Epcot might be at its best during the Flower & Garden Festival. The park is filled with dozens of amazing topiaries, the Outdoor Kitchens (food and drink booths) have delicious snack options, and the entertainment is always fantastic. Due to COVID, the 2021 version of the festival was advertised as a “Taste of” Flower & Garden, but if it was a slightly subdued version, Dom and I didn’t notice when we were there for a day in May.

The festival officially started on March 3rd – just in time for spring. The last day is today – July 5th – so tomorrow, the Cast Members will start to transition Epcot out of the Flower & Garden Festival and into the Food & Wine Festival, which I’m really excited for.

This post is all about how the festivals work, everything we saw and tried, and what we’re hoping will return for next year’s Flower & Garden festival.

General Tips

Planning

The nice thing about the Epcot festivals is that they all have fairly similar formats (just with different kinds of booths and decorations) so our basic itinerary stays the same no matter what time of year we go. At every festival, there are “Festival Passports” – little booklets that list everything in the park that is there just for the festival. The passports are available to pick up at any of the Outdoor Kitchens.

Dom and I always use the passports to plan out our day:

• We mark all of the food and drinks we want to try so we don’t have to stop and look at all of the signs as we pass different booths
• Between the passport and the Disney World app, we decide which live entertainment show times make the most sense for us to go to

It’s really important to plan a festival day at Epcot fairly thoroughly because there are only a limited number of show times for the live entertainment, which is always a highlight of the day.

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Since we aren’t Disney World locals and mostly do quick weekend trips when we visit, we typically only spend one day at a festival – which is just enough time for us to try all of the foods that sound interesting to us. Because of this, we have sworn to never book a dining reservation for a table service restaurant at Epcot again during a festival. It never feels worth it for us – there are too many fun festival foods to try, the price of table service for the two of us is comparable to trying 5 or 6 festival foods, and the reservations always take up a lot of time that we would have rather spent looking through the other special festival exhibits or going on an extra ride. I could see it being different if we lived closer and went more frequently, or if we had kids with us – dining reservations are definitely a good opportunity to get in an indoor break in the middle of the day when the heat spikes.

Starting the day

I always feel like Epcot is a good park to rope drop (get to before official open to be one of the first people in the park) because the line for Frozen Ever After stays pretty high all day.

If you can get to Epcot early and be toward the front of the pack of people heading to the rides, you shouldn’t have to wait too long for Frozen Ever After and can knock it out, get some pictures of the Anna and Elsa topiaries, and get in another ride in the first hour before starting to scope out the food. Personally, I’d recommend going from Frozen to Mission Space (Orange) because that’s the only ride that’s not great to do after a few snacks – it can make anyone a little queasy.

Seeing characters

With all of the construction at Epcot and with it being such a big park, it’s a little tricky to catch characters. I feel like Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are the best parks to see characters because their cavalcades are wonderful, but if you’re set on trying to see them at Epcot, ask the Cast Members – some of them know when and where to find them.

There are quite a few characters out for socially distanced hellos at Epcot – right now I think it’s still:

• Alice (Alice in Wonderland) & Mary Poppins: UK Pavilion
• Joy (Inside Out) & Winnie the Pooh: Future World
• Mickey & friends: Future World
• Anna & Elsa: Norway Pavilion (not sure on this; they were there in early 2021 but I haven’t seen updates and we didn’t notice them)

There’s also a Princess Promenade that travels clockwise around the World Showcase – starting and ending between France and the UK. We actually caught it twice and they seem to go around once an hour (check the WDW app for start and end times), but it takes quite a while for the Promenade to do the whole lap. If you want to catch them, head counter-clockwise around the World Showcase and you’ll probably see them at some point. Keep an ear out for a music change – if it suddenly sounds more… royal, it means they’ll be in the area soon.

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Festival Topiaries & Gardens

The character topiaries around the park add a lot of special Disney magic to Epcot. This year, there were 23 different spots around the park where they could be found. Every single one we saw was incredible.

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It’s relatively easy to spot the topiaries since they’re all pretty large, draw crowds, and tend to be front and center everywhere you look, but the festival passports also list all of the topiaries and their location in the park if you want to be sure to take a picture with a specific one. I think my favorite from the day was Eeyore and Piglet, and Dom’s was Miss Piggy.

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Beyond the topiaries, the festival also has 18 different gardens scattered around the park. We didn’t have enough time to look for them but I know some are really popular with kids – especially the Health Full Trail and The Goodness Garden Butterfly House.

Entertainment

The Flower & Garden had five live entertainment shows this year – Dom and I made it to four of them and they were all fantastic, as live entertainment always is at the Disney parks. Like I mentioned earlier, if you want to catch specific ones or all of them, it’s a good idea to schedule out which show times you plan to go to. There are enough showings that it’s completely doable, but not enough that it’s easy to see them all if you wing it.

Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre

Both of these popular Epcot music groups are currently performing at the outdoor America Gardens Theatre in the American Adventure pavilion. Both groups are incredibly and are must-sees for us anytime we’re at Epcot. Luckily, they perform back-to-back most of the time so it’s easy to stop and see both out without having to leave and come back. There’s usually a small break between the two which is a good time to do more planning for the rest of the day.

The America Gardens Theatre is pretty large and usually isn’t too busy for these two performances. We like to get there early so we can get a seat close to the stage and in the shade, but as long as you get there before the WDW app says the performance starts, you should be able to get a seat.

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Epcot Pianist

The World Showplace pavilion is between the UK and Canada, set back a bit from the main walkway. It’s a great place to get an AC break, grab some food and drinks since there are a few booths inside, and catch the Epcot Pianist. The songs and pianist rotate but when we were there, we were able to hear a few Disney favorites – including Part of Your World and Colors of the Wind. I played the piano growing up so I really enjoyed it, and it was the first time I’ve been in the World Showplace pavilion.

Jammin’ Gardeners

The drummers that are currently performing as the Jammin’ Gardeners have appeared in a few places over the last few years. I think we saw them in the Germany stage once when there wasn’t a festival going on, in Future World with mobile kitchens during Food & Wine a few years ago, and now they’re at the Canada Mill Stage with their gardening supplies. They’re impressive to watch and tell a lot of jokes and puns between drumming, so overall its a fun experience. It’s also a fairly short show and you don’t need to show up early for it – there are a few benches that go quickly, but there’s plenty of room for people to sit on the pavement or stand nearby.

After we saw the Jammin’ Gardeners, there was a quick rain shower – we stopped by the Canada pavilion for the Canada: Far and Wide film. Canada is a really pretty part of the World Showcase so it’s always fun to walk around.

Bands at America Gardens Theatre

Dom and I missed this show because we were still going around and trying different foods, but this is another performance in the American Adventure pavilion that seems pretty popular. Live bands from the Orlando area perform on Sunday, Monday, Friday, and Saturday toward the end of the day – so it sounds like a great way to end a day at Epcot.

Food and Drinks at Flower & Garden

Dom and I tried a variety of offerings from the festival’s Outdoor Kitchens and weren’t disappointed. We are vegetarian so we primarily stuck to the plant-based options, which honestly was helpful with narrowing down what we wanted to try. We did try a few meatless options that must have had dairy in them since they didn’t have the plant-based symbol on the menus.

Overall, the festival did a good job of having plant-based options available but it would be nice to see more vegetarian options with a separate symbol. For example, at the Flavor Full Kitchen, there was a salmon and risotto. If the risotto was vegetarian but not vegan, it would be nice if a larger portion of risotto was also an option with a vegetarian symbol on the menu. It’s not a big deal and isn’t specific to Epcot festivals (it’s like this throughout the park at all dining locations), but would be great to see at some point.

Most of the foods we tried were part of the Garden Graze challenge – after trying five of the specified plant-based options, we could get a final stamp in our Festival Passport and pick up a free Mango Limemade Dole Whip from the Pineapple Promenade stand. The foods below with (GG) next to them were part of the challenge.

Savory Food Reviews

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Grilled Baby Vegetables with Hummus Cream and Red Pepper Coulis (GG)
From: Flavor Full Kitchen hosted by AdventHealth in Future World West
Score: 5/5
Price: $4.75

This was our favorite of the non-dessert foods we tried – the vegetables had amazing flavor and Dom loved the hummus. It was unfortunately one of the smaller portions we saw throughout the day, but that doesn’t change that it was delicious.

Boneless Impossible Korean Short Rib (GG)
From: Trowel & Trellis hosted by Impossible Foods in the Showcase Plaza
Score: 5/5
Price: $6.75

Dom ordered this one and said it was amazing. The rice was good and overall it was really flavorful – and it was a good portion size for $6.75. This is one he’s hoping will return next year.

Grilled Street Corn on the Cob with Savory Garlic Spread
From: Trowel & Trellis hosted by Impossible Foods in the Showcase Plaza
Score: 4/5
Price: $5.75

The corn on the cob is actually being grilled right behind the Outdoor Kitchen but unfortunately, mine was a little undercooked in parts. Ignoring that, I still wasn’t that impressed with the garlic spread / seasoning but I think part of that is because I love the Grilled Street Corn with African Spices from Harambe Fruit Market in Animal Kingdom (which I talk more about in my DAK itinerary post) so much. Dom tried it and really liked it though, so overall we gave it a 4/5.

Pineapple Skewer with Tajin Seasoning (GG)
From: Refreshment Outpost near Germany
Score: 3/5
Price: $4.75

Dom also had this one (I’m not a huge pineapple fan) and said it was good, but he wished we would have split it because it was a bit much for one person. He said the pineapple was a little sour and with the spicy Tajin Seasoning, it was a lot. He tried it since it was part of the Garden Graze challenge but he probably wouldn’t get it again.

Potato Pancakes with House-Made Apple Sauce (GG)
From: Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market in Germany
Score: 3/5
Price: $4.50

The potato pancakes were okay – it tasted like hash-browns in pancake form with light seasoning. I really liked the flavor of the apple sauce, though. Overall, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it if it wasn’t on the Garden Graze menu; in hindsight, I would have skipped it and gone back to the Flavor Full Kitchen for a second round of the Grilled Baby Vegetables.

Sweet Food Reviews

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Mixed Berry Buttermilk Cake
From: Pineapple Promenade in the Showcase Plaza
Score: 5/5
Price: $5.00

The funny thing about the Mixed Berry Cake is that we weren’t actually supposed to get it – we asked if we could get it as our free item for completing the Garden Graze instead of the Mango Limemade Dole Whip (since it’s actually cheaper and we knew we’d get Dole Whip the next day at Magic Kingdom) and the Cast Member made some magic and gave us both items instead. We were so glad we were able to try the cake because it was amazing – perfect flavors and consistency – so it’s another one I’m hoping will be back next year.

Lemon Magdalena Cake with Orange and Fig Compote and Sangria Gel (GG)
From: Taste of Marrakesh in Morocco
Score: 5/5
Price: $4.75

Dom likes figs and lemon cake so he was a huge fan of this dessert. I tried a piece of the cake without the fig compote and thought it was really good.

Frushi: Strawberry, Pineapple, and Cantaloupe wrapped in Sweet Rice and Pink Soy Wrap served with Whipped Cream, Drizzled Berry Sauce, and Toasted Coconut
From: Hanami in Japan
Score: 5/5
Price: $6.00

The frushi was a really refreshing treat and was the perfect level of sweetness. $6 is one of the higher prices for food at the booths (at least the ones without meat) but it was also a larger portion size than some of the other items we tried. It was enough for the two of us to split, the whipped cream on the side was really tasty, and it’s kind of a unique dessert anyway since it’s not just another cake. There are always so many desserts to try at the festivals that I probably won’t get this every year, but I may get it again at some point.

Dole Whip
From: Pineapple Promenade in the Showcase Plaza
Score: 3/5
Price: $5.25

This was the actual prize for completing the Garden Graze challenge – I saw on all ears.net that the flavor was mango limemade (but couldn’t find it officially listed from Disney). I wasn’t a big fan of it because it was a really, really strong flavor – but keep in mind that my favorite Dole Whip flavor is vanilla, so I’m not necessarily the best person to judge it.

Drink Reviews

We usually try more foods than drinks at the Epcot festivals, and this year the only drinks we tried were part of the cider flight at the Cider House in the World Showplace pavilion. The prices shown below for the individual ciders are for 6oz / 12oz.

Cider Flight
From: Cider House in World Showplace
Overall Score: 4/5
Price: $9.50

The flight is a good deal overall and is a great way to try the different cider options. Each cup was the perfect size for us to split.

3 Daughters Brewing Pink Lemonade Hard Cider: St. Petersburg, FL
Score: 4/5
Price: $4.50/$8.50

The pink lemonade cider was by far my favorite of the three – it was really refreshing and had a good flavor so I probably could have had like 10 of them. It wasn’t anything too special, but I would still get it again next year if they bring it back.

Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Triple Jam Hard Cider: Armada, MI
Score: 4/5
Price: $4.50/$8.50

The Triple Jam was Dom’s favorite – it definitely had a more distinct taste than the Pink Lemonade, but I didn’t particularly care for it.

Bold Rock Watermelon Hard Cider: Nellysford, VA
Score: 3/5
Price: $4.50/$8.50

Neither of us were big fans of the watermelon cider – it didn’t work very well in a cider and almost tasted watered down. I’ve never had a watermelon cider before so I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but I wouldn’t get it again.

We had a really great time at the Flower & Garden festival overall and by the end of our day there, Dom said it may have made Epcot his favorite WDW park. While I wouldn’t go that far (it’s still solidly in third place for me), I will say that recently I’ve enjoyed the park more because of how great the food is. Especially when comparing it to Magic Kingdom, which is really lacking in the quick-service department, Epcot really stands out as the best place to eat – even without a dining reservation.

To experience everything at the festival, I think we would have needed a full two days there – then we could have looked for all of the gardens, found the topiaries we missed, tried other foods, caught the other live performance, and made it on the few rides we missed. We experienced a lot in our one full day there though, so I’m by no means disappointed – we already can’t wait for next year.

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