We recently attended my first Epcot International Festival of the Arts and absolutely loved it. There are so many unique activities and themed food options at each of the four Epcot festivals and it’s honestly SO difficult for me to pick a favorite one. After spending a couple of days at Festival of the Arts this one is a close 2nd to the Flower + Garden Festival. Today I’m going to share some highlights as well as my festival favorites from food, activities and the new artists we found along the way. Figment was our festival host and featured around the park on figurines, topiaries, signs and the festival merchandise.
First up you need to pick up your festival passport which is a free must-have guide to navigating the festivals and then makes a great souvenir. You can find them at both park entrances and designated festival locations. The designated character meet-n-greets around World Showcase were jazzed up with beautiful easels sharing art inspired by the characters or their films. Here are the easels seen along side Aurora, Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. And Yes, that is a giant chocolate chip cookie in my photo of Snow White. The ‘paint’ was actually icing and was a fun little festival treat.
A new addition to this year’s festival were painted characters spotted in and around each World Pavilion. They focused on characters who were featured in animated films set in each country. It was so fun to wander about and find them. Here are a few including Mishu in China, Pumba + Timon alongside the African Outpost, Alladin’s bestie Abu in Morocco and my favorite furry friends Marie, Berlioz and Toulouse in the France Pavilion.
Another festival favorite are the daily paint by number murals. Guests pick up a small container of paint, a brush and are given a number. Once you locate your assigned number, paint 5 squares and then pick up a postcard of what the mural will look like once finished. They rotate a few different murals and we helped paint figment on the day we attended. Towards the end of the day, I walked back over to see the finished masterpiece.
Along with free activities, the festival also features special classes and seminars that include an extra cost. You can check the WDW website in advance or find them listed in the festival passport. Some may book up far in advance so always best to check the website if you’re interested in booking. One morning, we walked past a group painting class in between UK and France in the World Showcase. The guests were painting other pavilions and it looked so special and peaceful as it was 9:30am and before World Showcase officially opened for the day.
Throughout World Showcase and parts of Future World, you will find booths set up full of art for sale. Many of the featured artists are on hand to sign pieces as you purchase and take photos, etc. It was a real treat to see so many of them interact with guests and I had the pleasure of meeting Ashley Taylor and June Kim whose work I love and purchased. We also bought two pieces of Dave Perillo’s work, The first was a large number piece featuring one of our favorite rides, the Carousel of Progress. This one is not just a special Disney memory but also very personal as my boyfriend’s mom actually worked at the Carousel of Progress while it was at the World’s Fair before Walt Disney moved it to Walt Disney World. We also picked up his smaller piece featuring The Tommorowland People Mover. Annual Passholders received 20% off almost all art with the exception of a few artists and the one of a kind paintings on canvas. This was such a great perk that saved us quite a bit.
This next piece was one of my favorites and by artist Heather Edwards.and it can viewed with Alice on top or flipped around to see the Mad Hatter on top which is so unique.
Last but not least, some of our favorite festival food + drink options. Our two favorite booths were The Deconstructed Dish with the below Deconstructed BLT with crispy pork belly and the Deconstructed Reuben and the L’art du Cuisine Francaise which featured the Creme de Brie en Petit Pain and Mouelleux Aux Chocolats Valrhona. They were ALL so delicious. A few of our other favorite dishes included the Beet salad with Cheese Fritters in Italy and the Sopes de Chilorio braised pork dish in Mexico.
There are still so many festival features that I didn’t cover in this post such as as the fun photo ops around the park and Figment Scavenger Hunt in World Showcase. Trust me when I say visiting the Festival of the Arts is a MUST next year. It is also the perfect time to visit Walt Disney World in general as it typically has much cooler temperatures and lighter crowds. I just don’t recommend visiting on the holiday weekends and RunDisney weekends. Otherwise it’s the perfect time of year for a visit.
If you’ve attended the festival, what were some of your favorite features or dishes to eat? Next up will be Epcot’s Flower + Garden Festival which I will be attending on the tail end of mid-May. Can’t wait to enjoy several La Vie En Rose Slush drinks.
xx, Angie
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