It’s time to check out the BEST holiday eats at the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays!
Picking the best EPCOT snacks on a regular day can be tough enough, but now, the EPCOT Festival of the Holidays has kicked off, which means there are even MORE eats and drinks to pick from (including a whole bunch of new ones). We’ve eaten at EVERY. SINGLE. BOOTH. at the Festival of the Holidays, and we’ve shared FULL booth reviews with you. But what are the very BEST items to eat? We’ve got the only list you need right here.
Without further ado, let’s dive into our picks for the BEST eats and drinks at the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays.
New Bests
Coffee Mocha Cookie from Mele Kalikimaka
Coffee and mocha flavors are a classic — and for good reason! They just go together like peas and carrots (okay, weird analogy, but YOU KNOW what we mean). The Coffee Mocha Cookie for $3.25 is topped with topped with coffee-infused buttercream, cocoa nibs, and chocolate-covered espresso beans. It’s DELICIOUS and a must if you love coffee and chocolate.
The buttercream on the cookie is light and air-whipped, while the cookie itself is soft.
Read our full review of Mele Kalikimaka
Coconut Guavarita from Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen
We’re going to be honest: the Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen let us down BIG time this year, but there was at least one thing at the booth that we loved. The Coconut Guvarita is made with Tromba Blanco Tequila, coconut water, guava cream, a hint of lime rum, and orange liqueur with a toasted coconut rim for $13.50, and it’s flavorful and fruity and made us think about tropical vacations.
The toasted coconut rim is also a lot of fun. But like we said, this is the ONLY thing we’d get from this booth.
Read our full review of Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen
Spiced Cranberry Punch from Le Marche De Noel
What do you get when you mix Pol Rémy Sparkling Wine, cranberry juice, orange juice, and spiced brown sugar? You get a delicious drink for $9.95.
This was WONDERFUL. The sparkling wine is really high quality and has a nice flavor on its own, but it just sings with the juices and sugars. This reminds us of a cool, spiced holiday wine. It’s so festive, like a mimosa with more holiday flavor.
Read our full review of Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen
Returning Bests
Boyd & Blair Chai Tea Mule from Refreshment Outpost
The The Boyd & Blair Chai Tea Mule for $12.50 is finally back at the festival after being on hiatus for a while. Interestingly enough, we had to ask for it because it’s not on the menu, so it’s also kind of a secret. This drink is a BIG hit, even if you don’t necessarily like chai. It gets some nice kick from the spices, as well as a burst of cinnamon from the cinnamon sprig it’s served with.
You also get a free plastic souvenir cup with it, so it’s a win-win!
Read our full review of Refreshment Outpost
Apple Caramel Crumb Cake from Holiday Hearth Desserts
Dessert alert! The Apple Caramel Crumb Cake for $5 always puts a big old smile on our faces. One word: YES.
This may sound dramatic, but this is one of the best festival treats we’ve ever had. It’s got a soft, gooey center and a perfectly balanced sweet butter flavor. We could go on and on and on about this dessert, but we’ll save you the time. Instead, we’ll tell you to go and try it for yourself!
Click here to see our full review of this food booth!
Smoked Salmon Potato Latke from L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen
This snack was originally introduced in 2019, and we love how well the flavors work together every year. You get a good portion of salty smoked salmon, as well as a big dollop of sour cream for additional flavor. The dill brightens it all up.
The latke itself is nice and crunchy on the outside.
Read our full review of L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen
Crème de Saumon Fumé en Brioche à l’Aneth, Concombre from Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen
What you’re looking at is the new Crème de Saumon Fumé en Brioche à l’Aneth, Concombre — that’s a cream of smoked salmon sandwich in sesame brioche roll with cucumber. You can try it for $8.75.
Remember Pretty Patties from Spongebob? Well, this might be the closest we ever get to trying one in real life. And you know what? It was SO GOOD. The cold salmon salad with fresh vegetables was PACKED with flavor. If you like salmon and dill, you should absolutely go for this. Don’t be scared off by the appearance!
Click here to see our full thoughts on the Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen booth
Blackened Catfish at American Holiday Table
We are not joking when we say that our team member who tried this last year said it was one of the BEST things they’ve ever had at an EPCOT Festival in their entire life! That’s a big claim, but this dish deserves it! It’s made with Blackened Catfish with Hoppin’ John and comeback sauce and is $6.75. This year, we were happy to see that this dish lived up to last year’s hype.
The catfish is so tender it falls apart, and there’s a nice heat to this snack as well. It’s got a salty cajun kick we ADORE! We love that the fish is paired with seasoned rice and beans. The flavors worked together so nicely, and the portion was big enough to fill you up as a light lunch or big enough to share. Now that’s a great value! This is one thing we would get time and time again!
Check out the American Holiday Table full booth review here!
Cheese Fondue in a Bread Bowl at Bavaria Holiday Kitchen
Liquid cheese. Bread bowl. Tiny veggies. What’s NOT to love?! The Cheese Fondue from Bavaria Holiday Kitchen is a returning favorite cheese fans CANNOT miss! The cheese is served in a bread bowl with steamed baby vegetables and marble potatoes for dipping for $8.50.
If you brought us a straw, we might just be tempted to drink that cheese straight out of the bowl. But, for now, we’ll just dip our crispy veggies away and enjoy the savory flavors.
See FULL review for Bavaria Holiday Kitchen by clicking here
Pork Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce at Bavaria Holiday Kitchen
Yup, we’re staying at Bavaria Holiday Kitchen for our next pick — the Pork Schnitzel with Mushroom Sauce, Spätzle, and Braised Red Cabbage, available for $6.75. This dish has it all — a delicious mushroom sauce, a good portion size, yummy spaetzle, and a mix of great textures.
Grab this dish on your next trip — we have a feeling you’ll be glad you did!
See FULL review for Bavaria Holiday Kitchen by clicking here
Slow-Roasted Turkey at American Holiday Table
Want all the goodness of a traditional holiday turkey meal without having to cook it yourself? Disney’s got you covered at American Holiday Table. That’s where you’ll find the oh-so-tasty Slow-roasted Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. It’s available for $6.25.
Last year, we thought it was hearty and satisfying and would give you that warm & fuzzy “it’s the holidays” feeling. This year, we were happily reunited with those nostalgic Thanksgiving Day flavors. Take a look at our plate — that’s a healthy taste of Thanksgiving! From the creamy mashed potatoes to the juicy turkey, we were so happy with our meal. We’re grateful for turkey, gravy, and potatoes! YUM.
See our full American Holiday Table review here
Toshikoshi Soba at Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen
The Toshikoshi Soba is made with Buckwheat soba noodles in hot dashi (fish-based) soup topped with shrimp tempura and chopped green onion for $8.50. This soup is so savory and salty. We think it’s nice and comforting, one of those warm soups you’ll want in those colder winter nights in EPCOT.
The shrimp tempura is just as delicious as we remember, but you’ll want to eat it quickly before it gets soggy.
See the full menu at Shi Wasu Holiday Kitchen
Frozen Hot Chocolate Martini at Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen
Santa, we’re sorry, but it’s time to take that hot chocolate up a notch! At Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen, you can grab a FROZEN hot chocolate martini, and we think it’s a creation Santa would be very jealous of! The drink has Grey Goose La Vanille Vodka, vodka, chocolate milk, and whipped cream. It is $13.95 this year.
This drink is a winner year after year. There isn’t much of a strong alcohol flavor, so sip this cautiously! If you haven’t given it a try yet, what are you waiting for?!
See our full review of Le Marche De Noel Holiday Kitchen here
Honorable Mentions
The honorable mentions category captures some eats and drinks that might not shine as brightly as other dishes on the Best of the Fest list or that we’ve loved in the past but our team members didn’t love as much this year. We still think these deserve a shout-out, so we’ve placed them here to give them a little love and make sure you know about them.
Pastrami on Rye at L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen
If you love a good deli sandwich, head over to L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen to pick up their delicious Pastrami on Rye with house-made pickles and deli mustard for $6.
It has a combination of classic flavors that makes it a great returning item at the festival.
See the L’Chaim! menu by clicking here
Seared Salmon from Yukon Holiday Kitchen
The Seared Salmon is made with butternut squash purée, maple-bourbon glaze, and fennel-arugula salad. Confession time: we love fancy salmon with tons of stuff on it.
The truth is that we would recommend this JUST for that incredible butternut maple sauce. Although the salmon seemed a little briny to us, the butternut sauce helped cut that down a bit and added a delicious maple sugar flavor to our dish. The salad it comes with feels more like a garnish to us, but it was still good!
Click here to read a full review of this booth
Turkey Poutine at Refreshment Port
Regular Disney fries are delicious; many would firmly agree with that. But add a holiday feast on top of them, and you’ve got a REAL winner! Plus, in 2023, Disney changed this dish slightly, and now it features sweet potato fries! The Turkey Poutine at Refreshment Port is a returning classic featuring Sweet Potato Fries, turkey gravy, cranberry relish, and crispy onions.
It mixes all the joy of loaded fries with all the deliciousness of a holiday meal. We enjoyed this snack, though we did end up thinking that this comes in a little too sweet. With the fries and the cranberry relish, it’s a lot of sugar. It all depends on your sugar tolerance, though, so we think this is still worthy of an honorable mention.
Click here to learn more about the menu at Refreshment Port.
Best Plant-Based Dish of the Fest
Peanut Stew at Refreshment Outpost
HOLY MACARONI FOLKS. Last year, our reporter tried the Peanut Stew with sweet potatoes, mustard greens, and roasted peanuts from Refreshment Outpost and was legitimately BLOWN away by how good it was.
They described the dish as the peanut butter rice from Boma (which is AH-mazing by the way), plussed up times 10! Really, it’s what peanut stew dreams are made of.
The dish was full of savory spices, some of which actually provided genuine heat (but not necessarily in a bad way). The peanuts are seasoned well and have a fantastic flavor, the sweet potatoes provide a great texture, the mustard greens give it a great crunch, and the rice helps cut the heat. Basically, it is delicious. DO NOT MISS IT!
See more details about the Festival dishes at Refreshment Outpost here!
Black and White Cookie from L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen
If you’re looking for a simple and soft cookie with a nice citrus flavor, the Black and White Cookie for $3.25 is the place to go. We’ve had mixed feelings about it in the past, but it significantly improved last year and pleasantly surprised us again this year!
The cookie is soft and chewy, and the frosting is really sweet with a great vanilla bean flavor. Overall, it’s simple but tasty and a nice size for the price. You can grab this one from L’Chaim Holiday Kitchen.
Click here for our full review from the L’Chaim! booth.
Best Booth of the Fest
Le March de Noel
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that our favorite booth this year (and let’s face it — this booth wins a LOT of festivals) is in France. Le March de Noel Holiday Kitchen was a huge hit for us this year AGAIN. The Rôti de Jambon is so savory, and the salmon sandwich is fresh and delicious. That frozen hot chocolate martini? Well, sign us up for that drink EVERY SINGLE NIGHT.
Hands down, this is our favorite booth of the festival, and we’ll be returning multiple times during the festival to eat and drink everything on the menu here.
Best of the Fest for Kids
Cookie Stroll
Once again, the classic Festival of the Holidays Cookie Stroll makes our Best of the Fest list as a great pick for little ones. With the cookie stroll, you purchase five cookies from any of the cookie stroll locations in the Festival Passport. As you buy the cookies, you’ll get a stamp for each one.
Once you’ve collected five stamps, you can bring your passport to the Holiday Sweets & Treats booth to get a special prize! This year, the surprise was cookie mix, which you can use to make your own cookies at home!
The cookie stroll is great for ALL ages, but it can be especially fun for kids because it mixes the sense of adventure of a scavenger hunt/quest with the sweetness of cookies.
Some of our favorite cookies this year were the SNICKERS-Doodle Cookie made with SNICKERS bar pieces from American Holiday Table…
…the Hazelnut Linzer Cookie from Bavaria Holiday Kitchen…
…and the Coffee Mocha Cookie topped with coffee-infused buttercream, cocoa nibs, and chocolate-covered espresso beans from Mele Kalikimaka.
The cookies are pretty inexpensive, too, so if you’re looking for a fun activity to keep your little ones entertained as you stroll through the World Showcase, this is a great option!
FIRST LOOK Inside the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays PASSPORT!
And that’s it for our picks of the BEST of the FEST for the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays. Now, someone get us a bed to nap on after all that food! 😆
For more Festival of the Holidays coverage, check out our links below:
- Get our FREE DFB printable for all of the Festival of the Holidays booths
- Get a look at the Festival of the Holidays merchandise
- See the FULL MENUS for the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays
- See our full coverage from the first day of the 2024 EPCOT Festival of the Holidays
And stay tuned for more Disney news!
Click here to see ALL of our reviews of the 2024 Festival of the Holidays food booths
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MORE Disney World Holiday INFO!
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What items would you want to buy from the Festival of the Holidays? Tell us in the comments!
Dorcas says
Giving something to make at home after the cookie stroll is kind of disappointing, especially for the kids!!