Disney World launched a new Festival at Epcot in January of 2017 that they called The International Festival of the Arts.  It featured visual arts, culinary arts, and performing arts during several weekends at Epcot.  Only WDWorld was proud to be present for the original Festival of the Arts and we want to share with you why we intend to be there again for the 2018 version and why you should be making plans to be there also.

2018 Epcot International Festival Of The Arts

Dates: January 12th - February 19th, 2018
Location: Epcot Theme Park at The Walt Disney World Resort
Cost: FREE with regular Epcot admission!

What makes this Festival so special?

The Epcot International Festival of the Arts has some of the basic elements that make all Epcot Festivals worth visiting: great food, live entertainment, visually stunning exhibits, and interactive seminars.

The Food REALLY is a work of Art!

One of the amazing parts of the inaugural Festival was the Food Kiosks that were positioned around the World Showcase.  What differentiated these kiosks from what you may have seen before is that each menu item is a culinary work of art and the Culinary Staff working there take their time to make sure that each item you receive is just as visually appealing as the taste.

The food ranged from deconstructed interpretations of favorite dishes to truly artful renditions of enticing ingredients.  Some of our favorites that we tried (and are pictured here) were:

Atypical BLT with Crispy Pork Belly, Tomato Jam and Soft Poached Egg

Deconstructed Breakfast: Twinings® Spiced Apple Chai Tea Shake with Maple Bourbon Cream, a Waffle Crisp and Candied Bacon

Red Wine Braised Short Rib with Parsnip Purée, Broccolini, Baby Tomatoes and Aged Balsamic

Pan-Seared Scallop with Chorizo, Roasted Red Pepper Coulis and a Parmesan Crisp 

White Chocolate and Purple Sweet Potato Mousse, Salted Caramel and Maple Meringue with Coconut

Check out our FULL Review of the Food from Epcot International Festival Of The Arts

Disney has created a classic series of Super Bowl Commercials that dates back to 1987 when Phil Simms of the New York Giants become the first to utter those magical words: "I'm Going To Disney World!"  Amongst all of the Super Bowl XLVI commotion is the excitement over the commercials and the obvious question as to who will be the next star of the Disney World Commercial.

First "I'm Going To Disney World!" Commercial
Phil Simms was the star of Super Bowl XXI and became the first in a long line of Super Bowl Champions and other champions to be recognized as "Going To Disney World!" to celebrate their victory.

Here is that first commercial:


Tom Brady Or Eli Manning - Who Will It Be?
The odds on favorite to be anointed to utter the phrase will be one of the star quarterbacks representing the Giants and the Patriots.  Remarkably enough both Eli Manning for the New York Giants and Tom Brady for the New England Patriots have each already starred in a post Super Bowl Disney World Commercial.

Here is the Eli Manning Commercial from the conclusion of Super Bowl XLII:




Not to be outdone here is the Tom Brady Disney Commercial from Super Bowl XXXVI:




Who will star in the commercial for Super Bowl XLVI? Leave your comment in support of your team!

One of the most impressive artistic details in the Walt Disney World Resort can be found in Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.  Within the main hall you will 5 spectacular 15 foot by 10 foot panels that tell the story of Cinderella in mosaic.

Cinderella Castle Mosaics
Disney Imagineer Dorthea Redmond created the design which was executed in mosaic by Hanns-Joachim Scharff.  Taking 22 months to complete, the five scenes were recreated from the 1950 animated classic "Cinderella."  In all there are over one million pieces of Italian glass in over 500 different colors.  Besides the glass tiles there are silver tiles, and even some 14 carat gold tiles used in the murals.

 "Now perhaps Dorothea will be best remembered for the Disneyland Dream Suite, originally designed for Walt himself," Marty adds. "But certainly her most admired design work is the elaborate mosaic murals of the Cinderella story in the entry passage to the Castle at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom. Not even the medieval castles of Europe can boast of masterpieces like these!"

Pictures Are Great. In Person Is Better.
Although "a picture may say a thousand words," you still can't get the full effect of seeing these massive mosaic marvels up close.  The craftsmanship is remarkable.  There are not enough superlatives to adequately describe these brilliant murals.

Hopefully you have enjoyed these pictures and will be inspired to see the real works of art when you visit the Magic Kingdom at Disney World.