Welcome to those of you joining me from Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere, and those of you just hopping aboard. I am the final stop on our Magical Blogorail. This week we are providing you with our Top 5 Tips to Visiting Disney During Spring Break! I’m going to share my tips for experiencing the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival with your family.
This year the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival kicks off on March 5th, just in time for Spring Break travel, and runs through May 18th. While many people might think the festival is geared towards adult guests, there is a TON of stuff for children of all ages to participate in throughout Epcot! And, you don’t have to be a gardener or possess a green thumb to enjoy all that it has to offer. With gorgeous displays, interactive play areas, and delicious food, it is truly a festival that the entire family can visit together. We were able to travel to the festival during my Spring Break last year, with our then 3-year old, Connor, in tow and had a wonderful time. I had always figured the festival was for adults, and I was quite happy to be proven wrong!
So, let’s get started!
1. Let Your Little Ones Play in the Interactive Play Areas – This year’s festival features two amazing play areas for children, with plenty of seating for Mom and Dad.
Back this year is Mater’s Parts, Plants & Play Garden, which features topiaries of favorite Cars characters, as well as climbing structures and games. Mater’s Parts, Plants & Play Garden is located near Test Track, and relatively close to the Festival Center. (Hint, leave the kids with the spouse and check out the Festival Center yourself, but be aware that is closes at 5:00!)
The featured play area this year is Mike & Sully’s Monstrous Garden. Located on the walkway between the Imagination Pavillion and World Showcase this play area is centrally located and easily accessible. If it is anything like last year’s Oz the Great and Powerful play area it will be completely fantastic. Expect some fantastic shaded lounge chairs for adults, as well as some uncovered benches and chairs, a soft AstroTurf ground, and plenty for kids of all ages to climb on and through, slide down, jump on and more. We spend hours at the Oz play area and I can tell you it was one of the most enjoyable activities of our entire trip. And, it is located close enough to the Canada Pavillion for you to send someone off to retrieve spiked Dole Whips (this year chose from Myer’s Dark Rum or Parrot Bay), and frozen Dessert Violet Lemonade for the kids (which is absolutely delicious) from the Pineapple Promenade booth.
2. Sample the Spring-Fresh Food and Beverages – Last year Epcot plussed the Flower & Garden Festival by adding Outdoor Kitchens and food kiosks throughout the park similar to those featured at the Food & Wine Festival each fall. This year they are back, with even more to offer.
One thing I really, really appreciated with these locations was the availability of fresh, healthy foods, many of which appeal to young children. Connor couldn’t get enough of the Frushi offered at the Japan Pavillion, and his other favorites included the Baked Brie in the UK (sadly this one doesn’t appear to be on the menu this year), the frozen Dessert Violet Lemonade, and the Pork Sliders in the American Adventure. We had a lot of fun snacking our way around Epcot while looking at the topiaries and taking in the festival activity stations.
3. Take in Some Music During the Flower Power Concert Series – During the weekends the American Garden Theatre comes alive with familiar musical acts from the 60s, 70s, or 80s. The concerts are upbeat and dancing is definitely encouraged. Little ones love this, as it allows them the opportunity to show off their killer dance moves, and there is nothing cuter than toddlers dancing their little hearts out. Adults love hearing acts from their “younger days”. Concerts take place at 5:30PM, 6:45PM and 8:30PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.
This year’s concert schedule features:
- The Guess Who on March 7, 8 & 9
- Gary Lewis & the Playboys on March 14, 15 & 16
- The Orchestra Starring Former Members of ELO on March 21, 22 & 23
- The Lovin’ Spoonful on March 28, 29 & 30
- Paul Revere & the Raiders on April 4, 5 & 6
- Village People on April 11, 12 & 13
- The Grass Roots on April 18, 19 & 20
- Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone on April 25, 26 & 27
- STARSHIP Starring Mickey Thomas on May 2, 3 & 4
- Chubby Checker & the Wildcats on May 9, 10 & 11
- Alan Parsons Live Project on May 16, 17 & 18
4. Spend Time Enjoying the Character & Seasonal Topiary Displays – When I was little our trips to Walt Disney World were topiary heavy. My little sister, Megan, was completely obsessed with them. Obsessed. In the days of film cameras I’m fairly certain we still managed to come home with more photos of topiaries than of people. But, her obsession was with good reason. The topiary displays throughout Epcot during the Flower & Garden Festival are absolutely breathtaking! Overall the Flower & Garden Festival houses over 100 topiary displays, and they feature everything from Mickey & Minnie in front of Spaceship Earth to Giant Pandas in the China Pavillion.
And, as night falls, the topiaries come alive with twinkling lights, creating a truly magical display through Epcot.
5. Take Advantage of Kid-Centered Activities – The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival has also gone to great lengths to create activities throughout the parks that appeal to children as well as adults, and/or created mini-play areas for children to enjoy while adults do a bit of learning or exploring. These make visiting the festival simpler for families, and quite honestly make the Epcot experience a lot nicer for young children who may otherwise find themselves bored touring the traditional World Showcase.
Not to miss spots this year include: Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House where you can experience hundreds of butterflies flitting about in carefully crafted habitats designed to attract different butterfly species, the Backyard Play Garden which features fun activities designed to get you moving and healthy, and the all new Muppet Kid Activities, which are described as a roaming entertainment throughout World Showcase (I can’t wait to hear more about this).
And, there you have it! My Top 5 Tips for a Disney Spring Break ~ Flower & Garden Festival version! I hope these inspire you to get out and explore what the festival has to offer! My son, Connor, had a blast at the festival last year, and in our 6-day trip requested that we spend our day at Epcot at least 3 times. For additional information please visit the official Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival website. Will you be visiting the Flower & Garden Festival this year? What tips would you add?
Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Orange this month. We will be back on March 27th with an all new theme. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with our Disney news, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.
Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:
1st Stop ~ I Am a Disney Nerd
2nd Stop ~ Disney with Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers
3rd Stop ~ Capturing Magical Memories
4th Stop ~ Adventure in the Great Wide Somewhere
Final Stop ~ Disney Mamas
More from my site
Connor’s Magic Kingdom Must-Dos for First Timers
Yes, it’s OKAY to Take Your Toddler to Disney!
5 Tips for Managing Crowds at Disney Parks
What’s New at the 2015 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
App Spotlight ~ Lines by TouringPlans for Walt Disney World and Disneyland
Disney Vacation Basics ~ Understanding FastPass+
You are right, there really is a lot to do with kids. What was the thing Connor wanted to go back for?
The Oz play area. We had to drag him out each time. It was the first time ever that something trumped the train display in Germany!
And that is saying something. My son loves that train!
Luckily my husband will happily watch Connor run back and forth on the little bridge while I shop! I always make sure to return with a snack from Caramel Kucher (or however you spell that place!)
We are excited to experience the festival again this year. The last time we went, we couldn’t get our daughter out of all the play areas! It’s a great family festival.
Enjoy a Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade for me!
When do you suggest heading into World Showcase to see the topiaries? Should we head over when it’s first open or go later in the day?
I’m not sure if we were just lucky, but we hardly experienced crowds last year, so there wasn’t a bad time to check out the topiaries. Because of Connor we did tend to leave in the mid-evening and didn’t get to see them lit up for evening though, so if possible check them out during the day and evening! I’m sure that does not help at all… 🙂
These are fabulous tips. We’ve managed to just miss the Flower & Garden Festival twice now, as we have been in Orlando the last weekend in May for the homeschool convention. Fortunately for us (because apparently I’m like your sister), we have gotten to see what’s left of the amazing topiaries and I have quite a few pictures!
This year, my daughter and I will be down there that same weekend, so we’ll miss it again. 🙁
I want to know what your favorite food item is at the kiosks.
A few years back the festival ran through the middle of June! I was sad when they changed that as that is when we typically visit.
That’s a tough question, but I think I’m going to say the baked brie with fruit compote. It was soooo good. Connor even enjoyed it and we had to purchase a second one! A 4-year old and brie, who would have guessed?! The Frushi was also fantastic.
Great post, Lin, thanks for sharing it with us! I’ve never been to the Flower & Garden Festival, but one year I’ll get my family down there. It usually starts right around my wife’s birthday, so that will be a great treat for her one year.
I hope you do! I’m not a gardener by any means so I didn’t expect to enjoy the festival as much as I did. It is a fantastic experience!
Were there many activities for older (grade school – Jr. High aged) kids?
The featured play area is a huge structure, and was full of elementary kids. I can’t remember if Jr. High students were included or not. However, there were a lot of older kids checking out the food kiosks, and the fitness stations along World Showcase.
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Great ideas!! Having a musician son we tend to frequent musical events as often as possible. How early should we arrive to ensure we have a good view of the acts?
Depending on the popularity of the acts I would say 30 minutes is probably enough time. Since they present the concerts three times it doesn’t get nearly as crazy as say, Candlelight Processional. But, if you have little ones skip the theatre itself and hang out between the theatre and American Adventure! More room for dancing!
I have always wanted to visit Epcot during the Flower and Garden festival, it is possible to see all of the displays during a 1 day trip to Epcot or does it require a two day visit?
Hi Dawn, thanks for stopping by! Yes, you can do much of the festival in a day. As long as your goal is to sample some food and take in the topiaries and displays it can easily be done in a single day. If you have little ones who want to play it may take more time, just based on their own needs. We did the majority of the festival itself in a single visit, and then just went back so Connor could play more and I could shop.
Yeah, sometimes you just have to accept the crowds and walk around doing and seeing what you can! Epcot certainly is good for that during the Festival. Great tips!
Thanks Lee! As a teacher I’ve never been to WDW when it wasn’t crowded, so its just normal to us!
I would love to attend the Flower and Garden Festival someday! The topiaries are so cool!
I’m supper excited to eat around the World Showcase at the open kitchens at Flower and Garden this year! Did you have any favorites from when you visited?
Definitely the baked brie in the UK, but it isn’t there this year. 🙁 The Frozen Desert Violet Lemonade was also fabulous, and I liked it much better than the Spiked Dole Whip, which I was NOT expecting.
I really want to visit F&G festival! It appeals to me more than Food & Wine. Did you spend most of your time doing the F&G events/ activities or doing the attractions that are always there?
Definitely the F&G activities. I’m not a big rides person, and at the time Connor was too short for Soarin’ and Test Track, and he hates Journey Into Imagination because of the skunk smell. So, we spent our time wandering around World Showcase eating and looking through all the Flower & Garden stations. I am super sad that I missed the Festival Center though! I didn’t realize that it closed at 5.
I do need to make a mental note about the Festival Center closing time if we ever go! I think I would spend my time touring WS too! I can do Epcot any ole time! 😉
I’m still sad that I missed out on the Festival Center. It didn’t even occur to me that it would close earlier than everything else, and it is so out of the way that there was no convenient time to go check it out.
I think I am absolutely giddy about getting to visit Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House this weekend! I’m with Connor- I think I’ll be spending most of my trip enjoying Epcot. The festival has added so much over the past couple of years. The play areas have been a wonderful bonus; we always say they should leave them up all year ’round. In general, the festival is attractive to children of all shapes and sizes!!
Exactly! I remember the first time I went I found it incredibly dull…literally just flowers! But now there is just so much to see and do! I can’t wait to see pictures of this year’s festival!
We have a Flower & Garden trip coming up and I can’t wait! I love having something else to do besides the attractions and we haven’t been during this time of year in a few years. Do you think the food booths are on par with the Food & Wine Festival?
I was at the F&G opening day today! I’m sure it’s not quite as many as F&W yet, but they have added a bunch of food booths. I’ll be writing about it for my Friday post on MMS 🙂
Loved the food booths last year! Excited to see what they offer this year (even if it won’t be in person)!
I’m not much of a drinker, and I’ve only been to Food & Wine once back in 2008 so I’m definitely not an expert. They seemed equitable for what we enjoy, and the crowds were a lot lighter!
Great tips! I was just at Epcot Flower & Garden today, and there are a lot of things for kids to do. Do you pack a change of clothes for when they play in the sprayers, or do you just let them air dry?
We managed to avoid the sprayers at Epcot last year, but at Magic Kingdom we just took his shirt and shoes off and it was sunny enough that his shorts dried pretty fast. I think we did pack an extra pair of undies. We are the family that takes nothing but the stroller, I don’t even carry a purse at WDW, so we do what we can to keep our needed items to the bare minimum.
We just missed the Oz playground last spring when we were there for Princess marathon weekend it looked great! Definitely the out-of-the way stuff is the way to go for those crowds!
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