The last EPCOT Festival of 2022 is finally here, The EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays! Gluten Free eats are many, in fact we’ve got 17 labeled items and several more that I found that were not labeled GF on the passports.
This year the Festival runs from November 25 through December 30th. We do have new allergy procedures that I’ll link here if you are curious how they manage food restrictions. It does not require an additional ticket, as your EPCOT ticket provides all of the Entertainment. The Booths are an additional food fee, with most items costing from 5-10 dollars for a small sample serving size.
Here for the Holidays? There’s several gluten free cookies to choose from, here’s the full guide for Holiday Cookies! And there’s also quite a few options at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Not interested in the booths (or need a full meal?). The EPCOT gluten free guide is just what you need!
⭐ If this is your First Time to Disney World, you’ll want all the insider tips and done for you plans found in the Food Allergies at Disney World Made Easy Guide , If you’ve been here before and just need the best places to eat and snacks, see the Touring Plan and Snack Guide. Just Gluten Free? There’s a guide for that too!
***As Always, please speak to a qualified restaurant employee when ordering food. In order to see the most accurate ingredients and risk assessment, you will need to confirm allergy safety in real-time. This is my personal experience, I am not employed or endorsed by companies or brands mentioned.***
Festival Map
You can also find this map on the MyDisneyExperience App (which I recommend!). Hit the locator button on the bottom bar>set ‘filter’ to EPCOT>change the ‘wait time’ arrow to ‘Dining’. You can then zoom in to see the booths, or you can select ‘show list’ and see the booths.
*You will find both regular year round restaurants AND the Festival Booths on the MyDisneyExperience App.
Gluten Free Details for options at EPCOT’s International Festival of the Holidays
Need other Allergens Besides Gluten? See the Full Allergy Guide for Epcots Festival of the Holidays here.
Again, these are not on an allergy sheet, and I had to call Chefs all day to ask them (5 hours later and I still missed three booths!). Please declare your allergens and ask in real time. They are very nice here. Make a list with the options below and weave them into your day.
Booth: Holiday Sweets and Treats
- Chocolate Peppermint Shake: Not Labeled, but made without Gluten
Delicious! Perfect Winter themed Shake.
Booth: Mele Kalikimaka (Near Port of Entry)
- Lomi Lomi Salmon with tomatoes, onions, salmon roe, yuzu-mayonnaise, and yuca chips (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
Booth: Nochebuena Cocina (Near Port of Entry) (New)
- IMPOSSIBLE Chorizo Tamale with plant-based cotija cheese and spicy red Chile sauce (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly) (Plant-based Item)
- Pernil: Mojo Pork with tostones and ketchup-mayonnaise (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
Booth: Chestnuts & Good Cheer Holiday Kitchen (Near Test Track Presented by Chevrolet)
- Cinnamon-glazed Almonds (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Cinnamon-glazed Cashews (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Cinnamon-glazed Pecans (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Fire-roasted Chestnuts (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
The entire booth is nuts, so this is a Gluten Friendly Booth! Nuts are just roasted nuts with sugar, no other allergens. Do note, this is an actively roasting nut booth- you can smell them in the air. Avoid this area if you are nut reactive.
Booth: Holiday Hearth Desserts (The Odyssey Pavilion)
- Peppermint Bark (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
Booth: Yukon Holiday Kitchen (Canada)
Beef Bourguignon with crushed potatoesDOES contain Gluten and can’t be modified.
Booth: Le Marche Holiday Kitchen (France)
Macaron Christmas Tree on a Stick (Macaron en Sucutte).Not Labeled, but made without Gluten in a shared kitchen. (also find it at Les Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie on a plate)
After finally getting the ingredient sheet, they missed Wheat and Malt in two different locations. On the Crisped Rice Pearls, I was told they were only rice sugar and dye (as I knew to ask, those little pearls are bad news!) Later on the Rice Pearls showed Gluten AND wheat flour. These are the only wheat/gluten item on the macaron.
Booth: L’Chaim! Holiday Kitchen (Between France and Morocco)
- Smoked Salmon Potato Latke (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Potato Latkes (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly) (Plant-based Item)
Delicious as always and a favorite of mine!
Booth: Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina
Grilled Kebabs with carrot-chickpea salad and garlic aïoli
- Grilled Kebab Lamb Kefta (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Grilled Kebab Chermoula Chicken (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
Authors Note: these are quite good, and are a decent size.
Booth: Shi Wasu (Japan)
- Mochi Cake: Not labeled Gluten Friendly, but made without gluten in a shared kitchen.
It was delicious if you enjoy the chewy consistency of mochi.
Booth: Tuscany (in Italy)
- Salmone alla Sicilana Not labeled Gluten Friendly, but made without gluten in a shared kitchen.
Booth: American Holiday Table
- Blackened Catfish with Hoppin’ John and comeback sauce (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
very nice serving and it was delicious!
Booth: Refreshment Outpost:
- Peanut Stew with sweet potatoes, mustard greens, and roasted peanuts (New) (Plant-based Item) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- DOLE Whip Raspberry Modified with No Wheat Cone
For starters, the Peanut Stew was the biggest portion out of all the items I tried at the festival. I highly recommend it, as it had a nice savory nut flavor. It is SPICY! In the best way possible. Grab the Raspberry Dole Whip without a cone when you order (or the passholder Frozen Coke) so that you can balance out the spicy with something cold and sweet.
Concerns: I am concerned about the paper compostable bowl, as those can leach gluten if they are made with wheat or gluten byproducts.
Booth: Las Posadas Holiday Kitchen (Mexico)
- Giant Tostada de Barbacoa: Braised barbacoa beef on a giant tostada with chipotle black bean purée, salsa verde, queso cotija, crema Mexicana, and pickled onion (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
- Cochinita Pibil Tamal: Cochinita pibil in corn masa topped with Pipián sauce, queso cotija, and crema Mexicana (New) (Gluten/ Wheat Friendly)
Note: They have Churros here that are wheat/gluten, and I had a hard time getting them to understand Cross Contact Risks. I’ve not had the best experiences with the Mexico Booth (it’s third party owned and they have their own procedures). I was recommended to go to the Mexico Quick Serve to talk to a Chef about an allergy safe meal.
That’s all for the Festival of the Holidays
Next up, we’ve got the Epcot Festival of the Arts in January! Arts festival runs January 13 through February 20, followed by Flower and Garden in March (which is a much longer and much more popular festival!)
Everyone should eat well on vacation! Learn more common questions and concerns in the Food Allergy FAQ or the Gluten Free Disney FAQ.
Plus the latest Disney News when it comes to Food Restrictions, eats, and offerings. Connect with the MouseEarMemory Allergy Community at the socials listed below or @Mouse.Ear.Memories