EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival 2022 Preview: What’s Returning? What’s New?

February 13, 2022September 16, 2022 Erin Foster 0 Comments EPCOT, EPCOT Festivals, EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival

The 2022 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival is happening from March 2 to July 4. The Festival will include the typical components of every EPCOT festival: commemorative merchandise, themed entertainment, educational elements, park decor, and, of course, food booths.

Merchandise

This year’s festival will have five different merchandise design groupings: Orange Bird, Mickey Mouse Home Garden, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Figment’s Garden, and Spike the Bee. Each design line will be featured on clothing, collectibles, housewares and other items. Spike the Bee and Orange Bird both figured heavily in last year’s designs as well.

2021 Orange Bird drink sipper and outdoor kitchen treats from the Citrus Blossom booth.

In addition to the Disney-themed merchandise items, other Festival merchandise kiosks will feature sustainable goods or items made from natural elements.

Themed Entertainment

The Garden Rocks Concert series is back at the Festival. Taking place most nights at the America Gardens pavilion, the lineup includes:

March 4 & 5: The Guess Who
March 6 & 7: Rick Springfield
March 11 & 12: Melina León – NEW to Garden Rocks
March 13 & 14: CeCe Winans
March 18 & 19: Mike DelGuidice, currently on tour with Billy Joel – NEW to Garden Rocks
March 20 & 21: Kool & The Gang – NEW to Garden Rocks
March 25 to 28: The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
April 1 & 2: The Spinners
April 3 & 4: The Pointer Sisters
April 8 & 9: Blue October – NEW to Garden Rocks
April 10 & 11: TBD
April 15 & 16: Tommy DeCarlo, singer of the band BOSTON – NEW to Garden Rocks
April 17 & 18: Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles
April 22 & 23: STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
April 24 & 25: Claudia Leitte – NEW to Garden Rocks
April 29 & 30: Berlin
May 1 & 2: TobyMac
May 6 & 7: Blood, Sweat & Tears
May 8 & 9: The Commodores – NEW to Garden Rocks
May 13 & 14: Ambrosia with Peter Beckett – NEW to Garden Rocks
May 15 & 16: TBD
May 20 & 21: A Flock of Seagulls
May 22 & 23: Collin Raye – NEW to Garden Rocks
May 27 & 28: Thelma Houston – NEW to Garden Rocks
May 29 & 30: Little River Band
June 3 to 6: Simple Plan
June 10 to 13: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
June 17 to 20: Plain White T’s

Garden Rocks dining packages are available during select Festival dates. Booking a dining package gives you guaranteed seating at a concert, with less time waiting in line. Reserve through the dining portal on the Disney World website or the My Disney Experience app.

Note: A theme park admission ticket and park reservation are both required.

Educational Elements

No Epcot Festival would be complete without some educational elements and, not surprisingly, the F&G education comes in the form of information about plants and nature such as:

Blossoms of Fragrance Garden Presented by Scentsy – NEW World Showcase Bridge. Learn about how fragrance influences humans.
Bambi’s Butterfly House – near the Imagination pavilion. Walk through a tent filled with live butterflies in every stage of their development. Signage inside describes butterfly habitats and lifecycles.
Honey Bee-stro, hosted by the National Honey Board – near the Imagination pavilion. Learn about honeybees’ critical role in the environment.
Tropical Rainforest Garden – Mexico Pavilion. Learn about the biodiversity of the Mexican rainforest and learn about its highly adaptive species.
Bamboo Garden – China Pavilion. See bamboo in a variety of colors, patterns and sizes.
Garden Italiano – Italy Pavilion. A Tuscan kitchen garden features produce and herbs used in Italian cooking.
Bonsai Collection – Japan Pavilion. Learn about the living sculpture art of bonsai. Bonsai masters carefully shape and tend these miniature works of art, creating peace and balance with the earth.
Spice Garden – Morocco Pavilion. Discover how Eastern cultures flourished, trading signature spices and herb blends, once considered more valuable than gold.
France Bouquet Garden NEW – France pavilion. See bountiful blooms perfect for a bouquet of cut flowers.
English Tea Garden Presented by Twinings – UK pavilion. Explore the history and art of tea-blending.
Shakespeare Garden – UK Pavilion. Rediscover Shakespeare in this idyllic garden featuring excerpts from some of the Bard’s most famous sonnets—and the dazzling flowers that influenced them.
Prehistoric Garden – World Discovery near Mission: SPACE. Imagine life on Earth 65 million years ago with astounding plant life that’s thrived since the age of the dinosaurs.
Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration – an interactive springtime scavenger hunt for gardeners of all ages. To get started, purchase your map and stickers ($9.99 + tax) at select merchandise locations (available while supplies last). Once you have completed your scavenger hunt, return your completed map to Disney Traders or World Traveler for a special surprise.

Park Decor

One of the main draws of the Flower & Garden Festival are the stunning topiary displays located throughout the park. The signature topiary this year will be Goofy and a Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary Celebration Cake located at the EPCOT’s main entrance. Sorcerer Mickey Mouse, Brooms, Ostriches, Hippo and Gator will welcome guests at the World Showcase entrance to the park.

Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore topiaries at the 2021 Flower & Garden Festival

Additional topiaries will include:

Woody, Bo Peep and Her Sheep – The Land Pavilion
Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Huey, Dewey and Louie – near the bridge to World Showcase
Pluto and Chip ‘n’ Dale – American Adventure Pavilion
Buzz Lightyear – near Mission: SPACE
Figment – Imagination pavilion
The Three Caballeros (Jose, Donald and Panchito) – Mexico Pavilion
Anna and Elsa – Norway Pavilion
Troll – Norway Pavilion
Dragon – Japan Pavilion near Torii Gate
Pandas – China Pavilion
Simba and Friends (Rafiki, Simba, Mufasa and Sarabi) – Between the Imagination and Land Pavilions
Pumbaa and Timon – Between the Imagination and Land Pavilions
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – Germany Pavilion
Lady and the Tramp – Italy Pavilion
Beauty and the Beast – France Pavilion
Lumiere and Cogsworth – France Pavilion
Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy – Germany Pavilion
Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tick Tock – Between the UK and Canada Pavilions
Winnie the Pooh and Friends (Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet and Tigger) – United Kingdom Pavilion
Tinker Bell’s Fairy House Garden – United Kingdom Pavilion
Bambi and Friends – near the Imagination Pavillion

Even the miniature train setup at the Germany Pavilion will be festooned with F&G signage and decor.

Click here for a look back at all the 2021 topiaries.

Outdoor Kitchens (aka Food Booths)

For a full look at last year’s Festival booth eats, check out our 2021 food posts Part One, Part Two, Part Three, best bets for fussy eaters, and all the cocktails.

This year’s festival will feature 18 outdoor kitchens, including:

Bauernmarkt Farmer’s Market (located near Germany): You can’t go wrong at this booth. In 2021, both versions of the potato pancakes were tasty and filling. The toasted pretzel bread was a hearty meal. But the warm cheese strudel was the real star.
Cider House (located Near the United Kingdom): We found the 2021 offering here to be just so-so.
The Citrus Blossom (located near Port of Entry) Last year we enjoyed the citrus-braised pork belly and citrus shortcake. We found the Meyer lemon poached lobster salad to be undercooked and overpriced. Look for NEW food items in 2022.
EPCOT Farmers Feast (located near Test Track): In 2021 we were lukewarm on the spring onion soup, but the beet trio and duck confit were delightful.
EPCOT Sunshine Griddle (located near Test Track): In 2021 we loved the avocado toast with marinated tomatoes and fresh goat cheese. The shrimp and grits and the fried cinnamon roll bites with candied bacon were also yummo, but skip the corned beef hash – we found it to be too much of muchness.
Flavor Full Kitchen (located between Imagination! and Refreshment Port)
Fleur de Lys (located near France): It’s French food – so the fact that we loved all the offerings in 2021 is not surprising. Even simple dishes like the onion tart are sublime.
Hanami (located near Japan): The shrimp and crab with spicy mayo was hit in 2021, as was the soy-glazed pork shank, but the frushi was a bad version of this normally fine dessert.
The Honey Bee-stro (located near Port of Entry)
Jardin de Fiestas (located near Mexico)
La Isla Fresca (located between Morocco and France): A quote from our 2021 review of this booth – “This booth overall gets a “Skip! Skip! Skip!” rating from our team.”
Lotus House (located near China): This booth is home to one of our 2021 favorites, the papa cakes (potato cakes filled with shrimp and water chestnuts). Another solid choice was the bon bon chicken skewers with peanut sauce. Skip the crab and cheese wontons, they’re only average.
Magnolia Terrace (located near American Adventure) 2021’s entree offering were disappointing, but the pecan cake with maple whipped cream was an outstanding choice. Look for NEW food items this year.
Northern Bloom (located near Canada): This booth was home to some of our 2021 favorites. The seared scallops, beef tenderloin, and maple pound cake were all fantastic.
Pineapple Promenade (located near Port of Entry): In 2022 we found these booth to be underwhelming. The spicy hot dog was super small and the buttermilk cake needed more berries.
Primavera Kitchen (located near Italy): In 2021 there was nothing really wrong with pizza and cannoli offered here, but there was nothing particularly right about them either. Best for unadventurous eaters.
Tangierine Café: Flavors of the Medina (located near Morocco) look for NEW food items
Trowel & Trellis (located near Disney Traders): In 2021 we enjoyed the grilled street corn and the lavender blueberry cake; take a pass on the rest.