Hello Chris!
Welcome to planDisney! I'm so excited that you are visiting one of my favorite Parks- EPCOT! I love visiting during Festival season and right now till February 20, 2023, it's the
EPCOT International Festival of the Arts! I love eating my way through the colorful and
yummy dishes at the food stands! I just came back and my current favorite dishes are right next to each other near Canada in the World Showcase. They are the Deconstructed Key Lime Pie: Flexible Key Lime Curd at The Deconstructed Dish and the Tomato Soup with Pimento Cheese, Bacon, and Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese at Pop Eats.
You can definitely
purchase tickets for EPCOT after 4 pm if there is
Park Reservation Availability. However, there are no afternoon discounted tickets. It is the same price for everyone whether you arrive at Park Opening or at 4 pm.
Annual Passholders now have the ability to visit the Parks with their pass after 2 pm with no Park Reservations. However, they are limited by their blackout dates and can't do this at Magic Kingdom Park on weekends.
Don't worry as you could consider instead an
After Hours event if you would like to do a Parks visit later in the day. There is at this time none scheduled for EPCOT but Magic Kingdom Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios are a lot of fun too!
I hope this helped!
Come back if you have any more questions!
-Nimmy