Epcot International Festival of the Arts to return in 2018

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Opening day at the 2017 Epcot International Festival of the Arts

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Posted: Wednesday March 1, 2017 12:39pm EST by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced that the Epcot International Festival of the Arts will return to Walt Disney World in 2018.

Epcot Festival of the Arts - Main entrance decor

The event just ended its six weekend run, bringing together the visual, culinary and performing arts.

Opening day at the 2017 Epcot International Festival of the Arts

No dates have been provided for 2018, but expect it to begin in January, and running through to the start of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival in March.

Read our impressions of the inaugural Festival of the Arts.

Opening day at the 2017 Epcot International Festival of the Arts

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wannabeBelleMar 01, 2017

I hope they keep the Broadway dynamic, that looked amazing in the videos I saw!! Marie

wdwmagicMar 01, 2017

Epcot International Festival of the Arts to return in 2018

FigmentJediJan 28, 2017

You know what would be a great thing for them to do in the future with this? Screenings of animated shorts from other countries. But that's not synergistic enough I suppose.

jakemanJan 28, 2017

I went to this the first night it was open. Perhaps my expectations were off, but when I heard of an "International Festival of the Arts" I didn't really expect a tent of Star Wars art in Morocco. The food was good. Similar, maybe a notch above Food and Wine. Beer selection was decent. We didn't stay for any music. The art though...it appears to be an expansion of Art of Disney across the World Showcase. There were a few independent artist there, but not many in comparison to the crush of Disney "art". I didn't care for it, but again perhaps I was expecting something I don't know...International..or Artistic...or more Festival and less reatail.

drwadadliJan 27, 2017

Thank you

MisterPenguinJan 27, 2017

A whole bunch of reviews from lots of different sites have been posted to the WDW subreddit: www.reddit.com/r/waltdisneyworld/new Just scroll back from new to old to see them all. For those who miss Animation Academy... it's back at Epcot during the festival.

drwadadliJan 27, 2017

My wife and I going Feb 10th. Are they any recommendations of foods to try? Or drinks to try? Or must see activities? Thank you in advance

Disney-TrainsJan 27, 2017

The Broadway show was great, went to it several times laat weekend (even during the storm). Disney has so much Art they could display... It's a shame they fill the festival with retail booths. :-/ The Ryman and Blair displays were quite enjoyable. I liked the murals being painted (1 by guests, 1 by Disney artists) a lot, and the chalk art was great too. Lots of potential... Hopefully it will expand.

BaconJan 27, 2017

What flavors Is the festival of the art's pop art-sicle slush?

TimeTripJan 16, 2017

Checking it out today. Light crowds for the most part. Guess I wasn't paying attention, but the festival only runs Fridays through Mondays. Crazy...

wdwmagicJan 16, 2017

Here is a look at the Disney on Broadway show

star77kc1Jan 16, 2017

You will be able to pick from 4 different magnets showing Figment in a piece of artwork. I believe it's $6.99 to play the scavenger hunt, so that price alone may be worth it to some for the magnet!

KnightRoninJan 15, 2017

My family and I went yesterday, and even though I'm pretty cool towards Flower & Garden and Food & Wine, I'd have to say that Festival of the Arts holds a lot of promise. My kids and I enjoyed contributing to the Epcot mural and the small Mary Blair and Herbert Ryman galleries were pretty cool. Seeing their actual artwork up close was inspiring. Some of the snack choices we had were pretty cool -- the Artist's Palette cookie was neat and the Sipping Chocolate tour was very tasty (semi-lie: the white chocolate was yack, but the Milk and Dark Chocolate selections were great). We missed the Broadway performances and probably won't get back this year due to our passes expiring this week, but I'd really like to see what they do in the next couple of years to make it a can't-miss event.