Fan favorites Night Ranger (“Sister Christian”) will open the series March 2-5, and The Spinners, known for “Working My Way Back To You,” will wrap the concert schedule May 25-28. Several new bands will perform at Epcot for the first time: Foghat (“Slow Ride”); Smash Mouth (“All Star”); Lonestar (“Amazed”); and Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles (“Hotel California”). Other bands new to the Garden Rocks series will be Rick Springfield (“Jessie’s Girl”), Survivor (“Eye of the Tiger”) and Jo Dee Messina (“Stand Beside Me”).

Guests can dance in their seats each festival weekend to classic tunes at the park’s outdoor America Gardens Theatre overlooking the World Showcase Lagoon. An eclectic mix of fan favorites includes 1960s icons Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone, ’70s-’80s chart-toppers The Village People and new-millennium hit-makers Simple Plan.

Performances are at America Gardens Theatre at 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival and are included with Epcot admission.

2018 Garden Rocks Concert Series Lineup

(subject to change without notice):

• March 2-5 Night Ranger “Sister Christian”
• March 9-12 STARSHIP starring Mickey Thomas “We Built This City”
• March 16-19 Simple Plan “Welcome to My Life”
• March 23-26 Little River Band “Reminiscing”
• March 30-April 2 The Orchestra starring former members of ELO “Evil Woman”
• April 6-7 Foghat (NEW!) “Slow Ride”
• April 8-9 Survivor (NEW to Garden Rocks!) “Eye of the Tiger”
• April 13-14 Smash Mouth (NEW to Garden Rocks!) “All Star”
• April 15-16 Rick Springfield (NEW to Garden Rocks!) “Jessie’s Girl”
• April 20-21 Jo Dee Messina (NEW to Garden Rocks!) “Stand Beside Me”
• April 22-23 Lonestar (NEW!) “Amazed”
• April 27-30 Blood, Sweat and Tears featuring Bo Bice “Spinning Wheel”
• May 4-7 Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone “I’m Henry VIII, I Am”
• May 11-12 Village People “Y.M.C.A.”
• May 13-14 Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles (NEW!) “Hotel California”
• May 18-21 The Guess Who “American Woman”
• May 25-28 The Spinners “Working My Way Back to You”

I need to make an April 16th visit work into my crazy schedule because I have to see Rick Springfield!!! Who do you want to see?

If you would like guaranteed seating for a 2018 Garden Rocks Concert Series Performance, I suggest you book a Garden Rocks Dining Package for the day of your visit. Restaurants, meal times and prices vary so let me know when you book your trip so that we can find the dining package that suits your needs. Email Me and we will start planning your Walt Disney World vacation.

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photo courtesy of Disney

What’s New at the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival?

A new hands-on Harmony Gardens musical playground will debut featuring Disney’s Fab Five topiaries of “band leader” Mickey Mouse, as well as Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck. With the playground’s interactive drums, chimes and xylophones, kids can create their own musical sounds. And, as in previous years, each weekend at the Festival Center, you can dig in for a complimentary hands-on Gardening Seminar experience as they get tips from experts on a broad range of topics.

New culinary creations at the festival’s Outdoor Kitchens will introduce fresh variety and flavor to the offerings at a record 13 festival kiosks surrounding the World Showcase Promenade. This year, La Isla Fresca takes you to the Caribbean for authentic bites, including Jamaican Braised Beef with Pigeon-Pea Rice and Jerk-Spiced Grouper or Chicken with Mango Salsa. At the new Cider House, a Field Greens salad with greens harvested at The Land pavilion, heirloom apples, Stilton cheese and dried blueberries will pair well with blueberry hard cider from Plant City, Florida.

Weekends are for Concerts!

The Garden Rocks concert series returns with music spanning four decades. Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice, BRIAN HOWE, former lead singer of Bad Company, Georgia Satellites and Darlene Love make their Festival debut this year. Here’s the lineup (subject to change without notice):

• March 4-6 – The Orchestra starring former members of ELO “Evil Woman”
• March 11-13 – Starship starring Mickey Thomas “We Built This City”
• March 18-20 – Little River Band “Reminiscing”
• March 25-27 – Village People “Y.M.C.A.”
• April 1-3 – Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am”
• April 8-10 – The Guess Who “American Woman”
• April 15-17 – NEW! Blood, Sweat & Tears featuring Bo Bice “Spinning Wheel”
• April 22-24 – NEW! BRIAN HOWE, former lead singer of Bad Company “Can’t Get Enough”
• April 29-May 1 – NEW! Georgia Satellites “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”
• May 6-8 – Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy”
• May 13-15 – NEW! Darlene Love “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Gets Home”
• May 20-22 – Night Ranger “Sister Christian”
• May 27-30 (Monday) – The Spinners “Working My Way Back to You”

Performances are at America Gardens Theatre at 5:30, 6:45, and 8 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Festival.

Admission to The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is included in theme park admission. There are additional charges for the Outdoor Kitchens and some of the seminars at the Festival Center. To book your Walt Disney World vacation email cindys@d2travel.com to get started.

The post The 2016 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is Right Around the Corner appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Topiaries

One of the awesome things about every Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival are the topiaries. Disney has perfected this art form over the years.

Kermit the Frog & Miss Piggy are some of the “new for 2014” topiaries as is Soccer Goofy.

Tinker Bell’s Butterfly Garden

One of my favorite places to hang out is in Tinker Bell’s Butterfly Garden, which I featured during last year’s festival.

Interactive Kid’s Areas

I have always appreciated the play areas and interactive areas that are a part of the Flower & Garden Festival. This year kids can play in Mike & Sulley’s Monstrous Garden and in Mater’s Parts, Plants and Playin’ Garden.

The Festival Center

I love visiting the Festival Center. This is where you can buy cool festival merchandise, talk to gardening experts and even take some classes in different gardening techniques. My husband and I enjoyed our stop in the HGTV Theater where they have continuous showings of “The Making of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival”.

The Flowers

Of course, the flowers all take center stage during the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Not only is the park filled with vibrant colors but there are educational centers too. The Gardeners Palette teaches some basic color theory for planning your garden. At the Backyard Habitat you can learn how to provide landscaping that will encourage birds and other animals to visit your backyard.

Food!

Last year the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival became what many of us are calling the Food & Wine Festival lite. Festival organizers added “outdoor kitchens” aka food kiosks to the countries of World Showcase. There was only one new treat that was on my radar so on Friday night, when we made our way to The Smokehouse at the American Pavilion I purchased a Piggylicious Bacon Cupcake.

This dense yet yummy cupcake with bacon crumples inside was topped with a delicious maple frosting and pretzel crunch. The cupcake was good but the frosting and pretzels were amazing!

I hope you enjoyed our tour of the 2014 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I’d love to chat about the festival with you. Please leave me any comments or questions you might have.

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