Review: The Sausage and Peppers Hoagie at Epcot's Electric Umbrella Might Surprise You

It’s pretty well established that Epcot is an exemplary place to get a meal.

Epcot Restaurants
Disney World Restaurants

Whether you’re queuing up at Sunshine Seasons for fresh and tasty quick service, making an ADR at Via Napoli, or using up some table service credits at Le Cellier, there are lots of quality eats to be found.

But a poll of Epcot visitors would likely, pretty much never find a lot of love for the Electric Umbrella. This mainstay of Epcot has a decidedly retro vibe, with tons of neon and bright colors (which we think is awesome, but others…not so much).

But while the hate for Electric Umbrella is there for some, I don’t really get it. It’s pretty good — and I’ve had awesome experiences here more than I haven’t in the past few years. But you DO need to know what to order… .

The Electric Umbrella

Atmosphere

Electric Umbrella is centrally located in Future World in Innovations East. The best part about this location is its proximity to the Innovations Fountain, which puts on an epic water show intermittently. If you sit outside at Electric Umbrella, you’ll love the view.

View of the Fountains

Inside, you’ll find neon. Lots and lots of neon. It’s electric (boogie woogie woogie).

So much neon

You’ll also find several ordering lanes, which are crazy colorful. Menu boards are standard LED screens with large pictures of the menu items.

Ordering Area

There’s lots of seating at Electric Umbrella. Aside from the al fresco seating, you can choose to sit downstairs or up. The downstairs dining area has walls of windows letting in light and giving diners a view of people passing. (FYI: The carpet is so rad, right?! How can I, as an Epcot 80’s kid, not LOVE this place?)

Dining Area

The upstairs dining is usually pretty quiet (most guests don’t want to schlep their lunch up the staircase). The seating is the same, and it’s still pretty bright up there, owing to even more windows looking down on Future World.

Upstairs Dining

The Electric Umbrella bit comes in the lighting and the neon.

Electric. Umbrellas.

But let’s see about those eats, shall we?

Eats

The menu at Electric Umbrella has classic items like Chicken Nuggets and Burgers, but they’ve also added an Energy Salad with feta cheese and an interesting Veggie Naan-Wich (which is a surprisingly good option for vegetarians!).

Our favorites here are the French Dip Burger and the Sausage and Pepper Hoagie. On this visit, I wanted to try both to see how they’re holding up. First up is the French Dip Burger, which remains one of the only quick service burgers in the World that isn’t a dried out hockey puck!

French Dip Burger

It’s topped with super flavorful Brisket and Crispy Onions and rests on a slice of Muenster Cheese. It doesn’t come with au jus, like most French Dips do, but the brisket is so juicy that I’m guessing they’ve layered in there. The flavors are so good here. It’s a really good quick service burger and I’d dare say one of my favorites. The best part? It’s held up for years. This one has been reviewed positively for a loooong time, so it’s a good bet on your next visit.

French Dip Burger

We have enjoyed the Sausage and Peppers Hoagie on past visits, and on this one, it was still a standout. There’s a lot of sausage in there, and the sausage has a nice bit of heat and flavor. The roll is a PERFECT sub roll — crusty-crunchy on the outside and super soft and fluffy (not stale at all!) on the inside. No joke, I nearly ate this whole thing. it was amazing!

Sausage and Peppers Hoagie

The peppers (and onions) are combined with marinara sauce, making this very meatball sub-like. It all works really well, and since it’s massive, it’s share-able (or a good choice for a big appetite!).

Sausage and Peppers

I was also happy to find the unicorn of Epcot at the moment: the 35th Anniversary Cupcake introduced to celebrate Epcot’s birthday on October 1! This is available at Fountainview Cafe for a limited time.

Epcot 35th Anniversary Cupcake

The vanilla cake is standard, but we love the Spaceship Earth-inspired dome! Under the dome? Is it a massive ball of buttercream? Please?!

Sorry, no. It’s cake. The dome is more cake. Snore.

The filling is Strawberry Cream and really good, but if you’re a frosting fan like me, this is a big skip. Still: points for style.

Interior of Anniversary Cupcake

Electric Umbrella also has one other thing going for it: Mobile Ordering. If you’re in the mood to avoid lines or need to grab lunch on the run, Mobile Ordering might be just what you need!

Nosh or Not?

Sail into the Electric Umbrella if:

You have picky eaters in your party but still want something slightly less ordinary.
You want a quick lunch without having to veer away from the center of Future World.
You have a thing for retro Epcot and love the atmosphere here.

Head elsewhere if:

You want to try the many, many other options at Epcot.
You prefer a nice table service meal.
You like your eats a little more elegant and creative.

Overall

Electric Umbrella is a surprisingly solid option for food in a park with umpteen excellent options. So while I won’t be going back on every single visit, it’s nice to know that it’s there, serving up delicious and well-executed dishes. (OK, I might get that hoagie on every visit. Seriously, it’s killer.)

Are you an Electric Umbrella fan? Tell us about your experiences in the comments!