5 Reasons the WDW Magazine Team Works So Hard on EPCOT Festival Menus
This year at WDW Magazine, we’ve started something new on the blog… complete coverage of EPCOT’s 2021 Flower and Garden Festival. This time, we’re including the food menus.
Why haven’t we done it before? Well, with over 20 food booths, and about six menu items at each booth... That’s a lot of reporting.
So, why go to all that effort when Disney already lists out the menu with photos on their site?
This drink at Festival of the Arts was supposed to have a giant bubble on it… our reporting shows that there won’t be any grand bubble tricks if you order it on a windy day. Good to know!
1. Here’s the Real Food
The food at an EPCOT fest often looks different from the press photos provided by Disney before the start of the fest. These photos also show up on the menu blocks all around the park and in the festival passport. When guests order, they are looking at these photos to guide them.
But the food doesn’t always look like that. Due to time and supply constraints, many food and drink items on the festival menu can change in portion, plating, and even ingredients. Disney listens to feedback from the Cast Members and changes strategies for these dishes as needed to support the overall experience.
Coming from media, I get that it would be a bit crazy to schedule a chef and photography team just to take another photo of a $5.00 dish halfway through a festival. It’s just not financially a great idea.
We also see fansites reporting dishes plated for media events. We love the media events and they are fun, but they are not a good source for reporting what the festival will be like for the guest. Everyday festival guests could get something different.
For example, the above Frida Margarita at the 2021 Festival of the Arts was supposed to come with a giant bubble stretched over the glass. But we found out that if you order this treat on a windy day, the Cast Members will not even attempt the bubble.
We don’t fault ‘em for it, that would have been a mess! But it’s good for us to let our readers know this ahead of time to hedge their expectations for a $14.50 drink.
2. Fast Menus Without Ads
When I lived in Ohio and had big Disney vacation dreams each year, one thing that always bothered me about planning my next trip was the ad-riddled Disney planning sites.
I get that these sites have a model built to gather ad revenue for pay-to-click ads all over the site, but that never jived with my need to get quick info. Pages with lists—like menu lists—are particularly annoying offenders.
Picture me at the parks trying to scroll through a long page of menu items. I’m squinting at my phone in the Florida sun, walking, likely talking to someone else at the same time. I don’t want an ad popping up every other paragraph. Just give me the info!
At WDW Magazine, we are supported by our monthly print and digital subscribers—the blog is free. Because of this, we are able to deliver ad-free lists that give WDW guests the low-down on menus, prices, reviews, and photos of the food. I am very proud of that.
So in our 2021 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival food menus, we show off each plate as it is actually served to guests.
Brisket Burnt Ends Slider at the 2021 Flower and Garden Festival
3. Booth Menu Prices
A few days before an EPCOT Festival, Disney World will publish a quick list of menu items, and a press photo to go with each booth. Believe me, in media, we wish they posted this list earlier because that gives us just a few days to get up more than 20 pages on our site.
But even if they posted it way ahead of time, these lists are missing something… prices!
We love knowing ahead of time that we need to hit up the Sunshine Griddle for avocado toast, but a price would certainly be helpful. That’s where Disney fansites typically help the most—to let our readers know exactly how much each item costs so guests can plan their EPCOT spending.
On the WDW Magazine blog, we offer our menu price list in a simple format without ads cluttering the screen. We’re hoping that this format makes it easy for our readers to plan their trip.
4. Honest Food Reviews
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my career in media, it’s how to sniff out the outlet that is kowtowing to the host of a media event.
Here’s how to spot them: If you’re visiting a Disney site that is too overwhelmingly saccharine sweet and positive about every. single. thing. Disney does, then maybe you should look for honest advice elsewhere.
I will not name specific outlets, but some are more truthful than others. And just a handful are brutally honest.
I understand that our readers are trusting us to give them advice. As a mom who struggled, scraped, and saved to take my family to the parks for the first time, I know how much trust I put into this kind of reporting. When our reporters aren’t fond of a dish, they say so in a straightforward way and will try to suggest whose palate would enjoy it.
On our blog at WDW Magazine, we encourage our reporters to be honest about their dining experiences. Whether it’s a $4.50 plate at a festival or dinner at California Grill.
Our team writes about foods at the fest with price in mind because we aren’t gifted the food. Our blog pays for it. In this way, we can objectively advise our readers on whether or not they are worth the price (like here for the most expensive foods at Festival of the Arts).
Is the brisket dry? How sweet was that expensive mixed drink? Is the pricey flatbread at the Italy booth worth it? With festival plates priced from $4.50 to $15.00, these questions deserve an honest answer.
5. We Love Food
As I mentioned, WDW Magazine covers our food expenses so we can gather photos and information on each dish. Employers can and should cover your costs for doing your job. Whether that’s travel to a convention, office supplies, or a raspberry tart.
But I also manage that budget! Our reporting team does not try every single beer, previously eaten foods, or miscellaneous menu item.
We hit up new and exciting menu items with our readers in mind. We ask ourselves: What our readers will likely be drawn to? What are the can’t-miss, iconic items here?
Entirely new menus, like the Sunshine Griddle menu at the 2021 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, is an example of a booth that everyone is curious about. In that case, we will try the whole menu as soon as possible and post our reviews.
We have a team full of food lovers, so this makes it easy for us to compare current selections to past dishes. That knowledge base in turn allows us to add perspective to our reviews. And if more than one team member tries it? We add their review to the page as well so that our readers can hear varied opinions on the same dish.
Our team is passionate about food, and we get just as disappointed as you do when a lovely-sounding dish just doesn’t taste right. We’re more than glad to chat about and advise on Disney food.
Honey Mascarpone Cheesecake at the 2021 Flower and Garden Festival
So that’s five reasons why we have started posting food menu prices, photos, and reviews on the WDW Magazine blog site.
We have seen a great response since starting with the 2020 Festival of the Holidays, so we’re going to continue to update our pages for the 2021 Flower and Garden Festival, and look ahead to Food and Wine!
2021 Flower and Garden Festival Food Menus:
Showcase Plaza
Around World Showcase
Mexico (Jardin de Fiestas)
China (Lotus House)
Germany (Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market)
Italy (Primavera Kitchen)
American Adventure (Magnolia Terrace)
Japan (Hanami)
Morocco (Taste of Marrakesh)
France (Fleur de Lys)
Canada (Northern Bloom)
In the World Showplace Building
