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Spring is here, and that means the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is in full force at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida! I’ve mentioned on this blog before that this is one of my favorite festivals at Disney World. I love the topiaries of Disney characters. There are topiaries I love seeing from year to year, like The Lion King topiaries.
I love seeing new ones, like the one this year for Disney’s latest animated movie, Wish.
And I love eating the food and drinks that are offered as part of the festival! They have great creations featuring fresh ingredients that feel just right for spring.
And speaking of fresh ingredients, this is just what you’ll get at Florida Fresh. Florida Fresh is one of the festival’s Outdoor Kitchens. What I mean by that is that it is the pop-up booth you’ll find near Disney traders. I have always enjoyed this booth, but perhaps no more than this year. You’ll understand once I get into the menu.
Florida Fresh Menu
Back on the menu is the plant-based Florida Strawberry Shortcake. But new this year is a Grilled Warmed Lobster Tail accompanied by Key Lime Butter. There’s also a Cubanito dish that is a sandwich full of Ham, Mojo-Marinated Pork Belly, Pickles, Swiss Cheese, and Stone Ground Mustard Sauce.
They also have two drinks. There is a Cucumber Watermelon Slushy with Gin. That is the alcoholic beverage. You can also have a non-alcoholic version of this where you would just get the Cucumber Watermelon Slushy without the Gin.
Our Recommendations
So to review this, I am going to rank these foods based on can’t miss, good, and skip.
Can’t Miss
The Grilled Warmed Lobster Tail was not only my favorite dish at Florida Fresh, but one of my favorite at the entire theme park. I absolutely loved it. It is absolutely delicious. The lobster itself was great, but the Key Lime Butter took it to a new level.
The only negative is that it is not particularly filling, but you can remedy that by say purchasing it with the next item I’ll mention.
Good
The Florida Strawberry Shortcake is also very good. I would still put the Grilled Warmed Lobster Tail a tier above mainly because it is more unique and there are other good desserts at the festival. But the Florida Strawberry Shortcake is a great dish and would make a wonderful side to the Lobster Tail for a lunch or dinner.
Skip
I was excited to try the Cubinato, but left a little disappointed. Now, it was not all bad, don’t get me wrong. The ham, cheese, and especially the pickle were good.
But the bread was just okay. It was a little too hard for my taste. And unfortunately, I didn’t really like the pork belly.
If you are looking for a good Cuban Sandwich at the parks, by the way, we recommend the one you can get at the Backlot Express. This is one of the dining options at Hollywood Studios.
Additional Flower & Garden Festival Info
Florida Fresh isn’t the only great outdoor kitchen at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. You can read about all the outdoor kitchens in our Flower & Garden Festival Menu Guide.
Now, to visit the festival, you will need Disney World tickets. But luckily, we tell you about how to find coupons for Disney World tickets here.
Also, if you are looking for a place to stay during your trip to Disney World, you might want to consider a hotel close to Epcot. After all, if visiting the Flower & Garden Festival is a priority for you like it is for my family, you’ll want to be close to the action. We tell you about what hotels are close to Epcot here.
