Epcot’s Festival of the Arts is arguably the best Festival of the year. Sadly, it’s also one of the shortest. For 2025, the festival officially starts on January 17th and ends on February 24th. We will help guide you through all this festival has to offer and show you 5 reasons why it’s by far my favorite event at Epcot. Oh, and the best part? Besides the food, almost all of what I will share with you is included with your regular park ticket.
And like everything with Disney, we highly recommend you make a plan. If you’re booking with a Travel Agent, ask them their recommendations for activities based on your interests. We used a template from WDW Prep School to create the plan for our day!
If you need some ideas on what to wear, you can check out our previous blog post here. We would also be happy to create a customized look for you, but just make sure you contact us AT LEAST 30 days out from your trip!
True Hands-On Experience
The #1 reason this is my favorite Epcot festival is that it’s very interactive. I can’t speak for Festival of the Holidays, as I’ve never been able to attend that one, but Flower and Garden and Food and Wine are more about eating and drinking with entertainment and decor sprinkled in. But at Festival of the Arts, you actually get to become a part of the festival in so many different ways.
Paint by Numbers Mural
Not only has Disney created a way to let you create art at the festival, but they figured out a way to make you part of a bigger picture (literally) with their Paint by Numbers Mural. It looks like it will be located in the same place as last year, which is across from Living with the Land.
When you arrive, you will get in line to get your paint and paint brush. Your paint will have a number on it, and the cast members will let you know how many squares to paint. You will also receive a bookmark with the current mural you’re painting, so you can see what it will look like when it’s all finished! It’s also important to note that the paint they use will in fact stain, so just make sure what you’re wearing isn’t too important!
Animation Academy
Over in the America Gardens Theatre, you can learn how to draw Disney characters from an actual animator! These are very similar to what you can experience at Animal Kingdom. This happens twice a day at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. You can check out this year’s animator’s list here! This is one of the few things we didn’t get to do on our trip last year, but we’ve heard it’s a lot of fun, and NO drawing experience is required!
Kids Chalk Art
One of the messiest, but most memorable activities is the Kids Chalk Art. Located over at the bridge to the World Showcase Plaza, you and your kiddo can actually decorate a part of Epcot with chalk! Sounds simple, but my kiddo loved this activity, and we spent a lot of time in this area. This opens up at 11:00 a.m. and runs until 5:00 p.m. Cast members will assist you with chalk, and you are free to create your own art or use tracers that are scattered around the designated area. Again, you will leave covered in chalk, so just be prepared for the mess.
Photo Ops
Most people are familiar with Disney PhotoPass and their magic shots, but during Festival of the Arts, they take it to another level. There are some very cool magic shots at night that I would highly recommend, but don’t miss out on the Artful Photo Ops during the day!
My family LOVED these and had so much fun finding different frames and posing for photos. There are both Disney themes and famous pieces of art that allow you to step into a bit of history or your favorite Disney movie.
We loved the Mary Poppins, Wish, and Sleeping Beauty displays last year. Here are the locations and themes for the 2025 Festival:
International Gateway: Luncheon of the Boating Party – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
The American Adventure Pavilion: Washington Crossing the Delaware – Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze
Between Italy Pavilion and Germany Pavilion: Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci
Bridge to World Showcase: Mary Poppins
Bridge to World Showcase: Sleeping Beauty
Near Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana: Moana
Scavenger Hunts
One of the few activities that cost money is Figment’s Brush with the Masters. Epcot often provides a type of scavenger hunt for each festival, and the one for Festival of the Arts is truly adorable. For $9.99 plus tax, you can help Figment through World Showcase. Just head to the following store locations to pick up your map and stickers:
Creations Shop
Port of Entry
World Traveler
Figment has decided to learn about art by hiding himself in famous paintings. Your mission is to locate him and mark off the spots where he is hiding on your map. The map last year was a little artist palette, and it was so cute! Once completed, you can turn it in at any of the locations listed above for a prize. Our prize was a choice of a paint-your-own ceramic figure of either Figment, Minnie, or Mickey. This does not have to be completed in one day, and technically, you don’t have to complete all of the spots to claim your prize, as you’re really paying up front for your prize.
I really don’t like paying for “extras” at Disney, but this is one that my family really enjoys and thinks that it’s worth the $10. Some of the spots were very difficult to track down, and the cast members try their best to stay tight-lipped on hints, which makes it a lot of fun. The only downside is that if you have multiple kids, then you end up paying per child unless your kids are willing to share the prize. But, if your kids are anything like mine, this quickly becomes a $20 activity. 😅
However, if you are wanting to hunt for art throughout World Showcase without paying $10, check Chalk Full of Art. While this is not technically advertised as a scavenger hunt because you don’t have an official list of characters or prize, it’s still a lot of fun to find the characters. My kids greatly enjoyed finding Abu in Morocco, Dante in Mexico, or my personal favorites that were there in 2022, Little John and Robin Hood in the England Pavilion.
Food
A highlight of any Epcot festival is the food. Even though Epcot already has an amazing variety of dining options at this park, during festivals they set up food booths that are themed specifically to each event. For Festival of the Arts, they are called food studios. There are really fun menu items at each booth, and most offerings are known for their unique presentation, as food is an art of its own.
We really enjoyed what we ate last year, but I will also preface this by saying that we are not foodies. My husband and I are two midwesterners who typically enjoy homestyle food and are kind of easy to please. If you are looking for more of a foodie opinion on the festival, we recommend Mammoth Club or the Main Street Dish Podcast.
Some of the highlights for us were:
The Deconstructed Dish - BLT & Key Lime Pie (near Test Track)
The Classic Cuisine - Beef Wellington ( Near Connections)
Vibrante & Video - Chorizo Empanda & Cheesecake ( Near Morocco)
Figment’s Inspiration Station - Rainbow Cake (kid’s pick) In Muppet Lab
Goshiki Japan - Wagyu Bun
Misses for us
Hummingbird Cake - The Artist’s Table in America
Goshki Japan - Sushi Donut, Ichigo Mochi
While not everything was a 10/10, the prices were pretty reasonable, and I like having the opportunity to try things I wouldn’t normally try. That’s the beauty of a festival.
If you really want to challenge yourself, you can pick up a festival passport and attempt the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. There are 7 specific dishes for this challenge. As you eat your way around the festival, a cast member will stamp your passport. Once you have completed all the dishes, bring your passport to the Deco Delights food studio, and you will receive a complimentary Artist Palette Cookie. We didn’t participate in this last year, but I will be attempting this for 2025.
Entertainment
In my opinion, Festival of the Arts offers the best entertainment options of any other festival. (again, aside from Festival of the Holidays, as I haven’t been to that yet). There are so many performances happening throughout the day. You will need to check your My Disney Experience App for more accurate times, but you can expect to find everything from artists painting in real time to Broadway performances.
DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series
As a giant Joey Fatone fan, I will always have a soft spot for the lineup of performers for the Food and Wine Festival. However, the DISNEY ON BROADWAY concert series is an incredible offering at the Festival of the Arts. On select nights throughout the festival, you are treated to Broadway stars singing tunes from shows such as Frozen, Lion King, Aladdin and Tarzan. These performances are three times a night with times scheduled at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. This year’s lineup and dates include:
Patti Murin (Frozen) and John Riddle (Frozen)
January 17, 19, 20, 23, 25, 27 and 28
Caissie Levy (Frozen) and Jelani Remy (The Lion King)
January 18, 21, 22, 24, 26, 29 and 30
Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan)
January 31 & February 2, 3, 6, 8, 10 and 11
Ashley Brown (Mary Poppins) and Alton Fitzgerald White (The Lion King)
February 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13
Adam Jacobs (Aladdin) and Josh Strickland (Tarzan)
February 2, 3, 6, 8, 10 and 11
Michael James Scott (Aladdin) and Kissy Simmons (The Lion King)
February 14, 16, 17, 20, 23 and 24
Rodney Ingram (Aladdin) and Kara Lindsay (Newsies)
February 15, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 24
Again, all of these performances are included in your park ticket! It’s a huge perk! So, if you happen to be here during the dates, you’ll get to enjoy the shows! However, the only way to guarantee an actual seat is to snag a dining package at participating restaurants. This is not required, but does help if you’d like a seat for the show. We’ve never done the dining package and have never had a problem grabbing a stand-by seat for a show, but it is possible for seating options to fill up quickly. If you aren’t lucky enough to get a seat, you are welcome to sit around the open theatre and enjoy the sounds and songs of the evening.
Artists in Action
One of the biggest draws to this festival for my family was being able to see artists create in real time. My son loves art, and I wanted him to be able to see how others create.
During the festival, you might find some artists sketching or working on a few pieces, but from Thursday-Sunday of the event, you can see the most amazing artists create from start to finish right in front of you! Last year, we were able to see Stephen Fishwick perform, and he did NOT disappoint. Not only did he paint an entire painting in 15 minutes, but he did it while dancing to music. It was so entertaining, and he even involved the audience. I would highly suggest checking your MDE app to see specific times and performers for your dates.
Another chance to see artists creating live is the Chalk Art Galleries. Located along the bridge to the World Showcase, you can spot chalk artists creating different pieces of work. Much like the photo ops, these can range from famous pieces of art to Disney art, or their original creations. There are even a couple of spots where you can jump into the art and snap a photo. These are very specific pieces, so make sure it’s not one of the roped off sections.
Spaceship Earth Light Show
We can’t forget the prettiest girl in school, Spaceship Earth. Back in 2021, she received a major upgrade with Disney installing over 1800 points of light around her exterior. With this makeover, she now shines bright at night giving guests a nightly light show with themed music.
During Festival of the Arts, you can see two different light shows beginning at 6:30 p.m. For the past two years, it’s been a 10 minute rotation between a Figment themed show and The Muppets Rainbow Connection.
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I am a massive Muppet fan. I think they are highly underrepresented in the parks, so any snippet of them that we get feels really special. And, if you are a Muppet fan like myself, this show is a must-see. Did I cry while watching this? Yes. Will you? Probably not. But, I feel like it’s the most perfect way to close out a festival that celebrates color, creativity, art, and dreaming.
The Art
You simply cannot have an entire event centered around different arts without art displays and artists. There are so many artists booths to explore with many varieties of art. There are plenty of options for Disney fans, as well as non-Disney items. And, the artists are often there at the booths, which was our favorite part. My son was very curious, but very shy, and so many wonderful artists would allow him to ask questions and watch them work.
Art is placed around the World Showcase where characters meet which I think is simply adorable. There are also plenty of opportunities to purchase prints on all types of budgets. I ended up purchasing a small print of the official Festival of the Arts poster for 2024 because Mickey and Minnie were in my all-time favorite outfits!
However, there was one piece with Merida and her mother that I didn’t buy because I thought I would have time to go back and get it, and I never did. It was a little bit bigger, and I was worried about carrying it around the entire day. I think about that print all the time and hope it’s there when I return in 2025. So, if you see a piece of art that speaks to you, just buy it. Don’t have regrets like me!
This is also a perfect time to beg Disney to bring back the park-to-resort merchandise service. I realize that my Brave painting probably wouldn’t have qualified, but dang, I miss that free luxury.
The Outfits
If you are into fashion, this is the festival for you. As someone who loves expressing themselves through outfits, people show up and show out for this event. When we needed to snack or rest, sitting on the bench and watching all the people go by in their bright and colorful looks was truly a highlight for me. There were so many creative and fun looks that I wished I could have snapped photos for more inspiration.
There are so many different directions you can go with this theme that it creates unique and thoughtful looks. From Figment to rainbows, you really can’t go wrong with whatever you wear.
We hope you’ve found this guide helpful. If you are attending this festival for the first time, I am so excited for you! There’s so much to see and do that I think you’re going to have a fantastic time. Just make a plan, know the plan will go off course at some point, and breathe. Let us know if you attend this year. I’ll make sure to update this post, as I will be attending this festival later in January.
And remember, theme park fashion doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to make you smile!
Comments