EPCOT's Flower & Garden Festival 2017

Courtesy of Julia Sclove

A few weeks ago I spent a weekend at Disney World (trip #18!). We went for two reasons other than to just have fun: The Rundisney Dark Side Half Marathon and Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. The former, as well as everything else I did during my amazing trip, will be covered in another post, but for now here’s your guide to the 2017 Epcot International Flower & Garden festival!

During the Flower and Garden festival is one of the best times to go to Disney World, second only to The Epcot International Food & Wine festival in the Fall (the dates for this year are August 31st - November 13th - I highly recommend that you check it out if you can!). The Flower & Garden dates for this year are March 1st - May 29th. I’d suggest avoiding common dates for Spring Break, especially Easter since that’s the most crowded time of the year at Disney World. However, once Spring Break crowds clear out, which is anytime after April 20th, it’s usually pretty manageable until Memorial Day weekend.

The Flower & Garden festival is an unforgettable time at Walt Disney World. EPCOT park is decorated with topiaries depicting classic Disney Characters and gorgeous flowers. One of my favorite features of the Flower & Garden festival is the butterfly house. There’s always a ton of butterflies to look at, and all of the vibrant flowers in the garden are simply gorgeous. If you’re lucky, you might even see butterflies hatching from their cocoons!

Despite all of the amazing garden displays to see, the biggest attraction at the Flower & Garden festival is the food. All around the World Showcase, different booths are set up, each offering food and drinks from different places around the world. Although I didn’t have to time or stomach capacity to eat everything on the menu, here’s a review of everything that we did get around to eating:

Despite all of the amazing garden displays to see, the biggest attraction at the Flower & Garden festival is the food. All around the World Showcase, different booths are set up, each offering food and drinks from different places around the world. Although I didn’t have to time or stomach capacity to eat everything on the menu, here’s a review of everything that we did get around to eating:

Northern Bloom (Canada)

Nanaimo Bar - 8/10

Based on the popular Canadian chocolate bar, this treat is not one to miss! The portion is very small, which is perfect if you’re planning on eating a lot. However, if you’re in a group of more than two people I’d recommend getting more than one. The only thing that bugged me about is that you can’t really taste any coconut, which it’s supposed to have. If you’re a coconut lover like me you’re out of luck, but my mom, who hates coconut, was more than pleased by its absence. Whatever your opinions on coconut are, it’s definitely worth keeping in mind.

Beef Tenderloin Tips - 7.5/10

The Beef Tenderloin Tips were good, but not amazing. I liked them better than my mom, so it probably depends on what kind of food you like. The best part of it was the whipped potatoes, which tasted really good with the meat. Although it didn’t really stand out, I would still recommend trying it if you have a change. However, if your trip is short or you aren’t very hungry it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you decided to skip it.

Seared Scallops - 4/10

I’m not much of a scallop person, so everything in this review comes from my mom. There were quite a few problems with a scallops. They weren’t hot, the scallops were dry, and according to my mom the green beans tasted weird. However, I tried them and thought they tasted fine, so this is another matter of personal taste. Overall, it was disappointing and not something you should waste space on.

Fleur de Lys (France)

Tarte a l’Onion - 10/10

This tart is pure perfection. It’s a perfect mix of sweet and savory, and the pastry is so flaky it melts on your tongue. Seriously, if you’re in Disney World for the Flower & Garden festival you have to try this. It’s one of my favorite dishes this year, and it’s definitely not something to miss.

Macaron Chocolat Framboise - 8/10

I don’t like raspberries, so these opinions are also all my mom’s. In her opinion, it’s a delicious dessert that tastes as lovely as it looks, so I’d encourage all of you to try it if you can. One thing to note is that it’s pretty big, so it’s probably best to share it if you want to keep eating!

Florida Fresh

Shrimp and Stone-ground Grits - 7/10

This dish was really good overall! It’s a little spicy, but nothing crazy. The grits are much better than the shrimp, which were a little bit dry, but other than that I have no complaints about this one.

Taste of Marrakesh (Morocco)

Home-Made Falafel - 7/10

This was decent falafel, but, much like the beef tips in Canada, it wasn’t amazing. Something to keep in mind is that I’m a bit of a falafel snob, thanks to some incredible falafel I’ve had in Israel, so you might like it much better than I did. That being said, the flavors were all very nicely balanced and the vibrant color of the turnips makes it a very nice looking dish.

Hanami (Japan)

Beef Teriyaki Udon - 9/10

I absolutely loved this one. In the words of my mom, it tasted “like a warm hug.” The beef complements the noodles really well. It was one of the best dishes at the festival, which was surprising because usually the Japan booth isn’t that great. If you’re at the Flower & Garden festival, make sure to try it!

Cider House (The United Kingdom)

Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider - 9.5/10

The cider is very refreshing, especially in the Florida sun. It’s really, really hard to mess up apple cider, and this is no exception.

Freshly Baked Lemon Scone - 10/10

This could have easily taken the spot as my favorite thing at the festival if it weren’t for the flan, which I’ll talk about later in the article. It had a really nice balance between being a cookie and a cake and the lemon flavor wasn’t overpowering. I also really loved that they put cream and berries on the side of the scone instead of on top of it, which makes it super easy to control how sweet it is. Overall, this is excellent dish that you don’t want to miss out on.

Urban Farm Eats

Seared Pork Tenderloin - 8.5/10

This one tastes like a nine, but I took half a point off because the presentation wasn’t very good. My mom thought it was too salty, but I didn’t mind it. The potatoes and mushrooms were both amazing. The pork was cooked nicely-- a pleasant surprise considering how much they made at a time. I would definitely get it again if I had the chance.

The Berry Basket

Warm Wild Berry Buckle - 9.5/10

I can’t stand berries of any kind, so this is another Mom review. She absolutely loved this dessert. We got really lucky because we got ours right out of the oven, so it was nice and warm. The gelato was excellent and went with the warm berries really nicely. It’s another large dessert, so it’s something you’d probably want to share with family or friends. If you’re a berry-lover, this is the dessert for you!

La Isla Fresca (Near Mexico)

Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer - 8/10

We were worried this shrimp would be dry like the Shrimp and Grits, but it wasn’t at all. The shrimp’s flavor really stole the show with this one, especially since the sauce was a little bland. Our only major complaint is that it isn’t exactly user-friendly. It’s very difficult to get the shrimp off the stick, so unless you’re prepared to fight for it this dish might not be for you!

FlanCocho - 10000000/10

This is, without a doubt, the best thing at the festival. In fact, it might be the best dessert I’ve ever had. Although Disney claims it was made in its kitchens, it’s much more likely that this dish was sent straight from Heaven. It’s creamy, chocolate, caramel goodness. It doesn’t get much better than this. If you are even somewhat near the Orlando area, it’s worth shelling out the money for a park ticket just for this flan. Do yourself a huge favor and try this.

Jardín de Fiestas (Mexico)

So far I’ve been rating the dishes individually, but I felt like I had to rate this one as a booth. It was a major let down right after the fantastic flan. We got the Chile Relleno de Picadillo and the Brocheta de Pollo con Salsa Morita. Both of them were terrible. The Chile Relleno wasn’t even close to crispy, and both dishes had no flavor except for an overwhelming amount of spice. I can’t speak for the Tres Leches, which might have been good, but if I were you I would skip over this. 2/10.

Bauernmarkt: Farmer’s Market (Germany)

Potato Pancakes with House-made Apple Sauce - 9/10

Potato pancakes are another thing that’s difficult to mess up, and Disney did not disappoint. It was extremely flavorful and crispy without being too oily. I’d definitely give them a try!

The Smokehouse: Barbecue and Brews (USA)

Warm Chocolate Cake with Bourbon-Salted Caramel Sauce - 9/10

This was the perfect conclusion to our wonderful day at the Flower & Garden Festival. It was warm, gooey, and delicious. Chocolate and caramel is a classic combination that always tastes wonderfully together, so it’s no surprise that this was such a great dish.

I cannot stress enough how much I highly recommend visiting Disney while to festival is happening. For lack of a better word, the combination of nature’s beauty, amazing food, and the company of the people that I love made my experience at the Flower & Garden Festival nothing short of magical. I can’t wait to visit again, and I know that next will be just as, if not more, amazing than this one.

By Rina Sclove

#Food #Festival #Disney #Epcot #Flower #Garden #Travel