It may not be the biggest EPCOT festival, nor does it have the best options when it comes to food, but the EPCOT Festival of the Arts does have have nicely crafted artistic dishes worth trying and we share our top picks for what to try at the 2024 edition. Plus, a milestone is reached at Tiana's Bayou Adventure with a fine detail worth discussing.

Top Picks Foodie Guide: EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2024

From January 12 through February 19, the EPCOT Festival of the Arts is back to celebrate arts of all kinds, including the culinary art.

With nearly 18 Food Studios and a big presence from Figment that includes a brand new Figment Premium Popcorn Bucket with Rainbow Popcorn, you better come hungry. Here are our top picks from what's new.

The Deconstructed Dish

Food Items:  

• Deconstructed BLT: Pork belly, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma, and tomato jam
• Deconstructed Key Lime Pie: Flexible Key Lime Curd, “Key Lime” Mousse, Graham Cracker Cake, and Meringues (The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)

Beverages: 

• Deconstructed Strawberry Mint Julep (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• Wicked Weed Brewing Blank Canvas Belgian Blonde Witbier
• Deconstructed Strawberry Mint Julep with bourbon

Cuisine Classique

Food Items:

• Beef Wellington: Mushroom duxelles, prosciutto, and puff pastry with red wine demi-glace
• Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. mussels with sautéed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs

Beverages:  

• Gulf Stream Brewing Company Sum of All Colors IPA (New) > Mike's Pick
• Tesselaarsdal Pinot Noir (New)

Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic

Food Items:

• Blueberry-filled Pastry Tart with purple icing (The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)
• Rainbow Cake with freeze dried SKITTLES bite sized candies
• Figment Premium Popcorn Bucket with Rainbow Popcorn (Limit two per person, per transaction; available while supplies last.)

Beverages:

• Grape Smoothie with freeze dried SKITTLES bite sized candies (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• 3 Daughters Brewing Black Cherry Hard Cider
• 3 Daughters Brewing Blood Orange Hard Cider
• 3 Daughters Brewing Passion Fruit Hard Cider
• Rainbow Hard Cider Flight
• 81Bay Brewing Co. Green with Envy Blonde Ale
• 81Bay Brewing Co. Blue Butterfly Lager
• Urban Artifact The Gadget Raspberry & Blackberry Midwest Fruit Tart
• Rainbow Beer Flight

The Craftsman’s Courtyard 

Food Items:

• Grilled Pork Belly with salsa verde, broccoli rabe, pickled peppers, and raclette cheese on grilled sourdough (New) > Mike's Pick
• Grilled Marinated Skirt Steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms, blue cheese fondue, and arugula on a grilled French roll (New) > Amelia's Pick

Beverages: 

• BrewDog Jet Black Heart Nitro Oatmeal Stout
• Coffee Old Fashioned Cocktail

Refreshment Outpost

Beverages:

• Parish Brewing Co. Blueberry Mochi Berliner Weisse
• The Tank Brewing Co. Street Art Amber
• Brewery Ommegang Neon Rainbows IPA

Pastoral Palate 

Food Items:

• Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and balsamic glaze
• Black Forest Cake: Chocolate mousse with morello cherries and chantilly cream 

Beverages:

• 3 Daughters Brewing Rosé Hard Cider
• 81Bay Brewing Co. Rosé Blonde Ale
• Frozen Rosé
• A Play on Rosé Flight
• Marietta Old Vine Rosé

The Artist’s Table 

Food Items:

• Duck and Dumplings: Smoked duck breast, ricotta dumplings, baby vegetables, and duck jus
• Hummingbird Cake: Banana and pecan cake dipped in cream cheese icing with caramel sauce and warm pineapple compote

Beverages:

• Wicked Weed Pineapple Daydream IPA (New) > Mike's Pick
• Brew Hub Jazzberry Wheat Jam Ale (New) 
• Lost Coast Brewery Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout (New) 
• Migration Pinot Noir (New) 
• Beer Flight also available

Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina 

Food Items:

• Grilled Kebabs with carrot-chickpea salad and garlic aïoli 
  • Chermoula Chicken
  • Moroccan-spiced Lamb
• Stone-baked Moroccan Bread with hummus, chermoula, and zhoug dips (Plant-based Item)
• Chocolate Cake with pomegranate mousse and pomegranate whipped cream (New) 

Beverages:

• Twinings Chai Tea with Sprite and mint (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Grizzly Pear Hard Cider (New) 
• Rekorderlig Strawberry-Lime Hard Cider (New) 
• Keel Farms Blueberry Lavender Hard Cider (New) 
• Chai Tea Mint Mimosa: Twinings Chai Tea with Key lime sparkling wine and mint (New) 
• Hard Cider Flight

Vibrante & Vívido: Encanto Cocina 

Food Items:

• Chorizo and Potato Empanada with turmeric aïoli and annatto aïoli (The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)
• Passion Fruit-filled Mango Cheesecake with coconut-pineapple cake, dragon fruit gelée, and dragon fruit-strawberry sauce (New) 

Beverages: 

• Coconut and Passion Fruit Smoothie (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• Frozen Piña Colada
• Passion Fruit Daiquiri

Gourmet Landscapes 

Food Items: 

• Verjus-roasted Beets with goat cheese, petite lettuce, blackberry gastrique, and spiced pecans (New) (The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)
• Roasted Bone Marrow with onion marmalade, pickled mushrooms, and petite lettuce
• Wild Mushroom Risotto with truffle shavings and zinfandel reduction (Plant-based Item) 

Beverages: 

• Whole Hog Brewery Raspberry Chéret Double Radler
• Schlumberger Cuvée Klimt Brut
• The Meeker Vineyard Winemaker’s Handprint Merlot
• Frozen Scotch Cocktail: Scotch and herbal tea garnished with a chocolate nail

Refreshment Port 

Food Items:

• Gnocchi Poutine with red wine-braised beef, cheese curds, basil, and burrata
• Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie

Beverages:

• Blood Orange Cosmo: Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka with blood orange, cranberry, and lime
• Boulevard Brewing Co. Quirk Blueberry Lemon & Lavender Hard Seltzer

Deco Delights 

Food Item:

• Neapolitan Dessert Trio: Chocolate tart, vanilla bean cheesecake, and strawberry mousse (New) (The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine Item)

Beverages:

• 3 Daughters Brewing Strawberry Blonde Nitro
• 81Bay Brewing Co. Vanilla Porter
• Playalinda Brewing Co. Milk Stout
• Espresso Martini featuring Boyd & Blair Potato Vodka
• Beer Flight

Pop Eats 

Food Items:

• Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese
• Tomato Soup with pimento cheese, bacon, and fried green tomato grilled cheese
• Rock the Dots White Chocolate and Orange Mousse with vanilla bean chiffon cake (New) 

Beverages:

• Brooklyn Brewery Pulp Art Hazy IPA
• Blanc de Bleu Cuvée Mousseux with boba pearls

Refreshment Station

• Frozen Slushy: Coca-Cola, dragon fruit, or watermelon

Connections Eatery

Beverage: 

• Orange-Lemonade Cocktail: Three Olives Blueberry Vodka, lemonade, and orange juice with cotton candy 

L’Art de la Cuisine Française 

Food Items:

• Crème de Brie en Petit Pain: Warm creamy brie in a house-made bread bowl
• Saumon Fumé Mousse et Aspic, Blini et Fromage de Chevre: Salmon mousse, smoked salmon, dill, and flaxseed biscuit, served cold (New) 
• Vol-au-Vent de Saumon et Epinards, Sauce Chardonnay: Puff pastry with salmon and spinach and a chardonnay-shallot sauce, served warm (New) 
• Duo de Saumon Hot and Cold: Enjoy both of the salmon offerings (New) 
• Moelleux aux Noisettes, Croustillant Noisettes, Coulis Framboise et Mangue: Molten Valrhona chocolate cake, hazelnut crunch, and mango-raspberry coulis (New)

Beverages:

• Frozen French Martini: Grey Goose Vodka, Chambord liqueur, pineapple, orange, and grape juices with lemon-lime foam
• Elderflower Liqueur Cocktail: St. Germain Liqueur, sparkling wine, and mint (New) > Mike's Pick
• Charles Lafite, Brut Rosé Prestige, Méthode Traditionnel Champenoise French Rosé Sparkling Wine
• Pinot Noir J. de Villebois (New) 

El Artista Hambriento 

Food Items:

• Carne Asada: Chipotle-marinated beef sirloin, grilled queso fresco, Nopales salad with queso fresco foam and chicharron dust

Beverages: 

• Mexican Craft Beer
• Rubí Delicioso Margarita: Tromba Blanco Tequila, Lejay Blackcurrant Liqueur, citrus, mint, spicy agave, and beet juice
• Smokey Banana Bliss Margarita: Ten to One Rum, Ilegal Mezcal Joven, banana purée, and lime juice

Goshiki 

Food Items:

• Wagyu Bun: Steamed bun filled with American wagyu beef served with green shiso sauce
• Sushi Donut: Donut-shaped Sushi featuring salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber, and sesame seed over a decorated plate of wasabi aïoli, sriracha aïoli, and eel sauce
• Ichigo Mochi – Daifuku: Daifuku mochi filled with fresh strawberry, sweet azuki bean paste, and white chocolate served with strawberry cream

Beverages: 

• Murasaki Blueberry Drink: Sweet blueberry and cream (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• Mikan Orange IPA
• Masu Sake in a traditional personalized wooden cup
• Blueberry Cocktail: Nigori sake with sweet blueberry, cream, and yuzu

The Painted Panda 

Food Items:

• General Tso’s Chicken Shumai
• Char Siu Pork Bun
• Sesame Balls with red bean paste

Beverages:

• Black and White Bubble Tea with black tea, milk, chocolate, and black & white boba pearls (Non-alcoholic beverage)
• Lucky Foo Pale Ale
• Silk River Hard Lemonade with vodka, lavender-coconut syrup, and lemonade
• Butterfly Blue: Butterfly pea flower-infused cocktail with vodka, light rum, lychee syrup, and magic boba pearls

L’Arte di Mangiare
  

Food Items: 

• Mozzarella Fritta: Flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella with artist palette condiments
• Conchiglie Ripiene: Baked stuffed conchiglie pasta with beef, ricotta, peas, pomodoro, and creamy sauce
• Torta Ricotta di Cioccolata: Chocolate cheesecake and whipped cream

Beverages:

• Peroni Pilsner
• Langhe Nebbiolo
• Prosecco
• Italian Sangria (Red or White) 
• Italian Margarita with tequila and limoncello
• Elderflower Sparkling Cocktail: Mint-infused elderflower liqueur, prosecco, and sparkling blood orange

Swirled Showcase

Food Items: 

• Soft-serve in a Waffle Cone 
  • Vanilla
  • Chocolate
  • Cupcake (New) 
• Cream Soda Float with Vanilla Soft-serve
• Strawberry Fanta Float with cupcake soft-serve (New)

Funnel Cake 

• Crazy Chocolate Funnel Cake Sandwich: Mini funnel cake sandwich with vanilla ice cream, rainbow whipped cream, strawberry sauce, powdered sugar, and sprinkles (New) > Amelia's Pick

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company 

World Discovery (Near Mission: SPACE) 

• Pistachio Palette Cold Brew: A flavorful masterpiece featuring Joffrey’s Shakin’ Jamaican Cold Brew, pistachio syrup, and milk topped with whipped cream and colorful sprinkles

Near Canada 

• Realism Roseberry Cold Brew:  A lively swirl of flavors featuring Joffrey’s Shakin’ Jamaican Cold Brew, strawberry rose syrup, and milk topped with whipped cream and colorful sprinkles (Alcoholic version available with Bailey’s Irish Cream Liqueur) 

Showcase Plaza (Near Disney Traders)  

• Brushstroke Berry Bliss: A vibrant combination of frozen lemon, Minute Maid Lemonade, raspberry syrup, and iced tea garnished with lemon (Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka) 

The American Adventure  

• Pastel Pineberry Frost: A pastel work of art featuring frozen lemon, Minute Maid Lemonade, and pineberry syrup garnished with lemon (Alcoholic version available with Grey Goose Vodka) 

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New Orleans Top Blacksmith Forges Metal Weathervane for Disney’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Part of the true magic of Disney is the level of detail that goes into the development of rides, attractions, hotels and more. Recently, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure has continued this with a new update to the forthcoming ride that feature a custom handcrafted weathervane by Louisiana’s master blacksmith, Darryl Reeves.

We know that Disney loves its weathervanes, so in the spirit of the city of New Orleans (where people can pretty much see metalwork of Darryl Reeves no matter where they go), Disney hired this 3rd generation master blacksmith and Vietnam Veteran to create something very special for Tiana's Bayou Adventure. 

The new unique addition to the ride went up recently and marks another phase of progress towards opening day later this year. With over 50 years of service to his craft and New Orleans, it’s nice to see that Disney asked Darryl to create the weathervane for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. A nice authentic addition.

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Mike Belobradic and Amelia Belobradic

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