Summer is just around the corner, and that means a new menu is now available at Farmers Feast at this year’s EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. Keep on reading for our review of the new Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée and the returning items.

Summer Solstice Menu for Farmers Feast at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival (May 20 – July 5)

Food:

• Tomato and Cornbread Panzanella with burrata cheese and fresh basil – $5.25
• Barbecue Seared Pork Tenderloin with summer succotash, herb butter, and grapefruit – $6.50
• Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée with corn biscotti – $4.75

Beverages:

*Price per bottle is an average price of the spirit at your local liquor store.

• Collective Arts Brewing Blueberry Elderberry Sparkling Hard Tea, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (5.0% ABV) – $5.50 for 6 oz., $9.50 for 12 oz.
• Ghost Mary: Translucent Bloody Mary with Boyd & Blair Cucumber Vodka ($25/bottle), Tomato Water, Horseradish, Celery Salt, and a hint of Pepper – $11.50

Photos of Menu Items from EPCOT Farmers Feast at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Tomato and Cornbread Panzanella – $5.25

First on our list is the Tomato and Cornbread Panzanella. A mixture of extremely fresh ingredients makes up this wonderful salad. The cornbread perfectly balances the vinaigrette and the tomatoes. We enjoyed this more than we expected to. The fresh cheese really makes this dish great — it breaks apart on everything and was a nice creamy addition with the strong vinaigrette pairing.

Barbecue-seared Pork Tenderloin – $6.50

Next, we tried the Barbecue-seared Pork Tenderloin. The meat was very tender and easy to cut.

It’s nicely spiced, but not overly flavored, which is a good thing due to the BBQ sauce being very potent. The sauce tasted like a basic BBQ sauce, but with a little extra vinegar kick. The veggies add a nice texture and lightness to the dish, which were fresh and nicely cooked.

*NEW* Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée with Corn Biscotti – $4.75

We loved this.

We enjoy crème brûlée in general, but this is the best one in a Disney Park. The top sugar layer was thin, which we loved. It could be a little bit more burnt.

The custard was perfect, and we did taste a little bit of corn. We thought it was a perfect amount of sweetness. There were little bits of corn pieces in the custard for texture.

We finished this pretty quickly, but in the Florida weather, this cream brûlée gets warm fast. If you are getting one, we suggest you just eat it right away. We highly recommend this treat.

*NEW* Collective Arts Brewing Blueberry Elderberry Sparkling Hard Tea, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – $5.50 for 6 oz., $9.50 for 12 oz.

From Collective Arts Brewing: “This Sparkling Hard Tea is brewed with delicate White Tea leaves from the Fujian province of China, but finds its thrill with a sweet, tart boost from all-natural dried blueberries and just a tinge of earthy elderberries. Made from a malt base with real botanicals. 0g of sugar.”

*NEW* Ghost Mary: Translucent Bloody Mary with Boyd & Blair Cucumber Vodka, Tomato Water, Horseradish, Celery Salt, and a hint of Pepper – $11.50

This tastes like a watered down Bloody Mary, or at least a light version. It has an acidic tomato-y flavor, while the vodka can barely be tasted.

The whole thing is watered down and muddled, accompanied by three cherry tomatoes on the bottom. This proved to be the most off-putting beverage we’ve had in a while. Skip this.

Location of EPCOT Farmers Fresh at the 2023 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

EPCOT Farmers Feast is located near Test Track in World Discovery. You can find it at number 5 on the map below.

Do you like the style of the rotating menu available at EPCOT Farmers Feast, or do you wish the menu would be consistent throughout the entire festival? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section!

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As reported by Deadline, the third planned wave of layoffs at The Walt Disney Company has begun today, and will impact roughly 2,500 people, after initially only estimated to affect 700. but not any frontline cast members in the parks.

It is estimated to effect around 700 employees across the board at the company, we’re told. While Parks and Resorts remain mainly untouched, the pink slipping this week isn’t aimed at any particular division. We hear television, which was hit hard in the second round, is largely spared this time with a small number of layoffs, we hear.

While 700 was originally reported, that number has ballooned. After the gargantuan second wave that involved cuts of around 4,000 of the total 7,000 layoffs, this wave is still smaller, but far larger than originally anticipated. This has included the removal of dozens of titles from Hulu and Disney+ in a cost-cutting measure. CEO Bob Iger intends to meet $5.5 billion in reductions when the bulk of these actions are complete. Overall, entertainment saw a 15% reduction, the dissolution of Disney TV Studios marketing, with Freeform & ABC executive layoffs.

The first round of layoffs began in late March. Senior Vice President of Production for Hulu, Mark Levenstein, and Senior VP of Production Management & Operations For Freeform, Jayne Bieber, were among the first executives to be let go. Also laid off was VP of Corporate Communications for The Walt Disney Company, Jeffrey R. Epstein, and Marvel Entertainment Chairman, Ike Perlmutter. Disney’s “Metaverse” team was also terminated.

Reasons for the Cuts

The company’s restructuring comes after previous CEO Bob Chapek was fired last November. Though many changes were made within the company immediately after his exit, the stock price continued to be an issue. The majority of job cuts were delayed until after the April 3 shareholders meeting.

After Disney’s second quarter report on May 10, the stock price fell by almost 9%, and while its been relatively stable since then, it has remained in the range it dropped into.

Iger describes these decisions as a “significant transformation to realign Disney for sustained growth and success.” Ultimately, its stated aim is to return creativity and authority to leaders, as well as streamline operations.

On the whole, the company reported a total of $21.8 billion in revenue last quarter. Parks, Experiences and Products accounts for over a third of that total, making $7.78 billion.

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Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro spoke at the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference regarding Disney’s plans to focus their opportunity and expansion on their core assets, claiming additional, regional parks were not of interest to the company at this time.

Disney to Focus Opportunity on Core Assets

When prompted specifically about building additional parks in different regions of the United States similar to what Universal recently announced, Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro stated Disney currently does not have any interest in that type of expansion. In response to commentary on Universal’s Texas park and Las Vegas year-round horror attraction announcements, D’Amaro said:

It must be interesting for them. For us, we think that focusing on our core assets is where we should be spending most of our opportunity. As I said earlier, we think that there’s so much potential there, that that’s where well continue to focus our efforts.

Disney Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro

D’Amaro’s statement confirms that Disney does not plan to open an additional park in a new region, instead focusing their resources and efforts on the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. Universal announced their Texas park will be opening in the coming years as a family-friendly addition to their portfolio.

Increasing Park Capacity

Josh also explained during the interview that one of the primary ways Disney increases capacity at the parks is by adding attractions. Recently, Tron: Lightcycle / Run was added outside the “berm” or border boundary of Magic Kingdom, increasing the park’s actual space and adding capacity with an additional attraction.

Adding a ride or show to a theme park increases capacity because many visitors spend time waiting in line or experiencing the attraction itself, which in turn allows more people to navigate the park comfortably. In Disneyland, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway was added in January. The reimagining of Toontown also opened recently. These two additions increased the respective park’s current capacity as well.

D’Amaro then stated that Disney believes there is plenty of opportunity within the parks’ footprints to increase capacity inside current bounds by way of additional attractions or reimagining spaces. In addition, he stated they have space both in and beyond the park berms, claiming they can utilize this space outside the current boundaries “pretty aggressively” at both Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland in Anaheim. Check out the full story here.

Other Announcements

During the JP Morgan Global Technology, Media & Communications Conference, Josh D’Amaro made other announcements as well. He claimed that Disney World’s closure of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser in September will enable them to claim a tax write-off of approximately $300 million. Check out the full article on this announcement here.

He also spoke on the overall financial success of the company, that park attendance at Walt Disney World would be “moderated,” this year with the end of the 50th Anniversary Celebration, and that international parks were performing admirably in both capacity volume and guest spend.

Take a look at some of our other recent coverage using the links below:

• Josh D’Amaro Teases ‘Aggressive’ Theme Park Expansion for Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Beyond the Berms
• The Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser to be a $300 Million Tax Write-Off
• Deluxe Disney Resorts Up to 75% Off With New Deal

What do you think of this announcement? We’d like to see your opinions in the comments below.

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