What’s New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts?

Every January Walt Disney World welcomes artists and artisans to the International Festival of the Arts at Epcot. Every year we see new foods, new artists and a daily concert series. Since January weather in Florida is usually mild, if you’re looking for an easy breezy Disney vacation, this may be it! Wondering what’s New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts at Epcot, Disney World? Here’s everything you have to look forward to.

When is Walt Disney World’s Festival of the Arts?

This year the Epcot International Festival of the Arts at Epcot is bringing with it new fun, foods, and amazing art featured in the World Showcase.

How Many Days Do You Need for the Festival of the Arts?

A smaller festival, you can tackle the Festival of the Arts in One Day, but, we’d recommend spreading it over 2 days to really experience all the things offered. You can plan to visit art galleries, and food studios, attend the Broadway Concert series, and complimentary seminars, play the Figment Scavenger Hunt Game, and pose for fun photo ops.

walt disney world festival of the arts chalk art

Contents

1 New Artists at the Festival of the Arts
2 New Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine
3 New Foods at the Festival of the Arts
4 New Performers at Festival of the Arts Concert Series
5 New Classes and Seminars
6 New Prizes for Figment Brush with the Masters
7 New Merchandise at Festival of the Arts
8 New Photo Ops at Festival of the Arts
9 New Mural Paint By Number

New Artists at the Festival of the Arts

You can see new chalk art on the midway between Future World and the World Showcase and performance artists at the stage. We love the gilded statues that come alive. So your job is to stand there and wait until they do. New to the festival we also found little characters painted all over the buildings throughout the world showcase. There’s a special character in every country so keep an eye out!

New Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine

As part of the things that you can do at this festival, there is a foodie challenge. The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine involves visiting 5 locations, purchasing the designated treat at each, and turning in your punched card for a free specialty food treat. You can find the list of foods to purchase in the festival passport and they are each little art forms that are available across the park you can sample along the way.

New Foods at the Festival of the Arts

While the food at this festival is not the main attraction, we still can’t help adding the menu lineup. Foods are crafted like works of art and take some time to make at the Food Studios. But this food is worth the wait! Filled with both new foods and returning favorites, you can check out the Festival of the Arts Menus to start planning your foodie journey.

New Performers at Festival of the Arts Concert Series

New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts, you can see a slew of professional Broadway performers. Each year the festival welcomes back new performances featuring our favorite Disney songs from Disney Broadway Shows. Check out the full lineup of performers for all the new performers this year. For an extra special night out you can also grab the Broadway Concert Series Dining Package for the show.

Details

Location: America Gardens Theatre at EPCOT
Dates: Coming Soon.
Showtimes: 5:30 PM, 6:15 PM and 8:00 PM

Disney on Broadway Dining Packages

Available late December, you can grab a Disney on Broadway Dining Package for dinner and a guaranteed seat at any of these eight EPCOT Restaurants.

New Classes and Seminars

If you head over to the Odyssey Festival Center near Mexico in World Showcase you can stumble in on drawing classes, seminars, talks, and more. As part of the Festival of the Arts, many of these are free but do require a reservation for some. Be sure to check out the Festival of the Arts page for schedules and prices.

Festival of the Arts Animation Academy | 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm

Animation Academy, held daily at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. in America Gardens Theatre, learn drawing skills from some of the best in the business as they teach you how to draw a Disney character.

Kid’s Chalk Art | 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Kid’s Chalk Art takes place on the bridge to World Showcase Plaza daily from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. allowing little ones to create their very own chalk masterpieces.

disney drawing class at disney's festival of the arts

New Prizes for Figment Brush with the Masters

One of our favorite things at the festivals at EPCOT are the games you can play around the park. New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts every year, is the Figment Scavenger Hunt game. And every year you get a chance to win new prizes! Whether it’s a little coloring book, cup, magnet, or something more magical, we love the added fun of a new prize every year.

New Merchandise at Festival of the Arts

An EPCOT Festival always includes new merchandise! From new designs on mugs, jerseys, and gifts, you can always bet to have plenty of new merchandise to ogle at the Festival of the Arts. If you’re a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder you also get opportunities to purchase Passholder-exclusive merchandise. Which usually matches the design theme of the festival.

New Photo Ops at Festival of the Arts

There are always new photo ops at the Festival of the Arts for you to pose to your heart’s content! These pop up all over the World Showcase so be on the lookout. They usually include familiar artworks from famous paintings and art you’re sure to recognize. Check out the Festival of Arts Photo Spots for this year.

New Mural Paint By Number

New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts every year, you can help paint a new mural! Just head to the Expression Section: A Paint by Number Mural, to contribute to a new design that morphs throughout the day, into a work of art! You get a small tub of paint and a brush. And are instructed to paint a certain number of squares during your time at the wall. You may even see it complete during your stay!

Walt Disney World Festival of the Arts at Epcot

If you’re looking for a great way to take advantage of Florida’s mild winter months, visiting Walt Disney World in January or February should be part of your travel plans. We’re so looking forward to everything New at Disney’s Festival of the Arts. The Walt Disney World Parks during the early part of the year have lower crowds, better weather, and amazing events like the International Festival of the Arts to help keep everyone entertained. It’s a perfect event for couples, families, kids, and everyone! We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Rochelle Mariah

Co-Founder and Director at Polka Dot Pixie Co LLC | Website

Rochelle Mariah is a writer, designer and photographer with an MLIS in Information Science and a B.S. in Arch and Design. Determined to make Planning a DIY Disney Vacation easier she makes lots of lists and drinks lots of coffee. When not designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she's watching old movies and planning the holidays. She has been traveling to Disney destinations since 2010.