Which Epcot Festival should you attend?

Let's face it, Epcot is now the festival park. Nearly 3/4's of the year Epcot has festivals going on. This past year Epcot celebrated 4 different festivals which were:

Epcot International Festival of the Arts in the winter, Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival in the spring, Epcot International Food and Wine Festival in late summer/fall, and Epcot International Festival of the Holidays in late fall.

The popularity of Food and Wine has made all the other festivals step up their game, especially in terms of food booths. A little background, during the festivals there are booths (often referred to as outdoor kitchens) that will have pairings of food and wine, beers and libations themed to that certain booth.

In general, each of the festivals have special food booths, photo opportunities, a limited edition Magic Band and merchandise as well as a concert series or musical act at the American Gardens Theater at the American Adventure in World Showcase. My goal is to help you figure out which festival is the right one for you. Here are my thoughts!

Epcot International Festival of the Arts (January 18th - February 25th, 2019)

The Festival of the Arts, which debuted in 2017, is the newest of the festivals. Our group was lucky enough to go the the first year of the festival, and to be honest it really surprised me. I thought it would have it's lulls and start off slow, but it was more than I was ever expecting.

This festival is the underdog of the four of them. It's the most interactive and engaging of the festivals and does a great job of allowing guests to do things that they normally wouldn't do. Travel around World Showcase to find many giant photo opportunities, listen to performers from past and present Disney Broadway shows, but most unique of all, the ability to be able to paint or draw pieces of art and have it displayed for all other festival goers, whether it be a huge paint by numbers paintings that you and your fellow Walt Disney World guests paint, or sketches of Wall-E and EVE for Valentines day!

And the finished product! (below)

Many of the Disney artists that make art in the parks and resorts or sell for merchandise are on hand for meet and greets, as well as get some background about some of their works.

(Photo cred: Disney Parks Blog)

I am head over heels for the Epcot Center concept paintings.

I would "oceans eleven" this painting of Horizons at night ;)

The standouts in terms of foods that we must have, are actually at the same booth, Taste Track next to, you guessed it, Test Track. The savory option here is the Lobster Bacon Macaroni & Cheese served on a Warm Bread Cone, which fans of Food and Wine or Epcot in the 80's will remember as the Handwich. Also at Taste Track is the Paintbrush Churros dipped in colorful white chocolate which is good taste, but really just there to show off to your jealous followers on Instagram, both pictured below.

(Photo cred: EasyWDW)

Disney on Broadway concert series are the musical acts located in the American Garden Theater at the American Adventure. Acts like Kissy Simmons and Alton Fitzgerald White, who performed songs from “Tarzan,” “The Lion King,” “Aida,” “Aladdin,” and “The Little Mermaid.”.

While the booths have very colorful and fun food and drinks they don't match those at Food and Wine or Festival of the Holidays. The food and the concert series are really the only area that is still lacking in my opinion, but the activities sure make up for it. This festival is an Instagrammers paradise, so if you like to take washed out photos of churros in front of a bathroom, you do you. If you are visiting in January or February don't miss the Festival of the Arts.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival (March 6th - June 3rd, 2019)

Debuting in 1994 this is the oldest of the annual festivals at Epcot. If you have been to Walt Disney World during the spring break season, you have probably attended the Flower and Garden Festival. In recent years, Flower and Garden has started to add more booths and food options, but not as many as Food and Wine as the focus is on the beautiful flower and garden displays.

The topiaries and gardens are among the best at any theme park I've ever seen. Epcot's beauty shines during this festival. Every walkway and path is adorned with patterned flowers.

My favorite food that is available at the Flower and Garden festival is located in Japan; Frushi! It is great for non-adventurous eaters (like myself) and adventurous alike, the Frushi is fresh fruit wrapped up like sushi (minus the fish) and featured with a strawberry dipping sauce and a little whipped cream (featured below).

Also the Beijing-style candied strawberries at the Lotus House are pretty killer. You can taste the sesame seeds which help give it a sweet and salty taste, if you dig that, which I do, this is a dessert for you.

The Garden Rocks concert series invites bands and vocal talent to present mini concerts every night of the festival. In the past, bands have included: Herman's Hermits, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Simple Plan, and The orchestra of ELO among many others! Many are rock groups from the sixties and seventies.

I don't think that there is a more beautiful theme park than Epcot during the spring. The flower creations around the walkways and entrance to World Showcase are truly beautiful! If you love gardening and flowers this is the festival for you.

Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 
(Projected dates: August 29th - November 23rd, 2019)

The Epcot International Food and Wine Festival debuted in 1995 as the brain child of the now President of the Walt Disney World Resort, George Kalogridis. This festival is hands down the most popular of the four and for good reason. There are now 37 food locations/booths (not including other offerings at permanent locations) that adds many new countries and more food options from the already permanent countries of World Showcase.

There are many food seminars, and food demonstrations, as well as wines to buy and other merchandise in the Festival Center, however with the new Play Pavilion it may no longer be in this location in the future (which previously was the Wonders of Life pavilion R.I.P!)

The food and wine is of course the main draw and it does not disappoint. My favorites include:

Loaded Mac n' Cheese (most recently seen at Active Eats)

Cripsy Pork Belly at Brazil (personally my favorite booth at Food and Wine currently)

My absolute favorite Schinkennudeln from Germany. It's basically like super rich ham and mac and cheese.

And don't forget our favorite drink is of course the famous Dole Whip with Meyers Dark Rum at Refreshment Port.

The Eat to the Beat concert series is very popular as many well know performers or bands come down to perform annually. Send me free stuff Sugar Ray!

The only downside to Food and Wine is the crowds and it can be a BIG downside if you go at the wrong time. It used to be considered off season, but with this and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party going on during the same time, it has become extremely busy on the weekends. Usually the lines at Food and Wine aren't as bad on the weekdays, but it's a zoo on weekends. Also try to avoid the RunDisney event that usually takes place at the end of the festival, as that is crowded as well.
If you love food, and drinks, and tapas, this is a not to be missed festival.


Epcot International Festival of the Holidays (November 29th-December 30th)

Back in 2016, Holidays Around the World was re-imagined into Festival of the Holidays. I hadn't attended any Holidays at Epcot before 2017, and I immediately loved it. This year's Festival of the Holidays will be shortened due to the Food and Wine Festival being extended to mid November.

The biggest draw of Festival of the Holidays has been, and will be the Epcot Candlelight Processional. Celebrities and Disney Legends will narrate the biblical story of Christmas with choir and orchestra. Narrators have included Neil Patrick Harris, Whoopi Goldberg, Gary Sinise, Jodi Benson among many others. While this isn't an extra charge, the auditorium dose not hold many so if you want a seat at one of the performances you will have to wait in line as it is first come, first serve. If you absolutely want to guarantee a seat, consider doing the Candlelight Processional Dinner/Seating package. I forget what restaurants participate, but you pay for dinner and get a reserved seat for a performance.

(Photo cred: Disney Parks Blog)

My Favorite part of Festival of the Holidays is the storytellers that tell their traditions. My personal favorite is Japan and how they celebrate the New Year. Many of the countries have traditional

This festival has considerably less booths than Food and Wine, with something around 13 locations, but has a lot of holiday comfort food!

Our favorite of course is of course the Slow-Roasted Turkey from the American Holiday Table at the American Adventure. It is classic Thanksgiving dinner and perfect for the holidays!

The next time you are in Disney for the Holidays be sure to check out Festival of the Holidays!