REVIEW: The $7 Dole Whip You Need To Grab In EPCOT

EPCOT is a completely different beast outside of festival season.

EPCOT

During festivals, the park is alive with food booths, entertainment, activities, merchandise, and more. Those months, it seems like there’s so much to do that it’s hard to choose where to eat. But where should you dine when you’re left with the park’s regular options? Today, we’re checking to see if one spot is still worth visiting in the off-season!

Atmosphere

The Land Cart is located next to The Land Pavilion in World Nature, and it lives here most of the year. Several months back, the cart underwent a renovation to update it to the new EPCOT architecture. It’s open most of the year now, and it often gets a special menu for festivals. But what about during the weeks of the year when there’s not a festival happening in EPCOT? That’s what we’re here to scope out.

The Land Cart

Unfortunately, this snack stand doesn’t have much seating nearby besides benches. However, you can head over to World Celebration or CommuniCore Hall and Plaza to find a spot to eat your snacks.

CommuniCore Hall

So, what can we order on the menu here right now?

Eats

First up, we grabbed the Mickey-shaped Pretzel for $8.50. So, the Mickey Pretzel isn’t our favorite pretzel in Disney World, we’re sorry to say, but Disney is really good about covering those flaws with salt. Honestly, if we wanted a pretzel in EPCOT, we’d pick one up in the Germany Pavilion. Now THAT’S a pretzel. But a Mickey pretzel is iconic, although it’s a bit mushy and doesn’t have that nice crustiness on the outside that we like. It’s super soft with a tiny bit of chew, and it’s salty.

Mickey Pretzel

But you do get plastic cheese with it, but it isn’t the GOOD plastic cheese, you know? This isn’t like that plastic cheese at Casey’s that gets pumped into a cup — it’s a pre-packaged plastic cheese, so it’s not as rich with cheese flavor. Plus, it’s very salty. Honestly, we felt our blood pressure rising with all that saltiness, so um…nope.

Dipping it in the cheese

Next was the Pickle-in-a-Pouch for $2.50. It’s a pretty standard deli pickle that you can get throughout Disney World. You’ll want to eat it right away, though, because if it sits too long, it gets soft and loses its crunch and freshness. It has a nice flavor that’s pungent and tart with the brininess you expect from a pickle. It’s a pickle, y’all. And it’s a cheap snack, which might be just what you want.

It’s a pickle.

What about the drinks?

Drinks

To drink, we snagged a Coca-Cola Fountain Beverage for $5.50 and the Dasani Water for $4. It’s Coke and water…what more do we need to say? However, we also ordered the Tropical Smoothie made with DOLE Whip Pineapple, Banana, and Mango for $6.25. It’s got that lovely tangy pineapple DOLE Whip flavor we love, but it’s more like a slushy-meets-smoothie. You also get that underhint of banana flavor that gives it some sweetness with an extra bit of tartness from the mango.

Tropical Smoothie

THIS is what you come to The Land Cart for because this is the perfect refreshing drink for a hot day. The flavors and texture are great, and we saw a lot of folks ordering it.

Nosh or Not

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

You need a snack ASAP. If you’re looking for something to eat right away and are in the area, you’ll find some basic snacks here.
You want a refreshing drink. Sure, you can grab a water or soda, but the Tropical Smoothie is the perfect drink for the Florida heat and humidity.
You’re in the area. If you just happen to be near The Land Pavilion and need something to eat and drink, this is convenient.

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

You’re in World Showcase. If you’re nowhere near this cart, it’s not worth the trip to visit it. You’ll find plenty of better food and snacks in World Showcase.
You want more options. To say that the menu here is extremely limited would be an understatement.
You want a full meal. EPCOT is full of quick service and table service restaurants that offer actual meals. This is just a snack spot. No, a Mickey pretzel is not a meal (even if we’ve made it a meal previously).

Full spread

Overall

Overall, the only real reason you’ll want to visit The Land Cart is if you’re thirsty and need to grab a water or soda. However, if you are visiting The Land Pavilion and want a frozen beverage to cool off with, you can’t beat the Tropical Smoothie. But honestly, that’s about the only reason to visit this cart.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disney news and more!