2019 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival

This year’s festival started on March 6 and continues until June 3. There are features all throughout Epcot, and there is still plenty of time to visit this year’s festival. The Flower and Garden Festival might be my favorite of all the festivals at Epcot. Part of it, I must admit, is the nostalgia. Because it always occurs over Spring Break, we have made so many fun memories at Flower and Garden through the years. That being said, it is truly incredible how the World Showcase in particular is transformed to a living garden. There’s so much to learn and see, not to mention all of the delicious sips and bites.

First thing’s first – be sure to grab a guide map and festival passport on your way into the park. These will help you to plan your day, and the passport even provides stickers so little ones can check off the activities you’ve completed throughout the festival (ok let’s be honest, I also find it super satisfying to check things off my to do list with a sticker). If you have little ones along, be sure to also get your Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration map and stickers or the Egg-Stravaganza Scavenger Hunt (starting April 5)! You can purchase these super cute scavenger hunts for $6.99 each at multiple locations (check your guide map, or ask a cast member). Once you’ve completed the hunt, you get to choose a pack of patches to take home as a souvenir!

  

The Flower and Garden Festival is a great time to take your time to stop and smell the roses around Epcot – literally. Your festival passport will lead you to all of the beautiful topiaries and tell you where to find your favorite treats. One of my personal favorites is to take a stroll through the butterfly house and see the butterflies transform from caterpillars. I’m honestly just a wannabe green thumb, so this entire festival is bliss for me.

Each country in the World Showcase also has a topiary themed to the country. I loved the panda bears in China and, new this year, Muppets topiaries in France! My ultimate favorite this year has to be the penguin sculpture by the Land pavilion. While this wasn’t a plant topiary, it was made from trash and plastic that was not properly disposed of in the ocean. Sustainability is something I’m very passionate about, so while it’s pretty devastating to see how much waste is harming our environment, it is very cool to see Disney’s efforts to decrease waste and clean up the environment – and even making art out of it.

As far as food and drink goes, there is certainly something for everyone. If you spend any time checking out Instagram posts from Disney World, I’m sure you’ve seen the Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade from Pineapple Promenade. I’m happy to confirm that it is truly delicious and lives up to the hype. And if you love a Mickey pretzel, you can’t miss the Toasted Pretzel Bread at Bauernmarkt near Germany. Hot ham and melted cheese on a pretzel bun is hard to pass up. If you’re more of a seafood person, stop by the Florida Fresh stand for the Spicy Blackened Shrimp and Cheddar Cheese Grits, which my family claims is to die for. There is so much more to try, but these were definitely highlights.

As evening takes over the Flower and Garden Festival, you’ll want to find a spot in the America Gardens Theater for the Garden Rocks concert series. While I prefer the shows at the Festival of the Arts (I’m more of musical theater fan myself), there are some fun concerts during Flower and Garden. We got to hear Simple Plan during our trip – a true middle school throwback for me. There’s a little bit of everything at these concerts from the lead singer of STYX to Sister Sledge to TobyMac.

There is so much to see and do at the Flower and Garden Festival that will keep everyone in the family entertained! To start planning your trip, contact your On The Road Travel agent. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.