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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Fountain and Fountain View |
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The columns of water blasting skyward from the Fountain of Nations capture your attention—making it easy to overlook the ice cream fountain nearby. |
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It’s Fountain View Ice Cream, the ice cream fountain with—you guessed it—a view of the magnificent fountain. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Fountain View, a semicircular building |
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The building looks round, but it’s not a complete circle. It’s attached to one of the four curving core buildings of Future World—in this case, the southwest one. The permanent sign in front announces that this is Fountain View, and some guests might expect espresso and baked goods from earlier visits. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Ice Cream |
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But a menu at the bottom of the stairs shows a menu for ice cream and that’s also what a sign over the main doors promises. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Banner |
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A closer look at the “Ice Cream, Hosted by Edy’s” sign reveals that it looks temporary. It’s just a canvas banner. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Future World of the past |
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Now you’re inside. Tiles in shades of purple, blue, and red are behind the counter and below it. The round counter is crowned with matching neon at the ceiling level. Future World teaches us that the future will look like the 1990s. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Menu board (December 2012) |
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Check the menu. You have to consider whether you want dessert, a beverage, or both. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Beverages |
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Thirsty? There’s not just root beer; there’s also actual beer. But although you can order a Barq’s Root Beer Float, you can’t order a Heineken Beer Float. Let’s order an ice cream sundae, with hand-scooped vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry on top—served in a waffle bowl. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Making a hand-scooped sundae |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 Real whipped cream |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 The completed Ice Cream Sundae in a Waffle Bowl |
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Yum! It looks good! Where would you like to sit? If it’s raining or ridiculously hot and humid outside—after all, this is Yester World in Florida—you can enjoy your sundae in climate-controlled comfort. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2011 Tables with a view |
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But this is Fountain View. So, if at all possible, sit outside on the wide terrace which wraps around the semicircular glass wall. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2012 A perfect evening |
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Just one warning... You might want to check which way and how hard the wind is blowing. There are times when Fountain Mist would be a more appropriate name than Fountain View. |
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It wasn’t always called Fountain View. First it was Sunrise Terrace. When EPCOT Center opened on October 1, 1982, Sunrise Terrace sold fried chicken, seafood, and salads. The large counter-service restaurant in CommuniCore West encompassed what is now Fountain View and Character Connection. During its first decade, Sunrise Terrace replaced its fried foods with Italian fare. By 1990, the menu highlights were pizza, lasagna, pasta, and antipasto salads. |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2006 Espresso & Bakery |
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Photo by Chris Bales, 2006 Espresso & Bakery sign |
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As part of the 1994 transformation of CommuniCore West to Innoventions West, Sunrise Terrace was split into two restaurants. The semicircular section near the fountain became Fountain View Espresso & Bakery. The rest of it became Pasta Piazza Ristorante. Neither restaurant had a strong following. Despite their high-profile locations on the main axis connecting Future World to World Showcase, Pasta Piazza closed in 2001, while Fountain View Espresso & Bakery limped along with limited hours. In fall 2005, the former Pasta Piazza space became the Epcot Character Connection. It changed to the Epcot Character Spot in spring 2007. During the 2006 Epcot Food & Wine Festival, Fountain View temporarily became a wine bar. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2008 With the Epcot Character Spot next door |
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In August 2007, websites reported that Fountain View would temporarily switch from its espresso and bakery offerings to ice cream—including floats, cones, and waffle bowls. It would only be a test “to gauge guest response.” The test must have been a success. Fountain View Ice Cream—with a temporary canvas banner as its sign—operated until it closed in April 2013 to become something new. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Fountain View, 2013 Edition |
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Fountain View became the second in-park Starbucks at Walt Disney World. The interior was enlarged at the expense of most of the outside seating area. A few tables remained in back, but what had been a wide terrace became primarily a narrow walkway. Although the old Fountain View could be entered from inside the main building without using stairs, a new ramp makes accessibility more obvious and inviting. The light blue roof canopy became dark gray. Lighted letters on the building replaced the previous sign. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Interior of Fountain View Starbucks |
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The new interior bears no resemblance to the 1990s style of the ice cream shop. It’s a completely reconfigured space with decor that’s two decades newer. |
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Photo by Werner Weiss, 2013 Still near the Epcot fountain |
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Oddly, the new format for Fountain View means that espresso and baked goods have returned to the location where such offerings failed before. Only last time it wasn’t a Starbucks. |
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© 2014-2015 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks Updated December 23, 2015. |
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