As part of Epcot’s annual Food & Wine Festival, a series of concerts featuring a variety of beloved artists is offered to all guests who visit the park on select dates from August to November. The Eat to the Beat concert series welcomed guests to hear hits from Smash Mouth, The Fray, The Beach Boys, Jordin Sparks, and many other renowned artists during the 2025 series. I had the pleasure of attending a Jordin Sparks concert as well as a performance from The Beach Boys and John Stamos. As a regular concertgoer in Orlando, I have many thoughts on the concert series, as well as on the specific concerts I have attended.
Let’s start with American Idol star Jordin Sparks’ performance. Sparks housed the America Gardens Theatre from Nov. 9-10 and played three shows each night. I decided to attend the 6:45 show, as I was not fond of how long the line was for the 5:30 show when I arrived an hour prior. An important detail to note is that while every concert is free with park admission, guests also have the opportunity to purchase a dining package months in advance that guarantees a marvelous view in the first two to five rows of the theater, depending on demand for the show.
Every guest who does not buy the dining package must wait in a separate standby line, and not every guest is guaranteed a seat, as they are on a first-come-first-serve basis. I was third in the standby line, allowing me to sit in the third row with an incredible view. With that being said, I was in line during the first show, and I got to hear the entire 30-minute set before entering the theatre at 6:20 p.m. and watching the show for myself. Jordin Sparks had a gorgeous voice that filled the theatre while singing hits like “Tattoos” and “No Air,” which every attendee sang right back at her. She also brought a warming energy to the crowd while ending her set with a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” in 36-degree weather.
Despite the shivering throughout the theatre, Sparks got the whole crowd out of their seats with her stunning vocals and utter happiness to be spending the night with fans at Disney. Her set was incredibly interactive, and many moments made it feel like she was singing right at me. Overall, I really loved her set, from her vocals to the very songs she chose to sing, and the amount of joy it brought me motivated me to come back the next week for a concert from The Beach Boys.
Just a week later, I attended a concert by the California native band, The Beach Boys. Earlier that week, however, John Stamos made several appearances around Orlando and later announced that he would be joining every Eat to the Beat performance with The Beach Boys. Even though I was already planning on going to see The Beach Boys, this announcement made me want to go even more, since I grew up seeing John Stamos play the character Uncle Jesse in Full House and Fuller House.
I decided that this time, I would get there in the afternoon and wait in line until the first show at 5:30 p.m. When I arrived at 12:55 p.m., the line was already quite long, but I soon found out that I was at the very beginning of the line that would end up wrapping around half of the amusement park, breaking records for Epcot. The line ranged in ages, and half of it was composed of people just there to get a glimpse of John Stamos. The other half of the line consisted of diehard fans, sporting The Beach Boys’ merchandise and Hawaiian floral prints. I was somewhere in the middle of these two groups.
While my spot at this show wasn’t quite as close (about five rows further back), I feel like I had even more fun dancing around to surf tunes with The Beach Boys and John Stamos while a beach ball bounced around the crowd. The boys played most of their hits, including “Good Vibrations” and “Kokomo,” while John Stamos played multiple instruments and provided background vocals. I was a little disappointed that “Little Saint Nick” was not played, given it was the start of the holiday season at Disney parks, but that was my only critique.
All in all, I deeply enjoy attending the Eat to the Beat concert series every year as an annual pass-holder, but I would not recommend spending the money on a park ticket or dining package, unless it’s your absolute favorite artist in the world. Getting to see a great concert for no additional cost when you already had plans to spend time at Epcot is such a bonus, but it is not a reality everyone can step into. Seeing as every concert is around 30 minutes, I do not see the benefit in spending extra money on such a short show.
I also believe the standby lines are ridiculous, and not an activity people on vacation should partake in when they are missing the opportunity to do attractions and try different foods. I do think the shows are amazing in themselves; however, no matter the artist, and if given the opportunity with no economic cost added, they are an incredible way to spend the night. Though I don’t think crazy lines are necessary, I waited in line, and I made friends by talking to the people around me, so I didn’t find waiting a complete waste of time on my account.
I do heavily recommend these concerts to fellow Orlando concertgoers who already have annual passes, however, because it’s such a fun way to go to many concerts from a variety of different artists for free. I’m very happy with my decision to attend both of the shows I went to, and I cannot wait to see who will be performing next year so that I can go to even more magical concerts.