When is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival?

The Flower and Garden Festival is an annual event which takes place in Epcot, at Disney World. Admission for the event is included in your park ticket price, however food as well as special activities and events will be an additional cost. This year the festival runs from February 28, 2024 through May 27, 2024.

Read More About This Year’s Festival

Outdoor Kitchens

What would a festival at Disney World’s cafeteria (Epcot) be without exclusive food?! A joke, it would be a joke.

Not to worry, though, Disney has it covered with seventeen outdoor kitchens. But that’s not all; an additional five non-festival locations will be offering even more exclusive treats. If you’re counting that’s twenty-two opportunities to try something new. Stack up those snack credits!

• BRUNCHCOT (near Test Track)
• Epcot Farmer’s Feast (near Test Track)
• The Citrus Blossom (The Odyssey)
• Jardin de Fiestas (Mexico pavilion)
• Lotus House (China pavilion)
• Baurenmarkt: Farmer’s Market (Germany pavilion)
• Primavera Kitchen (Italy pavilion)
• Magnolia Terrace (American Adventure)
• Hanami (Japan pavilion)
• Tangierine Cafe (Morocco pavilion)
• La Isla Fresca (between Morocco and France)
• Fleur de Lys (France pavilion)
• Northen Bloom (Canada pavilion)
• The Honey Bee-stro (near Port of Entry)
• Pineapple Promenade (near Port of Entry)
• Trowel & Terllis (near Disney Traders)
• Florida Fresh (near Disney Traders)

Non-Festival Locations

• Connections Cafe & Connections Eatery (World Celebration)
• Funnel Cakes (American Adventure)
• Refreshment Outpost (bewteen China and Germany)
• Refreshment Port (near Canada pavilion)

Global Gardens

Strolling through Epcot you might notice that things look a little bit different. More colorful, maybe?

We can thank the Global Gardens (and the amazing cast members who put them together) for that! There is a world of things to do at Epcot (get it? ‘a world‘ because World Showcase?!) and it can be easy to overlook some of the best details about the festivals. But the Global Gardens are certainly not to be missed!

Our favorite? The tiny miniature village and train in Germany. Did you know they celebrate each of the festivals inside this tiny town as well? How cute!!

• The Community Garden (World Celebration)
• Festival Blooms (World Celebration)
• Connections Conservatory Garden (World Celebration near Connections Eatery)
• Songbird Meadow Presented by Wild Birds Unlimited (World Discovery)
• Camp Get Out ‘N’ Play Garden Presented by OFF! (World Discovery)
• Prehistoric Garden (World Discovery near Mission: SPACE)
• Floating Gardens (World Nature)
• Bold Bromeliads (World Nature in The Land Pavilion)
• Butterfly Landing Presented by AdventHealth (World Nature near Imagination!)
• The Honey Bee-stro Hosted by National Honey Board® (Rosewalk near Imagination!)
• Blossoms of Fragrance Presented by Scentsy (World Showcase Bridge)
• Extraordinary Orchids (Mexico pavilion)
• Desert Garden (Mexico pavilion)
• Bamboo Garden (China Pavilion)
• China Penjing Garden (China Pavilion) NEW!
• Gnome Garden (Germany Pavilion) NEW!
• Miniature Garden (Germany Pavilion)
• Garden Italiano (Italy Pavilion)
• Bonsai Collection (Japan Pavilion)
• Kokedema Garden (Japan Pavilion)
• Shishi Odoshi (Japan Pavilion)
• Spice Garden (Morocco Pavilion)
• Bouquet Garden (France Pavilion)
• English Tea Garden Presented by Twinings® (United Kingdom Pavilion)
• Shakespeare Garden (United Kingdom Pavilion)

Character Inspired Topiaries

You certainly won’t be able to miss these magnificent Flower and Garden Festival Topiaries scattered throughout the park. They are literal works of art and can take months to create!

Each year these bountiful bushes are pruned and shaped to look just like some of our most beloved characters. You’ll even be able to catch two new additions to the line up in 2024!

• Asha, Valentino and Star from Wish (Main Entrance) NEW!
• Figment, Flower Topiaries and Flower Towers (World Celebration Plaza)
• Huey, Dewey and Louie (World Celebration Plaza)
• Donald Duck (Community Garden Near Connections Café in World Celebration)
• Bambi and Friends (near Imagination! and Refreshment Port)
• Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy  (near Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind) NEW!
• Buzz Lightyear (near Mission: SPACE)
• Woody, Bo Peep and Her Sheep (between Imagination! and The Land Pavilion)
• Rafiki, Simba, Mufasa and Sarabi (near The Land Pavilion)
• Pumbaa and Timon (near The Land Pavilion)
• Goofy (Rosewalk)
• Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip, Dale and Pluto (Bridge to World Showcase)
• Mirabel, Antonio, Isabela and Luisa from Encanto (World Showcase)
• Miguel and Dante from Coco (Mexico Pavilion) NEW!
• Anna and Elsa (Norway Pavilion)
• Troll (Norway Pavilion)
• Pandas (China Pavilion)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Germany Pavilion)
• Lady and the Tramp (Italy Pavilion)
• Tiana ( The American Adventure Pavilion)
• Dragon (Japan Pavilion Near Torii Gate)
• Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy (between France and Morocco Pavilions)
• Beauty and the Beast (France Pavilion)
• Lumiere and Cogsworth (France Pavilion)
• Butterfly and Flower Towers (International Gateway)
• Winnie the Pooh and Friends (Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger)
  World Showcase – United Kingdom Pavilion
• Tinker Bell’s Fairy House Garden
  World Showcase – United Kingdom Pavilion
• Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tick Tock Croc (between United Kingdom and Canada Pavilions)
• Geese (Canada Pavilion)

Special Activities

Between the food and flowers, what more could you possibly need? How about two scavenger hunts and a treat challenge? Returning in 2024 are the Garden Graze, Spikes Pollen Nation Exploration, and the Eggstravaganza!

Garden Graze

The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival isn’t all about plants, but it is a big part! So, to celebrate all things growing Epcot invites you to tickle your taste buds with some plant based treats. Grab a guide book from locations throughout the park, including each Garden Graze eatery, and check out which dishes are on the menu.

Try (and buy) five or more of items and receive a free limited edition Dole Whip. Talk about a sweet deal!

Participating Locations for Garden Graze

• BRUNCHCOT
• Florida Fresh
• Refreshment Outpost
• Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market
• Tangierine Cafe
• La Isla Fresca
• Trowel & Trellis
• The Land Cart

Spike’s Pollen Nation Exploration

Back for 2024, this festival scavenger hunt is a must do – especially if you are visiting with kids! Grab your map near the entrance to World Showcase and let the game begin!

Find Spike! He’s been out pollenating the Global Gardens of World Showcase, but he may have gotten a bit lost. Visit each country pavilion and try to find Spike. Once you do, place a sticker on your game map. Once you’ve found them all, return your map for a special prize.

Locations to Purchase a Game Board

• Disney Traders
• World Traders

Prizes for Spike’s Pollen Nation Exploration

Images of the 2024 Pollen Nation prizes have not yet been released by Disney. But here are some of last year’s prizes!

Garden Rocks – Concert Series

As the day starts to wind down, the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival heats up with live entertainment. And this is not your ordinary Disney parks entertainment. Regular park shows and streetmosphere are fantastic, don’t get me wrong.

But the Garden Rocks line up is phenomenal year after year with guests like Boyz II Men, Sugar Ray, and Simple Plan. Not to age myself, but (most of) NSYNC are regulars here. Do you remember how much those concert tickets were when they were touring?

Check out the latest line-up and plan a trip to see your favorites.

Special Tours at Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

Yes, there is still more to see and do here! Epcot Festivals are truly a multi-day experience, they’re vacation destinations all on their own.

English Garden Tour

Visit the UK pavilion in World Showcase for to learn more about English horticulture with this 30 minute tour. Complimentary for park guests you can enjoy this one on your own, self guided, or alongside fellow guests and led by an information cast member. Check the Disney World parks app or festival guide for specific tour times.

Behind the Seeds Tour

Although not exclusive to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, its certainly fits the motif. Behind the seeds is a group tour through four greenhouses of Living with the Land. The experience takes around 60 minutes and costs between $39-45, per person.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival Merchandise

No trip to Disney is complete with a bit of merch to prove you were really there, right? You’ll have plenty of options at the Epcot International Flower and Garden festival. With exclusive shirts, popcorn buckets, bags, ears, and more – there’s something for everyone.

In 2024 there are three merch collections available to park guests:

• Orange Bird Collection
• Coco Collection
• Butteflies Collection

Orange Bird? How freaking cute?!

Annual Passholder Collection

Guests who have an active Annual Pass for Disney World will be able to purchase merchandise from a fourth, even more exclusive, collection as well. Images have not yet been released by Disney, but we’ll be sharing them ASAP!

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After far too long since the last trip, I couldn’t pack my bags fast enough.

Epcot’s Secret Entrance

My plan for the day wasn’t to rope drop the (many) new rides, or to race around and experience them all. It was definitely planned for another day, but this morning I just wanted to be back in the magic. I did purchase Genie+ and planned to stack my reservations throughout the day, while I enjoyed a leisurely morning.

Staying at the Swan Resort (full review here, but spoiler alert: it’s the best option on property), it was a quick walk to grab quintessential (vegan) Mickey waffles from the nearby Beach Club marketplace. The Epcot resorts are hands down my favorite area of Disney World that I’ve stayed so far. Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club and Swan and Dolphin are just a stone’s throw away from both Hollywood Studios and Epcot which you can enter through the International Gateway.

This might be the best (not so) secret at Epcot, the International Gateway is a back door to the park that allows you enter between the France and UK pavilions. Any guests are welcome to use the entrance but is particularly convenient for those staying in the Epcot area, or at a Skyliner resort since the park stop is just outside this entrance. It’s especially useful for those planning to rope drop Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, just a quick u-turn from International Gateway and you’ll be right there.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Minnie Mouse meeting with guests as soon as I walked into the park! I’ve never seen characters out this early and it was a treat to immediately immerse myself in the Disney magic. There wasn’t even a line yet but, I have a completely irrational fear of costume characters, I skipped it. I have been ever since I was a kid. Something about strangers in costumes of oversized animals, I don’t know. I love seeing them and taking a picture from afar but interacting with them just sounds so incredibly awkward. Maybe one day.

Touring World Showcase

Crossing the bridge into the France pavilion I was immediately greeted by the best topiaries of the festival. I hesitate to even show them to you yet, because if we start with the best – where is there to go from there?

France

I will though, because they’re absolutely adorable. Aren’t sidekicks really the best part of a Disney movie? Cogsworth and Lumiere are the tip of the iceberg! Hehei and Pua, Flounder and Sebastion, Olaf and Sven, Flit and Mecko, and so many more. Plus, these are the only two topiaries with mechanisms. Cogworth’s pendulum swings and Lumiere’s flames light up at night.

Just past those cuties are the topiaries of Belle, in her signature ballroom gown, and The Beast. All of the displays during the Flower and Garden festival are so beautiful, it’s hard not to take hundreds of pictures of them.

It was still early and none of the festival booths were open yet. The menu for Flor de Lys looked enticing though, and I made a mental note to come back and try the tarte later.

Morocco

Walking past Spice Road Table, there was no noticable displays or decoration for the festival which was disappointing. The Tangerine Cafe was open with a few seasonal offerings, but again the stalls weren’t open yet. Interestingly, Tangerine Cafe closed along with the parks in 2020 but never reopened as a permemnent location. It is open during festivals and special events (which at Epcot is nearly always), with limited menus though.

Normally if I’m in the park this early, it’s because I’m speedwalking my way to Frozen Ever After (for my niece) or Test Track. So, it’s not very often that I get a chance to see the pavilions without the afternoon crowds. I jumped at the opportunity and went for some exploration, and wow! It’s easy to forget how meticulasly the pavilions are crafted, and Morocco in particular as it is the only one to have been funded by the country’s government. AND the king at the time, King Hassan II was heavily involved in the design and execution.

Through Japan, America, and Italy

During my first trip to the Flower and Garden festival Japan was home to topiaries of Cars characters Lightening McQueen and Tomater. Sadly these haven’t been out for display in years. But you can still enjoy the water sound garden made of bamboo shoots, cording, and the weight of water creating moving mechanisms throughout. I could sit here for hours watching the water build up in one container only to spill out into the next, and then be recycled back up and over again. It’s mesmorizing. But it was mid-morning at this point and I wanted to see as many pavilions as possible before it got busy.

The American Adventure

This topiary of Tiana is utterly stunning. I love the vibrant flowers surrounding her in the beds, and the wispy willow-branch like texture as her backdrop. There aren’t any moving mechanisms or sidekicks, but this one might be in the running for festival favorites.

The festival booths and marketplace stands were starting to open. And what’s an Epcot festival without a few treats along the way? I decided on the Banana Split funnel cake. It was sweet and crispy with a tang from the strawberries, delicious. Also, incredibly messy!! Grab extra napkins and find somewhere to sit down, because this is not a walking snack.

Italy

Lady and the Tramp topiaries greeted guests as the entered the Italy pavilion. I’m not sure what inspired the placement of these characters here since the film takes place in New England. But I’m just glad these two have a home at the festival. They do eat spaghetti too, so sure Italy.

Germany

Nearly haflway through World Showcase, I walked into the Germany pavilion where Snow White and Dopey stole the show. There is so much to see and do in the Germany pavilion. From the minature train village to the tasting bar. They really didn’t need to go this hard with their topiary, but here we are.

And how freaking adorable are the rest of the dwarves?! If these were sold in the parks, or even started kits, you could take all of my money. On second thought some of these designs can take 3-10 years before they are ready for display. I’m not sure I have that kind of patience.

Tasting Treats at Epcot Flower and Garden

As midday approached I quickly made my way through the remainder of World Showcase. I was on the hunt for a specific festival booth I’d researched, and was tres excited to try. Trowel and Trellis is the all plant based booth at Epcot Flower and Garden. It’s sort of unexpected that a festival about plants would have so few plant options, but I digress. I absolutely love plant based food because it forces creativity, you have to think outside of the box. That’s also part of what makes Disney food so exciting, especially those seasonal offerings – you can’t find them anywhere else.

I ordered one of everything. There were more than a few surprises here, some good some not. The chocolate cake was obviously a winner, because hello – chocolate cake. You’ll have to wait for our full review of Trowel and Trellis, but suffice to say it missed the mark on creativity and innovation.

Ride Time!

It was, finally, time to hop on my first Disney World ride since 2020. Between classics like Spaceship Earth and shiny new rides like Cosmic Rewind and Ratatouille, there was a difficult decision to make.

Just kidding! It obviously had to be Figment. Judge all you want but there is no greater dopamine hit than this purple dragon! He even has his own topiary, which is so sweet! Fun fact: the skunk smell blasted in your face on Journey into Imagination with Figment is actually just burnt coffee.

Another friendly face was just around the corner too, Winnie the Pooh! I really wish that the parks did more of these atmosphere characters. I think it’s just so fun to see them wandering around the parks, grazing in the gardens, or hosting secret tea parties. It’s a great way to allow a larger number of guests to enjoy the character without the chaos or frustration of impromptu lines in inopportune areas. As someone who has sworn off character meet and greets, I really appreciate being able to take cute pictures like this – from a distance.

More Rides

Being lucky enough to snag a boarding group for Cosmic Rewind, my return time was drawing near. And I was pumped. I’ve heard so much about this ride! From the initial concept cars to people walking off sick, and everything in between. I knew it was going to be intense, and I was a bit nervous. TLDR – I loved it. Bought an Individual Lightening Lane and did it a second time.

I’d managed to stack up quite a few lightening lane reservations at this point, so I was able to hop around and ride nearly everything. My return window for Ratatouille wasn’t until later in the evening and I wasn’t able to snag one for Frozen forever after (sorry, not sorry).

After a long day, thousands of pictures, and probably one too many snacks it was time for a break. I made my way back to World Showcase and took advantage of the Friendship Ferryboats to cheat a few steps to the International Gateway. Another big perk for guests staying at the Swan or Dolphin hotels (or any Disney deluxe resorts) is Extra Magic Hours. On this day Epcot closed at 9pm and Extra Magic hours ran until 11pm. I would be back, but a nap was defiantly in order.

Have you ever visited the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival? Which is your favorite topiary?

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