#NowMoreThanEver: Visit the Epcot International Festival of the Arts

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts has become one of my favorites in recent years. It’s a great mix of food, entertainment, art, seminars and great merchandise.

Visual Arts – Performing Arts – Culinary Arts: All coming together for a colorful festival in that special way that only Disney can accomplish!

Although a relatively new festival at Epcot (only in it’s third year), it feels like an old friend offering some favorites (Figment and new Figment merchandise) while highlighting new fun, artistic and colorful happenings. 

RUN! I mean really run because the festival will only be happening for 39 days (beginning January 18) and running through February 25, 2019. Live music, new artwork and culinary tastings will make everyone that visits glad they came!

The Entertainment

The festival offers a wide array of entertainment. Disney artists who create a dash of magic on canvas, living statues inspired by Epcot, Broadway performers who bring songs from award-winning Disney on Broadway productions to life, and more!

You will even find art on sidewalks and other surprising places!

New this year, the Disney on Broadway Concert Series will be happening seven days a week during the festival. Each week, different pairs of Disney on Broadway stars will take the America Gardens Theater stage to sing favorite songs from award-winning Disney on Broadway productions.

The lineup will rotate regularly, featuring music from shows such as “The Lion King,” “Frozen” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Performers this year include:

• Kerry Butler (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)
• Meredith Inglesby (“The Little Mermaid”) and Steve Blanchard (“Beauty and the Beast”)
• Arielle Jacobs and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
• Heidi Blickenstaff (“Freaky Friday”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)
• Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
• Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”)

The concert series is included with park admission; showtimes are 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. nightly.

The Food. The Beverages. 

Sweet and savory works of culinary art are available – you can watch a Disney chef create a culinary work of art right before your eyes. 

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts features 13 Food Studios, plus additional creative food and beverage offerings around Epcot with an expanded selection of delicious new tastes to savor:

• The Artist’s Table will feature beef wellington with mushroom bordelaise, fennel cream and roasted baby vegetables
• Smoked salmon and cream gâteau with egg yolk cream, paddlefish caviar and micro-herbs is sure to be a new favorite at The Painter’s Palate
• Pop Eats! will serve up almond frangipane cake with raspberry and chocolate
• Red wine-braised short rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes and aged balsamic will be available at Cuisine Classique

Festival Fun

The 2019 festival provides fun every day for every guest with mesmerizing performance art, complimentary seminars, hands-on activities and much more.

Interactive workshops and seminars are among the festival’s most popular experiences. You can learn artistic techniques from professionals skilled in floral design, ink and paint, photography, and more. 

Need a little bit of a break – you can sit in on informative chats for free!! Accomplished Disney artists, experts and Cast Members impart their professional expertise during a series of complimentary seminars each day.

Complimentary Seminars take place in the Odyssey Festival Showplace (included with Epcot admission) seven days a week at 11:30 a.m. No advanced booking is required (first come, first served).

You can even paint with a Disney artist! Details on all the workshops and seminars can be found HERE.

• Everyone’s invited to grab a paintbrush and help create a wall mural along World Showcase Plaza.
• Guests of all ages will have the opportunity to literally step inside works of art and take fun photos, such as the “Washington Crossing the Delaware” Artful Photo Opportunity.
• The Paint with a Disney Artist program invites guests to learn under the tutelage of a professional (offered select Fridays and Sundays, including continental breakfast, for an additional fee).
• A variety of workshops led by professionals will teach different artistic techniques, such as floral design, ink and paint, mixed-media art and more (offered Friday-Monday for an additional fee). As a memento of what they learned, guests will take their creations home with them.
• Complimentary 30-minute seminars will give guests helpful instruction for producing their own artwork at home.
• More than 50 visiting artists participating in the festival will be available to meet with guests and share insights on their work.
• Disney artists’ work will be exhibited across Epcot.
• Gravity-defying feats of strength, acrobatics and many performing artists are scheduled throughout the festival.
• International musical and variety acts will share their talents with guests, including the return of Bodh’aktan to the Canada stage and Delta Q, a new group performing in Germany.
• Guests can join in the fun of Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt by purchasing a map at select merchandise locations.

Merchandise

Special festival themed merchandise abounds! Special festival merchandise will be available at Mouse Gear and other Epcot locations featuring the festival’s logo adorning shirts, mugs, totes and other charming items.

You will definitely find a perfect piece of the festival to take home with you. 

At this year’s festival, more than 50 artists will come together to showcase their talent. Artist signings are scheduled for select dates throughout the festival. 

Art collectors and Disney enthusiasts will find artwork for sale throughout the entire park, from the Art of Disney store to Festival Markets.

I was invited by Disney Parks to attend a media event for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. I was provided free park admission. All opinions are my own.