Walt Disney World has revealed dates and details for the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (or FARTs as it’s lovingly known among its more juvenile fans), including basics about the Broadway Concert Series, Food Studios, Figment Scavenger Hunt and more! This post covers everything we know about our favorite event of the year, plus preliminary crowd predictions for January and February 2026.
For those unfamiliar with it, the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts 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 2026 is its 10th year! 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, the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts remains a really short event. It’s about on par with Festival of the Holidays, but shorter than Flower & Garden or Food & Wine–even the scaled back versions of both. It also occurs during what we think is one of the best times of the year at Walt Disney World, but more on that in a bit in the crowd commentary. For now, let’s start with all the new details Walt Disney World has released…
The 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts will run from January 16 until February 23, 2026. This is more or less what we expected. If you read our previously-updated Guide to the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts, we discussed the possible dates on the short and long ends of the spectrum, and concluded that January 16 through February 23, 2026 was the most likely date range for the event. That means the 2026 FARTs will last for a grand total of 39 days. Not bad!
Here’s everything else Walt Disney World has revealed about the 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Arts…
2026 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 2026 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.
Every two weeks, a new pair of performers takes the spotlight, making each visit to the festival a fresh experience. 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.
2026 Disney on Broadway Dining Packages
Choose from over one dozen unique eateries at EPCOT offering 2026 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 obviously inaccurate for the 2026 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.
We typically do not recommend these, with the extended finale and busier dates being the exception. 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.
2026 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 2026 FARTs, Walt Disney World announced that guests can look forward to savoring “over 20” Food Studios located throughout EPCOT. Depending on Walt Disney World’s definition of a Food Studio, this could be the most booths ever for the EPCOT Festival of the Arts.
That would be a hugely positive change. It’s also a badly needed one. 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. Having over 20 actual Food Studios would be a huge win!
Expect full menus for the Food Studios at the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts to be released sometime in late December or early January. This year’s menus were released really late–presumably because, if they aren’t announced before Christmas, that pushes them to 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 2026.
Figment’s Brush with the Masters Scavenger Hunt
Figment is back and hiding inside famous works of art around World Showcase during the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts! With its mix of imagination and discovery, this scavenger hunt is a wonderful way for kids to learn about art in a hands-on way while adults have just as much fun searching the pavilions and unlocking a keepsake at the end.
Purchase your map and stickers at Creations Shop, Disney Traders, or World Traveler, then set off on your artistic journey around World Showcase. Keep an eye out for Figment-themed picture frames tucked into each pavilion’s artwork and add the matching sticker to your map when you spot him. Once you’ve completed your masterpiece, head back to Disney Traders, Creations Shop or World Traveler to pick up a special keepsake!
2026 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 actually gotten busier.
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, if anything, 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 this spring 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 2026 and were just waiting for FARTs dates, we’d highly recommend locking-in a resort reservation ASAP. As we’ve covered in Why Walt Disney World Resorts Are Still Selling Out, this trend is likely to continue from January through March 2026. Discounts are already available, so there’s really no reason to delay at this point!
The other bad news is that the final week of the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts will be the busiest of the first few months of the year due to Presidents’ Day and Mardi Gras coinciding once again.
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. Even with all of the above “warnings” about higher crowd levels, I would absolutely–without hesitation–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.
For more info, refer to our rankings of the 10 Best and 10 Worst Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2026 & 2027, which includes good and bad dates during the 2026 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 2026 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 (see our January 2026 Crowd Calendar or February 2026 Crowd Calendar) 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 2026 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? Are you excited for the 2026 EPCOT Festival of the Arts or will you be sitting this one out? Excited that Figment is returning? Any tips you want to share to make the most of the experience? 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!
