Has anyone been to the Flower & Garden Fest this year?

[cyb]

How are the new food booths? I really want to go and hoping that it's worth it.

 

[MaxsDad]

I haven't been but here is a review:

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...stival-food-pictures-booths-menus-and-prices/

I should also note that I am not going but my wife and daughter are next month.

*edit: Also being discussed on the restaurants board:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3061326&page=4

 

[cyb]

Thank you for responding to my post, I wan to go more than ever now even though I'll have to go alone. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy a solo trip!

 

[Pats Dragon]

We just got back and really enjoyed the booths. There was so much to try it was hard to decide. My favorites were the beet lollipop (made with beets and cream cheese), the beef brisket and collards (wonderful!) and lots of innovative wines, beers and drinks. The trifle sampler was very good as well.

 

[cyb]

Was it really crowded Pat's Dragon?

 

[Minnie222]

We were there on Day 1 (March 6) of the Festival. We loved it. Totally worth going. It was not crowded that day and there is no line to buy the food.

Lovely to see all the topiary characters, the flower carpet, the gardening-related merchandises, and the of course the food.

We had Dole Whip (near Canada), the caramel peach (at France), Sushi things (at Japan). They are all yummy!! We used the "Snacks" of our Dining plan to eat all those!!

 

[Minnie222]

Was it really crowded Pat's Dragon?

Crowded or not, I think it depends on the overall crowd level of the parks. This week is March Break of many Ontario schools. It is bound to be super-crowded this week. I would also avoid the Easter week.

We were there on Day 1 and it is not crowded. Just a couple people in line to buy the food at each booth.

 

[Pats Dragon]

Not crowded at all. Short lines at the booths. Epcot became packed toward the end of the day but the booths weren't bad even then.

 

[cyb]

I was thinking of going the second week of April, crowd level says a 5 on that day.

 

[SUSIEQ]

Didn't think I'd like it, but the Watermelon Salad(Florida) was good. Went back for seconds!

 

[TLSnell1981]

Do they have menu booklets, like Food & Wine?

 

[TheRustyScupper]

How are the new food booths? I really want to go and hoping that it's worth it.

1) Just went today (Sunday).
2) There are plenty of food booths.
3) We found the fare "OK".
4) Just don't go and think these are gourmet offerings.
5) Worth it? I would say an unqualified, "Yes".

 

[BoardWalkBelle]

I went today Sunday. I didnt try any of the food at the boths, and the lines at the booths werent long. However, the park itself was very busy.

 

[cmh314]

We are going in April. There are so many yummy sounding things listed for the food booths. Are these sampling size or more like a meal? Also, what's the approx. cost for most of the items. I've never been to Food and Wine so have nothing to compare it to. I was hoping to try something in each country, so I'm wondering if the portions are just small snacks or if they're too big/expensive to make it realistic to try lots of them. I hope I don't have to just pick a few, its too hard to choose!

 

[krayzmelmel]

We went on Friday.... The lines were amazingly short! Our favorite was the candied strawberries from china and the asparagus/ lobster dish from Italy... The lobster was away too expensive though... I have a post with food pics on the restaurant boards .

 

[lucas]

Anybody try the Dole Whip with spiced rum?

Found the info! http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...-epcot-flower-and-garden-festival/#more-77727

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I went both on Thursday (opening day) and Saturday. Both were crowded. They do have a small booklet with information about both the displays and the refreshments,. where you can check off what you have done and also they will stamp the "passports" at the locations.

Most of the items I tried were quite good. My only problem was the Dole Whip with Spiced Rum . All they did was have a twist of Dole Whip in a cup and pour about an ounce of the rum over it. It did not improve the flavor at all, and when all there was at the bottom was liquid it was yucky.

 

[CarolineB]

I went this past Friday March 8 from 4-9. I tried the dole whip with rum and my son had the regular dole whip -- I agree that the dole whip with rum is take it or leave it -- it wasn't that much more money for the one with the rum but they didn't add a lot of rum either. I was probably buying this around 5:30 p.m. and the line was short. You can ask for basil seeds at the dole whip food kiosk -- not sure what the connection is between basil seeds and the dole company??

The rest of my time was spent at two of the three playground areas while my son played and taking pictures of the topiaries. I liked that the playground areas had chairs and shading.

We also walked around world showcase while my son got stamps in his Flower and Garden passport. We had dinner at Morocco restaurant as a walk in at 6:00 with no wait and seats at the stage. We watched Illuminations and because we sit in the handicapped reserved seating, the crowds weren't an issue.

Today, Sunday, March 10, I went from 12-9. We went to the third playground, got the remainder of the stamps for my son's passport book, and saw more of the little exhibits like the one about irrigation and another walk through of the butterfly house. My son liked the craft at the irrigation area (coloring a plastic flower pot with markers) and the craft at pride rock (coloring a mask.) He also liked playing the games at the Oz area and getting packets of marigold seeds as a prize.

We also walked around the Festival Center (boring for us -- we didn't watch any of the demonstrations and the movie about how the Festival and Garden show is put together was ending and then another movie came about home improvement. There was an exhibit about Bonsai that was nice because they had lots of Bonsai plants to look at and a knowledgeable person from a local Bonsai club but the one about the Orlando Audobon Society was just a bunch of poster boards and handouts. I would have gone to the demonstrations and talks if I didn't have a child with me. They had a visual display about making a topiary which was nice.

We had a late lunch at the Nine Dragons China restaurant -- walk in -- no wait and the restaurant was empty. After the late lunch, I noticed that the World Showcase was really getting busy. We saw the China acrobats show and got good seats because of timing but by the time the show started, there was a big crowd. There was absolutely no shading for this show except maybe one corner. Next, I wanted to watch one of the shows in Italy but Italy was completely packed because of another show that was already performing so we skipped this and kept walking.

Since World Showcase was so busy at this point, we decided to head back to Future World.

We took the boat across to Future World and went to the Character Spot so my son could use his new autograph book -- the wait was 10 minutes or less. We had ice cream at Edy's and the wait was 10 minutes. We watched Illuminations again and the crowds didn't matter to us because again we were viewing from reserved handicapped seating and as long as you get your spot by 8:00 p.m., you're probably going to get seats at the fence.

I just throw the information about wait times for restaurants in so you know what to expect even though it's off topic for the Flower and Garden show.

So obviously if you can come during the week better. If not try to come closer to 11:00 a.m. than later in the day.

 

[CarolineB]

Thank you for responding to my post, I wan to go more than ever now even though I'll have to go alone. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy a solo trip!

I belong to a couple of groups that are made up of people that like the Disney parks. The members go to the parks and meetup at the entrance or guest services and walk around the parks / go on rides for a few hours. If you don't want to go to the parks alone, check out the groups on meetup.com. It does not cost anything to join usually or the fee is nominal.

 

[lucas]

I went both on Thursday (opening day) and Saturday. Both were crowded. They do have a small booklet with information about both the displays and the refreshments,. where you can check off what you have done and also they will stamp the "passports" at the locations.

Most of the items I tried were quite good. My only problem was the Dole Whip with Spiced Rum . All they did was have a twist of Dole Whip in a cup and pour about an ounce of the rum over it. It did not improve the flavor at all, and when all there was at the bottom was liquid it was yucky.

Oh, too bad about the Dole Whip. I am thinking I will skip it and try the new slushie in France.