EPCOT Festival of the Arts for First Timers: What You Really Need to Know

Planning your first EPCOT Festival of the Arts? Learn what to do, what to eat, what to prioritize, what to skip, and how to fit the festival into your EPCOT day.

Estimated reading time: 34 minutes

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I LOVE the EPCOT Festival of the Arts.

Like… a lot.

It is honestly hard for me to choose between Festival of the Arts and Flower & Garden as my favorite EPCOT festival. So instead of choosing, I have basically decided to alternate. One year I plan a Disney World trip during Festival of the Arts. The next time, I aim for Flower & Garden. Rinse and repeat.

And yes, Festival of the Arts has earned the unfortunate-but-hilarious nickname FARTS among Disney fans. Once you know, you know. LOL.

But here’s the thing. If you’ve never been to Festival of the Arts before, you might assume this is primarily a festival for people who really, really like art.

It is.

But it also isn’t.

Because this isn’t an art museum dropped into the middle of EPCOT. Festival of the Arts combines visual art, performing arts, Disney on Broadway, live artists, interactive activities, ridiculous photo opportunities, chalk art, and some surprisingly fantastic food.

There is SO much to do.

In fact, that’s probably the biggest problem with Festival of the Arts.

There is so much to do at the festival… while there is also so much to do at EPCOT.

And you still only have so many hours in a day.

So, if this is your first Festival of the Arts, I’m not going to tell you that you need to see every artist, eat at every food booth, complete every activity, and somehow squeeze all of EPCOT into the same day.

You don’t.

Instead, let’s talk about what’s actually available, what I think is worth prioritizing, and how to experience Festival of the Arts without turning your EPCOT day into an impossible checklist.

What Is the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts?

Festival of the Arts is EPCOT’s annual celebration of visual, performing, and culinary arts.

It typically takes place during January and February, and unlike some of EPCOT’s longer festivals, this one goes by FAST. In 2026, for example, Festival of the Arts ran for only about five and a half weeks.

So this isn’t necessarily a festival you’ll accidentally catch during a random Disney World vacation.

If you really want to experience Festival of the Arts, you may need to plan your trip around it.

I do.

And one of the reasons I’m willing to do that is because this festival offers so much more than food booths and seasonal decorations.

Throughout EPCOT, you’ll find artist booths, live demonstrations, enormous chalk drawings, interactive art installations, special entertainment, Disney on Broadway concerts, festival food studios, scavenger hunts, hands-on activities, and art-inspired photo opportunities.

And much of it is included with your regular EPCOT admission.

That’s one of the things I love most about this festival. You can spend a LOT of time experiencing Festival of the Arts without paying for another ticket or buying anything at all.

You Don’t Have to Be an “Art Person” to Love Festival of the Arts

This is probably the first misconception I’d get out of the way.

You absolutely can spend hours looking at art during Festival of the Arts.

There are booths throughout EPCOT filled with paintings, prints, illustrations, sculptures, and all kinds of other artwork. Some of it is Disney-inspired. Some isn’t.

But you can also watch Broadway stars perform.

Pose inside a famous painting.

Watch a chalk artist make the pavement look like it has opened into an enormous cavern.

Help paint a giant mural.

Learn to draw a Disney character.

Eat something that looks like a tiny work of art.

You can watch musicians and dancers perform as you’re walking around EPCOT.

And you can apparently spend a surprising amount of time taking ridiculous pictures of yourself inside famous paintings.

Ask me how I know.

Festival of the Arts isn’t really about walking around EPCOT quietly admiring paintings.

It’s about creativity in just about every form Disney can come up with.

Disney on Broadway Is One of the BEST Parts of Festival of the Arts

If you love Broadway musicals—or even if you just love the music from Disney movies—put the Disney on Broadway Concert Series near the top of your list.

Seriously.

This is one of my favorite things at Festival of the Arts.

Disney brings in performers who have actually appeared in Disney Broadway productions, and they perform songs from shows such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, and others.

And these aren’t little background performances you happen to hear while walking around World Showcase.

This is a legitimate concert.

The performances are roughly 30–40 minutes long, they’re held at the America Gardens Theatre, and the concert itself is included with your EPCOT admission.

I’ve seen Disney on Broadway during Festival of the Arts, and it was phenomenal.

If you love Broadway, I would absolutely look at the performer schedule before deciding which day of your trip to visit EPCOT.

That’s important because the performers rotate throughout the festival. If there is somebody you particularly want to see—or a Broadway show you’re especially excited about—it may actually influence which EPCOT day you choose.

Is the Disney on Broadway Dining Package Worth It?

You do NOT need to buy a dining package to see Disney on Broadway.

There is regular standby seating available.

That said?

I love the dining package.

We paired our Disney on Broadway concert with a meal at Via Napoli, and it worked beautifully. We got a fantastic EPCOT meal and guaranteed seating for the concert without having to worry about lining up early enough to get the seats we wanted.

Would I tell every first-time Festival of the Arts visitor that they need to book a dining package?

No.

But if Disney on Broadway is one of your major reasons for visiting the festival, I think it’s absolutely worth considering.

You’re essentially paying for the meal you were going to eat anyway and getting the convenience of reserved concert seating along with it.

And during a festival where you already have approximately 4,782 things competing for your time, I am a big fan of anything that saves me from spending part of my day standing in another line.

Don’t Forget to Check CommuniCore Hall

CommuniCore Hall gives Festival of the Arts another indoor space for special exhibits and activities, and I would absolutely check what’s happening there during your visit.

When I visited in 2025, CommuniCore Hall hosted Once Upon a Stage: 30 Years of Disney on Broadway.

And I LOVED it.

There were costumes, props, puppets, and other pieces from Disney Broadway productions. We got to see everything from The Lion King costumes to an Olaf puppet from Frozen and pieces connected to Mary Poppins.

For somebody who already loves Disney on Broadway, it was fabulous.

The important thing to know, though, is that the CommuniCore Hall offering can change.

Don’t read about an exhibit from a previous festival and assume you’ll see exactly the same thing. Check the current year’s Festival of the Arts information before your trip.

But don’t forget about CommuniCore Hall altogether, either.

It can be very easy to spend most of your festival time wandering around World Showcase and completely miss something happening indoors.

Slow Down for the Chalk Art

Okay.

I LOVE the chalk artists.

There are chalk drawings along the walkways during Festival of the Arts, and some of them are cute Disney characters.

And then there are others that make you stop and wonder how in the world somebody did THAT with chalk.

I’ve seen everything from Winnie the Pooh and Sorcerer Mickey to Maleficent, Coco, realistic animals, and an incredibly detailed Avatar portrait.

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But some of my favorites are the enormous three-dimensional pieces.

One year, there was a huge Indiana Jones scene that made it look like the sidewalk had opened up into a cavern underneath EPCOT.

It was SO cool.

And don’t just look at the finished pieces.

If you happen to walk by while one of the chalk artists is working, stop for a few minutes and watch.

That’s part of the experience.

Festival of the Arts is one of the rare times at Disney World when watching someone create something can be just as interesting as seeing the finished product.

Watch the Artists Create Their Work

And that doesn’t only apply to chalk artists.

One of the coolest things about Festival of the Arts is how many opportunities there are to actually see artists working.

You’ll find artists painting and demonstrating different techniques throughout the festival. Sometimes you’ll also find the artists themselves at the booths selling their work.

That completely changes the experience for me.

Instead of walking through what feels like a giant outdoor gift shop, you get to see the person behind the art.

You might watch somebody work on a painting and then walk ten feet over and see finished pieces from that same artist hanging for sale.

And yes, this is also where Festival of the Arts can become dangerous for your Disney budget.

Because you may walk into EPCOT with absolutely no intention of purchasing artwork.

Then you see something.

And suddenly you’re having a conversation with yourself about where exactly this $300 Disney painting would look best in your house.

You’ve been warned. LOL.

Help Paint the Giant Festival Mural

This is one of those activities that doesn’t sound particularly exciting when I describe it.

But I love it.

During Festival of the Arts, Disney creates a huge paint-by-number mural that guests help complete throughout the day.

You receive a small cup of paint and a brush, find the numbered squares corresponding to your color, and paint your little section.

That’s it.

It doesn’t take very long.

You’re not creating a masterpiece.

But thousands of EPCOT visitors contribute tiny pieces until eventually the entire image comes together.

And I think that’s incredibly fun.

It’s also exactly the kind of thing I’d encourage a first-time visitor to do because it requires very little time but feels completely different from anything you’d normally do during an EPCOT day.

Definitely Do Some of the Art Photo Ops

Another thing I would NOT skip?

The art photo ops.

Festival of the Arts places recreations of famous works of art around EPCOT that you can physically step inside.

And they are so much fun.

You can pose as part of the painting, and some of the installations even include information about the original artwork. So somewhere between taking increasingly ridiculous photos of yourself, you might accidentally learn something about Renoir.

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Disney education!

Some locations have PhotoPass photographers, while others are essentially DIY photo opportunities.

There can also be special festival Magic Shots. We’ve had Figment magically appear in one of ours, which was adorable.

Do you need to stop at every single photo location?

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Of course not.

But pick a couple that make you laugh and do them.

This is Festival of the Arts.

You’re supposed to play with the art.

Look for the Little Artistic Details Everywhere

One of the reasons I love this festival so much is that the art isn’t contained in one section of EPCOT.

It’s everywhere.

There may be artwork on columns. Festival decorations around the park. Special displays. Figment popping up in unexpected places.

I’ve even seen a Disney bus completely wrapped in colorful Figment artwork.

You don’t need a checklist for any of this.

In fact, I think a checklist would almost defeat the purpose.

Just pay attention as you’re walking around.

Festival of the Arts rewards people who slow down and actually look at things.

Which, admittedly, can be difficult when your Lightning Lane for Guardians of the Galaxy is in 17 minutes and you’re currently on the opposite side of EPCOT.

Welcome to the problem we’re going to keep coming back to throughout this guide.

Yes, Festival of the Arts Has Food Too

And not just obligatory festival food.

Really good festival food.

This may be sacrilege considering EPCOT has an entire festival called Food & Wine, but I actually prefer a lot of the food I’ve had at Festival of the Arts.

No joke.

The festival food locations are called Food Studios, and the emphasis isn’t only on flavor. Presentation is part of the fun.

I’ve eaten dishes served to look like works of art. I’ve had colorful desserts and creative drinks. Even something as simple as deviled eggs can show up looking like somebody spent considerably more time making them pretty than I ever would at home.

And because this is EPCOT, there are a LOT of options.

Which creates exactly the same problem we had at Food & Wine:

There is more food than you can possibly eat.

Except Festival of the Arts makes the problem worse because there is also more art than you can see, more entertainment than you can watch, more activities than you can complete…

…and somewhere in there you’re presumably still planning to ride Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.

So yes.

I would actually plan to eat some Festival of the Arts food.

But I would not try to eat everything.

And I definitely wouldn’t assume that because Food & Wine has “food” in the name, that’s automatically the EPCOT festival with the best things to eat.

I don’t think it is.

One Huge Festival of the Arts Advantage: The Weather

And then we get to one of my favorite advantages of this festival.

January and February in Florida can be absolutely lovely.

Obviously, Florida weather is Florida weather. You can get cold days, rain, and weird temperature swings.

But compared with walking around EPCOT eating festival food when it’s 95 degrees and approximately six feet from the surface of the sun?

Festival of the Arts weather can be glorious.

And that matters more than you might think.

This is a festival that encourages you to wander.

You’re outside watching chalk artists, browsing art booths, and stopping for performers. You spend a lot of time walking around World Showcase, taking pictures.. eating.

Doing all of that on a beautiful 70-degree winter day is just… delightful.

It’s another reason Festival of the Arts is one of the few EPCOT festivals I will actually plan an entire Disney World trip around.

And we haven’t even gotten to the biggest first-timer question yet:

How in the world do you fit all of this into an EPCOT day?

How Do You Fit Festival of the Arts Into an EPCOT Day?

This is where I think first-time visitors can get themselves into trouble.

Because once you start reading about Festival of the Arts, it’s really easy to build an absolutely ridiculous itinerary.

Disney on Broadway! Chalk art! Food Studios! Paint the mural! Animation Academy! Art booths! Photo ops! Scavenger hunt!

Oh, and also…

Guardians of the Galaxy. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Frozen Ever After. Soarin’. Spaceship Earth. Living with the Land. World Showcase. Characters. Shows.

You see the problem.

Unless you have multiple EPCOT days, you probably cannot thoroughly experience Festival of the Arts AND thoroughly experience EPCOT in one day.

And I don’t think you should try.

The better strategy is to decide which festival experiences matter most to you and weave those into a regular EPCOT day.

Decide What You Care About Before You Go

I would divide Festival of the Arts into a few broad categories:

• Performing arts: Disney on Broadway and other live entertainment
• Visual arts: artist booths, demonstrations and chalk art
• Interactive art: the mural, Animation Academy and other hands-on activities
• Photo opportunities: famous paintings, Magic Shots and festival-specific displays
• Food: the Food Studios
• Festival extras: scavenger hunts, merchandise and whatever special exhibits Disney offers that year

You do not need to prioritize all six equally.

I don’t.

For me, Disney on Broadway is a huge priority. I love wandering through the art booths. I want to see the chalk art. I’ll stop for some photo ops. I’ll probably paint my little squares on the mural.

And yes, I want some festival food.

But I’m not going to spend hours completing a scavenger hunt just because one exists.

That’s the kind of decision I want you to make before your trip.

You aren’t failing Festival of the Arts because you didn’t do everything.

I Would Prioritize Disney on Broadway

If this is your first Festival of the Arts and you enjoy live theater at all, Disney on Broadway would be my biggest recommendation.

There are plenty of festival experiences you can stumble across throughout the day.

You cannot stumble across a concert that happened two hours ago.

So check the performance schedule.

Figure out whether there’s a particular pair of performers you want to see.

Then build that portion of your EPCOT day around the concert.

Everything else can be considerably more flexible.

And if you couldn’t care less about Broadway?

Fantastic.

You just freed up a chunk of your Festival of the Arts day for something you DO care about.

That’s the entire point.

Give Yourself Time to Wander

This is probably the festival where I would be least likely to schedule every minute of my EPCOT day.

Festival of the Arts rewards wandering.

You may walk past an artist demonstration and decide you want to stop.

And then find a piece of artwork you love.

You may discover a chalk drawing you somehow missed earlier.

And may hear music and wander toward it.

You may find a PhotoPass photographer doing a festival Magic Shot.

If your itinerary says you have exactly seven minutes to walk from one attraction to the next, you’re going to miss a lot of what makes this festival special.

That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t use Lightning Lane.

I absolutely would.

It means I would use Lightning Lane strategically so I could create MORE unstructured time later in the day.

There’s a difference.

This Is Where EPCOT Lightning Lane Can Actually Help

Festival of the Arts is a perfect example of why I don’t think Lightning Lane is only about squeezing as many rides as possible into a Disney day.

Sometimes it’s about getting the rides you care about done efficiently so you can spend the rest of your day doing something else.

Like this.

If I can use Early Entry, rope drop and Lightning Lane to knock out several major EPCOT attractions without spending hours in standby lines, I’ve just created more time for Festival of the Arts.

That’s the win.

I don’t need to use the extra time to ride six additional attractions.

I can use it to watch someone create an incredible chalk drawing.

Or browse art.

Maybe eat something delicious.

Or see Disney on Broadway.

And of course.. take a ridiculous picture inside a painting.

Efficiency doesn’t always have to mean doing more. Sometimes it means creating room to slow down.

And Festival of the Arts is one of the best examples of that at Disney World.

Animation Academy Is Worth Considering

Another festival activity I think is especially fun is Animation Academy.

Disney artists teach guests how to draw a Disney character step-by-step, and you get to take your drawing home afterward.

Do you need artistic talent?

Nope.

That is fortunate for some of us. LOL.

But unlike the mural, which takes only a few minutes, Animation Academy is something you need to deliberately fit into your schedule.

There are scheduled sessions and limited capacity, so this isn’t necessarily something I’d tell everyone to do.

If you love drawing, have an artistic kid, or simply think learning to draw a Disney character sounds fun, absolutely make room for it.

If you’re already struggling to fit Guardians, Remy, festival food and Disney on Broadway into your EPCOT day?

This may be one of the things you skip.

Again: priorities.

What About Figment’s Brush With the Masters?

Festival of the Arts has its own scavenger hunt: Figment’s Brush With the Masters.

You purchase the scavenger hunt map and then search World Showcase for Figment hiding inside famous works of art.

It’s cute.

And if your family loves Disney scavenger hunts, go for it.

But this is another place where I’d remind first-time visitors that you do not need to do something simply because Disney created an activity for you to do.

There are already a LOT of things competing for your time at this festival.

For some families, the Figment scavenger hunt may be one of the highlights.

For others?

Look for Figment when you happen to see him and keep walking.

Both are completely acceptable ways to experience Festival of the Arts.

Don’t Make Buying Art a Requirement

You also don’t have to buy art to enjoy an art festival.

I know. Revolutionary. 😂

Browsing the artist booths is one of my favorite parts of Festival of the Arts.

And if you find something you absolutely love and want to bring home?

Wonderful.

But there is artwork EVERYWHERE.

It can become very easy to convince yourself that buying something is part of the experience.

It isn’t.

You can talk to artists. Watch demonstrations. Browse galleries. Admire the work. Take note of artists you like.

And spend exactly zero dollars.

Which may be useful after you discover how much you’ve already spent at the Food Studios.

How Much Time Should You Give Festival of the Arts?

If this is your only EPCOT day, I would not assign a specific number of hours to the festival.

I would integrate it into the entire day.

That’s because Festival of the Arts isn’t really contained in one place.

You’ll encounter it as you move through EPCOT.

Maybe you ride a couple attractions in the morning.

Stop at the mural.

Ride something else.

Grab lunch from a Food Studio.

Wander through artist booths.

See some chalk art.

Then you have a Lightning Lane.

You pose inside a painting.

Then you head toward America Gardens Theatre for Disney on Broadway.

That’s how I think this festival works best.

It becomes part of your EPCOT day instead of becoming a completely separate itinerary competing with your EPCOT day.

But Could Festival of the Arts Fill an Entire Day?

Oh, absolutely.

If you’ve been to EPCOT before and rides aren’t your priority, you could very easily spend the majority of your day focused on Festival of the Arts.

Honestly, that sounds lovely.

Watch artists.

Browse booths.

Take an Animation Academy class.

Eat your way around several Food Studios.

Paint the mural.

Do the Figment scavenger hunt.

See Disney on Broadway.

Stop for other performances.

Take all the ridiculous photos.

And maybe ride something when you feel like it.

The difference is that you chose that kind of day.

You didn’t accidentally sacrifice everything else at EPCOT because you thought you were supposed to complete the festival.

Festival of the Arts With Kids

I actually think Festival of the Arts can be fantastic with kids.

But I would make it interactive.

Most kids probably don’t want to spend six hours slowly browsing art booths while their parents contemplate buying prints.

Fair.

But painting part of a giant mural?

Drawing a Disney character?

Finding Figment?

Stepping into a painting?

Watching chalk art appear on the pavement?

Eating colorful festival desserts?

Those are completely different experiences.

And this is where knowing your kid matters considerably more than following somebody else’s Festival of the Arts itinerary.

An art-loving 10-year-old might be obsessed with this festival.

Another kid may want to paint three squares on the mural, eat a cupcake and go ride Frozen.

Plan accordingly.

Check the Festival Schedule Before Choosing Your EPCOT Day

This is one of the biggest pieces of trip-planning advice I would give you.

If your Disney World vacation overlaps Festival of the Arts and you have flexibility about which day you visit EPCOT, check the festival entertainment schedule before locking in your EPCOT day.

Disney on Broadway is the obvious reason.

Different performers appear on different dates, and if there is someone you really want to see, that could make the decision for you.

But also look at the broader festival calendar and park hours.

And, whenever possible, I’d generally prefer a weekday over a weekend.

Festival of the Arts attracts locals too, especially when the weather is gorgeous. World Showcase can feel noticeably busier as the afternoon and evening progress.

That doesn’t mean you should panic if Saturday is your only EPCOT day.

Just understand that the festival itself can affect crowd patterns in ways that aren’t necessarily reflected by ride wait times.

How Festival of the Arts Changes the Rest of Your Disney World Trip

This is the part I think gets overlooked in a lot of festival planning.

Festival of the Arts doesn’t only change what you do once you’re standing inside EPCOT.

It may change how you plan the rest of your vacation.

If Festival of the Arts is important to you, you may want to give EPCOT more time than you otherwise would.

If you have two EPCOT days, even better. You can make one more attraction-heavy and give yourself much more freedom to enjoy the festival during the other.

If you only have one EPCOT day, I’d be more strategic about Early Entry, rope drop and Lightning Lane.

And if you’re choosing where to stay, easy EPCOT access suddenly becomes more valuable.

A Skyliner resort or one of the EPCOT-area resorts can be especially convenient when you know you’re going to spend a significant amount of time at this park.

You don’t need to completely reorganize your Disney World vacation around Festival of the Arts.

But if this festival is one of the reasons you’re coming?

Give it some breathing room.

The Biggest Festival of the Arts Mistakes First-Timers Make

I think most Festival of the Arts mistakes come from trying to do too much.

Trying to eat at eight Food Studios.

And then spending time trying to see every piece of chalk art.

Racing to complete every fun activity… and browse every artist booth.

Blocking off time for Disney on Broadway and still standing in line for every major EPCOT attraction.

Booking a table service dining reservation and still carving out time to watch the nighttime spectacular.

All in one day.

No.

Please don’t do that to yourself.

Another mistake is the opposite: treating Festival of the Arts like some minor seasonal decoration you’ll casually notice while racing between rides.

You’ll miss what makes it special.

The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle.

Choose a few festival experiences you genuinely care about and then give yourself enough unscheduled time to discover the things you didn’t know you’d care about.

What I Would Do on My First Visit to Festival of the Arts

If I had one EPCOT day and it was my first Festival of the Arts, here’s roughly how I would approach it.

I would use the morning for attractions.

Depending on where I was staying and what Lightning Lanes I had, I’d use Early Entry or rope drop to knock out one or two priority rides and continue working through my major EPCOT attractions while crowds were still manageable.

Once the festival really got going, I would switch gears.

I’d paint the mural, start looking at the chalk art and artist booths.

I’d eat one or two things from the Food Studios that I had already identified as priorities.

And I’d do a couple of the art photo ops.

If Animation Academy really appealed to me, I’d fit in a session.

Then I would continue mixing regular EPCOT attractions with festival experiences throughout the afternoon.

And I would absolutely plan my evening around Disney on Broadway.

If I had a dining package, even better.

After the concert, I’d continue wandering World Showcase, grab another festival snack if I was hungry, and finish the evening with EPCOT’s nighttime spectacular.

Would I complete Figment’s Brush With the Masters?

Maybe.

Would I visit every Food Studio?

Nope.

Would I see every artist?

Impossible.

Would I experience every single festival activity?

Not even close.

And I would still have an absolutely fantastic Festival of the Arts day.

Is EPCOT Festival of the Arts Worth Planning a Trip Around?

For me?

Yes.

This is where Festival of the Arts differs dramatically from Food & Wine.

I really enjoy Food & Wine. If it happens to be going on during my Disney World trip, I’m thrilled.

But I don’t personally plan a trip around it.

Festival of the Arts?

I have.

And I will again.

Part of that is the weather. Visiting Disney World in January or February can be wonderful.

Part of it is Disney on Broadway, which I genuinely think is one of the best festival offerings EPCOT has.

But mostly, it’s because Festival of the Arts changes the feeling of EPCOT.

There is creativity happening everywhere.

People are painting.. and drawing.. and performing.

Artists are creating things right in front of you.

Guests are becoming part of famous paintings.

Random pieces of pavement have turned into works of art.

Even the food is trying to be pretty.

It feels playful.

And it gives me reasons to slow down and notice EPCOT instead of constantly thinking about where I’m supposed to be next.

Is Festival of the Arts Worth It for a First-Timer?

Absolutely.

Especially because there really isn’t an additional “is it worth the money?” question here.

Festival of the Arts is included with your EPCOT admission. You can spend additional money on food, artwork, merchandise, scavenger hunts, dining packages and other extras, but you don’t have to.

You could watch chalk artists, browse artwork, help paint the mural, step inside famous paintings, watch live entertainment and see Disney on Broadway without turning the festival into another expensive Disney add-on.

But I also wouldn’t tell a first-time Disney World visitor to let Festival of the Arts completely take over their only EPCOT day.

EPCOT is still EPCOT.

Ride Guardians.

Explore World Showcase.

Meet characters if that’s your thing.

Watch the shows.

Eat some regular EPCOT food too.

Then, in between all of that, stop and watch someone create something incredible.

Paint a few squares.

Pose inside a painting.

Try a couple of Food Studios.

And if you love Broadway even half as much as I do, end up at America Gardens Theatre at some point.

Because I don’t think the goal of your first Festival of the Arts should be to experience all of Festival of the Arts.

The goal should be to let Festival of the Arts make an already fantastic EPCOT day even better.

And this is one festival where I think Disney absolutely nails it.

More EPCOT Planning Guides

Festival of the Arts adds a LOT to an EPCOT day, but you still have an entire theme park to explore. These guides can help you figure out how to fit the rides, food, characters, shows, and other EPCOT experiences around the festival.

• My Festival of the Arts EPCOT Touring Case Study — Want to see what this actually looks like in practice? In this real EPCOT day, I used Lightning Lane to balance regular EPCOT attractions with Festival of the Arts food, entertainment, and activities without trying to cram everything into the day. This is a great example of why sometimes the best use of Lightning Lane isn’t doing more rides—it’s creating more time for everything else.
• EPCOT Food and Wine Festival for First Timers — Visiting later in the year instead? Food & Wine is a completely different kind of EPCOT festival. This guide breaks down what there is to do, what I’d prioritize, and why I think the festival works best as an addition to your EPCOT day instead of taking it over.
• Best Rides at EPCOT Ranked — Festival of the Arts is fantastic, but I would not skip Guardians, Remy’s, Frozen, and the rest of EPCOT’s attractions just because there’s a festival happening. Here’s how I rank the rides and which ones I’d prioritize if you only have one day.
• EPCOT Lightning Lane Guide — Lightning Lane can be especially useful during a festival because getting your priority rides done efficiently gives you more time to wander, browse the art, eat festival food, and enjoy the entertainment.
• EPCOT Early Entry and Rope Drop Strategies — If you’re staying at a Disney resort, using the first part of the morning strategically can knock out some of EPCOT’s biggest attractions before you shift into festival mode later in the day.
• Best Snacks at EPCOT — Don’t forget that EPCOT has some fantastic year-round snacks too. Festival food is fun, but you don’t have to sacrifice every regular EPCOT favorite just because the Food Studios are open.
• Best Quick-Service Restaurants at EPCOT — Sometimes you want an actual meal, a place to sit down, or something more substantial than several small festival plates. These are my favorite EPCOT quick-service options.
• Best Shows at EPCOT — EPCOT’s films, live entertainment, and other shows are easy to overlook when you’re trying to fit rides and festival activities into the same day, but several are absolutely worth making time for.
• Where to Meet Characters at EPCOT — Festival of the Arts doesn’t replace EPCOT’s regular character experiences. If meeting Mickey, princesses, Figment, or other Disney characters matters to your family, you’ll want to work those into your day too.