An Artful Day at Epcot
So we are back at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts (or FArts). It’s really a shame that this fest is so short. You have to shove everything into inly five weeks.
So, off to Epcot we go!
Spaceship Earth is already busy! Here’s a tip, you can pretty much walk on throughout the day. Everyone makes the rookie mistake and slams it first thing in the morning.
We have a goal: to try the foods at Opening Bites.
We had the Cheddar and Chive Scone with Smoked Salmon Salad topped with Crème Fraîche and Caviar. It was good, but quickly became overpowering with salmon flavor.
Next: Soft Shell Crab Slider
Green Papaya Slaw and Mango Ketchup on Toasted Brioche
I don’t know why I think I can eat soft-shelled crab. I get into the first bite and get creeped out that I’m consuming the entire body of an animal. Then, I get grossed out and can’t finish it.
This just had too many textures going on, so it was a pass.
Enchanted Rose: Milk Chocolate Rose with Raspberry and Rose Center
This was actually really good. A hard chocolate shell and creamy mousse. Definitely a win, and it has a pretty presentation too.
After that, we wanted to check out the Seas, even though the manatees were transferred to a different facility. We didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye to Lil’ Joe.
A Mickey-shaped ring of rocks.
Since there were no dolphins or manatees, we had to settle for the other sea creatures.
We took another look at the amazing Disney on Broadway display! I wish these could stay past the festival.
Some Figment art…
And Figgy himself…
Of course, I wanted to get my paint-by-numbers on. It turned out to be a little chaotic. The CM usually points you to a spot, but this time, it was “just find your number.”
When you’re finished, you get a nice bookmark of the finished mural. I’ve never seen a finished one, but I doubt that it looks this good.
The line for grilled cheese and tomato soup was insane. But there was a surprise: two soups. The tomato and the (leftover) cheese and bacon from Food & Wine.
By now, the crowds were getting nuts. Apparently, everyone wants to enjoy the festival.
We could “barely” get into any of the art booths.
None of the “chalk” characters were new this year; just some of the locations changed.
During the fest, the characters have their own portraits next to them.
Here’s the White Rabbit…
And Aurora…
I wanted a beer and pretzel. Grapefruit beer and pretzel bread count, right?
Like I said, it was becoming uncomfortably crowded. We decided to make our way out. But first, a look at the chalk drawings.
Ghost chalk drawing…
“Pull the lever!”
One last look at Figment for the day.
And these are the prizes for the Figment scavenger hunt. They are stencils.
While I would like to see more, the crowds were making it so bad that getting around World Showcase was tough.
We did pick up Rob Kaz’s festival print for the year. It was sold out but finally was back in stock.
After that, we called it a day.
That was it for today. Until next time…
