The EPCOT International Festival of the Arts might still be going on, but in true EPCOT fashion, we are already looking toward the future!
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.
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.
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!
Now, let’s move on to the changes we hope will take place when the festival returns this March!
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.