Springtime Festivals at Florida’s theme parks

From now through to May, Florida’s theme parks will transform with dazzling parades and food festivals. There will be many chances to party this spring with food, drink, parades, music and more.

With so much going on, it’s a great time to visit Orlando, and it’s no extra cost to experience these events either, as they are all included in regular park admission!

Mardi Gras

at Universal Studios 3rd February - 7th April 2018

Every year the Mardi Gras festival comes to Universal Orlando. It’s bigger and better than ever this year, with an additional two weeks of partying! This spectacular event recreates the famous New Orleans street party with a dazzling parade, colourful street performers and towering stilt walkers.

Mardi Gras is Florida’s biggest party of the year and is full of fun and excitement for all ages!

Mardi Gras concert line-up - You can’t have a great party without great music! On select nights catch big-name headliners live in concert. This year’s exciting line-up features:

• Macklemore - 24th February
• Jason Derulo - 10th March
• Fifth Harmony - 18th March
• Jessie J - 24th March
• and many more

Full schedule at universalorlando.com.

Mardi Gras Fun Facts

• The parade’s elaborate, hand-crafted floats are built by Blaine Kern Artists – the same company that designs floats for the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.
• The parade makes two stops to perform a mini-celebration and release confetti. The stops are made down Hollywood Blvd and in New York near the Revenge of the Mummy attraction

Seven Seas Food Festival

at SeaWorld Orlando 17th February - 15th April 2018 (weekends)

Join the flavour celebration at SeaWorld, as the Seven Seas Food Festival gives you the chance to discover exciting new Asian, Latin, European, Polynesian and Middle Eastern dishes. Also featured is a wide array of wine and speciality cocktails, and over 55 local and international craft brews.

The fun goes beyond the food as well, with live performances from top country, rock and latin music artists. Concerts are held at Bayside Stadium beginning at 5pm every Saturday and Sunday, so you can relax with some music whilst you taste some new dishes.

Concert line-up at seaworld.com.

Seven Seas Food Festival Tips

• They give you fairly large dishes here, so if you wanting to try a variety of food items, it might be best to share with someone else.
• You could also purchase a Food and Drink Sampling Lanyard, offering you more dishes to try for your money! This will be scanned each time you order so you don’t have to keep getting your purse out too.

Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival

at Disney’s Epcot 28th February - 28th May 2018

This colourful springtime event celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and will be held every day from 28th February until 28th May 2018. While the grounds at Epcot are always beautiful, the Flower and Garden Festival takes them to the next level. It’s a treat to your senses, as the park smells and looks wonderful, and there’s also the opportunity to sample a wide variety of tasty dishes throughout the World Showcase.

Garden Rocks Concerts - Each weekend during the Flower and Garden Festival listen to the Garden Rocks Concerts by the waterfront. This concert series features singers and groups from the ‘60s through to 2000s with hit-makers in a variety of genres. Included in this year’s line-up is:

• Starship - 9-12th March
• Survivor - 8-9th April
• Smash Mouth - 13-14th April
• Village People - 11-12th May
• The Spinners - 25th - 28th May
• and many more!

Full schedule at disneyworld.disney.go.com.

Flower and Garden Festival Fun Facts

• In order to keep the floral displays fresh and seasonal, Disney horticulturists will complete two full crop rotations during the 90 days of the festival.
• You’ll also discover that more than 500,000 plants, trees and shrubs are planted for the festival. 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed specifically for the festival. There are 60 different species of trees, 47 types of palms, and 48 varieties of bedding plants.
• In addition to the many flowers, there are over 100 topiaries to discover throughout Epcot!
• 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists are needed to install the festival landscape, topiaries and many exhibits. 100 Epcot horticulturists maintain the topiaries and other festival displays.

Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival

at Busch Gardens Tampa 3rd March - 29th April 2018 (weekends)

Discover authentic tastes from around the world at the fourth annual Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival. Head over to Gwazi Field where you’ll find a variety of food cabins and tents, to feed your appetite at this family-friendly event. The festival brings some contemporary twists to classic cuisine, along with more than 65 fine wines and over 70 craft brews to choose from. A range of live music concerts, crafts and festival games also accompany the event.

Food and Wine Festival Concert line-up - Listen to some flavourful music at Busch Gardens, as they bring together the best in pop, soft rock, Latin, country, contemporary and classic music. Concerts begin at 7pm on Saturdays and 6pm on Sundays. This year’s line-up includes:

• The Fray - 10th March
• Boyz II Men - 31st March
• TLC - 8th April
• The All-American Rejects - 21st April
• Flo Rida - 28th April
• and many more!

Full schedule at buschgardens.com.

Food and Wine Festival Tips

• The food cabins are all in one area of the park making it easy to hop from one to the other and try as many dishes and drinks as you like.
• Busch Gardens also does a Sampling lanyard, similar to SeaWorld’s Seven Seas Food Festival one. The Wine and Brew Sampler allows you to taste more for less money. The lanyard is hole-punched at each food cabin, so you’ll always know what how much you’ve already tried.
• VIP seating is available for the concerts at an additional cost so you can also get up close to your favorite artists.