Guide to Epcot Festival of the Arts Gluten Free

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please click my disclosure policy to learn more.

Sharing is caring!

Epcot’s Festival of the Arts is probably the most overlooked of all the festivals, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. In fact, I love the energy and vibrancy that comes with celebrating the arts. And most importantly, it’s pretty easy to enjoy Festival of the Arts gluten free!

Disney World truly is a dream when it comes to being able to eat gluten free. The chefs really do bend over backwards to accommodate all food allergies.

This year, the Epcot International Festival of the Arts runs from January 16 – February 23, 2026.

So, let’s take a look at what you need to know in order to fully enjoy the Epcot Festival of the Arts gluten free.

Tips for Eating Gluten Free at Festival of the Arts

First things first, there are some definite tips and “rules” that you should be aware of in order to enjoy all the gluten free goodness of Festival of the Arts.

Really, these tips apply to all of the Epcot festivals as it’s the same basic idea for every single one of them.

Once upon a time, Disney used to mark the gluten friendly options directly on the food studio menus, in the booklets, and on the main website. This made it very easy to see what was gluten free. However, they stopped doing that a few years ago.

Now, they have a separate allergy menu for the festivals. This is great in the sense that it now identifies the common 8 allergens making it more universal. This is bad in the sense that it’s an extra step and you then need to still weed through all of the things you can’t eat.

But the information IS there. That’s what this post is for, to help put all the information in one place for you to have at your fingertips on the big day.

About the “Gluten Friendly” Designation

You will notice that Disney uses language like, gluten friendly, or allergy friendly. They will never say gluten free outright. Have to leave that little bit of wiggle room for legal reasons and all that in this litigious society.

But what they mean is that they know that all of ingredients used in making that particular food item are considered to be gluten free. Those are the foods they feel comfortable designated at gluten friendly.

However, that doesn’t mean anything regarding possible cross contamination in the outdoor kitchens. That part is up to you to talk with the cast members at each booth to explain your needs so they can take precautions.

As always, you know your body and needs best, so you are the final judge of whether or not your feel comfortable with the safety of the food.

Just be up front and ask questions. I’ve found that cast members are more than happy to help figure it all out for you.

Third Party Food Studios

Some of the food studios are run by third party vendors. These will never be included in the allergy friendly guide put out by Disney. That is because Disney isn’t involved and doesn’t have the necessary information to know whether it is gluten free.

Usually, these are the kitchens run by Mexico, China, France, and Japan, though there could be one or two I’m forgetting.

That doesn’t mean you they don’t have gluten free options. It just means you need to do a little bit of legwork.

For example, Mexican food is very gluten friendly to begin with, and there’s usually at least one menu item at the Mexican booth that is naturally gluten free.

With these food studios, you should follow this procedure:

• Tell the cashier that you eat gluten free and you were wondering if menu item XYZ has gluten
  • If they have the ingredient binder right there, they’ll let you see it, if not, they can call a central number and get the information
• If satisfied, order the food item of your choice and move to the next cast member
• When they take your receipt, tell them that you eat gluten free so they can take precautions to keep your food separate
  • It’s an open kitchen, so you can even watch what’s going on if that makes you feel safer

What all of this means, is you’ll start the day with a list of Disney sanctioned gluten free menu options. If you want, just stick with that and supplement with delicious Epcot gluten free meals and snacks. I have whole gluten free Epcot guide to help you with that.

If you want to expand your options, there will likely be menu items that are perfectly safe but you have to do a little more legwork. As the menus and information comes out, I’ll fill everything I know in here for you!

One final word before the menus…

Disney uses paper straws all throughout the resort. Word on the street is that the glue used in these straws contains gluten. With this in mind, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Either go strawless, or bring reusable travel straws like these to use during the trip. No point in being so careful with your food to get sabotaged by a straw!

Festival of the Arts Gluten Free Menu 2026

Here is the part you’ve been waiting for: the Festival of the Arts Gluten Free Menu!

The priority of this list is to identify the officially identified “gluten friendly” menu options. However, I will also identify those that I know are a possibility.

Remember, with those, you might need to do some extra legwork if they are a priority for you.

Disney waited until the day of the Festival of the Arts to finally release the allergy friendly menu.

I’m not going to lie, the options are pretty sparse. Menu items that were gluten free last year were removed and not necessarily replaced with something gluten free. On one hand, good for them for keeping the menu fresh and new. On the other hand, I think gluten free guests will not have a lot of options.

Because the options are so sparse, I’m going to put in an additional section of items that *might* be able to be gluten free or modified to make them gluten free.

Swirled Showcase (Walkway Between World Showcase and the Imagination Pavilion)

A fun fact is that Dole Whip is naturally gluten free. So you are able to get options at this booth as long as you omit the cone. However, the Candy Trio Flight is identified as gluten free by Disney.

• Pink Vanilla Soft-serve in a Cone (omit cone)
• DOLE Whip in a Cone(Plant-based) (omit cone)
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Strawberry
• Candy Trio Flight: DOLE Whip® Strawberry with STARBURST® MINIS fruit chews, DOLE Whip® Lemon with SKITTLES® POP’d Original Freeze Dried Candy, and DOLE Whip® Lime with Chili-Lime Seasoning and LIFE SAVERS® gummies (gluten free)

Pastoral Palate Menu (Germany)

• Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes, and balsamic glaze (gluten free)

The Artist’s Table (The American Adventure)

• Dark Chocolate Torte: Flourless chocolate cake, whipped cream, and raspberries (gluten free)

Vibrante & Vivido: Encanto Cocina (Between Morroco and France)

• Spicy Ajiaco Soup with Guajillo and Arbol Chili-Spiced Chicken, Potato, Avocado, Corn, and Creme Fraiche (gluten free)

Gourmet Landscapes (Canada)

Last year that Beet Tartare was considered gluten free, so ask if it’s served without the bread slice if it’s gluten free this year.

• Wild Mushroom Risotto with Aged Parmesan, Truffle Shavings, and Zinfandel Reduction (Plant-Based) (gluten free)

Fictional Victuals (Near Disney Traders)

• Chapter 1: Beach Oysters – Grilled Oysters, Mustard Seed-Peppercorn Sabayon, and Creamed Spinach (gluten free)

Possible Gluten Free Options (With Leg Work)

Ok, lets take a look at how you could expand your choices. It will mean a little bit of extra work on your part. There are some items that I suspect might be gluten free but Disney doesn’t include them. These are at booths run by third party restaurants who don’t provide that information to Disney.

However, all of these booths should have either an ingredient list, or a food allergy list on hand. You can ask to see that and determine whether the item is safe for you.

Some of these might end up being on the gluten friendly menu when it comes out. If that’s the case, I’ll move them so you know for sure.

Again, at this point these are simply guesses on my part. Just pointing you in a direction of potential options.

Before you eat any of these options, make sure you ask the cast members if they are gluten free!

Fictional Victuals (Near Refreshment Station)

For this one, the Pot de Creme itself should be gluten free. Pot de Creme is naturally gluten free, so as long as they haven’t added anything to it that part should be safe. You would need them to omit the lemon madeleine and tea biscuit crumble

• Chapter 3: Tea Treat: Twinings Earl Grey Tea Treat Chocolate Pot de Crème, lemon madeleine, rose and raspberry jam, and a tea biscuit crumble (omit lemon madeleine and tea biscuit crumble)

Sunshine Seasons

This is another one where if you remove part of it, the rest should be gluten free. In this case you’re omitting the cone that sits on top of the cup.

• The Architecture of Drip: Blueberry-flavored gelato topped with scoops of banana and berry whipped cream, a waffle cone, and sprinkles (omit waffle cone)

Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea Locations

This one really looks like it should be gluten free.

• Pop Art Latte: Espresso with choice of milk and vanilla syrup topped with lavender whipped cream and SKITTLES POP’d Original Freeze Dried Candy (Non-alcoholic beverage) (Spirited version available with Baileys Original Irish Cream Liqueur)

Figment’s Inspiration Station at The Odyssey

This one is definitely a guess based on the fact that popcorn all around Disney is gluten free. So unless whatever they use to make this “rainbow popcorn” has gluten in it, it should be a safe bet.

• Figment Artist Bucket with Rainbow Popcorn (Available while supplies last via mobile order only, limit two per person, per transaction)

El Artista Hambriento

As I’m sure you know, Mexican food has a lot of gluten free options just in general. This time, there are a couple of things that look like options, though one you’ll have to omit some crispy onions!

This booth is run by a third party vendor so Disney never releases any allergy information for them. You will need to ask at the food studio to confirm.

• Tostada de Cangrejo: Crispy corn tortilla topped with guacamole, lump crab, mango, crispy onions, and hot sauce (omit crispy onions)
• Passion Fruit Paleta: Tropical passion fruit ice pop filled with sweetened condensed milk and topped with chili-lime seasoning

L’Arte di Mangiare

Here’s another food studio that is not run by Disney, so that means you’ll have to ask the cast members for the allergy information.

I’m curious about these two items because they seem like they SHOULD be gluten free. Polenta is naturally gluten free, so unless they added flour as a binding agent (which is possible) it might be safe. And traditionally Raspberry Spuma would be gluten free.

I think both of these options are woth an ask.

• Polenta Pasticciata: Polenta, bolognese, Parmesan, mozzarella, and tomato sauce
• Raspberry Spuma: Vanilla sauce, mint whipped cream, and puffed rice

The Artist’s Table

Ok, I think we have some promising options here. I did officially move one of the menu items up to the official gluten free list (the flourless chocolate cake).

The Caesar Salad should be good once you omit the herbed breadcrumbs. I’m not sure about the gluten friendliness of the potatoes au gratin that go with the striploin, so they might have to be omitted. However, once you omit them, the rest should be good.

And finally, a flourless chocolate cake! I think that one’s a safe bet.

• Steakhouse Lobster Caesar Salad with romaine and red oak lettuces, warmwater lobster, radish, herbed breadcrumbs, and house-made Caesar dressing (Omit breadcrumbs)
• Peppercorn-crusted Striploin with grilled asparagus, potatoes au gratin, and au poivre butter (Potentially omit potatoes au gratin)

Goshiki

Ok, I’m basing this one on my knowledge that the Sushi Tree at Festival of the Holidays was gluten free. I know this because I asked at the booth and saw the ingredient list.

It had a very similar vibe to this Sushi Doughnut, so I have high hopes. I haven’t seen a picture of this yet to make sure it doesn’t have a crust or anything, but it’s sushi so I hope not.

• Sushi Doughnut: Doughnut-shaped sushi with salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber, and sesame seeds over a decorated plate of wasabi aïoli, sriracha aïoli, and eel sauce

Final Thoughts on Festival of the Arts Gluten Free

Personally, I love the Festival of the Arts. Yes, it’s on the short side and isn’t as famous, but the art is vibrant and colorful, making for an awesome atmosphere around Epcot.

However, the small number of gluten free options this year is a real bummer. I’m hoping that a lot of the ones on my “maybe” list actually pan out. If that’s the case, there are definitely more options than meets the eye.

As with all of the festivals, it’s nice to be able to participate and have a selection of gluten free foods. Yes, the selection is limited, but it’s there. And really, there are typically more options than can be eaten in a day, so I can’t complain.

As I mentioned above, make sure to understand all of your gluten free dining options at Epcot so you have back up plans as well. The good news is: you won’t go hungry!

Your Thoughts

Do you have a particular menu item that you are excited about? Or an old favorite that you hope they bring back? Let me know in the comments below!

Don’t forget to follow The Disney Journey on Pinterest to stay up to date with all the latest news and updates.

Sharing is caring!