In 2017, Disney added a new festival to Epcot for the first part of the year. Held only four days a week, the Festival of the Arts felt more like a trial run than the typical Epcot festival. Apparently, the trial was a success because they brought the Festival of the Arts back bigger and better than ever for its second year.
You might be wondering what’s different about Festival of the Arts from Epcot’s other festivals. There’s actually a lot that’s unique to #ArtfulEpcot, and it’s quickly become my favorite festival that Disney offers.
For the first time in forever, Disney is once again offering drawing classes! When the Magic of Disney Animation closed at Hollywood Studios in 2015, it left only the Disney Quest classes accessible to your everyday guest, until Disney Quest closed last year. Now through February 19, guests can learn to draw their favorite Disney characters in half hour classes at the Festival Pavilion, which is the rarely used building over by Test Track.
Also at the Festival Pavillion, you will find free seminars offered twice a day on a variety of topics! They have topics ranging from cell phone photography to jewelry making to how Disney designs their stores. (Fun Fact: I know the person who taught that one!) They also have paid workshops once a day for a small fee, where you actually get to make something and keep it.
Scattered around the park are all sorts of awesome photo opportunities. At the normal character meet and greet spots, you’ll find cool easels and backdrops for the photos. Belle has a portrait of herself reading a book on an easel clearly made by her father, and Alice is hanging out with a picture of the White Rabbit. Personally, I’m a little miffed Mickey doesn’t have a portrait at the Character Spot. There are also larger than life paintings you can literally step into! The only other time I’ve seen anything like it is on RunDisney courses. In Future World, you will find “living statues” that you can take photos with representing different parts of Epcot.
No Epcot event would be complete without a map and a scavenger hunt! Figment’s Brush with the Masters is back for the second time. Everyone’s favorite purple dragon has made his way into some of the world’s most famous paintings and hidden them around World Showcase. Once you purchase your map, you put the stickers for each painting on the country you find it in and then turn it in for a prize! Last year it was magnets; this year it’s limited edition pins.
In Future World you will find talented chalk artists drawing new art for about six hours a day. Sometimes they even let the guests help out. Each week brings a new set of drawings as they tirelessly work on new creations. You can find one of the artists over on Instagram. (I know because she commented on one of my pictures of her work!)
There is a paint by numbers activity that guests can participate in. Over the course of a few days, guests are given different paints and numbers to fill in a giant mural.
Every night talented performers take the stage as part of the Disney on Broadway series. Actual Broadway stars have come to Epcot to perform nightly, with a slew of songs from Disney’s Broadway productions.
Like the other Epcot Festivals, you’ll find unique food booths with special offerings and pop-up stores with outside vendors. What’s different about these outside vendors is (for the most part) they are all the actual artists! There’s nothing like buying a print and then getting it signed by the man who made it.
I’ve now been to the Festival of the Arts twice, once by myself and once with Jay. I hope to make it a few more times before it’s over.
Jay and I arrived at Epcot mid-afternoon with Duffy and Gelatoni in tow. It only seemed natural to take the artist in the family! (Actually, the Festival of the Arts would be the perfect time to introduce Gelatoni to the U.S. Parks. HINT, HINT DISNEY!) Our first stop was the Chalk Artists over by Mission Space since they stop the earliest in the day. It’s really cool to watch them work.
Then we made a quick stop over to see the Living Statues before heading towards World Showcase. I love the concept, but Doctor Who has ruined them for me. All I can think is “Don’t blink.”
There were two specific artists we were looking for: Kevin-John, the man behind the Jungle Cruise print Jay had seen online, and Greg McCullough, who I’ve met a few times and is one of my favorite Disney artists.
We had to make a side stop because Gelatoni wanted to help with the Paint by Numbers Mural.
Most of our trek around World Showcase was stopping to look at menus, catching Pokémon, and me dragging Jay up to every Photopass opportunity I could find. There were no lines! I couldn’t resist!
Greg McCullough’s booth was at the back of the park near Morocco. We stopped in to look at my favorite picture, called “Dream It Do It”. It’s a gorgeous golden tree in front of the park icons with over thirty hidden Mickeys and characters. Greg’s also the featured artist for this year with a new piece of work of World Showcase featuring thirty-five hidden Mickeys, but I really just want my tree. One day.
Disclaimer: The print is only about $50, the problem is once you get into bigger sizes it gets way more expensive and I want this to be the center of a room one day.
Apparently, we passed Kevin-John on our first go around. Jay found him between the Friendship Boat launch and Canada while I stopped off to buy an overpriced cookie entirely so I could take a photo with it. Hey, it came with a paint brush! I returned to find him full on fangirling. Needless to say, we bought the print, and it’s signed so that’s pretty cool. We also got photos!
We headed to the Art of Disney Store to see the original painting that cost several thousand dollars, so I’m happy Jay settled for the print. It was extremely pretty though. Then I got in trouble for bringing my cookie in the store and we had to leave.
It’s now getting harder to go to Epcot when there’s not a festival going on than when there is, and I like that a lot. Epcot is my least favorite of the Disney Parks so it’s nice to have some cool stuff going on there. (I’m not bitter over them getting rid of Duffy or anything.) I really enjoy the whole environment of Festival of the Arts. I’m disappointed the schedule for the seminars doesn’t line up well with my schedule so I’m probably not going to get to do any of those, but I am hoping to make it back for a drawing class!
Cost: Free with park admission.
Value: 10/10.
Duration: It’s easily a solid half day to do and see everything.
Add Ons: There’s a dining package for the Disney on Broadway Concert Series. Figment’s Brush with the Masters will run you $8.99. The paid workshops run around $40.
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