Noshing Around World Showcase – Snacks from Canada
Epcot is well known for having the largest variety of options for dining at Walt Disney World, especially around the World Showcase. However. we are focusing on the snacking options in each of the countries. So let’s head back to Epcot and see what we can find!
We started in Japan, and tried rice crackers and red bean paste buns. After really enjoying the rice crackers, I am looking forward to trying something else. Next, let’s try to see what we can find to try in Canada, home of the really popular cheddar cheese soup.
Before we head to to Canada, let’s review:
Snack Rules
- No snacks over $10; preferably less than $5
- As unusual as possible
- Something I personally would eat
Approaching the Canada Pavilion
Canada has a narrow front entrance that opens to an expansive view of different styles of architecture. It goes back quite a far distance, and has restaurants, O Canada! attraction, plus sweeping views of mountains and flowers. It’s visually striking, and mostly hidden unless you climb the stairs.
But let’s head to the shops to check out the snack situation!
The Northwest Mercantile is the first shop you come to as you climb the stairs. Outside the door is a bunch of frontier supplies, like lanterns and snowshoes, and is styled like a log cabin. Like many of the pavilions in the World Showcase, this shop flows into the next shop.
The Snacks from Canada
Once you go inside the Northwest Mercantile, your eyes will need to take a minute to adjust to the darkened interior. When they do, you will see a small table to your right that has a small collection of snacks. Compared to Japan, the selection is quite small and limited, featuring a maple theme.
On the snack table they have maple creme sandwich cookies, maple flavored toffee, maple flavored hard candy (which has no actual maple, strangely enough), maple mints, and maple crumbles, that they suggest sprinkling in your coffee or on top of ice cream. So many maple options! The maple snacks range in price from $2.95 to $13.95 for one of the larger boxes of cookies.
Heading through the store to the Trading Post portion, there’s a small display of chips and gummy candies. The chips are apparently traditional Canadian flavors, which include Ketchup and Montreal Steak Spice, and the chips cost $2.95 each.
The gummies are mostly recognizable, but the fun thing about them are they are on the Disney Dining plan as a snack option! Sometimes you may find you have leftover snack credits, and you could easily spend them all at once on snacks that you can take home with you. If you’re purchasing them without a snack credit, they cost $3.95 each.
After carefully weighing all of my options, I decided that I had to try something maple, and so I picked out a maple leaf lollipop.
I really like maple flavor, so I expected to enjoy this, plus it was only $2.95, so it made it a great choice.
The maple lollipop was very detailed and quite tasty. It had an unusual texture for hard candy, which seemed particularly sticky. It lasted for a long time, and had an intense maple flavor (perhaps obviously!) I recommend trying it if you enjoy maple flavoring, since it was reasonably priced and was a satisfying sweet treat.
So what do you think of the options of Canada? Are you enjoying snacking around the world? Did you prefer the snacks from Japan? Let me know!
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Here in Barrie, Ontario, I wouldn’t say we see a whole lot of maple products. Sure, Maple Syrup goes on pancakes, but that’s not unique to Canada…you get it at any Denny’s in Georgia, too. You can find the occasional maple-flavored product hidden in with other things (maple-dip donuts at Tim Horton’s), but it’s not like a staple or anything, here.
We have the option of maple products here in Florida, too, but they just tend to be maple flavored or if they have real maple in it, are horribly expensive. I love maple, so I’m all about it wherever it can be found! 🙂
That’s the same here in Ontario: It’s either artificially flavored, or horribly expensive.
I thought that was a perk of being Canadian… having maple whenever you wanted it. My ideals are destroyed! 🙂
I’ll destroy another misconception: our bacon is just like yours! What you call “Canadian Bacon” here gets called “peameal bacon,” occasionally just “ham,” and is fairly uncommon.
Shouldn’t surprise anyone, though, what with “English Muffins” and “French Fries.” 🙂
I am Canadian as well from the West. I want to second the motion that poutine should be added. Definately one of the foods I miss the most when we travel. As well the beaver tails would be great as well. Ironically I have never eaten cheddar cheese soup but it sounds great. The pavilion is very well done . A cart with these food items would be a great addition.
I’m all about new foods! I would love a new food cart, especially one that has such interesting options that fit in with the host country. They should listen to us and get right on it! 🙂
As a proud Canadian (Albertan), I looked forward to see the pavilion the first time I was in WDW in 2009. We have here in the West the maple products as well, I am not a fan of, it was good to see the chocolate bars. I was hoping the west would have been a little more represented, I am from Edmonton the capital city of Alberta & only Calgary was mentioned. It was nice to hear from a cast member, that the store has a book that we can sign. Is the coffee Timmies!
Even though “maple” is not an unusual word, since I see it often in movies and games, I actually have no idea what a maple is or how it tastes like. I’ll try this lollipop when I go to Epcot.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy it! I did!
I am Canadian. Ketchup chips are as regular and everyday here as salt and vinegar or BBQ. I didn’t realize they are unique to Canada. Growing up in Nova Scotia and now living in Ontario, Maple products are also a part of very day, including buying suckers for my daughter and donuts for my son. We have pancakes, waffles or French toast with 100% maple syrup every single weekend. Canadian cheddar soup, I have had numerous times, also with the additions of broccoli or cauliflower being common. I use Monteeal Steak Spice every time I grill a steak, although I have never seem chips in that flavour. Interesting article. Try ketchup chips. 🙂
Ketchup chips sound pretty good, actually. I would LOVE to live somewhere that maple flavored things are plentiful, because I love maple but it’s pretty expensive here (in Florida). And I love the cheddar cheese soup! Thanks for reading!
We have trip coming up in September and we are planning to “Eat Around the World”. Canada has always been the hardest country to find something that is quick and not very expensive. I liked this post because I never thought of getting a snack from one of the stores as in most countries we are getting something for a stand or counter service to share. Thanks!
You are very welcome! Most of the shops have SOMETHING you can try, and I will be continuing my way around the world, highlighting snacks, so be sure to check back!
As a Canadian, Ketchup chips are definately worth a try. I find the Maple is more common in certain areas of Quebec and Ontario (Ottawa during Winterlude and in Northern Ontario and Quebec in the springtime). I agree with J Price, as I have never had anything like the cheese soup either… Hadn’t even really heard of it before Disney.
A poutine stand would be a great addition to the pavilion as well as a beaver tail stand (yum!).
I have heard so much about both poutine and a beaver tail that I am completely intrigued. I would love to try both! 🙂
One thing that always bugged me about the Canadian food items in Epcot is how, as a Canadian, they seem just as novel and tasty as any of the other pavilions. Translation: Most of them aren’t very Canadian. Ketchup Chips, however… those ARE Canadian. (Also, I hate Ketchup, so I never buy them.) I’ve never had anything like Le Cellier’s Cheese Soup here in Canada, and while the Mushroom-steak they had during the Food & Wine Festival last year was delicious, there wasn’t anything particularly Canadian about it. Maple-flavoring is also not particularly common up here (nor do I like it.)
If they really want to provide a Canadian snack dish, they need to sell “poutine” there. (Maybe they do, I just wouldn’t have noticed. I tend to skip the Canada and America pavilions.)
Go to any gift tourist gift shop anywhere in Canada and you will find maple candy and syrup. It’s only really produced in Ontario and Quebec, but I’ve seen the sorts of candies Epcot sells in museum gift shops in Halifax, all over in Banff, and even up in Dawson City. Putting the maple stuff there is certainly authentic to the Canadian tourism industry.
Any beef could reasonably be called Canadian, given the beef industry in the Western prairies. Especially if they actually use Canadian beef.
Le Cellier sells ‘Poutine’, but I think they’re still not using cheese curds, so it’s not really the correct dish.