Oops, We Forgot to Leave Our Weather at Home! A Fantastic Festival of the Arts 2025 TR! (Updated 6/1!!)

[nascargirl]

Popping on in again. We were there 1/6-1/12. I enjoy this Festival also, but hubby not so much because of the crowds.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I suspected Norway would have them, and sure enough they did! So I got myself one, and thankfully it wasn’t horribly expensive, at least the one I got, they had some that were like $100, but I found one that was only $30, and I think we got the AP discount too, so not bad.

That's not a bad price for a hat from Norway.

We made our way back to our room, only to find it was being cleaned! NOOOOOOO!!!!

I hate when that happens. At least you could see them working so you didn't have to wait too long.

 

[VAtink]

Trying chocolate from every country? What a great idea. I might have to steal that in May.

It was so fun to do! Some chocolate was way better than others, but it was cool to try some from around the world. Our favorites were from Norway and Japan.

 

[VAtink]

Popping on in again. We were there 1/6-1/12. I enjoy this Festival also, but hubby not so much because of the crowds.

Yeah, it's a great festival, I love how much there is to see, but it can get pretty packed. As miserable as the weather was the week we were there, the one good thing is it kept the crowds light for most days so we could browse the art studios and not be squished in with tons of other people!

 

[VAtink]

That's not a bad price for a hat from Norway.

Yeah, I was worried they'd all be super expensive, and some were, but they did have some lower price ones too fortunately!

I hate when that happens. At least you could see them working so you didn't have to wait too long.

Me too! When we stay club level we've started to swing by the desk on the way out in the morning to request an early morning room clean, which has worked perfectly so the room is done by the time we get back. We should see if we can do this at the non-club rooms too I guess!

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 5: Even More Food Booths!​

We had a nice long break in the room, we both even took naps! Around 5 we got ready to head out again, this evening we were heading back to Epcot!

Before heading out, mom got a picture of me all bundled up. I was SO puffy with the super thick sweater I had bought earlier in the day and my puffer jacket, I felt like the kid in a Christmas Story where I could hardly put my arms down!



Once in Epcot we swung by the Rose and Crown since my mom really wanted a snakebite, but it was packed, so we passed on getting one.

We then headed over to France to get some food. I was surprised that there was actually a line at the food booth this evening! The food booths had almost zero lines all day, but it looks like people got sick of hiding from the cold and rain and were starting to return to the parks this evening.

It wasn’t a horrible wait, only about 15 minutes, and soon we had our food in hand!

Here we got the Crème de Brie en Petit Pain and the Puff pasty with duck and chicken. I also got the frozen French martini.






Sporting my shiny new hat from Norway!



All of the stuff here was delicious! No wonder this booth had a line!

I loved the way the France pavilion looked from our table so got some pictures of it. Looks like a fall day in France!



We were still a bit hungry after finishing up in France, so made our way over to Japan where we both got the Wagyu bun, I got the Masu sake in the personalized wooden cup, and mom got the sake flight.

All the tables around here were occupied, so we found a bench near Takumi-Tei to sit and enjoy.



The wagyu bun was delicious! I liked it better than the bun they have during Food and Wine. I enjoyed my sake, and two of the ones in the flight, but one of the ones in the flight was soooooo gross! I don’t know which one was which, I think it was probably the cherry one though.

After we finished eating we continued our way around WS after getting a quick photopass picture in Japan.



Next up: Photoshoot Time!​

 

[VAtink]

Day 2, Part 6: Photoshoot Time!​

We last left off finishing up our meal at Japan and making our way back around WS.

When we got to Future World (never going to stop calling it this), we started looking for photopass photographers. They have some really fun photopass pictures for this festival that only happen at night, so we wanted to try to get those. The first one we stopped at was just a regular picture, but in front of the festival sign.



The next photopass we stopped at wasn’t doing a special shot, but his line was massive for some reason. We waited for about 10 minutes, but the line never moved, so we gave up and went to the next one. This actually worked out well since the next one had the special shot I wanted to get where the CM runs behind you with a light stick.

While waiting in line there was a CM manager there who was hilarious, he spent a lot of time making dad jokes to entertain us while we waited.

Soon it was our turn and I love these pictures!





After those pictures we started to make our way to the front of SE to get more pictures, of course stopping at any photopass we came across!



We eventually made it to the front of SE. I had wanted to get the Figment paintbrush shot, but the photopass photographers there told us they just discontinued that one….which seems wrong since it was a festival one and the festival JUST started less than a week before!

We were able to get the Mickey paintbrush one though.



We got a few more pictures while up there as well.





Once we got all the pictures we wanted, we discussed what we wanted to do next. Our original plan was to head straight from Epcot to HS via the boats, however it was much earlier than we expected, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a bit first, especially since I wanted to change again. I had worn my new super thick sweater to Epcot, and that, plus my jacket and new hat ended up being just waayyyy too hot. I was so sweaty, even though it was only like 38 degrees out. So quality winter sweater from Disney I guess!

We ended up heading back to the boardwalk where I changed into a thinner sweater which was much more comfortable that night! We got back to the room at 7:45, and decided to take about 20 minutes to rest before heading back out.

Next up: After Hours at HS, Part 1!​

 

[Wood Nymph]

This actually worked out well since the next one had the special shot I wanted to get where the CM runs behind you with a light stick.

While waiting in line there was a CM manager there who was hilarious, he spent a lot of time making dad jokes to entertain us while we waited.

Soon it was our turn and I love these pictures!

I hadn't heard about this shot. They turned our really cute.

We ended up heading back to the boardwalk where I changed into a thinner sweater which was much more comfortable that night!

It gets tricky to get just the right amount and types of layering, especially if you are running in and out of heated buildings and rides.

It is really nice to be able to stop back at your resort to change. It is one of the best parts of staying at an Epcot area resort.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love all the magic shots! Staying in the EPCOT area is so convenient for EP and HS visits. I have a hard time staying anywhere else even though I like other resorts.

 

[precious pixie]

I just got all caught up and I have to chuckle at how many frozen drinks you ordered with it being so chilly and rainy I can relate though, when it was 8 degrees here last week, I still walked to my neighborhood ice cream parlor to satisfy a mint chip craving. You got some amazing photopass shots and love the artwork. It also seems like you (so far) haven't had to deal with hoards of people. Always a bonus!

 

[Stacybaeasm]

Those photopass photos are so wonderful!!! You and your mom have such great memories!

Now, you did make a cardinal mistake in France. It is ALWAYS the Grand Mariner Slushie if you are going to drink in France. There is just no other. But, I'll let it slide - THIS TIME. LOL.

 

[zanzibar138]

Just stumbled across your TR and caught up on the first 7 pages! I'm very impressed by your tenacity with the weather.

We were there the week after and it was far nicer weather, but on the flip side, EPCOT was super crowded!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Brrr… despite your warm coat and your new hat, it looked quite cold! I’m glad it kept the crowds low and the lines short for you, though.

I love the looks of all your food, especially the puff pastries from France.

Those Photopass pictures are AWESOME! I love them!

 

[VAtink]

I hadn't heard about this shot. They turned our really cute.

Thanks! Yeah, this was one of the shots I really wanted to get, they had it two years ago when I was at FArts last, but I missed it then, so I made a point to get it this time around.

It gets tricky to get just the right amount and types of layering, especially if you are running in and out of heated buildings and rides.

It really does! Some of the buildings were so hot inside too, we actually looked forward to getting back out into the cold!

It is really nice to be able to stop back at your resort to change. It is one of the best parts of staying at an Epcot area resort.

It really is, such an amazing advantage to those resorts.

 

[VAtink]

Love all the magic shots! Staying in the EPCOT area is so convenient for EP and HS visits. I have a hard time staying anywhere else even though I like other resorts.

Thank you! Yeah, one of the many reasons we love staying on Crescent Lake. Our next trip we'll be at Wilderness Lodge, and it's going to be so weird not to be able to walk to a park!

 

[VAtink]

I just got all caught up and I have to chuckle at how many frozen drinks you ordered with it being so chilly and rainy I can relate though, when it was 8 degrees here last week, I still walked to my neighborhood ice cream parlor to satisfy a mint chip craving. You got some amazing photopass shots and love the artwork. It also seems like you (so far) haven't had to deal with hoards of people. Always a bonus!

Haha, yeah I didn't make the smartest choices with those drinks! Oops! While the weather wasn't great the first few days, it certainly did help keep the crowds away, it was really nice having the art booths to ourselves those days, later in the trip when the sun came out it was so packed in them we usually gave up trying to browse!

 

[VAtink]

Those photopass photos are so wonderful!!! You and your mom have such great memories!

Thank you!

Now, you did make a cardinal mistake in France. It is ALWAYS the Grand Mariner Slushie if you are going to drink in France. There is just no other. But, I'll let it slide - THIS TIME. LOL.

Haha, I put this in my phone, next time I will not forget! (hopefully)

 

[Araminta18]

Oooh your pictures all look great! Though I'm curious - how long did you wait for the light stick one? We ended up waiting 35 minutes for that one - the line was short but they were doing like 5/7 minutes for each group and seemed to be training the CMs? I got a bit grumpy by the end, especially cause they realized "ooh wait we're taking too long with each group" and we got rushed through in like 30 seconds

 

[VAtink]

Just stumbled across your TR and caught up on the first 7 pages! I'm very impressed by your tenacity with the weather.

, thanks for following along! Yeah, the weather that week was pretty miserable, but we pushed through (mostly) to get everything done!

We were there the week after and it was far nicer weather, but on the flip side, EPCOT was super crowded!

It's funny, I kept looking at the future weather while we were there and commenting how I wish we could stay a bit into the next week since it was finally going to be nice! Oh well, at least we got lower crowds. Hope you had an amazing trip!

 

[VAtink]

Brrr… despite your warm coat and your new hat, it looked quite cold! I’m glad it kept the crowds low and the lines short for you, though.

Haha, yeah, I was shocked at how cold it was that week. But it was definitely nice how uncrowded it was those days!

I love the looks of all your food, especially the puff pastries from France.

The food at this festival is some of my favorite, it is really really good! Plus it's nice when it's a bit colder (although not quite as cold as that week) to eat, during F&W we typically don't have much of an appetite since it's so hot out, but in the winter we can eat a whole lot more!

Those Photopass pictures are AWESOME! I love them!

Thank you!