Walt Disney World has released the final 4 menus for new Global Marketplaces opening “later this fall” during the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. This shares the savory snacks, decadent desserts, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Plus, our commentary about the new and returning dishes that have us most excited, and the balance of adventurous v. crowd-pleasing cuisine.
As a reminder, this year’s EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival at Walt Disney World runs from July 27 through November 18, 2023. That’s actually a couple of weeks shorter than normal, which is the first time in a while that the duration of the event has decreased rather than increased. (See our Guide to the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival for everything you need to know, including savvy strategy for beating the crowds, saving money, and best enjoying the event.)
The Global Marketplaces will span six continents and be located throughout the World Showcase pavilions and front of the park, with some not debuting right at the start of the event, which is exactly what has happened for the last two years. We already covered the menus for the other 20+ locations that’ll open in late July through mid-August in the Full Global Marketplace Booth Menus for the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.
Today’s update covers the four brand new booths–Char & Chop, Wine & Wedge, Bubbles & Brine, and Swirled Showcase–that currently do not have opening dates beyond “later this fall.” Our expectation is that these debut around late September or the beginning of October 2023, but that’s still unknown. They’re probably coming to a redone Culinary Corridor, but there’s an outside chance that they’ll be in CommuniCore Plaza.
Another unknown that was not resolved with today’s announcement is the return of BeaverTails! Walt Disney World once again listed this on the menu for Refreshment Port, but as a “Cinnamon-Sugar Beaver Tail” instead of a BeaverTail. As previously mentioned, it’s highly unlikely that this name is a coincidence, or that Walt Disney World is making a knock-off (which in this case would mean committing trademark infringement). We shall see, though.
Walt Disney World also didn’t clarify how, exactly, the Muppet Labs will come to Brew-Wing booth. We don’t want to get too excited for this since Walt Disney World hasn’t revealed how or what this will be, but our hope is that this means the return of the Muppets Mobile Lab, which used to be atmospheric entertainment in Future World at EPCOT.
Anyway, here are the full menus for the 4 new booths at the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival…
NEW! Char & Chop (Opening Later This Fall)
Food Items:
- Roasted Porchetta with lemon-parsley salsa verde and shaved fennel salad (New)
- Grilled IMPOSSIBLE Spicy Sausage with herbed polenta, puttanesca sauce, and ricotta (New)
- Meat Assorti: Trio of shaved meats with baby arugula, pickled mustard seeds, truffle oil, and grilled ciabatta (New)
Beverages:
- Krombacher Pilsner (New)
- North Coast Laguna Baja Vienna Lager (New)
- Motorworks Brewing Midnight Espresso Coffee Porter (New)
- GoGi ‘Birdie’ Pinot Noir
- Bloody Mary with Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix and Kurvball Barbecue Whiskey
- Beer Flight
NEW! Wine & Wedge (Opening Later This Fall)
Food Items:
- Assorted Artisanal Cheeses and Accompaniments (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)
- Boursin Fig & Balsamic Soufflé with fig tapenade (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)
- Southern Pimento Cheese with bread-and-butter pickled vegetables and grilled bread (New) (Emile’s Fromage Montage)
- Artist Palette of Wine and Cheese: Assorted Artisanal Cheeses and Accoutrements paired with Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese, Hartley Apple Brandy, and Florida Orange Groves Winery Black and Blue Port (New)
Beverages:
- Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese (New)
- Hartley Apple Brandy (New)
- Florida Orange Groves Winery Black and Blue Port (New)
- Flight
NEW! Bubbles & Brine (Opening Later This Fall)
Food Items:
- Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail with prosecco cocktail sauce and grilled lemon (New)
- Jonah Crab Claw Cocktail with stone-ground mustard sauce (New)
- Caviar with traditional accompaniments, champagne cream, and blini (New)
Beverages:
- Moët & Chandon Impérial
- Veuve Clicquot Rosé
- Dom Pérignon
NEW! Swirled Showcase (Opening Later This Fall)
Food Items:
- Mickey-shaped Liquid Nitro Cake
- Soft-serve in a Waffle Cone
- Vanilla
- Apple-Cinnamon
- Salted Caramel
- Cream Soda Float with vanilla soft-serve
- Fanta Grape Float with vanilla soft-serve
Beverages:
- Frozen Apple Pie (Non-alcoholic)
- Cinnamon Apple Cider (Non-alcoholic)
- 3 Daughters Toasted Coconut Porter
- 3 Daughters Toasted Coconut Porter Float with vanilla soft-serve
- Berry Fizz Fragolino Red Sparkling Wine Float with vanilla soft-serve
In terms of commentary, we are so back. These four new booths check a lot of boxes and are very reminiscent of the studios that used to populate the Culinary Corridor in 2019 and earlier. Some of those appeared in modified form inside the World ShowPlace pavilion during the modified ‘Taste of’ EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, but have otherwise been absent for the last few years.
Literally every dish at these four booths sounds intriguing at the absolute minimum. Of particular interest to me is the Roasted Porchetta, Jonah Crab Claw Cocktail, Mickey-shaped Liquid Nitro Cake, and Boursin Fig & Balsamic Soufflé. (If the booth can pull off that last one, watch out!)
Sure, it’s basic, but I’m even looking forward to the Apple-Cinnamon and Salted Caramel Soft Serve. Basic is perfectly fine when paired with ambitious! My only quibble is that these booths are heavy on charcuterie-adjacent dishes, but each appears to bring something unique to the table. I also wonder how EPCOT will pull off caviar…and at what price-point?!
I look at these menus for the four new booths, as compared to the one new booth last year (Fry Basket), and honestly wonder how this is even the same event. Our review of the Fry Basket last year was scathing, calling it something that even the Italy booth could look down on.
However, the Fry Basket was popular and there was a lot of excitement about it among Walt Disney World fans. We’re hardly food snobs, but this is supposed to be Walt Disney World’s flagship foodie event…french fries should not be the big new highlight. (Sorry, not sorry.)
Between the potential of the entire lineup of the 4 new booths plus several of the new items (Chilaquiles, IMPOSSIBLE Moussaka, Beef Wa-Gyu Don), the culinary lineup at the 2023 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival looks better than anything we’ve seen in the last few years. Even the crowd-pleasers and comfort food are a bit more creative, which bodes well.
All of this is such a contrast to last year that I honestly wonder what happened within Walt Disney World to prompt such a significant shift in direction. Granted, there’s still ~75% overlap from year to year, but almost every single change is a step forward–the exact opposite of last year’s additions. This sharp shift in trajectory is great news for EPCOT Food & Wine Festival fans. If the cuisine turns out to be as good as it looks, maybe this event will no longer be the 4th best EPCOT festival of the year for food!
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Your Thoughts
What do you think of the Global Marketplace menus for the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival? Any dishes missing that disappoint you? Do you agree or disagree with my take on the balance of adventurous and crowd-pleasing cuisine? Excited about any of the new options? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
