8 Things We Love About the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival at Disney World

Epcot now hosts four fabulous festivals every year, drawing countless visitors to celebrate those seasons with special programming. Many events and activities return to Epcot every year, but festival planners also like to create new things for visitors to enjoy. This spring, the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival runs from March 1 to July 5, 2023. There are a lot of things about the Flower and Garden Festival, but the following eight top the list.

8 – The Weather

While the days in Florida generally range from warm to hot all year long, the springtime days perfectly fall in the middle, with temperatures averaging in the mid-70s to upper 80s. During the festival, you’re not likely to suffer from relentless heat beating down upon you or cool breezes giving you the shivers. Also, Florida’s dry season occurs from March to May, meaning that during the festival, you’ll usually find clear skies, low humidity, and not much precipitation. These nearly perfect days enhance your experience of the blossoming flowers of Epcot. Any summer guest at Walt Disney World has certainly endured sweltering humidity and heavy thunderstorms that drive them indoors, but we love the fact that we can avoid them during most of the Flower and Garden Festival.

7 – The Floral Variety

The diversity of flowers that Disney horticulturalists display during the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is mind staggering. Disney achieves this through intensive preparation that requires more than a year of work and around 24,000 cast members. The stunning colors draw a multitude of pollen-carrying insects, melodious songbirds, and photo-snapping humans to the festival. Be sure to bring a quality camera to capture the spectacular images that you’re not likely to find elsewhere.

6 – The Fragrances

Naturally, the great floral variety will produce the most pleasant aromas you’ll ever smell. Delight your olfactory senses with fragrances from over 30 million blooms as you stroll through lively gardens, linger among the flower towers, and visit purple martin and butterfly habitats. The experience draws you closer to nature and helps you to appreciate all the tools that flowers employ to attract insects to carry their pollen. Festival attendees love the freshness of nature’s perfume, and you’ll be sure to enjoy it, as well.

5 – The Gardening Tips

There are many gardens to explore throughout all Epcot. Here you’ll find gardening tips on the various signs throughout the gardens. Use what you learn to plant your first garden or to improve your current gardening skills.

4 – The Scavenger Hunts

Special themed scavenger hunts encourage guests to explore the festival and provide a fun way for families and friends to spend their day at the park.

• Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration – Gardeners of all ages follow Spike on his pollination trail, where he will be busy as a bee collecting nectar and pollinating gardens throughout EPCOT. (Map purchase required, available while supplies last at select retail locations.)
• Egg-stravaganza Scavenger Hunt – Guests set out on a delightful hunt across the park for decorative eggs inspired by Disney characters. (Map purchase required, available while supplies last at select retail locations for a limited time.)
• Garden Graze – Guests who purchase five festival menu items from select locations receive a complimentary commemorative keepsake; guests can pick up a Festival Passport to get started.

3 – The Character Topiaries

By far, we find the topiaries created for the Flower and Garden Festival to be nothing short of amazing. Disney’s horticulturalists become plant sculptors as they transform shrubbery into three-dimensional depictions of popular Disney movie characters. The staple characters appear all over the place, but the festival planners also add new characters and motifs each year. You’ll see everything from Anna and Elsa to Winnie the Pooh, so make sure you snap lots of photos of these incredible topiaries to add to your vacation albums and scrapbooks.

2 – The Outdoor Kitchens

Disney vacationers love Epcot for its variety of cuisine and libations. During the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, the diversity of food and drink increases with the installment of booths around the World Showcase. These Outdoor Kitchens feature garden-fresh-inspired food and craft brews, ciders, and wines from the nations and regions represented. These creative recipes extend beyond the already delicious cuisine at each pavilion, so you’re bound to find something new. The Outdoor Kitchens serve as reason enough to love the festival, especially for foodies.

1 – The Music

The Garden Rocks Concert Series is back in 2023, and we’re so excited! Check out the schedule below.

• • • Glass Ceiling – March 1 & 2
    • Journey Former Lead Vocalist Steve Augeri – March 3 & 4
    • Daughtry – March 5 & 6
    • Audio Exchange – March 7 to 9
    • Tommy DeCarlo – March 10 & 11
    • Smash Mouth – March 12 & 13
    • Element – March 14 to 16
    • Mike DelGuidice – March 17 & 18
    • Blue Oyster Cult (NEW) – March 19 & 20
    • The Vybe – March 21 to 23
    • Berlin – March 24 & 25
    • The Pointer Sisters – March 26 & 27
    • The Female Collective – March 28 to 30
    • Luis Figueroa (NEW) – March 31
    • Piso 21 (NEW) – April 1 & 2
    • Melina León – April 3
    • Epic – April 4 to 6
    • STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas -April 7 & 8
    • Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles – April 9 & 10
    • Foregniers Journey – April 11 to 13
    • Blue October – April 14 & 15
    • Switchfoot (NEW) – April 16 & 17
    • Evolution: Motown
      April 18 to 20
    • A Flock of Seagulls
      April 21 & 22
    • Jo Dee Messina
      April 23 & 24
    • Hooligans
      April 25 to 27
    • Ambrosia with Peter Beckett, The Voice Of Player
      April 28 & 29
    • Kool & The Gang
      April 30 & May 1
    • The Finesse Party Band
      May 2 to 4
    • Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone – May 5 to 8
    • Latin Ambition – May 9 to 11
    • The Orchestra starring former members of ELO – May 12 to 15
    • 506 Crew – May 16 to 18
    • A.J. Croce: Croce Plays Croce (NEW) – May 19 & 20
    • Casting Crowns (NEW) – May 21 & 22
    • M-80’s – May 23 to 25
    • Jason Scheff, longtime lead singer of Chicago (NEW) – May 26 & 27
    • Rick Springfield – May 28 & 29
    • Champagne Orchestra  – May 30 to June 1
    • Plain White T’s – June 2 to 5
    • Glass Ceiling – June 6 to 8
    • The Spinners – June 9 & 10
    • The Commodores – June 11 & 12
    • Element – June 13 to 15
    • Vertical Horizon – June 16 & 17
    • Tony Orlando – June 18 & 19
    • Foregniers Journey – June 20 to 22
    • Simple Plan – June 23 to 26
    • Epic – June 27 to 29
    • Living Colour – June 30 & July 1
    • Wang Chung – July 2 & 3
    • Evolution: Motown – July 4 & 5

*Dining Packages are available Fridays through Monday.