Epcot International Festival of the Arts

All about Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts:

Epcot’s Festival of the Arts is one of the newer festivals, only having just started in 2017. I’ve been able to visit several times, and it’s one of my absolute favorites. It’s a shorter festival, running only January 16th-February 23 this year. My timing is not ideal, considering I leave from a trip on January 13th, and arrive back again in Orlando on February 25th. But I’m excited to share about last year’s festival (as well as previous years) with you here!

Contents hide

Food & Drink

Art Displays

Once Upon a Stage: 30 Years of Disney on Broadway

Entertainment

Photo Opportunities

Activities

Food & Drink

What’s an Epcot festival without food booths? There are lots of great options for the International Festival of the Arts, and I’ve made it a point to try as much as I can. One of the things about the food at Festival of the Arts is that they are trying to stick to the theme, and the food is a lot more artistic. The presentation is pretty impressive on many of the items, and some of them feel like higher quality food items than what you might find at Food and Wine, believe it or not.

I have a separate blog post all about the food and drinks at Festival of the Arts which highlights what I’ve tried, but a few I’ll mention here: Pan-Seared Scallop with Chorizo, Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and a Parmesan Crisp, #RainbowSherbertGlitterDreamAle, the sushi donut, Lobster Bacon Macaroni & Cheese served in a Warm Bread Cone, and the Frosé.

This year’s menus have not been released yet, so let’s hope at least some of them return!

The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine

All Epcot festivals now seem to have a food “challenge,” which you complete to win a small prize. Flower and Garden has the Garden Graze (plant-based), Food and Wine has Emile’s Fromage Montage, which features cheese dishes, and the Festival of the Holidays has the Cookie Stroll.

For the Festival of the Arts, it’s all about Colorful Cuisine. They provide a list of typically 7-10 featured items that are part of the “walk,” and every time you order one of those items you can get a stamp in your passport. If you get five stamps, you can receive a prize!

You don’t have to do it all in one day, so if you’re going to be in Epcot multiple days during the Festival you can collect stamps as you go.

There are paintings and prints available for purchase – everything from original works to prints to postcard sized versions for $5. I couldn’t resist buying myself a postcard of an orange bird painting, but we also really enjoyed just walking around and looking at all of it. Most of the artwork is Disney inspired, so it’s like being in a giant Disney art museum! So many really cool things.

The artist is often present at the booth, and sometimes they are even working on a project while you are there. I thought it was really neat to watch them work and see the techniques that they used. It’s incredible to watch these paintings come to life. I was pretty mesmerized watching one artist working on a 3D-textured painting of a peacock.

Another great area to see some art – sidewalk chalk! And this isn’t just the kind that I scribbled on the ground myself as a child. This is incredible artwork. The craziest part, to me, is that it will just wash away once it rains! And then they go out there and do more.

This is another area where you can see the artists hard at work. The below chalk art of Ursula was truly mind blowing. I saw the artist when he was beginning it, and then a few hours later when he had started coloring and shading. It’s incredible how it looks three-dimensional!

Especially if you’re a theater fan, this was an awesome display and such a great addition to the festival.

Held in CommuniCore Hall, it was basically like a little museum exhibit of Disney on Broadway. They had costumes, props, and set replicas from Broadway shows, with informational plaques so you could learn more about them.

The main shows featured in the display were The Lion King and Aladdin, but most other musicals were represented in some way, including Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, and Newsies.

The first year I attended we saw Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White, who were both in The Lion King on Broadway (Nala and Mufasa, respectively). They did songs from Hercules, the Lion King of course, and Aida – which is quite possibly my favorite musical ever, and yes, it is a Disney musical. That soundtrack often brings me to tears and hearing it live that was definitely the case.

The following year I saw 2 different shows. The first was Josh Strickland (the original Tarzan on Broadway) and Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins). The second night the two of them were joined by Kissy Simmons and Michael James Scott (the Genie from Aladdin) for a four person show.

Most recently, I also got to see 2 different shows, with Kissy Simmons and Michael James Scott together first. The second night they were joined by Rodney Ingram (Aladdin) and Kara Lindsay (Katherine in Newsies). The show with all four of them was a special 30th “Disney on Broadway” anniversary, and they did a song (or part of a song) from every show Disney has had on Broadway.

It’s been incredible every time, and I just wish the concerts were longer. They do about 20 minutes. I know they do it three times a night, so they want to keep it short, but I would still love more!

• The Mona Lisa
• The Scream
• Venus De Milo 
• Luncheon of the Boating Party 
• Washington Crossing the Delaware
• An Homage to Frida Kahlo
• Vincent van Gogh Cafe Terrace and Night and Sunflowers

There have been some Disney inspired backdrops as well, including:

• Teatime with Mary Poppins’ penguins
• Forest scene from Sleeping Beauty
• Wish storybook
• Peter Pan storybook
• Moana storybook

Expression Section: A Paint-by-Number mural

Did you know that Disney has a paint by numbers mural during Festival of the Arts? You can get a small cup of paint and a brush to add to a large community mural! This is a fun little activity that is completely free.

I enjoyed stopping by when the mural was mostly white because you weren’t sure what it would be when it was done. Then walk by again later and see what you helped create!

Animation Academy

At designated times during the day, the America Gardens Theatre hosts a drawing lesson. An animation artist will guide you through step-by-step in the drawing of a Disney character. I’ve never done it during Epcot International Festival of the Arts, but it sounds just like what you can do at Animal Kingdom (and previously at Hollywood Studios!).

Chalk art drawing

A section of sidewalk is dedicated to just playing around with chalk art. So if you need a little break from the craziness of the theme park, kids of all ages are invited to draw!

Figment scavenger hunt

Search around World Showcase for famous works of art – featuring Figment! You can purchase a map to complete the scavenger hunt and get a small prize. Or you can just keep your eyes peeled for works of art with a small purple dragon hiding in them!

I really enjoyed my time at Epcot International Festival of the Arts, and I just wish I could have spent more time there! I would love to go back someday and really enjoy more of what the festival has to offer.

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Have you been to the Epcot International Festival of the Arts? What do you think of it?