Flower and Garden is back and I could not be happier! Out of all the Epcot festivals, this one is absolutely my favorite. From the food to the florals, I feel like this festival just gets me and this year it started on my birthday which made it that much more special. This will be the first of a few posts about Flower & Garden, but for now I am going to start with how opening day went, what was great, and what was not.
After eating at Riviera for breakfast, we took the Skyliner to Epcot. I was shocked by how dead the park was, but with the opening of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios, I just figured most of the park traffic was over there. As excited as we were to see that the crowds were low, we immediately ran into some issues with the festival that were somewhat disappointing. The festival merchandise is BEAUTIFUL this year. I would say it consists of two collections: an orange bird collection and a pastel collection. I went to purchase some things using a gift card I had gotten for my birthday only to find out that all of the merchandise booths were unable to run gift cards, credit cards, or debit cards due to technical issues. I had to go and take out cash to purchase everything. The second issue was that several of the food booths were not open because, according to a cast member, “Tinkerbell didn’t drop off the pixie dust in time.” In other words, they didn’t have the supplies necessary to open.
Yes the park was beautiful and we were so happy to be there, but at least three of the booths we wanted to try were closed the whole time we were there. They are now open, but as far as a first day goes, I don’t know that it was a swinging success.
I will say all of the food and drinks we tried at the festival were fantastic and I was excited to see the added Remy topiary this year. Another big plus? There are TWO playgrounds for kids to run around. One by Test Track and one off the walkway to World Showcase by Journey into your imagination.
I think the first day was maybe just an off day and I am excited to see more of what the festival has to offer. To see all the food and drinks we tried, make sure you check out our Instagram highlights for Flower and Garden!
Marvelous Mrs. Morin 