Ever wake up and think “gosh, you know what I’d love to do today? I’d love to drink a salad!” No? Nope? Well, buckle up ’cause you’re about to go on an interesting journey with us!
The 2022 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival is officially underway and we’ve been making our way around the park all day to check out the cool merchandise, hunt for bees (not real ones!), and (of course) eat all kinds of food (because that’s what we do!). Now, we’re headed over to the Refreshment Port to try out some new festival goodies including some that might surprise you and your taste buds!
Menu
Refreshment Port is an existing dining spot at EPCOT that is in the park year-round. Most notably it’s the place where you can usually get some poutine. During EPCOT Festivals, however, the booth typically gets a few Festival-specific items!
This year the booth is serving up a returning Festival poutine creation and some NEW drinks, as well as a fun soft-serve we couldn’t help but try!
Food
Let’s start with the food. First we have the House-made Italian Sausage and Peppers Poutine for $9. What makes this dish so interesting is that it’s actually plant-based (despite the fact that it uses the word “sausage” in its name)! It’s not necessarily the prettiest thing you’ll see at the Festival, but when we tried it last year, this dish did really surprise us with just how tasty it was.
When we had it last year, we felt like this dish had a nice kick of spice, but wasn’t overwhelming. The sausage wasn’t too salty, but instead had a great texture and flavor that went really well with the crispy fries. Overall, this dish really impressed us last year and it might just surprise you too!
Next we have the Blueberry Lemonade Soft Serve! This item wasn’t actually listed on the Festival-specific menu, but was instead on the main overhead menu at Refreshment Port. Still, we wanted to give it a try and see whether it’s something you should check out!
Though it’s not a DOLE Whip, we actually thought that this Blueberry Lemonade Soft Serve was really good! The blueberry was the more prominent flavor, but you could get a hint of the lemon as well. There was a nice sweetness there thanks to the mixture of those two flavors. The lemon wasn’t tart at all, so don’t let that scare you away!
And because it’s soft serve and not DOLE Whip, it was actually quite creamy (that’s probably due, at least in part, to the dairy it has in it). While the menu specifies that it’s served in a cone, you can opt for a cup or a cone depending on what you want!
Overall, it was a tasty, cold treat — pretty nice on a hot Florida day! You can try it for $5.75.
Drinks
If you’re looking for some unique drinks, you’ll definitely find that at Refreshment Port this year! We’ll start with the NEW Stem Ciders, A Salted Cucumber Apple Hard Cider for $10.75. We’ll say that one more time slowly. Salted. Cucumber. Apple. Hard. Cider. Yes. You’re probably thinking what we were thinking. That’s an…interesting combo.
This drink tasted very…well, as we said, interesting. You can definitely taste the salt in the drink, which was…unique. And that cucumber flavor comes through as well. At least to us, this sort-of tasted like we were drinking a salad! That’s not something you can probably say every day, so, hey, there’s that!
Next stop: Refreshment Port for the Salted Cucumber Apple Hard Cider pic.twitter.com/zqf5bxFzZN
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) March 2, 2022
Also new to this booth is a Lavender Martini, made with Vodka, lavender, and lemon for $11. Our reporter who tried this actually LOVED this drink and said it might have been one of the best things they drank all day!
The lemon flavor is lovely and light. And while you can definitely taste the lavender, it wasn’t overpowering at all. So while the first drink tasted like we were drinking a salad, this (thankfully) did NOT taste like we were drinking a bouquet of flowers. WHEW.
Also at Refreshment Port: the NEW Lavender Martini This drink includes Vodka with lavender and lemon pic.twitter.com/ck8bt9T2RP
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) March 2, 2022
Instead, it was simply wonderfully refreshing on a hot day!
OVERALL
Overall, if you’re looking for some unique flavors and want to know what a drinkable salad tastes like, Refreshment Port will give you that with the very special Salted Cucumber Apple Hard Cider! But even if drinking salad isn’t on your bucket list, you still might want to stop by this spot for that tasty Festival-specific poutine, the fun soft serve, and that lovely Lavender Martini!
Stay tuned because we’re reviewing EVERYTHING at the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival — more reviews are on the way!
Click Here to See ALL of the Food Booth Menus For the Festival!
Click HERE to See All the Updated Details for EPCOT’s 2022 International Flower and Garden Festival!
Ready to Plan for Your 2022 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival Trip?
Order the DFB Guide to the 2022 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival e-Book today! This 200+ page guide to the Festival offers insider tips and advice as well as all of the details you need to know to plan your best Festival visit ever.
Your purchase includes several bonus items as well — including a full daily schedule of events at the Festival and a printable Outdoor Kitchens Booth Menu Checklist to carry with you as you Eat around the World!
Order your 2022 edition today! Don’t miss a moment of the fun!