D23 Expo and Garden Rocks Concert Series Details

January 15, 2022

2021 is barely in the rearview mirror, but Disney executives are squarely looking forward to later in 2022.

Park officials just announced details about two of the most significant events this year, the D23 Expo 2022 and the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival. Here’s what we just learned.

Save the Dates

We’re not even two months past Destination D23 at Walt Disney World, yet Disney’s already planned the next one.

You can mark the date on your calendar. This event will take place from September 9^th through the 11th at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Tickets will go on sale next week for the 2022 D23 event. D23 Gold members will get the best deal.

For them, a one-day pass costs $89, while a three-day ticket for the entire event is $229.

Everyone else will pay $99 for one day and $279 for three days. I have two thoughts about this.

The first is that if you only pick one day, you want September 10^th. That’s the Saturday, which means it’s likely the big Disney Parks presentation, the cornerstone of D23.

The other thought is that if you’re not a D23 Gold member but plan to spend all three days at D23, you might as well sign up. You’re pretty much priced in.

I should mention that D23 Gold members also get an exclusive booking window via presale on January 19^th at 1 p.m. EST.

Everyone else can buy a ticket package starting on January 20^th at 3 p.m. EST.

The other option of note is Hall D23 Preferred seating pricing. For $899, you get what Disney describes as “guaranteed reserved seating for ALL presentations in Hall D23.”

Personally, I think of that as the vlogger tax, but D23 doesn’t always allow live video recording. So, there’s some risk here if that’s your purpose.

By the way, Disney confirmed the return of the Mousequerade costume contest. There’s even a website with important deadlines.

Garden Rocks Returns

The 2022 EPCOT International Flower & Garden arrives in roughly six weeks. As such, Disney has started revealing details about some special events.

I’m happy to report that the Garden Rocks concert series will return in full force in 2021.

Last year, Disney took a modified approach to the event, hiring local musicians to perform at the shows.

That was a nice touch, but it’s also something we get every weekend at Disney Springs, the home to countless troubadours.

In 2022, we’ll get the real deal, by which I mean a bunch of recording artists that you know from that one song at least 25 years ago.

I’m joking…mostly. You can read the list and decide for yourself how much I’m kidding about the subject.

March 4-5 – The Guess Who
March 6-7 – Rick Springfield
March 11-12 – Melina Leon – NEW to Garden Rocks
March 18-19 – Mike DelGuidice, currently on tour with Billy Joel – NEW
March 20-21 – Kool & The Gang – NEW to Garden Rocks
March 25-28 – The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
April 1-2 – The Spinners
April 3-4 – The Pointer Sisters
April 8-9 – Blue October – NEW to Garden Rocks
April 15-16 – Tommy DeCarlo, singer of the band Boston – NEW
April 17-18 – Don Felder, Formerly of The Eagles
April 22-23 – STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
April 24-25 – Claudia Leitte – NEW
April 29-30 – Berlin
May 1-2 – TobyMac
May 6-7 – Blood, Sweat & Tears
May 8-9 – The Commodores – NEW to Garden Rocks
May 13-14 – Ambrosia with Peter Beckett – NEW
May 20-21 – A Flock Of Seagulls
May 22-23 – Collin Raye – NEW
May 27-28 – Thelma Houston – NEW
May 29-30 – Little River Band
June 3-6 – Simple Plan
June 10-13 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
June 17-20 – Plain White T’s

I would have lost a bet on whether all of Herman’s Hermits were still alive, much less touring.

Good News at the Grand Floridian

What’s the one thing that we’ve all missed at the Grand Floridian? Well, the hotel’s full name is Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

During the pandemic, it’s lacked the spa, though. Since March of 2020, Walt Disney World has kept all its spas closed.

During the interim, DVC guests have only had Anaheim and Hawaii options for spa treatments.

Thankfully, this situation will change on January 26^th. On that date, the Grand Floridian Spa reopens.

You can and probably should book reservations through the official site.

The reservation page also lists prices, which I’m guessing are higher than before the pandemic since that’s Disney’s recent operating procedure.

Disney didn’t indicate anything about other Walt Disney World spas.

I presume those are coming soon, but it’s equally possible that only one is needed right now.

Start planning your 2022 Disney vacation TODAY! Book your next Disney vacation visit by browsing our current DVC Confirmed Reservation Specials, or use our DVC availability tool to see if the dates for your vacation are available. From there, you can start the booking process and one of our team members will reach out to assist!