The Dorky Diva

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Welcome to The Dorky Diva! I'm Savanna, a Star Wars fanatic who tries to sprinkle fandom into every day life. Follow along for new cosplay updates, outfit inspiration, beauty reviews, convention coverage, and more!

EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival 2017

If you missed the memo over on my Facebook page, I've decided to incorporate more Disney content on The Dorky Diva. Since I grew up in central Florida, Walt Disney World has always been a huge part of my life and I want to share that love with my followers. To kick off this new topic, today I'll be giving my review of this year's International Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT.


If you've never attended the Flower and Garden Festival before, let me tell you- it is ahhhhmazing. EPCOT is adorned with tons of beautiful flower beds and floral topiaries all around the different countries which really highlights the season's blooming colors. In addition to the beautiful scenery, there are food and drink stations in each country that sell small portions of their culture's spring flavors. This year the event takes place every day from March 1-May 29. If you love flowers, gorgeous Florida weather, and delicious food, the Flower and Garden Festival is definitely worth visiting.


I started the day at EPCOT with my mom by loading up an event themed gift card wristlet with $25 to pay for my food throughout the day. We love these bracelets because they're much easier to scan at each food station rather than digging out your debit card or cash every few steps. Most of the food and beverages are priced from $3-$8. If you want to buy a gift card wristlet or reload it with more money, you can do that at any souvenir cart or store.


My all time favorite treat that's only available during the Flower and Garden Festival is the violet lemonade at the Pineapple Promenade booth. This non-alcoholic drink is very sweet, but refreshing to sip on as you walk throughout the park. Not only does it taste delicious, but it's a stunning color too!


After grabbing my violet lemonade, we headed to the Urban Farm Eats station nearby to try the watermelon salad. This light salad was mixed watermelon and arugula with feta cheese. It was topped with pickled onions and a balsamic reduction. I'm a huge fan of watermelon so this salad hit all the right spots for me. 


My mom stopped in Canada to try the seared scallops. We ended up splitting this dish (and by splitting, I mean I ate 80% of the food). The scallops were perfectly cooked with a brown butter vinaigrette and apple-wood smoked bacon sprinkled on top. It also came with french green beans and buttered potatoes- yum! This was an amazing dish, but definitely more filling than most of the items I tried which makes it a great bang for your buck. I even spotted the cutest topiaries in Canada of Bambi and his friends, Thumper and Flower. 



This next item was not a specialty item for the Flower and Garden Festival, but it's definitely worth mentioning here. In the France area there is an ice cream shop called L'Artisan des Glaces that is filled with 16 different ice cream and sorbet flavors. This strawberries and cream macaron ice cream sandwich was the perfect treat on a sunny afternoon. Don't let the picture fool you- it was pretty big!


Beauty and the Beast fans will love this exquisite topiary creation of their favorite characters, Belle and Beast, as you enter the streets of Paris. Just like a tale as old as time, these flowers are classics that are sure to impress all Disney fans. 


The next stop was at the Florida Fresh kitchen between Morocco and France. I grabbed a non-alcoholic watermelon cucumber slush while my mom got fresh-squeezed watermelon juice. When I first tasted the slushie, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The cucumber flavor gave it a tart aftertaste, but after taking another sip I decided it balanced well with the sweet watermelon. I took a sip of my mom's juice and it tasted very bitter to me, but I'm sure that's because my drink was so sweet. She said the juice was delicious.


This next treat is one of my absolute favorites from the Flower and Garden Festival. If you love anything involving fruit or coconut, you must try the frushi in Japan. This fun take on sushi wraps up fresh pineapple, strawberry, and cantaloupe with raspberry coconut rice. It's sprinkled with toasted coconut and a dollop of whipped cream. I can't say enough good things about frushi. I just want more!


After hanging out in Japan for some time and enjoying the Zen garden area, we made our way over to China so I could order the Beijing-style candied strawberries. Several of my friends suggested that I try the candied strawberries, but my opinions on the snack were a little mixed. First off, I was impressed that they gave me so many strawberries! The first couple were delicious. The sweet coating wasn't too thick; it was perfectly crunchy and offset the plump strawberries really well. However, I think the sweet glaze on top of sweet strawberries was a little too much for me. Not my favorite dish of the day, but it wasn't bad either. 


Overall, I would say my first visit to this year's Flower and Garden Festival was successful. It definitely won't be my last trip to EPCOT this season because I saw a few more menu items that I wanted to taste. Definitely make the journey out to EPCOT before the end of May if you get the chance. You won't be disappointed!




Comments

  1. These images are really great. I would love to explore this destination. Plan your trip with Disneyland Holidays By Coach. If you are thinking of planning your trip again.

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