BREAKING NEWS: Disney Unveils Menu & Preview of Connections Cafe and Eatery Opening Soon at EPCOT

EPCOT’s newest quick-service restaurant is almost ready and is opening soon! Disney has released the menu and a first look at some of the items that will be available. Learn more below.

Here are all the details from Disney Cast Member Nicole Cantore:

Are you excited for your soon-to-be new favorite foodie spot at EPCOT? Connections Café and Eatery will soon open its doors to hungry patrons. But this isn’t your average dining location. It’s a unique experience, embracing the cultures from around the world and bringing them to you in true EPCOT fashion. In case you didn’t know, this new location will officially be opening spring 2022!

Connections Eatery is a new fast-casual quick-service restaurant. What makes it unique is it gets its inspiration from the delicious cuisines from across the globe. As part of World Celebration, where we embrace coming together and enjoying the magic of possibility, the purpose of Connections Eatery is to show us how food has the power to bring us together if we open our minds (and our stomachs)! Once inside, you can get a glimpse of the chefs in action as you watch desserts get their finishing touches and witness pizza makers work their magic crafting pizza dough.

Now it’s time to get to the fun part … what you can snack on once this spot opens. I don’t know about you, but I am very excited to try each and every one of these dishes and beverages that have been expertly crafted by the culinary masterminds at EPCOT.

Without further ado, here is a preview of the menu for the highly anticipated Connections Eatery!

Now, let’s break down these mouthwatering options. Worldwide sandwich selections offer choices for everyone. From the French Bistro Burger with caramelized onions, bacon, and brie to the Southwestern Burger featuring a roasted chipotle-corn salsa and guacamole spread – yum! You can’t go wrong with the Vietnamese-inspired Banh Mi Burger or the Greek-inspired Mediterranean Burger. You’ll want to try each dish.

For a lighter option, consider one of the salads inspired by French and Chinese cuisines. First up, the Niçoise-style Salad is packed with potatoes, white and green beans, and olives drizzled with a delicious Dijon vinaigrette. For an Asian flare, get the General Tso Chicken Salad featuring ingredients like broccoli slaw, red bell pepper, mandarin oranges, and crispy wontons.

If you’re anything like me, you love pizza, and likely your mouth is watering just thinking about one of the four pizzas available. If you want a more classic option, the Meatball Pizza is the pie for you. The Curry Spice Pizza topped with carrots, potato, peas, and lime “yogurt” puts a new plant-based twist on the classic pizza.

And don’t forget about the little ones. With items like the Grilled Chicken Bao or classics like the Chicken Nuggets Basket or Cheeseburger, they’ll be asking to go back to Connections Eatery again and again!

Now onto the highly anticipated part of any dining experience … dessert! This spot will feature an option that is both beautiful and delicious –the Liege Waffle. This treat will make you and your taste buds very happy as these treats are made with brioche yeast dough stuffed with pearl sugar and finished with some tasty toppings.

If you love yourself some shakes, these two options will blow you away. First, we’ve got a Mango-Coconut Milk Shake topped off with a pomegranate molasses drizzle for a nice, refreshing beverage. For a more dessert feel, the Apple Pie Gelato Shake will give you that sweet fix you crave.

Whether you’re interested in an adult beverage or a non-alcoholic one, you have options. The Watermelon-Mint Agua Fresca is alcohol-free so the whole family can enjoy it together! For those over 21, there are multiple wines and draft beers available, along with the Cucumber and Thai Basil Cooler, a specialty cocktail filled with freshness and flavor.

I’m also happy to remind you that the future home of Starbucks at EPCOT will be at – you guessed it – Connections Café! Like other Starbucks locations inside our theme parks, this Starbucks will be designed to fit the theme of its surroundings and add yet another exciting chapter in the EPCOT Transformation.

We look forward to welcoming you to Connections Café and Eatery very soon!

RELATED ARTICLE: Top 13 Tips for the Perfect Day at EPCOT

by Paula Brown

EPCOT was the second theme park at Walt Disney World. It is loosely based on Walt Disney’s vision. Although it is not a living community as he envisioned, there is still much about the park that we think he would be proud of. Here are our top thirteen tips for having the perfect day at EPCOT. They start well before you step foot in the park.

1 – Visit During a Festival

There are four annual festivals at EPCOT, and you can’t go wrong whichever you choose. EPCOT International Festival of the Arts celebrates the arts in different forms. EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is alive with color. EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival honors tastes from around the world. EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays would put a smile on even Scrooge’s face. All four festivals are different, but there are elements that are the same. You’ll always find food booths for just that festival, merchandise, and extra entertainment. There are more days with a festival than without, so it isn’t hard to plan a visit when something special is going on.

2 – Advanced Dining Reservations

If there is a full-service restaurant that you really want to try, make the reservation 60 days out. Some reservations, such as Space 220 Restaurant, will be full within minutes that day. If you can’t get the desired reservation, look over the menus at the restaurants that do have spaces open. There aren’t any bad full-service restaurants at EPCOT.

3 – Book a Dining Package

During the four festivals, there is extra entertainment in the America Gardens Theater. The line for these acts can start to form hours before the first show. Skip the line by booking a Dining Package. You will receive a delicious meal for a set price, and then a voucher for the show. It must be a Dining Package that you book. Having a meal at a participating restaurant will not get you a voucher.

4 – Visit on a Weekday

If you have a bit of flexibility in your schedule, visit EPCOT on a weekday. Weekends are noticeably more crowded, especially during the four festivals. Consider visiting on a Monday if you can. Mondays are when many families have their first theme park day, and they want to spend it at the Magic Kingdom. That means that they won’t be at EPCOT.

5 – Skip Disney Genie+

Unless you purchased it as part of your ticket package, you might want to skip buying Disney Genie+ for EPCOT. There just aren’t that many EPCOT attractions included. Most of the ones that are part of Disney Genie+ are known for having short waits. Instead of spending money on the new service, consider buying Individual Lightning Lane for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After. Those rides usually have the two longest lines, and they aren’t included with Disney Genie+.

6 – Head Immediately to Test Track

Outside of the two Individual Lightning Lane attractions, Test Track will almost always have the longest standby line. Arrive at EPCOT when it opens, and head immediately to Test Track. It will not take long for the line to grow. If the wait time is too high, consider getting in the Single Rider Line. You and your party won’t ride together, but your wait will be much shorter.

7 – Think Twice About Mission: SPACE

If you have even the slightest problem with motion sickness or hate small spaces, Mission: SPACE is not a good idea. Enough people get sick on the ride that there are barf bags in the ride vehicle. If you aren’t sure if you can handle it and you want to try, get in line for the Green Mission first. It is much less intense than the Orange side.

8 – Ignore the Construction Walls

EPCOT is a park in transition. Because of all the changes, there are numerous construction walls in the front of the park. Do your best to ignore the walls, or better yet, think about the magic that is going on behind them. Once the transformation is done, EPCOT will be more amazing than ever!

9 – Explore World Showcase

There is much more to EPCOT than a few rides and construction walls. World Showcase is incredible! Where else can you visit Morocco and the United Kingdom in one day? Each World Showcase country is designed to make you feel as if you are really there. You can dine on traditional dishes and buy authentic merchandise. Pay attention to the architecture and the small details, and take some time to explore each pavilion. There’s a good chance that you’ll learn something.

10 – Be Careful if Drinking Around the World

An unofficial game that some members of the 21 and up crowd play at EPCOT is Drinking Around the World. It involves purchasing and drinking one alcoholic beverage from each of the World Showcase countries. That’s 11 drinks! If you decide to partake, spread out the drinks, eat something, and drink water as well. Please, always drink responsibly.

11 – Look for Characters

If you love characters, you will find plenty at EPCOT! It is a great place to see princesses, and the classic characters can be found as well. Characters are “sightings” instead of traditional meet and greets right now, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have a great interaction. Even with social distancing, you still might end up with a new profile picture.

12 – Harmonious Viewing

Harmonious is the nighttime spectacular at EPCOT, and we love it more each time we see it. There are great viewing areas all around World Showcase. We like to watch at either the entrance to World Showcase or more towards the back because that is where we find the best view of the circle in the middle of World Showcase Lagoon. If you watch from the sides you will still have a great view, because there is so much going on.

13 – After Harmonious

One final tip, don’t rush out of EPCOT the moment Harmonious ends. It might seem like the show is over, but is it? Hang around for a few minutes and find out for yourself.