Now that EPCOT has officially reopened, we’ve been checking out the park to see what’s new!
Upon reopening, the park also kicked off A Taste of EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival! Of course, we visited all the booths to see what they’re serving up this year! But let’s take a look at what ELSE is new in EPCOT!
EPCOT Food Update
Rose & Crown Pub
We stopped into the Rose & Crown Pub in the U.K. Pavilion to see what the ordering process is like with the new social distancing measures in place.
If you’re looking for a bite to eat, they’re offering either fish and chips or sausage rolls and chips, which can be ordered to go. After ordering, guests are sent to a designated spot to wait, which is marked with a number.
Guests are NOT allowed to stand at the bar to eat or drink, and there are plexiglass dividers in some spaces.
There are a limited number of tables available, and tables that are unavailable are marked with a sign.
So, even though there aren’t many tables available inside, if you’re looking for a drink or a bite to eat on-the-go (or maybe you’re craving some fish and chips since Yorkshire County Fish Shop is currently being used as a Relaxation Station), Rose and Crown has some options available!
Check out our Best of the Fest list for our top picks from this year’s Food & Wine Festival!
Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie
We noticed that one of our favorite spots to grab a snack, Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie in the France Pavilion has reopened!
We’ll definitely be stopping in here regularly for some delicious, freshly baked treats!
Check out our review from the nearby France Food & Wine booth!
Via Napoli
First, let’s take a look at the offers at the Via Napoli “donkey cart” outside of the restaurant!
We noticed that the boozy popsicles aren’t currently available at the cart, but they DO have a tiramisu popsicle for $8.25!
Via Napoli is currently featuring a limited menu inside the restaurant.
Now, let’s take a look at the other dining changes in the Italy Pavilion!
Tutto Italia
There’s also a limited menu available at Tutto Italia Ristorante.
The Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar is not open at the moment, but the space is being used for seating for Tutto Italia to allow for social distancing between parties.
Check out our review from the nearby Italy Food & Wine booth!
Karamell-Küche
For years, we’ve loved stopping by Karamell-Küche in the Germany Pavilion for alllll of the caramel treats! But on this visit, we noticed that the typically well-stocked bakery case was featuring some slim pickings.
You CAN still find a good number of our favorite sweet and sticky treats. We’ll keep an eye on this on our next few visits to see if the selection ramps back up!
Here are the eats (and drinks!) available at the Germany Food & Wine booth this year!
Joy of Tea
Our last food and beverage update comes from the Joy of Tea stand in the China Pavilion. This is home to one of our favorite Epcot drinks, the Tipsy Ducks in Love! According to a Cast Member we spoke with, they switched up the ingredients for the drink a bit.
Now, before you panic (like we did!) the ingredients aren’t totally switched up — they’ve just started using a different type of coffee! WHEW!
We snagged all the eats at the China Food & Wine Festival booth — check out our review!
EPCOT Merchandise Update
Gateway Gifts
Now that Disney World has officially re-opened, we have been ready to pick up more Minnie Ears to add to our collection (you never can have enough ears!!). And, the newest Rainbow Minnie Ears are bright, colorful, sparkly, and basically have our name written all over them!
Since the ears were made for Pride Month, the side of the headband also has “Love” etched in rainbow colors with a little Mickey head that’s an adorable surprise.
Check out all the details of the Rainbow Minnie Ears here!
Gateway Gifts also had disposable masks at the register for sale in case guests lose their masks, accidentally break their masks, or just need an extra mask on hand.
The Cast Member working at the register told us that all Disney stores should have them for sale for $1.50 per mask, so you can find them all around the parks!
This is a great, affordable option for those in a pinch needing a new mask.
Take a look at all the details on Disney World’s disposable masks here!
MouseGear
Disney World is nearing its 50th anniversary next year! And, we’re loving the newest Vintage Mickey Shirt with a winking Mickey Mouse, the Walt Disney World logo, and the founding year of Disney World.
Although the NBA is resuming their season in Disney World soon, race car fans are going to want to head over to EPCOT to grab the newest racing-style Mickey Shirt. (Lookout, Lightning McQueen — you’ve got some competition!!)
Both of the shirts are available for $24.99 each or 2 for $22 each (so you can stock up on all that Disney merchandise you’ve missed during the closures!).
MouseGear has rolled out with new MagicBands to celebrate Mother’s Day, Graduation, AND Earth Day all at once. It’s like a MagicBand Spring…er…Summer cleaning! Let your mom know that she’s the best with the new Dumbo MagicBand…
…featuring baby Dumbo (ahem, Jumbo Jr.) and Mama Jumbo happy to be together again.
Since Graduation is a big deal, let your scholarly friend or family member know just how proud you are of them with the Knowsmore MagicBand!
Maybe your new grad can give Knowsmore himself a run for his money with that new degree!
While taking care of our big, blue world is one great way to celebrate Earth Day, the newest MagicBand featuring Wall-E characters is another one!
The Wall-E MagicBand shows Eve looking as happy as ever as she celebrates life on Planet Earth! She’s the cutest, right??
Since the Food and Wine Festival has influences from the Flower and Garden Festival, we’re happy to see that the Flower and Garden Passholder MagicBand is available, along with the Spike the Bee Sipper and Spork!
The orange band shows off Spike the Bee chilling and having a grand ole’ time as he visits all the food booths around the festival. (We feel ya, Spike.)
Each of the MagicBands at MouseGear are $34.99 each (and we want them all)!
Read all about the new Mother’s Day, Earth Day, and Graduation MagicBands here!
Arribas Bros Crystals
Although there are plenty of souvenirs to take home from your trip to Disney World, the Arribas Bros Crystals kiosk in Germany actually lets you design your own crystal!
Once you’ve selected whether you’d like to make a picture frame, pendant, night light, trinket dish, or suncatcher, you’ll choose your glass pieces and colors to be assembled.
However, Cast Members are handling all the placement and touching so there is less contact at this time!
Well, that’s all for this What’s New at EPCOT! We’ll catch you next time for more merchandise and food updates!
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What are you looking forward to seeing the most in EPCOT? Let us know in the comments below!
Jackie says
Soooo, my brother was in Epcot today. 7/18, it was his 50th bday. I asked him how is Epcot. He said most of the food kiosks were closed. Even the ones designated for the festival? Do we know why that is?
Also, why all the limited menus? Is it b/c of access, concern about waste?
DFB Sarah says
Jackie, I’m not sure about the booths; I’ll see if the on-site team can look into it. And Disney hasn’t shared info on why menus are limited. It may well be a combination of the things you mentioned.