4 Reasons Why Flower & Garden Festival is the Best EPCOT Fest!
If you could only visit EPCOT during one of their festivals, which one would you choose? It’s with this in mind that I entered the park to enjoy the 2025 EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival, and by the end of the day, I had a strong case as to why this should be the festival to visit if you could only choose one. Pull up a chair, friend, and let’s talk about all things flowers and gardens, and of course, festival food.
Interactive Fun
The Flower and Garden Festival has so many opportunities for guests to interact in fun and exciting ways with their environment. Just take a look at Butterfly Landing (a.k.a. the butterfly house) and you’ll find all you need to know about interactive fun.
Guests can turn a wheel to show the advantages of differently colored butterflies, take a peek at butterfly chrysalis houses that soon will release hundreds of butterflies, and squeal with delight as butterflies of all kinds flutter overhead and land on butterfly-attracting flowers of all colors and kinds. It’s incredibly enchanting, and is the perfect encapsulation of how very fun this festival truly is.
Flowers and Gardens
You knew that the actual flowers and gardens had to be one of the selling points of this festival, right? Please budget time into your EPCOT park day to stop and observe (and smell) the flowers. The Disney horticulture team shines brightly during this festival, and their months of work leading up to the festival is on display for all to see and appreciate. If you’re visiting this year, be sure to stop and take a minute at the entrance flower bed. The Moana characters, including the lovable Hei-Hei, are displayed in glorious splendor. Stop and take a moment to really look at the small details in the topiaries; my favorite was Moana‘s ankle bracelet.
Guests will find topiaries throughout the park, and, harkening back to our first point, most of the gardens have an interactive aspect to them. They’re there to teach us, to delight us, and to entertain us as we hunt for different features. The park is so very beautiful during this time of year. Please, by all means, stop your park day and take a peek at the splendor that surrounds you.
The Food
As someone whose love language is food, it’s really easy for me to slip into placing festival food in the top spot as to why Flower and Garden Festival is the one for you. If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait to get your hands on the Festival Foodie Guide or the Festival Passport to plan your park touring route according to the locations of your favorite treats.
Disney foodies won’t be disappointed by this year‘s festival food offerings. Two new Outdoor Kitchens have been added to the lineup, and they are stellar. Please be sure to take a stroll along the Rosewalk (the path between World Nature and the World Showcase); there you’ll find Beach Grub and Yacht Grub. These two cheeky takes on the iconic neighboring resorts are anything but throwaways; they bring what I feel is the best food of this year’s festival. From an artisanal cheese selection (including honey) to a meat assortment with delectable offerings from around the world, these two booths stand out.
My favorite treat among the two is the S’mores Bar. It’s a delectable and moist chocolate cake that’s been enrobed in chocolate and flash frozen. A dollop of marshmallow fluff is toasted on top and the treat is crowned with smoked graham cracker crumbs. Yes, you read that right friends: smoked graham cracker crumbs. They 100% replicate the taste that a s’more would have from being toasted over an open fire. I can’t wait to go back and get another.
Exciting Extras
Every EPCOT festival has fun and exciting extras that are built into them, but I really believe that the ones that you’ll find at the Flower and Garden Festival are something to be truly enjoyed. If you’re a fan of gardening or horticulture, you are going find so many things to surprise and delight you as you stroll around the festival.
The merchandise is different during Flower and Garden Festival than you’ll find any other time of the year. You’ll discover vendors selling unique items like a grow-your-own Mickey topiary to plants of all sizes (yes, even ones that you can get on the airplane when it’s time to go home). It’s so much fun to explore the possibilities!
This year‘s festival-specific merchandise offers three different collections, and the one featuring the characters from Alice in Wonderland is especially enchanting. I feel like we rarely see Alice displayed prominently on merchandise items, and it was so much fun to see that even the little flowers from Wonderland made their way onto the shirts, jackets and even ceramic coasters.
So, the question comes to you: which festival would be the one for you to choose if you could only visit one? I know that arguments can be made for every EPCOT festival, but this year‘s Flower and Garden Festival is truly best in show.
Book a getaway to visit the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival! Check out some of the great confirmed reservations from the DVC Rental Store.
