Disney,  Food

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival 2017

One of the things I love the most about Epcot is the amazing festivals that happen all year long. I wrote about Food & Wine a few months ago and Holidays Around the World after that, and now that it’s spring we have the Flower & Garden Festival!!

beauty

I absolutely love Flower & Garden because Epcot looks SO beautiful in full bloom!! There’s flowers everywhere and it just makes the park look so springy and lovely.

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In the Food & Wine post linked up there I wrote about some of my tips for experiencing the food of the festival. They also apply to this festival too, especially the note about the wearable gift card – this year’s looks like a little orange and it’s so cute!! AND it’s scented!!

I’ve been able to visit the festival just twice so far. My best friends Ana & Sarah are visiting at the end of the month so I’ve saved a lot of the things to get when they’re here, but I couldn’t resist trying a few…here’s what I’ve had so far!

germany

In Germany, we tried two things – on the top there is Potato Pancake with House-Made Applesauce, and below it is the Potato Pancake with Caramelized Ham, Onions, and Herb Sour Cream. I liked both a lot, but I think I preferred the sweet one with applesauce. In hindsight I should have asked for the savory one without onions because I HATE onions…but it was still good!

italy

In Italy, we tried the Meatball Parmigiana, which was actually amazing. Sometimes Italy lets me down with their pasta dishes (they can taste a little Stouffers-y to me) but this one was awesome. It was also a huge portion and easy to share among multiple people. One of my favorites!

japan

In Japan, I got one of my other favorites – Frushi! I even ate it with chopsticks this year! This is one of my favorite dishes from Flower & Garden – it’s so light and springy and just really perfect for the festival.

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At the Smokehouse at the American Adventure we tried the Pulled Pig Slider (the top two dishes) and Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash (on the bottom). Both were awesome, but we all LOVED the slider – I would definitely get it again!! The burnt ends hash was good, but not something I think I’d need to get again. I loved the white cheddar fondue served with it though!

fl fresh

At the Florida Fresh booth, we sampled two things – Shrimp and Stone-ground Grits and the Watermelon Cucumber Slushy. The shrimp and grits were AMAZING. They complemented each other perfectly and we could not get enough. The slushy was fine and pretty refreshing, but nothing to write home about imo.

Somewhere along the way we also tried the Baklava in Morocco (twice), but somehow I forgot to take a photo of it both times??? Chris and I are certified baklava super fans though, and it did not disappoint.

Moving right along…

uk

In the UK, we tried a cider flight and it was awesome! The three flavors were strawberry, blood orange and black cherry. They were all so delicious and refreshing, but I think my favorite was the strawberry. This was a great sampler and we all enjoyed it.

scallop

In Canada, we tried the Seared Scallops – one of my favorites from past festivals. The scallops themselves were perfectly cooked and really delicious, but I prefer the pairings they’ve used in past festivals. My favorite from I think 2 years ago? was when they did the scallops with a cheesy spinach sauce and bacon bits. It was absolutely amazing. Nevertheless, these scallops were awesome!

violet

Finally (for now), from Pineapple Promenade I got a Violet Lemonade! This drink has a bit of a cult following from Disney social media fans, and I have to admit it’s very instagramable. Personally, I like it and get it at least once every year, but I don’t feel the need to get it every visit or anything.

After we snacked our way around the world, we took advantage of the beautiful blooms to take some photos:

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us

What happens when I ask Chris to take a photo of me -_-

And some outtakes from our photoshoot:

We also had stopped for some photos in one of my favorite places in France – there’s a beautiful little patio overlook that rarely has any people on it, and it’s such a pretty little spot for photos.

And before you ask, my skirt is from Amazon and you can find it here haha. The color I have is “Design B” and I may have already ordered it in another color….

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And that’s everything I’ve tried so far! Like I said, I’m going back in the next few weeks and I can’t wait to try everything else…and there is a LOT I want to try still!! I definitely want to try theWarm Wild Berry Buckle with Pepper Berry Sorbet from the Berry Basket, Maple Popcorn Shake from Canada, and I haven’t even gotten my favorite drink yet – Kung Fu Punch from China! I also need to take in all the beautiful flowers again and get some more colorful photos, like Universe of Energy above. I guess I have to get back to Epcot sooner rather than later 😉

That’s all I have for today! Have you ever been to the Flower & Garden festival? I can’t wait to go back! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post 🙂

<3 Kaela

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