🌈 Walkthrough: Taste of Epcot's Festival of The Arts 2021
For Orlando peace-seekers searching for their #HappyPlace amidst these unprecedented times, Walt Disney World encourages visitors to live life in color. Taste of Epcot is a celebration of global cuisine, offering diverse bites through 20+ marketplaces representing different countries. The park’s world showcase is hosting Festival of The Arts, a dining journey that immerses visitors in creativity and artwork.
Your walkthrough is welcomed with a tidy room of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, complete with a Mickey Mouse plush and complimentary chocolate treats.
You casually make your way to the Disney Skyliner service on the resort property, featuring aerial gondolas that cruise you to Epcot. Each vessel travels in style, themed with Disney artwork from various movies. The aerial ride offers gorgeous views of several Disney Resorts, including Caribbean Beach Resort and the Riviera Resort.
Upon exiting the Skyliner, your breath is stolen by the grandness of the Epcot ball. You stroll to the World Showplace Pavilion for a presentation illustrating Taste of Epcot’s mission.
The Voices of Liberty sing various compositions from the Disney songbook, honing in on hospitality as they harmonize “Be Our Guest” in a heavenly manner. A thrilling acrobatic performance presents art that defies gravity, alongside a painter who executes a visual art performance by quickly painting a portrait of Goofy.
These artistic performances are the appetizer for your dining journey across Epcot’s World Showcase. The Festival of The Arts strives to foster joy through creativity and color, providing a cornucopia of food options that capture unique parts of the globe.
With a colorful festival bracelet hugging your wrist and a subtle smile illuminating your face, your #ArtfulEpcot journey begins. ✨
🍪 Palette Cookie
The Artist Palette cookie in the World Showplace Pavilion sets the tone for the vibrant journey ahead, portraying a painter’s palette. The large cookie holds colored frosting as paint, served alongside a paintbrush for a creatively interactive dessert.
🥙 Pupusa
The Pupusa utilizes blue corn, conveying an eccentric presentation. It’s stuffed with cheese and topped with shredded pork and guajillo. The árbol chile sauce provides a smooth kick, balanced by the aji amarillo crema.
🍣 Sushi Doughnut
This menu item in Epcot’s Japan presents sushi in doughnut form. The variety of bites include salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber and sesame seeds. The doughnut is served alongside wasabi aïoli, Sriracha and eel sauce.
🍖 Lamb
The Harissa-roasted rack of lamb is served alongside baba ghanoush, picholine olives, and toybox tomatoes. The preserved lemons and pomegranate add a zesty tang.
As you stroll through the different countries, you become magnetized to the America Gardens Theatre where a cast member hands you a sanitized clipboard, pencil and fresh sheet of paper. You’re guided to a socially-distanced seat, when a Disney animator steps out on stage and delivers a relaxing tutorial on drawing Minnie Mouse. As you follow her instructions with your own pencil and paper, you flow through the therapeutic feeling of calmly drawing. Completing your illustration, your appetite piques once more so you continue your foodie journey around the World Showcase.
🍅 Ratatouille
This dish feels nostalgic, as it’s a nod to Disney Pixar’s Ratatouille movie. Remy’s Ratatouille is a plant-based option, featuring eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes, and red pepper piperade.
🌭 Bratwurst
This vegan offering features coffee barbecue jackfruit for a savory flavor, amplified by the spicy turmeric aïoli and slaw. At this refreshment outpost, visitors can also opt for a frozen slushy in a Spike the Bee souvenir cup.
🦐 Seafood Cocktail
The chilled Seafood cocktail is composed of layered octopus, scallops and shrimp. The black garlic aïoli holds an umami taste, served alongside a tomato-coconut sauce and serrano-lime oil.
🎭 Mousse
Your culinary adventure is completed with this sassy dessert. The Passion Fruit Mousse has a dragon fruit jam with a hot pink presentation, garnished with a masquerade mask. The dessert is has a balanced tart taste with a smooth sweetness.
Upon finishing your journey around the world, the only things bigger than your belly are your smile and the grand Epcot ball. You catch a glimpse of the ball upon exiting, bringing you to a full-circle moment. Taste of Epcot’s Festival of The Arts reminds you that food not only nourishes your body, but also heals your soul. 💫
