6 Huge Changes Disney Needs to Make to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

6 Huge Changes Disney Needs to Make to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts might still be going on, but in true EPCOT fashion, we are already looking toward the future!

Flower and Garden 2024

After the Festival of the Arts wraps up on February 24th, EPCOT will be festival-less for a little under two weeks as the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival returns on March 5th and will run until June 2nd. While we are so excited for EPCOT to be filled with tons of flowers and character topiaries, it is time for Disney to make these six changes before this festival begins. 

Click here to subscribe

There is so much to see and do at this festival that welcomes spring to Disney World. From food booths, merchandise, a butterfly garden, and the Garden Rocks Concert Series, there is no shortage of fun at the Flower and Garden Festival. Unlike the Festival of the Arts, which has only been around since 2017, Flower and Garden have been around since 1994, and although the festival has seen some changes, we think it is time for these six changes to be implemented this year. 

Flower and Garden Festival 2024

First things first, if you want to master the Flower and Garden Festival, you will want to pre-order our DFB Flower & Garden Festival Guide 2025. This digital guide will give you insider tips and help you navigate EPCOT’s second-largest festival of the year with calendars, maps, and food booth photos. Plus, as a special bonus, you will receive the 2024 version of the guide!

Order Yours Here!

Now, let’s move on to the changes we hope will take place when the festival returns this March!

Flower and Garden 2024

A CommuniCore Hall Experience

CommuniCore Hall opened last summer and is now EPCOT’s festival headquarters. Unfortunately, when the 2024 Food and Wine Festival rolled around, people were left disappointed by what they found inside. 

CommuniCore Hall during Food and Wine 2024

The good news is that CommuniCore Hall redeemed itself at this year’s Festival of the Arts as it is currently home to the 30 Years of Disney on Broadway Exhibit. We have our fingers crossed that something similar to this display will be at CommuniCore Hall for the Flower and Garden Festival. 

Such an upgrade!

More Plant-Based Options that Do Not Use IMPOSSIBLE Meat

The Flower and Garden Festival typically has some really great plant-based eats; the problem is that these plant-based options rely heavily on IMPOSSIBLE meat. Now, we are not saying to get rid of the food dishes that use IMPOSSIBLE meat, but we would love to see some other dishes like salads and fruit dishes. For example, last year, we LOVED the avocado toast!

IMPOSSIBLE Farmhouse Meatball 2024

New Topiaries 

One of the coolest parts of Flower and Garden is seeing how Disney brings some of our favorite characters to life in the form of topiaries. 

Topiary at the 2024 Flower & Garden Festival

Last year, the following topiaries were part of the festival:

  • Disney Film, Wish (Asha, Valentino and the Wishing Star)
    Main Entrance
  • Butterflies
    Main Entrance, Scentsy Garden, Butterfly House and World Showcase
  • Figment, Flower Topiaries and Flower Towers
    World Celebration – World Celebration Plaza
  • Huey, Dewey and Louie
    World Celebration – World Celebration Plaza
  • Donald Duck
    World Celebration – Community Garden Near Connections Café in World Celebration
  • Bambi and Friends
    World Discovery – Near Imagination! and Refreshment Port
  • Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy
    World Discovery – Near Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
  • Buzz Lightyear
    World Discovery – Near Mission: SPACE
  • Woody, Bo Peep and Her Sheep
    World Nature – Between Imagination! and The Land Pavilion
  • Simba and Friends (Rafiki, Simba, Mufasa and Sarabi)
    World Nature – Near The Land Pavilion
  • Pumbaa and Timon
    World Nature – Near The Land Pavilion
  • Goofy
    Rosewalk
  • Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip, Dale and Pluto
    Bridge to World Showcase
  • Encanto (Mirabel, Antonio, Isabela and Luisa)
    World Showcase
  • Coco (Miguel and Dante) –
    World Showcase – Mexico Pavilion
  • Anna and Elsa
    World Showcase – Norway Pavilion
  • Troll
    World Showcase – Norway Pavilion
  • Pandas
    World Showcase – China Pavilion
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
    World Showcase – Germany Pavilion
  • Lady and the Tramp
    World Showcase – Italy Pavilion
  • Tiana
    World Showcase – The American Adventure Pavilion
  • Dragon
    World Showcase – Japan Pavilion Near Torii Gate
  • Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy
    World Showcase – Between France and Morocco Pavilions
  • Beauty and the Beast
    World Showcase – France Pavilion
  • Lumiere and Cogsworth
    World Showcase – France Pavilion
  • Butterfly and Flower Towers
    World Showcase – International Gateway
  • Winnie the Pooh and Friends (Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger)
    World Showcase – United Kingdom Pavilion
  • Tinker Bell’s Fairy House Garden
    World Showcase – United Kingdom Pavilion
  • Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tick Tock Croc
    World Showcase – Between United Kingdom and Canada Pavilions
  • Geese
    World Showcase – Canada Pavilion

Miss Piggy and Kermit

Last year, three new topiaries were part of the festival, so we have our fingers crossed that at least one new topiary will make its debut!

Groot was new to the festival last year

 

Fix the Italy Booth

At the Flower and Garden Festival, the Italy booth is known as Primavera Kitchen. This booth has been struggling lately at all four of EPCOT’s festivals. Now, this booth is not terrible, but it is not Best of the Fest worthy. We do give it some credit as at last year’s Flower and Garden, all the food items were new on the menu. We have our fingers crossed that, once again, Italy overhauls the menu to impress us. 

Primavera Kitchen Full Spread 2024

More Shade

While the Flower and Garden Festival welcomes spring to EPCOT, this is typically the time of year when Disney World starts to heat up. It can be difficult to find shade to escape the heat, especially around the World Showcase. We wish Disney would add more tables and umbrellas around the park, especially when there is a festival going on. This is not only something that the DFB team would like to see changed, but our readers have also shared how desperate they are for shade in EPCOT.

World Showcase

More Entertainment and Experiences 

We love that during this festival, you can check out the Butterfly Landing and the Global Gardens, but we wish there were more hands-on activities that could teach you about gardening. 

Butterfly Landing 2023

The same goes for live entertainment; while there is the Garden Rocks Concert Series, we love other festivals, like Festival of the Holidays, since there are so many fun entertainment offerings like the holiday storytellers. 

Norway Storytellers

While you can pay to go on the Behind the Seeds Tour, we think it would be so cool if Disney had someone teaching about topiaries or some sort of live demonstration. 

Behind the Seeds Tour

We are eagerly awaiting more details to be announced about the 2025 EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival. Who knows, Disney might surprise us this year, and some of these changes we want could be implemented!

In the meantime, to stay up to date on all the latest Disney news, make sure to continue to follow along with DFB!

Garden Rocks Dining Package Reservations Are OPEN NOW for the 2025 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

As we wait for this year’s festival, you can check out everything we ate at Flower and Garden 2024!

What do you hope is new at this year’s Flower and Garden Festival? Let us know in the comments!

The post 6 Huge Changes Disney Needs to Make to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival first appeared on the disney food blog.