EPCOT Festival of the Arts is Walt Disney World’s winter celebration of visual art, food and live performance. It usually takes over EPCOT early in the year with Food Studios, working artists, interactive murals, Disney on Broadway performances and some of the most unusual photo opportunities you’ll find at the park.
I’ve visited the Festival of the Arts multiple times, and I like it for a different reason than EPCOT’s food-heavy festivals. You can certainly spend the day eating around the park, but the art is actually part of the experience rather than decoration around the edges.
The 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts ran from January 16 through February 23 and has now concluded. Disney has not announced the 2027 dates yet, so I’ll update this guide when the next festival schedule is released.
When Is the Next EPCOT Festival of the Arts?
Disney has confirmed that the 2026 Festival of the Arts is over and says information about the 2027 event will be released later.
The festival traditionally falls early in the year. In 2026 it ran from January 16 through February 23, giving visitors a little under six weeks to experience it.
If you’re planning a January or February Walt Disney World trip specifically around the festival, I wouldn’t book around predicted dates alone. Wait until Disney publishes the official schedule.
You can check the official EPCOT Festival of the Arts page for the next announcement.
You Don’t Need a Separate Festival Ticket
EPCOT Festival of the Arts is included with valid admission to EPCOT. It isn’t a separately ticketed event.
Depending on your admission type, you may also need a theme park reservation. Food, drinks, scavenger hunts, dining packages and certain other experiences cost extra, but you don’t purchase a separate Festival of the Arts admission ticket just to see the art or entertainment.
If you’re still budgeting the park portion of the trip, see my guide to EPCOT admission prices.
The Food Studios Are Part Restaurant, Part Art Project
Food is a big part of every EPCOT festival, but Festival of the Arts puts much more emphasis on how the dish looks.
Disney calls the festival booths Food Studios. In 2026, there were more than 20 Food Studios and participating locations spread around EPCOT, with dishes designed around color, composition and presentation.
One of the recurring dishes I’ve liked seeing return is the Deconstructed BLT. The menu changes every year, though, so I wouldn’t plan a future trip around an old list of specific dishes.
Disney normally publishes a full Foodie Guide shortly before the festival begins. That’s the menu I would use when deciding what I actually want to eat rather than relying on a previous year’s list.
What Time Do the Festival of the Arts Food Booths Open?
Don’t assume every Festival of the Arts Food Studio opens with EPCOT itself. Festival dining locations can have their own operating hours, and Disney notes that menu items, pricing and hours can change.
I would check the Food Studio hours in the My Disney Experience app on the day you’re visiting rather than building your morning around an old 11 a.m. opening time. Disney has not yet published operating hours for the 2027 Food Studios.
There’s another practical reason I like waiting until later in the morning to start sampling anyway: I’d rather use the first part of the day for EPCOT attractions and shift toward the festival once more of the art, food and entertainment becomes the focus of my day.
Disney on Broadway Is Worth Planning Around
The DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series is one of the things that separates Festival of the Arts from the other EPCOT festivals.
Broadway performers take the stage at America Gardens Theatre and perform songs from Disney stage productions such as The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and other shows.
In 2026, Disney scheduled concerts multiple times per day and included them with EPCOT admission. Regular seating was first come, first served.
Disney also offered DISNEY ON BROADWAY Dining Packages that combined a meal at a participating EPCOT restaurant with guaranteed seating at a concert later that day.
I wouldn’t automatically buy the dining package. If seeing a particular performer is one of the main reasons you’re attending, however, guaranteed seating can remove one thing from the day that you otherwise have to plan around.
The Art Is Why I’d Choose This Festival Over Food & Wine
I enjoy eating around EPCOT, but what makes Festival of the Arts memorable to me is that you constantly run into people actually making things.
You might see chalk artists working on the pavement, painters creating Disney characters in front of a crowd or artists meeting Guests near displays of their work. It changes the feeling of walking through EPCOT because you’re not just moving between rides and food booths.
Disney’s 2026 festival included Chalk Art Galleries and live visual-art performances, and the official festival page already notes that these offerings can change when the festival returns.
If you’re already planning to spend a lot of time wandering through the countries, my EPCOT World Showcase guide is useful for understanding how everything is laid out.
You Can Actually Make Art Here
Festival of the Arts isn’t just an outdoor gallery. Some of my favorite parts are the experiences where Disney lets you participate.
The 2026 festival included the Expression Section: A Paint by Numbers Mural, where Guests contributed individual painted sections to a much larger image.
There was also an Animation Academy led by an animator, Kids’ Chalk Art and the returning Figment’s Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt around World Showcase.
I particularly like the giant mural because you don’t need to consider yourself an artist to participate. You paint your assigned spaces and become one tiny part of the finished image.
Look Down When You’re Walking Around EPCOT
One easy thing to miss is the chalk art.
Festival artists create larger chalk pieces, but Disney has also used Chalk Full of Characters to hide smaller Disney character drawings around World Showcase.
It rewards slowing down a little. Festival of the Arts is one of those EPCOT events where constantly rushing from one attraction reservation to the next can actually make you miss what makes the festival good.
The Artful Photo Ops Are More Fun Than Regular Character Backdrops
Throughout the festival, Disney installs oversized artwork that lets you physically step into the scene for a photo.
They’re deliberately theatrical and a little ridiculous, which is why they work. Instead of simply standing in front of a festival sign, you become part of the artwork.
I wouldn’t build an itinerary around finding every photo location, but they’re worth stopping for when you come across one.
Figment’s Brush with the Masters Gives You a Reason to Explore World Showcase
Figment’s Brush with the Masters is the festival scavenger hunt. Disney hides Figment-themed picture frames within artwork around the World Showcase pavilions, and you use a map and stickers to record what you find.
In 2026, Disney sold the maps at locations including Creations Shop, Disney Traders and World Traveler, with a keepsake available after completing the hunt.
I think this makes the most sense if you’re already planning a slower loop around World Showcase, especially with kids. If you only have half a day and you’re trying to fit in EPCOT’s major rides, I wouldn’t make the scavenger hunt a priority.
How Much Time Should You Give Festival of the Arts?
You can see the basics of Festival of the Arts while spending a normal day at EPCOT, but I’d give it a full day if the festival itself is important to you.
The event is spread throughout EPCOT rather than confined to one festival area. Once you add Food Studios, artist displays, interactive activities, World Showcase and a Broadway performance, it’s easy for the festival to become most of the day.
If you’re primarily interested in rides and just want to sample the festival, my one-day EPCOT itinerary can help you fit the regular attractions around it.
For a shorter visit, I also have a half-day EPCOT itinerary, but I wouldn’t choose that option if seeing the artwork and Broadway entertainment is the reason you’re visiting.
Is EPCOT Festival of the Arts Worth Planning a Trip Around?
For me, yes, especially if you already like art or prefer wandering EPCOT rather than treating the park as a checklist of attractions.
Food & Wine is more famous, but Festival of the Arts feels more connected to what’s actually happening around you. You can watch someone paint, contribute to a mural, look through galleries, eat something deliberately designed to resemble a piece of art and finish the day watching Broadway performers.
January and February also give the festival a completely different atmosphere from EPCOT’s fall events.
If you’re deciding whether EPCOT deserves a full park day at all, start with my broader guide on whether EPCOT is worth visiting.
For the next Festival of the Arts, the one detail I’d wait for before making specific plans is the official date announcement. The 2026 festival ended February 23, and Disney says to check back later for details about 2027. Once those dates and menus are released, this page should be updated rather than carrying old festival information forward.
