The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival showcases beautiful flowers, plants and food around Walt Disney World’s Epcot every spring. In 2021, the festival runs from March 3rd to July 5th. The festival is running for the 28th year in a row. This post will give an overview of what to expect out of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, including our favorite parts of the festival.

Over the years Epcot has become Festival Central. The Food & Wine Festival and Flower & Garden Festival have each taken up more dates every year. They have also recently added the Festival of Arts in January and February as well as Festival of the Holidays in November and December. While the festivals started as a nice addition to slow parts of the year, now their reach may be a bit overextended. With Flower & Garden being extended for an extra month and Food & Wine starting earlier every year, there isn’t really an offseason for these festivals. Aside from huge crowds, this isn’t that big of a deal if the festivals offer something unique. While I can debate the merits of the Food & Wine Festival (which we’ll cover when the time comes), I do think the Flower & Garden Festival does bring a nice addition to Epcot.

Epcot began as a park that, among other things, celebrated the beauty of the world and the ingenuity that would lead the planet into the future. Flower & Garden showcases both of those ideas and combines them seamlessly. Using the beauty of blooming spring flowers, Epcot enhances those with topiaries, flower beds, butterfly gardens and, of course, food.

Considering what the rest of Epcot looks like right now (hint: it’s a disaster), the festivals take center stage. The construction in Future World will probably hinder a few of the usual Flower & Garden displays, limiting the number of topiaries out in that area of the park. I expect the festival to be even more World Showcase focused than usual. Flower & Garden as a whole will likely be scaled back this year due to the pandemic but Disney hasn’t released full details yet so time will tell.

Here’s a look at what the 2021 Festival will offer!

Outdoor Kitchens

Like the other Epcot Festivals (notably Food & Wine), Flower & Garden utilizes temporary booths around World Showcase to offer unique food items to guests. These booths are called Outdoor Kitchens. Most of these booths are themed to the countries around them. Most of the food items range from 5-10 dollars, with a few outliers. The alcoholic beverages range from $7-$10 typically and the non-alcoholic drinks are usually around $5. The portion size is never very large but is comparable to most snacks throughout the parks. Generally, I think the items at these booths are a little overpriced for what you get but the quality of food usually makes up for that. I’ve never been very disappointed in what I’ve paid for a snack at Flower & Garden or Food & Wine Festivals. Here’s a look at this year’s booths:

• Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market – Venture to Germany for Bavarian bites sure to sate foodies of all ages—every dish is köstlich!
• Cider House (Located in World Showplace) – Behold buzz-worthy ciders and artisanal provisions that are sure to hit the spot.
• The Citrus Blossom – Treat your taste buds to the subtleties of lemon, orange and lime—turning delicious dishes even more delish!
• Festival Favorites (Located in World Showplace) – Discover Guest-favorite dishes, microbrews and other beverages.
• Flavor Full Kitchen Hosted by AdventHealth – Discover the many flavors of healthy cuisine in this delightful eatery, featuring vegetables straight from the garden!
• Fleur de Lys – Indulge in haute cuisine and boissons that’ll make you fall in ooo-la-la-love with this palate-pleasing Parisian pop-up!
• Hanami – Journey to Japan for innovative plates crafted with culinary Zen.
• Jardin de Fiestas – Take a food-tastic tour of the Mexico Pavilion… these tantalizing tastes will add some spice to your day!
• The Honey Bee-stro Hosted by National Honey Board™ – Quell cravings with an incredible menu of all-natural food and drink infused with the nectar of the gods!
• La Isla Fresca – Nibble on Caribbean-seasoned dishes that’ll send appetites swaying to the island beat!
• Lotus House – Sink your teeth into authentic Chinese eats filled with morsels of good fortune!
• Magnolia Terrace – Get a nice, cozy feeling with some comfort food inspired by the Gulf region.
• Northern Bloom – Please discriminating palates with fantastic fare from our Great White North neighbor… O Canada!
• Pineapple Promenade – Get your tropical fruit fix from tart ‘n’ tangy to the sweetest frozen treats!
• Primavera Kitchen – Mangiare hearty helpings of Old-Country dishes served with a glass of vino… now that’s amore!
• Taste of Marrakesh – Intoxicate taste buds with the exotic flavors of this North African mecca—mysterious Morocco!
• Trowel & Trellis Hosted by Impossible™ Foods – Delight in some of your favorite foods—created from innovative recipes with some impossibly delicious twists!

Follow this link to get a look at all of the menus for the individual booths.

We tried a few items at Flower & Garden Festival and thought they were good but not great. The Northern Bloom booth was a favorite of mine and it returns in 2020. Sitting outside of the Canada Pavilion, the booth offers Beef Tenderloin Tips and the Seared Scallops with French Green Beans. These were my second and third favorite items I tasted at the Festival and I can’t decide in which order. The scallops were prepared nicely and had a rich, buttery flavor. I thought the green beans and potatoes paired with them was a nice addition. My only complaint is that the dish could have used another scallop or two.

The Tenderloin Tips were also delicious and rich in flavor. The meat was really tender and the mushroom sauce with it was a great pairing. The mashed potatoes were pretty average but didn’t bring the dish down at all. I’d happily recommend either of these items.

The booth near the France Pavilion, Fleur de Lys, has also been a favorite over the years. They offer a nice blend of sweet and savory items.

Trying any number of these places is a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening. Many of the options are on the Disney Dining Plan so if you’re taking part in that then use the snacks there. It’s a very good value.

Topiaries and Gardens

While the food is good and follows a pretty natural theme, the star of the festival are the, you guessed it, flowers and gardens. These are spread throughout the park but reside near or in World Showcase more than anywhere else.

The gardens are a nice treat that you can happen upon naturally throughout Epcot. Most of that is thanks to the season and flowers blooming. Many of these gardens or plants could be found throughout Disney Parks thanks to the wonderful horticulture staff that the parks utilize. There are exceptions that make Epcot unique though. My favorite of which are the beautiful gardens that surround the ponds on your way to World Showcase. If given the chance, entering the park via monorail is a great view of those gardens.

Another of my favorite gardens were the bonsai trees in the Japan Pavilion. I enjoyed seeing the different types of plants that aren’t typical in our country. There are a number of new gardens and exhibits for 2021 to check out throughout the festival.

The topiaries are a great treat, that are a little less ‘natural’ than the gardens. That doesn’t make these presentations any less impressive or beautiful. These topiaries are most often of Disney characters. Here are a few of my favorites throughout Epcot, although they will likely be modified in 2021.

One small portion I was disappointed in is the way the topiaries were lit up at night. I don’t think the lighting they put on most of the topiaries was flattering. Still, this is a minor issue with only a few of the topiaries.

Butterfly Garden

One of my favorite aspects of the festival is the butterfly house, called The Goodness Garden Butterfly House Presented by GoGo squeeZ (what’s going on with that capitalization?). If that name doesn’t scare you off, then I think you’ll really enjoy this. The butterfly garden resides in Future World West. I could have included this in the Topiaries and Gardens section but I spent a good amount of time in here so it deserved a special shoutout. There’s an array of different butterfly species as well as some beautiful plants.

While the garden isn’t very big, we spent nearly half an hour in there, snapping photos and looking at all the different plants and butterflies. I thought it was a beautiful area that was really inviting.

What Else Does the Festival Offer?

Typically, the Flower & Garden Festival also features the Garden Rocks Concert Series. Some popular rock bands play in the America Gardens theaters, doing a few 45 minutes sets throughout the evening. In 2021, the park will only see Voices of Liberty and Mariachi Cobre play in this theater. While it’s sad to not have the usual, both of these acts are well worth watching if you’re looking for a little sit down break in the theater! The Jammin’ Gardeners will also perform in World Showcase as well as a live pianist throughout the day.

For kids, there is an egg hunt as well as some temporary play areas. Who would have known, kids don’t really enjoy looking at flowers and eating somewhat experimental foods for hours on end. While I don’t consider the kid entertainment to be anything extraordinary, it is a nice addition for when the little ones get a little restless. There’s also a scavenger hunt and Health Full Trail for kids to enjoy at the festival.

There are also tours and presentations available to festival goers. Most of these cost money and I recommend reserving them early. Currently, we don’t know if these will be offered in 2021 but I would guess that they won’t be.

We took part in the complimentary English Tea Garden Tour. This was free if you sign up on the day of the event at the UK Pavilion. This tour took us around the UK gardens where giant tea cups were filled with the plants that make up Twining’s tea blends. While the tour heavily promoted Twining’s, I found it to be very informative and I thought our guide did a great job. The tour lasted about half an hour and helped guests understand what goes into making tea. It also helped me understand what teas I might be interested in.

Is the Flower & Garden Festival worth making a special trip for? How much extra time will I spend in Epcot due to the Festival?

Above are the two questions I consider to most align with those interested in the festival. There’s no hard and fast rule for this. If you like and enjoy plants more than the average person then the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival is definitely for you. Even if you’re not that into plants, like me, then you will still probably find the festival interesting, informative and beautiful. Is it worth making a special trip to Epcot for? Probably not, unless money isn’t an issue or you live close by. But, if you’re planning a trip and are somewhat flexible in timing the spring might be a good choice.

As far how many hours or days to allot for Epcot when the Festival is ongoing… That answer is even more tricky. I think you could fill up just a day exploring the Flower & Garden portion of Epcot as well as the World Showcase Pavilions. More realistically, if you’re planning for a day and a half for Epcot on a normal trip, I’d just make it two full days. If you have kids, that may be pushing it but I think most adults could easily spend 2 days at the park experiencing Epcot and Flower & Garden.

If you have questions or comments about the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, please leave them below in the comments. Planning at trip to Disney World? Check out our Disney World Trip Planning Guide. If you enjoy what you’re reading here on Wandering in Disney, please subscribe to the blog on the right side of this page. That’s where you can find links to our social media accounts, as well. Thank you for reading!