Flower and Garden Festival 2024 - PREP 399

Our favorite festival is back at Epcot and we were there for the opening days! Listen for our favorite food and drink items at the 2024 Flower and Garden Festival as well as how to enjoy the many extra offerings from topiaries to gardens to special merch and musical acts.

In this article

The Basics

Flower and Garden is probably our overall favorite festival at Epcot. It is really beautiful and gets better and better each year.

The weather is typically really great during this festival, especially for the beginning of the festival. This year, the festival will go from February 28-May 27.

It is ending a few months early and we do not know why this is.

You do not need a special ticket for this. Most tickets do not need a park pass reservation for Epcot either.

Topiaries

There are many topiaries that return year after year. Sometimes they are even in the same location each year. There are some new characters this year including characters from Wish, Coco, and Groot.

Shannon thinks the topiaries have gotten better this year and are very beautiful.

Musical Performances

In addition to the topiaries and flowerbeds, there are also musical concerts – Garden Rocks at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. each night.

On Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday the acts are typically names you’d recognize like Richard Marx, Commodores, Pointer Sisters, Blue October, and Plain White T’s.

During the week the bands are typically local on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday during the festival.

Dining packages available at various Table Service restaurants in Epcot. These are typically available Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The dining package meals include an appetizer, entrée and dessert or a full buffet.

You can also potentially get a same day package at Regal Eagle. In order to do this, we suggest arriving there when it opens at 11:45 a.m.

Outdoor Kitchens

We spent most of our time reviewing the food at this festival. We often call these areas food booths, but for this festival they are actually called Outdoor Kitchens.

There are 25 locations if you count the 9 locations that offer special menu items for this festival. We love when booths have multiple good options so that you can wait in one line and get a variety of delicious things.

Overall Favorites

Farmer’s Feast – This has a rotating menu and we have only tried the first one so far, but we always like what we have here.
La Isla Fresca – This has been our favorite before and it is a really great option.
Northern Bloom – This is in Canada and is a regular favorite.
Honey Bee-stro – The food available here has a great value of delicious food with good portions.
Florida Fresh – We liked this booth a lot.
Tangierine Cafe – This is near La Isla Fresca as well and is delicious.

Least Favorites

Italy
China

These booths have long lines and are regularly not our favorites. The food is expensive and not good.

Worst items

Soy glazed sticky ribs at Trowel and Trellis
Orange Bird Liege Waffle at Connections – We like the regular Liege Waffle at Connections but not the orange flavoring is just bad.
Steam bun at Hanami – This is a very chewy texture and the ratios are not great

Worst items that other people like more than us

Other people liked these items, but we didn’t. It may be because we got a bad batch. Your mileage may vary on these items.

Potato pancakes with applesauce in Germany – We have enjoyed this in the past, but it wasn’t good this year.
Impossible biscuit and gravy at at BRUNCHCOT – We were really looking forward to this but it was really terrible. Everything was so bad but other people really enjoyed it. We’ve seen photos that make it look much better than our experience.

Favorite Items

These are our very top rated items. All of these items got a 5/5 from our team.

Chicken and waffles at Honey Bee-stro – This is a great portion and value. It’s really delicious.
Cubanito at Florida Fresh – This sandwich is really great and it was so good that we ate the whole thing!
Mediterranean Flatbread at Tangierine Cafe – This is a very colorful and large item. It could easily be a whole lunch!
Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp at Citrus Blossom – Shrimp isn’t always our favorite, but this was really delicious.
Hot Honey Chicken Sandwich at Connections – This doesn’t really feel like a festival menu item. We really liked it but we don’t know how it fits in with the festival.

Best snack credits on the Disney Dining Plan

These are the best use of your snack credits on the Disney Dining Plan. Using your snack credits on items at the Festivals is a great value.

These items are all over $6 and delicious.

Lobster tail at Florida Fresh ($11.25) – This is the top value for a snack in all of Disney World!
Traditional Poutine at Refreshment Port ($7.50)
Beef Tenderloin Tips at Northern Bloom ($7.25)
Tempura shrimp from Citrus Blossom ($7)
2 savory items from Jardin de Fiestas ($8.50-8.75)
Ramen Cup from Hanami ($8.50) – This is like a cold salad that you shake up. It’s really delicious!

Shopping

There are a few new collections this year. This includes Orange Bird, Coco, Butterfly, and Annual Pass Spike the Bee collection.

We really like buying stuff at Creations because there is a wide range of sizes and options. Plus, you can use mobile checkout

Some stuff available on the Disney Store webinar, especially the Orange Bird merchandise. This makes it easy to get things even if you aren’t going to the festival.

You can make it easy to stay on budget by loading money on a mini festival gift cards that go on your wrist. The minimum is $15 for these festival mini gift cards.

Scavenger Hunts

Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration – This is available for the entire festival. You search for Spike and return the map for a prize.

Egg-Stravaganza Hunt – This is only available from the start of the festival until Easter. You search for eggs around the park and return it for a prize.

Both of these scavenger hunt options cost $9.99. You do not need to complete the scavenger hunt to redeem the scavenger hunt.

To redeem your scavenger hunt, you take your map to Disney Traders, Creations Shop or World Traveler for a prize.

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