Credit: DisneySpring has officially arrived at Walt Disney World, and with it comes one of EPCOT’s most beloved seasonal traditions.
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival has long been the park’s celebration of color, nature, food, and live entertainment. Guests flock to the park every year to admire intricate topiaries, taste seasonal dishes, and enjoy a lively atmosphere that feels very different from EPCOT’s other festivals.
For many Disney fans, Flower & Garden represents EPCOT at its most relaxed. It’s less intense than the Food & Wine Festival, a little more family-friendly, and full of beautiful gardens and photo opportunities that showcase the park at its most picturesque. It’s also an event that encourages guests to slow down and explore World Showcase while sampling small bites from dozens of outdoor kitchens.
But as the 2026 festival begins, Disney has quietly introduced a change that is already sparking debate among frequent visitors.
While the festival still features the gardens, topiaries, concerts, and food booths guests expect, a noticeable operational adjustment has confirmed that the experience is being scaled back in at least one way.
A New Schedule for Festival Booths
Traditionally, EPCOT’s Outdoor Kitchens—festival booths serving seasonal food and drinks—have opened at the same time each day. For years, guests could count on most booths opening at 11:00 a.m., giving visitors a reliable time to begin their culinary tour of the park.
That schedule has changed for the 2026 Flower & Garden Festival.
Disney has implemented a split schedule for Outdoor Kitchens depending on the day of the week. The booths now operate from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Fridays through Mondays, but from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays.
In other words, guests visiting during the middle of the week now have shorter operating hours for festival booths, with kitchens opening later and closing earlier than they would on weekends.
It may seem like a small adjustment, but for guests who structure their EPCOT days around festival food, those lost hours can make a noticeable difference.
A Few Exceptions Still Exist
Not every location is affected by the new schedule.
One notable exception is the Florida Fresh booth at CommuniCore Plaza, which continues to open earlier than the others. That location begins serving at 9:30 a.m. daily, offering guests an option for festival food earlier in the morning.
Additionally, some quick-service restaurants around EPCOT that serve festival menu items may also open before the outdoor kitchens begin operating.
Still, the majority of festival booths follow the new weekday schedule, meaning guests planning a midweek visit will need to adjust their expectations.
For a festival built around food exploration, that change has raised eyebrows among longtime EPCOT fans.
Flower & Garden Still Offers Plenty to See
Despite the operational cuts, the 2026 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival remains one of Disney World’s most visually impressive events.
Running from March 4 through June 1, 2026, the festival celebrates the beauty of spring with gardens, floral displays, and a wide variety of entertainment offerings throughout the park.
One of the festival’s most recognizable elements is its elaborate character topiaries, which appear across nearly every EPCOT neighborhood. This year’s displays include characters from across the Disney and Pixar worlds, such as Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Bo Peep, Simba and friends, Figment, and even Moana and Maui.
Guests exploring World Showcase will also encounter classic Disney characters recreated entirely in plants, including Beauty and the Beast in the France pavilion, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Germany, and Lady and the Tramp in Italy.
These topiaries are a signature feature of the festival and one of the main reasons many guests visit EPCOT during the spring months.
Gardens, Food, and Entertainment
Beyond the topiaries, Flower & Garden offers a surprisingly wide range of experiences.
The festival includes dozens of themed gardens scattered around the park, from tropical displays to butterfly habitats. One popular stop is the Butterfly Landing exhibit, where guests can walk through a tent filled with live butterflies fluttering around flowering plants.
Families also have access to scavenger hunts like Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration, where guests search for statues of Spike the Bee throughout World Showcase before turning in their completed maps for prizes.
Music plays a major role in the festival as well. The Garden Rocks Concert Series returns in 2026 with nightly performances at the America Gardens Theatre, featuring both returning acts and new performers scheduled throughout the festival.
Shows typically take place multiple times each evening, giving guests plenty of opportunities to catch live entertainment while exploring the park.
More Than 75 Festival Menu Items
Food remains a central part of Flower & Garden.
This year’s festival features around 20 outdoor kitchens offering more than 75 menu items, including returning favorites and brand-new dishes created specifically for the event.
Popular booths like Beach Grub, BRUNCHCOT, Honey Bee-Stro, and The Citrus Blossom have returned for 2026, while a brand-new booth called Nectar has joined the lineup.
These booths serve everything from seafood dishes and small plates to desserts and specialty drinks, giving guests a chance to sample a wide range of seasonal flavors.
It’s a big part of what has made EPCOT’s festivals so successful over the years.
Why the Change Matters
The new booth schedule might seem like a minor adjustment on paper, but it reflects a broader trend Disney fans have been noticing across the parks.
Over the past several years, Disney has made a number of operational changes that reduce hours or adjust offerings during lower-demand periods. Weekday booth hours falling slightly behind weekend hours fits that pattern.
From a business perspective, the move likely helps Disney manage staffing and operating costs during slower midweek attendance periods.
But from a guest perspective, especially for those planning shorter trips, it can feel like the festival experience is being trimmed back.
When EPCOT festivals are at their best, they encourage guests to wander, snack, and explore at their own pace throughout the day. A later opening and earlier closing window narrows that flexibility.
A Festival Still Worth Experiencing
Even with the operational changes, the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival remains one of the most enjoyable times of year to visit the park.
The vibrant gardens, colorful topiaries, and relaxed springtime atmosphere give EPCOT a completely different personality compared to other seasons. Guests can spend hours wandering through World Showcase, sampling dishes, and taking photos with some of Disney’s most creative horticultural displays.
And while the booth hours may be slightly reduced during the middle of the week, the festival itself is still packed with experiences that make it one of the most popular events on the Disney World calendar.
For now, though, the schedule change serves as a reminder that even EPCOT’s most beloved traditions continue to evolve.
And for fans paying close attention, the 2026 Flower & Garden Festival may mark the beginning of a new chapter in how Disney manages its seasonal events.
What’s your favorite part of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival? Let us know in the comments below!