Epcot's Flower & Garden Festival

Since the details of Epcot's Flower & Garden, which will run from March 2 to July 4, 2022, have yet to be fully released, I though it was a good idea to review last year's festival.

With the topiaries and beautiful floral displays being the highlight of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, it’s essentially a spring version of the popular Food & Wine Festival. As always, Bricker is my Disney hero, but he can be a bit long-winded, so here are the highlights from his article:

Every year, the highlight of Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival is the topiaries and glorious garden displays. These make Epcot pop with color and beauty, and are a wonderful enhancement to Epcot. Obviously, there’s no additional charge to see flowers and topiaries that are arranged throughout Epcot, but it should be noted that almost everything aside from the food is included in normal Epcot admission.

…The culmination of those efforts are 30-million blooms, 240 floating flower planters, 700 gardens, nearly 100 Disney character topiaries, 30 flower towers, and one beautiful butterfly tapestry of flowers all culminate in an incredibly vibrant time of year for Epcot.

Outdoor Kitchens – These are essentially Food & Wine Festival kiosks offering food and drinks. If you’ve never attended Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival, it’s worth noting that grazing from these kiosks will cost you considerably more than eating an actual meal. So if you’re looking to save money, stay away from these kiosks.

Special Gardens & Exhibits -There will be 20 different garden areas all across EPCOT, including floating gardens on the waters of Future World, a bamboo garden in China, a tropical rainforest garden in Mexico and the English Tea Garden by Twinings in the United Kingdom, where you can also take a Self-Guided Tea Tour. At Outdoor Escapes, you can unwind in refreshing spaces that show you just how easy it is to create an outdoor escape for family and friends

Goodness Garden Butterfly House – The Butterfly House returns this year, combining butterflies and fairy topiaries. This butterfly house is always really cool, as butterflies fly all over the place and even land on guests. We recommend spending about 10-15 minutes in here to watch the butterflies and take photos.

Character Topiaries – Throughout World Showcase and Future World, there are dozens of topiaries inspired by Disney films. The highlight for 2021 is at EPCOT’s newly-reimagined main entrance, which features a centerpiece display with Sorcerer Mickey.

The light-up topiaries that debuted a couple years ago are returning as are the Muppets topiaries. Other topiaries around Epcot will include Pixar characters, Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Princesses, Lion King characters, and other classic favorites.

Concerts – In normal years, EPCOT’s Flower & Garden Festival features live music from the 1960s and 1970s during the Garden Rocks Concert Series. Famous artists rock the America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8 p.m. each evening.

For 2021, this is being transformed to the “City Beautiful Concert Series.” Each weekend, you can enjoy a series of concerts featuring local bands from Orlando. Friday through Monday evenings, these bands will take the stage at America Gardens Theatre to perform popular songs of yesterday and today. On weekdays, the 2021 Taste of EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival will feature live music every day.

One of the cooler aspects of the Flower & Garden Festival is that you can visit multiple times and have a totally different experience each time. This is not only because the presenters and bands change, but because halfway through the festival, Disney gardeners remove the blossoms that thrive in early-spring to plant a new crop of flowers that flourish in late-spring’s warmer temperatures.

Overall, Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival is a really lovely event. Whether you’re a first time guest or a seasoned veteran of Walt Disney World, visiting during Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival is a lot of fun. Epcot is at its most beautiful during Flower & Garden Festival, and you can enjoy much of what’s offered during the event without spending anything extra.