Photos/Videos: Epcot Flower and Garden Festival 2023 is underway

The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival has begun and we have photos and a 20-minute montage video from opening day 2023 yesterday. This year’s festival is a long one, as it continues through July 5, 2023.

Disney theme park guests can explore lush gardens, purchase sweet and savory bites with refreshing sips, and shop new merchandise collections featuring Orange Bird, Snow White, and Figment.  Starting at sunset, guests can celebrate with a vibrant spectacle of light on Spaceship Earth set to a fresh and fun new Encanto soundtrack.

Enchanting Topiaries and Bright Blossoms 

Making their debut this year, topiaries of Mirabel, Antonio, Isabela, and Luisa from Disney Animation’s “Encanto” greet guests in the main entrance of Epcot. Each topiary features details inspired the character, including Isabela creating beautiful flowers between her hands and an illuminated butterfly for Mirabel.

A new topiary of Princess Tiana from the Walt Disney Animation Studios “The Princess and the Frog” graces The American Adventure in World Showcase featuring a ballgown and illuminated fireflies. In the France pavilion, Lumiere and Cogsworth topiaries return with innovative new elements, including lit candles for Lumiere and a working clock for Cogsworth.  

More than 200,000 bedding plants have been added to the gardens of Epcot for the festival, including an additional 60,000 bedding plants that create the floral designs that make up the World Celebration East and West Lakes. The Dragon topiary, located in the Japan pavilion, is composed of sun-loving succulent plants, adding bursts of colors to the nearly 20-foot-long display.  

Because this year’s festival will be celebrated across two seasons, plant displays will also evolve with the weather. Guests visiting during both spring and summer months may see new selections as the season changes. 

Find Fresh Flavors at Outdoor Kitchens 

With more than 15 Outdoor Kitchens located throughout the park, guests can enjoy more than 50 new food and drink items. 

Citrus flavors abound at The Citrus Blossom, now located at the Odyssey, including Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp with Orange-Chile Sauce; Citrus Baked Brie with preserved lemon marmalade, limoncello-macerated blueberries and spiced Marcona almonds; and a light and airy lemon meringue pie.  

Befitting Princess Tiana’s residence nearby, Magnolia Terrace in the American Adventure pavilion features a menu with several new Louisiana-inspired bites and sips, including Muffuletta Panini with ham, salami, mortadella, provolone, and Swiss with olive salad; Crawfish Pie, Bananas Foster Bread Pudding and Bayou Cocktail, featuring Bayou spiced rum, coconut rum, fruit punch, and orange juice. The crowd-pleasing Spicy Chicken Gumbo with andouille sausage returns to round out the menu. 

To showcase the freshest flavors of the season, Epcot Farmers Feast near Test Track will offer a rotating menu, changing three times throughout the festival. Highlights include Spice Cake with cream cheese icing and candied pecans and parsnip on the Early Bloom Menu; Grilled Swordfish with crushed fingerling potatoes, pea and mint purée, grilled asparagus, and lemon beurre blanc on the Springtime Menu; and Sweet Corn Crème Brûlée with corn biscotti on the Summer Solstice Menu. 

Guests can also take a tasty tour through the gardens and explore Epcot with Garden Graze, a fresh food stroll highlighting 11 delicious sweet and savory plant-based offerings – all listed in the free Festival Passport. 

Captivating Concerts Nightly at Garden Rocks 

The ever-popular Garden Rocks Concert Series returns to the America Garden Theatre with big-name acts Friday through Monday, with local Orlando talent rocking the house Tuesday through Thursday. This year’s lineup includes: 

• Glass Ceiling
  March 1 & 2
• Journey Former Lead Vocalist Steve Augeri
  March 3 & 4
• Daughtry
  March 5 & 6
• Audio Exchange
  March 7 to 9
• Tommy DeCarlo
  March 10 & 11
• Smash Mouth
  March 12 & 13
• Element
  March 14 to 16
• Mike DelGuidice
  March 17 & 18 
• Blue Oyster Cult (NEW)
  March 19 & 20
• The Vybe
  March 21 to 23
• Berlin
  March 24 & 25
• The Pointer Sisters
  March 26 & 27
• The Female Collective
  March 28 to 30
• Luis Figueroa (NEW)
  March 31
• Piso 21 (NEW)
  April 1 & 2
• Melina León
  April 3
• Epic
  April 4 to 6
• STARSHIP featuring Mickey Thomas
  April 7 & 8
• Don Felder, formerly of the Eagles
  April 9 & 10
• Foregniers Journey
  April 11 to 13
• Blue October
  April 14 & 15
• Switchfoot (NEW)
  April 16 & 17
• Evolution: Motown
  April 18 to 20
• A Flock of Seagulls
  April 21 & 22
• Jo Dee Messina
  April 23 & 24
• Hooligans
  April 25 to 27
• Ambrosia with Peter Beckett, The Voice Of Player
  April 28 & 29
• Kool & The Gang
  April 30 & May 1
• The Finesse Party Band
  May 2 to 4
• Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
  May 5 to 8
• Latin Ambition
  May 9 to 11
• The Orchestra starring former members of ELO
  May 12 to 15
• 506 Crew
  May 16 to 18
• A.J. Croce: Croce Plays Croce (NEW)
  May 19 & 20
• Casting Crowns (NEW)
  May 21 & 22
• M-80’s
  May 23 to 25
• Jason Scheff, longtime lead singer of Chicago (NEW)
  May 26 & 27
• Rick Springfield
  May 28 & 29
• Champagne Orchestra 
  May 30 to June 1
• Plain White T’s
  June 2 to 5
• Glass Ceiling
  June 6 to 8
• The Spinners
  June 9 & 10
• The Commodores
  June 11 & 12
• Element
  June 13 to 15
• Vertical Horizon
  June 16 & 17
• Tony Orlando
  June 18 & 19
• Foregniers Journey
  June 20 to 22
• Simple Plan
  June 23 to 26
• Epic
  June 27 to 29
• Living Colour
  June 30 & July 1
• Wang Chung
  July 2 & 3
• Evolution: Motown
  July 4 & 5

Dining packages for lunch and dinner are available at eight locations with guaranteed seating at the Garden Rock Concert Series. Visit FreshEPCOT.com for dining package availability.  

Now through March 31, guests can also take advantage of their last opportunity to enjoy Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration by hunting for golden statues featured in the Disney Fab 50 Character Collection. Through April 2, guests can finish their day of fun with the sights and sounds of “Harmonious,” a nighttime spectacular celebrating the power of Disney music and stories to inspire and unite us all. 

The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is included with valid theme park admission and a park reservation for the same date. Guests can visit FreshEPCOT.com for more information.