Who's ready for some sunshine, some color, some life? Winter blues getting you down? Well, start daydreaming about the 2019 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival! Every Spring Epcot blooms with this incredible festival, celebrating the outdoors and all that Mother Earth has to offer us. The festival features topiaries of Disney characters, gardening and home decor demonstrations, an amazing Garden Rocks concert series with pop and rock artists from yesterday and today, and Outdoor Kitchen food and drink booths to enjoy fresh and local bites and sips. There's also plenty of fun for the Littles, including playgrounds, a scavenger hunt and more. Let's check out what's planned for this year's festival, which starts on March 6th and runs through June 3rd.
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By far, one of the biggest draws of the festival is the Garden Rocks Concert Series. Each night of the festival, Guests can catch some of their favorite musicians, in live concerts at the American Gardens Theater. There are 3 shows a night: 5:30pm, 6:45pm and 8pm. Seating is first come, first serve, but you can also get priority seating if you partake in a Dining Package, which includes a meal at one fo Epcot's incredible restaurants, and reserved seating for one fo the night's shows. Who can you see perform at this year's concerts? Glad you asked!.....
- March 6th-8th: Journey Former Lead Vocalist, Steve Augeri (NEW!) Don't Stop Believing
- March 9th-10th: Glass Tiger (NEW!) Don't Forget Me When I'm Gone
- March 11th-12th: Jon Anderson of Yes (NEW!) Owner of a Lonely Heart
- March 13th-14th: Tony Orlando Knock Three Times
- March 15th-16th: Wang Chung (NEW!) Everybody Have Fun Tonight
- March 17th-20th: Simple Plan Welcome To My Life
- March 21st-22nd: Ambrosia (NEW!) How Much I Feel
- March 23rd-24th: Magic Giant (NEW!) Let It Burn
- March 28th-29th: Berlin featuring Terri Nunn No More Words
- March 30th-31th: The Smithereens (NEW!) A Girl Like You
- April 1st-2nd: Rick Springfield Jesse's Girl
- April 3rd-4th: Christopher Cross (NEW!) Sailing
- April 5th-7th: The Spinners Could It Be I'm Falling In Love
- April 8th-9th: Dennis DeYoung, original member of Styx Come Sail Away
- April 10th-11th: John Michael Montgomery (NEW!) I Swear
- April 12th-13th: Sister Sledge (NEW!) We Are Family
- April 14th-16th: Night Ranger Sister Christian
- April 17th-19th: Sister Hazel (NEW!) All For You
- April 20th-21st: Steven Curtis Chapman (NEW!) Remember to Remember
- April 22nd-23rd: TobyMac (NEW!) Everything
- April 24th-26th: Lonestar (NEW!) Amazed
- April 27th-30th: The Orchestra, starring former members of ELO Don't Bring Me Down
- May 1st-4th: Herman's Hermits, starring Peter Noone There's A Kind of Hush
- May 5th-7th: Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles Hotel California
- May 8th-9th: A Flock of Seagulls (NEW!) I Ran
- May 10th-11th: Marshall Tucker Band (NEW!) Can't You See
- May 12th-13th: Peabo Bryson (NEW!) If Ever You're In My Arms Again
- May 14th-15th: Richard Marx (NEW!) Right Here Waiting
- May 16th-19th: Starship, featuring Mickey Thomas We Built This City
- May 20th-21st: Colin Hay of Men at Work (NEW!) Down Under
- May 22nd-23rd: War (NEW!) Low Rider
- May 24th-27th: The Guess Who American Woman
- May 28th-29th: Jon Secada Just Another Day
- May 30th-June 1st: Blood, Sweat and Tears Spinning Wheel
- June 2nd-3rd: Eddie Palmieri (NEW!) La Malanga
And there you have it! Quite an eclectic group this year! A little something for everyone. But if concerts aren't your thing, no worries... there's more to discover!
Outdoor Kitchens
A la Food and Wine Festival, Flower and Garden also features over a dozen food booths around World Showcase. Each booth serves up snack-sized plates of fresh, delicious, unique food items, along with some fun beverages. Though this year's menus have not been announced yet, they should be out any day, so make sure you check back here on the blog to catch a preview of what's to come!
Topiaries, Displays and Gardens
I always look forward to seeing Disney's incredible character topiaries around the parks. They are colorful and so fun to pose for selfies with. This spring you can look for:
- Anna and Elsa in Norway
- Bambi and Friends between The UK and Canada
- Beauty and the Beast in France
- Bo Peep, Buzz and Woody in Future World (NEW!)
- Bromeliad Dragon in China
- Captain Hook and Peter Pan in The UK
- Chip and Dale, Donald and Huey, Dewey and Louie in World Showcase Plaza
- Daisy at Spaceship Earth
- Figment near Imagination
- Lightning McQueen and Mater by Test Track
- Mickey and Minnie in Showcase Plaza and in the American Adventure
- Miss Piggy and Kermit in France
- Pandas in China
- Pluto and Goofy in Showcase Plaza
- Simba and Friends at The Outpost
- Snow White and Dopey in Germany
- The Three Caballeros in Mexico
- Winnie the Pooh and Friends in the UK
There are also lots of other gardens and displays this year, including:
- Alpine Container Garden in Germany: Hearty alpine plants that can survive in extreme temperatures and climates.
- Bamboo Garden in China
- Barrels By the Bay: March 8th-10th Guests can help stencil and paint recycled Coke barrels to be used as rain barrels.
- Bold Bromeliads in Mexico
- Bonsai Collection in Japan
- Chinese Zodiac Natural Sculpture in China
- English Tea Garden in The UK: Learn all about how teas are blended and created.
- Family Play Zone: Toy Story 4 themed playground, near Test Track
- Floating Mini-Gardens
- Garden Italiano in Italy: An Italian herb garden that any chef would be envious of!
- The Goodness Garden Butterfly House: A favorite every year, this tent houses beautiful gardens and awe-inspiring butterflies.
- The Honey Bee-Stro: Learn about the importance of honey bees and taste some of their amazing creations!
- Kokedama Garden in Japan
- Penguin Sculpture: The celebrate Disney Nature's newest film, this sculpture is made from trash debris collected from our oceans.
- Plant a Garden Perfect For Pollinators
- Play Garden: A brand new outdoor play area along the pathway from the Imagination pavilion to World Showcase.
- Purple Martin Garden: Located near Test track, see if you can spot these amazing birds that have migrated from Brazil.
- Shakespeare Garden in The UK: Match the author's famous quotes to the flowers that he took inspiration from.
- Tropical Rainforest Garden in Mexico
- Urban Spice in Morocco: Learn about the spices that were worth more than gold in ancient times, in the Moroccan pavilion.
Tours and More!
Gardens of the World: For those who want a really in-depth look at what goes into making this festival happen, and how Disney's horticulture team creates their magic, a behind-the-scenes tour, Gardens of the World, is offered for Guests 12 and over. The tour is 3 hours long, and offered on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, starting at 9am. The cost is $85 per person and Guests must pre-register by calling 407- WDW- TOUR.
Royal Tea Garden Tour: Tea-lovers can get a 45-minute in-depth look at how tea is created in the UK pavilion. At the end of the tour, enjoy a sampling of tea and scones. This tour is offered daily at 9:30am and the cost is $20. Guests must pre-register by calling 407- WDW- TOUR.
English Tea Garden Tour: This is a simpler version of the Royal Tea Garden tour. It is only 20 minutes long and does not include tea and scones, but it IS free! Tours are offered daily, int he afternoon and registration is same-day, at The Tea Caddy, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Behind The Seeds: This tour is actually offered year-round inside The Land Pavilion. It is a walking tour, taking Guests through the greenhouses of the Living with the Land ride, to get a close-up view of all of the incredible fruits, veggies and plant-life that is grown here. The tour is offered multiple times a day, and is $25 per person. It can be pre-reserved by calling 407- WDW- TOUR, but they do take walk-ups, as well, when space permits.
And MORE... there's plenty to see and do for all ages at the festival! Photo ops are everywhere, there's great food and entertainment, families will have fun looking for hidden characters on the annual scavenger hunt, and brand new this year, Guests can check out Miguel from the hit movie Coco, with his friends, Mariachi Cobre, in the Mexico pavilion, as they share the music and stories of Mexico!
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There's plenty to look forward to, and you have more than three whole months to enjoy all the action! So what are you waiting for? Get your Flower and Garden visit planned with the awesome agents at Kingdom Konsultant Travel and I'll see YOU at the 2019 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival!
Until next time, Disney Family, have a magical week!
Jenn
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