Epcot’s Fantastic Festivals
Greetings Disney travelers-
Today we are talking about festival time at Epcot! It seems like there is almost always a festival happening in World Showcase, and that is becuase there almost always is. There are four festivals throughout the year; Festival of the Arts, Flower & Garden, Food & Wine, and International Festival of the Holidays. They have some similarities like great food & entertainment, but the over all theming is different for each one. Here is what to expect at each festival throughout the year-
Festival of the Arts started in 2017. This is one of my favorite festivals, it starts at the beginning of January and runs through the end of February. During Festival of the Arts you can taste beautiful food, check out amazing art & meet the artists! Last year before Covid shut everything down we were fortunate enough to go during this time. While walking around world showcase we saw an artist working on a painting, it was Robert Wyland! This was such a cool experience to see a legendary artist working. We have a Whaling Wall in my town painted my Wyland in 1993, I have always loved this wall and it was kind of special of me to see him working in person.
I also love that you can meet Disney artist and purchase their prints. You can also be apart of painting a daily mural or become a part of classic art! There is something for everyone to do and see at this festival!
Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival is up next. This runs from early March through July!! It goes longer and longer each year. Flower and Garden was the first festival Epcot hosted starting in 1994. I think out of the 4 Epcot festivals this is my favorite. Maybe becuase when we go, it is April vacation and we can still be in never ending winter. It is such a nice break from New England’s winter/spring weather and we enjoy the sunshine and beautiful gardens, it helps us get through the rest of the never ending winter /spring we have.
During Flower and Garden you can see beautiful flower topiaries, experience garden seminars, taste yummy food & visit a butterfly garden. If you are not a fan of winter (like me) and love good weather, good food and want to enjoy beautiful flowers this is the festival for you!
Starting very shortly after Flower & Garden this year, starts the famous Food & Wine Festival. Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival first hit the scene in 1995 and has been going strong ever since. It used to be a fall event and has been creeping into the summer months the last couple years, this year it is starting earlier than ever, and I am ok with that.
This was my introduction into Epcot’s festival life & fell in love with it! I had gone for the first time with my friend Brenda years ago, we ended up going for a few years in a row. We had a blast! We had so much fun tasting food and drinks around the globe! This is the festival where you hear about people eating & drinking around the world. Epcot will bring in booths from many different countries all around the globe, as well as the stationary countries that are always there. Each country will have their own menu with a variety of food and drink options. The food will usually be a snack credit, when meal plans are a thing again. And each dish is perfect to share so you don’t get too full and can sample all the things! I have a special place in my heart for this festival, I love going in the fall and then seeing the Magic Kingdom all decked out for Halloween it is the best!
The last festival of the year is International Festival of the Holidays. This is a fun time to visit Epcot for the entire family. The holiday themed festival runs from the end of November through the end the year. You can taste food from holiday kitchens around the globe, and see beautiful holiday decorations as you tour Epcot’s World Showcase. I personally love the cookie stroll. Where you purchase a holiday cookie at select booths around the world and if you purchase all the cookies on the stroll, you can get the last one free! You don’t have to do this all on one day, but if you do no one will stop you if you want to have that many cookies either. One of the best events is the Candlelight Stroll. This is on select nights throughout the festival & often has well known celebrity hosts. The host will narrate the Christmas story while the choirs sings favorite carols throughout the event. The talent the choir has is just amazing!! Often times you can pair the Candlelight Stroll with a dinner reservation to secure good seats too. It would be worth dining at one of the select spots to save a good seat, especially if Neil Patrick Harris is the narrator.
All of the festivals are pretty amazing as you can tell I have a hard time picking a favorite. If you’re a gardener Flower & Garden is for you! If you have a budding artist in the group visiting Festival of the Arts can be so inspirational for them. Food & Wine is the time to try good eats and drinks from different places around the world. The Festival of the Holidays can make the holiday time a little more magical for everyone.
Let me know if you have a favorite, or if there is a festival you’d like to go to!
