4. Find out what to eat (and what to skip) ahead of time

The glorious Liquid Nitro Almond Truffle... Oh, so ugly, but oh, so GOOD!

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

Never trust Disney’s official pictures to tell what festival dishes will look like. Food photography can be deceptive. Instead of fancy white plates like Disney displays on their website, expect cheap paper trays or plates and plastic forks. Instead of perfect browning on that filet mignon, expect to possibly get mixed results on the cook of your meat.

Instead of risking your hard-earned dollars on visual trickery, take advantage of the efforts made by reviewers who visit the festivals on opening weekend, especially the Food and Wine festival. Well before the festivals start, Disney releases menus for all festival offerings. Identify some dishes that sound good, then Google specifically for what reviewers on popular blogs liked and disliked—don’t trust Disney’s official blog!

For example, the much maligned “Glo-nut” sounded pretty awesome when Disney announced it as part of their Light Lab experience for the 2017 Food and Wine Festival. However, it ended up being literally just a donut with white frosting that glowed. Reviewers caught on, made fun of it relentlessly and Disney didn’t bring it back the following year. The purple Sweet Potato Pie from the Festival of the Arts is another dish that looked extremely cool, but some reviewers have had mixed feelings about it flavor-wise.

On the flip side, the Liquid Nitro Almond Truffle pictured above might be one of the most hideous desserts you can find at Walt Disney World, but many festival guests say it’s the best dessert they’ve eaten at Walt Disney World! Seriously, it's like icy heaven on a plate. Get your advice from a wide range of reviewers and identify the dishes you don’t want to miss—then proceed with caution with any that universally underwhelmed reviewers.

5. Know if you might have access to special perks

Image: Disney

Generally, Passholder discounts are not offered on booth dining at Epcot’s festivals. However, there are plenty of other perks available for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders. Epcot’s festivals draw a lot of attention from locals (Florida locals even have access to an Epcot-After-4pm annual pass), so Disney comes up with some very fun ways to entice them to make repeat visits.

Some Passholder perks include free goodies like festival magnets you can stick to your car or fridge, unique buttons, and even a cheese board for repeat visitors to the Food and Wine Festival in 2018. Passholders also get access to discounted pricing for premium seating and dining packages for the festival concerts, as well as the ability to buy special festival merchandise not available to the public. If you are a Passholder or DVC member, be sure and research what perks are available for the festival you’ll be visiting.

6. Budget using festival gift cards

Image: Jett Farrell-Vega

Want to stay on a budget during your festival visit while also speeding up your time in line? Invest in one of the festival’s limited-edition gift cards or touring kits. These themed gift cards come with a wrist strap and are available at all of the Epcot festivals. Guests can load them up with any amount starting at $15 then use them to make quick purchases at festival booths, the Festival Center, and merchandise locations. This becomes really convenient on busy weekends where you don’t want to fumble with your credit card at the register or break the budget spending more than you allotted.

Fill up on treats before your gift card empties? Festival gift cards can be used anywhere at Walt Disney World and also make great souvenirs. If you want the effect of your own mini dining plan, these are a great way to do it. Certain festivals also offer food and drink packages, such as a wine sampling card that guests can pay for and fill up as they go.

Oh, and if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, most of the festival offerings count as snack credits! This is one of the few very, very good uses of the dining plan!