More 2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Details; New Food Options; ‘Flower Power’ Line-up
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A blooming bounty of festival firsts will welcome Disney guests to the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 6-May 19, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort. First, the news:
- Epcot chefs will cook up first-time festival food and beverage fun, with special cooking stations offering exclusive-to-the-festival bites along the park’s World Showcase promenade.
- A new circus-like “Land of Oz Play Area,” based on the Disney fantastical film adventure Oz: The Great and Powerful to be released in March 2013, will debut a kaleidoscope of interactive fun.
- Disney topiary experts will grow, shape and manicure a Fab Five Disney character topiary with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck (with Daisy Duck in a cameo) featured in a celebratory floral cookout scene in living topiary color at the park’s front entrance.
- New illuminated gardens in the park’s Future World and World Showcase will cast a colorful glow over each festival evening.
Throughout the 75-day garden party, guests will discover festival surprises around every corner including new topiary triumphs, colorful garden displays, a butterfly bounty, HGTV celebrity designers, interactive gardening seminars and whimsical children’s play areas. On weekends, top Flower Power rockers of the 1960s and ’70s will perform.
Every Friday through Sunday, HGTV design celebrities will host Festival Center seminars. During opening weekend, March 8-10, Chris Lambton of “Going Yard” will appear; other designers scheduled to take the stage include Brandon Johnson of “My Yard Goes Disney” and Meg Caswell of “Meg’s Great Rooms.”
Now the details:
- Festival-themed flavors: Guests will discover culinary creations and refreshing libations at multiple festival-themed food and beverage locations. Chefs are tweaking the menu to include backyard barbecue and a variety of garden-inspired and global tastes. Around the World Showcase promenade
- Fab Five topiary barbecue: 14-foot-tall topiary Goofy will bobble an anniversary cake while Donald and Daisy play badminton, Mickey fires up the grill, Pluto swipes a link of hot dogs and Minnie chills out on a colorful blanket of blossoms. At Epcot Front Entrance
- Land of Oz Play Area: This interactive new children’s play zone will feature play systems adorned with giant flowers and designed to stretch kids’ imaginations and muscles. Midway-style games, red-and-white circus-themed tents and the “Oz Movie Garden” of intriguing plants will capture the spirit of the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful. Also on tap: fun games, photo opportunities, the “great and powerful Oz’s” crashed hot-air balloon and lush plants inspired by the movie. On the Imagination Walkway
- Illuminated Gardens: Every night when the sun sets, many of the festival’s world-famous Disney topiaries and gardens will twinkle and shine in a new light. Throughout World Showcase and Future World
- Monsters University topiary: Floral representations of Mike and Sulley from the hit Disney-Pixar film Monsters, Inc. and stars of Disney-Pixar’s June 2013 release, Monsters University, will join the festivities as new topiary family members. On the Future World Walkway
- Phineas and Ferb topiary: The popular Disney Channel animated celebs limit their shenanigans to go green for a family photo-op. Behind Spaceship Earth
- “Radiator Springs” interactive play zone: Race car Lightning McQueen and tow truck “Mater” of the Disney-Pixar film Cars 2 will be the well-maintained topiary stars of this play area. On the Test Track Walkway
- Flower Power Firsts: 1970s top disco band The Village People (April 19-21) and 1960s singer-songwriter Tommy Roe (May 3-5) bring on the Flower Power beat when they take the concert stage. At America Gardens Theatre
And a new twist:
- Fawn’s Butterfly House: Eight fanciful fairy topiaries of Pixie Hollow, including Tinker Bell, Fawn, Vidia and Terrence, take over the Butterfly House this year where hundreds of colorful winged beauties flit to life. On the Imagination Walkway
In all, more than 100 topiaries, 240 floating mini-gardens, dozens of flower towers and sweeping beds of multi-colored blooms will add floral splendor to the park landscape. Daily hands-on gardening seminars, and other Festival Center events will offer innovative ideas, design tips and gardening know-how to park guests.
The Flower Power concert series kicks off March 6-10 with Micky Dolenz (“I’m a Believer”) and continues each weekend with pop favorites including:
- March 15-17: Chubby Checker & The Wildcats
- March 22-24: The Guess Who
- March 29-31: Nelson
- April 5-7: The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie
- April 12-14: Paul Revere & the Raiders
- April 19-21: The Village People (new!)
- April 26-28: The Orchestra, Featuring Former Members of ELO and ELO II
- May 3-5: Tommy Roe (new!)
- May 10-12: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- May 17-19: Starship starring Mickey Thomas.
While Disney guests celebrate spring during their festival visit, they also can explore the reimagined, design-centric Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, the hang-gliding sensation of Soarin’ and other high-tech Future World marvels. In World Showcase, where the spotlight will shine on topiaries of Disney princesses, storybook characters and even pandas and trolls, guests will discover the attractions, shops and restaurants that represent cultures and cuisine of 11 countries.
Categories: Epcot, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Disney World, Epcot, Flower and Garden Festival, Monsters University, Phineas and Ferb, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World, WDW
‘Monsters University’ Topiary, ‘Cars’ Playground Added for 2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival
Walt Disney World today announced some of its plans for the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Promises Floral Fantasy and Topiary Triumphs, scheduled to take place at the theme park from March 6 – May 19, 2013.
Commemorating the milestone anniversary will be a Sensational Six birthday event display located at the front of the park. Colorful, whimsical topiaries of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck will welcome topiary Daisy to their Epcot front-entrance celebratory barbecue. The 14-foot-tall topiary Goofy will bobble an anniversary cake while Donald and Daisy play badminton, Mickey fires up the grill, Pluto swipes a link of hot dogs and Minnie chills out on a colorful blanket of blossoms.
And that’s just the festival opener. New topiaries, gardens, children’s play areas and interactive gardening seminars will set the stage for 75 days of festival fun as Disney’s horticulture team revs up for its 20th year of beautiful blooms and creative whimsy.
In honor of next summer’s Monsters University from Disney/Pixar, Mike and Sulley from Disney/Pixar’s will join the festivities with a topiary on the walkway from Future World to the park’s World Showcase. A new playground re-creating Radiator Springs from Disney/Pixar Cars playground brings favorite movie characters to life in topiary on the Test Track Walkway. And 2013?s Fawn’s Butterfly House flits to life with hundreds of butterflies and eight fairy topiaries including Tinker Bell, Fawn, Vidia and Terrence.
The opening weekend Flower Power Concert Series at America Gardens Theatre will present fan favorite Micky Dolenz on March 8-10. Other pop acts set to perform include Chubby Checker & the Wildcats, The Guess Who, Paul Revere & The Raiders and Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone.
More than 100 topiaries, 240 floating mini-gardens, dozens of flower towers and sweeping beds of multi-colored blooms will add floral splendor to the park landscape. Daily hands-on gardening seminars, HGTV celebrity presentations, and other Festival Center events will offer innovative ideas, design tips and gardening know-how to park guests.
Categories: Epcot, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Cars, Epcot, Flower and Garden Festival, Monsters Inc, Monsters University, MU, Pixar
Fantasia Takes Center Stage at 2012 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival
A little gardening magic will go a long way when an eight-foot-tall floral Sorcerer Mickey topiary holds court at the entrance to the 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 7 – May 20, 2012 at Walt Disney World Resort. Standing atop a 12-foot-tall floral mountain cliff and towering above the park’s front-entrance topiary bed, the commanding Sorcerer Mickey will direct a riot of color in the manicured shapes of dancing broomsticks, buckets, mushrooms, hippos, alligators and elephants straight from the classic Disney film, Fantasia.
Disney topiary specialists worked to create the striking new design with innovative materials and recycled elements from years past, says festival horticulture manager Eric Darden. An earlier version of Sorcerer Mickey stood less than five feet tall; a larger frame was built, Darden says, to more accurately reflect the character in the front-entrance Fantasia scene. The new Fantasia ‘mountain’ grew from a 2003 topiary piece that once held a Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse display.
‘The challenge is to use our resources, repurpose them, and keep them fresh every year,’ Darden says. ‘These are some of our most popular characters from a topiary standpoint, and Fantasia was a groundbreaking film for its music and animation techniques.’
The front-entrance floral spectacle will welcome guests to a festival packed with new displays, featured speakers and hands-on fun for all ages.
For 75 festival days, Epcot guests can explore topiaries and gardens, learn planting, style and design techniques and rock to the tunes of popular Flower Power concerts:
- Bambi’s Butterfly House, three times the size of the festival’s original, will be a-flutter with multiple species of brilliant butterflies. At Imagination Walkway by Innoventions West.
- Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden – Fabulous Disney fairy topiaries alight to greet young fans who enter this whimsical garden designed with play structures for children ages 2-5. At the Test Track Walkway.
- The HGTV Designers Stage will present HGTV celebrities each Friday through Sunday and nationally recognized garden personalities Monday through Thursday. At the Festival Center.
- The Flower Power concert series will welcome back 20th century pop favorites this year when Jose Feliciano, Chubby Checker and The Wildcats, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Davy Jones and seven other bands rock the America Gardens Theatre with their timeless tunes. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Thirty million blooms, 240 floating mini-gardens on two ponds, 700 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants and vegetables, dozens of Disney character topiaries, 30 ‘flower towers’ of impatiens and sweeping beds of floral designs will create a tapestry of brilliant color across the 260-acre Epcot landscape. It takes more than one full year and 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists to plan and prepare for the 75-day festival. One of the most interesting challenges is finding just the right plant materials to bring the park’s topiaries to life.
The front-entrance Fantasia rock cliff topiary will be carpeted with a ‘blackish-purple Ajuga,’ says Disney plant specialist Heather Will-Browne. White and blue flowers will represent streams of water tumbling down the rock face, she adds, and the Fantasia theme will be carried out with masses of hot pink geraniums, blue delphiniums, white poppies, violet petunias and blue pansies, among others. Other show-stopping character topiaries: Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars 2 at the Japan showcase; Buzz, Woody and Lotso the teddy bear from Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3; and the Fab Five – Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Pluto and Goofy — outside the Festival Center.
The horticulture team also will plant new landscape looks outside the Italy and Norway pavilions, Will-Browne says. In Italy, gardeners will display a mix of containers overflowing with bright flowers and pots of fragrant herbs used in Italian cuisine. Around Norway, ‘we’ll do a white show of geraniums, violas, snap dragons, poppies and alyssum,’ she says. A small Norway meadow will feature ‘a mass of brilliant, wild mixed color.’ Each of the park’s other nine World Showcase countries will feature special festival landscape elements.
More Festival Fun:
- The Festival Center: Guests can shop for festival merchandise, attend demonstrations and get ideas and tips from master gardeners. In Future World between Universe of Energy and Mission:SPACE.
- Disney Gardening at Home presentations: Disney horticulturists will share gardening tips and lead guests in a hands-on, take-home activity at the Festival Center.
- Special Festival Weekend Celebrations: An Art in the Garden celebration of plein air artists is scheduled March 23-25; a Florida Federation of Garden Clubs gathering will be April 27-29; and a Fresh from Florida Farmer’s Market salute is slated for May 4-6.
Categories: Epcot, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Events, Festivals, Flower and Garden Festival
‘Cars 2′ Disney/Pixar Weekend at Epcot Event Map Now Available
Walt Disney World has released the official special event park map for the Disney/Pixar Weekend taking place this Friday through Sunday, May 13-15, as part of the final weekend of the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.
The map, which you can download here as a PDF, offers meet and greet times and locations as well as other special opportunities taking place during the weekend.
In addition, the event map announces that Cars 2 merchandise, exclusive to the theme parks, will be available for purchase at MouseGear, Test Tracks and Pin Central.
Categories: Epcot, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Cars, CARS2, Events, F&G, Flower and Garden Festival
CONFIRMED: Disney/Pixar Weekend Event at Epcot, May 13-15
Via the official Disney Parks blog, Walt Disney World has confirmed Stitch Kingdom’s original report on the gala celebration in honor of Pixar’s 25th Anniversary and the release of Cars 2 during the final weekend of Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival.
The official announcement does make note of a few differences, however, namely that many character greetings will take place inside the World Showplace and around the World Showcase, but not in the Future World area.
Although we did report there would be informal talks held on site focusing on Pixar Animation Studios, Disney has confirmed appearances by composer Michael Giacchino, producer Jonas Rivera and Jay Ward, the Cars franchise guardian on May 14 & 15 only with times and dates to be announced.
Those who are concerned about the wealth of detail we provided earlier that was not confirmed by Disney should take heart in that the announcement completely neglected the ‘Agents on a Mission’ tour stop and that there is plenty more in store that Disney does not apparently want to share at this time. But of course, as always, everything is subject to change.
To revisit our original report on the Disney/Pixar Weekend at Epcot celebration, click here.
UPDATE #1: Walt Disney World has created a website for the event at PixarWeekend.com. Although Future World meet & greets are mentioned, Wall-E has been left off the list, signifying he may not be appearing afterall.
In addition, while the Disney parks blog and the official press release indicated the talks would only take place on the 14 & 15, the new site suggests they will take place each day (but do not count on the 13th at this point) and offers the following schedule:
- Noon: Jay Ward
- 2:00 PM: Jonas Rivera
- 4:00 PM: Michael Giacchino
- 6:00 PM: Special Presentation by Jay Ward, Jonas Rivera and Michael Giacchino
Update #2: We have been assured that while Wall-E cannot officially be confirmed, Disney Parks is working to try to bring him in but since the details haven’t been finalized, they can’t promote his appearance in good faith.
Update #3: Leaking additional information slowly, the Disney Parks blog now mentions the ‘Agents on a Mission Tour,’ albeit not in so many words. They also confirm participation by RIDEMAKERZ and AMC Theaters as we first mentioned. The theater will be showing Cars all weekend while RIDEMAKERZ will be offering some of its new Cars 2 line which we have already previewed here.
Categories: Epcot, Movies, Pixar, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Cars, CARS2, Events, F&G, Flower and Garden Festival
EXCLUSIVE: Disney/Pixar Weekend at Walt Disney World’s Epcot to Offer Extremely Rare Treats (May 13-15)
Disney/Pixar has already taken a prominent role in the 2011 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park, but despite the debut of the spectacular Toy Story 3 topiaries, featuring the strawberry-scented Lotso, and the Cars 2 topiaries as well as the Cars 2 ‘Race Around the World Showcase’ activity that leads guests through various checkpoints at countries related to the film for a prize, Walt Disney World is cooking up something extra special for the final weekend of the event, dedicated to Pixar Animation Studios, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and you will not want to miss any of it!
Guests entering Epcot for Disney/Pixar weekend (May 13-15) will be greeted by Green Army Men who will be passing out special park maps commemorating the event. The maps will included marked locations for the exclusive meet & greet photo opportunities being staged around the park as Disney/Pixar pals from the entire Pixar family want to be on hand to help celebrate.
Planned meet & greets for the Disney/Pixar weekend include:
Carl Fredricksen, Russell and Dug from Disney/Pixar’s UP will be at the Fountain of Nations stage along with an inflatable version of Carl’s house; Mike Wazowski, Sulley, Boo, Smitty, Needleman and George Sanderson from Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. will be at the Universe of Energy pavilion; Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone from Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles will be at Innoventions West; Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and the Rust-eze girls from Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2 will be at Test Track; living coral from Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo at the Seas with Nemo and Friends pavilion (and Crush at Turtle Talk, of course — no mention of Nemo unfortunately, but always a possibility); Flik, Atta, Gypsy and Slim from Disney/Pixar’s A Bug’s Life at Village Traders (the African Outpost); Remy and Emile from Disney/Pixar’s Ratatouille in France; Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, Lotso and Mr. Potatohead from Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story at American Adventure; and, making his Disney Parks debut, Wall-E from Disney/Pixar’s WALL-E at Mission: SPACE.
Each of the photo-ops will also have a special background tying their respective films in with the International Flower and Garden Festival (think Rose Parade) and Disney’s PhotoPass will be on hand to help capture the magic.
The Cars 2 topiaries at the World Showcase plaza will be enhanced with additional banners over the lanes promoting the special event.
Meanwhile, over at the World Showplace (located between the Canada and UK pavilions) will celebrate 25 years of Pixar. There will be an interactive garden featuring stills from Pixar Animation Studios productions. Upon entering the venue, guests will be handed a scorecard to see how many hidden ‘easter eggs’ they can find in the photos. Those who find them all will receive an exclusive Cars 2 prize. There will also be informal talks about the company held inside an 800-seat theater (speakers not yet announced). At the exit, a pop-up Pixar Studio Store offering exclusive merchandise.
Lastly (at Epcot), Spaceship Earth gets in on the fun as it showcases the Cars 2 logo projected on it following the performance of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, along with some music from the Cars films.
But, dear readers, the fun does not end at the turnstiles. Disney/Pixar weekend will be extended beyond the perimeters of Epcot by extending into the Downtown Disney district, where not only will Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater and Finn McMissle from the State Farm ‘Agents on a Mission‘ tour be there to celebrate, but they will be joined by dozens of classic cars. Other activities, such as an inflatable obstacle course are also planned. Plus, don’t be surprised if some of the DTD friendly residents like RIDEMAKERZ or AMC Theaters get in on the fun too!
Please note that as with all other events, information is provided as-is and is subject to change at any time without notice.
UPDATE #1: 4/11/11 – Another source has provided additional information on how the meet & greets may work and possible changes. It appears that the characters can be considered in sets of threes and will appear individually, trading off every 20 minutes or so. This means that some previously announced meet & greets may be cut out. Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. was mentioned specifically and may end up consisting of just Mike Wazowski, Sulley and Boo.
The primary exception to this rule is Wall-E whose sets are likely to be about 30 minutes. As we expected, although Wall-E will undoubtedly come out on-stage and exit on his own, he will be stationary for meet & greets, quite similar to how they went at the 2009 Disney D23 Expo.
Our source also informs us that the Cars characters at Test Track may also be joined by the Crash Test Dummies that used to appear by the attraction.
Lastly, our source reports that appearances by Nemo do not seem likely at this point. Evidently Nemo cannot be on stage for extended periods of time.
UPDATE #2 – 4/21/11 – Disney has confirmed our report for the most part, but there are some changes to be noted. Please read the update here.
2011 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival Guide Now Available
Walt Disney World has released the official guide for the 2011 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival taking place between March 2 and May 15. In addition to the park map indicating where all the new florals and topiaries are including those inspired by Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 and Cars 2 and the new Winnie the Pooh film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, the guide also covers guest and celebrity presentation schedules, the Flower Power concert series and previews the new merchandise created for the festival.
The guide also confirms that Tinker Bell, Vidia, Rosetta and Terence will be greeting guests at the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden at its traditional location between Mouse Gear and Test Track.
Special designated weekends for the festival are: Art in the Garden, March 25-27; Fresh from Florida Farmer’s Market salute April 29-May 1; Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and Guerlain’s Enchanted Gardens events May 6-8; and a salute to Disney/Pixar from May 13 – 15.
You can view and download the guide from Walt Disney World here. For more information on the festival, including details on all the new topiaries and activities being offered at the 2011 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, follow this live bookmark.
Categories: Epcot, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: F&G, Festivals, Flower & Garden Festival, Flower and Garden Festival
Disney/Pixar to be Honored May 13 – 15 at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival
Walt Disney World has confirmed dates for the highly anticipated Disney/Pixar Weekend celebration during the 2011 International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot. In honor of Cars 2, Pixar Animation Studios takes center stage during the annual flora-focused festival.
Pixar pals take the stage front and center in the form of much larger-than-life, reaching heights of seven and eight feet tall. At the park’s main entrance, guests will find a sandbox display complete with sandcastle and playground toys featured in Toy Story 3. Also on display will be a brand new topiary of film villain Lotso who will (needless to say) smell like strawberries.
While a topiary Woody has made a brief appearance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the past, the 2011 Flower and Garden Festival marks the first year that any Pixar pal is represented as a topiary inside Epcot.
To further that, this year also marks the first time in seven years that new topiaries will be featured in this prized location. According to festival horticulture manager Eric Darden, ‘It created unique challenges and it’s meticulous work. Woody is skinny, and it was a challenge to create his legs. The detail on Buzz is pretty daunting.’
In honor of the new film, the World Showcase Plaza area will feature an all-new Cars 2 display featuring buddies Lightning McQueen and Mater beneath a black-and-white checkered arch, surrounded by floral flags representing Japan, France, Italy and the United Kingdom, just like the destinations of the Cars characters in the film.
Also popping in to say hello will be Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and pals who will appear in topiary form in support of their new movie this summer. They’ll be located at the Hundred Acre Wood wildflower display between Future World and World Showcase.
Other special designated weekends for the festival are: Art in the Garden, March 25-27; Fresh from Florida Farmer’s Market salute April 29-May 1; and Florida Federation of Garden Clubs and Guerlain’s Enchanted Gardens events May 6-8.
Categories: Epcot, Movies, Pixar, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Cars, CARS2, F&G, Festivals, Flower and Garden Festival, Toy Story, Toy Story 3, TS, TS3
Lotso New Topiaries, Attractions to be Featured at Epcot’s 2011 Flower & Garden Festival
The heroes of Toy Story 3 have left the toy box. Woody and Buzz Lightyear meet arch-enemy Lotso the teddy bear on the Future World playground for the 18th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 2 through May 15, 2011, at Walt Disney World Resort.
The popular Disney/Pixar characters hit the sandbox as seven- and eight-foot-tall topiaries at the Epcot front entrance flower bed featuring a sand castle, strawberry-scented field and playground toys. Created by Disney gardeners and topiary experts with bold strokes of seasonal color, the topiary display marks the first time that “Toy Story” characters have been featured at the festival. It’s also the first time in seven years that the front-entrance floral spectacle showcases all-new topiary characters, says festival horticulture manager Eric Darden.
“It created unique challenges,” Darden says, “and it’s meticulous work. Woody is skinny, and it was a challenge to create his legs. The detail on Buzz is pretty daunting.” And the buzz on the pink-floral Lotso (a.k.a. Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear) is that he will smell like strawberries, just like his big-screen character, when guests stroll by.
This year’s festival showcases more than 100 expertly crafted topiaries, and another show-stopper will be the brand-new Cars 2 display at the World Showcase plaza, Darden says. Large floral topiaries of Cars characters Mater and Lightning McQueen will park their colorful chassis beneath a black-and-white checkered arch. To complete the scene, gardeners will create floral flags representing Japan, France, Italy and the United Kingdom – destinations of the car characters in the sequel due in theaters June 24.
And Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and pals appear in topiary splendor among a Hundred Acre Wood wildflower display between Future World and World Showcase. They’re just in time to spread the happy news about the Winnie the Pooh Movie debuting summer 2011.
Also new to the International Flower and Garden Festival:
- A roomier-than-ever Bambi’s Butterfly House grows three-fold this year in its new location along Imagination Walkway by Innoventions West in Future World. It’s the first time the popular garden has expanded since its 2005 debut, and guests will see more butterflies than ever, Darden says.
- The Healthy Living Garden invites park guests to join in fun activities designed for improving their health and well being. Areas of the garden, presented by Syngenta, focus on healthful eating, fitness, relaxation and meditation. An adjacent children’s play area keeps it all in the family.
- A new Festival Center stage brings nationally recognized garden personalities to the festival twice daily.
- Rapunzel lets down her hair at Rapunzel’s Tower in the Tangled Magical Garden inspired by Walt Disney Pictures’ animated film, Tangled, located between the Germany and Italy pavilions.
- The Flower Power concert series grows with new-to-the-festival pop acts. Melissa Manchester, March 25-27 (Don’t Cry Out Loud), Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., April 8-10 (You Don’t Have to Be a Star) and Juice Newton April 15-17 (Playing with the Queen of Hearts) are set to light up America Gardens Theatre with their timeless tunes.
- A new Festival Special Weekend is slated for May when Disney/Pixar presents a Pixar Animation Studios celebration in conjunction with the upcoming Cars 2 big-screen debut set for June 24.
Throughout the festival, elaborate floral beds and entertaining exhibits will decorate the park landscape and showcase the extraordinary talents of Disney gardeners. A blooming Guerlain Fragrance Garden at the France pavilion returns with its never-ending “love story” of the relationship between plants and perfume. At the Japan showcase, the art of bonsai will mesmerize guests who stop at the pavilion’s vermilion torii gate.
Special Festival Weekend Celebrations: An Art in the Garden celebration of plein air artists is scheduled March 25-27; the popular I Dig Bugs event is set for April 15-17; and a Fresh from Florida Farmer’s Market salute is slated for April 29-May 1. A date will be announced for the May Disney/Pixar weekend celebration.
Categories: Epcot, Pixar, Theme Parks, Walt Disney World Tags: Cars, Events, F&G, Flower and Garden Festival, Toy Story
Winner of PixieHollow.com’s ‘Design a Fairy House’ Contest Honored in Ceremony at Epcot
On April 3, Disney Online announced the winner of its “Design a Fairy House Art Contest,” which ran in February on the popular online world for girls, Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow (www.PixieHollow.com). The fairy house, inspired by 15-year-old winning designer, Zoe P., from Frazier Park, Calif., was revealed during a special reveal ceremony in the Pixie Hollow Garden at the 17th Annual Epcot® International Flower and Garden Festival. Zoe and her family were in attendance to celebrate the momentous occasion, as her fairy house will be on display for the duration of the festival.
The winning house design was selected by DisneyToon Studios filmmakers, currently working on the upcoming “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue,” coming to Disney Blu-ray and DVD this Fall. Director Brad Raymond, and the film’s producer, Helen Kalafatic, attended the celebration to personally congratulate the winner and meet with Tinker Bell fans.
Photos by Tom Smutny, courtesy of Disney Online.
(Tom Smutny, Photographer)
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