The 2021 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays has been going on for a few weeks now.

Festival of the Holidays

We’ve enjoyed ALL kinds of food at the booths, checked out the return of Candlelight Processional, stopped to see the other entertainment, and (of course) taken a look at the merchandise. We’ve also participated in Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition Scavenger Hunt, where you can get a PRIZE if you complete the activity. But the prizes for this scavenger hunt have been…interesting.

Let’s start with a brief explanation of what the Olaf Holiday Tradition Expedition Scavenger Hunt is. If you’re looking to do an activity as you stroll around EPCOT AND win a prize, then Olaf’s Scavenger Hunt is what you’re looking for! To participate, you will want to stop by the Creations Shop, Port of Entry, or World Traveler to pay for your map. It costs $9.99 (plus tax).

Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition Map

Once you get your map, you’ll walk around EPCOT and find Olaf hidden throughout the pavilions in World Showcase. Each Olaf figure will be featured next to a particular item. You’ll find the corresponding sticker and place it on the spot on the map where it belongs.

We see Olaf!

Once your map is complete, you can return it to Disney Traders, Creations Shop, or World Traveler to get your prize! We’ve seen versions of this scavenger hunt offered at various different EPCOT festivals. During the Food & Wine Festival, it was the Remy Scavenger Hunt (Remy’s Ratatouille Hide & Squeak).

Typically, the prizes offered for these scavenger hunts are really fun and well themed to the scavenger hunt itself or festival overall. For the Food & Wine Festival, there were some bowls/cups available as prizes with really fun designs on them!

Redemption Prize!

But the prizes for the Olaf Scavenger Hunt this year have been…interesting.

Many will recognize the famous phrase from Forrest Gump, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Well, it seems the prizes for the Olaf Scavenger Hunt are like a box of chocolates too…you can never really know what you’re going to get!

Olaf’s Holiday Tradition Expedition sign

We’ve seen a variety of different items offered over the past few weeks. On its opening day, the options were a Tinker Bell lanyard pouch…

Scavenger Hunt Prize Tinker Bell Lanyard Pouch

…2021 lanyard pouch…

Scavenger Hunt Prize Lanyard Pouch

…or nerds rock lanyard. Not exactly very…Frozen-y or holiday-themed.

Scavenger Hunt Prize Lanyard

“Oh well,” we thought. It’s the Festival’s opening day. Maybe their “real” prizes just haven’t come in yet. So we kept checking back for updates.

One weekend, the prizes were a Disney rainbow patch…

Patch Prize

…the 2021 lanyard pouch…

Lanyard Pouch

…or your choice of 2 different pins (one themed to Moana or one with Wall-E and Eve). Hmmmm…interesting.

Pins

More recently the prize options included the mini Mickey Kitchen Sink (yes, the one we’ve seen served with ice cream at select spots around the park) and the 2021 lanyard pouch.

Well, That’s…Unique

When we stopped by again recently, the prizes appeared to be either the mini Mickey Kitchen Sink bowl or the Mickey Ear Hat Bowl!

Things Just Keep Getting Weirder

So far, none of the prizes we’ve seen have been really themed to the holidays or Frozen. So what on earth is going on here?! Well, Disney hasn’t really shared any information on the situation, but we expect there could be a number of things happening.

We’ve seen supply shortages impact various things in Disney World. We’ve seen different things, from ketchup to traditional merchandise, being affected. In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, for example, we recently found that Beverly Sunset Boutique had been CLOSED due to supply issues.

Beverly Sunset Boutique

The Cast Member we spoke to said that they are low in stock on items and simply don’t have enough merchandise to put in the store. They also indicated that they were hopeful the store would reopen in a couple of months.

Also in Hollywood Studios, supply issues have impacted the build-your-own-lightsaber experience at Tatooine Traders. It has currently been closed and transformed into a pin trading area.

Closed

We’ve also shared general news about supply issues impacting food items like chicken tenders.

Many news sources have reported about supply issues that have impacted a variety of retailers. As the New York Times reports, the global supply chain is being impacted and we’re seeing things like ships stuck at sea and trucks without drivers.

Disney Merchandise

It is possible that EPCOT’s scavenger hunt has also been impacted by this and its prizes may be stuck somewhere, unable to reach their ultimate destination. That’s just a possibility. Disney has not confirmed what the situation is, but it is interesting to visit EPCOT each day and see what new prizes are being offered that day.

So if you plan on doing the Olaf Scavenger Hunt this holiday season, be prepared for some different prizes. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you might get!

Click here to see the single BEST snack at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays according to you!

Have you done the Olaf scavenger hunt? What prize did you get? Tell us in the comments!

The post Why EPCOT is Like a Box of Chocolates Right Now first appeared on the disney food blog.