If you’re visiting Walt Disney World’s Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT park, you’ll need some help to get it all in. With over 70 Topiaries and Gardens, and more than 20 outdoor kitchens, you pretty much need a checklist. But, what if you just want to stroll the day away and grab a few good things to eat instead. No matter your plan, we’re sharing out best Flower and Garden Festival Tips in this post. From which days to visit, to how to save money, we hope this post helps you on your next trip to the Garden Festival at EPCOT.
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Best Days to Visit
It’s true that EPCOT Park isn’t as crowded as Magic Kingdom. It is however, quite big, and the #1 park for the locals and passholders. Mostly due to the food selections and the drinks, you can always count on EPCOT Park to be busy during the weekends, and weeknight evenings from Thursday- Sunday.
- Aim for a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday
How Many Days Should you Plan for the Flower and Garden Festival?
Plan at least 1 full day at Epcot to really enjoy the Flower and Garden Festival. We usually block off 2 days since the booths have so many great foods and drinks to try.
Best Time to Visit
We always recommend you visit any EPCOT festival on a weekday. And try to get your most important things done before 4 PM. After dinnertime, the crowds tend to get heavier, as people get off work and head to the park.
Arrive When the Park Opens
EPCOT Park hours are typically 9:00 AM- 9:00 PM. However, the Festival Booths don’t actually open until 11:00 AM. Don’t let that deter you! There is plenty to do, so that you can frontload your EPCOT day and make the most of your time in the park. It’s easy to use this time to check out the giftshops, grab your Festival gift cards, or ride some rides. You can also start playing the Spike the Bee Scavenger Hunt Game in the World Showcase.
Maximize Your Morning
If you’re in the park as soon as it opens you’ll be there at 9 AM, which is two hours before World Showcase opens. This gives you time to ride rides and cover ground at the front of the park and get your bearings. The areas to cover between 9AM and 11AM are at the front of the park; World Nature, World Celebration and World Discovery. The best things to do during the early hours of the Flower and Garden Festival are some of the most fun.
- Grab a Coffee, or Breakfast. But beware the lines. Les Halles Boulangerie Patisserie is our favorite place to grab breakfast on Festival days. And of course, Starbucks is always an option.
- Visit the Topiaries and take pictures. Fewer people will be in the park early, so you can grab great photos.
- Head to the Butterfly House! One of the most popular attractions, an early morning visit means fewer crowds. The Butterfly House is open throughout the early months of the festival but may not be around by May; go early if you’re hoping to see it.
- Check out the How to Gardens. These specialty gardens can be found listed in your Festival Passport Book
Review the Festival Menus Ahead of Time
While this may seem like over-planning, we promise you, it will make your day easier. We share the EPCOT Flower and Garden Menus as soon as they’re announced, so you can see the early. Why does this matter? Because the booths are scattered all over the park, so you may spend more of your time just walking then eating. As such, check out the menus and circle what you want to try. Each booth location is noted on the menu so you can plan which places to stop and which to skip.
Set Aside Enough Money
Plan between $7- $10 for either a dish or drink at each booth. This will be a single serve dish, so plan “Per Person,” for the places you want to stop. This is an average cost, and will help you decide what amount to allot on your Festival Gift Card. It’s also another great reason to review the menus ahead of time, so that you can budget costs for the day. Keep in mind that alcohol is typically closer to $9-$17 depending on what you order.
Pay with a Gift Card
This advice is two fold for both ease and saving money. For convenience, you can grab the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival special wristlet gift cards. These are exclusive to the festival and a great souvenir. You can load as little as $15 on these and these are always, always, a great way to keep your spending under control.
Alternatively, you can load your Garden Festival budget on a Discounted Disney Gift Cards ahead of time so that you can save some money. Grab one for each member of your family so you can allow some freedom while still keeping tabs on budget. You can get a discounted Disney Gift Card by paying for it with a cash back credit card or your Target RedCard for a 5% discount. Or buying them at a local grocery that gives you grocery and fuel discounts.
Skip the Restaurants
On your Flower and Garden Festival Day, you will be amazed at just how much food there is to try. As a result we recommend you skip a restaurant meal and save some money. Challenge yourself to piece your meals together from the amazing foods showcased in each country. This method will help you get a wider variety of food, help you feel like you’re not missing anything, and save you money on tips, and time eating at a restaurant.
Grab Breakfast Early
Whether you’ve grabbed breakfast at your resort, or snacked a granola bar on the way to the park, you want to make sure you grab food at some point. We also like grabbing food at EPCOT, before the booths open.
Since Epcot has varying open hours (9 am, 10 am or 11 am depending on the day) our best trick is to have a light breakfast in France at La Halles Boulangerie-Patisserie. This place is open in France, near the International Gateway. A walk-up quick-serve restaurant , you can grab a croissant and coffee before heading into your garden day. Eating here also gets you pretty close to all the action for when those ropes do drop.
Ride the Rides Early
We talked about maximizing your morning, and adding in ride time is a big part of that. Aim for the 9 AM- 11AM time period for rides, so you can prioritize booths and garden browsing when the festival opens. If you’re adding rides to your Festival day, aim for the earliest Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy or Soarin’ timeslot you can get.
We are usually among groups of people walking insanely fast to the Land building to catch Soarin’ at the rope drop hour. But, know that a little morning rush here could save you a lot of time later! Or you can grab a Lightning Lane Pass for any ride to ensure minimal waiting in lines.
Stay at an EPCOT Resort
Want to make your Epcot Festival trip easier? Did you know that there are Resorts on the Disney Boardwalk that are within walking distance of EPCOT Park? To avoid the crowds, school groups and skip the lines for Disney transportation, you can simply choose a Disney EPCOT Resort instead and walk to and from the park as needed. Epcot Resorts are Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Beach and Yacht Club and Disney Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve Hotels. The Beach Club is the closet resort to EPCOT, but you can expect about a 5- 15 minute walk from these hotels to the park.
Flower and Garden Festival Tips and Tricks
There you have it! Our best tips for helping you make the most your Garden Festival at EPCOT trip. Know that these tricks work for all the EPCOT Festivals and are a great way to really make the most of your day. Be sure to check out our Guide to the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT for all the details.
Rochelle Mariah is a writer, designer and photographer. Determined to make Planning a DIY Disney Vacation easier she makes lots of lists and drinks lots of coffee. When not designing apparel at Polka Dot Pixie Shop, she’s watching old movies and planning the holidays. She has been traveling to Disney destinations since 2010.
