11 Epcot's International Festival Of The Holidays 2022 Foods And Drinks, Ranked

Throughout the year, Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort offers four different festivals. During the holiday season, the iconic resort rolls out the lights and festive decorations to transform the theme park into an absolute masterpiece of worldwide celebration. Throughout Epcot's four neighborhoods, what was previously known as World Showcase and Future World sections of the Epcot map, you will find plenty of holiday kitchens putting a spin on culinary favorites from across the globe.

When visiting Walk Disney World, you also have the opportunity to enjoy unique experiences not typically available throughout the year. For example, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind roller coaster hosts its own variation and play on the holidays. Instead of the typical song rotation you usually experience on the coaster, throughout the Festival of the Holidays, you will enjoy a festive song instead. It's a fabulous way to mix up an already memorable experience.

We visited Epcot at the beginning of the Festival of the Holidays to check out the different offerings. As we rolled out of the park with stuffed bellies, we are thrilled to say that this year's winter festival has plenty of delicious surprises and flavors in store for you.

Each year, the Epcot festival holiday kitchens return with favorites and new dishes. One of these new options on the 2022 menu comes from the Shanghai Holiday Kitchen near China: For $9.25, you can order a Beef and Noodle Soup Bowl. Upon ordering, you'll be handed a bowl of beef broth with a healthy portion of noodles, topped with slow-braised beef shank, cilantro, green onion, and chili oil.

As one of the pricer menu options available this year, it's a nice portion size. However, this was our least favorite dish we tried because we found it to be rather bland and a little salty. The broth felt like it should have had more seasoning because we found the spice very subtle. Perhaps with more chili sauce and sriracha added, this could have improved the broth. Overall, we found it rather dull. Salty, sure, but not much else. It didn't have that depth of flavor like we expected.

While there were plenty of noodles, we wanted to see something different here, too. Rather than ramen noodles, these seemed to be chow mein noodles. On the other hand, we were impressed by the tenderness of the beef. It didn't quite fall apart, but it was deliciously easy to eat. We wish the broth tasted more like the beef on top of the dish.

Just as there are new food offerings each year, there are also whole new festival kitchens. The Nochebuena Cocina booth is one of these new options, and you will find it near the Port of Entry, very close to the Yukon booth. Here, we picked up the Impossible Chorizo Tamale for $5.50. Impossible Foods has been a Frequent sponsor at recent Epcot festivals, and we were excited to see it return here. 

However, we were disappointed to see that there were only four plant-based food options throughout the entire festival. In the last few festivals, we've seen many more than that. At the 2022 Food and Wine Festival, for example, Boardwalk Times reports that the Impossible hosted booth "Earth Eats" had two plant-based items: a meatball on top of herbed polenta and a burger slider.

Overall, we thought this dish was on the dry side. The chili sauce on top helped quite a bit, but the chorizo filling and tamale surrounding it just seemed to lack a lot of moisture. The Impossible Foods chorizo is a compelling meat substitute, but it was quite spicy, and the texture just wasn't there for us. Unfortunately, by and large, this was one of our less favorite options of this year's Epcot Festival of the Holidays.

Also near the Port of Entry, you'll find the Mele Kalikimaka Holiday Kitchen. Here, one of our favorite returning options is the Kālua Pork. This dish is $5.50 and comes with sweet pork on top of a bed of Okinawa sweet potatoes with micro greens and a small side of mango salad. Down to Earth explains that the Okinawa sweet potato is purple in color and a closer relative of the morning glory rather than a sweet potato. Nevertheless, these purple potatoes are a popular part of the cuisine in Hawaii. Okinawa grows exceptionally well in Hawaii because of the local volcanic soil, says Down to Earth, and much more than a pretty mash, these potatoes are richer in antioxidants than blueberries by a whopping 150%.

We must say that this dish is photogenic. The purple mash below the pork is a feast for the eyes and palate. We did, however, also find this dish dry. Like the tamale, the pork has a great taste, but the overall dish suffers from the dryness of the meat. That said, we also wanted more flavoring from that beautiful purple mash. It seemed to be missing some salt. As for the mango salad, our portion came with two small pieces of mango, but we loved what we did get to try.

Right outside the France pavilion, you'll find France's holiday kitchen for the festival. There are several new options here, and among them is Rôti de Jambon Sauce Moutarde à l'ancienne, Pommes Dauphine, which is roasted ham and fried potatoes. Quite a nice helping, this will get you a roasted ham dish with bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions all in a mustard sauce. On the side, you'll enjoy a few puff potatoes known as pommes dauphine.

We were very impressed with this dish. Flavorful ham with toasted, roasted bits and a creamy sauce that goes perfectly with veggies sounds like a match made in heaven. The little potato puffs seemed oddly placed in this dish, though they were still delicious. For $7.75, we wish the serving size was a little more substantial, as items with a smaller price tag at other holiday kitchens had more food. The slight hint of sweetness from the ham is such a delightful touch that we think you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

Central Florida has a slew of excellent options for donuts. Right in the Disney World parks, you can enjoy giant donuts from Joffrey's stands, and of course, the Florida-born coffee and donut favorite, Everglazed, brings delicious iced coffee topped with fabulously big donuts. Closer to Universal Studios, Voodoo Doughnuts offers delicious, funky flavors. The Donut Box very much falls among these donut big leaguers.

At the Donut Box holiday kitchen near the Test Track attraction, you have several donuts to choose from, and you can also get them put in a donut box to bring them home to your resort for the next day. But, honestly, you'll probably want to eat them right at the park. This year's Donut Box flavors include a croissant donut with a cinnamon sugar topping, a puffy yeast donut with vanilla icing and seasonal sprinkles, a chocolate peppermint donut, and an eggnog with cream-filled donut that includes cinnamon icing and tasty bits of ginger snap cookies.

We really enjoyed the croissant donut. The flakey layers of the croissant dough are completely covered in a delicious cinnamon sugar mixture that tastes just like the classic churro topping. We loved how fluffy and sweet this donut is, especially since it's texture is so different from other donuts we've enjoyed. That said, while it is delicious and a good value for $6, we think the sugar topping should have something additional added to it so that it feels different from a churro.

Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen is just outside the Mexico pavilion, offering several new dishes for the International Festival of the Holidays. We decided to try the Cochinita Pibil Tamal, and we're so glad we did. Not only is the presentation beautiful, but the dish tastes pretty great too. Though this dish fell somewhere in the middle of the offerings we tried, we still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wrapped in a corn husk, you'll get a nice amount of Cochinita pibil enclosed in corn masa and then covered with a delicious pipián sauce, queso, and crema. We found the cochinita pibil to be exceptionally well flavored with a moist feel. The corn masa surrounding it, on the other hand, was very dense but still complimented the inside. While this dish could get dry without the addition of something like a sauce, we were impressed with how much the pipián sauce prevented this from happening. Honestly, we're a sucker for anything slathered in sauce, so if you're the same, you'll love this dish. 

We thought it was a tasty bite wonderfully complimented by that queso and crema. Even still, without the sauce, the dense masa could make this dish a little on the boring side. Overall, for $8, this was a great offering.

L'Chaim is a word that means "to life." In celebratory times, it is often used as a part of toasts, and it has roots in Hebrew as well as Yiddish. Epcot's L'Chaim! Holiday Kitchen offers several delicious options, but we love the potato latkes. At only $4.25, you'll get two latkes drizzled with a refreshing sauce with hints of dill.

Classic latkes recipes are very simple, delicious potato patties which include only flour, potatoes, onion, egg, and seasonings, but the latkes at the festival have been modified to be plant-based. The vegan in your group will be thrilled with this option. Your carnivorous friends will love this one just as much as your herbivore friends.

The latkes are a rather generous size, taking up most of a small festival place, and then you get two of them. Because there are two, there is plenty of room to share, but we're willing to bet you'll want these all to yourself. After all, they're perfectly cut potatoes that have a little grease and then are completely complemented by that sauce. If you like a little protein on your latkes, you can also order them with smoked salmon on top for $5.75.

When it comes to eating cheese, fondue may just be our favorite type. German Food Guide explains that cheese and meat fondue have both become popular traditions during the Christmas holidays in Germany. Typically, cheese lovers will enjoy the dish on Christmas Eve, so it makes sense that it appears at Epcot Germany's Festival Food booth, Bavaria Holiday Kitchen. To achieve a classic fondue recipe, you typically melt different cheeses together with spices, veggies, or even wine. In Germany, they enjoy dipping bread cubes into that cheesy goodness.

The Bavarian Holiday Kitchen at Epcot serves its cheese and a bread bowl with steamed veggies lining the outside of the serving. This is one of the festival favorites we look forward to each holiday season, and this year certainly did not disappoint. The cheese is very sharp, which we love, but we can imagine other festival-goers not being as fond of it. While the bread and cheese is always our favorite part of this dish, we also enjoy the occasional veggie on the side. On our plate, the potatoes were perfect, but the zucchini and carrot were very overcooked. At $8.25, this is a great Festival of the Holidays buy, and we think you will be very impressed by the flavor of this one.

Many festival-goers are on the hunt for the best deals for their money. After all, all of those small plates can significantly stack up as you travel the Epcot World Showcase. Therefore, if you are looking for a hearty meal at a rather low cost, you will be very impressed with what the Yukon offers. You'll find this booth just before the Canadian Pavilion, and you'll know you're there because you'll smell the scallops before you even see the booth. Though the seafood is pretty tasty, we opted to grab some of the fan-favorite beef bourguignon.

Your passport to the festival will say that this comes with crushed potatoes, but we found these potatoes to be much more mashed than crushed. They did still have their potato skins on, but the potatoes were creamy and smooth like a good mashed potato should be. The beef is wonderfully tender and coated in a rich sauce. We think the Yukon booth pulls off a delicious rendition of the classic boeuf bourguignon recipe. 

Overall, you get that meaty goodness atop a pile of smooth, carb-loaded comfort, all for a very reasonable price of $6. This just might be one of the best deals of the whole festival, and it is absolutely delicious to boot. That said, be weary of eating this one too early on a hot Florida day because its on the heavier side.

Since Epcot's International Festival of the Holidays celebration begins right after Thanksgiving each year, you may find yourself starting to miss that classic American Thanksgiving meal. That's why the American Holiday Table in Epcot's American Adventure Pavilion includes turkey with all the accompaniments like Ben's Original stuffing, creamy and delicious mashed potatoes, tender-crisp green beans, and tart cranberry sauce. Plus, like Yukon's offering, this turkey bowl is an absolute smash hit for your money. 

If you pay close attention to the cast members preparing your food, you will notice that they layer everything right after you order it. So, this taste of the holidays is sure to be fresh, as though it just came out of your holiday kitchen. The large piece of turkey breast we enjoyed was tender and moist, exactly as you hope a slow-roasted perfect turkey should be. The stuffing came in a patty format, which was an excellent idea to make sure that the perfect amount of stuffing gets into every bowl. The mashed potatoes form the base of your bowl, and hold up the rest of the ingredients well. We were also very impressed with how tender-crisp the green beans were. 

In festival situations like this, it can be challenging to keep veggies perfectly tender, but the American Holiday Table pulls it off beautifully. Finally, drizzled on top, you'll get some sweet cranberry sauce, sure to put your grandmother's recipe to the test.

Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen is one of our favorite booths at the festival. And this year, we are so excited that they are offering our favorite dish again. The sushi tree is a popular at each Epcot holiday festival, but this year, it feels exceptionally well done. Perhaps it is the plating on a very fun transparent acrylic plate or the generous amount of spicy mayonnaise on top. Still, we were incredibly impressed with this dish and are proclaiming it our favorite food of the Festival of the Holidays.

When you order a sushi tree, you will be presented with six sushi roll pieces filled with crab meat, cream cheese, and rice. It's topped with salmon roe and spicy mayonnaise, and to complement the festive tree, tempura bits decorate the outside of the tree. Even though we ordered our sushi tree relatively late in the day, we were very impressed by how fresh this tasted. It was perfectly chilled while not being too sticky and still having a great bite. It also wasn't overly fishy, so if you're new to the world of sushi, this would still be a great dish.