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2024 Guide to the Festival of the Arts at Epcot

2024 Guide to the Festival of the Arts at Epcot

Disney’s Festival of the Arts is back for 2024, and we couldn’t be more excited!

Held from January 12–February 19, 2024, this celebration of art is the perfect bridge between the decorations of the Festival of the Holidays and the bright florals that the Flower and Garden Festival bring.

Here’s a guide to when it is, what you can do, and how to best experience it.

What is the Epcot International Festival of the Arts?

With nearly year-round festivals, you may be wondering what makes the Epcot International Festival of the Arts unique or worth checking out on your next visit.

The answer is lots.

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts is a celebration of the visual, culinary, and performing arts.

festival of the arts festival map

It’s packed full of things to see and do and taste and experience, and the wide variety of offerings is what makes this festival unique.

It’s also why it is quickly becoming a favorite of guests (and us!).

In fact, about the only thing we don’t like about this festival is how short it is!

With only about 5 1/2 weeks of fun, you’ll have to be quick if you want to check it out.

Below, you’ll see exactly what you can expect to find if you attend.

How much does it cost?

Attending the festival is free with Epcot admission.

When is it?

Festival of the Arts is held in January and February. This year, it will be held January 12–February 19, 2024.

Aside from the beautiful art you’ll find during the festival, you are also very likely to find beautiful weather, too.

Even though winter in Florida isn’t typically cold, it is definitely cooler than the summer. That makes it that much easier to stroll through the park, taking in all the sights, sounds, and tastes.

Festival of the Arts Map

You can find maps stationed throughout the park on signs as well as info in My Disney Experience, but if you’re looking for a map of all the booths, we have one you can save to your phone:

What exactly takes place during the festival?

The focus for this festival is all about the arts, with offerings broken up into 3 categories: Culinary Arts, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts.

Here’s what you can find for each:

Culinary Arts

Food *is* art, and for this festival, the chefs of Epcot create visual masterpieces that are both a feast for the eyes and the stomach!

In 2024, there are 16 food booths (or Food Studios as Disney likes to call them), including 1 new one: Cuisine Classique near Test Track. Plus, there are several other permanent locations serving festival exclusives.

Food booths (AKA Food Studios) and menus

Though all Epcot festivals feature food booths, there’s special attention paid to the food presentation at Festival of the Arts. Almost too pretty to eat!

Italy

Like this Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie, which is served with a paintbrush, so you can “paint” with your frosting:

Festival of the Arts cookie

To help you keep track of what is available, you can pick up free maps and festival Passports at any food kiosk. You can also find electronic listings of menus in the My Disney Experience app.

Festival of the Arts Festival Data

Want to see all our reviews in 1 spot?

Clicking on the link below will allow you to copy our data into a Google Sheet that you can then use for your Food & Wine planning purposes.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival data screenshot

Festival of the Arts Gift Cards

Like with the other festivals, Disney offers cute gift cards that fit around your wrist. These can be handy if you want to stick to a wine or snack budget (which is something we always do).

festival of the arts gift card 2023

Just kidding. I’m sure they are handy for that, but we don’t participate in hateful things like “wine budgets.”

One of the complaints we have with the Food and Wine Festival is how tricky it can be to eat while standing and holding your flight of beer or glass of wine.

Because January and February are typically slower times of the year, that makes finding a place to sit and enjoy your food and drinks at the Festival of the Arts a little bit easier, which is a definite win in our book.

vibrante and vivido encanto cocino festival of the arts booth 2022

Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine

If you love sampling goodies at the Epcot festivals, you can’t go wrong with participating in this fun addition.

Much like the Cookie Stroll found during the Festival of the Holidays, the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine offers guests an exclusive culinary prize (a cookie and a smoothie in a collectable cup) for trying 5 vibrant food items (and getting 5 stamps in your festival passport!).

And the best part is, you don’t have to do it all in 1 day. As long as you finish by the last day of the festival, you can snag the prize!

2024 Colorful Walk of Cuisine Items:

  • Deconstructed Dish: Deconstructed Key Lime Pie: Flexible Key Lime Curd, “Key Lime” Mousse, Graham Cracker Cake, and Meringues 
  • Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey: Blueberry-filled Pastry Tart with purple icing
  • Vibrante & Vivido: Chorizo and Potato Empanada with turmeric aïoli and annatto aïoli
  • Gourmet Landscapes: Verjus-roasted Beets with goat cheese, petite lettuce, blackberry gastrique, and spiced pecans 
  • Deco Delights: Neapolitan Dessert Trio: Chocolate tart, vanilla bean cheesecake, and strawberry mousse

VIDEO: Why Festival of the Arts is our Fave

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VcjtNEzGHQ

Figment Popcorn Bucket

The insanely popular Figment popcorn bucket is back for 2024. This year’s design features not only Figment, but also his home: The Imagination pavilion!

But, good news! No need to wait in line this year. You can purchase the popcorn bucket via Mobile Order in the My Disney Experience app.

When ordering through the app, look for a location called “EPCOT Souvenir Release.” From there, select your return time and complete your purchase. The popcorn bucket is limited to 2 buckets per Disney account.

When you are notified that your order is ready, return to the pickup location inside of the Odyssey building (currently home to the Inspiration Station booth) to retrieve your bucket. You will be assigned a pickup window number that you can locate once at the pickup station.

Figment's Inspiration Station booth

Performing Arts

What would an Epcot festival be without entertainment? Here’s what you can find at this year’s Festival of the Arts:

Disney on Broadway

  • Location: American Garden Theatre
  • Showtimes: 5:30, 6:45, & 8:00 PM

One of the highlights of Festival of the Arts is the Disney on Broadway concert series at the American Garden Theatre, which is located at The American Adventure pavilion in the World Showcase.

disney on broadway concert series festival of the arts 2022

We’ve seen some fantastic artists during these concerts.

Every pair of artists performs a different set list based on the shows they’ve participated in, plus a sprinkling of a few other songs from Disney’s Broadway shows.

Broadway Concert Series Festival of the Arts

We’ve found that not every show is equal. Some artists focused on signature songs from shows, while others stuck to some of the lesser-known numbers.

If your trip lands on dates where you can see multiple shows with different performers (they rotate every couple of days), we recommend trying to do that.

During this time of the year, the smaller crowds mean that it is a lot easier to find a seat for one of these concerts than it is for things like the Candlelight Processional during the holidays.

festival of the arts america gardens theater schedule 2023

If you don’t care about how good your seat is, you can likely walk up and grab a spot shortly before the show starts.

For guests that want to be up closer, we recommend lining up 30–45 minutes early, or, for a truly up-close experience, consider one of the dining packages (more on those below).

Standby line for Disney on Broadway

In 2024, the Disney on Broadway Concert Series runs daily (at 5:30, 6:45, & 8 p.m.) at the American Garden Theatre.

Here’s the full lineup for 2024. Note that the last concert is special in that it showcases 4 performers instead of the usual 2:

  • Jan. 12, 14, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23
    • Caissie Levy (“Frozen”) & Patti Murin (“Frozen”)
  • Jan. 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 24, 25
    • Heidi Blickenstaff (“Freaky Friday” and “The Little Mermaid”) & Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins” and “Beauty and the Beast”)
  • Jan. 26, 28, 29, Feb. 1, 3, 5, 6
    • Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins” and “Beauty and the Beast”) & L. Steven Taylor (“The Lion King”)
  • Jan. 27, 30, 31, Feb. 2, 4, 7, 8
    • Kissy Simmons (“The Lion King”) & Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
  • Feb. 9, 11, 12, 15, 18
    • Mandy Gonzalez (“Aida”) & Michael James Scott (“Aladdin” and “Tarzan”)
  • Feb. 10, 13, 14, 16, 17
    • Bradley Gibson (“Hercules” and “The Lion King”) & Shoba Narayan (“Aladdin”)
  • Feb. 19
    • Special, extended finale performance featuring Gonzalez, Scott, Gibson & Narayan

Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Packages

If you want a guaranteed seat without having to get there too early, you can do a Dining Package. Reservations for the 2024 Dining Packages opened up on December 19.

Here’s how they work:

Dining Packages give you priority seating at one of the concerts, although, for most concerts, they are not necessary.

The seating for these packages are in the very first few rows of the theater. Unless you want the very front-row center, there isn’t any need to line up early.

disney on broadway dining package

The following prices exclude tax and gratuity.

RESTAURANTADULT (AGES 10 & UP)CHILD (Ages 3 TO 9)
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Norway Pavilion
$66.00 Breakfast
$78.00 Lunch/Dinner
$42.00 Breakfast
$50.00 Lunch/Dinner
Biergarten Restaurant
Germany Pavilion
$60.00$34.00
Coral Reef Restaurant
The Living Seas
$73.00$29.00
Garden Grill Restaurant
The Land Pavilion
$58.00 Breakfast
$73.00 Lunch/Dinner
$37.00 Breakfast
$47.00 Lunch/Dinner
Le Cellier Steakhouse
Canada Pavilion
$99.00$39.00
Regal Eagle Smokehouse
America Pavilion
*Available as same-day dining package
$36
Rose & Crown Dining Room
United Kingdom Pavilion
$61.00$26.00
Spice Road Table
Morocco Pavilion
$50.00$21.00

Visual Art in Performance

  • Location: World Showcase Plaza
  • Showtimes: Thursday–Sunday (1:00 PM and 4:00 PM)

If you love visual arts, this performance is for you!

Here’s how Disney describes it:

Behold a high-energy, on-stage performance by a guest visual artist painting favorite Disney characters. In just minutes, colorful Disney images magically appear before your eyes.

Here’s who you can see in 2024:

Trevor Carlton

  • January 12 to January 15
  • January 18 to January 21
  • January 25 to January 28

Stephen Fishwick

  • February 1 to February 4
  • February 8 to February 11
  • February 15 to February 19

This experience takes place in World Showcase Plaza, Thursday through Sunday and on select Mondays during the Festival.

You can find daily showtimes in the My Disney Experience app.

Art Defying Gravity

  • Location: World Showcase Plaza
  • Showtimes: Saturday-Wednesday (11:00 AM, 11:55 AM, 1:50 PM, 2:45 PM)

Witness incredible displays of strength, grace, acrobatics and agility.

Performances take place in World Showcase Plaza, Saturday through Wednesday during the Festival.

art defying gravity festival of the arts

Visual Arts

With over 100 artists, plus fun photo ops and opportunities to create your own art, there is plenty to see and do.

Photo ops

These fun life-sized paintings are always a hit.

artful photo op festival of the arts 2022

Inside each painting, you’ll find a tip sheet that tells you how you should pose. 

Festival of the Arts photo opp

Be on the lookout for these Artful Photo Ops

Here are the photo ops available for 2024:

  • International Gateway: Luncheon of the Boating Party – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
  • The American Adventure: Washington Crossing the Delaware – Emanuel Leutze
  • Between Italy Pavilion and Germany Pavilion: Mona Lisa – Leonardo da Vinci
  • Between Italy Pavilion and Germany Pavilion: The Scream – Edvard Munch
  • Mexico Pavilion: An Homage to Frida Kahlo
  • Bridge to World Showcase: Wish Storybook
  • Italy Pavilion Courtyard: Teatime with Penguins
  • Bridge to World Showcase: Forest Scene from Sleeping Beauty

Magic Shots

There are also a bunch of fun, brightly-themed PhotoPass options at Festival of the Arts. And, yes, many feature Figment.

Here’s what you could get in 2024:

  • Easel
    • Available from Disney PhotoPass photographers stationed in the center of the new World Celebration area facing Spaceship Earth
  • Artist Desk Collage
    • Near the planter close to the Disney Vacation Club kiosk heading onto the main bridge into World Showcase as you leave World Celebration.
    • Near the waterfall close to Journey into Imagination with Figment.
    • In the center of the new World Celebration area facing Spaceship Earth.
  • Figment Wings
    • Near the planter close to the Disney Vacation Club kiosk heading onto the main bridge into World Showcase as you leave World Celebration.
    • Near the waterfall close to Journey into Imagination with Figment.
    • In the center of the new World Celebration area facing Spaceship Earth.
figment magic shots epcot festival of the arts
  • Figment Chalk Art:
    • Available from most Disney PhotoPass photographers located in World Celebration
figment magic shots epcot festival of the arts
  • Figment Flying:
    • Available from Disney PhotoPass photographers stationed in most locations in World Showcase, as well as near the waterfall close to Journey into Imagination with Figment
figment magic shots epcot festival of the arts
  • Tiny World Magic Shot: Festival of the Arts Edition
    • Available at the main park entrance during daytime and after dark
tiny world magic shot epcot festival of the arts
tiny world magic shot epcot festival of the arts
  • Paintbrush Prop + Magic Shot
    • Find after 6 p.m. at the main park entrance
paintbrush prop magic shot epcot festival of the arts
paintbrush prop magic shot epcot festival of the arts

Pixel Stick

  • Find after the sunsets near the Creations Shop on the pathway to World Showcase
pixel stick magic shot epcot festival of the arts

Chalk art

  • Location: Bridge to the World Showcase Plaza
  • Times: The art is always available to look at, but the artists will be working intermittently throughout the day
chalk art at epcot's festival of the arts

You’ll once again be able to find artists around the bridge to the World Showcase Plaza creating masterpieces out of chalk.

Both 2D and 3D pieces are available to see.

Kids chalk art

  • Location: bridge to the World Showcase Plaza
  • Times: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily

Kids can join in on the fun by leaving their own chalk masterpieces from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm at Kid’s Chalk Art, which is offered at the bridge to World Showcase Plaza.

kids chalk art

Paint-by-Number Mural

  • 2024 Location: World Nature
  • Times: 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily

Back for 2024 is the giant, paint-by-number mural.

If you have “add some graffiti to a wall in Epcot” on your bucket list, this experience is for you!

Festival of the Arts Expression Section

Ok, this isn’t graffiti, BUT it is an interactive experience that lets you help create a work of art large enough for all to see.

And, don’t be afraid that it will be all filled in before you get a chance to help.

paint by number paint pickup

Disney resets it with a blank one regularly.

Figment’s Brush with the Masters

  • Map locations: Creations Shop, Port of Entry, World Traveler
  • Price: $9.99

We are team “love a good scavenger hunt” and Festival of the Arts gets its very own Figment-themed version.

This fun scavenger hunt takes guests on a World Showcase tour while teaching you all about art.

Every time you find the Figment-themed picture frame, add the corresponding sticker to the pavilion on your map. Once completed, return your map to Disney Traders or World Traveler for an artful surprise.

Figment Brush with Master 2023

The map costs $9.99 plus tax. You can pick it up at Port of Entry, Creations Shop, or World Traveler.

Artist Booths and Galleries

  • Location: All throughout Epcot

With over 100 artists stationed throughout the park, there is a lot of fantastic art to see.

Festival of the Arts booth

And this isn’t just paintings and sketches.

There are tons of different things!

You can even make your own art, like at this Spin Art booth:

Spin Art

There’s something for just about every taste and style available to look at and purchase

Here are some of the galleries, artists and merchants you may encounter:

  • ACME Archives
  • Crystal Dombrosky Fine Art
  • Dave Avanzino
  • David E. Doss
  • Disney Fine Art by Collectors Editions
  • HAF2Paint
  • Jasmine Becket-Griffith – New!
  • Julia Gabrielov
  • Larry Dotson
  • McCullough Art
  • Merideth Young
  • Name Works
  • Noah Fine Art
  • Paola Gracey
  • Pop Gallery
  • Promenade Fine Art
  • Rob Kaz
  • Sandbox Creations – New!
  • Scooter – New!
  • Simone Amaduzzi Photography
  • Spin Art
  • Thomas Kinkade Studios
  • William Silvers

The artists meeting and the schedule changes from day to day. Get the daily artist schedule and times for your travel dates.

Animation Academy 

  • Location: American Gardens Theatre
  • Showtimes: 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM daily

Animation Academy is a popular experience that used to take place at Hollywood Studios and currently is held daily at Animal Kingdom, but Disney also brings it to Epcot for Festival of the Arts.

animation academy festival of the arts 2023

You can draw Disney characters with help from a real animation artist at the America Gardens Theatre. The step-by-step session includes an artist’s board, paper, and a pencil.

Stop by America Gardens Theatre at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm daily for a session with one of these artists:

  • Will Gay
  • Lon Smart
  • Matthew Dewater
  • Brian Blackmore
  • Sarah Schmidt
  • David Holbrook
  • Michael Montgomery
  • Alex Maher
  • Andy Quiles
  • Hannah Loflin
  • Luke Consolo
  • Justin Dring
the animation academy festival of the arts 2022

These mini-workshops are led by animation artists that teach you how to draw a Disney character.

Note: These classes are fast-paced and probably not ideal for small children.

When you’re done, you’ll be left with a fun souvenir to take home. 

Animation academy finished product

These sessions can be very popular, so we recommend lining up about 30 minutes before your desired session.

Face Painting

At the face painting station near Refreshment Outpost in World Showcase, you can special art inspired face painting options for the festival.

face painting festival of the arts

Prices start at $25 for the artsy designs.

Merchandise

Fun (and CUTE!) Festival of the Arts merchandise can be found throughout the park. Here’s some of what we saw in 2023. We’ll update with the 2024 line as soon as it is available!

The majority of merchandise is inspired by Figment and features rainbows of color. Items can be purchased at the festival, with some items also available on Shop Disney.

The festival merchandise this year includes Passholder exclusive tees, spirit jerseys, limited edition MagicBands, tumblers, and many more items.

How to Plan Your Time

Since this festival takes place at a time of year that has fantastically mild temps, it’s fairly easy (and comfortable) to fit it into an afternoon and evening if you’d like to spend the morning touring attractions or have a late arrival.

You’ll find that the seminars and workshops are busier on the weekends, as this festival has quickly become quite popular with the locals. So, if you can do a weekday, we highly recommend you do that.

Historical Festival of the Arts Information

There are a few things that Disney used to do for Festival of the Arts that we haven’t seen for several years. And while we don’t anticipate that they will make a return in 2023, we are keeping the information here just in case.

Workshops and seminars (not returning for 2023)

Typically there is a mix of workshops and seminars available during Festival of the Arts. Some are complimentary, and some cost extra.

Get the complete schedule, details, and pricing info on the Disney World site.

Here’s a few highlights from previous years:

  • Ink & Paint Animation program will let participants learn about 2D Cel Animation and paint their own Ink & Paint Cel with a Disney Ink & Paint artist*
  • Workshops that cover a wide variety of artistic skills such as 3D paper crafting, animation, mixed-media art, plus more*
  • Seminars on creating your own works of art

* additional fee to participate

Living Statues (not returning for 2023)

Putting a whole new spin on “rock-hard abs,” these living statues definitely made you look twice. But, although they were fun to see, they haven’t returned for several years.

Living statues

*********************************

What questions or other info do you have about the Festival of the Arts?

Please share in the comments.

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Heather Thomas

Olivia Trotter Stegall

Saturday 25th of September 2021

You said the Animation Academy session was fast paced and not for young children. My granddaughter will be just eight and very creative. I am excited to share the Festival of the Arts with her and the family. She would get frustrated if she couldn't keep up. So my question: Is the Animation lesson at Conservation Station also fast paced and possibly not appropriate? Is it more kid-friendly? TIA