The 2024 Epcot International Festival of the Arts opens Friday, January 12, 2024 at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida, running through February 19, 2024, and this is your complete guide to vegan food offerings at this year’s event, which as of this update, has only TWO vegan options for us.
This year the Disney Broadway series is returning along with the usual photo ops, mosaic painting, chalk art and Figment scavenger hunt. Celebrating its 8th anniversary, the Festival of the Arts usually features less food items than other Epcot festivals such as the longer running Epcot International Food and Wine Festival and Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. We have updated the post below with the 2024 vegan items and will be updating items throughout the 2024 festival if anything changes, so be sure to bookmark this page and check back, and follow us on @VeganDisneyFood on Instagram for the latest news.
Despite the previous limited vegan offerings, last year we had about 9 items plus some smoothies. This year, we have two. We are hoping that is updated, but menus look more sparse in general, so our hopes aren’t too high. You can read more about the complete festival offerings on the official Disney website.
For 2024, we have returning for the now the FIFTH Epcot Festival (Arts last year, and then they kept it for Flower & Garden, Food & Wine, and Holidays)…the Stone Baked Bread and dips from the Tangierine Cafe available during all of the recent festivals. So if you love it, you can still get it.
The Stone-baked Moroccan Bread – comes with hummus, Chermoula, and Zhoug dips. We reviewed these for the vegan EPCOT Food & Wine Festival guide (and every other festival). Not sure why we aren’t getting more unique offerings this year.
The only other listed plant-based / vegan item is a new Wild Mushroom Risotto with truffle shavings and zinfandel reduction at Gourmet Landscapes (previously located in Canada).
Annnd…that’s IT. As of this update, there isn’t even the Plant-Based Brat from The Refreshment Outpost in between China and Germany. There is nothing listed for this location, so we are hoping it’s added before the festival opens. Here is what was previously available:
The Plant-based Bratwurst is topped with a turmeric aioli, coffee barbecue jackfruit and vegan slaw. It came in a warm vegan bun. You’re definitely going to need some napkins for this one. It looked smaller to me this year, but in looking at last year’s photo I think they had reduced the bun size then too. It’s a Beyond brat, so that size isn’t changed.
This Brat is a major win. The flavors worked well together and the slaw gave the dog great texture. We couldn’t really taste the jackfruit in this dish, in fact, this year on opening day, I think it was just straight up plain jackfruit with no sauce. The aioli is described as spicy but we found it to be rather mellow. It’s a great, filling option.
Also over in the Refreshment Outpost is Dole Whip. They change the flavors out with each festival and for the 2023 Festival of the Arts they are promoting a Salted Caramel Soft Serve, which will not be vegan as it is not Dole Whip. As of opening night, they only have pineapple Dole Whip. The photo below is from last year when they had raspberry as well.
The cones they are currently using are Jagger brand and are confirmed vegan. You can get it in a cup or a cone (or both!).
Editorial Note:
To say I am disappointed is an understatement. I’m not sure what’s going on with Disney culinary, but in 2019, Disney proclaimed a “Plant-based Initiative” and vegans across the land rejoiced. Every menu was to have at least one plant-based option and they were planning to promote more plant-based items across parks and resorts. Then, the pandemic happened, and Disney seems to have changed its tune in favor of instagrammable photo-ready items and leaving those who were leading a plant-based lifestyle (and those who eat that way due to dairy, egg, or other allergies) in the dust. Lately, Disney Parks have been changing out vegan fan favorites for ones with less flavor or minimal effort (noodles, risotto, and burgers, I’m looking at you). This is a sad state of affairs, especially when vegan items and ingredients are often less expensive than their meat and dairy based counterparts. Hiring just one vegan chef or consultant would probably garner the creativity and menu updates we are all hoping for.
There have been some wins recently, but overall the choices have left this community feeling left out and wanting more (or visiting those parks down the street who listen to their vegan community and even name menu items after them! Unheard of here). I urge Disney culinary to do some research (either online, to local vegan establishments, or even fan sites like this) and see what is possible out there. We aren’t asking for much. 2 items on a menu would be amazing to us. We don’t always want to have to get one thing. And for festivals…one vegan item at every booth isn’t too much to ask for in my opinion. The last Food & Wine Festival even took away the 100% vegan Earth Eats booth. The Impossible Slider was served at the Flavors from Fire booth, which featured all meat products, kind of letting plant-based eaters know what Disney thought of them.
I really hope that in this month of January, typically known for “Veganuary” where many resolve to eat vegan in the new year, or at least make more plant-based choices, that Disney will reconsider its recent actions and changes and remember the plant-based initiative of 2019. (For the record, vegan food is instagrammable too – just check out @VeganDisneyFood and all the vegan restaurants and bakeries out there!) Thanks for reading my rant, I now return you to the Festival of the Arts guide!
The Wonderful Walk of Color stroll returns again but doesn’t feature any vegan items. This passport of colorful food items features 5 available stamps, and like the Cookie Stroll during the Festival of the Holidays, you can get all 5 of the same item, but the “prize” is an artist palette cookie, which is also not vegan.
Epcot International Festival of the Arts Vegan Video Food Guide
We attended the opening day of the 2023 Festival and tracked down ALL the vegan offerings at this year’s Festival of the Arts. If you’d like, you can check out our video review of all the vegan items below as well which includes my live reviews of all the vegan options at the EPCOT Festival of the Arts. Be sure to like and subscribe to know when we upload a new vegan video!
We assume Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic (that just rolls of the tongue, right? – I’ll give them a pass because Figment) is returning this year and they’ve announced a new Figment popcorn bucket:
Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Art, Food, and Little Sparks of Magic
Despite the lack of vegan options, be sure to explore the Odyssey during this festival. Figment’s Inspiration Station features some of the original projections that were used in the Journey into Imagination ride and an original Figment figure as well as the pin tables from the Image Works. My childhood self was in heaven.
There’s also the delicious Passion-Coconut smoothie (see below) at the Vibrante & Vívido: Encanto Cocina (Between Morocco & France) booth and the Dole Whip. And that’s it for vegan items at the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Arts.We did confirm in 2023 with a chef and viewed the ingredient list and it IS vegan as-is this year. That said, they do change suppliers all the time and it could change over the course of the festival, so please check before ordering on your visit.
This smoothie is like drinking a thicker, creamier version of POG (Passion, Orange, and Guava) juice that we’ve all come to know and love at the Disney character breakfast locations. This item is a great addition and a refreshingly tart way to add to your Festival of the Arts day.
Here is the ingredient list of all the beverages served at that booth:
Vegan Confirmed Beer Offerings from the 2023 EPCOT Festival of the Arts (will reconfirm and add new items for 2024 as soon as I get info on them)
We have reached out to the following breweries and confirmed that their beers being offered for the Festival are vegan. We will add to this list as we hear back from more breweries.
Tangierine Cafe:
- 3 Daughters Chai Hard Cider
- Blake’s Hard Cider Co. – Berry Cranders Hard Cider
- Swilled Dog – Sangria Hard Cider
Artist’s Table booth:
- Lexington Brewery – Mammoth White Ale
- Copperpoint Brewing – Analoger Amber Ale
- M.I.A. Beer Co. – Yacht Rock Brown Ale
Craftsman’s Courtyard:
- North Coast Brewing – Blue Star Wheat Beer
Pastoral Palate booth:
- 3 Daughters – Rosé Hard Cider
- 81Bay Brewing Co. – Rosé Blonde Ale
Refreshment Outpost:
- 81Bay Brewing Co. – Nairobi Coffee Dark Beer
Deconstructed Dish:
- Short’s Brewing – Bellaire Brown Ale
Mexico booth:
- Tulum Artisanal Lager
Canada booth:
- Weihenstephaner Original Lager
Refreshment Port:
- Original Sin Brewery – Brighter Times Hard Cider
- Playalinda Brewing Company – Blue Raspberry Blonde
Pop Eats booth:
- Brooklyn Brewery – Pulp Art Hazy IPA
Deco Delights booth:
- 3 Daughters – Strawberry Blonde Nitro
- 81Bay Brewing Co. – Vanilla Porter
- (Sadly the Playalinda Milk Stout has dairy so if you do the Neapolitan Flight ask for 2 of the others)
For cocktails, be sure to ask about honey or dairy if it isn’t listed. For wines, we advise checking Barnivore.com for vegan status.
Make sure you take time to enjoy all the art displays, including the interactive paint-by-numbers mosaic and photo ops throughout EPCOT. And be sure to watch the TWO Beacons of Magic shows on Spaceship Earth after sunset. There’s a Rainbow Connection one and a Figment one which features almost the whole original ride soundtrack to Journey into Imagination. We’ll have that on our upcoming video soon!
The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts runs daily January 12th through February 19th, 2024. Artful EPCOT is included with park admission with a valid park pass (or Park Hopping if available after 2pm). Food samplings are extra and can be purchased a la carte. We will update this post again after the Festival opens.
Looking for ALL of the vegan options available at Epcot? Check out our comprehensive guide here: What’s Vegan in Epcot?
Disclosure: VeganDisneyFood is an informational fan site run by a lifelong Disney fan and vegan, doing constant research, speaking to chefs, and giving honest reviews of our experiences. We cover our own expenses 100% of the time unless noted and appreciate your support, and love helping you plan worry-free meals on your Disney vacation. Menu items reviewed in blog posts are subject to change by Disney at any time. Please consult our Complete Vegan Guides to Disney Parks & Resorts for the most up to date information. If you would like to let the Walt Disney World Resort know your thoughts on your favorite vegan items, what you would like to see more or less of, you can email Walt Disney World. If you have 4 or more allergy-friendly requests, you can contact Special Diets no more than 14 days prior to arrival.
thanks again for all your hard work on behalf of us vegans!
My pleasure, thanks so much!!
Just a heads up – we asked at Encanto and they informed us the passion-coconut smoothie was not dairy free.
Ah thank you, I didn’t get a chance to get over there on opening day. I’ll confirm ingredients and update the post. Thanks!
I also checked and the cashier called the chef and was told the smoothie is plant-based.
Thank you!!
Thanks for your 2024 update, it’s so disappointing the lack of items for this years festival. I meant does the bread and hummus count any more being that it’s a year round offering? I had the same exact rant when browsing the released menus the other day on the Disney Parks Blog. Do you know who and via what method we can politely let Disney know it’s a major letdown and seems like going backwards not forwards.
(Also so disappointed the curry pizza at creations cafe is no longer on the menu!)
See the bottom of the post for an email to contact Disney 🙂 Thank you!