The former Odyssey restaurant at Epcot remains a firm fixture in theme park lore, despite the fact that the food it served was never particularly memorable and the restaurant itself was not truly notable in any way. In fact, its kind of odd that people even still think about the place at all.
There are a few reasons why they do, of course: Its striking architecture, its mysterious name, and the fact that it still stands all contribute to the fascination with this particular extinct restaurant. And yet, those reasons are also why you can’t help but think of this place as a particularly wasted opportunity for Disney – people still think about it, so why not put something there?
That got us thinking (which is always a dangerous thing): Are there ways the Odyssey building could be brought back to life and used in an interesting way in modern day Epcot? Of course.
Let’s take a look at a few ways this curious old building could be given a unique new role in Disney dining.
1. A permanent Food and Wine restaurant
The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival is one of the signature events on the Walt Disney World calendar. Foodies flock, in droves, to Disney’s second theme park looking to taste the newest creations from the World Showcase’s host of new internationally-themed outdoor kitchens. It’s one of the biggest draws of guests to the parks and has become a true staple of the Disney experience.
So, why not take a piece of that and give it a permanent home at Epcot?
The idea is pretty simple: Take some of the most popular and innovative dishes created by the Food and Wine chefs and serve them, year round, at the Odyssey restaurant. Each year, you could swap out older meals for newer ones, keeping the menu ever-changing and fresh. In essence, you’d be creating an international food plaza that could be a draw for Disney foodies all year, and give fans of Food and Wine a reason to return to the parks, even if it’s not at the same time. Beyond that, you’d be showing guests who haven’t yet enjoyed this amazing festival exactly what they’re missing out on.
And, most importantly, it would give guests more of an opportunity to eat the dishes they so clearly enjoy – something satisfying that demand would be quite welcome.
2. The taste of Disney
Similar to The Taste of Chicago, an annual food festival in the Windy City, The Taste of Disney would be a permanent fair-themed restaurant that serves dishes that can also be found at other restaurants around the Walt Disney World Resort. The idea is that guests could visit The Taste of Disney in order to try out all the various dining options they have during their stay, which can be quite the overwhelming list.
So, for example, you could walk in to find tables serving food from places such as Citricos, the California Grill, Jiko – the Cooking Place, and the Flying Fish Cafe. Each table would have a few small plates, similar to the Food and Wine Festival, to encourage guests to try a few different places at a time for their meal. And, over time, the participating restaurants could swap in and out, giving guests a reason to return again and again.
And then, if they so desired, cast members would be waiting nearby to assist guests in making a reservation at the restaurant of their choosing.
Not only would The Taste of Disney help solve the well-known problem of picking one of Disney’s excellent dining experiences, but it would also create a new destination dining experience. And, it’d be relatively simple to execute, yet it would provide a kind of native advertising for on-site restaurants in the parks.
3. Walt Disney World test kitchen
Walt Disney World seemingly is always thinking up new dishes to serve at its great many dining locations, be they crazy, elaborate new hamburgers or even recreations of old, bygone classics. So, why not create a space where Disney’s chefs can try out their newest culinary inventions for real guests, and give foodies a place to try the next big food item at Walt Disney World?
The Walt Disney World Test Kitchen would feature an ever-changing menu of the biggest, boldest new ideas from Disney’s chefs. Maybe it’s a particular kind of candied apple, or a newly-topped hot dog, or even some new concoction served on a stick – guests would have the option to enjoy these items and then fill out a small survey detailing their feelings about their dish.
Guests could try these options out with the knowledge that their feedback might ultimately determine what does and doesn’t wind up at some quick-service restaurants across the property.
Essentially, it’d provide Disney a real-time focus group made up of real parkgoers. And, in return, guests would get a delicious meal and a fun story – and the ability to feel like they’re helping in the creation of something new for Walt Disney World.
4. A pop-up restaurant
Similar to a food truck, a pop-up restaurant gives a chef a low-cost, low-risk way of trying out a new restaurant concept. Essentially, they rent out a space for a sort period of time – often as short as one night – and craft a dining experience that is as transient and ineffable as the concept of taste itself. And, since Disney has brought the food truck experience to Downtown Disney/Disney Springs, why not try to tackle pop-up restaurants too?
Of course, you’d have to do it with a Disney twist.
The idea is this: Disney would approach a group of celebrity and well-regarded chefs to each create a restaurant idea that could live inside the Odyssey building. Then, throughout the year, they’d each rotate their idea through the space, running and operating their restaurant for a short period of time, before closing and allowing the next chef to do the same. Some could be enormous names like Mario Batali or Thomas Keller, while others might be Top Chef-level innovators like Wylie Dufresne or Michael Voltaggio – the goal would be to provide numerous high-level dining experiences throughout the year, appealing to a wide-range of palates and tastes.
The variety would keep guests coming back, but the quality would make this spot one of the most unique dining destinations at Walt Disney World, if not in Florida itself.
5. The food pavilion
Of course, there’s always the possibility of being a bit more ambitious, in which case you could expand the building itself and turn it into something Epcot so desperately needs: a new pavilion.
Food has always been something people enjoyed, but in recent years, a love of food has turned into a lifestyle. The television, magazines, and the internet have all made the spread of good food accelerate, and it’s become so easy to find excellent cuisine in every city in the country. So, why not create a pavilion to celebrate that lifestyle?
Maybe it would include elements of all the ideas above – somewhere for celebrity chefs to show off, a celebration of Disney’s unique dining, etc. – but also include some other, classically Epcot ideas. It might include cooking classes and seminars, a restaurant showcasing the future of food, or a ride exploring how eating for pleasure became such a widespread human pursuit. There are countless ways to explore the concept of food, and an expanded pavilion would allow guests who identify as foodies to really have somewhere they could call home.
The point is, Epcot is a park celebrating humanity and the great things we can achieve when we work together. And, ultimately, food is one of the most intimate ways in which we connect as a species. Cooking for one another, or sharing a meal with someone else, have long been acknowledged as something humans do in all cultures as a way of showing acceptance and love. Food brings us together. It allows us to share our stories and our experiences with one another, even when language cannot — and I can’t think of anything more fitting for Epcot to celebrate with a pavilion than that.
