Here’s my personal take on a few of the highlights for the International Festival of the Arts in Disney’s EPCOT.
The Festival of the Arts runs January 17 – February 24 at Disney’s EPCOT. This fun festival brings a global artistic twist, to the park, through visual, culinary, and performing arts.
Food Highlights
If you’re a foodie, and I mean a real food appreciator, you’ll enjoy this festival! Disney does a great job of moving away from your usual park food menu for Festival of the Arts. You can tell a lot of thought goes in to most of these dishes. I wouldn’t necessarily say the food is suitable for super picky eaters or some kids, honestly some of it was a little weird even for myself. We tried LOTS of yummy food, but I’m just breaking down my top 3 ultimate favorites.
Some of my favorites include:
Wild Mushroom Risotto. Holy yum. This savory dish can be found at the Masterpiece Kitchen in Canada. This dish isn’t overly mushroomy tasting, especially paired with the aged parmesan, which is good in my opinion. The whole dish is pulled together with a zinfandel reduction which balanced the entire piece out. Hands down my favorite dish this year!
Agave Pork Belly. 3 words – Pumpkin. Seed. Pesto. I couldn’t wrap my head around it, but since trying it, I can’t get it out of my mind! The pumpkin seed pesto was amazing and such a nice compliment to the crispy, fatty, pork belly. I didn’t anticipate liking this dish, but it was easily one of my favorites!
Deconstructed Strawberry Cheesecake. You can find this delight at the Deconstructed Dish. The creamy whipped cheesecake pairs fabulously with fresh strawberries and a little crunch of sugar cookie. This dish is super straight forward and a reliable fan favorite.
Merchandise Highlights
One thing I always love about EPCOT’s festivals is the merch! One of my favorite collectibles are Tervis tumblers; however, there are always lots of fun t-shirts, ears, and even purses! Here’s just a glimpse at my favorite gear from the 2020 Festival of the Arts.
Unpopular opinion – Figment freaks me out. There I’ve said it. I’m not sorry. HOWEVER, I will say that the Figment merch is super cute for Festival of the Arts. It’s all super cute and I love it.
How ADORABLE is this purse!? Yes, PURSE! I love unique pieces like this. Would I actually use it in day-to-day life? No, but it would definitely sit on my shelf of collectibles because this is too freaking cute!
Experience Highlights
Animation Academy. I’m SO glad that Animation Academy is offered during Festival of the Arts. I miss it being a regular thing in EPCOT, it honestly was one of my favorite experiences in the park back in the day.
Disney on Broadway Concert Series. I’m a sucker for a good live performance, especially if it’s musical theatre, so I really appreciated this concert series. Disney does a great job bringing in talent throughout all of their festivals. This one in particular is packed with all of your favorite show tunes and is a great time!
Take it for what it’s worth – in my opinion, Festival of the Arts is a great time; however, nothing can beat Flower and Garden!
