instead, choose the Riviera!

Late-Summer Options

As mid-August arrives, the start of the school year impacts park attendance.

Once Labor Day passes, Walt Disney World turns into a ghost town…well, compared to July anyway.

At that point, you can navigate the Disney campus more easily. You’re not fighting for seats on the bus or Friendship boat.

Proximity to EPCOT doesn’t matter as much, but we still factor it into our decision-making. If it’s not obvious, I haaaaate waiting on Disney buses.

Disney’s Old Key West Resort (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

Still, I try to stay close, which is why I expand my DVC hotel options to include Disney’s Old Key West Resort and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

These places are technically part of the Disney Springs area, but they average a five-mile distance from the park.

Plus, you get the best of both worlds on vacation. On those days when you don’t want to hang out at the parks, you can eat, drink, and shop at Disney Springs instead.

I love this combination vacation, and it’s that much better during an extended Walt Disney World visit.

The only potential sticking point is that Disney requires Park Passes now. So, you’ll need to factor that into your trip.

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

Also, remember that you can purchase an admission ticket with Park Hopper, which will allow you to enter EPCOT after 2 p.m.

You’ll still have plenty of time to visit Food & Wine in the afternoons, even when you don’t have a Park Pass there. You just need to make sure you have a Park Pass somewhere.

Best Choices in October/November

Here’s where I take an entirely different approach to Food & Wine. As the event winds down, it’s no longer the only important thing happening at Walt Disney World.

Disney After Hours – Boo Bash gains prominence once it debuts in September.

So, I prefer to stay at a hotel that’s close to Magic Kingdom. I still want easy access to EPCOT, though.

You can guess where I’m going with this thought process. Naturally, DVC’s monorail resorts become the best choices at this time of year.

The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

Guests can spend as much of the day as they want at EPCOT. Then, they can hop on the monorail and return to their DVC resort.

Afterward, they can take a different monorail to and from Magic Kingdom for the after-hours Halloween event.

You can pick any of three resorts to maximize this strategy. Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort resides within walking distance of Magic Kingdom.

In fact, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa does now as well. Last year, Disney opened the bridge and enabled walking from the resort to the park.

Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows (Photo Credit: Disney Tourist Blog)

Still, I would suggest Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. My thinking here is that you’ll stay close to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

That’s the monorail depot with direct travel to and from EPCOT. As such, it’s the best option for Food & Wine Festival fans.

Honestly, you cannot go wrong with any of the places I’ve listed here, though. Each one comes with tremendous pros and virtually no cons.

Start planning your trip to the 2022 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival TODAY! Head over to the DVC Rental Store Confirmed Reservations page and view available Food & Wine DVC villa reservations that can save you up to 65% off regular Disney room rates!