Theme Park Scope

I will die on the hill that the Festival of the Arts is the most underrated event on EPCOT’s calendar, so any excuse to talk about it is a good one.

This time, there’s an actual storyline worth digging into!

The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts returns January 15 through March 1, 2027. That’s a slightly longer run than this year’s festival, which wrapped up on February 23 after starting January 16…a modest stretch, but a stretch nonetheless, which is generally a good sign for a festival’s staying power rather than a bad one.

Here’s the detail that actually caught my attention: the 2027 festival is officially presented by Disney Lorcana, the trading card game. That’s a meaningfully bigger role than what Lorcana had this past year, when it showed up as a brand-new addition to the festival — a Collection Quest in the Morocco Pavilion’s Illumineer’s Lounge, an “Ink & Find” scavenger hunt for larger-than-life trading cards scattered around the park, and a photo op built around Fabled-set card art on the bridge to World Showcase.

Going from “exciting new activity we’re trying out” to “the festival’s actual presenting sponsor” in the span of a single year is a pretty clear signal that last year’s Lorcana activations landed well with guests. If you enjoyed hunting down those oversized cards or trading packs in the Illumineer’s Lounge last year, there’s a good chance whatever Lorcana has planned for 2027 builds meaningfully on that rather than just repeating it.

Disney hasn’t released the full 2027 lineup yet, but the Festival of the Arts has built a pretty consistent identity over the years, and there’s no reason to expect a dramatic departure from it. Past years have featured more than 20 Food Studios scattered throughout the park with art-themed dishes and presentation, the return of the Disney on Broadway Concert Series, visual art installations and artist meet-and-greets, and the Figment-themed scavenger hunt that’s become something of a festival mascot at this point.

If you’ve never done the Festival of the Arts because it gets overshadowed by the bigger Food & Wine and Flower & Garden festivals, this is genuinely a good year to give it a shot. A presenting sponsor jump like this usually comes with a bigger marketing push and expanded activities to match, and pairing that with a slightly longer run than last year gives you more flexibility to fit it into a January or February trip.

We’ll have the full lineup of Food Studios, concerts, and Lorcana activities as soon as Disney releases them, so check back with Theme Park Scope for all the details as they’re announced.