Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts

Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts is one of my favorite times at Epcot! (Though when is there not a favorite time at Epcot…) Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts takes place from January 17^th to February 24^th, 2020. This festival always takes place in early January through February, but the dates could vary slightly in the coming years. The festival is included with regular Epcot admission, but some special events at the festival are an extra charge.

With nearly year-round festivals, you may be wondering what makes Festival of the Arts special or worth checking out on your next visit to Epcot. There is so much to see and do at the Festival of the Arts, and I really love this festival. It is an immersive celebration into the visual, culinary, and performing arts.

There is so much to see and do as well as taste and experience. There is such a wide variety of offerings from entertainment to interactive art displays, which helps make this festival really unique.

Festival Passports

To help you keep track of everything you see and do, like with other festivals you can pick up one of the free “Passports” at nearly every booth/cash register. You can also find the Passports at the front Epcot by the park maps. Inside these Passports, you’ll find checklists of every food and drink item available for purchase, plus lots of information on the different Food booths throughout the World Showcase, Broadway concert series artists, and events exclusive to the festival. There are also stickers included with your Festival of the Arts Passport that you can use to track which booths you’ve visited. These act like “stamps” so that you can get your “Passport” stamped from the different countries, which is something fun and different to do.

Like with the other festivals, Disney offers cute gift cards that fit around your wrist. If you’re trying to stick within a budget and limit what you want to spend on food and drinks, this is a great way to do that. You can load the wristlet gift card with a predetermined amount and wear it right on your wrist, making it easy to purchase your favorite drinks and snacks. If you run out of money on your gift card (because let’s face it.. there is SO much to try and spend your money on at Epcot) you can reload the gift card with more money.

Creative Food and Drink Options

While Epcot festivals feature special food booths, the presentation of the food at Festival of the Arts is awesome and artistic (Get it… Festival of the “Arts…”) There are also special festival offerings at restaurants, and there are several fun desserts that are available in multiple locations like the Pop’d Art pop tarts, Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie or Paint Brush Churros. Some of these snacks are also available on the Disney Dining Plan, making it a win and a great way to use your snack credits.

Disney on Broadway Concert Series

Another highlight of Festival of the Arts is the Disney on Broadway concert series at the American Garden Theatre, which is located at The American Adventure pavilion in the World Showcase.

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts collaborates with Disney Theatrical Productions and brings an awesome showcase of music and Broadway talent to the America Gardens Theatre stage. Guests can see Broadway stars in concert while they perform Disney on Broadway’s shows, including ‪The Lion King‪, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. You must have a valid park ticket to Epcot in order to see these productions.

Every pair of artists performs a different setlist based on the shows they’ve participated in. Thes Broadway shows rotate every couple of days, so it is possible that if you are visiting for an extended period of time, you would be able to see multiple shows with different performers. The smaller crowds during this time of the year means that it is a lot easier to find a seat for one of these concerts than it is for things like the Candlelight Processional during the holidays. If you don’t care about how good your seat is, you can likely walk up and grab a spot shortly before the show starts.

If you definitely want a seat that is close to the front, I recommend lining up 30-45 minutes early. If you are a huge Disney Broadway fan and want to make sure you can sit up close and personal so that you can see all of your favorite Broadway stars as they perform, you may want to purchase the Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Package. This dining package is like the Eat to the Beat dining package during Food and Wine and the Candle Light Processional package during Festival of the Holidays where you get an appetizer, entrée, dessert and nonalcoholic drink for a set package price. This dining package will give you priority seating for a selected Disney on Broadway concert on the day you have a reservation for the dining package. The seating for these packages is in the very first few rows of the theater, which makes the dining package worth it if you definitely want to be up close. In 2020, the Disney on Broadway Concert Series will run daily (at 5:30, 6:45, & 8 p.m.) at the American Garden Theater, but times for the performances can vary from week to week so be sure you check the Times Guide the day you visit the park for the most up-to-date information.

The schedule for 2020 performers includes:

January 17, 20, 21, & 24

Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”)

January 18, 19, 22, & 23

Heidi Blickenstaff (“The Little Mermaid”; “Freaky Friday”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)

January 25 (yes, all 4 of them are performing on this day)

Kissy Simmons & Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”)

Heidi Blickenstaff (“The Little Mermaid”; “Freaky Friday”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)

January 26, 28, & 29 and February 1, 2, 5, & 6

Kara Lindsay (“Newsies”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)

January 27, 30, & 31 and February 3, 4, 7, & 8

Liana Hunt (“Newsies”) and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)

February 9

Liana Hunt (“Newsies”), Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”), Kara Lindsay (“Newsies”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)

February 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, & 23

Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)

February 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, & 21

Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”) and Syndee Winters

February 24

Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”), Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”), Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”) and Syndee Winters (“The Lion King”)

Photo Opportunities

Photo Opportunities are another fun highlight of the Festival of the Arts. In addition to the photo ops with Festival signs, you’ll find fun photo ops where you can actually go “inside” a famous painting in Mexico, Italy, The American Adventure, France, and United Kingdom pavilions. Inside each painting, you’ll find a tip sheet that tells you how you should pose, which allows you to recreate the actual painting (Like the Mona Lisa, etc.) You’ll also see “Living Statues” that you can get a picture with like the one above around the park as well!

You can also find artists creating masterpieces out of chalk in the area between Future World East and the World Showcase Lagoon. Both 2D and 3D pieces are available to see. 3D Pieces are really cool because you can actually immerse yourself into the chalk art and become part of the artwork bringing the art to life, which looks really cool in a photo!

Animation Academy

Animation Academy is a fun mini-workshop, which is led by animation artists that teach you how to draw a Disney character. These classes move pretty quickly, so it might be better suited for older children or adults. The times for Animation Academy can vary, but the workshops usually happen in the afternoons inside of the Odyssey building. Since Fast Passes aren’t available for this event and it is limited to the Festival of the Arts, I recommend lining up at least 30 minutes before your session in order to make sure you can get a spot. If you want to do this more than once in a day, know that you won’t ever draw the same character twice on the same day. When you’re finished, you have a cool drawing to take home with you. However, if it’s anything like mine, it won’t look very good…

Wall Murals

The Wall Mural is my favorite! The Wall Mural is an interactive experience that lets you help create a work of art large enough for all to see. Last year, I painted part of a figment. You are given paint with a number on it and are asked to pick 5 squares to paint. Then, when you are finished, you get a postcard that shows what the finished painting will look like. This mural changes pretty frequently, depending on how fast the mural is painted by guests. Fun Fact: It usually takes about 2 days to complete a full mural with guests filling in each number

Figment’s Brush With the Masters

This fun scavenger hunt takes guests on a tour of the World Showcase while teaching you all about art. The map costs $6.99 plus tax, but it is a fun way to get younger kids involved in the festival.

Artist Booths

Throughout the park, you’ll find booths of art on display. Not only can you find fun art to buy, but some booths offer painted Disney Toms and marbled scarves that you can design yourself.

Workshops and Seminars

There are plenty of workshops and seminars available during Festival of the Arts. Some are complimentary, and some cost extra. The complete schedule, details, and pricing can be found on Disney’s website specific to the date that you plan to visit Epcot. If you plan to visit on a weekend, just remember that the workshops and seminars are much busier on the weekends, since many local Floridians (like myself) tend to visit, especially when it’s a beautiful Florida winter day!

You’ll find that the seminars and workshops are busier on the weekends as this festival has quickly become quite popular with the locals.

Ink & Paint Animation Program lets participants learn about 2D Cel Animation and paint their own Ink & Paint Cel with a Disney Ink & Paint artist. This does require an additional fee to participate.

Figment’s Brush with the Master’s Scavenger Hunt (like I mentioned above) is also available for the younger ones and does require a small fee to participate.

Workshops that cover a wide variety of artistic skills such as 3D paper crafting, animation, mixed-media art, etc. are also available and require a fee to participate.

Seminars on creating your own works of art