We came. We saw. We ate a lot.

Our trip last week was the first time that either of us had been to Walt Disney World in January, subsequently making it the first time we’d seen Festival of the Arts. With the festival still being relatively new, as it’s only in its third year, we weren’t fully sure what to expect.

Of course, it’s an art festival, and there’s art everywhere! You can even meet and speak to the artists on site. There’s live painting, living statues, art available for purchase, and you can stop to enjoy the Disney on Broadway Concert Series! Don’t forget to look down and admire all the amazing chalk art on the ground as well!

We loved seeing all of the art and wished that we were able to bring some home with us, but ultimately, we just ate our way through the festival.

*If you do want to bring the art home with you, but don’t have a way of bringing a large canvas back safely, smaller sized matted prints as well as postcards and smaller prints are available to purchase!

We scoured the menus online and went in with a game plan for which booths we wanted to definitely check out, being sure to budget ahead of time. One of the first things we did when we first got there was put the money we set aside for food and merch onto a reloadable gift card. They come on a hair-tie-like wristband and can be used throughout the festival (and the Walt Disney World Resort). These gift cards are really handy, and can be purchased at various festival merchandising booths.

There’s so much to try in the festival, and obviously we couldn’t try it all in , though we did manage to sample nearly everything on our list!

SHOWCASE PLAZA

Refreshment Port (near Canada)

• Lobster Chips ($8.99): chips topped with big chunks of lobster, a lobster bisque cheese sauce, pickled jalapeños, and a citrus cream. We were both big fans of this! Despite all the toppings, the chips stayed crisp, and the lobster itself was well seasoned, flavorful, and meaty!

• Dragon Berry Refresher ($11.75, alcoholic): Not unique to the festival, but we liked it, nonetheless!

Deconstructed Dish (near Port of Entry)

• Pop-Artsicle ($4, non-alcoholic): Remember those firecracker popsicles we had as kids (and definitely still do)? It’s that, in slush form. You get a lot for the price, and I’d say this one was worth it!

• Deconstructed Cheesecake ($6.25): It was good! It wasn’t great! Definitely a good value for the price, though, and it was beautifully plated. The cookie:cheesecake:strawberry ratio was a bit off, and flavor-wise, wasn’t anything to write home about. Don’t get me wrong, it was GOOD, especially for “theme park cheesecake,” but it wasn’t life-changing or anything. However, the cheesecake texture was really light, smooth, and wonderful. The more time I had to think about it, the more I liked it, I just wasn’t initially impressed - but if given the chance, I’d for sure go back and get it!

Decadent Delights (near Port of Entry)

• Artist Palette Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookie ($5.50): Cute, but just a soft baked cookie with icing. I wasn’t really expecting this to be the most amazing cookie ever, and it wasn’t. However, it was really soft, packed with chocolate chips, and overall pretty good! It’s also WAY bigger than I thought it would be. Even if it isn’t the best cookie, it’s a fun little treat and I’d definitely get it again!

Pop Eats! (near Disney Traders)

• Pop T’art: ($4.50) This was the first thing we ate on the first day of the festival! The cookie was THICK. Dry, thick, and overall just meh. It was so cute and the strawberry filling was good, but the tart itself was just a bit too dense for my liking. But when we went back and got it again on the third day, I liked it much more! The second one we got had more filling, and that helped to offset how dense the sugar cookie was, but this wasn’t really my favorite.

• #RainbowSherbetGlitterDreamAle ($4.50, alcoholic): It was good and pretty refreshing! The second time we got it, there was somehow NO GLITTER. 10/10 would still get again though.

• Sous Vide Chicken Roulade ($6.75): YES. The flavors in this came together really nicely, and this proved to be one of my favorites!

China: The Painted Panda

• "“Panda” bubble tea ($6.95): The milk tea itself was really good! The black boba pearls are the run of the mill ones that I’m used to and love, but the white ones weren’t my favorite. Don didn’t mind them, and it was totally just a texture thing for me, but I would absolutely still go back for this time and time again!

Germany: Cuisine Classique

• Red Wine-braised Beef Short Rib ($8): I haven’t had red meat in 12 years. This made me wish I ate red meat. It looked and smelled delicious, and Don said it was really tasty! Unfortunately it was so good that he ate it before I could grab a picture…but I promise, it looked delicious!

• Saint-Honoré Tart ($6): Starting this off by saying that I don’t love caramel, so this caramel cream tart topped with caramel cream (and cream puffs) probably wasn’t the greatest thing for me to drop $6 on. With that said, I didn’t hate it, it was pretty good, without being overwhelmingly sweet.

• Concrete Beach Brewery Rosé Ale ($4.50, alcoholic): This was GOOD. Really smooth, just the right hint of rosé, and definitely was worth the price!

American Adventure: The Artist’s Table

• Beef Wellington ($8): Don really liked this one, especially for an $8 Beef Wellington. It was cooked just right, and was tender, with no signs of being tough.

• Lexington Brewing Company Kentucky Vanilla Barrel Cream Ale ($4.50, alcoholic): Don is a fan of basically all things vanilla-flavored, so this was on his must try list. He didn’t find the flavor to be too overpowering, and overall, enjoyed it! I love vanilla way less than he does, and in the little bit that I had, I’d agree with him - it wasn’t overpoweringly sweet, and was pretty decent.

• Sipping Chocolate Flight ($8, non-alcoholic): Not to be confused with the Symphony in Chocolate Flight, the alcoholic version that I meant to get. I personally love chocolate, so I enjoyed it for the most part, and you do get a lot for $8. I don’t like white chocolate at all, so I steered clear of that, but I found the value to be pretty fair for the $8 price tag. Definitely don’t recommend this on a warmer day, though.

Japan: Takumi Table

• Melting Snow Cocktail ($7.50): Basically liquified peach rings. I love peach, so this was perfect for me, but it was definitely on the sweeter side of cocktails. The size is perfect for how sweet it was, I don’t think I could’ve handled anything more! The Peach Schnapps, Sake, Japanese Calpico, and cranberry juice blended together really well, though the peach definitely had the dominating flavor.

• Sushi Donut ($7.50): This was a big ol’ nope for me. Don liked it, but I 100% was not a fan. It’s really pretty, fun, and definitely a good value for the price, but I really didn’t love it. I love sushi, so it wasn’t that, it just wasn’t seasoned well in my opinion. Based on all the love I’ve seen it get, I’ll assume it was just the one we got, but the rice was pretty dry, and overall, I just wasn’t crazy about the flavor profile. Again, I like sushi, including raw rolls, so it wasn’t that, I just couldn’t get behind the lack of seasoning and dry rice. I do wish that I could try it again though!

Morocco: Mosaic Canteen

• Chebbakia ($7): It’s dough, coated in honey, rosewater, and sesame seeds. I really enjoyed it, but honestly couldn’t finish it - it was just a tad to sweet for me. Not worth the $7 price tag.

France: L’art De La Cuisine Française

• Frosé ($12.50, alcoholic): SO GOOD. A bit pricey but you get a pretty good sized drink, so I’d say it’s close to being a good value. The peach purée made it perfectly sweet

• Moelleux au Chocolat ($6.75): I’m a huge fan of molten chocolate lava cake, and this didn’t disappoint. It’s served super warm on a plate decorated right before your eyes, and overall, I absolutely loved this.

Canada: The Masterpiece Kitchen

• Wild Mushroom Risotto ($9.25): I. Loved. This. It may have been my favorite thing that we tried! I think it was a bit overpriced, but the risotto was perfectly cooked, seasoned, and overall was a very flavorful dish. Maybe not the most visually appealing, but what it lacked in beauty, it made up for in flavor, especially as it was topped with aged parmesan and truffle shavings.

FUTURE WORLD

Taste Track

• Paintbrush churros ($6.25): These were super cute, and just as good as they looked! I’m not at all a fan of white chocolate, much less food-colored white chocolate, but didn’t mind the taste of the “paint” at all! It complemented the churros nicely, and these churros were soft, warm, but still packed a good crunch.

Overall, we had a really good time at our first Festival of the Arts! If you’ve been, leave a comment below with what your festival favorites were.

And for all our passholder friends out there, don’t forget to pick up your AP magnet!

Magically,

Maya (and Don)