Orlando's Theme Park Food Festivals Offer Variety, But Inconsistent Quality

Attractions blogger Jon Self rates the best and worst bites at Universal, SeaWorld, and EPCOT's annual food events

Published on Feb. 20, 2026

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This weekend, adult theme park fans in Orlando will have three different food-focused festivals to choose from across the major theme park resorts. Attractions blogger Jon Self, who has made a name for himself by comprehensively reviewing the new and updated menu items at these events, shares his insights on the quality, creativity, and value of the offerings at Universal's Mardi Gras, SeaWorld's Seven Seas Food Festival, and EPCOT's International Festival of the Arts.

Why it matters

The dining and drinking revolution launched decades ago by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has transformed the food scene at Orlando's theme parks, attracting more upscale adult audiences. These annual food festivals are a showcase for the parks' culinary creativity, but also highlight the challenges of delivering consistent quality and value across multiple vendors and venues.

The details

Self employs a personalized rubric to evaluate the festival dishes, looking at factors like flavor, portion size, creativity, and whether the item could be easily replicated at home. He says Universal Orlando "juggles it the best" when it comes to quality execution, while SeaWorld is too inconsistent due to limited on-stage kitchen capacity. EPCOT also struggles with inconsistency from using third-party vendors. Among his top picks are Universal's Chilean Verlasso salmon, SeaWorld's Indian butter chicken, and EPCOT's three-course meal at The Artist's Table. But he warns of duds like SeaWorld's "absolutely terrible" Guinness beer-cheese nachos and the flavorless Jamaican Rasta Pasta at Universal.

  • The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is making way for the International Flower & Garden Festival's debut in only two weeks.
  • The Universal Mardi Gras International Flavors of Carnival runs through April 4.
  • The SeaWorld Seven Seas Food Festival continues through May 17.

The players

Jon Self

A theme park food blogger who has carved a niche for himself by writing comprehensive opening day taste-tests of Central Florida theme park food festivals. Self employs a personalized rubric to evaluate the quality, creativity, and value of the festival dishes.

Michael Eisner

The former CEO of Disney, who is credited with launching a dining and drinking revolution that helped attract more upscale adult audiences to Orlando's theme parks.

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What they’re saying

“The Festival of the Arts is all about creativity, which they usually are successful with, although a few items are 'Instagram-worthy and horrible to eat.'”

— Jon Self, Theme park food blogger (orlandoweekly.com)

“Universal Orlando 'juggles it the best' when it comes to quality execution, while SeaWorld is too inconsistent because they don't have enough on-stage kitchen capacity and rely on bringing food from the back.”

— Jon Self, Theme park food blogger (orlandoweekly.com)

“The three-course combination of lobster Caesar salad, peppercorn-crusted steak and dark chocolate torte from The Artist's Table outside EPCOT's American Adventure is 'the slam dunk ... it was off-the-charts good.'”

— Jon Self, Theme park food blogger (orlandoweekly.com)

What’s next

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will debut in just two weeks, offering a new set of culinary offerings for theme park foodies to explore.

The takeaway

While Orlando's theme park food festivals showcase the culinary creativity of the resorts, delivering consistent quality and value across multiple vendors and venues remains a challenge. Savvy visitors would do well to consult expert reviews like those of Jon Self to navigate the best and worst bites at these events.