11 Things to See and Do at EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2024

Hi everyone!

EPCOT International Festival of the Arts kicked off this weekend and runs through February 19th, 2024. This is my second favorite EPCOT festival of the year, filled with art, entertainment and creative food!

While opening day was a bit drizzly this year, it didn’t stop guests from enjoying the event (or from buying the new Figment popcorn bucket in the shape of the Imagination pavilion).

Here is our Mousesteps Weekly show #499 about EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, followed by my 11 things to see and do at the festival!

Here are my 11 things to see and do at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2024.

1 – Watch chalk art in action in the Chalk Art Galleries – This is actually my favorite thing to experience each year. Talented chalk artists create works of art on the pavement! You can find chalk art of classical paintings, Disney characters and more. And Nate Baranowski creates the most amazing 3D chalk art on weekends (when it isn’t raining). The activity can be found on the bridge between World Celebration and World Showcase.

2 – Enjoy a free scavenger hunt around EPCOT with Chalk Full of Character – There are character decals to be found around World Showcase. While there is no prize for finding the decals, it is a fun scavenger hunt around the park! This is another of our favorite things to do during the event.

3 – Purchase the Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt – This scavenger hunt costs $9.99 and includes a prize! Find Figment in works of art around World Showcase and add a sticker to the map provided.

4 – Step inside Artful Photo Ops including “Mary Poppins” and “Sleeping Beauty” themes – There are several new step-in photo opportunities this year, featuring Mary Poppins, Wish and Sleeping Beauty themes for 2024.

5 – Enjoy entertainment in World Showcase – My favorite entertainment during EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is watching Trevor Carlton create wonderful works of Disney art in just minutes on a stage (while dancing around to music). We had to leave early on Friday for an appointment and missed him, but we will see him next time. We did enjoy the music of saxophonist Don Black. Art Defying Gravity is also a guest favorite (performing Saturdays through Wednesdays).

6 – Discover creative food and drink items at Food Studios – There are some delicious and unique items to discover around EPCOT at the 16 Food Studios. For us, Pastoral Palate at the Germany Pavilion is always a favorite (the Red Wine-Braised Beef Short Rib and Black Forest Cake are so good). We visited several locations so far and look forward to trying more items soon.

7 – Take in a ‘Disney on Broadway’ concert – We have enjoyed many Disney on Broadway performances through the years at EPCOT International Festival of the Arts and they always are amazing. Each concert features a duo of Disney on Broadway stars, singing songs they may have helped make famous as well as other tunes. For example, Ashley Brown originated the title role of Mary in “Mary Poppins” on Broadway back in 2007, and has been in other productions as well. She is one of my favorite performers each year! Dining packages are available to purchase.

8 – Meet Disney characters with artistic flourish – Pluto wears a special EPCOT International Festival of the Arts collar with name tag. A number of other characters – including Donald Duck, Belle and Princess Aurora – stand next to works of art on easels featuring themselves.

9 – Visit with artists and purchase their works – EPCOT International Festival of the Arts is all about art, and guests have the unique experience of meeting favorite artists and purchasing their work (many items are created for the festival). Guests do sometimes arrive early to get in line to meet certain artists, and lines in those cases can get long. Some of our own favorite artists are Alex Maher, Jason Ratner, Ashley Taylor and Jerrod Maruyama.

10 – Purchase festival merchandise – There is quite a bit of EPCOT International Festival of the Arts merchandise this year, including apparel, bags and other items featuring festival mascot Figment (who has been an unofficial mascot of EPCOT through the years as well). And don’t forget, you can also meet Figment at the Imagination pavilion!

11 – Stay for “Rainbow Connection” and the Figment light show on Spaceship Earth – Spaceship Earth became a permanent “Beacon of Magic” during Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, with various light shows through the year. This is the third year for the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts “Rainbow Connection” light show, which rotates with a Figment light show and more. Stay for it these if you can. Also, “Luminous The Symphony of Us” is the newest EPCOT nighttime spectacular, it debuted in December 2023. Don’t miss it!

We will share more of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts in the coming weeks.

 

Mousesteps was hosted for EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 2024 (we would have visited on our own) and given a gift card to try items at the Food Studios.