The popular Epcot International Festival of the Arts is on its way back! Beginning January 18, 2019, and running through February 25, 2019, the festival will be a celebration of visual, culinary and performing arts. This popular 39-day festival will be the largest celebration yet! Are you ready?
Performing Arts
Guests looking to experience the magic of live Disney theater can head to the Disney on Broadway Concert Series. The series has expanded to seven days a week during the festival and will feature pairs of Disney on Broadway stars! The America Gardens Theatre stage will be filled with favorite tunes from award-winning Disney on Broadway productions. Performers this year include:
- Kerry Butler (“Beauty and the Beast”) and Kevin Massey (“Tarzan”)
- Meredith Inglesby (“The Little Mermaid”) and Steve Blanchard (“Beauty and the Beast”)
- Arielle Jacobs and Adam Jacobs (“Aladdin”)
- Heidi Blickenstaff (“Freaky Friday”) and Gavin Lee (“Mary Poppins”)
- Ashley Brown (“Mary Poppins”) and Josh Strickland (“Tarzan”)
- Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White (“The Lion King”)
The concert series is included with park admission; showtimes are 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. nightly. Looking to make the experience even more magical? The Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Package is available at participating Epcot restaurants and guarantees show seating; package bookings open Nov. 8, 2018.
Culinary Arts
This year, the Epcot International Festival of the Arts will feature 13 Food Studios and even more opportunities to savor some tasty bites! Some of these new tastes include:
- The Artist’s Table will feature beef wellington with mushroom bordelaise, fennel cream, and roasted baby vegetables
- Smoked salmon and cream gâteau with egg yolk cream, paddlefish caviar, and micro-herbs is sure to be a new favorite at The Painter’s Palate
- Pop Eats! will serve up almond frangipane cake with raspberry and chocolate
- Red wine-braised short rib with parsnip purée, broccolini, baby tomatoes and aged balsamic will be available at Cuisine Classique
Visual Arts
Guests looking to be inspired can find visual art everywhere around Epcot! If you’re looking to find a piece of art to take home, be sure to look anywhere around the Festival Markets or in the Art of Disney store! In addition, special merchandise will be available at Mouse Gear and other Epcot locations featuring the festival’s logo adorning shirts, mugs, totes and other charming items.
This event is full of exciting opportunities for the entire family to appreciate the arts! Here are just a few of the exciting events
- Everyone’s invited to grab a paintbrush and help create a wall mural along World Showcase Plaza.
- Guests of all ages will have the opportunity to literally step inside works of art and take fun photos, such as the “Washington Crossing the Delaware” Artful Photo Opportunity.
- The Paint with a Disney Artist program invites guests to learn under the tutelage of a professional (offered select Fridays and Sundays, including continental breakfast, for an additional fee).
- Complimentary 30-minute seminars will give guests helpful instruction for producing their own artwork at home.
- More than 50 visiting artists participating in the festival will be available to meet with guests and share insights on their work.
- Disney artists’ work will be exhibited across Epcot.
- International musical and variety acts will share their talents with guests, including the return of Bodh’aktan to the Canada stage and Delta Q, a new group performing in Germany.
- Guests can join in the fun of Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt by purchasing a map at select merchandise locations.
Check out our tour of the 2018 Epcot International Festival of the Arts!
Will you be attending the festival next year? What are you most excited to see? Let us know!
