New topiaries, more than 50 new food offerings and exciting new merchandise collections welcome guests to this beloved springtime celebration
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (February 27, 2023) – Spring is in bloom at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival! Beginning March 1 and continuing through July 5, 2023, EPCOT will blossom with innovative topiaries, fresh flavors and high-energy concerts for the whole family to enjoy.
Over 127 days, guests can explore lush gardens, sample sweet and savory bites with refreshing sips, and shop new merchandise collections featuring Orange Bird, Snow White and Figment. Starting at sunset, festival guests can celebrate with a vibrant spectacle of light on Spaceship Earth set to a fresh and fun new soundtrack.
Enchanting Topiaries and Bright Blossoms
Making their debut this year, topiaries of Mirabel, Antonio, Isabela and Luisa from Disney Animation’s Academy Award-winning “Encanto” greet guests in the main entrance of EPCOT. Each imaginative topiary features details inspired by each character, including Isabela creating beautiful flowers between her hands and an illuminated butterfly for Mirabel.
A new topiary of Princess Tiana from the Walt Disney Animation Studios classic “The Princess and the Frog” graces The American Adventure in World Showcase featuring a stunning ballgown and illuminated fireflies. In the France pavilion, Lumiere and Cogsworth topiaries return with innovative new elements, including lit candles for Lumiere and a working clock for Cogsworth.
More than 200,000 bedding plants are added to the gardens of EPCOT for the festival, including an additional 60,000 bedding plants that create the iconic floral designs that make up the World Celebration East & West Lakes. The Dragon topiary, located in the Japan pavilion, is composed of sun-loving succulent plants, adding bursts of colors to the nearly 20-foot-long display.
Because this year’s festival will be celebrated across two seasons, plant displays will also evolve with the weather, making for true seasonal beauty and detail. Guests visiting during both spring and summer months may see new selections as the season changes.
Find Fresh Flavors at Outdoor Kitchens
With more than 15 Outdoor Kitchens located throughout the park, guests can enjoy the freshest flavors as spring gives way to summer, including more than 50 new food and drink items.
Citrus flavors abound at The Citrus Blossom, now located at the Odyssey, including Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp with Orange-Chile Sauce; Citrus Baked Brie with preserved lemon marmalade, limoncello-macerated blueberries and spiced Marcona almonds; and a light and airy lemon meringue pie.
Befitting Princess Tiana’s residence nearby, Magnolia Terrace in the American Adventure pavilion features a menu with several new Louisiana-inspired bites and sips, including Muffuletta Panini with ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, and Swiss with olive salad; Crawfish Pie, Bananas Foster Bread Pudding and Bayou Cocktail, featuring Bayou spiced rum, coconut rum, fruit punch, and orange juice. The crowd-pleasing Spicy Chicken Gumbo with andouille sausage and BEN’S ORIGINAL™ Long Grain & Wild Rice returns to round out the menu.
To showcase the freshest flavors of the season, EPCOT Farmers Feast near Test Track® presented by Chevrolet® will offer a rotating menu, changing three times throughout the festival, featuring the finest local ingredients. Highlights include Spice Cake with cream cheese icing and candied pecans and parsnip on the Early Bloom Menu; Grilled Swordfish with crushed fingerling potatoes, pea and mint purée, grilled asparagus, and lemon beurre blanc on the Springtime Menu; and Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée with corn biscotti on the Summer Solstice Menu.
Guests can also take a tasty tour through the gardens and explore EPCOT with Garden Graze, a fresh food stroll highlighting 11 delicious sweet and savory plant-based offerings – all listed in the Festival Passport.
Captivating Concerts Nightly at Garden Rocks
The ever-popular Garden Rocks Concert Series returns to the America Garden Theatre this spring featuring internationally recognized artists Friday through Monday and local Orlando talent rocking the house Tuesday through Thursday. This year’s lineup includes:
- Smash Mouth
- Blue Oyster Cult (New)
- The Pointer Sisters
- Luis Figueroa (New)
- Piso 21 (New)
- Switchfoot (New)
- AJ Croce (New)
- Casting Crowns (New)
- Jason Scheff (New)
- Plain White T’s
- Simple Plan
- And many others!
Dining packages for lunch and dinner are available at eight EPCOT locations with guaranteed seating at the Garden Rock Concert Series. Visit FreshEPCOT.com for full concert lineup and dining package availability.
In addition to enjoying the festival, guests can explore the endless possibilities that EPCOT has to offer. Help save the galaxy on Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, shrink to the size of Remy on Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, dine with Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall and so much more. Now through March 31, guests can also take advantage of their last opportunity to enjoy Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration by hunting for golden statues featured in the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection. Through April 2, guests can finish their day of fun with the sights and sounds of “Harmonious,” a nighttime spectacular celebrating the power of Disney music and stories to inspire and unite us all.
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is included with valid theme park admission and a park reservation for the same date. Guests can visit DisneyWorld.com for more information about planning their visit.
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Source: wdwnews.com
