EPCOT’s International Festival of the Arts began January 12th and goes through February 19th this year. This festival is so colorful and beautiful and second only to Flower and Garden Festival in my book! Festival of the Arts is full of gorgeous artwork, fun activities, fabulous food and merchandise. This is definitely a day time Festival. Even though you can still see the art at night and eat all the food, a lot of the activities are not going on or as accessible as they are during the day. If Figment is your jam you will love this festival and you better make sure you make it into the Odyssey Pavilion to get the new popcorn bucket and see Figment messing around on the walls. I have already visited this festival twice and will be heading back again this week so I thought I would share all the fun with you!
Art Booths
You will find all kinds of art booths scattered throughout World Showcase. Famous artists like Thomas Kinkade, Rob Kaz, Dave Perillo, Jeff Granito, my personal favorite Will Gay and more! Most of the artists put a fun and unique twist on Disney characters and movies. You will find everything from Orange Bird to Mickey Mouse to Star Wars and Marvel in these booths. Each week there are different guest artists signing artwork at their booths or doing an exhibition piece in the park. It is so cool to purchase a piece of art and then have the artist sign it for you! You can find prices ranging from an $8 postcard to big pieces that cost thousands, something for everyone.
Guest Artists
There are different guest artists in the park each week that you can see at different locations. They may be signing their work at their booth, working on a piece of art on the stage at Port of Entry or even teaching a drawing class at the Garden Theater by the America pavilion. They are usually pretty friendly and will answer your questions about their process and artwork. We had an amazing interaction with Will Gay last year where he talked to the boys about how he comes up with his ideas and the process of turning a doodle into the art we see at the festival!
Festival Activities
All the EPCOT festivals have fun activities but I feel like Festival of the Arts has the most and the most fun, especially if you have kids. Plus there are so many fun pictures of their favorite characters all around!
Chalk Art
There is a chalk walk as you are coming into Port of Entry on either side of the walkway where you will find incredible works of art! They are changing all the time too and there are even large ones you can step into that are amazing. Some of these pieces are of Disney characters, some are of famous pieces of art and some are original pieces. There is even an area for kids to make their own works of art with chalk. This is the cutest area and so cool that you can add your own art to the festival, you can even use stencils!
Photo Frames
This might be one of my favorite things ever! All around World Showcase there big 3D photo frames that you can step into and be a part of a famous work of art or a part of your favorite Disney movie scene. This year added the dancing penguins from Mary Poppins, a double Wish frame and the forest dancing scene from Sleeping Beauty! These are fun for the whole family and make for great pictures.
Paint By Numbers
This is probably one of my favorite things at the Festival of the Arts! They have a giant mural wall set up with a paint by numbers painting that the guests get to create. You go to a booth and they hand you a sponge brush and a cup of paint that has your number. From there you go over and paint 4 squares of your designated number. When you exit they hand you a bookmark with what the mural will look like when it is complete! This is such a cool keepsake and there are 4 different murals throughout the festival, how cool would it be to do the last square on one?!
Scavenger Hunt
Every festival has a scavenger hunt but this one is really unique in my opinion. It is called Figment’s Brush with the Masters. You go around World Showcase hunting for famous works of art like the Mona Lisa but, plot twist, Figment is the main character in all of them! I love this little quirky activity, the paintings are super cute. Plus this is a great way to explore through the pavilions.
Broadway Concert Series
On the Garden Stage you can see some really incredible artists who have all been performers in Disney Broadway shows! You can enjoy performances by artists from The Lion King, Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Tarzan, Mary Poppins and more! You can book a dining package reservation at a number of different restaurants in EPCOT and have a guaranteed seat at one of the shows without having to wait in the long lines. If there is a certain performer you are really looking forward to you can book a reservation to eat lunch or dinner in the park and have a ticket to the show!
Hidden Works of Art
In each pavilion, if you keep your eyes peeled, you will find little hidden characters painted on the walls. Abu in Morocco, Robin Hood and Little John in the UK and more. These are so fun to hunt for and keep an eye out for, you find them in the best places!
Animation Academy
During the day you can head over to the Garden Theater and a professional artist will be on the stage teaching you how to draw a Disney character! You are provided with a drawing pad and utensil and they project what the artist is doing step by step on the stage screen. This is something you can usually do at Rafiki’s Planet Watch in Animal Kingdom but it definitely adds to the experience for it to be offered at Festival of the Arts!
Artsy Characters
EPCOT is always a great place to meet lots of characters but they are extra special during Festival of the Arts. When you are meeting characters in World Showcase during this festival they all have a little piece of their own artwork nearby that you can ask them about. Alice painted the White Rabbit, Sleeping Beauty has a pink/blue painting the fairies created and Belle has a self painting easel that her father made! I feel like this is such a cool addition to the character interactions that ties them all into the festival.
The Food!
This is one of my favorite festivals for food, not just because it’s tasty but because it’s pretty too! Hahaha! Honestly some of this food is a work of art and ALMOST too pretty to eat, almost. You can do the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine where you try 5 of the 7 food items in the festival passport to collect stamps and then get the completer prize. The 7 food options are:
- Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese from POP Eats
- Tomato Soup & Pimento Cheese, Bacon and Fried Green Tomato Grilled Cheese from POP Eats
- Chorizo and Potato Empanada with Tumeric Aioli and Annatto Aioli from Vibrante & Vivido
- Verjus-Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese, Petite Lettuce, Blackberry Gastrique and Spiced Pecans from Gourmet Landscapes
- Deconstructed Key Lime Pie from Deconstructed Dish
- Neapolitan Dessert Trio from Deco Delights
- Blueberry Filled Pastry Tart with Purple Icing
Obviously there are a TON of other food options at the 18 different food booths in World Showcase. There are even special offerings at popcorn stands, Connections Cafe and Sunshine Seasons in the Land.
The Merchandise
It wouldn’t be Disney without great merchandise right?! Festival of the Arts has really colorful merchandise and if you are a Figment fan you will absolutely love it all. There is a Spirit Jersey, Corkcicle (it’s so cute), pins, t-shirts and more! There were super cute Lug bags too but I think they are sold out now sadly. If they restock online they are so cute and you will love them…spoiler, there will be an Orange Bird one at Flower and Garden Festival that I got to check out at D23! And we can’t talk about festival merchandise without talking about the new popcorn bucket! It is really cool! This one is a replica of the Imagination Pavilion that lights up and has Figment inside with some rainbow popcorn, I might have to have it.
Conclusion
Since this reads like a love letter to the Festival of the Arts, I’m sure you can tell I am a big fan! I just love all the color and art everywhere. There are tons of Orange Bird pieces too so that helps and it kind of feels like a intro to my favorite festival…Flower and Garden! But honestly this really is a really fun festival with a lot of great activities and energy. It is super short but really worth it if you can make it to Disney World in January or February!
As always I thank you so much for reading along and sharing my Disney adventures! It’s so nice to know I can share things I am excited about with all of you each week. If you are not already subscribed you can do that here so you never miss a post! I hope you all have a magical day!