Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival 2017 | A Complete Guide
Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival is an annual celebration of Spring at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. It starts every year from March 1 to May 29th with fun-filled events and thousands of blooming flowers and 100+ topiaries to mesmerize any soul.
I visited Epcot this weekend and had an amazing experience! Here are some highlights of things to do at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival 2017.
1) Take a picture of 100 plus Topiaries throughout the park
This was one of my favorite parts of visiting Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. You’ll see over 100 plus awe dropping topiaries of Disney Characters throughout the entire park and couldn’t stop yourself clicking their pictures.
My favorite topiaries were of Princesses Elsa, Anna at Norway Pavilion festival landscape and Snow White at Germany. Aren’t they cute?
2) Explore the magic of various gardens throughout the park
Flower and Garden Festival is the best time to see the Epcot’s glory in its full swing. You’ll see beautiful gardens throughout the park with blooming colorful flowers welcoming the Spring. Around 70,000 bedding plants surround the Future World east and west lakes alone; on the water, 220 mini-gardens are set to afloat. Also, don’t forget to stop at Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House which is located in Future World!
3) Get yourself clicked with Disney’s photographers at iconic points
No trip to Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival would be complete without getting yourself clicked by Disney’s photographers at various iconic points in the park. You can even click pictures by yourselves at those places but if you want magical Disney’s shot of ‘Tinker Bell‘ sitting on your finger, then you should get yourselves clicked by photographers!
4) Attend Garden Rocks Concert
There are series of concerts lined up every weekend throughout the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot. Concerts take place at the American Gardens Theater. I attended Jon Secada’s concert and enjoyed it!
The lineup for 2017 is:
- March 3-4: Jon Secada (“Just Another Day”)
- March 5-6: Dennis DeYoung – The Music of STYX (“Grand Illusion”)
- March 10-13: The Pointer Sisters (“I’m So Excited”)
- March 17-18: Simple Plan (“Welcome to My Life”)
- March 19-20: Plain White T’s (“Hey There Delilah”)
- March 24-27: Night Ranger (“Sister Christian“)
- March 31-April 3: Little River Band (“Reminiscing”)
- April 7-10: Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice (“Spinning Wheel”)
- April 14-17: Gin Blossoms (“Hey Jealousy”)
- April 21-24: The Orchestra starring former members of ELO (“Evil Woman”)
- April 28-29: Exposé (“Point of No Return”)
- April 30-May 1: Berlin featuring Terri Nunn (“Take My Breath Away”)
- May 5-8: STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas (“We Built This City”)
- May 12-15: The Guess Who (“American Woman”)
- May 19-22: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone (“I’m Henry VIII, I Am”)
- May 26-29: The Spinners (“Working My Way Back To You”)
5) Delight your taste buds with a wide variety of dishes, drinks, and desserts at Outdoor Kitchen
Disney started Outdoor Kitchen due to the popularity of the Food and Wine Festival. You can experience various delicacies from food and beverage options to mouth-watering desserts throughout the World Showcase at Epcot’s Garden and Flower Festival.
My favorite dessert was Strawberry Macaron ice cream in France!
6) Take tours if you’re fond of gardening
There’re two kinds of tours that are available only during Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival as follows:
i) Epcot Gardens of the World Tour
A 3-hour tour led by a Disney horticulturist. These are offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 9:00 AM to noon and cost $85.00, plus tax. You have to be 16-years-old or older to attend. You can book it by calling (407) WDW-TOUR.
ii) English Tea Garden Presented by Twinings of London Tea
This a free tour that lasts 20 minutes and takes place in the United Kingdom pavilion. Guests should register by signing up in The Tea Caddy in the UK pavilion.
Tips for visiting Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival 2017
- Arrive 30 minutes before the opening of the park to beat the crowd.
- The admission to the International Garden and Flower Festival is the same if you’ve got a ticket for the park entrance. If you choose for Epcot Gardens of the World Tour, then you’ve to pay an extra $85 plus tax.
- Take a rides Fast pass of Soarin, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track.
- If you don’t get the fast pass of the above rides, try to finish these rides as soon as you enter the park because these rides always have a waiting time of more than 60 minutes usually. Even you should go for a singer rider for Test Track if you don’t get its fast pass to save time.
- Don’t forget to get yourself clicked at various iconic spots by Disney photographers.
- The most important is to have fun! Please understand that Disney’s parks are always crowded. You’ve to wait for rides, dining restaurants, or meeting with characters. Don’t get irritated or frustrated but try to enjoy every moment because you’re at the Walt Disney World!
neha
March 13, 2017Beautiful pictures and nice tips for planning a trip here. I love visiting these kind of flower and garden festivals. What I like the most is the way they create different structures out of plants and flowers. Like the different disney characters here. And the refreshing aura of flowers all around is so beautiful. I will plan to visit this next year.
View CommentRashmi and Chalukya
March 12, 2017The spring and garden festivals are our favorites bursting with colors and fragrances and Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival definitely looks awe-inspiring. We would love to explore and snap those amazing topiaries of Disney Characters. Our kiddo would love it too. The Garden Rocks Concert sounds interesting too.
View CommentSandy N Vyjay
March 12, 2017Such a beautiful display of creativity and flower power. Each display is just spectacular. I was left in awe looking at all the vibrant colours and the lovely flowers. Rock concert….. That must be amazing.
View CommentSwati & Sam (The Tales of a Traveler)
March 11, 2017Love the flower display and would love to visit the place someday. Looks like a perfect place for photo ops. Love your dress too and that macaroon ice cream is so tempting.
View Comment100cobbledroads
March 9, 2017That is a very creative display of flowers! And so many varied performances to add an extra dimension to the festival. I’m sure its a very popular event in Florida.
View CommentMonique
March 9, 2017Wow, there are some talented people in this world! This looks amazing!
View Commentemmaeatsandexplores
March 9, 2017Wow what a fabulous festival! I almost didn’t see you in the first pick as your dress blends in so well with the flowers! Love the topiary characters too – se clever!
View Commentroyaltyinreality
March 9, 2017This looks gorgeous. I can’t believe they were able to make so many iconic Disney characters out of flowers. However, $85 seems really expensive just to see some flowers.
View CommentJesper, The Biveros Effect
March 9, 2017Really impressive what they are able to do with plants and flowers.I especially like the Mickey Mouse. Would be interesting to know how they got the correct colors and lines between them, flowers or paint? 🙂
View CommentSabrina Barbante (@SabrinaBarbante)
March 9, 2017We have something similar in Italy, in Puglia if I remember well! I love flowers and the works of art made with them! I’ll plan a visit next year!
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