Intro
Get ready to celebrate the Festival of the Arts at EPCOT! EPCOT is home to festivals that run almost all year round in World Showcase, starting with the Festival of the Arts each January. Festival of the Arts is one of the most fun and colorful EPCOT festivals!
The Festival of the Arts runs each year typically from January to February. It is actually one of the newer festivals at EPCOT, as it started just in 2017. From chalk art to live performances, this festival is a celebration of culinary, performing, and visual art!
If you are new to EPCOT festivals, here is a quick overview to help you plan when you should plan your next festival trip!
- Festival of the Arts (January – February)
- Flower and Garden Festival (March-July)
- Food and Wine Festival (July-November)*
- Festival of the Holidays (November-December)*
*these are the dates from 2021, the official 2022 dates for these festivals have not yet been announced.
This festival vacation will include 3 days at the parks, with multiple stops at EPCOT. You’ll stay at Art of Animation, a value resort on the Skyliner route. This way, you can save your money to splurge at all the Food Studios and get to EPCOT quickly from your resort. Now, let’s go explore all the artistic fun that this EPCOT festival has to offer!
Breakdown
- Theme: Festival of the Arts
- Length: 3 days
- Age and Group: Family with kids
- Spending: $$
Check-In
You arrive at Art of Animation and get checked in to your family suite. These themed suites can sleep up to 6 and are perfect for families with children! You don’t have park tickets for your check-in day, so it’s a great time to explore the resort. Enjoy the Big Blue Pool, the largest Disney resort pool, themed after Finding Nemo.
Food
Grab a quick dinner at Landscape of Flavors, the resort’s Food Court. They often have fun and unique dessert options to choose from. After dinner, get some sleep before your busy park days!
Day 1: EPCOT and Magic Kingdom
Start Day at EPCOT
It’s no surprise that your festival vacation will start at EPCOT! Since you’re staying at Art of Animation, you hop right on the Skyliner and it’s an easy ride over to the park. You got Park Hopper tickets for this trip, so you can go to more than one park per day. This will help you hit all the parks on this shorter vacation. It will also allow you to visit EPCOT more than once, since the festival is the main draw of this trip!
Rides
You’re here for the festival, but you don’t want to miss out on some of EPCOT’s best rides! To save some time, you get an Individual Lightning Lane for Frozen Ever After. This ride is a must-do since you have your kids with you and getting an Individual Lightning Lane can help avoid the long wait times.
For more Disney Genie tips and tricks, check out our blog post that goes over the new service!
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is a new ride in the France Pavilion and often has a similar wait time to Frozen Ever After. Hopefully, getting an Individual Lightning Lane for at least one of these popular rides will help!
Before leaving the park, you are sure to get in line for Soarin’, a favorite over at the Land Pavilion.
Food
The food at EPCOT festivals is always unique and exciting! You’re going to have all your meals today in World Showcase at the Festival of the Arts Food Studios (aka Food Booths). You start at one of the most popular Food Studios, Pop Eats! This booth gained popularity after being the location where folks could buy the infamous Figment Popcorn Bucket. This new popcorn bucket, created for the Festival of the Arts, brought a lot of interest to this Food Studio and huge wait times!
Even without the popcorn bucket, this booth is still very popular for it’s Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese. The soup is served in a can and the whole dish is themed very well!
Another festival stop will be at Vibrante & Vivido: Encanto Cocina, a new Food Studio this year, themed after the movie Encanto. Lastly, you will head over to Deco Delights for some delicious dessert!
Extras
The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine is a fun, free activity that you can complete while at the Festival of the Arts. First, pick up a Festival Passport (they’re free booklets that you can find around the festival). You will need to purchase five of the designated items listed on the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine page. You’ll get stickers for each item and at the end, you will get a free cookie for completing the walk. Most of the EPCOT festivals have some sort of activity similar to this and it is always a fun way to try out some favorite dishes! Plus, your kids will really like collecting the stickers with each food item!
The Festival of the Arts has so many special events and activities to explore, so be sure to see everything you can! There is amazing chalk art, booths where artists sell their work, and even an interactive mural where you can help paint a piece of artwork!
Park Hop to Magic Kingdom
After spending plenty of time at the Festival of the Arts, you’ll get on the Monorail and park hop over to Magic Kingdom. You’ll be able to get on a few rides and enjoy the new fireworks show, Enchantment!
Rides
Once you’re in Magic Kingdom, you will head straight to Frontierland for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This ride (and the whole land) is so fun at night! Make sure you turn around at the top of the ride to see a beautiful, nighttime view of the castle.
After spending some time in Frontierland, walk over to Fantasyland to ride the Mad Tea Party. This ride is a classic and your kids will enjoy being able to spin around as much as they want! Lastly, before the fireworks start, make your way over to Tomorrowland for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. On this interactive ride, you’ll shoot at targets to defeat Zurg! Your family will love that you can compete against each other for the high score!
Food
You are still pretty full from the Festival of the Arts, but you’ll grab a Mickey Bar or another snack to enjoy while you watch Enchantment in front of the castle!
Day 2: Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs
Even though the main focus of this trip is the Festival of the Arts, you still want to make it to each park. So, today will be spent at Animal Kingdom! Animal Kingdom typically closes the earliest out of all the parks, which makes it a good night to check out Disney Springs for dinner.
Rides
To start your Animal Kingdom day, you will head straight to Pandora to get in line for Flight of Passage. You could also purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for this one, but if you go there at rope drop, you can hopefully avoid the long wait times!
After Flight of Passage, take a nice walk around Pandora and take in all the sights and sounds! Your family will definitely enjoy the theming and atmosphere of the area.
Next, make your way over to the Africa section of the park for Kilimanjaro Safaris. This is another ride that is great to enjoy earlier in the day.
After taking a stroll through some of the animal trails, you head to Asia for Expedition Everest! This is one of only a handful of actual roller coasters at Disney World and even the queue is themed really well. If your family wants something a little more thrilling, be sure to check it out!
Food
For lunch at Animal Kingdom, you will grab some fan favorite Mac and Cheese dishes from Eight Spoon Cafe. This location is a quick service booth that is always a great option for families. It’s right by the Tree of Life, so find a table or bench and enjoy some amazing views with your meal!
Dinner will be at Disney Springs tonight! I always love incorporating some time at Disney Springs on my trips. It’s a great way to get away from the parks for a bit and enjoy some different food, shopping, and entertainment!
Once at Disney Springs, Homecomin’ will be where you are heading for dinner. This restaurant features home-style dishes from celebrity chef, Art Smith. There are Florida favorites and enough variety that everyone will find something to enjoy!
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I have an unhealthy obsession with Gideon’s, the new bakehouse at Disney Springs. Gideon’s is a popular spot that has some of the best cookies I have ever had! Seriously, I already have plans to bring a box home with me on my next trip. So, before leaving Disney Springs, you grab a spot in line and order a cookie (or two) to enjoy!
Day 3: Hollywood Studios and EPCOT
Start Day at Hollywood Studios
You’ll start your last park day at Hollywood Studios and end it back over at the Festival of the Arts in EPCOT. Closing out your trip with some more festival favorites and the new nighttime show Harmonious will be perfect!
Rides
In order to make the most of your time at Hollywood Studios, you purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway to start your day. This ride is pretty new and extremely popular, so being able to skip the line will be great! It’s such a cute ride and your family will absolutely love it.
After exploring the front of the park a bit, you make your way over to Toy Story Land. While in Toy Story Land, you will ride Slinky Dog Dash and Toy Story Mania. Slinky Dog Dash is a roller coaster that isn’t too intense, so it should be perfect for your kids! Toy Story Mania is one of my personal favorites at Hollywood Studios. This ride is interactive and let’s you play carnival-type games against each other!
Food
For a quick lunch in Hollywood Studios, grab a burger and fries from Rosie’s All-American Cafe. This is a great spot to eat some classic, American food with a great view down Sunset Boulevard.
Now, jump on the Skyliner and head back over to EPCOT to enjoy some more of the Festival of the Arts.
Park Hop to EPCOT
And just like that, you are back at EPCOT and ready to close out your festival vacation! For tonight, you will really be focusing on the festival and exploring anything you missed on your first day.
Food
Dinner will be at the Rose & Crown Dining Room as part of the Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Package. Your meal will include an appetizer, entree, dessert, and a non-alcoholic beverage.
After the concert, head over to the Donut Box to try out some unique donut options at this new Food Studio! Before Harmonious, pick up a Bubble Tea from the Painted Panda from the Food Studio in the China Pavilion.
Extras
For dinner, you purchased a Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Package. This package allows you to have lunch or dinner at a specific restaurant, then enjoy the Disney on Broadway Concert Series. This series features a rotation of various Broadway stars singing Disney classics! Dining packages need to be purchased before your trip and go on sale 60 days in advance. Check the schedule before your trip to see who will be performing!
Check Out
Well, this was a quick, eventful trip to see all that the Festival of the Arts has to offer! It’s so hard to leave, but you can always start planning your next festival trip to feel better. What is your favorite EPCOT festival? Let us know in the comments and tell us your favorite festival tips!
Overview
- Check-In: Art of Animation
- Food: Landscape of Flavors
- Day 1: EPCOT and Magic Kingdom
- Rides: Frozen Ever After, Ratatouille, Soarin’ Around the World, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mad Tea Party, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Food: Pop Eats!, Vibrante & Vivido: Encanto Cocina, Deco Delights
- Extras: Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine
- Day 2: Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs
- Rides: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Flight of Passage
- Food: Eight Spoons Cafe, Homecomin’, Gideon’s
- Day 3: Hollywood Studios and EPCOT
- Rides: Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Slinky Dog Dash, Toy Story Mania
- Food: Rosie’s All American Cafe, Rose & Crown, Donut Box, The Painted Panda
- Extras: Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Package (Rose & Crown)
