Disney Releases 2020 Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays Menus

While the holiday season has officially kicked off at Walt Disney World, at EPCOT, we need to wait a few more weeks until the 2020 Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays kicks off on November 27, 2020. Disney has released the foodie guide for the festival and my diet is in danger. Good thing calories do not count while at Walt Disney World, right? Catch all the details below.

Via A Disney Cast Member;

As we savor the last few weeks of Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival ending November 22, our Festival chefs are busy putting the final touches on the Holiday Kitchen menus for the upcoming Taste of EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays presented by AdventHealth.

Celebrating joyous holiday cheer from around the globe, this year’s festival runs November 27 through December 30, 2020, and features a variety of yuletide decorations, live holiday music at various EPCOT stages, family-friendly activities, and, of course, the delicious food and beverage offerings at the Holiday Kitchens scattered throughout all 11 World Showcase pavilions and World Showplace.

The popular Holiday Cookie Stroll is back this year with yummy freshly baked cookies from the EPCOT bakery ovens. The Festival Passport lists the five official Holiday Cookie Stroll locations. Each stop will offer a delicious cookie for purchase and a stamp for your Festival Passport. Once you’ve collected all five stamps, bring your Festival Passport to the Sweets & Treats Holiday Kitchen to receive an adorable complimentary Minnie Peppermint Cookie! The Holiday Cookie Stroll can be completed at your own leisure, and you can even bring back your stamped Festival Passport to EPCOT at any time during the festival to complete your stroll.

In addition to all the cookies and decadent desserts at the festival, the EPCOT pastry chefs have been busy creating a Gingerbread Capital City! Located this year in World Showplace, this sweet patriotic display has gingerbread replicas of some of the nation’s most iconic landmarks including the United States Capitol Building, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and a 5-foot tall Washington Monument!

And now it’s time to talk HOLIDAY KITCHENS! This Foodie Guide has it all – from unique and classic holiday dishes to festive seasonal cocktails and beverages. Check out all the delicious details below. Enjoy!

Refreshment Port (Showcase Plaza)

Food Items:

  • Turkey Poutine French Fries with Turkey Gravy, Cranberry Relish, and Crispy Onions

Beverage Items:

  • T.G. Lee Eggnog (non-alcoholic)
  • T.G. Lee Eggnog with Spiced Rum

Citrus Blossom (Showcase Plaza)

Beverage Items:

  • Orange Cream Shake in a Souvenir Orange Bird Sipper Cup (non-alcoholic)
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Cinnamon Cranberry Orange Wheat Ale, Tampa, FL (New)
  • Florida Orange Groves Winery Selections

Mele Kalikimaka Holiday Kitchen (Showcase Plaza)

Food Items:

  • Kālua Pork with Okinawa Purple Sweet Potatoes and Mango Salad (New)
  • Lomi Lomi Salmon with Tomatoes, Onions, Salmon Roe, Yuzu Mayonnaise, and Yucca Chips (New)
  • Haupia: Hawaiian Coconut Pudding with Candied Macadamia Nuts and Coconut (New)

Beverage Items:

  • Kona Brewing Co. Big Wave Golden Ale, Kailua-Kona, HI
  • Florida Orange Groves Sparkling Pineapple Wine, St. Petersburg, FL
  • Melon Breeze with Spiced Rum (New)

Holiday Sweets & Treats (Promenade Refreshments):

Food Items:

  • Peppermint Sundae: Chocolate Ice Cream, Whipped Cream, and Peppermint Candy (Gluten/Wheat Friendly)
  • Minnie Peppermint Cookie (Cookie Stroll)

Beverage Items:

  • Hot Cocoa (non-alcoholic)
  • Chocolate Peppermint Shake featuring Twinings® Peppermint Cheer Tea (non-alcoholic)
  • Shipyard Eggnog White Porter, Clearwater, FL
  • M.I.A. Beer Company Coquito Beer, Doral, FL (New)
  • Hot Cocoa with Assorted Alcoholic Cordials (Baileys Irish Cream, Frangelico Liqueur or Fireball Cinnamon Whisky)
  • Chocolate Peppermint Shake featuring Twinings® Peppermint Cheer Tea and Whipped Cream Vodka

Refreshment Outpost:

Food Items:

  • Warm Brown Sugar-stuffed Pretzel with Soft-serve Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

Beverage Items:

  • Frozen Slushy Coca-Cola® or Minute Maid® Lemonade in a Souvenir Spike The Bee Sipper Cup (non-alcoholic)
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Spicy Apple Cinnamon Hard Cider, St. Petersburg, FL

Bavaria Holiday Kitchen (Germany)

Food Items:

  • Pork Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce, Spätzle, and Braised Red Cabbage
  • Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl with Steamed Baby Vegetables and Marble Potatoes
  • Linzer Cookie (Cookie Stroll)

Beverage Items:

  • Possmann Pure Hard Apple Cider, Frankfurt, Germany
  • Ayinger Brewery Celebrator Doppelbock, Bavaria, Germany (New)
  • Regional Riesling
  • Glühwein: House-made Hot Spiced Wine

American Holiday Table 

Food Items:

  • Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, and Cranberry Sauce
  • Holiday Pot Pie with Jackfruit, Mushrooms, Carrots, Peas, Onions, and Puff Pastry (Plant-based item) (New)
  • Pumpkin Gingerbread Cheesecake with Cranberry Whipped Cream and Candied Pumpkin Seeds (New)
  • Chocolate Crinkle Cookie (Cookie Stroll)

Beverages Items:

  • Bell’s Bright White Ale, Comstock, MI
  • Shipyard Eggnog White Porter, Clearwater, FL
  • Playalinda Brewing Co. Peppermint Chocolate Stout, Titusville, FL
  • Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
  • Martin Bay Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen (Between Morocco & France)

Food Items:

  • Pastrami on Rye with House-made Pickles and Deli Mustard
  • Smoked Salmon Potato Latke
  • Potato Latkes (Plant-based item)
  • Sufganiyot: Mini Jelly-filled Donuts
  • Black and White Cookie (Plant-based item) (Cookie Stroll)

Beverages Items:

  • Shmaltz Brewing Company Hanukkah Beer: Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale, Clifton Park, NY
  • Blue Cosmo Cocktail

Festival Favorites (World Showplace)

Food Items:

  • Blackened Bass, White Cheddar Grits, and Okra with Tomato and Onion Stew, Seasonal Southern Delights
  • Duck Confit and Dumplings with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Fig Reduction, Alpine Haus
  • Gingerbread Cookie (Cookie Stroll)

Beverages Items:

  • Coquito: Tropical Eggnog (non-alcoholic)
  • Frozen S’mores (non-alcoholic)
  • Coquito: Tropical Eggnog with Bacardi Gold Dark Rum
  • Frozen S’mores with Whipped Cream Vodka

Holiday Hearth (World Showplace)

Food Items:

  • Red Velvet Mini Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (New)
  • Salted Caramel Spaceship Earth® Cookie (New)
  • Snowball Cookies (New)
  • Peppermint Bark
  • Stollen: Holiday Fruit Cake
  • Mouse Crunch (New)

Beverages Items:

  • Gingerbread Milkshake (non-alcoholic) (New)
  • Hot Cocoa (non-alcoholic)
  • Gingerbread Milkshake with Whipped Cream Vodka (New)
  • Cocoa Candy Cane: Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Schnapps

Prost! (World Showplace)

Food Items:

  • Charcuterie and Cheese Plate

Beverages Items:

  • M.I.A. Beer Company White Christmas IPA, Doral, FL
  • 3 Daughters Brewing 70 Degree Winter Weizen, St. Petersburg, FL
  • Playlalinda Brewing Co. Gingerblonde House Ale, Titusville, FL (New)
  • Ciderboys Mad Bark Apple Cinnamon Hard Cider, Stevens Point, WI(New)
  • 3 Daughters Brewing Blueberry Peppercorn Hard Cider, St. Petersburg, FL (New)
  • Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards 1911 Honey Crisp Hard Cider, Lafayette, NY (New)

Yukon Holiday Kitchen (Canada)

Food Items:

  • Seared Scallops with Parsnip Silk, Apple Chutney, and Hazelnut Croquant (New)
  • Beef Bourguignon with Crushed Potatoes (New)
  • Maple Bûche de Noël: Maple Mousse and Cranberry rolled in Gingerbread Chiffon Cake
  • Peppermint Pinwheel Cookie (Cookie Stroll)

Beverages items:

  • Frozen Coffee (non-alcoholic)
  • 81Bay Brewing Co. Maple Cinnamon Coffee Beer, Tampa, FL (New)
  • Regional Icewine
  • Regional Red Wine
  • Frozen Coffee with Tap 357 Whisky

Holiday Beverages in the English Garden (Behind The Tea Caddy)

  • Twinings® Christmas Tea Toddy served with a Cinnamon Stick (non-alcoholic)
  • Twinings® Christmas Tea Toddy and Drambui served with a Cinnamon Stick

Le Marché de Noël Holiday Kitchen (France)

Food Items:

  • Rillette de Saumon: Salmon Spread with House-made Bread
  • Dinde Forestière, Pommes Dauphines: Turkey with Bacon, Mushrooms, and Onions in a Mustard Cream Sauce with Puffed Potatoes (New)
  • Bûche de Noël au Caramel: Christmas Log with Chocolate Cake and Dark Chocolate Caramel Ganache

Beverage Items:

  • Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc Fruits Rouges Draft
  • Rosé Pétillant Méthode Traditionnelle Champenoise: Rosé Sparkling Wine, Pink Flamingo
  • Cabernet Sauvignon, Village de France
  • Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini: Grey Goose Vanilla, Vodka, and Chocolate Milk

Sapphire Holiday Kitchen (Morocco)

Food Items:

  • Grilled Lamb Kefta Kebab and Grapes with Euro Cucumber, Red Pepper, Pickled Pearl Onions, and Harissa-Cilantro Dressing
  • Confit of Chermoula Chicken Drum with Cinnamon Granny Smith Apple, Toasted Almonds, Brussels Sprouts, and Pinot Noir Glaze
  • Sfenj: Warm Beignets with Cream, Cinnamon-Sugar, and Chocolate Sauce

Beverage Items:

  • Mediterranean Beer
  • Kasbah Prestige Red Wine
  • The Andalusian “Poinsettia” Cocktail: Sparking Wine, Orange Liqueur, and Cranberry Juice topped with Orange Blossom Water

Tuscany Holiday Kitchen (Italy)

Food Items:

  • Biancaneve Italian Flatbread with Mozzarella, Asiago, and Parmesan
  • Sacchetti alla Boscaiola: Four-cheese Mini Beggar’s Purses filled with Sweet Sausage, Caramelized Onions, Pancetta, and Cremini Mushrooms with a Creamy Sauce (New)
  • Cannoli Siciliani: Crisp Pastry filled with Sweet Ricotta, Chocolate, and Candied Orange

Beverage Items:

  • Peroni Nastro Azzurro Pilsner
  • Pinot Grigio
  • Chianti
  • Prosecco
  • Rosa Regale
  • Moscato
  • Italian White Sangria with Prosecco
  • Italian Red Sangria with Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Italian Margarita with Limoncello and Tequila

Shanghai Holiday Kitchen (China) 

Food Items:

  • Red-stewed Beef Rice Bowl (New)
  • Curry Chicken Rice Bowl (New)
  • House-made Crab and Cheese Wontons

Beverage Items:

  • “Panda” Bubble Tea: Classic Milk Tea with Black and White Bobas (non-alcoholic)
  • Tsigntao Lager
  • Jasmine Draft Beer
  • Dragonfly: Jose Cuervo Tequila Gold, Vodka, Mango Syrup, and Orange Juice
  • Marco Boba: Amaretto, Iced Coffee, Milk, and Boba
  • The Lucky Mo: Peach Schnapps, Peach Syrup, Orange Juice, and Piña Colada Mix

Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen (Japan)

Food Items:

  • New Year Celebration Soba: Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Hot Dashi Soup with Shrimp Tempura, Fish Cake, and Chopped Green Onion
  • Chirashi Sushi Tree: Sashimi-grade Tuna, Salmon, Ikura, and Yellowtail with Vegetables decorated on a bed of Rice
  • Ichigo Mont Blanc Tart: Strawberry and Bavarian Cream-filled Tart sprinkled with Konpeito (New)

Beverages items:

  • Ichigo Milk Boba: Cranberry and Yuzu Cream Drink with Japanese Calpico and popping Strawberry Boba Pearls (non-alcoholic)
  • Sapporo Draft Beer
  • Tsubaki Whiskey Sour: Plum Wine with Whiskey, Cranberry Juice, Sugar, and Lemon

Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen (Mexico)

Food Items:

  • Giant Tostada de Chorizo: Chorizo served on a Giant Tostada with Chipotle Black Bean Purée, Salsa Verde, Queso Cotija, Crema Mexicana, and Pickled Onion (Gluten/Wheat Friendly) (New)
  • Tamal de Pollo: Braised Chipotle Chicken served in a Corn Masa topped with Mole Verde, Queso Cotija, Crema Mexicana, and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds (Gluten/Wheat Friendly)
  • Dulce de Leche Churros: Dulce de Leche filled Churros sprinkled with Cinnamon-Sugar (New)

Beverages Items:

  • Tulum Mexican Craft Beer with a Blackcurrant and Ginger Liqueur Floater
  • Pumpkin Spice Margarita: Tomba Blanco Tequila, Ojo de Tigre Mezcal, Nixta Corn Liqueur, Pumpkin Spice Purée, and Lime-Agave Juice with Cinnamon-Sugar Rim (New)
  • Horchata Margarita: Casa Noble Blanco Tequila, Abasolo Corn Whiskey, Horchata Rum, Agua de Horchata, and a hint of Cinnamon-infused Mezcal Liqueur

Funnel Cake (The American Adventure)

  • Sweet Potato Casserole Funnel Cake topped with Marshmallow Topping, Cinnamon-Sugar, Honey-roasted Pecans, and a Caramel Drizzle (New)

Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company®– All Locations:

  • Caramel Tinsel Latte:A cheerful Chocolatey Latte drizzled with Caramel Sauce and crumbled TWIX® Original, available hot or iced (New)
  • Caramel Tinsel Donut topped with crumbled TWIX® Original

“Donald’s Dino Bash Festive Flotilla” & More At Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The holidays have officially arrived at Magic KingdomDisney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Disney has released information for what to expect beginning today and throughout the holiday season at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as shared by DisneyParksBlog below.

Holiday fun returns to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, bringing unique seasonal décor and a flurry of festive flotillas with favorite Disney characters sailing down the Discovery River to a jolly holiday soundtrack.

“Donald’s Dino Bash Festive Flotilla” takes its seasonal celebration to the water, with character friends waving to everyone as they pass, and Chip ‘n’ Dale jingle through the jungle, bringing their own style of holiday flair to the river. The Discovery Island Drummers cruise along, too, entertaining guests on the shore with an energetic holiday beat. And when Santa Claus makes the trek to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, he’ll spread the joyous spirit of the season to all he sees along the way.

Holidays Arrive at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Santa & Elves Motorcade, “Hollywood Holiday Tower Hotel” & More

The holidays have officially arrived at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Disney has released information for what to expect beginning today and throughout the holiday season at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as shared by DisneyParksBlog below.

Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios get their own visit from Santa when he brings glitz and glamour to a motorcade down Hollywood Boulevard, led by an entourage of elves and riding in his red convertible packed with presents. And just in time for the holiday season, “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” adds a festive finale, featuring everyone’s favorite snowman, Olaf, and celebratory songs of the season.

After dark, the iconic Hollywood Tower Hotel on Sunset Boulevard will twinkle with projection effects as it becomes the Hollywood Holiday Tower Hotel, magically transforming into a Muppets gingerbread masterpiece, a Toy Story toy hotel, a snowy corner of Arendelle and a Dickensian village inspired by “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.”

Christmastime Floats, Dapper Dans, Toy Soldiers & More at Magic Kingdom

November 6, was the big day! The holidays have officially arrived at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Disney has released information for what to expect throughout the holiday season at Magic Kingdom as shared by DisneyParksBlog below.

Your favorite characters don their holiday best and celebrate the season in a series of special cavalcades, complete with Christmastime floats and music. From Mickey and friends trimming a tree to Goofy and his pals whipping up a bakeshop full of scrumptious treats, character cavalcades bring holiday spirit to the streets of Magic Kingdom throughout the day. And keep your eyes open for Santa when he glides down the parade route in his sleigh.

Main Street, U.S.A. is the spot to catch the Holiday Trolley, bringing festive harmonies from the Dapper Dans barbershop quartet, and you may just see some Toy Soldiers joining the Main Street Philharmonic when they march through Magic Kingdom playing their merry melodies.

At night, holiday magic brings a festive look to Cinderella Castle with special projection effects, producing a kaleidoscope of designs including festive stripes and dots, a whimsical Christmas sweater look, a jeweled winter castle and a regal overlay of red, green and gold ornamentation. It’s sure to provide the perfect colorful backdrop for your holiday photos.

World’s Largest White Castle To Break Ground Near Disney!

As shared by Fox35Orlando: “After a 50-year absence, White Castle will be opening its only Florida location near Walt Disney World and plans to break ground on Nov. 19. Its future 4,567-square foot restaurant will open at the O-Town West near Palm Parkway and Daryl Carter Boulevard.

The location will have both indoor and outdoor seating and two drive-thru lanes. Construction is expected to wrap up in 2021. The new White Castle will be the largest one for the chain. The restaurant is expected to create over 100 jobs in the Central Florida area.”