Oops, We Forgot to Leave Our Weather at Home! A Fantastic Festival of the Arts 2025 TR! (Updated 4/19 x2!!)

[jump00]

Hello and welcome everyone to my latest trip report! Thank you all for joining in on the fun!

This trip we headed down to Disney for a short trip to Festival of the Arts (FArts). Our trip this time was January 21st-26th, and we stayed at the BWI.

I’ve been to this FArts once before and LOVED it, it’s my favorite festival now, so I couldn’t wait to show it off to my mom.

Speaking of my mom, I guess it’s time for introductions!

For this trip it was once again a mother daughter trip.

This is my mom, Carol, and she is my favorite travel buddy. We travel so well together, and I love making all these memories with her.

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She is a semi-retired teacher, so we typically only can travel when she has breaks. This trip was actually during the final exam period for her school system, and since her exam was over early, it was the perfect time for a quick trip to Disney!

Next up there is me, Debbie!

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I’ll be your narrator for this trip report and I cannot wait to get into all the details!

Now, I had been raving about how amazing the weather is in Disney in January to my mom for the past two years since the few times I’ve been in January it’s been glorious. I’m sure you can see where this is going.

Well, turns out the gross northern winter weather decided to follow us down to Florida. Guys, it SNOWED in Florida while we were there, and actual snow, not snoap! Granted, not in Disney, but still, that’s how wild the weather was this week.

So if you ever wanted to know what it would be like if Walt Disney had decided to build Disney World above the Mason Dixon line, you’re in for a treat because I’m going to tell you ALL about it.

Also, there were SO many options for report titles for this trip report. We had so many hilarious things happen and then of course there was the weather that inspired some too. Some others that were on the table:

"How to Give Yourself a Black Eye at Disney" (of course there is a story behind this, we’ll get to that later of course)

"Making History at Disney!" (Because we seem to always go during historic weather events, snow in Florida? Check! Rainiest day on record? Check!...ya’ll might want to find out when we’re going since there’s a solid chance some wild weather will happen and it’s a great time to not visit!)

"I Guess They Call it FARTS for a Reason…" (Yes, this is another story time for later)

Anyways, I cannot wait to get into this TR! Even with the less than perfect weather, we had the most amazing time.

Now on with the show!​

Joining in a little late….but always a fan of your trip reports!

Brenda

 

[VAtink]

My sister and I did it a couple of years ago on our 4th of July trip. We had a great time. There were some thunderstorms that rolled through right as the park was closing to day guests, so it delayed the start by about an hour, but after that it was smooth sailing.

We had never done the water parks before, and honestly that was the way to do it. No real waits, free Mickey bars, and not in the blistering sun!

Count one vote to do it from me!

Ohhh, good to know! Thanks!

 

[VAtink]

Joining in a little late….but always a fan of your trip reports!

Brenda

, thanks for joining in on the fun!

 

[marisas1011]

Happy weekend everyone! I have another crowdsourcing question for you all. The H20 glow night schedule was recently released, and there is one that falls during our trip, and we are debating if we should go. Has anyone been and would you recommend it? Our original plan for the day it falls was to do the four park challenge again, and I had considered making it a five park challenge (which I really want to do one of these trips), but my mom quickly shot that idea down since it would be too much for her. So our options for that day are either the 4 park challenge and ending the day at MK with the fireworks dessert party, or doing two parks, resting, then H20 Glow Nights that evening.

Anyone have any thoughts?!?! We are sooooo torn on what to do!

We've done this a few times and have loved it.

 

[VAtink]

Happy Monday everyone. So I totally failed at trip report writing this weekend, oops! But I had a good excuse...sort of. It was GORGEOUS here, like the nicest weekend we've had in months. Plus it was peak cherry blossom blooms this weekend, so of course my friends and I had to go explore and see pretty blooms and just enjoy being outside in the sun and warmth.

We decided to avoid all the tourists downtown and head somewhere we've never been before to check out the cherry trees and other flowers and whatnot...the National Arboretum! Guys, this place is massive and really really cool! I can't believe I've never been before. It's actually something I'm really bad at, I've lived in the DC area for 20 years now yet rarely go do all the stuff DC has to offer. I really only do that stuff when I have people visiting me. I need to get better at that.

Anyways, we ended up strolling around the arboretum for hours, ended up walking about 5 miles around it, which by Disney standards doesn't seem like much, but for a park in DC a 5 mile stroll without backtracking is pretty impressive! There were just so many trails through the woods and there were so many things in bloom that we couldn't stop exploring! Being me, of course I took a ton of pictures.









They even had a self-guided cherry blossom trail with various types of cherry trees! You can see the number in the picture below, that's one of the trees on the trail, and is the same variety I have in my back yard!











So that was a fantastic way to spend part of the day. BUT we weren't done yet! After our fun in nature, we decided to head back over to Alexandria to visit the newly opened Swiftie pop-up bar! Yes, we have a Taylor Swift bar now.

It was actually really cool, and had really good food and drinks! Plus, they had friendship bracelet making kits!









Overall it was an amazing weekend, buuuut not so great for getting this TR updated. Oh well, I'll try to get back into it this week! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

 

[VAtink]

We've done this a few times and have loved it.

Thank you! So far I've been seeing a lot of good reviews for it.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What an amazing weekend!!! The trees are beautiful. We were just talking about the cherry blossoms in my class last week. I said I wanted to get to DC to visit, but for reasons I won't go into on the Dis...probably best I don't get too close.

and that Taylor Swift pop up bar??!! What fun. Now I want to make friendship bracelets while eating and drinking. But I feel you on not doing all the things in the area you live. I've been in VA for 3 years now and have done...nothing. Maybe I'll get out and explore this summer. I hear there is a safari park close to here.

 

[emilyann704]

Yeah, I may do that if they change it again. Right now I think I'll stick with this flight, but we'll see. There are a few other flights with other airlines that are around the same time as my original flight, so I may change later.

Once you "accept" the change (or they may say you automatically accept it after a certain amount of time) you can't change it for free -- just keep that in mind.

 

[buzzrelly]

Hello! I have been enjoying your trip report! My DH and I just went to F-Arts for the first time and loved it! We arrived about a week after you and had perfect weather! It was is perfect that we remarked that it was the kind of weather that makes you want to move to Florida! but then we remember that we were in a hurricane in October so we're good in CT!

I’ve been to this FArts once before and LOVED it, it’s my favorite festival now, so I couldn’t wait to show it off to my mom.

We are going again next year, we loved it so much!

This is my mom, Carol, and she is my favorite travel buddy. We travel so well together, and I love making all these memories with her.

Aw, I love that you travel with your mom! My mom comes with us about once a year and I love those trips even though she's slowing down a bit now at 83

Well, turns out the gross northern winter weather decided to follow us down to Florida. Guys, it SNOWED in Florida while we were there, and actual snow, not snoap! Granted, not in Disney, but still, that’s how wild the weather was this week.

So if you ever wanted to know what it would be like if Walt Disney had decided to build Disney World above the Mason Dixon line, you’re in for a treat because I’m going to tell you ALL about it.

That is absolutely crazy! You never know what you're going to get when you plan your trip though and I see you made the best of it!

We made our way to the room, and quickly realized it was far far away from the lobby. It was actually the last room in the hotel. BUT, it turns out that was a good thing!

We ended up in room 2353, and being the last room on the hall we had balconies on two sides!

Somehow, every room in the Boardwalk is far from the lobby! That is nice though that you got two balconies!

The grilled cheese was once again amazing! I love love love this dish!

So good! I meant to get it a second time and never got back to it!

 

[buzzrelly]

but for some reason while eating a bunch of people came up to the table we were at to eat their food. It got so crowded we were shoulder to shoulder, meanwhile all the tables around us were empty! People are so weird, and yes, the queuing instinct applies to tables as well apparently.

That is too weird! Maybe they thought you were part of their family!

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!

I've reached a point in my life where I don't care what others think! I'd much rather be warm and comfortable!

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.

These pics are awesome! I honestly didn't even know they were an option or I would have gotten them!

We ended up grabbing some popcorn, coke, and Mickey ice cream bars because who doesn't love eating ice cream outside when it's 30 degrees!

Yikes! Brrrrrrr!!

just before the preshow started this group came in and pushed in front of my mom and I so they were actually touching us, and then the teenage son proceeds to sit down and sits right on my feet!

Oh my gosh! You guys attract large groups I guess!

The line for Slinky was practically non-existent at that point, we waited maybe two minutes. After the first ride, we saw the line was even shorter, so we decided to ride again! And finally, after that second ride, the line was EMPTY, so of course we ran around to get on one last time!

I would love that! We did Early Morning Magic when that was a thing and we would do the same thing!

Around 6:45 we made our way out to our next activity, Jellyrolls!

So sad! Glad you got there one last time!

 

[VAtink]

What an amazing weekend!!! The trees are beautiful. We were just talking about the cherry blossoms in my class last week. I said I wanted to get to DC to visit, but for reasons I won't go into on the Dis...probably best I don't get too close.

Yeah, it was a really great weekend! Kinda makes up for the dreary weekend we're expecting and the cold temps coming back next week! But hey, a dreary weekend is perfect for updating trip reports!

and that Taylor Swift pop up bar??!! What fun. Now I want to make friendship bracelets while eating and drinking. But I feel you on not doing all the things in the area you live. I've been in VA for 3 years now and have done...nothing. Maybe I'll get out and explore this summer. I hear there is a safari park close to here.

Haha, it was so cool! It is, unsurprisingly, ridiculously popular. We got lucky and got in with little wait, but the day before the line was so long to get in that the restaurants the line extended past started serving drinks to people in line to enjoy while they waited!

Yeah, it's hard to get out and do all the fun stuff nearby, I'm going to try to do more this summer, but then again summer up here is brutal so that may not happen! The safari park sounds cool though, I would definitely check that out at some point!

 

[VAtink]

Once you "accept" the change (or they may say you automatically accept it after a certain amount of time) you can't change it for free -- just keep that in mind.

Ah, good to know, thanks!

 

[VAtink]

Hello! I have been enjoying your trip report! My DH and I just went to F-Arts for the first time and loved it! We arrived about a week after you and had perfect weather! It was is perfect that we remarked that it was the kind of weather that makes you want to move to Florida! but then we remember that we were in a hurricane in October so we're good in CT!

Thank you! Isn't FArts amazing? I love this festival so much. Oh yeah, you got some really nice weather, we wished we could have stayed an extra week!

We are going again next year, we loved it so much!

That's awesome! I wish we could go again next year, but we have too many other trips planned and I just don't have enough vacation time or funds for another one. Oh well, hopefully we'll be back in 2027!

Aw, I love that you travel with your mom! My mom comes with us about once a year and I love those trips even though she's slowing down a bit now at 83

Thank you! She is my favorite person to travel with, we have so much fun and I love making all these memories with her!

That is absolutely crazy! You never know what you're going to get when you plan your trip though and I see you made the best of it!

Yeah, I was surprised how bad the weather was that week! I expect a day or two of possible not great weather while down in FL, but not a week of it! Oh well, we still had fun and it did keep the crowds at bay which was nice.

Somehow, every room in the Boardwalk is far from the lobby! That is nice though that you got two balconies!

Haha, right? I'm glad we figured out the shortcut through the courtyard, it seriously shaved a few minutes off the walk to the lobby! Those two balconies were so nice, even though the room was far far away, we really did love it.

So good! I meant to get it a second time and never got back to it!

It really is, we did end up getting a second time and I'm so glad we did! I wish they had this year round!

That is too weird! Maybe they thought you were part of their family!

It was super strange. Maybe they thought if we all huddled together we could warm up?

I've reached a point in my life where I don't care what others think! I'd much rather be warm and comfortable!

Oh yeah, I was willing to be puffy that night, it was soooooo cold! I still can't believe it was in the 30s that week, I think we broke Florida.

These pics are awesome! I honestly didn't even know they were an option or I would have gotten them!

Thanks! I saw Disney had posted all the special shots on I think instagram a few days before our trip, so I took a screenshot of all of them so we wouldn't forget!

Yikes! Brrrrrrr!!

Haha, not our smarted move to get ice cream this night, but it was tasty!

Oh my gosh! You guys attract large groups I guess!

This was soooo odd, especially when the guy sat on my foot. I swear some people are completely oblivious of their surroundings.

I would love that! We did Early Morning Magic when that was a thing and we would do the same thing!

I miss Early Morning Magic so much!!! We loved that event, and again rode Slinky over and over, we ended up riding it 10 times that morning! I know there are probably not as many morning people as there are night people, but I do wish they would bring back some pre-park opening things like this.

So sad! Glad you got there one last time!

Yeah, I'm so happy we got to go one last time. I'm super sad it's moving, it was such a staple on the Boardwalk for so long, I never imagined it would leave!

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 3: Food Booth Time!​

We last left off meeting with the characters!

By the time we wrapped up with the character meet, it was almost 11, so we decided to head to our first food booth of the day, the Deconstructed Dish!

We arrived at like 10:59, so they weren’t ready yet, which was fine and only had to wait like two minutes before they could take our order. Here I only got the deconstructed mojito.



We stopped at a table to drink some so it wouldn’t slosh before moving on.



Monorail!



This was just ok, it had that fake sugar taste which I’m not a huge fan of, but it was a cool presentation and a fun souvenir cup!

We browsed some of the art in that area before heading to our next food booth.

Our next stop was Fictional Victuals where mom got the octopus. Instead of eating that, we went and joined the line for Mexico so I could get food too. This was probably a mistake since this line was nuts. Took almost 30 minutes to get through and get our food. Oops! Here I got the croqueta.

There were no open tables nearby when we finally got our food, but I remembered some hidden ones around the other side of the pavilion so we headed that way. Sure enough, those tables were empty so we settled in to enjoy our food!





The Croqueta was delicious! The octopus was ok, had a nice spice to it, but wasn’t as good as the octopus we’ve had at places like Tiffins. I did like the nautilus on the plate though!

There was this cool narrow alley in that area that I thought looked really cool, so of course got some pictures!



After eating we continued our way around WS, with our next stop being China! On the way I took some pictures, mostly of the sky. I think I was just so happy to finally see blue sky after so many days of rain!





Here we got the General Tso’s chicken and the lavender drink. We took the food to tables nearby to enjoy.



This was really really good! I had gotten this last time I was a Farts and remembered it was good, and I’m glad I got it again since it was just as good as I remembered!

We got a few more pictures in the area before moving on.





And just in case we forgot why we were there...


Next up: I Only Eat off of Trash Cans!​

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Love the arts festival so much. Definitely my favorite these days. The Mexican booth is always nuts, every festival. They used to have registers at either end of the booth that helped with the line, but I haven't seen them use it in years. And there definitely aren't enough tables in that area!

 

[Wood Nymph]

This was just ok, it had that fake sugar taste which I’m not a huge fan of, but it was a cool presentation and a fun souvenir cup!

The souvenir cup is cute. We had the margaritas from the Mexico booth during F&G and they were served in a souvenir cup, too.

General Tso’s chicken

That looks good, too.

 

[VAtink]

Love the arts festival so much. Definitely my favorite these days. The Mexican booth is always nuts, every festival. They used to have registers at either end of the booth that helped with the line, but I haven't seen them use it in years. And there definitely aren't enough tables in that area!

It really is such a great festival. It's my favorite right now, maybe if F&W ever brought back the special events that would go back on top, but for now FArts wins!

Yeah, the only time we saw the Mexico booth with hardly any line was when it was pouring out! I wish they would bring back the registers on the other side, that booth is one of the ones that really needs it.

 

[VAtink]

The souvenir cup is cute. We had the margaritas from the Mexico booth during F&G and they were served in a souvenir cup, too.

Oh nice! I do really like those souvenir cups, even if I'm not a huge fan of the drinks that came in them!

That looks good, too.

This was really good, nice and light and super flavorful.

 

[VAtink]

Day 4, Part 4: I Only Eat Off of Trash Cans!​

We last left off enjoying our food from China.

After finishing up that food, we continued on and made our way to Italy! Here mom got the ravioli and I got the fritta! We also apparently got some red wine.







While eating, I noticed this group of 20 yr olds came up to the trashcan next to us to eat off of, which normally is understandable at a festival, but this day there were like four empty tables around us so it was really weird they’d opt to eat off a trashcan when they could have a table. So when we finished our food, I offered them our table since it was right next to them, and while most of them seemed grateful, this one woman all haughtily goes “oh no, we don’t need a table, this isn’t our first rodeo!” Um….ok, it’s not ours either? Like was she really trying to flex she’s been to a festival before by refusing to eat off of anything other than a trash can?!?! The funny thing is, all the people with her moved to the table we offered while she refused!

At that point we were ready for a break so started to make our way out. We swung by an art studio nearby first to check it out. I saw this HM piece that I LOVED, but I had already gone over my art budget for the trip and couldn't justify spending almost $300 on more art, so sadly passed on it.



We also ended up taking a bunch of pictures around the Italy pavilion before heading towards the IG.














(I took a ridiculous number of these pictures of the FArts signs )

On the way out we swung by the art booth that had the Remy print I had picked up earlier since my mom decided she wanted it too.

Once we picked up the print, we headed to France to see if there was anything in the store there we wanted, and while we liked some of the stuff, we didn’t purchase this time around.

We finally made our way out, but not back to the Boardwalk, nope, we decided to head to the YC/BC to check out the pool construction and get some stuff for breakfast the next day.

Next up: Enjoying the (Finally) Nice Weather!​

 

[vamassey1]

It's so nice to Epcot with blue skies.

Enjoying all you food choices and it's making me very happy.

I hope they bring back some of the special experiences for F&W. My DD is part of festival team and they had a meeting last week but she couldn't tell me anything . Hard to believe they're already working on F&W.