EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival: A Guide to Disney World’s Spring Celebration
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival turns one of Walt Disney World’s most colorful parks into an even bigger garden.
For several weeks each spring, EPCOT fills with Disney character topiaries, flower beds, themed gardens, outdoor food booths, activities for kids, and live concerts. It’s included with regular EPCOT admission, so you don’t need a separate festival ticket.
The 2026 festival ran from March 4 through June 1. That event has now ended, and Disney says details for the 2027 festival will be announced later in 2026.
If you’re thinking about a future spring trip to Walt Disney World, here’s what makes the Flower & Garden Festival worth knowing about.
Disney Characters Made From Plants
The topiaries are usually the first thing people notice.
A topiary is a plant that has been grown, shaped, and trimmed into a design. At EPCOT, Disney takes that idea much further. The horticulture team creates large living displays inspired by familiar Disney and Pixar characters.
The 2026 festival featured more than 60 topiaries around the park.
Guests could find characters such as Tinker Bell, Simba, Winnie the Pooh, Princess Tiana, Snow White, Belle, Mirabel, Miguel, Lightning McQueen, Buzz Lightyear, Mike Wazowski, Groot, Stitch, and many others.
Some topiary scenes contain several characters together.
That makes exploring the park feel a little like a scavenger hunt. You may be walking toward your next ride when you suddenly spot a favorite character surrounded by flowers.
They’re also some of the best photo spots at EPCOT during spring.
The Gardens Are More Than Decoration
The character topiaries get much of the attention, but the festival is also packed with real gardens.
Disney reported more than 31 gardens and floral displays during the 2026 event.
Some are designed mainly to be beautiful. Others teach visitors about insects, food, water, fragrance, plants, and the natural world.
One popular stop is Butterfly Landing. Guests can walk through an area where butterflies can be seen up close among plants and flowers.
The Honey Bee-stro Garden focuses on honeybees and their role in our environment. The English Tea Garden explores plants used in tea. Another display shows how the water cycle helps crops grow.
There are also gardens meant for families.
During the 2026 festival, Camp Get Out ‘N’ Play Garden gave younger children a place to climb, jump, and play. That can be a nice break if kids have spent much of the day waiting in ride lines or walking around World Showcase.
Zinnia Varieties: Discover the Many Different Types of Zinnia Flowers. The gardens also give adults an excuse to slow down.
EPCOT can easily become a race from one attraction or dining reservation to another. Flower & Garden works best when you leave some time to wander.
Food Is a Big Part of the Festival
You certainly don’t have to be interested in gardening to enjoy this festival.
A lot of visitors come for the food.
Disney places temporary Outdoor Kitchens throughout EPCOT during the event. Think of them as small festival food stands serving snacks, desserts, drinks, and small plates.
The 2026 festival had more than 20 Outdoor Kitchens and introduced more than 75 new menu items.
The choices stretched across much of EPCOT.
There were seafood dishes, sliders, desserts, plant-based foods, international dishes, fruit drinks, cocktails, beer, and plenty of sweet snacks.
That small-plate format makes it easier to try several foods instead of committing to one large meal.
Families can share a few dishes. Adults can try something unfamiliar without ordering a full entrée. Kids can also find simpler choices among the festival menus.
Still, those little purchases add up quickly.
A good approach is to look at the festival menu before your visit and pick a few foods you really want to try. Otherwise, it’s surprisingly easy to buy something at every other booth.
Garden Graze Turns Snacking Into an Activity
The festival has also offered Garden Graze, a food stroll that gives guests another reason to explore.
In 2026, visitors could pick up a Festival Passport and use it to find participating Garden Graze foods.
After buying five eligible items and collecting stamps, guests could take the passport to the redemption location for a festival treat.
You didn’t have to complete everything at once.
That made Garden Graze easy to work into a regular EPCOT day instead of treating it as a separate activity. Spalding Flower Parade Then and Now.
Disney says the program is subject to change for future festivals, so check the current rules before planning around it.
There’s Plenty for Kids to Do
A festival about flowers may not sound like the most exciting Disney event for children.
There’s more going on than you might expect.
Beyond the character topiaries and play gardens, Disney has offered several activities designed around exploring the park.
Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration is a scavenger hunt based around Spike the Bee. Kids and adults search for Spike as they move around EPCOT.
Disney has also offered the seasonal Eggstravaganza scavenger hunt during part of the festival. Guests search World Showcase for Disney character-themed eggs.
Some of these activities may require an additional purchase.
Even without them, looking for topiaries can become a simple game for younger kids. Pick a few favorite characters and see who spots them first.
Butterfly Landing is another easy family stop, especially for children who enjoy animals and nature.
Garden Rocks Brings Live Music to EPCOT
As the day gets later, the festival changes mood.
Garden Rocks is the Flower & Garden Festival’s live concert series at America Gardens Theatre in World Showcase.
The 2026 lineup included performers such as Simple Plan, Billy Ocean, 38 Special, Chubby Checker, Sugar Ray, Rick Springfield, The Commodores, Air Supply, 98 Degrees, The Spinners, Queensrÿche, and Maverick City Music.
Disney also featured local Orlando performers.
Concert admission was included with EPCOT admission. Regular seating was available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For guests who wanted a guaranteed seat, Disney sold Garden Rocks Dining Packages. Those packages combined a meal at a participating EPCOT restaurant with reserved concert seating.
The performers change from year to year, so the concert schedule is one of the things you’ll want to check before choosing your park day.
A favorite band could easily make one festival date more appealing than another.
You Still Get Regular EPCOT
One nice thing about Flower & Garden is that EPCOT doesn’t stop being EPCOT.
The festival is layered onto the regular park experience.
You can still ride EPCOT attractions, visit World Showcase, eat at permanent restaurants, shop, and enjoy the normal entertainment.
Then you can add festival activities whenever they fit.
That makes the event flexible.
A family might spend most of the morning riding attractions, explore gardens after lunch, share a few festival foods in the afternoon, and finish the evening with a Garden Rocks concert.
Someone who loves gardening could do almost the opposite and spend hours looking at plants and horticultural displays.
You don’t have to experience every festival offering to enjoy it.
Do You Need a Special Ticket?
The Flower & Garden Festival itself is included with valid EPCOT admission.
You do not buy a separate ticket simply to see the gardens, topiaries, Outdoor Kitchens, or Garden Rocks concerts.
You do, of course, pay separately for food, drinks, merchandise, scavenger hunts, dining packages, and other optional purchases.
Disney also notes that a theme park reservation may be required depending on the type of admission you have.
Those rules can change.
Before buying tickets or making trip plans, check Disney’s current admission and park reservation requirements rather than relying on information from a previous festival year.
When Is the Next EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival?
As of August 2026, the 2026 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival has ended.
It ran from March 4 through June 1, 2026.
Disney says information about the next festival will be released later in 2026. Exact 2027 dates, food menus, topiaries, concerts, and special activities should not be assumed until Disney announces them.
Still, the festival has become a regular part of spring at EPCOT.
If you’re thinking about visiting Walt Disney World next spring, keep an eye on Disney’s announcements before locking in your dates.
Why Spring at EPCOT Feels Different
EPCOT is already a park where it’s fun to wander.
Flower & Garden gives you even more reasons not to rush.
You can find a Disney character made from living plants, watch butterflies, try a snack you’ve never had, let the kids run around a garden, and listen to a concert without leaving the park.
Some visitors will care most about the food. Others will come for a favorite Garden Rocks performer. And plenty of people simply enjoy seeing EPCOT covered in flowers.
That mix is what makes the festival work.
You don’t need to know much about gardening. You don’t even have to do every festival activity.
Sometimes the best part is simply walking around EPCOT on a spring day and seeing what’s in bloom.
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival turns one of Walt Disney World’s most colorful parks into an even bigger garden. For several weeks each spring, EPCOT fills with Disney character topiaries, flower beds, themed gardens, outdoor food booths, activities for kids, and live concerts. It’s included with regular EPCOT admission, so you don’t need…
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival turns one of Walt Disney World’s most colorful parks into an even bigger garden. For several weeks each spring, EPCOT fills with Disney character topiaries, flower beds, themed gardens, outdoor food booths, activities for kids, and live concerts. It’s included with regular EPCOT admission, so you don’t need…