A Return to Serenity at EPCOT’s Flower and Garden Festival

After two wild weekends, I needed a little rest and relaxation, but that wasn’t going to happen. We had bunny eggs to track down at Epcot.

If you don’t know, throughout the Easter season, there are hidden eggs all in the World Showcase. I wanted to get it, but time is running out. I believe April 4th is the last day. And who wants to search after Easter?

So I knew I would have to make another special trip to Epcot. The only problem is the Spring Break crowds!

It has been crowded like no one’s business lately. I’ve walked the parks during this time before, but it’s been crowded. But now, wall-to-wall people. It’s been like this since the start of the new year. Yikes!

With that in mind, we decided to get up super early and rope drop Epcot, or more specifically, World Showcase. Technically, nothing opens in that section of the park until 11 am.

Yes, we decided to rope-drop Epcot. But before getting our bunny egg-huntin’ on, we had to stop for a little breakfast nosh.

You can find these beauties in the popcorn stand right outside of Creations. And they were pretty go too, especially if you love bacon.

The eggs had a nice flavor and actually creamy, not dried out. The bun was almost like a sweet Hawaiian bread, and the bacon was, well, bacony – with just the right amount of crispiness. Oh, and how can I forget about the cheese? It was melty, but it definitely tasted like cheddar. Yum!

Here’s a tip: If you spend some time in the morning in the new World Celebration area, Pluto is roaming around. I’ve seen him several times throughout this space.

And guess who spotted us? A Pluto hug is the best way to start the day!

We checked out the Scentsy Garden on the walkway to the World Showcase.

As I made my way from Mexico to Norway, guess who I spotted? Now, since I moved down here, I wanted a picture with Donald at this spot. But either the line has been too long or he’s finishing up for the day. Today, I finally got my Mexico Donald pic.

Getting to World Showcase early in the morning is a great way to check out the little hidden treasures of each pavilion – without everyone pushing into you.

Now not all the stores are open, but most are. That means you can browse to your heart’s content.

Look how empty!

China didn’t have their shops open, so we checked out the shops in Germany.

I even had room to check out the trains, which is a spot that is always crowded.

Someone told me that these trains are maintained by a local Orlando train club. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but they’re still a joy to watch. 

Look at the emptiness. It’s not people-y!

I could take a photo of Neptune with people sitting on the ledge.

Here’s a new thing – it looks like the princesses all have fresh flowers. Tiana with a magnolia flower and Belle with a rose.

I don’t think I ever saw that before.

We’re almost finished with the egg hunt. Just the United Kingdom and Canada left.

In the meantime, we also checked out the garden topiaries in the English garden.

There’s Mickey and an Elephant.

With all that walking and hunting, I needed a cool-down. The festival-exclusive Citrus Frosted Ice Tea was very sweet like someone had melted a frozen lemonade.

And they forget by orange peel garnish. 😒

Taking in the Victoria Gardens.

We grabbed a little Shrimp Tempura nost at the Citrus Blossom.

If you take one thing away from this blog, just stop and enjoy the beauty of all the colors and amazing flowers and plants.

So we have never been on the free Tea Garden Tour. Well that changed today. I’ll go into more details on another blog, but it was an absolute treat. And we got a gift at the end.

More snacks. Seriously, these festivals are why I put on a few pounds.

So this was the Ramen Cup from Hanami (Japan). It’s cold and you have to shake it. The flavors were great, but the $8.50 price tag was not worth the cost. 6/10

While in Japan, I always visit these gardens. And look, there’s even a not-so-hidden Mickey and Minnie.

I’ve been noticing a lot of new additions to the topiaries. Goofy looked a little odd a few days ago. Now it looks like the horticultural team added some dandelions.

I missed the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, so a Strawberry Shortcake from Florida Fresh will have to do.

As we were heading out, we were going to make a few last stops.

The first one: The Butterfly Landing. Here, you can see all types of butterflies fluttering through the air.

Of course, you have to love people. There are like five signs telling visitors not to touch the butterflies. Do people listen? Nope.

Everyone had their fingers out trying to get the butterflies to land on them.

Let’s just appreciate the beauty of them and leave them alone. Please…

So there’s been rumors that the old 1982 background music from the Land has inexplicably being playing. We checked it out – and it’s true! Completely random!

 

We closed out the day with a visit to the manatees. It looked like Lil’ Joe was the only one out today. And he was enjoying a snack.

That’s a wrap! It was an enjoyable, peaceful, and less crowded day at Epcot. Kinda makes up for the hectic last few weeks.

Until next time!