Oh my WORD there’s so much great Disney news this week! And today is no slouch!
March 1st will herald the official arrival of SPRING to Disney World with the kickoff of the 2017 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival, running through May 29th! And we’ve got some serious scoop for you!!
We have the FULL LIST of Booths and Menus for the event’s Outdoor Kitchens (including two BRAND NEW BOOTHS!), the Garden Rocks Concert Series Lineup (with Dining Packages available for the first time this year!), and more to tell you about!
So, let’s waste no time…
Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Food Booths
The Outdoor Kitchens (similar to the Food and Wine Festival’s Marketplace Booths, but with an emphasis on spring’s fresh-from-the-garden flavors) at the Flower and Garden Festival will number a record fifteen this year!
Along with returning flavor-ites (okay, straight up — “flavorites” was a typo, but I kinda dig it!) like The Smokehouse, Florida Fresh, Fleur de Lys, and Pineapple Promenade are two newcomers: Northern Bloom, a tribute to Canada, and The Berry Basket, where it’s all in the name!
Northern Bloom will feature all-new dishes like Seared Scallops with French Green Beans, Butter Potatoes, Brown Butter Vinaigrette and Applewood Smoked Bacon, a Naomi Bar Trifle, and Maple Shakes (one version made with Crown Royal!).
The Berry Basket will offer up, among other items, a Lamb Chop with Quinoa Salad and Blackberry Gastrique, and Warm Wild Berry Buckle with Pepperberry Sorbet/Ice Cream.
See FULL BOOTH MENUS at our Flower and Garden Festival Menu Page HERE!
Garden Rocks Concert Series and Dining Packages
The line-up has also been revealed for the Garden Rocks Concert Series for the 2017 International Epcot Flower & Garden Festival! And for the first time, Dining Packages are also available for booking with this Spring’s concert series. As with the Eat to the Beat Concert Series for the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, Dining Packages offer guests the opportunity to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner at an Epcot restaurant and enjoy reserved seating for one of the evening performances.
Of course, you’ll want to check out who is performing during your Flower & Garden Festival visit first! Here’s the schedule:
- March 3-4 – Jon Secada – “Just Another Day”
- March 5-6 – Dennis DeYoung – The Music of STYX – “Grand Illusion”
- March 10-13 – Pointer Sisters – “I’m So Excited”
- March 17-18 – Simple Plan – “Welcome to My Life” – NEW
- March 19-20 – Plain White T’s – “Hey There Delilah”
- March 24-27 – Night Ranger – “Sister Christian“
- March 31-April 3 – Little River Band – “Reminiscing”
- April 7-10 – Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice – “Spinning Wheel”
- April 14-17 – Gin Blossoms – “Hey Jealousy”
- April 21-24 – The Orchestra starring former members of ELO – “Evil Woman”
- April 28-29 – Exposé – “Point of No Return” – NEW
- April 30-May 1 – Berlin featuring Terri Nunn – “Take My Breath Away” – NEW
- May 5-8 – STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas – “We Built This City”
- May 12-15 – The Guess Who – “American Woman”
- May 19-22 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone – “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”
- May 26-29 – The Spinners – “Working My Way Back To You”
Showtimes are 5:30 pm, 6:45 pm, and 8:00 pm in the America Gardens Theater.
Dining Packages will be available for booking starting TOMORROW, February 3rd. We are still awaiting information on participating restaurants and prices for the Dining Package, and will update our 2017 Flower and Garden Festival Garden Rocks Concerts and Dining Package Page as soon as we have more information! In the meantime, refer to our Eat to the Beat Concert Series Page to get an idea of the restaurants that may participate!
More Festival Fun
Oh… along with ALL THE FOOD, there’s also some flowers and gardening involved in the Festival, too 😉 . One major highlight of the Festival is always the Disney-themed topiaries lining all areas of the park, numbering over 100 this year (look for a Three Caballeros topiary and a Belle topiary among the new additions)!
Green Thumbs — and those aspiring — will enjoy special exhibits such as Geranium Grandeur and the Bonsai Collection in the Japan Pavilion, as well as garden-themed tours like Gardens of the World and demonstrations from visiting gardening experts in the Festival Center.
And the kiddos — and kids at heart! — haven’t been forgotten with experiences including the Music Garden Melodies Playground, the Butterflies on the Go exhibit, and more.
The Flower and Garden Festival is fast-approaching, my friends! So mark your calendars for March 1 – May 29th.
Start your planning by visiting our 2017 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Page for all the latest details on our favorite Spring event in Disney World!
Pin it for later!
What are YOU most excited about for this year’s Flower and Garden Festival? Please let us know with a comment!
Jennifer says
Thank you so much for doing this AJ! My husband and I are heading to the World at the end of April to celebrate our anniversary and we planned it around the Flower and Garden Fest. We can’t wait to sample some yummy things. Definitely bringing some stretchy pants!
Essie says
I want to go to the flower and garden festival again, but more for the flora than the food!
Doug Weaver says
We will be going to WDW next year on 4/26/2017 for 7 nights. Will this same thing be going on at this time? We have been 5 times and 2 cruises. We came there for our honeymoon 26 yrs ago. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort and will be staying there next year. I can’t remember this show then but I wasn’t noticing much then, LOL.
Can you send me any information on this program? I thank you for your assistance.
Doug Weaver
Tricia says
I hope they do something about the bees – I am deathly allergic and was nearly stung multiple times at the Food & Wine Festival. 🙁
Johnny says
Hi Tricia…. If you see a bee near you, just freeze in place and make like a statue. Even if one lands on you it won’t sting you as long as you stay still. A honey bee will only sting if you bother it.
During the Flower & Garden festival, the bees are busy gathering pollen from all the beautiful flowers we are all enjoying at this time as well.
Hope you enjoy yourself at this years festival and remember what I said about the bees.
Lee says
On the actual menu page, you say near the bottom:
“La Isla Fresca, which emphasizes Caribbean influences, was a favorite destination in 2016. We are so glad to see the Jerk-Spiced Grouper or Chicken with Mango Salsa return!”
But that dish appears nowhere in your menu listings. Did you mean to say the Jamaican-braised Beef with Pigeon Pea Rice and Micro Cilantro returns (it’s the item pictured)?
Brooke says
Lee — yep! We totally did. Fingers were flying too fast that day, as we were trying to get all of the information pulled together. Thanks for keeping us on our toes! 😀
Don Erichsen says
Loved the Flower and Garden show yesterday, March 12, 2017. The flowers were in full bloom as was the pollen. We did notice one big thing…no bees! How does Epcot keep the bees away? One big surprise was a rabbit eating the pansies one flower at a time. He or she was in their glory.
Brooke says
Don — I think you may have gotten lucky with the bees! I’ve definitely seen them buzzing around while I’m there. Omigosh! I bet the bunny was so cute! I think we could probably do a whole story on turtles, squirrels and bunnies of Disney World — oh my! 😀
Anna says
How are the lines compared to food and wine? I loved the food and wine festival but after a few hours it got to be too daunting to wait 30+ minutes for a snack no matter how yummy it looked.
Brooke says
Anna — Lines were long during opening weekend. It’s tough to tell if that trend will continue. If you can, we’d recommend going through the week.