The 2024 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival is underway, featuring delicious food and wonderful drinks at more than 30 Global Marketplace kiosks. For guests looking for a bit of Edutainment during the Festival, the Living with the Land boat ride has a Festival overlay in the greenhouse portion of the attraction – focusing on foods that have made their way into Festival dishes. We stopped by EPCOT recently to take a look at what’s new and what’s returning for the Food & Wine Festival overlay.
Living with the Land 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival Overlay
Our tour begins with a “new” fruit on display for the Festival. While pineapple is a staple in this section of the ride, it was not included as part of the Festival overlay last year. This year, guests can associate the pineapple with the Slow-Roasted Pork Slider from the Hawaii booth.
A nearby display that was used as a promotional piece for CORKCICLE last year has been stripped of the branding and stripped of any food displays for the Festival. Instead, the relaxing scene showcases some additional use for pineapple. In fact, we didn’t spot any CORKCICLE-branded items anywhere throughout the ride. CORKCICLE remains the presenting sponsor of the Festival, but they don’t have a presence in the Living with the Land attraction this year.
Continuing our slow turn through the first greenhouse, two other plants come into view. The first that we’ll take a look at is rice, which is utilized for the Paella Negra dish at the Spain Global Marketplace. Nearby, a coconut palm is on display to represent the coconut used for the Lamington Yellow Cake at the Australia booth.
The guava that was previously on display at the CORKCICLE-branded table last year has been moved toward the end of the first greenhouse, on the right-hand side of the boat. There is no CORKCICLE branding at this new location either. Guava can be found in the Guava Cake at the Shimmering Sips kiosk during the 2024 EPCOT Food & Wine Festival.
Across from the guava is the returning Cassava plant, representing the Adobo Yuca Fries from the Fry Basket Global Marketplace.
While bananas are a year-round staple on Living with the Land, they are highlighted during the Food & Wine Festival overlay for their use at the Joffrey’s kiosks for the banana cream pie latte.
Making our way past the fish farm, we can see that a familiar display has an all-new look this year. Last year, there were two chairs set around a fire pit, but this year there are a variety of colorful foods and drink on two tables. There are no specific Festival food items represented here, but it is a more lively display than what was here last year.
To the left of the boat, a Land Pavilion branded coffee display not only makes me wish that there was some Land Pavilion coffee for sale, but it also serves as a display for the coffee bean used for the Belgian Chilled Coffee available at the Belgium kiosk this year.
Two crops are on display to the left of the boat just past the coffee display, and before we enter the next greenhouse. Wheat is on display for its use in the pasta for the mac & cheese dishes at the all-new Macatizers kiosk. Further back, you can spot corn & jalapeno, used at the Forest & Field kiosk for the Harvest Chili dish.
A new display to the left of the boat showcases celery (Canada kiosk, Cheddar Cheese and Bacon Soup) and parsley (France kiosk, Brioche Aux Escargots), but really, we just want to hop off, sit in the chair right there, grab a bottle of wine and enjoy the cheese and bread. (PSA: don’t jump off the boats).
Another year-round display is the lettuce display, which has been attributed to the Lamb Gyro from the Greece kiosk this year.
Chickpeas make a return to the Food & Wine Festival this year with a refreshed display. Chickpeas are utilized in the Grilled Kebabs from the Tangierine Cafe dining location.
Hanging sweet potatoes can be found on the right side of the boat. They’re used for the Frozen Sweet Potato Mousse from Swirled Showcase.
Keeping our attention on the right side of the boat, we can find mustard (Germany kiosk, Bratwurst) and cornichons (The Alps kiosk, Warm Raclette Swiss Cheese).
To the left, we can find piri piri peppers, which are used at the Refreshment Outpost dining location for the IMPOSSIBLE Spicy Sausage.
Before we enter the final greenhouse, microgreens are on display and used for the Chicken Tikka Masala from the India Global Marketplace.
Entering the final section of the greenhouse portion of the ride, there is a display to the right of the boat without any signage (at least, when I rode).
On the left, there is a display for basil, as used with the Thai Shrimp with Noodles dish at The Noodle Exchange. Shrimp and other ingredients are also prominently displayed.
Back on the right side of the boat is a display for the Japan Global Marketplace featuring daikon reddish used in the Eel Temaki Sushi offering.
Finally, we find scallions near the USDA lab. The scallions are used for the Shanghai Scallion Noodles at the China kiosk.
Want to see what the displays looked like last year? Check out our article below for a detailed look at the 2023 Living with the Land overlay!
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