Throughout the year there are a few different seasons that bring some extra magic to Disney parks. One of those times happens to be in the spring when Epcot hosts the International Flower & Garden Festival. We had been to this festival years ago, and boy has it grown! (Food booths didn’t even exist back then!) While the 2020 festival season was cut short we were lucky enough to visit a little bit in the beginning and wanted to share the offerings this year. From beautiful gardens, to fresh food, and springtime merch, read on to hear what this festival has to offer…

About the Festival

When: The Flower & Garden Festival is normally available for almost a quarter of the year. It takes place in the spring and the 2020 dates were supposed to be March 4–June 1.

Where: the festival takes place around most of Epcot, from the World Showcase, to other pavilions near the front.

Who: anyone can enjoy finding beautiful displays, anyone that is really into plants will love it even more. Foodies can find some yummy treats as well.

How much: admission to the festival is included with a normal park entry to Epcot. Things like food, drinks, and merchandise offerings will of course be extra. The concerts are free but special add on experiences such as dining packages and tours are an additional cost.

TIP: make sure to grab a Festival Passport and Times Guide at the front of the park. These have plenty of info to plan your day and not miss anything. Plus the passport is fun to mark with the included stickers as you explore around the World Showcase.

You can find flowers everywhere — even in the water!

The Main Attraction: Garden Displays

Topiaries

One of the most noticeable and longest running offerings at the Flower & Garden festival are the topiaries crafted by the Disney garden teams. These living displays are inspired by Disney characters and more. We love simply walking around the park and seeing them all. These change slightly year to year and it is always neat to see how certain ones may be themed to different areas of the parks. You can see the full list of this year’s topiaries here. Here are quite a few pictures of some of our favorites this year…

Donald, Daisy, and crew ready for some gardening.

Figment looks so cute in front of the Imagination pavilion.

Greetings Earthlings from Buzz Lightyear.

Remy was a new addition this year in France.

This Dragon framed a perfect shot in Japan.

Lady and the Tramp had quite the display in Italy.

Other Garden Destinations

Throughout the park you will also find many garden displays to discover. These mini gardens feature native plants, themed areas, or fun ingredients. We really enjoyed taking a peek and learned at these little spots.

This mini garden in Germany featured a little house for Snow White.

Various Bonsai trees could be found in Japan.

Butterfly Garden

One of our favorite stops is The Goodness Garden Butterfly House. Here you can learn about Butterflies and see them in different stages. There are so many different colors and patterns and it is so cool to see them flitting all about.

Fresh Food

With any Epcot festival marks the return of those fun little food booths. While this isn’t as grand of a scale as a food focused festival (with shorter lines thank goodness!) there were plenty of different offerings. The one thing we found with the Flower & Garden festival is that most of the food is fresh and colorful. These outdoor kitchens feature dishes with spring produce or herbs or pretty pastel colors . Here are a few things that we tried…

Crispy Citrus Chicken with Orange Aïoli and Baby Greens
$5.75 at the Citrus Blossom (Showcase Plaza)

The chicken was a decent portion and freshly fried. The sauce was really good. Our only complaint was some bits of the chicken were chewy/stringy.

Toasted Pretzel Bread topped with Black Forest Ham and Melted Gruyère Cheese
$5.50 at Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market (Germany)

Bread and cheese is always a favorite and this little pretzel roll with Gruyere didn’t disappoint. It seemed a fair price point too.

Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade
$4.50 at Pineapple Promenade (Showcase Plaza)

We finally tried this popular drink. It’s less tart than standard lemonade but not too sweet. It was a perfect balance and pretty too!

Lamb Curry with Sweet Plantains and Rice
$6.25 at La Isla Fresca (Showcase Plaza)

This dish was so plentiful and flavorful. We were shocked the price was so reasonable.

Orange Cream Shake in a Souvenir Orange Bird Sipper Cup
$15.00 at the Citrus Blossom (Showcase Plaza)

This Orange Cream shake is Andrew’s new fave. We couldn’t resist bringing home this cute Orange bird too.

Frushi: Strawberry, Pineapple and Cantaloupe wrapped in Sweet Rice and Pink Soy Wrap served with Whipped Cream, Drizzled Berry Sauce and Toasted Coconut
$6.00 at Hanami (Japan)

We finally tried Frushi as well. What a unique food item! Not only is it pretty, it made for a good dessert.

TIP: Most festivals have a “passport challenge”. This year’s Flower & Garden festival featured the “Garden Graze”. When you purchase 5 particular items eligible for a stamp, you can show your passport to receive a complimentary culinary treat. If you like the items anyway, you might as well get a free one too!

Springtime Merch

Scattered throughout the park you will also find plenty of merchandise booths. We were surprised at the amount of different festival gear including apparel, accessories, kitchenware, ornaments, and more. We also loved the variety with some being very bright and sunshiny, with others being pastel and floral. In addition to official Disney merchandise you could also find some vendors selling festival themed items. We came across garden decor, natural body products, and more.

TIP: It’s also good to note there are some specialty festival items available too such as Pandora charms and Dooney & Bourke handbags. If you are an Annual Passholder don’t forget to stop by and get your free festival magnet too!

Fun Scavenger Hunt

As many festivals do, Flower & Garden features a scavenger hunt: “Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration.” This activity does come with a fee of $7.99 (but some discounts are available). You receive a paper flower that features a map and stickers. Around Epcot you will find lots of little Spike the honeybee hiding in the gardens. Once you have a completed palette you can go to a redemption center for a prize. This year the bounty was a patterned plant pot/cup.

Garden Rocks Concerts

During the festival you can experience mini concerts in the America Gardens Theater. These 30 minute shows occur nightly at 5:30pm, 6:45pm, and 8:00pm. In the past many have said the performers aren’t as well known as other festivals, but it seems the acts are continuing to get better. Here is the full 2020 schedule of participating artists. The concerts are free to attend but depending on popularity there may be a line waiting to get in.

Extra Experiences

While we didn’t do any extra experiences this year, we would look into in the future. To guarantee a seat at a Garden Rocks concert you can book a dining package. There are also some garden focused tours available too:

Behind the Seeds Tour ($25)
Everyday | Times from 10:30-4:30pm
This 60-minute tour explores behind the scenes at The Land Greenhouses.
Gardens of the World Tour ($85)
Mon., Tues., Thur., & Fri. | 9:00am–12:00pm
A three-hour tour of special displays with a Disney Horticulturist
Royal Tea Garden Tour ($20)
Everyday | 9:30am
A 45-minute tour in England, includes tea and scone samples

TIP: There are also some FREE tea tours as well. There is a “English Tea Garden Tour” with limited availability you must sign up for. As well as a Self-Guided Tea Tour with a brochure.

Final Thoughts

We really enjoyed the International Flower & Garden Festival! Springtime is such a lovely time to visit the parks and view the gorgeous flowers. We also loved being able to sample some fresh food and drinks. We were super bummed that this year the festival was cut so short as we had been looking forward to exploring even more. We hope next year to be able to dig in a little deeper. This is probably our second favorite festival behind Festival of the Arts.