Visit Date: February 1, 2025

Epcot’s “International Festival of the Arts” ran from January 17 – February 24, 2025 and celebrated artistry in every form — from food to music to, of course, art! There were different displays set up around the park, such as amazing sidewalk chalk art and cute photo opportunities. Additionally, there were regular performances from Broadway performers, featuring beloved Disney songs. 

In terms of food offerings, there were 19 food booths set up around World Showcase serving up specialty food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic). There were a few booths located outside of the entrance to World Showcase, and most countries had their own festival booth, in addition to their usual food offerings. 

While the festival is over, we still think that this is valuable information to share for two reasons: 1) each festival is more or less the same each year, with familiar favorites and new offerings, so anything that we talk about below could be available in a subsequent year and 2) Epcot hosts festivals almost year-round, and the format of each is similar, including new and creative food options. 

Here’s what we ate at this festival, where we found it, what we thought of it, and how much it cost us: 

Fictional Victuals Menu – located near ‘Refreshment Station’ towards Mexico

Squid Ink Pasta with lump crab, truffle cream, and shaved truffle — $7.75

While the black colored pasta can be a bit of a shock at first, this was a highlight of the day for us! The pasta had a great texture (al dente, with a slight bite to it), and the truffle cream sauce was tasty. Personally, I couldn’t tell you what truffle tastes like (I usually avoid any pieces of shaved truffle), but this was salty and lightly cheesy. Our only complaint would be that there could have been a bit more crab on this, since the sweetness from the crab really balanced out the saltiness from the pasta. We think that this was great value, and we hope to see it on the menu again in the future! 

The Craftsman’s Courtyard –  located near the ‘Rose Walk Restrooms’ towards Canada

Cast Iron-roasted P.E.I. Mussels with sautéed tomatoes, garlic, and fresh herbs accompanied by a slice of baguette – $8.00

Beef Wellington-inspired Croissant Supreme with creamed spinach croissant pinwheel, mushroom-gorgonzola ragout, mustard-grilled flank steak, red wine sauce, and pickled mustard seeds – $8.50 (NEW!)

To my surprise, the mussels were my favorite of the two things that we tried! I am not usually a mussel fan, mainly because I find them to have be a “high effort, low reward” dish, but these were great and a highlight of the day for me. The mussels were decently sized, easy to deal with, and seasoned great. The tomatoes added a needed pop of acidity and freshness. My biggest complaint with this though was the side of the baguette. I liked having the baguette to eat with the mussels, but the bread was way too salty. The salt of the bread overpowered the delicateness of the mussels and took away from the dish.

For me, I was a bit underwhelmed by the beef wellington dish. There were a lot of components, but they all seemed to blend together so that they were indistinguishable from each other. The dish was seasoned well though, and while it was not my favorite from the day, it was solid and tasty. It’s definitely something I think is worth trying. Overall, this was a great booth, and both of these dishes were hits to us! 

The Deconstructed Dish – located outside of Test Track

Deconstructed BLT: Pork belly, soft-poached egg, onion bread pudding, watercress espuma, and tomato jam – $7.25

Deconstructed Strawberry Mint Julep: Frozen mint and simple syrup blend with strawberry purée (Non-alcoholic beverage) – $4.75

Sam and I are pork belly lovers, so any time we see it on the menu, we have to order it! This was an interesting approach to the classic BLT, following the ever-so-popular deconstructed food trend. Honestly, I wasn’t wowed by this. It was just fine. Everything was cooked well, especially the pork belly and onion bread pudding, but it just fell flat. It wasn’t reminding me of a BLT, and I found that the egg was unnecessary (and the whites weren’t quite set enough for me). It was inventive for sure, but not something I am rushing back to try. 

The non-alcoholic strawberry mint julep was a spontaneous order for us, since we saw so many people order it ahead of us while we stood in line. The drink included a fun ‘dropper’ to inject the drink with the strawberry syrup, which was a creative interactive feature. Again, this was not a drink we were wowed by, but it was refreshing and full of flavor. I’m just not personally a mint person, but if you are, then you would really like this!

Gourmet Landscapes  – located in the Canada pavilion

Wild Mushroom Risotto with aged parmesan, truffle shavings, and Zinfandel reduction (Plant-based) – $9.75

Sam had high hopes for this dish since it combines risotto and mushrooms (two things he really likes), while as a mushroom-hater, I was more skeptical. Unfortunately, this let us both down. The dish was served somewhere between room temperature and cold, which is not anywhere near where you want risotto to be. The texture was off; it was gloopy, sludgey, and just not appetizing. The taste itself was pretty mediocre, but the temperature and texture really threw us off. For $10, and without any protein, this was simply not worth it.   

The Painted Panda  – located in the China pavilion

Hong Kong-Style Egg Custard Tart – $5.50

I love a good egg tart, and this one from the China pavilion was certainly acceptable. Nothing too extravagant, but it was well executed. The custard was set and smooth, with just the right amount of sweetness. The crust was flakey and held its shape well. The tart was served at room temperature, which was fine (better than cold). However, at $5.50, this was pretty poor value for the price. Overall, while this was nothing super unique or special, it did scratch my sweet tooth itch and satisfied us both. 

L’Arte di Mangiare – located in the Italy pavilion

Hazelnut S’more Cannoli: Cannoli shell dipped in chocolate and graham cracker, chocolate-hazelnut cannoli cream, and toasted marshmallows – $5.50 (NEW!)

Sam is a big cannoli fan, so when we saw this on the menu in Italy, we had to stop. I think I tried one bite of this, and thought it was too sweet. Sam liked this, but not more than a regular cannoli. Overall, it was pretty unremarkable in either direction and unless you’re a big smore’s fan, we think this is a skip, especially given the price. 

Goshiki – located in the Japan pavilion

Taiyaki: Crisp, flaky fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet red bean served with whipped topping and blueberry popping boba – $6.75 (NEW!)

Wagyu Bun: Steamed bun filled with American wagyu beef served with Japanese karashi mustard sauce and violet shiso sauce – $9.75 (NEW!)

The taiyaki, which is a fish-shaped soft pastry (kind of like a light cake), was something we had tried before in San Francisco and both liked. We had never tried it with the more traditional red bean filling, and I was pleasantly surprised by it! I was worried it would have too strong of a bean flavor, but the beans were mellowed out by a nice level of sweetness. However, this is definitely not at an “American level” of sweetness in terms of dessert. I suspect the whipped topping and blueberry popping boba were included to entice unfamiliar folks to try this dish, as well as to increase the sweetness level. For me, though, they were really unnecessary, and I enjoyed the pastry on its own. This would be a must-order for me.  

We both were excited to try the wagyu bun because we were excited to have wagyu and we love steamed buns. Unfortunately, this was a bit of a letdown, especially at the price. The meat filling was well-flavored and moist, but it was indiscernible as anything other than ground meat. It’s important to note that, ironically, this is American wagyu, not the famous Japanese wagyu. The sauces on the side were fine but unnecessary. The bun itself was fluffy and well-made, and the overall taste was good. But it’s hard, after eating this, to say that we’ve even tried wagyu beef before. I probably wouldn’t order this again, mostly just due to its high price tag.  

L’Art de la Cuisine Francaise – located in the France pavilion 

Escargot en Chocolat: Chocolate mousse flourless cake, citrus coulis, almond-chocolate coating, and dark chocolate decoration – $9.25 (NEW!)

I was really excited to try this, having seen a photo of them online and thinking that they were very aesthetically pleasing and cute. And yes, they were very cute! But at $9 for one piece of dessert, the value is one of the worst of the day. The chocolate cake was pretty rich and dense (as most flourless cakes are), but when you got a bite with the citrus coulis, it was balanced really well! I was a bigger fan of this than Sam (due to the citrus, which he doesn’t prefer), even though I’m not usually a chocolate cake fan, but mostly due to that coulis and the presentation of the dessert. Simply due to price, this is not something I would order again. At a lower price point though, I would consider it.

In summary, Epcot’s Festival of the Arts was full of beautiful artwork, fun performances, and of course, good food! While not everything we ate was a hit, we still enjoyed ourselves! We would definitely make another trip down for this festival! 

Here are Epcot’s upcoming festivals: 

• International Flower & Garden Festival: March 5 – June 2, 2025
• International Food & Wine Festival: Fall 2025
• International Festival of the Holidays: Winter 2025

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU:

What food looked good to you? Did we miss any of your favorite foods from this festival? Do you have a favorite Epcot festival? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!