EPCOT Festivals can be a great place to use your Disney Dining Plan Snack Credits. Most food items and some non-alcoholic drinks are eligible — and with some items breaking the $10 mark, spending a DDP Snack Credit can be your best value option.

That said, getting “good value” compared to the Snack Credit average of $6 is not just about money, it’s also about the taste. So where should you spend your Snack Credits? We’ve brought you recommendations from our parks team for every Festival dish that costs $7.00 or more. We’ve got what to scoop, what to skip, and what you’ll need to make a personal call on.

Spending cash and want to stick to a budget? Check out The Best Way to Spend $50 at the 2024 Flower and Garden Festival. Just want to know what’s at the Festival? 2024 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Menus

Yes, Recommended

If you don’t have enough credits for all of these, then you’ll need to pick and choose. But each of them is a winner that you wouldn’t be sorry about even if you paid cash.

🆕 Grilled Warm Water Lobster Tail –$11.25 | DDP

Straight talk: tender seafood like lobster and scallops always gets varied reviews at Festivals because how long it sits under the lamps can make a big difference. You can ask for fresh if you think it’s been sitting too long, or if you are there at a busy time this probably won’t be an issue for you. Our serving of this lobster was perfectly grilled, and we loved the creamy, citrusy sauce. Don’t be afraid to squeeze the lime over the top; it has enough oomph to stand up to it.

🆕 Tamale de Rajas –$8.75 | DDP

The first of two dishes that are so “worth it” that they also made our best $50 for people who are spending cash. We know that the portion on this is smaller and normally that would be disqualifying. But this dish was just perfection, highlighting key Mexican flavors in a single complex bite. A bit of acid from the pickled vegetables, creamy cheese, a little sweet from the corn; this is a dish that’s more than the sum of its parts.

🆕 Veal Tenderloin –$8.50 | DDP

And … this is the second dish that also made our Best $50. We are often skeptical of veal dishes at EPCOT Festivals, but this one entered the conversation in a big way! The veal was thin and tender and brought some umami depth to this plate. Maybe it was the fresh Spring Pea Risotto or maybe we’re just suckers for any sort of wine reduction – Red Wine Syrup in this case! – but this whole dish is joyful. It’s good that you’ll have time before you make your way around World Showcase to get the best desserts because between the meat and the risotto this one bowl is so satisfying that you may need a nap.

Beef Tenderloin Tips –$7.25 | DDP

Not the most beautiful dish; it definitely looks like something your Mom could have whipped up in the slow cooker. And you can even say it’s in the same family as Mom’s pot roast, that’s certainly the easiest quickie description. But the beef is pull-apart tender, the carrots were not mushy, and the bordelaise is a cut above plain old pot roast gravy. You’re going to be glad for those mashed potatoes because otherwise you’d be indelicately eating the sauce with a spoon.

⭐ Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp –$7.00 | DDP

The takeout menus of Chinese restaurants everywhere offer up some form of fried shrimp on a stick with “orange sauce”. This could have been that, but it’s so much more. The shrimp are great, the fry is great, the sauce on the shrimp is a perfect balance of citrus and not heavy. This dish made our Best $50 last year, and it’s still great (and actually, still the same price!)

🆕🥕🌿 Seasonal Fruit Parfait –$7.00 | DDP

We admit, this is maybe a controversial pick. But the mango-chile flavor is super-classic, and as the weather heats up this will be a moment of bliss. It’s a great family option; the Dole Whip will get all but the pickiest eaters past the palate-expanding tajin chili sauce. And it will get you a stamp on the Garden Graze. What’s not to love?

No – You Should Skip

It’s not that we think all of these dishes taste awful, although some do. But most people come to a Festival to try the good stuff, and if we can’t summon more enthusiasm for a dish than “meh”, then we feel it is definitely not worth your DDP credits.

🆕 Arrabbiata –$9.25 | DDP

It’s time to be real: any half-competent home cook could prepare this dish. We understand that when you eat restaurant food the biggest portion of the cost is not the ingredients, but the labor and overhead. Still, for that money I want to get sauce that doesn’t taste like it came out of a jar. Opening a jar is not a lot of labor. So at a Festival, this pedestrian dish is a terrible use of your stomach space, never mind your Snack Credit.

🆕 Bocconcini: Mozzarella bocconcini, grape tomatoes, and pesto sauce –$7.50 | DDP  

While we are here, let’s talk about the rest of the Italy booth, since the Bocconcini also made the $7.00 cutoff. Outside of the cannoli, every dish at this kitchen had the exact same problem as the Arrabbiata: you could make it yourself with supermarket ingredients, and half of them to come out of jars – in this case that’s the pesto. The not-better-than-jarred four cheese sauce on our serving of the Quattro Formaggi was split and looked like a failed 4th-grade home economic project. Unless you have kids who need to eat the Italian food equivalent of Kraft Mac & Cheese, you should skip everything in Italy’s kitchen except the Italian Margarita.

🆕 Steam Bun –$8.50 | DDP

We are not fans of Impossible meat. This soy-based offering isn’t Impossible, but somehow it was worse. Please save your credit.

House-made Cheesy Crab Wontons –$8.25 | DDP

These look beautiful and crispy, and they are crispy – and also a bit greasy. But we couldn’t find the crab flavor, just cream cheese. While you can argue that spending a DDP credit instead of $8.25 makes you feel better about eating no-frills crab rangoon that doesn’t taste like crab, we’re not impressed with that line of reasoning.

Maybe So – Personal Choice

Many of our “maybe-so” dishes taste fine. We just didn’t think they were a great use of a Dining Plan Snack Credit. Either they weren’t so awesome that you should go out of your way to spend credits on them, or the serving size was small enough to be noticeably petite. If you’re going to buy these dishes anyway, then they can be a good use of your credits if they’re more expensive than other items you’re sampling.

🆕 (Hanami) Ramen Cup –$8.50 | DDP

🍴Ramen salad shaken in a cup with fresh vegetables, grilled chicken, and dashi broth with chili oil and yuzu.
📝This was good, but not so much of a standout that we’d recommend trying it if you’re not a ramen enthusiast. If you are, then it’s a good way to spend a Snack Credit.

🆕 (Jardin de Fiestas) Sope de Chilorio –$8.50 | DDP

🍴Guajillo pepper-braised pork on fried corn shells with black beans, shredded cabbage, crema Mexicana, queso fresco, and chives.
📝So, we noted that the Tamale de Rajas wasn’t the biggest portion but we gave it the nod anyway because the flavors were so great. Our portion of this dish was even tinier, and while it tasted fine, it didn’t wow us. From a taste perspective this was OK, but from a value perspective it’s not great, even if you’re spending Snack Credits and not the green stuff.

(Pineapple Promenade) Spicy Hot Dog  –$8.00 | DDP

🍴Served with pineapple chutney and plantain chips.
📝The Spicy Hot Dog is fine and tasty and we know that many people love it. But we think it’s kind of pedestrian, and there are so many more things to try that you can’t find in other places – or even throw together yourself on a Sunday afternoon.

(Fleur de Lys) Parmentier de Canard A L’Orange –$7.95 | DDP

🍴Pulled Duck Confit with Orange Sauce and Garlic-Rosemary Mashed Potatoes.
📝We liked this. But like the Sope above, this wasn’t the biggest portion and didn’t wow us enough to be on the recommended list.

(Hanami) Frushi –$7.75 | DDP

🍴Strawberry, pineapple, and lychee wrapped in coconut rice and pink soy wrap served with whipped cream, drizzled raspberry sauce, and toasted coconut.
📝Frushi is a Festival favorite with kids of all ages, and if you choose to spend your Snack Credit here then it won’t be wrong. But if you want to give this a pass, we won’t say that’s a bad decision either.

(Northern Bloom) Seared Scallops –$7.75 | DDP

🍴Served with French Green Beans, Marble Potatoes, and Bacon Vinaigrette.
📝We ate this dish last year and it was fine. But a number of dishes had tweaks since 2023 and this year’s version … smelled very unappetizing. We’re sure they were fine, but our parks team tasted with their nose and the verdict was not positive.

(Trowel & Trellis) Soy-glazed Sticky Ribs –$7.00 | DDP

🍴Served with green onions and peanuts.
📝The flavor of these ribs was great! But the texture left a lot to be desired. If you don’t mind a lot of chewing, you can give these a go.

What would you spend your Snack Credits on? Have you tried anything on this list? Let us know in the comments!