Trip Report Flower Power

Hello again!

In my last trip report, Disney (Almost) on Ice, https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/disney-almost-on-ice-completed.987612/ I reported that I rubbed the Genie’s lamp at the Once Upon a Stage exhibit at Communicore Hall at Epcot’s Festival of the Arts and had one wish granted immediately (Behind the Seeds Tour w/my family) but had two wishes left.

It looks like my second wish was granted!

While I enjoy all the trip reports - it’s the next best thing to an actual visit! I have especially pored over everyone’s photos from previous Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festivals and studied all the festival activities posted online. This was the festival I have most wanted to visit.

How lucky I was that it coincided with an upcoming landmark birthday.

DH said let’s go for it! And so we booked a last minute long weekend-ish trip! We wanted quick access to Epcot so we followed @TheMouseFan reviews and booked Caribbean Beach Resort.

Sadly our children, Chip and Dale, couldn’t join us but exploring gardens may not be on their radar anyway.

As I’m bursting w/garden photos I’ll share a few now.

Though the emphasis was on the F&G Festival we also planned this to be a B-side trip and try more non-headlining rides and attractions. DH’s first visit to DW was our family visit in 2018 so he has a lot of original/older Disney to catch up on!

I’m smiling to myself as I relive our trip now. It was a great reminder to stop and smell the flowers!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Yay! So jealous you got to go during Flower and Garden! Hope you enjoyed CBR!!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

That’s great you got back when it’s Flower & Garden. That’s a particular time I would love to see all the flowers.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Yay! So jealous you got to go during Flower and Garden! Hope you enjoyed CBR!!

We did! I think we’ve been spoiled by the easy Skyliner access!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

That’s great you got back when it’s Flower & Garden. That’s a particular time I would love to see all the flowers.

Everything was so nice and colorful! Do you have any plans for the festival in future trips?

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Day One - Friday, April 24, 2026

We wanted to maximize our short stay at DW so we took the earliest Southwest Flight available - 5am. I got around three hours of sleep before waking up at 2:00am so we could drive to the airport at 2:45am. The only slight snag was that TSA didn’t open until after 4am (which had been noted online).

We flew on a Southwest 737 jet - three seats across, aisle, and three more seats across. They kept the lights down but I was too excited to sleep! We arrived without incident and then made our way to the Mears bus for the first time. Luckily I watched the Mears video and ended up taking notes because it turned into a scavenger hunt from Terminal A to Terminal B w/baggage.

Here are my notes:
- From Arrival on Level 3 pick up bag on Level 2 (I don’t travel light and we packed a lot of suntan lotion.)
- Take elevator back to Level 3
- Walk to Terminal B and look for Ground Transportation signs
- Take elevator to Ground Transportation on Level 1
- Follow Mears Shuttle signs

First fountain of the trip inside Terminal B! Honestly it was a looonnnnggggg walk and I needed a break.

The walk to Mears on Level 1 is extremely long. There is a Starbucks, and only a Starbucks. Stop there. You earned it.

We checked in and were directed immediately to a bus w/vague comments on our departure time. There were about 10 other people on the bus. Fortunately after about 10 minutes the driver boarded and announced we were leaving for Pop Century, Swan Reserve and Caribbean Beach.

We sat back and watched videos about Floridian fish and mammals. Swan Reserve was dropped off first and then Caribbean Beach. We arrived around 9am. From Buffalo, NY to Disney World in four hours - pretty amazing!

Old Port Royale was bustling w/music and a welcome line, which also may have been part of a children’s game…. People were streaming through the lobby. I smiled at a few younger children still in their PJs for breakfast but was momentarily taken aback by the preening mom in her shorty PJs. Oh well, she was probably more covered than some of the people we would see in the parks! And who am I to judge? We were the couple that camped out in the back corner of the lobby by the DVC table with our luggage and changed into summer clothes - in the restrooms of course!

While DH changed I took pictures of the lobby. Light and cool just like the hotels in the Caribbean!

During On-Line check-in I did not indicate any preferences with the trade off we would get the first available room. However, we figured 9am was way too early so checked our bags at Bell Service. With that we were in vacation mode!

We were starving so we grabbed breakfast at the Centertown Market. It was a little different than the other counter service restaurants we had visited. Everyone ordered at a central spot from a computerized list and then picked up the food from a centralized location. Except for a fancy coffee station there were no other stations. (Mobile order was available too.) Bonus points for the Coke Freestyle Machines!!

We were so happy to be in warm weather, wearing shorts for the first time, that we chose to sit outside.

How ironic that the crow is in my photo…..

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Everything was so nice and colorful! Do you have any plans for the festival in future trips?

We are there from 9th November for two weeks this year but this sadly may be our last time, but never say never.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

While DH went to fill our refillable mugs I focused on taking a photo of our breakfast for you fine folk. Just as I was about to take the photo I felt the soft brush of feathers and a black object filled my camera lense. I had been dive bombed!

Okay, it was just one bird. Totally surprised I screamed. A nice, older woman came over and reported that the crow only took some of my breakfast potatoes and that my Caribbean omelette was still good to eat. Umm, no thank you. The pickup station replaced both our breakfasts very quickly and we then sat inside.

Undeterred we went outside after breakfast to take in this beautiful resort.

The lighthouse behind Centertown Market

The Riveria DVC Hotel at the end of the resort

The Martinique section of Caribbean Beach to our right between Old Port Royale and the Riveria

DH loves the heat and the sun!

Then it was time for the Flower & Garden Festival. Now for the main reason we booked this resort - the skyliner! And of course in it’s a small world mode, the first couple we rode the skyliner with was from Malone, NY, which is five hours upstate from us and an area we know well. They were winding down their stay so it was nice to get the scoop on the parks from them.

The island we are flying over houses the playground and a few small relaxing areas with Adirondack chairs.

More of the island w/the feature pool in the background.

First flowers of the festival!

Yes, I got stopped by security. They thought it may have been my birthday button.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We are there from 9th November for two weeks this year but this sadly may be our last time, but never say never.

I think I’m proof that miracles can happen!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We entered Epcot around 11am. The loose plan was to start on our left w/England.

Can’t forget Tinkerbell’s fairy houses!

Miss Piggy and I would make good traveling partners!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

The CM said to pretend we were holding birthday confetti!

Butterfly Landing - Hatching daily!

Still had to get some rides in so we “ducked” into Soarin’. The standby wait was posted at 40 minutes. From entering the line to getting off the ride took 40 minutes.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We finally made it to Moana’s Journey of Water!

We both liked Journey of Water. Bring back more edutainment!

This is a still photo from the swoop video.

Sadly the figure in the background below, between the bear’s arm and pinwheel, is the only photo I have of the welcoming Toy Story topiary. The first request for the missing PhotoPass Toy Story topiary photos and GOG ride photo produced the GOG photo w/no mention of the Toy Story photos. Upon the second request I was told I must have been mistaken and there wasn’t a PPP stationed at the welcome to Epcot, flagship topiary, Toy Store Movie #5 coming soon photo spot on a Friday?? Hmmmm…. Strange that there were people in front of and behind us at that spot getting there photo taken too…. Upon my third request PP apologized for the technical difficulties that prevented them from producing our photos.

Oh well, we have other nice photos. (Although I’m not sure how to describe the character meetup photos coming up soon. )

Here is the main reason I wanted PhotoPass - Fairy Wings! My inner child is loving this! From a kindergartener dressed as Tinkerbell for Halloween to a woman of a certain age asking for the fairy wings magic shot it’s possible at Disney!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We certainly got our money’s worth out of PhotoPass! We were up for almost any PP shot!

I like to get at least one character photo a trip and when I saw Mickey & Friends had a 15 minute wait at CommuniCore Hall we decided to try it. We then realized this was a production! With three different photo backgrounds and at least seven CMs! We weren’t the only people without children but we did start to feel a little self-conscious.

Mickey started off by pantomiming sewing and then focused on DH’s shorts. We have two photos of Mickey looking down at DH’s shorts and sneakers.

This photo’s much better.

Goofy is a charmer!

I think Minnie liked DH too!

The day to night animatronic garden inside Communicore Hall was not as cute as the Orange Bird Mickey Ears topiary. (For a beautiful night garden visit Sonnenberg Gardens in Rochester, NY. )

At 2:35pm we got a text that our room would not be ready at 3pm. That happened In February but in February we received a text five minutes later w/our room #. No such luck this time.

We were a little hungry so we stopped for a snack at The Citrus Blossom at The Odyssey. Though it was not listed you could get the Orange-Lemon Smoothie without the souvenir cup and at a more reasonable price. We also added the Lemon Tart with Lemon Curd, Blood Orange Gel, Plant-based Meringue and Raspberry Powder. The smoothie was very sweet and DH gave me his. We both liked the lemon tart.

At 3:20pm we received a text that our room was ready. The departure sign was appropriate as we left Epcot after this picture and took the skyliner back to Caribbean Beach to find our room.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

As mentioned earlier this was a last minute trip. Caribbean Beach failed to appear on any Disney Hotel search so for the first time, I called Disney to see if there was any availability. When the CM announced they found a room I didn’t even ask what type it was.

During early check-in there were options for rooms near the Skyliner or near certain buildings but that was at the expense of getting the first available room. Since we were only staying four nights and knew very little about the resort layout we thought it would be fun to roll the dice. Surprise us Disney!

Our room was #3942 located in the Trinidad section. As the map shows we were at the furthest tip of the resort. The main Skyliner is circled and Old Port Royale is underlined too.

At first I felt a little isolated but once I realized there were a lot of people staying around us and a lot of staff I found our location very relaxing.

We kept the Murphy bed open and placed our suitcase on it the entire stay. I warned DH he would be banished to sleep there if he made any Disney cracks. (He never would. He likes Disney too.)

The rooms had been recently updated and we thought the Little Mermaid artwork cute. We certainly felt like we were staying in the Disney bubble.

Our middle of the night travel had caught up w/us and we decided to take the internal bus to our dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro at 6:15pm. From Trinidad the bus traveled to the main Skyliner and the Jamaica/Aruba side of the resort so we got a good, overall look at Caribbean Beach.

We got to Sebastian’s Bistro about 20 minutes early but they were able to seat us promptly. We got the unlucky table for two across from the kitchen in the back but I can say the kitchen looked clean and efficient and DH said he did not feel boxed in by the wait staff, and again we were seated early.

Disneyworld.com - Far front end of the restaurant

We both enjoyed The Taste of the Caribbean Menu with House-baked Rolls, Spice Necklace Salad, Roasted Chicken w/Caribbean BBQ Sauce, Mojo Pork, Chili-rubbed Beef w/Chimichurri, Baked Fish w/Tomato Salsa, Cilantro Rice and Beans, Season Vegetables, Plantains and House-made Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding w/Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream. My favorites were the beef w/chimichurri and the dessert. The service was very good also.

Alas I did not take any pictures.Not because I was afraid of diving birds (we were inside after all) but because I was exhausted. I even passed up an icy drink because I was frozen and sat w/my sweater on and DH’s coat on my knees like a blanket.

DH knew I was really tired when I declined to stop in the gift shop after dinner!

On our way to the bus I found more palm trees that had been affected by the Jan/Feb freeze. (We found recovering palm trees scattered in Epcot and HS as well.)

We took the internal bus back to our room and fell asleep by 9pm!

My Fitbit died during the day so the stats are based on DH’s Apple watch.
Steps - Almost 18,000
Miles - 7.6 miles

 

[TheMouseFan]

We love staying in Trinidad! Unfortunately, the only room type available for the summer discount when we are there is a king room and they are not available in Trinidad. We also love Sebastian's! I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner despite being cold and exhausted! I'm not sure I've ever been exhausted enough to pass up the gift shop though!!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Day Two - Saturday, April 24, 2026

We split a breakfast sandwich from The Spyglass Grill in Trinidad and took the Skyliner back to Epcot. We had the pleasure of riding w/a young family from Virginia who was celebrating their 3 yr old’s birthday for the weekend. Happy Birthday Noah!

This trip people seemed extra chatty which was nice when you’re only traveling w/each other. The crowds seemed to contain more middle-aged couples and groups of women than we normally see, probably here for the F&G show. There seemed to be a nice, easy-going vibe throughout the trip.

We arrived at Epcot shortly after early entry and started to the right w/France.

In my next house I plan on having a cutting garden where friends and relatives take some of my flowers for their homes. I like the term “bouquet garden” much better.

Mornings are a great time to see World Showcase gardens and/or buildings but make sure you have water as many of the booths and stores are closed.

Another new feature for us this trip was the PhotoPass photographers on reserved photoshoots during park hours. The only thing is they need a distinguishing vest or shirt so other people don’t start lining up. This happened to us twice. Here we walked up only to learn it was a reserved photoshoot but we teamed up w/other groups in the newly formed non PP line and took each other’s photos ourselves!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

We love staying in Trinidad! Unfortunately, the only room type available for the summer discount when we are there is a king room and they are not available in Trinidad. We also love Sebastian's! I'm glad you enjoyed your dinner despite being cold and exhausted! I'm not sure I've ever been exhausted enough to pass up the gift shop though!!

DH was surprised when I passed up a PinoColava but even more surprised when I passed up the gift shop!

I told him it means I have to go back to Caribbean Beach and make it up!

 

[Plowboy]

Following along! Curious to see how your itinerary works/worked out. We are of a certain age (code for seniors) and are booked for mid November. Now, we are far from Disney amateurs having gone more times than I can count, but I find as we get older our visits seem to get shorter. This years trip is 4 nights and as we fly from No. California our first day is pretty much shot. If we make property before 5:30 we'll be lucky. That leaves us 3 days for parks and roaming around (that may seem pretty short for a trip all the way from California, but we're also driving down to the Keys for several nights as well).

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Following along! Curious to see how your itinerary works/worked out. We are of a certain age (code for seniors) and are booked for mid November. Now, we are far from Disney amateurs having gone more times than I can count, but I find as we get older our visits seem to get shorter. This years trip is 4 nights and as we fly from No. California our first day is pretty much shot. If we make property before 5:30 we'll be lucky. That leaves us 3 days for parks and roaming around (that may seem pretty short for a trip all the way from California, but we're also driving down to the Keys for several nights as well).

Welcome! Since we visited end of Jan/beg of Feb for five nights with our children we didn’t feel the need to be park commandos. In fact since this was an additional, last minute trip we stayed pretty focused on our reason for going - the F&G festival and then B rides for a little variety. DH fought a cold before and during the trip which did impact some of our evening plans.

If we could have added more days we would have but it wasn’t possible at the time.

Disney and the Florida Keys sounds like a great combination. It’s always interesting to me how other people do Disney so I hope you would consider a trip report or even just publishing your itinerary. Have a great time!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Thanks to Chris, one of the World Showcase PPs, for finding the perfect couples pose! I think this pose is practically foolproof. Stand sideways to the photographer, hug your partner, then look over your shoulder at the PP and smile! It’s now my go to pose!

We were still trying to be funny as well (trying is the operative word) and incorporate any props they gave us.

Those fuzzy ears!

Around this time we found an open Joffrey’s booth and ordered an Irish Creme cold brew coffee (me), a frozen cappuccino (DH), and water. It was so nice to stroll around the gardens w/our morning coffee.

Love the detail of Snow White’s slipper peeking out from under her skirt!