PassPorter Online
PassPorter.com
Award-winning travel guidebooks
Home Florida - Walt Disney World Caribbean - Disney Cruise Line California - Disneyland Resort Anywhere and Everywhere! Travelers Store Message Boards PassPorter's Club Help!
  About Us  |  Customs Office   |   Register Your Book   |   Book Updates   |  Newsletter  |  Articles  |  Photos  |   Follow Us on
Articles Menu
PassPorter Articles
Planning
Disney Dreaming
What Keeps Us Coming Back
Disney for Veteran Visitors
Rumor Round-Up
Finding Answers
Best Disney Trip Advice
Getting Your Disney Fix
How Young Is Too Young?
Top Ten Disney Questions
Tipping (Gratuities)
Timeshare Vacation Offers
Disney World on a Budget
Credit Cards 101
Money-Saving Strategies
Preparing Kids For Disney
Taking Toddlers to Disney
Planning Trips for Others
Convincing Others To Go
Importance of Being Lazy

Preparing For Your Disney Cruise
Ten "Must Pack" Items
Touring With A Group
Chaperoning A Group Trip
Traveling
Ten Travel Tips
Luggage Tips
iPhone, I Travel
Driving to Disney
Driving With Kids
Child Safety Seats
CARES Harness Review
Rental Cars
Amtrak Auto Train
Airline Security
Flying With Kids
Surviving Long Flights
Surviving Bumpy Flights
Surviving Bad Vacations
Surviving Long Airport Waits
Staying Healthy
First Aid on Vacation
Solo Travel
Pregnant at Disney
Dress For Travel
Traveling With Pets
International Travel
Taking A 'Greener' Trip to WDW

Orlando Sanford Airport
Lodging
Choosing a Resort
On-Site Lodging vs. Off-Site Lodging
Disney Resort Primer
Reserving a Room
Key to the World Card
Fun at Resort Hotels
Disney Vacation Club
All-Star Movies
All-Star Music
All-Star Sports
All-Star Vacation Homes
Animal Kingdom Lodge: Perfect for Teens
Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Beach Club
BoardWalk Inn & Villas
Contemporary Resort
Ft. Wilderness Camping
Old Key West
Wilderness Lodge
Home Sweet Home
Grand Californian #1
Grand Californian #2
Grosvenor Resort
Hilton Resort
Orlando Airport Marriott
Priceline.com
Radisson Resort Parkway
Shades of Green
Westin Century Plaza
Making The Most of Bell Services at Disney's Deluxe Resorts
DVC's Old Key West Resort
Cruising
Preparing For Your Disney Cruise
New Ships!
Cruise Security
International Port Security
Convincing a Husband to Cruise
Palo Dinner Review
Vow Renewals Onboard
Cruising With Special Diets
Cruising St. Martin
One in a Million Cruise
Zip-A-Dee-Zip-Line: A Canopy Adventure
A 'Magic' Time In The Mediterranean
A Wrap-Up From DCL's Inaugural Mediterranean Cruise
DCL: Not Just for Kids!
Spa Villas Review
Touring
Laugh Floor Comedy Club
Mickey's PhilharMagic
Fantasyland For Adults
Mission: SPACE
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Star Wars Weekends
Animal Kingdom
Expedition EVEREST
Surviving the Parks as First Time Parents
Surviving the Holidays
Overcoming Kids Fears
Planning Park Days
Four Parks in One Day
Touring with Toddlers
A Kid's Perspective
A Teen's Take
Educational Epcot
Flower & Garden Festival
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Scary Places (Halloween)
Playing "Millionaire"
Winning "Millionaire"
A Day With Allie
Past Attractions at Magic Kingdom
Meeting Mickey
Disneyland at 50
Future of Disneyland
Beyond the Disney Parks
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Monorail System
California Adventure
Expanding Disney's California Adventure
10 Reasons to Love Disneyland
A WDW Veteran's First Trip to Disneyland
A Disneyland Veteran's First Trip to Walt Disney World
Disneyland Homecoming
Walt Disney World With Pre-Teen Boys
Keys To The Kingdom Backstage Tour
Pirates & Princess Party
WDW with Teens? Absolutely!
Dining
Disney Dining Plan
More Dining Plan Tips
Dining Plan Revisited
Dining Plan Answers
Advance Dining Reservation (ADR) Strategies
Artist Point Review
California Grill Review
Nine Dragons Review
Spoodles Review
The Turf Club Review
Crystal Palace Review
Yak & Yeti Review
Tutto Italia Review
Character Dinners
Dine With A Disney Imagineer
Eating Healthy at Disney
Food Allergies
White Water Snacks
MurderWatch Mystery Theatre
Disneyland Dining: Yamabuki
Disneyland Area Dining: Pirate's Dinner Adventure
Party For The Senses
Artist Point
1900 Park Fare Dinner Review
Making Magic
Romance At Disney World
Beating The Post Trip Blues
Discovering the Magic
Magic of Slowing Down
Unexpected Treasures
Wishes Fireworks Cruise
Backstage Tours
Epcot's Segway Tour
Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival
Taking Great Photos
Taking Great Fireworks Photos
Digital Photo Q & A
Souvenirs on a Budget
Pal Mickey
Birthdays at Disney
Reunions and Gatherings
Holidays (Christmas)
More Holidays
Disney Intimate Weddings
Disney Vow Renewals
Custom Events
Scrapbooking
Preserving Memories
Scrapbooking Supplies
Finding Scrapbook Supplies at WDW
Memories and Milestones
Scavenger Hunts
Geocaching
Hidden Mickeys
Hidden Mickeys Book Review
Richard Petty Experience
More Richard Petty Rides
Ft. Wilderness Trail Ride
Disney Podcasts
MouseFest 2006
Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba
Sharing
Making of PassPorter
Rest of the World
United States:
Big Apple Greeter
City Pass Cards
Hawaii
Hilton Head Island #1
Hilton Head Island #2
Celebration, Florida
Key Largo & Islamorada
Miami, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
St. Augustine, Florida
Space Coast, Florida
Tampa-St. Petersburg
WonderWorks (Orlando)
Knoebels, Pennsylvania
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
San Diego
San Francisco
Anza-Borrego Desert
Grand Canyon
The Poconos
New York City
New York Splash Tours
New York City Dining
New York: Antiques
New England
New Orleans
Nashville, Tennessee
Adventures by Disney: Wyoming
Fort Sumter, South Carolina
Zoos of the World
Universal Studios Orlando
New Attractions at Universal Orlando
Seuss Trolley Train Ride at Universal Orlando
Sanibel & Captiva Islands
Universal: For Non-Thrill Seekers?
Madison County, Iowa
The Great Smoky Mountains
Yosemite
Discovery Cove (Orlando)
Busch Gardens Africa: SheiKra Coaster Review
NASCAR AllState 400
Michigan's Upper Peninsula
Niagara Falls, New York
Blue Horizons at SeaWorld Orlando
International Travel:
London
London Museums
London's Globe Theatre
Kent, England
Bath, England
Great Britain via Harry Potter
Stonehenge
Ireland
Paris
Marseilles
Rome
Stockholm, Sweden
Helsinki, Finland
Quebec City, Canada
Prince Edward Island
South Africa
Leeds Castle
Pompeii
Windsor Castle
Wimbledon
Menorca
Dover Castle
Florence
Monaco
Niagara Falls, Ontario

Blooming to Life at Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival

By Cheryl Pendry, PassPorter Feature Columnist and Message Board Guide

Every spring, Walt Disney World blossoms into life - and nowhere can that be seen more vividly than at Epcot. It is home to the Flower and Garden Festival, now into its twelfth year, and, as Cheryl Pendry reports, it's an event with something for everyone.

Disney in the spring was a new concept to me until last year. Usually we visit Walt Disney World in the wintertime, particularly at Christmas, when all the decorations are on show and additional festive events make visiting extra special. 

Having gotten used to enjoying all those additional Christmas events during our previous stays, I was keen to continue to get something more for our Disney admission price, so I started to look at what other events take place throughout the year. The Flower and Garden Festival, which runs from April 5-June 3 (2007 dates), immediately caught my attention. 

Centered around Epcot, our favorite park, I was instantly transfixed by the photos I found online of the flower beds in Future World and the various topiaries throughout the entire park. Never before had I seen such a stunning floral display - and my parents are exceptionally keen gardeners. I grew up surrounded by a garden, which was home to 2,000 flowers in bloom every summer and which used to stun and amaze everyone who visited us. 

But would the reality of the Festival live up to the hype? When we first set foot in Epcot on a fairly busy Saturday morning in early May, I will admit that I had my doubts. The photos had sent my expectations soaring sky high, but despite this, everything we saw was exactly how I'd pictured it. 

Topiaries welcome you first in front of Spaceship Earth and are scattered throughout the park. Some are old favorites and have been featuring in the Festival for many years, such as the trolls in Norway and the pandas playing in China, while others change each year. In 2004, guests were greeted by Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy together, highlighting the Magical Gatherings celebrations, while a new topiary of Tinker Bell took pride of place just in front of Spaceship Earth. This year, the word is that the main entrance topiaries will be a salute to the Happiest Celebration on Earth, which gets underway in the middle of the Flower and Garden Festival. Old favorites, such as the Beauty and the Beast and Lion King topiaries will be making a welcome return once again, but the Festival is about so much more than just topiaries. 

Flowers are scattered everywhere throughout the park, but for me, the highlights from last year were the amazing flower beds between Future World and World Showcase. A riot of color, featuring Mickey and flower shapes, these are planted out overnight, in just an eight-hour period. The turf is cut beforehand in preparation and the planting schedule is computer generated, so that the Disney gardeners know exactly where every flower needs to be planting. 

These were just some of the fascinating facts that we discovered on our backstage tour, exploring the work that goes into the Flower and Garden Festival. As this was to be our first visit to the Festival, we booked ourselves on to the Garden Discovery Tour. This three-hour tour is essentially a special Festival version of the Gardens of the World tour, which runs year round at Epcot. Costing $58, there are discounts available for both Annual Pass holders and Disney Vacation Club members, although it is worth bearing in mind that the tour name varies from year to year. This year, it is called Epcot Garden Discoveries. 

The tour guides are Disney gardeners, who can go into as much detail as you want about the various plants and flowers used in the displays and how each is created. Some of the topiary are temporary and are destroyed just weeks after the Festival ends. Even the permanent topiaries only have a lifetime of seven years and once the frames can no longer be used, they are melted down. 

The tour is unusual in that it's one of the few events during the Festival that has an additional charge. Another is the annual Mother's Day brunch, held in the World Showplace Pavilion between the United Kingdom and Canada. Anyone who visited Epcot during the Millennium Celebration will remember this as the site of the Millennium Village. Tickets for the meal, which takes place between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, and between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sunday May 8, cost $22.99 for adults, $12.99 for children aged 3 - 11, and tax and gratuity are included. Call 407-WDW-DINE to make your reservation. (Editor's note: this year the Brunch will be a Hero-themed character meal featuring Disney Characters such as Mickey, Aladdin, and Hercules.)

If you're not at Disney World over Mother's Day weekend, don't despair. There is plenty going on throughout the six weeks of the Festival. Everywhere you look in Epcot, there are things to see and do. The fragrance garden in France will astound you when you find out what actually goes into some of your favorite perfumes, while Farmer Mickey's Maze on the Imagination Walkway (replacing the DogGone Maze of the past couple of years) is aimed at children between the ages of two and five, but the topiaries within it can be admired by all ages. 

If all this fires your imagination and you want to return home to create water features and topiaries in your own garden, then help is on hand from Great American Gardeners. On certain days throughout the Festival, you can enjoy interactive demonstrations at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm at the Festival Center at Innoventions West. 

But the Festival isn't all about Flowers and Gardens, despite its name. It also features a liberal dose of "Flower Power," with concerts every night at the America Gardens Theater taking you back in time to the 1960s and 1970s. With three shows nightly at 5.45 pm, 7.00 pm, and 8.15 pm, this year's line-up includes Paul Revere and The Raiders, Tony Orlando, The Turtles, Davy Jones, and Herman's Hermits. 

Then there are the theme weekends, including "I Dig Bugs" April 22 - 24, allowing you to get a close-up look at unusual critters. There's an opportunity to think about "Art in the Garden" the following weekend. Other weekend highlights include expert tips on photography May 13 - 15 and then from May 20 - 22, Disney is promising more characters than ever before springing up all over the park. 

The Festival showcases Epcot at its brightest and best. It's fun and full of activities, with lots of extras to see and do. For full details of the events being planned for the 14th annual Flower and Garden Festival, which runs from April 5 - June 3, 2007, visit the special events section of the Walt Disney World web site or call 407-WDISNEY.

About the Author: Cheryl and husband Mark live in England and love to travel, particularly to America. Their last trip to Walt Disney World was over Halloween and their next Disney adventure will be the Mediterranean cruise in May.



This article originally appeared in our April 4, 2005 newsletter -- subscribe to our popular newsletter today for free!

Related Articles:

  • Disney Vow Renewals
  • Custom Events

    Return to PassPorter.com | Visit the PassPorter Message Boards
     
     

    Updated 04/06/07 



    Read additional articles from PassPorter.com

    Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter, PassPorter News, published for more than 58,000 opt-in subscribers worldwide. As an added bonus for subscribing, you will receive a 20% discount coupon for the PassPorter Store -- no catch!

    E-mail Address:

    First Name:

    E-mail Format:
    -Text/Don't Know  

    -HTML

     
     

    We respect your privacy and never sell or rent our subscriber list. Subscribing will not result in more spam! We guarantee it.

    AddThis Social Bookmark Button

    Copyright 1999-2015
    by PassPorter Travel Press, an imprint of MediaMarx, Inc.

  •        LEARN MORE
    Learn More With Our Award-Winning Guidebooks


    PassPorter's Walt Disney World guidebook

    PassPorter's Sidekick for the Walt Disney World Guidebook e-book

    PassPorter's Disney Vacation Club Guide

    PassPorter's Disney 500: Fast Tips for Walt Disney World Trips e-book

    PassPorter's Disney Speed Planner: The Easy Ten Step Program to a Perfect Walt Disney World Vacation e-book

    PassPorter's Disney Weddings & Honeymoons

    PassPorter's Festivals and Celebrations at Walt Disney World e-book

    PassPorter's Treasure Hunts at Walt Disney World

    PassPorter's Disney Cruise Line guidebook

    PassPorter's Disney Cruise Clues: First-Class Tips for Disney Cruise Trips

    PassPorter Disneyland Resort and Southern California Attractions guidebook

    PassPorter's Open Mouse for Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line guidebook

           SPONSOR LINKS