2017 Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Highlights and Behind-the-Scenes Video

In 2017, Epcot introduced the Festival of the Arts, adding to its already packed festival lineup. Between Festival of the Arts, Flower and Garden, Food and Wine, and Holidays Around the World, Epcot is a festival destination for nine months of the year. Only summer months—June, July, and August—remain festival-free, as World Showcase needs space for summer crowds.

The 2017 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival truly stood out as the most beautiful of all Epcot’s festivals. Not only did it mark the beginning of spring, but it also transformed the park into a colorful paradise of over 7 million trees, shrubs, and flowers. Meanwhile, the Disney Horticulture Department carefully manages this magical transformation, along with the maintenance of Walt Disney World’s 25,000 acres.

Flower & Garden Festival Quick Facts

• 90 days long, making it one of the longest flower festivals in the U.S.
• 100 Disney character topiaries on display, including a 20-foot-long dragon topiary.
• 200 floating gardens and 40 flower towers with over 77,000 bedding plants.
• 600 butterflies flutter through Butterflies on the Go.
• 40 flower towers are added to Future World, each with 250 four-inch annuals.
• The Dragon Topiary is the longest topiary at Walt Disney World, nearly 20 feet long.

Some quick facts: Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

Flower and Garden Festival is a photographer’s dream!!! One of the many reasons I love Flower and Garden – every time you turn around there is another beautiful picture right in front of you, ready to be taken.  Be sure to check some of my 2017 favorites below.

And if the beautiful landscape and 26 “Destination Gardens,” including Prehistoric Plants, Seed Sanctuary, Backyard Habitat, Bamboo Garden, Alpine Containers, and Japanese Mini Gardens, aren’t enough of a reason to walk around the World Showcase, add the “Outdoor Kitchens.”

Outdoor Kitchens & Garden Passport

Outdoor Kitchens around World Showcase served farm-to-table dishes with locally sourced ingredients. The Garden Passport guided visitors through 15 food stops, featuring specialties like Pineapple Promenade and The Berry Basket. Each stop offered creative cuisine and drinks inspired by the season.

• Self-Guided Tour, get information at the Tea Caddy
• English Tea Garden Tour: A Complimentary Guided Tour. Note: Same-day signup and limited availability. – Sign up in the Tea Caddy
• Royal Tea Garden Tour; This VIP tour includes samplings of tea and scones for $15 – Book in advance at 407-WDW-TOUR

Garden Rocks Concert Series

The Garden Rocks Concert Series brought music to the festival, expanding to Friday through Monday performances. Acts like The Pointer Sisters, Gin Blossoms, and Night Ranger entertained guests at the American Gardens Theatre.

Family Fun & Activities

The festival truly offered something for every age group. For example, kids especially loved the themed play gardens, such as Road to the Florida 500, which featured topiaries of Cars 3 characters like Lightning McQueen and Cruz Ramirez. Furthermore, the Kidcot Garden Stops were a 2017 addition, allowing young guests to learn more about fruits and berries from around the world.

Additionally, the Musical Garden Melodies play area encouraged kids to explore music with drums and chimes. Meanwhile, the Egg-Stravaganza scavenger hunt sent them on an exciting adventure to find hidden eggs around World Showcase.

For nature lovers, the Purple Martin Garden near Test Track offered fascinating insight into the migration of songbirds traveling nearly 3,000 miles from the Brazilian Amazon to Walt Disney World. Moreover, the Butterfly House remained an annual favorite, giving guests the chance to observe butterflies up close and learn about their lifecycle.

Butterflies on the Go, or as we call it “The Butterfly House,” has certainly become an annual tradition. In fact, the exhibit is filled with butterflies and provides youngsters with the chance to get an up-close view while learning about the butterfly lifecycle. Additionally, have your camera ready, because you never know where a butterfly might land or just how close you’ll be able to get. And finally, watch your step! ;-)

Kids can join the Egg-Stravaganza by searching for hidden eggs scattered around World Showcase. Once they find them all, they can return their completed map for a special prize. Unlike in previous years, when the Easter egg hunt was only available during Easter week, the Egg-Stravaganza now runs throughout the entire festival—or, as Disney says, “while supplies last.” As a result, this change made it much easier for my family to participate for the first time, especially since we could avoid the busy Easter week crowds.

A new addition for 2017 was the introduction of Kidcot Garden Stops. Be sure to grab a Kidcot Garden Stop Field Guide at any Garden Stop around World Showcase. Created specifically for the 2017 Flower & Garden Festival, this booklet helps younger guests learn about fruits and berries from around the world as they explore all 11 World Showcase pavilions.

The Kidcot Garden Stops are a re-themed version of the traditional Kidcot Fun Stops. In fact, as far as I can tell, this is the first time these locations have been tied to one of Epcot’s four festivals. Clearly, it’s a refreshing change for the little ones. Perhaps this could be the start of a revolving Kidcot theme for each festival or maybe even a Flower & Garden exclusive. Additionally, will Duffy and Perry return for the summer crowd? Only time will tell. However, I truly appreciate the effort to expand kids’ activities and better connect them to the overall festival theme.

For the full Flower & Garden Festival experience, make sure to visit the Festival Center. Since it’s only open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., you’ll need to plan your visit carefully. Each weekend offers complimentary gardening presentations, as well as opportunities to learn from horticulture and outdoor specialists. It’s a perfect way to gather helpful tips for creating or improving your own garden at home.

Additionally, while festival-exclusive merchandise is available throughout World Showcase, the Festival Center serves as the main shopping hub. Here, you’ll find everything from passholder exclusives to festival-themed mugs, t-shirts, hats, garden figures, and collectible pins. Furthermore, visiting vendors change based on the weekend’s theme, so there’s always something new to discover.

The information desk includes information and handouts regarding “how to” including; Floating Gardens, Irrigation, Hanging Baskets, and Topiaries – all scanned and available at SamsDisneyDiary.com here along with a weekend schedule and some cool “Festival and Horticulture Facts.”

Also in the Festival Center, don’t miss the “Disney Horticulture Heritage” exhibit, tracking the history of Disney horticulture from Walt himself to the history of the Flower and Garden Festival.

Behind the Scenes at the Festival

The Festival Center was the heart of the experience. Open Friday through Sunday, it featured gardening presentations, exclusive merchandise, and an exhibit on Disney Horticulture Heritage. The hidden gem was The Making of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2017, a 45-minute documentary on how the festival is created.

Since it wasn’t available to purchase, I recorded the full presentation, which inspired a special SamsDisneyDiary episode. You can watch the full video right here!

The full Photo Report for the Flower and Garden Festival 2017 is below!