Impact of Flower & Garden on EP Crowds?

[disneyguy07]

I will be visiting WDW during F&G this year and I was wondering how big of an impact the festival has on Epcot crowds. Are weekends significantly worse than weekdays? I wasn't sure what impact the concerts have on the crowds.

Any experiences that you have would be much appreciated.

 

[cnunley424]

Following I was wondering the same thing myself

 

[jaysmom4285]

It does increase the crowds in the World Showcase more so in the evenings. Future World isn't particularly affected. And yes, weekends are way worse than weekdays, especially Friday and Saturday nights when the locals crowd in. We avoid those nights like the plague. World Showcase is super crowded on weekend nights, and there are many people who are flat out drunk and unpleasant - vomiting in the bushes, bad language, etc. The concerts are pretty well attended, but it doesn't really contribute to general crowd levels. We prefer to enjoy F&G on weekdays and have our lunch by sampling things from several food booths. It isn't crowded, as a general rule, earlier in the day.

 

[tanyaandallie]

It does increase the crowds in the World Showcase more so in the evenings. Future World isn't particularly affected. And yes, weekends are way worse than weekdays, especially Friday and Saturday nights when the locals crowd in. We avoid those nights like the plague. World Showcase is super crowded on weekend nights, and there are many people who are flat out drunk and unpleasant - vomiting in the bushes, bad language, etc. The concerts are pretty well attended, but it doesn't really contribute to general crowd levels. We prefer to enjoy F&G on weekdays and have our lunch by sampling things from several food booths. It isn't crowded, as a general rule, earlier in the day.

UGH. This was my fear!!!!! I am going to have to change things around! Our plan has us in Epcot on a Saturday but now that the Concert Series has been released and we have no desire to see the performer, I may see if we can change it up. Sure would be nice if the concerts had been announced prior to fpp day!

 

[momtwoboys]

we have been attending F&G since it began and we go every april and used to do some early may. weekends slightly more crowded but this is nothing like food and wine at all. we have never seen people drunk vomiting anywhere. the flowers and topiaries are awesome and the weather is great. enjoy!

 

[fbarker]

we have been attending F&G since it began and we go every april and used to do some early may. weekends slightly more crowded but this is nothing like food and wine at all. we have never seen people drunk vomiting anywhere. the flowers and topiaries are awesome and the weather is great. enjoy!

Yes i agree with you. We go to WDW at the end of March every year and have been at Epcot on the weekends and at night. I have never seen "people" vomiting in the bushes, in fact I have not seen one person doing that. I have not noticed vulgar language. Have i noticed some people whohave had too much to drink? Yes but they have never been overly obnoxious. So its more crowded but don't buy into the image of a drunken frat party!!

 

[momtwoboys]

since 1997 we have been going and used to do 1st week of may then moved our week to 3rd week if april. only person we saw ever vomit was our old son, too much pool water! so our week is school vacation and even then the crowds have been super amazing. We cant go any other time now because epcot would look naked without the burst of color!!

 

[jaysmom4285]

We've only seen the problem on Saturday nights, and we now tend to avoid F&G on that night, mostly because we don't like the higher crowds. It tends to be incredibly crowded on weekend nights, and the World Showcase can just be jammed with people, making it hard to even walk around. For me, that's reason enough to go some other time. I'm glad others haven't encountered problems, but we did experience people who had had way too much to drink and ranged from mildly annoying ones who were just loud and unsteady on their feet to those who were vomiting in the bushes or other places (we didn't see the actual act - just the aftermath, which we observed CMs cleaning up). I totally agree with other posters who emphasized that F&G is a great event with wonderful weather and beautiful flowers and topiaries - it is not to be missed. But it can help to pick your times to make it a more pleasant experience.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We have done food and wine on the weekends and never seen anyone so drunk they vomited. It's common, even without a festival, to see people in world showcase who have clearly been drinking, but I have only seen 2 occasions in the almost 10 years we have been traveling where someone was overly obnoxious and it was promptly handled by security.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

s(we didn't see the actual act - just the aftermath, which we observed CMs cleaning up).

If you didn;t see that actual act, what's to say that wasn't a kid with too much cotton candy? I have seen kids who ate too much junk vomit in Disney way more often than a drunk. Kids are eating way differently than they do at home and riding thrill rides.

 

[loves to dive]

We go every year, yes it is slightly more crowded at night on weekends but not as crowded at F&W (which is not horrible in my opinion but I might be immune). I've never seen anyone unruly or any drunker during F&G than is normal at Epcot nor have I witnessed it at F&W either.

 

[WEDWDW]

So its more crowded but don't buy into the image of a drunken frat party!!

Unless you happen into Rose & Crown Pub during a sing-a-long withn the Piano Player!!!!lol

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

I'd definitely say weekdays are better. We went on a Tuesday in 2015 and a Thursday in 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed both days. Manageable crowds and great atmosphere.

 

[jaysmom4285]

I never meant to imply that it was just a drunken frat party. It is very crowded on Saturday nights, and we have run into enough people who had over-indulged that that, plus the exceptional crowds, made it unpleasant for us, so we choose not to go to Epcot on a Saturday night during F&G. I would add that we've never had any issues at any other time of the day or week - weekdays are particularly pleasant as the crowds are very light and it is easy to enjoy the food booths and the flowers. And we continue to attend F&G every year. Just not Saturday nights. I only mentioned the Saturday night issues as a point of information for some who haven't been to F&G and may be unaware of how crowded it can get (regardless of the condition of some the people attending) on weekend nights.

 

[disneyguy07]

Thanks for all the info everyone! I'm planning on going to Epcot on the day I arrive (a Saturday) because its my favorite park, and I was a little worried. My flight is supposed to arrive at MCO at 8:30am and thinking I can make it to Epcot by about 11ish. I'm hoping to spend a few hours in Future World before going back to the hotel to crash since I'll probably need to get up somewhere around 4am to make it to the airport for my 6am flight. Thankfully it sounds like it shouldn't be too bad in the park.

 

[starjazz]

Thing is, any park on a Saturday during spring has a really good chance at being pretty dang crowded. Its the nature of Saturdays. So, go with your plan, and have a great time. I'm doing the same thing - we have MK on Friday and Epcot on Saturday. I could switch, but its not like MK isn't going to be crazy crowded on Saturday, so what's the point?

 

[disneyguy07]

Thing is, any park on a Saturday during spring has a really good chance at being pretty dang crowded. Its the nature of Saturdays. So, go with your plan, and have a great time. I'm doing the same thing - we have MK on Friday and Epcot on Saturday. I could switch, but its not like MK isn't going to be crazy crowded on Saturday, so what's the point?

You are exactly right!