Disney Flower Fest Expands to 60 Days
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A flower-festooned
pirate ship will drop anchor and Disney princess
topiaries will color the landscape at the 14th
annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival
April 5-June 3 at Walt Disney World Resort.
Previously a seven-week event, the popular festival
expands to 60 days this year and offers more floral
fantasy and gardening fun than ever before.
The first-ever pirate ship topiary will feature
Peter Pan and his nemesis, Captain Hook, plus Tinker
Bell -- all as intricately designed topiaries.
Pirate Mickey Mouse and Princess Minnie Mouse, plus
Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and her Beast
from "Beauty and the Beast," and other popular
characters make topiary appearances throughout the
park. A towering Pirate Goofy, with Donald Duck and
Pluto, offers Disney gardeners a chance to reach new
topiary heights.
In all, there will be more than 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. For the first time in the festival's
history, Disney's horticultural team will plant two
crop rotations during the fest, producing "the
biggest opening show ever" and allowing for a more
brilliant floral display for the festival's
duration, according to Disney horticultural manager
Eric Darden.
Beyond the dazzling displays of bursting blooms,
the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is
known by gardening aficionados for its celebrity
guest speakers, hands-on seminars and innovative
planting demonstrations and exhibits such as the new
Art of Outdoor Living garden next to the Morocco
pavilion.
Each evening, Flower Power concerts will rock the
park with live entertainment from top acts of the
1960s and '70s. This year's scheduled acts include
The Guess Who, Davy Jones, Jose Feliciano, Petula
Clark, The Box Tops and other crowd pleasers.
Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden is back
with hundreds of butterflies in a walk-through
screened enclosure that will include a live exhibit
showing how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge
as butterflies. The family-oriented Growing Future
Gardeners area, complete with colorful (and tasty)
planting ideas for kids and parents, doubles in size
this year following an overwhelming response during
its 2006 debut.
A new themed weekend event May 4-6 will salute
Cinco de Mayo. Back by popular demand are Art in the
Garden weekend April 20-22, the child-friendly I Dig
Bugs weekend April 27-29, and the time-honored
Mother's Day celebration May 11-13, among others.
Other festival highlights include:
- The new Garden Odyssey Festival Center,
where guests can find program guides and
festival merchandise, attend speaker
presentations and demonstrations and ask
gardening questions of the experts.
- The popular Great American Gardeners
series, kicking off April 5-8 with Paul James of
HGTV's "Gardening by the Yard."
- 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 an upgraded,
fun-filled Tinker Bell's Fairy Garden, the new
Pluto's Play Zone with climber, Disney character
meet-and-greets and daily ladybug releases.
More information about the 14th annual Epcot
International Flower & Garden Festival is available
by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639)
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