Review: Taste Track 2019 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

We continue from Arbor.

Taste Track is located just outside of Test Track’s gift shop/ride exit in Future World.

The mouthful that is the Violet Blueberry Vanilla Croissant Doughnut is new for this year’s Flower and Garden Festival. A version of the Berry Tea Mint Julep also moves over here from Berry Basket. There’s also an unadvertised cookie that we’ll try.

Croissant Doughnut Tossed in Cinnamon Sugar – $6

The Standard Croissant Doughnut is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside with quite the dusting of cinnamon and sugar to give it a churro-esque flavor profile, only with a more satisfying chew and a little more butter. At a higher price than a lot of the other Festival desserts that are much more intricate, I think this one earns a pass, particularly with what’s coming next.

Taste: 7/10

Value: 4/10

Violet Blueberry Vanilla Croissant Doughnut – $6.50

We’ve seen a variety of exclusive Croissant Doughnuts served here during the last few Festivals, but I think this one is the best yet. You’ve got the cinnamon spice of the Doughnut itself mixed with a sweet/tart mix of lemon frosting in the middle, plus bright Blueberry Icing finished off with quite a bit of sweet Vanilla Icing, purple sugar crystals, and a couple of ripe Blueberries. The brittle icing also offers a nice textural contrast to the softer Croissant Doughnut down below. At just 50 cents more than the standard version, I think this differentiates itself enough to demand a purchase.

Taste: 9/10

Value: 6/10

Annual Passholder Cookie – $4

For some inexplicable reason, this small $4 cookie is available only if you’re “smart” enough to ask about it. It’s not on the menu and you don’t actually have to be a Passholder to order one. The art is printed on some sort of half-edible piece of paper and then stuck to the vanilla icing that encases the basic chocolate chip cookie inside. With the price of most other Festival desserts within a dollar or two of this thing, I don’t see any reason to purchase it unless you really want a picture of it for one reason or another. You can also just use mine.

Taste: 3/10

Value: 2/10

Berry Tea Mint Julep with Bourbon – $10.50

This was one of my favorite drinks over the last couple of years when it was served at the Berry Basket with Jim Beam Bourbon. On the plus side, our drink arrived with a considerable amount of bourbon – you can see it as liquid underneath the slush in the picture – there must be three ounces sitting down there. But it was really low quality stuff and it was all but impossible to mix it in to the thick slush that continued to sit on top. I’m not sure what pours will look like moving forward, but it’s incredibly rare that I scoff at receiving a heavy pour, but that’s what I have to do here. The cheap bourbon just become more thick and syrupy with an off-putting, cloying cherry flavor.

Banfi Rosa Regale Sparkling Red– $10

It’s still a no from me.

Overall, the Festival-exclusive Croissant Doughnut is worth seeking out if you have interest. There are plenty of goodies available in World Showcase, of course. Taste Track should open at 11am with the rest of the Outdoor Kitchens, which means you can’t pick up a pastry earlier in the morning. That’s a bummer.