The
2024 EPCOT International Festival of
the Arts is in full swing at Walt Disney World through Feb. 19, 2024.
The annual celebration of visual, performing, and culinary arts is a feast for
all the senses, providing a vibrant antidote to the dreary winter months thanks
to colorful dishes from 18 food studios, artwork inspired by Disney, Star Wars,
Pixar, and Marvel, star-studded Disney on Broadway performances, and Figment,
Figment and more Figment.
Here is a closer look at the best of this year's
fest.
Figment Is Back With Another Show-Stealing
Popcorn Bucket
Fan-favorite
Figment maintains his starring role as the festival mascot, gracing signage,
merchandise, the festival scavenger hunt, and more. Returning for a second
year, “Figment’s Inspiration Station at the Odyssey — Art, Food and Little
Sparks of Magic” in the Odyssey pavilion is Figment’s festival home. Throughout
the rainbow-bedecked space, spot artistic homages to the lovable dragon and the
classic 1983 attraction, Journey Into Imagination. The nearby Imagination
pavilion, home to the previous and current iterations of the ride, as well as a
Figment meet-and-greet, provides the inspiration for the festival’s must-have
souvenir popcorn bucket.
The
festival's top must-have item, the Figment Premium Popcorn Bucket, celebrates
the iconic Imagination pavilion structure and its famous purple resident. It
comes filled with rainbow popcorn and lights up in a spectrum of colors. Demand
is high, but Disney has streamlined the process after the first souvenir
Figment popcorn bucket made national headlines in 2022 for drawing hours-long
opening-day waits. The bucket is available for $30 and can be mobile ordered
and picked up in the Odyssey building at the designated return time with no
wait.
There are
more rainbows on the menu here, too. Rainbow Cake is topped with freeze-dried
Skittles, as is the Grape Smoothie, served in a souvenir cup adorned with
Figment's face. Beers and ciders come in a sippable spectrum of hues — order
flights of both for the full rainbow. Hard ciders are flavored with black
cherry, blood orange, and passion fruit, and beers range from raspberry and
blackberry sour to a blonde (green) ale.
More Must-Try Food Studios
The eyes eat
first, and they're in for a treat at this festival, where the presentation gets
as much attention as the flavors — and both deliver. With 18 food studios to
tantalize your eyes and taste buds, it's a good idea to first peruse the menus
in your Festival Passport. This mini booklet is available at the park entrance
and is your guide to every aspect of the festival, including locations and food
studio menus.
There’s
something for everyone, though the festival is a bit lighter on vegetarian and
plant-based dishes than in previous years. For meat eaters, The Craftsman’s
Courtyard has two new dishes getting a lot of buzz: Grilled
Pork Belly ($6.75) topped with salsa verde, broccoli rabe, pickled peppers, and
raclette cheese on grilled sourdough and Grilled Marinated Skirt Steak ($7)
with caramelized onions and mushrooms, blue cheese fondue, and arugula on a
grilled French roll.
For
vegans, this year, the popular Wild Mushroom Risotto from Gourmet Landscapes is
now plant-based — and delicious as ever, even if you don't follow a plant-based
diet.
Perennial top
picks include the returning favorite Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup ($5.75)
from Pop Eats! You can also get a plussed version of the grilled cheese with
pimento cheese, bacon and fried green tomato for just $.75 more. Both are
filling, and the tomato soup comes in a Pop Eats!-branded can that doubles as a
take-home souvenir.
It’s a little
pricey for what you get, but the Mozzarella Fritta ($8.50) at the Italy
pavilion’s L’Arte Di Mangiare scores extra points for a fun presentation.
Flash-fried breaded fresh mozzarella is served with an artist’s palette of
condiments, including pesto, marinara, and a rich balsamic glaze.
Expression Section at 2024 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. (Photo Credit: Brooke McDonald)
Another
annual favorite for presentation as much as flavor is the Sushi Donut ($8.75)
from Goshiki in the Japan pavilion. The name is more controversial than the
dish itself — donut-shaped
sushi with salmon, tuna, shrimp, cucumber, and sesame seed served with wasabi
aïoli, sriracha, and eel sauce.
Vibrante & Vívido: Encanto Cocina food studio is back for a third year, and the
Chorizo and Potato Empanada is as popular as ever. This year, a new sweet treat
was added here — Passion Fruit-filled Mango Cheesecake.
Not sure where to
start? Let the
"Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine" guide you. This culinary
scavenger hunt takes you searching for some of the most colorful dishes on
festival menus. Collect a stamp in your Festival Passport each time you
purchase any of the seven vibrant dishes, including the Tomato Soup and
Empanada we've already mentioned. Buy five (duplicates still earn a stamp),
then collect your reward, a complimentary artist's palette cookie.
Admire and Shop for Art — and Merch
During the festival, EPCOT becomes an open-air gallery packed with art
inspired by Disney, Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel. From fine art to sculptures to
handmade treasures, there's a piece for every fandom and budget, from small
prints and posters to original signed and numbered works on canvas. Visiting
and featured artists vary throughout the festival, and artwork on display
changes regularly as it's purchased and replenished.
If you’re
already a fan of a particular artist, be sure to consult the Artist Signing Schedule to have your favorite artist sign their work.
For more
traditional festival merchandise, find festival-exclusive Spirit jerseys,
Corkcicle canteens, ornaments, pins and more. Look out for the year’s most
popular pieces, a festival-branded Lug backpack and crossbody bag that sold out
almost immediately on opening day but could make their way back to shelves
before the fest is over.
Observe Art in Action
Check out the
creative process in real-time at locations around EPCOT. At Chalk Art Galleries
along the bridge to World Showcase, artists
create vibrant chalk interpretations of Disney characters, scenes and even
famous works of art.
On the stage at
World Showcase Plaza, watch a rotating lineup of visual, musical, rhythmic, and
acrobatic performances. During Visual Art in Performance, see a work of art
come together in minutes. Here, a visual artist paints to high-energy music,
bringing a Disney character to life on canvas as a live audience cheers them
on.
Alternating on the
same World Showcase Plaza stage, musicians like saxophonist Don Black perform throughout the day, and performers put on an acrobatic show of
strength and agility during Art Defying Gravity.
Across World
Showcase Lagoon in the America Gardens Theatre, the Disney on Broadway Concert
Series brings some of Disney on Broadway's biggest stars to the stage three
times an evening — at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8 p.m. Performers including
Kissy Simmons, Josh Strickland, and Michael James Scott share anecdotes and
sing songs from musicals in which they've starred, as well as beloved songs to
which they've formed personal attachments.
Little Mermaid at 2024 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts. (Photo Credit: Brooke McDonald)
Artsy All-Ages Activities
The park
brims with interactive opportunities for guests to engage with art — and even
create their own.
To keep
little ones interested while browsing the artwork in Festival Markets around
World Showcase, pick up a map for "Figment's Brush With the Masters,"
a limited-time scavenger hunt. Get the map for $9.99 from select merchandise
locations and find Figment hiding within paintings throughout World Showcase.
Pick up your completion prize at various redemption locations, a paint-your-own
figurine of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, or Figment.
For another
unofficial scavenger hunt, keep your eyes peeled for Chalk Full of Character
appearances. Chalk drawings of Disney characters have been added to walls
around World Showcase — for example, find Abu in Morocco and Meeko in the
American Adventure. Challenge your friends or family to see who can spot the
most.
At the
Expression Section in World Celebration, guests can add their own brush strokes
to a paint-by-number mural. For no charge, you can get a small container of
paint and a brush and fill in a few squares of the mural. When you're finished,
as a souvenir, you'll get a tiny print of the mural you helped create.
Near the
Chalk Art Galleries on the bridge to World Showcase, there’s also a Chalk Art
section where kids can leave their own mark on the ground with sidewalk chalk.
For a fun
photo souvenir, step inside a masterpiece or an iconic animated Disney film in
an Artful Photo Op. Become the subject of a famous work of art like DaVinci’s Mona Lisa or Leutze’s Washington Crossing the Delaware or a
character in a Disney movie like Wish
or Sleeping Beauty.
In the
afternoons at America Gardens Theatre, get pointers from a pro at Animation
Academy. A Disney animation pro takes the stage to teach guests to draw a
Disney character — and take home their masterpiece as a souvenir.
The 2024 EPCOT International Festival of
the Arts runs
through Feb. 19 at Walt Disney World.
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