Review: 2019 Epcot International Festival of the Arts- Part 1
Last month, I spent a quick few days down at Walt Disney World with my brother, Stephen. While we couldn’t do nearly as much as we hoped to do, we did get to spend a day at Epcot to partake in the International Festival of the Arts, which is currently running through February 25th. We were joined in our escapades throughout the day with some of our friends, and even though we didn’t touch on everything to do at the Festival, we did get to do the lion’s share of it. Today I review part of the Festival that we experienced, starting with some things in Future World and Showcase Plaza.
As soon as you enter Epcot, you are greeted by Figment in a fun topiary form, located in front of Spaceship Earth. It is a must stop spot for those wishing to capture the fun of the Festival. If you are lucky, the Photopass photographers will be out to help.
Also to be found in front of Spaceship Earth, if the time is right, is Pluto. For the Festival, Pluto is wearing a special artistic dog collar. A great little touch from Disney.
Before heading the the Festival, my brother and I visited a few of the Future World pavilions. At Sunshine Seasons, we picked up the special “Holiday Cupcake” for breakfast, themed for the Festival. While it might not have been the best choice for breakfast, this tie-dyed frosted cupcake is very colorful, and tasty.
When the Festival started at 11am, it was time to visit some of the eateries and experiences throughout Epcot. My Figment and Pineapple Tiki Stitch Pop! Vinyls came along for the ride.
First stop was Taste Track, an eatery located next to Test Track. Here I had the Lobster Bacon Macaroni & Cheese, which was pretty tasty. Towards the end of the night, the gang purchased the Paintbrush Churros. You can never go wrong with churros.
From there, we headed over into Showcase Plaza via the Odyssey Festival Showplace to enjoy some additional food offerings.
The Painter’s Palate
Located in the newly renovated Odyssey Festival Showplace, Painter’s Palate offered some really beautiful looking dishes. Here, we tried the Gallery Bites, which is a trio of hors d’oeuvres. the trio consisted of a chilled shrimp crostino, a deviled egg, and a risotto ball. My favorite was the risotto ball, hands down.
And, while I did not pick one up, I will say that the White Chocolate Paintings they have at this location are beautiful.
Refreshment Port
While I was hoping they would be serving my favorite Dole Whip at this spot once again, sadly they were not. Instead, they had a tasty Lobster Chips dish. The pickled jalapenos gave them a kick I wasn’t necessarily expecting, but overall enjoyed by the group.
The Deconstructed Dish
This was probably one of the most popular booths our group visited this day. We ended up trying all three of the food dishes, as well as sampled the Imagery Sauvignon Blanc. Even though most of this booth is an exact repeat from last year, everything was still top of our lists.
Decadent Delights
At this stop, I decided to have the Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Pretzel Crunch, which was pretty good. My friend’s daughter mentioned how she loves chocolate chip cookies, so getting the special Festival cookie was a no brainer. She had a lot of fun “painting” on the cookie before eating it.
Pop Eats!
Here I again went sweet, going for the Almond Frangipane Cake. I love the tastes of almond and raspberry, and I enjoyed this cake last year, so I tried it again.
Well, that’s it for the food booths I am going to look at during this part of the review. However, before I go, I wanted to highlight a couple of things that one can do in Future World and Showcase Plaza during the Festival.
Expression Section
Unfortunately, by the time we swung around to this area of Showcase Plaza in the late afternoon, this experience was shut down for the day. A giant paint-by-number mural, guests help create it by becoming an artist and painting in a few squares each. I did it last year when it was a Figment face mural. This time they had up what looked like a space scene with Figment, but I know they switch the murals out once they are completed, so they can go through different designs during the Festival.
Chalk Art
We were at the Festival on the Tuesday after opening weekend. While there were a few chalk art drawings on the ground throughout Future World, the elements and other park guests ruined them. Unfortunately, I did not get over to where the new Guardians of the Galaxy ride is being built, where my friends said they saw chalk artists in action.
Figment Passholder Magnet
If you are a WDW Annual Passholder, don’t forget to swing by Port of Entry and pick up your Festival exclusive Figment Passholder Magnet. This is the first time Figment has been a part of this series of magnets, and I love the look of it. It is currently on my refrigerator at home, along with the others I have gotten over the years.
Entertainment Around Fountain Stage & Plaza
Acrobats, painters, musicians, and even living statues perform in this plaza daily, with the Fountain of Nations and Spaceship Earth in the background. We had the chance to check out the living statues, where they interacted with us. Here are pictures of myself, my friend Stephanie, and my friend Jaqi’s daughter Evie having fun with the statues.
On the other end of the plaza, facing World Showcase, is a beautiful Photopass opportunity, which a group of us took over for some fun photos. I thought we agreed that this would be our “serious” pose… guess not for some of us! Oh well.
That’s all for my first part of my Epcot International Festival of the Arts review. My second part will come tomorrow, as I stroll along World Showcase, step into some famous paintings, and listen to some Disney on Broadway. See you then!
Also, remember that there is only just under 2 weeks left to check out this Festival before it leaves to make way for the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I’ll be there for opening day of that one, and cannot wait.