EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

When Doug first suggested that I travel with him to Ocala this week, he told me that I could pick what we see and do on our trip.  I started doing some research and realized that EPCOT was having its annual Flower & Garden Festival while we would be in Florida.  The topiaries had always been my favorite of the event, but once I mentioned to Doug that there were also outdoor kitchens this year, he was definitely up for trying it. 

Although EPCOT didn't open until 11 a.m., Doug and I decided to arrive an hour early.  From everything I had read recently, most parks were letting guests in quite a bit earlier than the posted time.  At first we thought that my plan had backfired as the Uber that we took couldn't get past the parking booths.  Thankfully, at 9:55 we were finally in the parking lot heading to the turn styles.  We had to wait a little bit there, but by 10:15 we were in the queue for Test Track.  From there we headed to Frozen and walked right on that as well.  In fact by 11 a.m. we had taken a turn on the two rides with the longest lines in EPCOT and had even ordered Doug a jalapeno margarita from the most popular bar in Mexico.

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From there we spent the rest of the day trying out the various outdoor kitchens, riding some of our favorite rides including Soarin', Spaceship Earth, The Gran Fiesta Tour and Figment, walking through the butterfly garden and checking out the various Disney topiaries.   I was impressed with how beautiful everything was.  I was also pleased with Disney's response to the pandemic.  Guests were required to wear masks at all times, there were social distancing markers everywhere and plexiglass was installed in between each group of guests on the rides and shows.  There were also many places to sit down and rest as well as relaxation stations to cool off and get a break from mask wearing.  The crowds were larger than I expected, but completely manageable.   The only disappointment was the lack of stores open in the various countries.  That will have to wait until our next visit.