Hey folks and welcome back, today we are going to be covering one of my favorite events held at the Walt Disney World Resort this time of year, the EPCOT International Festival of the Art. This festival which runs mid-January to late February is advertised as “A Celebration of Art, Entertainment and Food” playing host to a variety of different activities.
History of Festival of the Arts
First introduced in 2017, and the newest of all the festivals at EPCOT, this event was developed rather quickly to fill a gap at this park during an off-season period. The festival was originally only held on weekends, in the beginning, however, it has now grown to a 7-day week operation with the 2020 festival running from January 17th to February 24th.
Festival of the Arts is dedicated to immersing guests in the culinary arts, performing arts, visual arts, and introducing them to featured artists. Below I have broken down these components into activities that I believe are essential parts of the festival and need more explaining.
Art
With so much to see and do at the Festival of the Arts, you may forget at the very heart of it is the ART portion! Throughout EPCOT there is so much to see, do and experience with art during this time.
Visual Arts Highlights
- Animation Academy*
- Artful Photo Ops*
- Festival Markets*
- Festival merchandise
- Figmentโs Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt
- Expression Section: A Paint-by-Number Mural*
- Interactive Experiences
- Professional Workshops with visiting artists
Animation Academy
Experience the magic of Disney animation at this fun and informative drawing class taught by actual Disney artists. Hosted at the American Gardens Theater at both 12:30 & 1:30, this experience is a mini-workshop that is led by an animation artist that teaches you how to draw a Disney character. In the class I went to we learned how to draw Winnie the Pooh. โ โ โ โ โ โ โ
Artful Photo Ops
โStep intoโ life-sized versions of some of the most-admired artwork from around the world. Enjoy picture-perfect spots along World Showcase inspired by these amazing works of art:
- Homage to Frida Kahlo
- Mona Lisa โ Leonardo da Vinci
- The Scream โ Edvard Munch
- Washington Crossing the Delaware โ Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
- Luncheon of the Boating Party โ Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Peter Pan Storybook
Festival Markets
During this festival, you can discover nearly 90 renowned artists whose art is on display at festival markets throughout Epcot. At these markets guests can view art, purchase some pieces, and even meet some of the artists behind them.
Markets at these years festival include:
- Disney Artist Festival Market
- WonderGround Gallery*
- House of Blues
- James Coleman Studios
- Disney Fine Art
- Thomas Kinkade Studios
- and many more
Expression Section: A Paint-by-Number Mural
Another component of this festival that is very unique is the giant paint by numbers mural on display in Future World. In this interactive activity, guests are encouraged to help complete the masterpiece and are given a paint dish with a number, a brush, and instructions to paint 4 squares with the corresponding number on the mural.
Another cool thing about this activity is that there are six murals throughout the timeline of the festival. Once the mural is completed, they bring out a new one with a fun new design for guests to start the whole process over again. Below I have included pictures of the murals that I helped contribute to.
While this activity doesnโt look to be a whole lot, it is so much fun and so cool to know that your small contribution is part of a much bigger picture (no pun intended). Just be aware for future reference that this paint DOES NOT wash out of clothes so be careful with it especially if you are with or near little ones.
Broadway
Another immense highlight of the Festival is the Disney on Broadway Concert Series. Every evening during the festival, Broadway stars grace the American Gardens Theater to perform some of Disney’s greatest Broadway renditions. Performances are at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. daily throughout the festival. Below are the artists for the 2020 Disney on Broadway series.
- Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (โThe Lion Kingโ)
- Heidi Blickenstaff (โThe Little Mermaidโ) and Gavin Lee (โMary Poppinsโ)
- Kara Lindsay (โNewsiesโ) and Kevin Massey (โTarzanโ)
- Liana Hunt (โNewsiesโ) and Adam Jacobs (โAladdinโ)
- Ashley Brown (โMary Poppinsโ) and Josh Strickland (โTarzanโ)
- Syndee Winters (โThe Lion Kingโ) and Michael James Scott (โAladdinโ)
Hidden Characters
While many of EPCOT’s festivals have most of the same underlying components, however, this one, in particular, has something a little bit extra for guests and is one of my favorite details about this festival in particular.
Every year for the Festival of the Arts, Disney puts up hidden Disney characters in each pavilion around World Showcase that corresponds with that country. For example, you can look for Abu in the Morocco Pavilion, some Hidden Pascals in Germany, and Koda from Brother Bear in Canada and much more! This fun touch to the festival has provided much entertainment on my behalf and has taken me multiple visits to EPCOT to find all of them!
Just be aware that some of them are hard to find, some are characters you wouldn’t think would be in that pavilion (America/Japan in specific), there isn’t an official guide to find them, and sometimes there are multiple characters within a country. Down below are the characters that were represented at this year’s festival.
- Dante (2) in Mexico*
- Snowgies & Grand Pabbie in Norway*
- Mushu and Cri-Kee & Little Brother in China
- Pascal (3) in Germany
- Jimminy Cricket in Italy
- Duffy & Gelatoni in Japan*
- Amos from “Ben and Me” in America
- Abu in Morocco
- Marie, Toulouse and Berlioz, Lumiere, & Remy and Emile in France
- Peter Pan’s Shadow & Robin Hood characters in the UK*
- Koda in Canada*
* — is new to the 2020 festival
Food
“Eat, drink and be dazzledโฆ artistic brilliance abounds with our original menu of culinary masterpieces!” While food isn’t the main component of this festival, it still plays a starring role throughout EPCOT. This festival prides itself on the artistic side of food, pushing the envelope with how we usually think of certain dishes.
Some fan favorites of this festival include
- The Sushi Donut
- Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate-Chip Cookie
- Deconstructed BLT
- Almond Frangipane Cake
- Frose
In conclusion, the Epcot International Festival of the Arts is a very under-represented festival that has so much to offer guests. While it is fairly new, it does offer some activities that other festivals do not. On top of more unique offerings, it isn’t as crowded as some of the other festivals giving it a more relaxed feel to it. Sadly this festival is over for the season, however, that means it is time for one of my favorite festivals of them all Flower & Garden. What is your favorite EPCOT festival? Let me know what it is and why down below!
Until then, Keep Moving Forward
-Kacey
Marketing the Magic 