ORLANDO, Fla. — The topiaries are back. The colorful gardens have returned. And the outdoor kitchens around World Showcase are again serving up spring-inspired dishes and drinks.

​Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival kicked off Wednesday at Disney World, putting Epcot in festival mode once again.

This year’s event features familiar staples as well as some new additions.

Here’s what you can expect to experience.

Topiaries and gardens

The character topiaries are a staple of the Flower & Garden Festival. New in the lineup is a Disney World 50th anniversary-themed topiary featuring Goofy holding a celebratory cake.

Some of the topiaries have been reworked, including the troll topiary in Norway and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Germany.

Other topiaries that visitors might spot include Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and Daisy Duck (near the bridge to World Showcase); Woody, Bo Peep and her sheep (near The Land); Pluto and Chip ’n’ Dale (The American Adventure); and Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy (Germany).

In addition to the topiaries, the festival features colorful flowerbeds and gardens.

Two new gardens have been added to the festival. The Blossoms of Fragrance garden is located near the bridge to World Showcase. It features six stations with different scents—floral, fruity, citrus, spice, woods and fresh.

The other new garden is called the France Bouquet Garden and is located in the France pavilion.

What’s Cooking?

There are 18 outdoor kitchens at this year’s event, including one with a rotating seasonal menu.

Epcot Farmer’s Fest, near Test Track, will offer three different menus over the course of the festival. The first one, the Early Bloom Menu, will be available through April 19 and include chilled potato and leek soup, chargrilled bison ribeye with creamy leek fondue, and a goat cheese creamsicle pop.

The other menus will be the Springtime Menu (available April 10 through May 21) and the Summer Solstice Menu (available May 22 through July 4).

For those looking for vegetarian, vegan or plant-based options, head to Trowel & Trellis Hosted by Impossible. The menu includes grilled vegetables with hummus cream, Impossible sausage and kale soup, and boneless Impossible Korean short rib.

Let the music play

Another popular part of the Flower & Garden Festival is the concert series, which returns for the first time since being cut short in 2020 and excluded from festivities in 2021.

The Garden Rocks concert series will include a mix of local bands and chart-topping acts. Kicking this off will be Skillzmatic. Other acts include The Guess Who, Rick Springfield, CeCe Winans, Kool & The Gang, Blue October, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, TobyMac and Simple Plan.

The concerts, included with admission, take place at the America Gardens Theater.

Festive Souvenirs

No Epcot festival would be complete without merchandise. There will be multiple merchandise collections with different items — from apparel to accessories — inspired by Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Orange Bird and Spike the Bee.

Although this festival doesn’t have Figment popcorn buckets, the purple dragon will be featured in a merchandise collection called Figment’s Garden.

The popular sippers shaped like Orange Bird and Spike the Bee are also available this year.

The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs through July 4.