The Best Kept Secret at Epcot Food & Wine Festival
I’ll be the first to admit that Food & Wine Festival isn’t my favorite of the Epcot festivals, BUT it does have one of my favorite FREE offerings that includes some MAJOR hacks! Let’s talk about the Florida Blue Lounge.
Florida Blue Lounge
Every year for Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, Florida Blue hosts a lounge in the back of the Morocco Pavilion. You can find this located in restaurant Marrakesh tucked away from the crowds.
You’ll find complimentary refreshments like Morrocan Mint Tea and Cold Brew, lots of seating in air conditioning where you can relax, and my FAVORITE part - a FREE sand mosaic craft that you can make!
This lounge is open daily from 12pm-6pm through the end of Food and Wine Festival.
Getting Access to the Lounge
There is a little bit of a catch to get in to the lounge, but don’t worry! It’s super easy! You will need to sign up with your email to get your pass.
You will simply open up your My Disney Experience app and under the search tab you’ll search ‘Florida Blue’ and the option for the lounge should pop up.
From there, just click on the link and it will direct you to the website to sign up. You may see some verbiage on that page about Florida Residents, but don’t worry, you can still sign up even if you aren’t one!
Once you sign up, you’ll be redirected to your ‘pass’ simply show this to the Cast Member at the entrance and you’re in! You only need to do one of these per family.
Make Your Own Sand Mosaic
This is such a cool offering and I do highly recommend checking it out, however the line gets INSANELY long later in the afternoon, so it pays to get there early. They typically open up the line right around 12:30pm, so if you can arrive around 10-15 minutes beforehand, you should be in good shape.
It is also important to know that they seem to shut the line off around 3-3:30pm, so plan accordingly.
How does it work?
You will be given a small dish as well as a small plastic tab that you will write your name and date on. (This is so they know whose it is)
You can then choose out your tiles and gems for your mosaic! They allow you to choose up to 10, so have fun with it. I will be honest that this is the main reason the line gets super long, so if you can choose your tiles quickly those in line behind you will thank you!
You’ll then be directed to the sand table. You need to let the attendant know which shape you would like your tile so that they can create the mold for you. Then you simply place your tiles in the mold in whatever design you like.
Once you have your mosaic the way you want, the attendant will fill the mold with a quick drying plaster. This takes around 10 minutes or so to dry, so you can relax and grab one of those complimentary drinks while you wait.
When your mosaic is done, you can pick it up from the table and choose your ribbon that you want to hang it with. The attendant will wrap it up in bubble wrap for you, but do try and be careful as it may take a day for it to fully cure.
The BIGGEST Hack of the lounge
There’s a big secret that most people have no clue is a thing, but it can be a game changer for visiting the festival! On select days, if you get to the lounge early enough, you may be able to snag one of the complimentary wristbands for the Eat to the Beat Concert Series that night. This gives you guaranteed reserved seating near the front and the best part? It’s totally FREE!
The view is similar to that of the Dining Package seating (that costs anywhere from $40-$70 a person), but the catch is that they only have one row reserved for this, so the wristbands are VERY limited.
Do keep in mind that this is based on first come, first serve basis and they may not offer these every single day (for example, it may not be available for really big bands like Boyz II Men). But if you can make sure to arrive to the lounge around 10-15 minutes before it opens, you’ll have a pretty good shot at grabbing one!
You MUST be present to get a wristband, so if you have party members who are not joining you until later, you will NOT be able to get a wristband for them and they will NOT allow them in the special seating area with you.
You’ll check-in around 20 minutes before the show starts at the umbrella near the tech booth of the America Gardens Theatre and then show your wristband to the Cast Member down at the front. I will say that if you can arrive earlier rather than later, you’ll be a little more towards the center and get a better view, but don’t worry, anywhere in that area will get you a pretty view of the stage!
I love this hack and am sharing it with you because I want to help you get the most out of your visit, but SHHHHHHH! Don’t let the word get out too much or this may become more difficult to do in the future! lol
Check it out!
I LOVE when third parties sponsor these lounges! It’s a great way to beat the heat and do something unique. I absolutely recommend checking it out on your next visit to Food and Wine Festival.
Want more help planning your visit to Food & Wine Festival or maybe your Disney trip in whole? I’d love to plan together! As a Travel Planner (and Disney Expert) I’ll make sure you go into your vacation confident and ready to have the BEST time whether you are newbie or theme park pro. Click the link below to get started!