Sunshine Seasons

9/15/15 Update: Menu updated and items added.

Location: Sunshine Seasons is located on the bottom floor of the Land Pavilion in between the entrances to Soarin’ and Living with the Land.

Food Type: A variety of sandwiches, meat, salads, Asian entrees, and baked goods.

Dining Plan: One quick service credit and some items count as snack credits.

Menu:

Breakfast:

(These breakfast prices are older…visit https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/epcot/sunshine-seasons/menus/ for up-to-date pricing.)

Lunch and Dinner:

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More choices.

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If nothing sounds good or you’re on the go, Sunshine Seasons has an array of often-overlooked cold items like the very good Antipasto Salad that’s reminiscent of what used to be served at Pinocchio Village Haus, in addition to Tabbouleh Pin Wheels, Asian Chicken Salads, Chicken Wraps, Tuna Salad Croissants, and more.

Unique Items: Most everything.

Advantages:

• Some of the freshest, healthiest, best tasting food at the theme parks.
• Huge selection with plenty of entree and dessert choices.
• Fountain beverage refills are free.
• Tons of air-conditioned, indoor seating.
• A convenient place to eat while you wait for your Soarin’ or Living with the Land FP+.
• Lines are usually short to order and pay.

Disadvantages:

• Each of the menus above is from a separate station.  So if you want food from more than one station, you’ll need to split up or wait in multiple lines.  It can also be confusing/time consuming to take in all the options and discuss what you want to do.
• Loud when it’s busy.

Value: High. Some of Disney’s best quick service food for the same amount of money you’d spend elsewhere.

Reputation: Highest. Sunshine Seasons is one of the most popular quick services with anyone that knows what they’re talking about.

Food Choices:

Breakfast Panini:

When fresh, the Breakfast Panini – with Eggs, Bacon, Roast Pork, and Cheese, served with breakfast potatoes – $6.99 is very good.  It’s prepared in sort of a pie and it sits there until someone orders each slice.  I’ve had very good and very bad paninis here.  You may want to stand back for a minute and wait for a fresh one to be pulled out of the oven before ordering.

The breakfast potatoes are a decent accompaniment.  They’re prepared as you might expect with green peppers to spice things up.  They’re also better when they’re fresh.

Spicy Fish Tacos topped with Cabbage Slaw and Poblano Pepper Ailoi and Potato Salad

The tacos ended up being a fabulous choice.

The advertised poblano pepper aioli has quite the kick and the lettuce and cabbage had a nice crunch.

With a thick slice of fish in each, the tacos ended up being a filling meal. Those with smaller appetites may be able to share, perhaps with the addition of a soup or other side. Very good and highly recommended. Hopefully they will add a scoop of rice instead of the bland potato salad, which doesn’t really fit a taco plate.

Turkey and Monterey Jack on Ciabatta with Chipotle Mayonnaise served with a side:

This is excellent in just about every way. Cheese piled three slices high. Chipotle mayo on both sides. It’s huge. A healthy helping of turkey. It would be a tough choice between this, a sandwich from Starring Rolls, and a sandwich from Earl of Sandwich for best Disney sandwich. The potato salad accompaniment is great too – though there isn’t much more than a couple of bites here.

Mongolian Beef:

It’s a large portion that feels hefty when held.  This dish has actually changed a lot over the years.  There was a time when it came with thicker noodles on top of rice on the side with the broccoli separate from the beef.  There was a time when it was “Ginger Mongolian Beef.”  There was a time when you could order two smaller portions of two varieties instead of one larger portion.  The current iteration is the best I’ve tasted, but it’s still overly bland.  There should be at least a bit of a kick in a dish called Mongolian Beef, but I feel like Disney is wary of returns for a dish that’s too spicy.  So it’s dumbed down to the point where it’s more sweet than spicy.  That said, the dish was prepared well.  You get a lot of beef and the vegetables were still hot and crispy, even after sitting out for what I would guess was a while.  The noodles weren’t as good.  I couldn’t tell you exactly what flavor was overpowering it.  It seemed like a mixture of salt and lemon.  I would have preferred the vegetable fried rice (I think) instead, but they were out.  Overall, this was better than it has been in the past, but I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re really in the mood for Asian.  If you’re looking for Asian in Epcot, I did enjoy this more than Lotus Blossom Cafe in the China Pavilion.  But if you’re looking for one Asian meal at Walt Disney World, I would stick with Yak & Yeti over at Animal Kingdom.  Both the quick service arm and restaurant are better than the options at Epcot.

Asian Shrimp Stir-Fry

It  arrives with several small shrimp in addition to carrots, water chestnuts, pea pods, red pepper, and cauliflower.

You have your choice of side – jasmine rice, fried rice, or the lo mein noodles. The entree had kind of a bland, lingering, generic spiciness to it. Luckily mine was fresh, but it was late in the evening and they had at least 15 entrees worth sitting out waiting for someone to order. My estimation is that the shrimp aren’t getting any less gummy under the heat lamp. Anyway, I didn’t think this was a standout dish, but it was filling and potentially a little fresher tasting than the usual fried food or burgers.

Vegan Korma:

I think this is supposed to arrive with a much creamier curry paste flavored with nuts, coconut, and other spices than what’s served here. Instead, we received similar vegetables as the stir fry, only with peas replacing the pea pods and red peppers in a thin, virtually flavorless sauce. It tasted largely of jasmine rice. With that said, you could do a lot worse on the vegan front, which tends to be dominated by simple steamed vegetables. There are also just a couple small bites of the chik’n, which doesn’t taste any different than the rest of the dish.

 

Togarashi Seared Tuna Noodle Salad:

I don’t know why I didn’t remove the plasticware pre-picture either.  No one ever said I was good at this.  I am not a connoisseur of seared tuna.  In fact, this is my first known experience.  It was refreshingly chilled.  The noodles were just what I was hoping they’d be with a slight peanut taste.  The tuna appeared to be cooked perfectly with a well-spiced crust around it.  Despite the salad name, there isn’t a whole lot of salad-stuff involved.  We have a nice little onion/carrot/cucumber topping, but it’s really more of a noodle bowl without the bowl than it is a salad.  Overall, this was a nice change of pace and an excellent choice if you’re in the market.  It’s a great example of why Sunshine Seasons is heralded as the top theme park quick service on property.  Much fresher, seemingly healthier food than you’ll find anywhere else at Epcot.

Caesar Salad with Oak Grilled Chicken:

Even the Caesar Salad is better than your typical Disney salad.  Here, you get a healthy portion of excellently grilled chicken and parmesan shavings – much better than average.

Power Salad:

On a previous visit, Lisa tried the $11.99 Power Salad with Oak-fired Chicken, Quinoa, Almonds, and Honey Vinaigrette. While a couple dollars more expensive than your typical quick service salad, it’s more intelligently put together and packed with protein from the quinoa, in addition to the freshly sliced chicken from the rotisserie. The salty goat cheese pairs nicely with the subtly sweet, light dressing over the reliably fresh lettuce. The shaved almonds provide some crunch. Altogether, it’s a strong contender for best quick service salad.

Slow Roasted Pork Chop with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes and Barbecue Sauce:

It’s awkward to eat a large piece of meat, covered in sauce, with a large bone in it, with a plastic knife and fork.  I feel like I’ve heard good things about this one.  And to be 100% honest with you, immediately after I ordered it, some guy whispered in my ear, “Good choice.”  So I felt like it was a good choice.  But it really wasn’t awesome.  The Pork Chops were just sitting in a bowl waiting to be served when I ordered it.  It wasn’t bad.  Not particularly moist.  It would probably be better if it was a little fresher.  We were eating an early dinner around 5pm, so the food wasn’t exactly flying off the shelf.  But $12 is a steep price for quick service.  You can get table service lunch at a few places with prices in that range.  For a quick service credit on the Disney Dining Plan you’d be doing well, but I wouldn’t order it out of pocket again.

Oak Grilled Fish:

This was really good other than the fact that the potatoes weren’t seasoned or cooked well.  Considering few people are eating at this hour, they’re probably a bit on the old side.  The salmon was great.

Oak-grilled Rotisserie Chicken with Black Beans and Yellow Rice:

The chicken is tender, juicy, and flavorful and there’s a lot of it, which helps cement Sunshine Seasons as your best quick service option in Future World, if not the rest of Epcot and the rest of Walt Disney World. Just about everything here is going to be fresher and more flavorful than like dishes anywhere else. You do pay a couple more dollars, on average, but I think it’s worth it.

Kids Pizza Panini

I’ve been interested in trying the Pizza Panini for some time now, since there isn’t an adult equivalent.

The panini is served with a side of marinara and your choice of side – I stuck with the green beans. The panini is a little sliver of bread and cheese, not unlike a cheese stick with another breadstick pressed on top to sort of make a cheese sandwich. I was expecting pepperoni or something inside, but it’s just cheese. This might satisfy kids with basic tastes, but it’s probably not the best choice for adults looking for a smaller version of a satisfying meal. There isn’t much to the panini.

Jello is one of the side options – like most, it’s going to be a little slimy with an artificial cherry flavor. Not “bad” by any stretch of the imagination, but again, nothing that’s probably going to bring a smile to most parents’ faces. Unless of course Junior eats it with relatively few complaints.

Whoopie Pie:

It may or may not be awkward ordering a whoopie pie. Like most Disney mass produced desserts, it’s serviceable and sweet, if not a bit bland tasting.

Strawberry Shortcake

Seating:

Sunshine Seasons has a ton of comfortable indoor seating.