EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival 2019

FINALLY…….details of EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival have been announced, I love Flower and Garden Festival, I have attended this event four times before and it possibly my favourite EPCOT festival.

The Festival covers the spring months and during this time EPCOT is transformed. Spring in Walt Disney World does hold a special place in my heart as did this festival. (Halloween and all things pumpkin spice have taken over my life and I have been visiting in September, since 2015).

2019 marks the 26th edition of EPCOT’s spring festival. During its 90 day run, from 6th March through 3rd June, guests will encounter new topiary, an expanded Garden Rocks concert series, and other surprises (including two scavenger hunts).

• The popular Garden Rocks Concert Series will expand to every day of the festival, featuring chart-topping artists performing three shows daily on the America Gardens Theatre stage. That’s 270 concerts – more than ever before – featuring new and returning fan favorites spanning multiple genres. Returning favourites like The Spinners and Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone will be joined by artists new to the festival like TobyMac, Steven Curtis Chapman and Colin Hay of Men at Work.
• Creative new culinary dishes and several new outdoor kitchens will debut this year. Guests will even find a kitchen with a nearby playground where the whole family can learn fun and interactive ways to stay healthy.
• Woody and Buzz Lightyear will welcome Bo Peep and her sheep to their Toy Story topiary near the Family Play Zone in Future World East.
• Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration family scavenger hunt will be more fun than ever this year with new locations to discover along the garden pollination trail. Guests can also commemorate their scavenger hunt experience with select merchandise offerings featuring everyone’s favorite bee, Spike. Another guest favourite returning to the festival 5th-21st April is the Eggstravaganza Scavenger Hunt, where guests can search for Disney character-themed eggs around World Showcase.
• In celebration of Disney nature’s Penguins, opening 17th April, a 9-foot-tall art sculpture made from recycled marine debris will be on display in Future World featuring an adult and baby Adélie penguin. This work of art is designed to inspire Guests to keep our oceans and waterways clear of plastic pollution.

Among the returning gardens and exhibits, guests will once again enjoy the Goodness Garden Butterfly House where nearly 1,000 native butterflies will fly among the garden’s two dozen nectar plants. Additionally, several World Showcase pavilions will include gardens with floral life representative of plants in those countries, such as the Kokodema Garden and Bonsai Collection in Japan, the Urban Spice Garden in Morocco and the Alpine Container Garden in Germany.

As festival-goers take in all these floral wonders, they will find fine tastes to savour along their journey. In addition to the Outdoor Kitchens, raised-bed or in-ground gardens of herbs and produce will offer the perfect inspiration for learning to grow healthy ingredients. Several Epcot food-and-beverage locations – including Taste Track and Refreshment Port– will offer festival-themed eats and libations. Additionally, guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at 15 popular Epcot restaurants and guaranteed seating for a nightly concert with a Garden Rocks Dining Package.

Two guided experiences exclusive to the festival include:

• The Royal Tea Garden Tour, presented by Twinings, which takes place each festival morning at the United Kingdom. For a small fee, guests can follow a knowledgeable guide through the tea garden setting to learn the history and artistry behind growing and blending tea. A post-tour treat of tea and scones is included. The shorter, complimentary English Tea Garden Tour also will be offered on select days.
• During the Gardens of the World tour, guests will join a Disney horticulturist for a three-hour walking tour to explore the award-winning topiaries and gardens that make the festival so special. Guests will learn about the unique role landscaping plays at Walt Disney World and discover new plant materials and gardening techniques to use for home gardens.

Have you visited Walt Disney World during Flower and Garden Festival? What are your thoughts? Is it your favourite festival? If not which is? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.