Details released for this year's Flower and Garden Festival
Goofy will catch a topiary wave while Mickey and Minnie chill at the “beach” for the 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival from March 19 to June 1. Last years popular 60-day event has expanded to a full 75 days with its first-ever March launch.
As guests enter the park near Spaceship Earth, theyll spot a 14-foot Goofy topiary riding a six-foot wave of flowers and plants. Sandcastles, palm trees and starfish will surround Mickey and Minnie topiaries posed on a floral beach towel spread upon a sandy “beach.” At World Showcase Plaza, Disney topiary specialists will craft a volleyball beach scene starring Donald and Daisy Duck. Nearby, a topiary Pluto will frolic with topiary sand crabs while a colorful Stitch keeps watch from a lifeguard stand.
Other new festival fun in store includes:
• Peter Pans Neverland Garden, a childrens area, will open along Imagination Walkway from Future World to World Showcase. The pirate ship-themed garden will feature whimsical topiaries of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and Tic Toc Croc, as well as a shaded play structure.
• The islands of World Showcase Lagoon will sprout gigantic, multi-hued topiary flowers.
• Sweeping Future World flower beds planted on the shores of East and West Lakes will take the shape of nautical flags representing letters Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, etc. that spell a message to be decoded by guests.
• Beloved Disney characters like the Three Caballeros, Lady and the Tramp and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will make topiary appearances.
In all, there will be up to 70 topiaries – plus 30 million blooms, artfully designed floral beds, expertly crafted bonsai trees and lush rose gardens gracing the 300 acres of Future World and World Showcase. And Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden returns with hundreds of butterflies in a walk-through screened enclosure featuring a live exhibit showing how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.
To keep flowers and plants at their peak, Disneys horticultural team will plant two crop rotations during the fest, allowing for a more brilliant floral display for the festivals duration, said Disney Horticultural Manager Eric Darden.
Beyond the dazzling displays of blooms, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is known by gardening aficionados for its celebrity guest speakers, hands-on seminars and planting demonstrations and exhibits such as a new Florida-style outdoor living display.
Each evening, Flower Power concerts will rock the park with live entertainment from top acts of the 1960s and ’70s. Featured acts will include The Guess Who, Davy Jones, Jose Feliciano, Petula Clark, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and other crowd pleasers.
More festival highlights include:
• The Festival Center, where guests can find program guides and festival merchandise, attend speaker presentations and demonstrations and ask gardening questions of the experts.
• Themed weekend events such as I Dig Bugs, Art in the Garden, Mother’s Day and Doll and Teddy Bear weekends.
• The Great American Gardeners series features gardening celebrities and authors from across the country.
• The family-oriented Growing Future Gardeners area, complete with colorful and tasty planting ideas for kids and parents.
• A Lift and Sniff Fragrance Garden at the France pavilion showcasing flowers and plants used to create several Guerlain perfumes.
• Disney Gardening at Home presentations during which Disney horticulturists share tips and secrets for at-home gardening.
• Kids activities, including the new Peter Pan’s Neverland Garden, Pluto’s Play Zone with climber, Disney character meet-and-greets and daily ladybug releases.
More information about the 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407-WDISNEY or by visiting www.disneyworld.com/flower. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.
