A while back, we had polled locals to find out which Disney World theme park was there favorite. The results showed that for locals, EPCOT was where most liked to spend their time. The biggest draw for this is the festivals. It’s nearly impossible to visit EPCOT at any point in the year and not be there during a festival. There is now little time left without one. And that’s okay because Orlando locals love EPCOT festivals. Last week, we polled our community of locals to see which EPCOT Festival was their favorite .So which ones do they love the most? While the winner was not surprising, the rest of the results were more spread out than I was anticipating. Let’s check them out.
Winner: EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival
It’s no surprise this is the fan favorite festival. The Food & Wine Festival is one of the original of the EPCOT festivals, getting its start in 1995. It also tends to have the largest selection of food booths and drink options. This makes sense because that’s it’s focus. While COVID has temporarily changed the festivals, the Food & Wine Festival would typically have a variety of cooking demonstrations, classes, wine tasting, concerts, and other special events. The Food & Wine Festival is also my favorite especially since it’s in the fall. There is just something special about this long yearly event.
2nd Place: International Flower & Garden Festival
My guess was that the Flower & Garden Festival would take second, but I didn’t realize the margin to the Arts Festival would be so close. The Flower & Garden Festival is the other original EPCOT festival, actually having its inaugural year in 1994 before Food & Wine. Both festivals were designed to make EPCOT relevant and bring in more visitors. Aside from the food and drink offerings, The Flower & Garden Festival offers a colorful array of topiaries and floral displays, concerts, workshops where guests can learn from expert gardeners, and more.
3rd Place: International Festival of the Arts
The newest of the four festivals is still very loved. Getting it’s start in 2017, the Festival of the Arts was exactly what EPCOT needed to fill in the long winter break without much going on in the park. This festival features some of the best Disney artist, along with culinary, visual, and performing arts. It originally only took place on weekends, but grew to operate throughout January and February.
4th Place: International Festival of the Holidays
The Festival of the Holidays is also an older festival. Originally known Holidays Around the World in 1996, the festival centered around the beloved Candlelight Processional. Two decades later in 2016, it was renamed EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays to be more in line with the rest of the festival line up. One of the reasons it probably garnered the least votes is it’s shorter than the rest of the festivals, around a month in length. It’s still nothing short of a great festival and immerses you in holiday traditions from around the world.
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