First Day of Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival
So, I was contemplating starting a series about my various travels around the Walt Disney World complex. We’re here almost every weekend, which sounds insane if you’re not a Disney fan.
I kick off this new series with a trip to the first day of the Flower and Garden festival. Last year, we were all treated to the spectacular Encanto topiaries. For 2024, we have Asha from Wish.
And it’s not official until you click the obligatory picture of the festival passport with Spaceship Earth.
When a new festival starts, where’s the first place to head? Onward towards the merch. Now if you love Orange Bird, there’s a ton of merchandise available, everything from bags to mugs to planter pots.
All hail Orange Bird!
Usually, the crowds thin out by mid-morning. Nope! Not today. I was jostled around just trying to get some pictures of the merchandise. People will absolutely bowl you over for a Passholder T-shirt.
After grabbing a bag of goodies, we decided to go get some food. Our first stop was BRUNCHCOT.
This was my favorite booth last year. I must have made about 10 stops here to munch on avocado toast and cinnamon bacon donut bites.
Well, they’re all back for this year, so you know I had to grab the avocado toast.
Honestly, right off the bat, this was a 10/10. Everything was fresh. The avocado was creamy, the cherry tomatoes were flavorful and ripe, the bread was pretty toasted, and even the drizzle of garlic oil brought everything up a level.
Now, I know that the quality levels can fluctuate depending on the day and mood of the booth, but for one bright shining moment, this avocado toast was at the top of the echelon.
How can you top that?
Well, we moved on to the Citrus Blossom booth, which really isn’t a booth since it’s located in the old Odyssey building. After an amazing experience at BRUNCHCOT, you knew there would be a kerfuffle somewhere down the line. And it happened here…
Apparently, the Florida Fresh booth (by Figment and Imagination) did not open in time. So it moved temporarily to the Citrus Blossom, except no one said anything. So, depending on what line you were in, it was either Florida Fresh or Citrus Blossom. And you don’t know until you’re ready to order at the registers.
I wasn’t planning on ordering the Grilled Warm Lobster Tail, but after spending 10 minutes in line, I wasn’t going to walk away with nothing.
After finding a table, and then return to the right line for the tempura shrimp and orange lemon slushy (yes, you can order it without the sipper cup), we sampled these goodies.
I didn’t have much hope for the lobster. First, there was a little bit of an overpowering smell of seafood coming from the back, which kinda makes me question the freshness of the food. Plus, it was super small portion.
But I have to say, it was absolutely delicious and tender. If you ever had lobster, you know the rubberiness is always a possibility. That’s not the case here. It was sweet and tender, and the lime butter added a wonderful touch to this dish. A solid 8/10.
If you’ve seen the cute little Orange Bird sipper, it is filled with a delicious Orange-Lemon Smoothie, which is always perfect on a hot day. True to form, it was still orangey, lemony, deliciously for this year. Think of it like a slushy creamsicle. There’s lemon in there, but I just get a strong orange flavor. Definitely, a great choice if you want to cool off or want something sweet to drink. 9/10
The last item was the Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp (catching on an orange theme?). Now I don’t get too many since this was my Mom’s choice, but these were another excellent option. The tempura had just enough crunch without making the shrimp overcooked. Plus, this year, Disney has added an orange chili dipping sauce. I didn’t get any heat from it, but I did taste the sweetness of the orange. Nice touch for this dish. 7/10
After chowing down, we decided to take a leisurely stroll to pick up a Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration. Why? Because this was the prize: a mini corn joke game with Orange Bird. Can it get any cuter than that?
And if you decide to play and need answers to Spike’s Pollen-Nation, check out our guide here.
With map and prize in hand, (yes, I grab that right away because prizes can sell out), we moseyed around. While Scentsy is back with its fragrant gardens, there’s a new contender this year. Smuckers.
Right across the walkway, there’s a PB&J Garden. You can learn facts about berries and peanut butter or just get your fill of dad jokes. The choice is yours!
Btw, there’s a total missed opportunity to hand out samples of Uncrustables at this spot. I’m just saying…
Flower and Graden Festival is just one of those events we’re strolling is okay. Where else can you get these views?
Of course, the main draw of this fest is the stunning topiaries. Over the last few years, they have gone from looking old and tired to refreshed and beautiful, like a lot of us. There are plenty of returning favorites, like…
New additions…
This entry is from Coco, with Miguel and Dante.
It took me longer than it should’ve to realize what Goofy is doing… he’s blowing dandelion blooms.
Flower and Garden is also about the amazing little gardens throughout Epcot, like the Shakespeare Garden in the UK or the Tropical Rainforest near Mexico.
I love bromeliads, so I spend too much time checking out the displays by Mexico.
Of course, no fest is complete without trying stuff from the food booths.
While near the Magnolia Terrace (American Adventure), we tried the Spicy Chicken Gumbo and Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.
I’m sure the chicken gumbo doesn’t live up to New Orleans standards, but it was a great dish for this event. The andouille sausage gives a spicy kick, and the rice and chicken were perfectly cooked. 7/10.
Now Disney needs to find a way to make the bananas foster look less like a diaper explosion. This is not a pretty dish. But it is still a solid dessert. It is not overwhelming banana-y, and it has just enough sweetness to cool off your tongue after the spicy gumbo. 6/10.
Here’s just a random squirrel that was looking for handouts from our table.
We ordered the Housemade Cheesy Crab Rangoons and Spicy Mala Chicken Skewers from the Lotus House in China.
Both were great! The chicken skewers were tender and had a little heat from the sauce. 8/10.
The crab rangoon filling had a hint of sweetness from the crab, but they were slightly too crunchy. 7/10.
We took our food and enjoyed a nice view from Norway… until other family plopped on the bench and started arguing about whether to go on Frozen or head back to the room. 😒
After taking in a few nice, quiet views, we headed to Swirled Showcase. For this year, there’s no honey mascarpone cheesecake at the Honey Bee-stro, but there’s something similar at the neighboring booth.
It was not good at all. I was expecting a creamy cheesecake and this tasted like a frozen mush of cake. I know it’s nitro-frozen, but it had zero flavor. Maybe we got a bad plate, but no, it was a flavorless, freezer-burned mess. 2/10.
And yes, we stop for the obligatory monorail shot:
If you want to find Figment, he’s not at the Imagination Pavilion. This little spark is in the middle of World Celebration.
Once the sun set, we just strolled around the new World Celebration/Future World, which I do love at night. It’s just during the daytime, it’s blah.
We then checked out a few more topiaries at night. They do take on a different look, so don’t miss viewing them after the sun sets.
We heard from someone that Groot plays music, but they must stop that after dark. It’s just plain ol’ Groot.
And our last stop was at Journey of Water. I personally think this is a great addition to Epcot. It’s fun and educational. You know like how Epcot was back in the day. And it’s just stunning at night.
Don’t forget to check out the Asha topiary at night. Not so impressive as the sun blasts down on you, but it does look great with all the lights.
And that’s a wrap! It was a fun day at Epcot. Flower and Garden is just one of those multifaceted events – there’s so much to do, whether you like the topiaries, food, or checking out the gardens.
