Disney World Extends 2027 EPCOT Festival of Arts!

Walt Disney World has revealed dates and details for the 2027 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, including basics about the Broadway Concert Series, Food Studios, Figment Scavenger Hunt and more!

For those unfamiliar with it, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (or FARTs as it’s lovingly known among its more juvenile fans) is a global celebration of the visual, culinary, and performing arts. It’s technically the newest special event of the year at Walt Disney World, even though it’s been around for a decade!

After flying under the radar for a while, EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts has finally come into its own in the last few years–fueled largely by Figment. Nevertheless, we’ve lamented the length of FotA or FARTs in the last few years. It’s about on par with the date-constrained Festival of the Holidays, but shorter than Flower & Garden or Food & Wine–even the scaled back versions of both. Well, that’s about to change in 2027…

The 2027 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts will run from January 15 until March 1, 2027. It’s starting one day earlier than last year and ending a full week later. This marks the longest EPCOT Festival of the Arts, extending the event past Presidents’ Day and Mid-Winter Break, into March for the first-time ever!

For reference, last year’s EPCOT International Festival of the Arts ran from January 16 until February 23, 2026. This is about the norm for every year since 2017, plus or minus a couple of days. The event has usually started before Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend and ended around Presidents’ Day (although it ran through that entire week last year, due to Presidents’ Day occurring almost a full week earlier than most years.)

The 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts getting an extended run through March 1, 2027 means that it’ll last a grand total of 46 days. That’s an increase from 39 days last year. Not bad at all!

Here’s everything else Walt Disney World has revealed about the 2027 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts…

Embark on an Epic EPCOT Quest with Lorcana at FotA

Calling all Illumineers! Disney Lorcana TCG returns to the event as the title sponsor of the 2027 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts with special family-friendly experiences celebrating the beautiful artwork featured on each card.

Lorcana exclusive offerings at the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts will include promo items and gifts with purchase available only at the event. You can also enjoy the return of fan-favorite experiences like the Ink & Find Scavenger Hunt, the Collection Quest, and the Illumineer’s Lounge, making this year’s FARTs a must-visit for Disney Lorcana fans.

We have some Lorcana cards and greatly appreciate the artistry of the trading card game, but quickly realized we are not hardcore Lorcana fans. There are a lot of people who are really passionate about Lorcana, and it’s great that the game has found a fanbase.

It’s well-deserved, and we look forward to seeing new ways Lorcana’s presence is expanded at the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts. It could be a great way to introduce the game to new players; even though it’s hugely popular within bubbles of the fandom, it’s still rather niche as a whole.

2027 Disney on Broadway Concert Series

Some of Broadway’s brightest stars are coming to Walt Disney World as the Disney on Broadway Concert Series returns for the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts with three daily shows.

The America Gardens Theatre in the American Adventure pavilion comes alive with unforgettable performances, as musical stars return to EPCOT to perform the iconic songs they helped bring to life on Broadway stages alongside other show-stopping favorites.

Stay tuned for the full lineup of stars, which will be revealed soon. The concerts take place several times daily, providing you with ample opportunities to enjoy your favorite performances. Admission is included with EPCOT park entry, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.

2027 Disney on Broadway Dining Packages

Choose from over one dozen unique eateries at EPCOT offering 2027 Disney on Broadway Concert Series Dining Packages. Note that Walt Disney World has not shared any dates or details about these dining packages.

For info based on this year’s version, see Disney on Broadway Concerts at EPCOT Festival of Arts: Dates, Lineup & Dining Packages. That’s inaccurate for the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts, but a lot does not change from year to year. So if you’re wondering which restaurants will participate, ballpark costs (add 2-5% for next year), etc., that gives you a rough idea of what to expect.

Dining packages are highly recommended for the extended finale, peak weeks and weekends, but we typically don’t splurge on them for other dates. We’ve seen Disney on Broadway concerts countless times and have seldom had issues getting seats. With that said, Festival of the Arts gets busier and busier each year, so the dining package isn’t a bad option if you want an insurance policy or prime view. To each their own, though.

2027 Food Studios

Each year, the Food Studios at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts showcase culinary creativity at its finest, blending the artistry of flavor with picture-perfect presentation.

For the 2027 FARTs, Walt Disney World announced that guests can look forward to savoring 19 Food Studios located throughout EPCOT. Depending on Walt Disney World’s definition of a Food Studio, this could be a year-over-year decrease of 1-2, as WDW touted over 20 Food Studios last year.

Our hope is that Disney is just using “new math” to count Food Studios, and it’s going to be about the same number as this year. In our anecdotal experience, FARTs has the longest average food booth lines of any event. The favorable weather coupled with the lower booth count than Food & Wine results in longer lines.

Expect full menus for the Food Studios at the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts to be released sometime in late December or early January. This year’s menus were released really late (January 7th). We assume this is due to the chaos around Christmas. If they aren’t announced a week or more before Christmas, that pushes them to a week after New Year’s. In any case, don’t expect them for another couple of months.

Although not yet confirmed, we’d fully expect the Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine to return. This fun food stroll highlights yummy sweet and savory offerings in all the colors of the rainbow. Your handy Festival Passport will show where to make your picturesque purchases and receive stamps in your passport. Once you’ve collected five stamps, bring your passport to Deco Delights Food Studio to receive a complimentary surprise.

The Wonderful Walk of Colorful Cuisine can be completed at your leisure – so you can enjoy a new treat every time you visit throughout the festival. This has been a staple of FARTs for years, and we’d expect it to return again in 2027.

Artists at 2027 Festival of the Arts

Every year at the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, you can experience artistry in action. See magic being created at the Chalk Art Galleries, watch in awe as artists paint Disney Characters in mere minutes and hear harmonious sounds around the park from talented musicians.

There are so many talented artists making their way to the festival in 2027, so make sure to check out the events page closer to the event dates for visiting artists’ names, dates, locations, and more. (These typically are added in December or early January.)

Walt Disney World has also teased the return of fan-favorites like Animation Academy, the Expression Section: A Paint by Number Mural, Artful Photo Ops, exclusive festival merchandise, and more.

2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts Crowds

Finally, festival crowds. As a refresher, we’d just generally remind you that large swaths of winter are no longer the off-season at Walt Disney World, at least not in the same way they were in 2019 and earlier. (See Winter is Still Not Off-Season at Walt Disney World.)

Winter is actually the one time of year that is seeing year-over-year increases to crowd levels fairly consistently. Even as other months have experienced a slowdown relative to the height of pent-up demand and revenge travel, that isn’t really true for January and February.

These two months have gotten busier. On top of higher crowd levels and great congestion in the parks, resort occupancy has also increased during this date range. The good news, though, is that rack rates are still lowest during the winter months, minus peak holiday weeks and long weekends. Airfare and other non-Disney travel expenses can likewise be lower during these dates.

In my purely anecdotal experience, feels like crowds have gotten even worse during the winter. Statistical crowd levels are measured by wait times, as that’s the only objective measure of crowds.

Subjectively, my suspicion is that attendance and congestion have increased even more during the winter, but proportionately fewer of those guests are doing rides since the weather is nice and it’s more comfortable to wander around outdoors than, say, June or July.

If that doesn’t make sense, the bottom line is that crowds have increased in the winter months and the extent to which this has been captured by wait times data probably underreports this trend.

It’s not just park attendance that has increased during winter. Hotel bookings are also very strong for January through March. During a panel that I attended last year at Walt Disney World, executives corroborated all of the above and indicated that the shift away from summer and towards winter has been more pronounced in the last few years.

As with so much else, the post-COVID period has changed travel patterns. More parents are willing to pull their kids out of school throughout the academic year, or are willing to take shorter trips throughout year. Winter has seen an increase in demand, and Walt Disney World reportedly recorded its highest resort occupancy levels over a 10-week stretch from January through March.

Suffice to say, if you’re planning to visit in Winter 2027 and were just waiting for FARTs dates, we’d highly recommend locking-in a resort reservation ASAP. Walt Disney World just released 4 different discounts for early 2027, all of which run for the entirety of the EPCOT Festival of the Arts, with one having travel dates all the way through July 28, 2027!

The good news is that some of the dates encompassed by the EPCOT Festival of the Arts are among the best of the year from a qualitative perspective. The stretch of the year from November through March is our favorite of the year at Walt Disney World.

Even with all of the above “warnings” about higher crowd levels, I would take a 6/10 or 7/10 day in January or February over a 3/10 or 4/10 day in June or July. It’s a complete no brainer from a holistic perspective. We far prefer these months than the other “half” of the year, even taking crowds into consideration.

For more info, refer to our rankings of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2027 & 2028, which includes good and bad dates during the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts. Even with all of the asterisks, there are pockets of lower crowd levels during winter! A couple of our favorite weeks are towards the beginning of the year–just be sure to avoid the worst of the crowds.

Ultimately, we recommend planning a winter Walt Disney World trip during the ideal date ranges and around the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts. So long as you stay away until after Marathon Weekend wraps up and avoid the two holiday weekends, you should be in pretty good shape. EPCOT will definitely feel busier as locals pack the park, but most of them don’t do rides, so the wait times tend to be manageable. They also arrive late, so taking advantage of Early Entry or rope drop can be hugely advantageous.

Beyond the crowds, the weather tends to be fantastic, there’s a more laid back vibe to the parks, and it can be enjoyable even if attendance is elevated. There are so many good reasons to visit in January and February that we’d recommend strategically picking one of the better weeks and going. Regardless of what happens with wait times and crowd levels, it’ll be a good time. We cannot wait to get back and experience the EPCOT Festival of the Arts again!

Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!

YOUR THOUGHTS

Have you attended the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts in the last few years? What was your experience with crowds or lines for Food Studios? Looking forward to more Lorcana as the TCG takes over as title sponsor of the event? Are you excited for the 2027 EPCOT Festival of the Arts or will you be sitting this one out? Agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!