Epcot is busy getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival to start next week, but that isn’t all that is happening! We found so many changes, lots of new merchandise, the return of a hidden gem, and as always lots of construction progress!

We didn’t let a rainy day spoil our time in Epcot — see everything that’s new here!

Epcot Readies for the Flower and Garden Festival

In addition to topiaries popping up pretty much everywhere, the food booths are changing over from Festival of the Arts Food Studios to Flower and Garden Festival Outdoor Kitchens!

See all of the 2019 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival food booth menus here — plus tons of pictures!

So many of topiaries are out already!

See photos of even more Epcot Flower and Garden topiaries here!

See our preview of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival here — including food, merchandise, topiary, and Orange Bird sipper cup photos!

What’s New in Epcot’s World Showcase

Canada’s Le Cellier menu has a few updates, including a new must-try poutine!

• New! The “Poutines from Around the Showcase” option is now a Crispy Soy Glazed Pork Belly Poutine. This replaces the Bacon Cheeseburger option.
• The Steamed Chinese Dumplings now have a new name: Steamed Asian Style Dumplings; the description remains the same for these dumplings.
• New! A Chateaubriand for Two and Seared Golden Tile Fish have been added to the menu. These new options replace the Lobster Pot Pie and Porterhouse Steak for Two.

Yeah! The Wine Walk is back in France, Germany, and Italy! This is a little-known way to enjoy and sample wines from these three pavilions. Read about the return of the Wine Walk here!

The pop-up wine bar is gone for now in the Italy pavilion — we’ll be sure to fill you when this bar pops up again!

What’s the Latest with Epcot’s Construction

The Wonders of Life building will start to see some construction as it becomes the park’s new Play Pavilion.

Learn more about Epcot’s transformation including the addition of a new Play Pavilion and park entrance here!

Work continues on the brand new ride building for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride opening in 2021. The Universe of Energy building will become the queue building for the new ride.

A new space-themed restaurant is opening between the Mission: Space and Test Track rides in 2020.

See all of the details about Epcot’s new space-themed restaurant opening in 2020 here.

The France pavilion is busy as the Ratatouille ride, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, is added to the pavilion. This new ride will open in 2021 for Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Some new construction walls have gone up in the International Gateway area that block some, but not all, of the views into the construction area.

A new signature restaurant is coming to the Japan pavilion. In the past few visits we’ve seen noticeable progress on the building, including walls going up after a lot of foundation work.

No opening date has been announced for this new location yet. We will be sure to let you know as soon as any announcements are made!

There are some new construction walls outside the main entrance to the American Adventure building. No announcements have been made about this new work; we will let you know when we learn what these are hiding.

As if there isn’t enough construction going on, there’s even construction going on IN the World Showcase Lagoon! This is work to prepare for Epcot’s new nighttime spectacular, Epcot Forever.

Epcot’s current nighttime spectacular, IllumiNations, will retire this summer. Be sure to score a lagoon-side view of IllumiNations before it retires with the IllumiNations dining package at Rose and Crown in the UK pavilion.

What’s New in Epcot’s Shops and Stores — New Merchandise!

Stitch sure looks happy to be graduating in the Class of 2019! We also saw the Class of 2019 Minnie Mouse ears, and Class of 2019 Mickey Mouse ears in Epcot.

If you are planning your St. Patrick’s Day outfit may we suggest this “lucky” t-shirt!

We saw the super-popular, sold-out Disney Dog and Cat leggings back in stock for the first time in a few weeks.

Which will you choose? Dogs or Cats?

The France pavilion is getting ready for the March 29th release of the brand new, live-action Dumbo movie with this cute parasol decorated with a circus tent, peanuts, and of course Dumbo himself!

We found our last Epcot update all over Disney World! The Joffrey’s Coffee and Tea stands are now serving their drinks with paper straws instead of single-use plastic straws.

We beat the rain and got all the updates in Epcot! What do you think about Epcot’s transformation? Let us know in the comments below!

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