Walt Disney World's Epcot in Orlando for years featured very few rides for guests to experience, while the resort's other parks -- Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom have offered a lot more both slow-moving and thrill rides for visitors.
Epcot has always been known for its international pavilions, featuring exhibits, dining and other attractions, with a few rides. In 2016, Epcot replaced the Maelstrom attraction in the Norway pavilion with the popular Frozen Ever After ride and the park has continued to add a few more new rides, including Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in May 2022 and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure in October 2021. It also has the popular test Track ride that has been open since 1999.
For guests who don't want to stand in long lines to get on the few rides Epcot has, they can stroll around the world to the park's many international pavilions. Guests can experience the Eiffel Tower and other aspects of multiple countries. The World Showcase gives tourists experiences from these countries: Canada, England, France, Morocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, Norway, Mexico and the United States. What better way to experience what the world has to offer than through the resort magically designed by Disney to celebrate the best part of each culture an
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Disney Enhances its Global Experience
Disney has been hosting a festival since 2017 that heightens the global experience. Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts brings different cultures of the world together in one area for a short period of time from Jan. 13 through Feb 20. Guests will be able to experience the arts visually and also smell and taste the wonders of other cultures.
The 2023 Epcot International Festival of the Arts Food Studios features foods from around the globe that combine the visual beauty of each culture’s foods and tastes. This festival is great for all ages and does not require a separate admission beyond Epcot to attend. The hours for the food studios around Epcot will open at 11 a.m. and remain open until the park closes each day. Food and beverages are a separate purchase from the park admission.
The festival works to be inclusive of dietary needs by including gluten-friendly, plant based, and kid approved foods in its menu offerings. With over 20 food studios to check out, you won’t be able to stomach it all in one visit. Some highlights of the menu include L’Arte di Mangiare at the Italy Pavilion, which will be serving up a Mozzarella Fritta: Flash Fried Mozzarella dished up on an artist’s palette of sauces to try.
It's either a new twist on the donut or a new twist on sushi. Either way the Japan Pavilion’s Goshiki is presenting its Sushi Donut. The sushi is shaped like a donut topped with Salmon, Tuna, Shrimp, Cucumber and served with Wasabi Aïoli, Sriracha Aïoli and Eel Sauce.
New to the 2023 line up is Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic. The food station will be serving up fun flavors with bold colors including a fruit pizza, a rainbow cake, rainbow popcorn and fun sugar cookie with a twist.
Disney Festival Returns to Normal
Disney’s Epcot International Festival of the Arts, presented by AT&T, started in 2017 and had only gained traction for a couple years before being struck by the covid pandemic. If you can call it luck, the pandemic started in 2020 after the International Festival of the Arts had already taken place. In 2021, the festival was still celebrated but with restrictions of masks and having groups stay socially distance from one another.
The 2022 International Festival of the Arts brought back a sense of normalcy to the park as it featured the Disney on Broadway shows that were left out of the 2021 festival. This year's Festival of the Arts will end before the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Co. begins, but all the more reason to make more than one trip to Disney World this year.
