Preview of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts 2019: Event Runs January 19th – February 25th, 2019 in its Third Year

Hi everyone!

I attended a media preview yesterday for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts, which returns for its third year on January 18th, 2019 (tomorrow!) and runs through February 25th, 2019. The event became my second favorite yearly Epcot festival when it debuted in 2017, due to its art focus and the variety of interactive elements. If you’ve attended the Epcot International Festival of the Arts before, it will be similar this year but as with any event or festival, there are some changes. For example, the fantastic Disney on Broadway series will be every day now and will include additional performer duos during that time period.

Not to be outdone, all three other parks (Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom) will have new entertainment offerings debuting tomorrow! I will mention those later in the article as well. Tomorrow we’ll be park hopping to the different offerings as opposed to spending the whole day at Epcot.

My first stop at the preview was to watch Leigh create Big Hero 6 chalk art. She has been at the Epcot International Festival of the Arts since 2017, and is the only artist who exclusively has created Disney chalk art designs. There is a new location for the chalk artists this year, on the bridge between Future World and World Showcase. It will be a much higher traveled location than before. This is one of my favorite aspects of the event.

Leigh creating Big Hero 6 chalk art

The finished artwork 4 hours later with Baymax and Hiro

The Food Studios are a big part of Epcot International Festival of the Arts, and I especially look forward to L’Art du Cuisine Francaise in the France pavilion. I did have a chance to try some different food and beverage items, and while I don’t drink beer, I thought the Chocolate and Beer Pairing Flight from the Artist’s Studio was very well presented. There are returning favorites such as the Wild Mushroom Risotto with aged parmesan as well as new items such as the Vanilla, Rose Water and Pistachio Panna Cotta. Both of these are delicious choices.

Here is our video sharing some of the food items that can be found at the festival.

I didn’t spend as much time trying food this preview because there was so much more to see and do. The preview was a smaller version of the festival, and even included performances by artist Trevor Carlton and four Disney on Broadway singers.

Trevor Carlton has appeared at both previous Epcot International Festival of the Arts years and has created paintings in about 10 minutes on the Fountain View Stage. Not only is it terrific entertainment, the art pieces can then be purchased. Trevor created a Figment piece of artwork while we watched yesterday. There will be over 100 artists featured throughout the festival but Carlton is unique in that his appearances are a performance and art in one.

Trevor Carlton creates artwork of Figment.

The Disney on Broadway concert series is fantastic and features talented performers who have been part of Disney Broadway and West End shows. There are six pairs of performers this year, offering a really nice variety of shows. Performances are at 5:30 PM, 6:45 PM and 8:00 PM daily from January 18 to February 25, 2019 and you can find the schedule here. Kevin Massey and Kerry Butler performed songs from Frozen on Broadway for us and Meredith Inglesby & Steve Blanchard performed several songs from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

Kevin Massey and Kerry Butler perform.

Merchandise is also a big part of the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. New this year is a Figment festival spirit jersey as well as other apparel, pins and more. Back again is the Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt, which is always so fun! All of the festivals now offer scavenger hunts with small prizes at a nominal cost. We spoke with Will Dasso, Merchandise Guest Experience Manager about some of the merchandise offerings this year.

Wenbo Zhang will be creating candy at The Painted Panda Food Studio in the China pavilion five days per week. His creations are wonderful! You will either find him making Dragon’s Beard Candy or one of his works of sugar candy art – I chose a pig for Year of the Pig and brought it home. I was told that the sugar candy art would be sold for $15.00. I am not sure what the cost is on the Dragon’s Beard Candy (which is very unique, sort of like a cotton candy but very different too).

Wenbo Zhang creating candy art.

He created this pig for me in just a few minutes.

The Dragon’s Beard Candy is shown here, and in small cups to the right.

There is SO much more to see and do during the Epcot International Festival of the Arts. I always enjoy the paint-by-numbers mural, it is really fun to see how thousands of guests can combine efforts for one cohesive painting. And the takeaway has always been a postcard of the mural. Additionally, there are both free seminars and seminars you can pay for, both are worth doing if the seminar is of interest to you.

I always look forward to the mural.

Near the end of the event yesterday, Figment emerges in the paint.

Living statues will also be back again for 2019, they have become a guest favorite as part of the entertainment offerings.

Living Statue

I mentioned also that there is a LOT more to do around the Walt Disney World parks starting tomorrow. We spoke with Walt Disney World Ambassador Marilyn West, who talked about the new activities, meet and greets and more that will be available. Mickey Mouse in his 90th celebration costume is in the video (and the next video underneath it). Mickey will be meeting with Minnie at Town Square Theater at the Magic Kingdom and will also appear in the new “Move It! Shake It! MousekeDance It! Street Party. And get ready to have the song “It’s a Good Time” stuck in your head, I heard it so much at Disneyland Paris last month and I expect to hear it quite a bit tomorrow.

Look for many more articles and videos in the coming days! One article should have tips for the Epcot International Festival of the Arts and then other articles and videos will be about other new offerings around the parks.