Bill Heneghan
Flowers, food and fun are taking over Epcot this spring with the return of the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. Topiaries of beloved Disney characters, gardening seminars by HGTV personalities, outdoor kitchens featuring garden-fresh flavors, and a groovy line-up of entertainers from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s will be in bloom until May 18.
Along the shores of The World Showcase, you will find a taste (both food and drink) of each continent with a spring-time flair. New this year is the Urban Farm Eats kitchen, which features an all-natural menu of ingredients that are homegrown. Some dishes, like the eggplant “scallop” with romesco sauce and spaghetti squash, are made with ingredients grown in The Land Pavilion. New to The Smokehouse barbecue marketplace are Piggylicious bacon cupcakes with maple frosting and pretzel crunch in honor of the debut of Kermit and Miss Piggy topiaries.
These newbies will join Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and of course those famous mice, Mickey and Minnie in topiaries that can be found around the park, along with many more Disney favorites. You can also find gardens throughout the park, including the Florida Fresh Garden near the Germany Pavilion, which features Florida crops like citrus, sugar cane and berries.
To top off an afternoon of eating and drinking the freshest of flavors while enjoying the seminars, gardens, and topiaries, make a pit stop at one of the shows in the Flower Power Concert Series at the America Gardens Theatre. Featured artists include the Village People from April 11 – April 13 and Herman’s Hermits from April 25 – 27. Get your groove on with their popular hits from the past.
Make a weekend of it by reserving a room at one of the Epcot resort hotels and enjoying a vacation in your own backyard. The Boardwalk Inn is an excellent choice not only because of the beautiful lake views and vast entertainment options along the boardwalk, but because you can park your car and forget about it. It is just a short walk past the boardwalk to Epcot, and you enter at the International Gateway right in the middle of The World Showcase.
