EPCOT Festival Food Booths Go Cashless, Shift to Pre‑Tax Pricing

Purchases require cards or preloaded gift cards with 6.5% tax added at checkout.

Overview

Disney’s 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts opened January 16 with Food Studios operating cashless and the event runs through February 23.
Cash is not accepted at festival booths, and guests cannot buy or reload Disney gift cards with cash at those locations, requiring retail stops elsewhere in the park.
Menu boards now list prices before tax, so final charges are roughly 6.5% higher than posted in Orange County, Florida (a $10 item totals $10.65).
Some Food Studios support mobile ordering in the My Disney Experience app, which shows tax-inclusive totals, though participation and app reliability vary during busy periods.
Reporters say the cashless system and tax-excluded pricing can encourage higher spending and complicate budgeting, with added hurdles for international visitors using foreign cards.