The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is returning to the Walt Disney World Resort Jan. 17 to Feb. 24, 2020. This festival is a global celebration of art, entertainment, and food! Guests can immerse themselves in the arts; culinary, performing, and visual. There will be special eats and treats, captivating entertainment, galleries and workshops, and exclusive festival merchandise. Let’s delve into all there is to do, see, and eat during this annual festival!
Culinary Arts
The menus of the Food Studios throughout Epcot will dazzle you with bright hues and flavors. There are a total of 12 Food Studios plus other food and beverage stops. New this year to the Festival is the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine. As you stroll the World Showcase Promenade, you can taste creative bites and sips. Collect a stamp in your Festival Passport for each item you try along the Wonderful Walk of Color Cuisine. Once you fill your Festival Passport you can collect your colorful culinary prize! You will need more than one day at Epcot just to try all of the delicious offerings!
Disney on Broadway Concert Series
Part of the entertainment during the Festival is the popular Disney on Broadway Concert Series. The series runs three times daily at America Gardens Theater and features different pairs of Disney on Broadway stars every two weeks. Here’s the concert lineup:
- 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 – NEW! Liana Hunt (“Newsies”) and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
- NEW! 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 – NEW! Syndee Winters (“The Lion King”) and NEW! Michael James Scott (“Aladdin”)
- NEW! Feb. 24 – Special performance featuring Brown, Strickland, Winters and Scott.
The concerts are included with the price of admission but the best way to experience a performance is by reserving a Disney on Broadway Dining Package, which guarantees seating for one show on the day of the dining experience.
Performing Arts
Other performing arts entertainment around World Showcase includes amazing living statues, acrobatics and gravity-defying feats of strength, live performance art, and more!
Sunday through Saturday you can experience:
- Art Defying Gravity
Enjoy the spectacle of thrilling acts of strength—defying gravity and imagination. - Disney Performing Arts Showcases
Tap your toes as top high school bands perform jazz and pop music. - Epcot Living Statues
Delight as statues come to life right before your eyes.
Friday through Monday you can enjoy:
- Visual Art in Performance
Watch in wonder as a guest visual artist paints favorite Disney characters—images magically appear in minutes during this fun, must-see show!
Visual Arts
From must-see galleries to hands-on workshops, there are visual treats everywhere during the Festival! Be on the lookout for the special photo op locations as well. There are picture-perfect spots along World Showcase inspired by these amazing works of art: Homage to Frida Kahlo, Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci, The Scream – Edvard Munch, Washington Crossing the Delaware – Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, Luncheon of the Boating Party – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Peter Pan Storybook.
- Festival Markets
Explore numerous locations throughout the Festival featuring more than 100 Disney and visiting artists. You’ll never know what you’re going to see as new artwork unfolds around the park! View a wide variety of Disney-inspired art, each piece with its own twist! From classic to whimsical to edgy, there’s sure to be a style for every Guest’s taste! As you peruse the art selection, meet with artists, talk to them about the art process and get your new art personalized! Guests can also find many pieces of non-Disney art throughout the Festival. Each visiting art studio or vendor brings a unique perspective to the Festival.
Guests can enroll in an interactive workshop where they can pick up tips and craft their own memento. Each session gives Festival guests a unique opportunity to create original art and walk away with an enhanced skillset or new understanding of various techniques. Topics include character sketching, ink & paint, 3D paper crafting and everything in between! Take a look at the workshop schedule below:
Ink & Paint Animation
Presented by Lynn Rippberger, Disney Animation Ink and Paint Artist. Saturdays at 10 am. Each week you’ll paint a different Disney character.
- Saturday, January 18, 2020 – Mickey Mouse
- Saturday, January 25, 2020 – Minnie Mouse
- Saturday, February 1, 2020 – Donald Duck
- Saturday, February 8, 2020 – Pluto
- Saturday, February 15, 2020 – Goofy
- Saturday, February 22, 2020 – Mickey Mouse
Disney 3D Paper Crafting
Presented by Dave Avanzino, Dave Avanzino Designs, Inc. Sunday, January 19, 2020, at 10 AM. You will create your own dimensional paper artwork. Learn techniques to cut, fold and add spacers to your work to create 3D Disney shadowbox art.
Gesture Drawing Basics: “Story Telling Drawings”
Presented by Todd Bright, Bright Animation. Come learn the art of quick sketching from a former Disney animator.
- Sunday, January 26, 2020, at 10:00 AM
- Sunday, February 16, 2020, at 10:00 AM and 10:30 AM
Animation 101: Flip Book Fundamentals
Presented by Todd Bright, Bright Animation. Create your own moving magic and watch your drawings come to life during this animated workshop!
- Sunday, February 2, 2020, at 10:00 AM
- Sunday, February 23, 2020, at 10:00 AM
Doodling with Viz
Presented by Gregg “Viz” Visintainer, Owner of Viz Art Ink and WonderGround Artist. Sunday, February 9, 2020, at 10:00 AM. Experience doodling to the next level. Learn, watch and draw your own doodle with hidden pictures and words to create a Viz Art Ink masterpiece.
Each workshop is $45 per person, plus tax.
Merchandise
You can’t leave the Festival without a souvenir or memento! Not only are there plenty of beautiful art pieces available to purchase, but there’s also exclusive Festival gear. Family apparel, spirit jerseys, Minnie headband, jewelry, pins, etc. You will find Festival artwork and merchandise at Art of Disney in the American Adventure Pavilion, Mouse Gear, and the Festival Markets throughout World Showcase.
We can’t forget about the young artists in your party! There is plenty of kid-centric fun during the Festival as well. Kids of all ages can check out these fun activities:
- Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt – Help Figment learn about art on this scavenger hunt around World Showcase! To get started, purchase your map and stickers. Then, search for Figment hiding inside famous works of art at each World Showcase pavilion—just look for the Figment-themed picture frame. Every time you find Figment, add the corresponding sticker for the pavilion on your map. Once your journey is complete, return your map for an artful surprise!
- Chalk Full of Character (NEW) – Go on the hunt for some Festival fun! Charming chalk drawings of Disney characters—from Abu to Jiminy Cricket—are waiting to be discovered in tucked away corners throughout World Showcase. How many can you find?
- Expression Section: A Paint-by-Number Mural – Watch creativity come alive in the collaborative creation of a giant mural—or grab a paintbrush and join the fun.
- Green Landing Family Play Zone – Venture into an out-of-this-world playground with Wall-E and Eve to let your imagination run free.
- Kids’ Chalk Art – Create your very own chalk masterpiece!
As you can see, there is so much to experience at Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts! Are you ready to discover your inner artist? Contact me today for a free Walt Disney World vacation quote! I am a travel agent with Amazing Magical Adventures and my services are complimentary. Let’s start planning your next magical vacation!
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