You Won't BELIEVE the Crowds at the 2026 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

It’s the first day of the 2026 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, and we’re here for a full day of fun!

EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

We’re here to eat our way through the Outdoor Kitchens, shop all the new merchandise, and check out the fun entertainment and activities. But we’re not the only ones! Some crowds have gathered on the opening day of the festival.

Park Opening

When we arrived at the park to kick off our day, we found that there were a LOT of people here early! We all had the same idea of rope-dropping the festival. Even the Early Entry line for guests at select hotels to get in 30 minutes early was backed up.

Early entry crowds

See, there’s Disney day crowded, and then there’s festival crowded. We’ve been doing this for so long, and yet we still get shocked by how many people are at the festivals right at rope-drop. That being said, it really was super busy, and this bright and early!

Multiple lines

As soon as you entered the park and made your way past Spaceship Earth, you were shoulder to shoulder with guests! You always have to plan for a big crowd like this for a festival’s opening day, yet we still feel like you can never fully prepare for all these people.

What a big crowd!

This year, they tried a new three-lane system for non-resort rope drop. The right-hand line was for guests getting to the attractions. Then they had a line for the exclusive pin release in the middle. The left-hand line was for guests who wanted to get their hands on exclusive Flower and Garden merchandise.

Three different lines!

When we got here, Cast Members were saying they would be walking guests over. We were already in our three lines, which were divided by tape on the ground. It’s funny because the only lines that were long when we got in line were for the attractions, and we’re not sure that we’ve experienced a need for this type of organization in recent years. This system is definitely trying to be helpful for merchandise rope droppers to get to the store more easily through all of the guests heading to attractions.

Following the Cast Member to the three different lines!

In our opinion, the result of this was chaotic, and some people were not pleased. When the Cast Member started walking people forward, all the lines combined. There were Cast Members guiding people to the left, but they were pointing all the way over into World Discovery. Not to mention, those little lines of tape on the ground meant nothing when the Walt announcement advised that the park was now open.

Walking with the crowd!

That’s a wrap on our tour of crowds for the first day of the festival! For more updates from our day, follow us on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Stay tuned to the blog today to get ALL the festival updates.

See ALL Our Food Booth Reviews for the Festival Here!

DON’T WASTE A BITE
AT FLOWER & GARDEN

The EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival is gorgeous — and overwhelming. Our DFB Guide shows you exactly what’s worth your time, money, and stomach space (and what to skip).