Welcome back to another KatDoesDisney post! I don’t know about you, but Epcot is my family’s favorite park in Disney World. It is home to both Future World and World Showcase and features some fun attractions, beautiful scenery, and delicious food. Epcot hosts festivals throughout the year, the most popular being the International Food and Wine Festival. However, one of the most unique ones is the Epcot International Festival of the Arts!
This year, the Epcot International Festival of the Arts runs from January 17th through February 24th, 2020. The event highlights visiting artists, creative culinary delights, and interactive experiences to bring out your inner artist!
Disney on Broadway Concert Series
Returning this year is the Disney on Broadway concert series at the America Gardens Theater in World Showcase. There are 3 daily performances featuring your favorite Disney on Broadway performers! The best thing is, all shows are included with standard theme park admission to Epcot. Here is the 2020 line-up:
- Jan. 17, 20, 21 and 24: Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”)
- Jan. 18, 19, 22 and 23: Heidi Blickenstaff (“The Little Mermaid”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)
- Jan. 25: Special performance featuring Simmons, White, Blickenstaff and Lee
- Jan. 26, 28, 29; Feb. 1, 2, 5 and 6: Kara Lindsay (“Newsies”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)
- Jan. 27, 30, 31, Feb. 3, 4, 7 and 8: Liana Hunt (“Newsies”) and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
- Feb. 9: Special performance featuring Lindsay, Massey, Hunt and Jacobs
- Feb. 10, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22 and 23: Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
- Feb. 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20 and 21: Syndee Winters (“The Lion King”) and Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”)
- Feb. 24: Special performance featuring Brown, Strickland, Winters and Scott
The best way to ensure a seat at your favorite performance is to take advantage of the Disney on Broadway dining package. Packages at participating Epcot restaurants are now booking! You can visit book your package online or call (407) WDW-FEST to make a reservation.
Food Studios
There are 12 Food Studios (specialty food booths) scattered throughout Epcot serving up imaginative dishes! New this year is the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. Here, you collect a stamp in your festival passport for each menu item purchased along the Wonderful Walk. Completed passports receive a delicious technicolor treat!
The Food Studios are an edible wonderland of dishes and beverages! There is the Deconstructed Reuben and Rainboba drink at The Deconstructed Dish Food Studio. The Masterpiece Kitchen serves delights including the Wild Mushroom Risotto and Classic Sidecar with a Chocolate Twist. There is also abroad selection of libations from craft brewers and global wineries.
Keep an eye out at permanent dining spots throughout Epcot as there will be specialty treats offered there are well!
Family Fun
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is fun for the whole family! There are pop up art experiences throughout the park including 2 brand-new Artful Photo Ops featuring Vincent Van Gogh paintings. Additionally, you can create your own hand-painted item with Artistic Marbling or design your own custom T-shirt at Enemy Ink. There are even some incredible chalk artists that create multi-dimensional sidewalk masterpieces!
My family absolutely loves doing the scavenger hunts during the Epcot festivals. The International Festival of the Arts has Figment’s Brush with the Masters. This scavenger hunt features our favorite purple dragon painted into famous pieces of art in each World Showcase pavilion. Can you find them all?
Don’t forget to check out the living statues and Art Defying Gravity shows! If the kids need to blow off some steam, visit the Green Landing Family Play Zone with Wall-E and Eve. Finally, be sure to stop by the interactive Expression Section: A Paint-by-Number wall mural in Future World.
I hope this gives you a better idea of what to expect at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts!! Wishing you an artful time!
Until next week… Cheers!!