Amusement Park News

The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is a harbinger of spring at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The event, which runs March 5 to June 2 this year, is in its 30th season. The fest began in 1994, when it ran for 38 days, celebrating the character-themed topiaries at Disney. Its popularity brought it back every year since then, with the exception of 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first festival was all about the gardens themselves, gardening education, and live entertainment for adults and kids, all focused on the sculpted topiaries. The following year, the festival added a miniature train and town display showcasing both flowers and buildings. The attraction was popular and continues to be to this day.

Over the years, there have been ongoing additions to the topiaries, from Frozen's Anna and Elsa among other characters in 2015, to a floral sun garden in 2016; Bo Peep and her sheep as an homage to Toy Story 4 in 2019, figures from Disney films' Encanto and The Princess and the Frog in 2023, and last year, among others, Groot from Guardians of Galaxy and two characters from the Pixar film Coco, Miguel Rivera and Dante, were added.



According to Debbie Mickler, area manager of the Walt Disney World Nursery and a long-time part of every festival, the topiary gardening that inspires the festival is used in four different plant-shaping ways, including free form, standard, shrub, and sphagnum topiary types. The latter two utilize a frame that shapes and holds the figures' weight.

Sphagnum topiary uses heavy steel frames fitted with sphagnum moss and vines; shrub topiary utilizes a sculpted metal frame to train and shape a plant and takes a number of years to create. Free form topiary, meanwhile, is created using garden sheers, to trim and cut the plant, shaping it so that it resembles a small tree with a “head” on top of it.

While all are used for the festival, sphagnum topiary is most commonly employed. The design of the topiaries begins with sketches and 3D models created by Disney animation.  



Along with shaping the living plants themselves, Disney horticulturists may use dried plant materials including sheet moss and palm and coco fiber to create topiary figure details. Once the final plant sculpture is approved, artists use air brush painting techniques to finish creating each character. It takes approximately 3 to 4 months to create a figure, after which a dedicated maintenance and care team are assigned to the topiaries during the fest.

This year's festivalgoers will encounter a new Moana topiary placed at the festival entrance, featuring Maui, Heihei, and Pua as well as Moana herself. There is also an entirely new garden themed to Inside Out 2. Located in World Celebration, the exhibit highlights the connection between plants and emotions.  And, in the CommuniCore Hall, a new gallery will show how Disney's horticulture specialists bring topiaries and flowers to life during the festival.

Also new this year will be a new playground, Playalong Bay Play Garden, presented by Smucker's Uncrustables. The playground is a tribute to the renowned resort pools at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort.



Two new Outdoor Kitchens are also on the docket: Yacht Grub and Beach Grub, which are both aligned to the new playground's nautical themes, and feature seafood options on their menus. The Outdoor Kitchens, with their extensive specialty menus, now rivals the park's highly popular Food & Wine Festival later in the year. The Outdoor Kitchens include a wide range of fare including past Best of the Fest winners Honeybee-Stro, EPCOT Sunshine Griddle – aka BRUNCHCOT, and Farmers Feast. Foodie fans can also enjoy the Garden Graze, a plant-based food stroll through the festival.

As always, Disney is also featuring new limited-time merch for the event. This year's merchandise includes festival mascot Orange Bird's 30th anniversary items, Spike the Bee merchandise, and Alice in Wonderland themed items available for purchasing.

There's a new photo tool on board too: Magic Shots, which includes a Figment Topiary Magic Shot this year along with other favorite photo effects.



The Garden Rocks Concert Series, an ongoing musical performance series that takes place during the festival, will feature some new acts this year, including: Queensrÿche, Maverick City Music, The Outlaws, The Cat Empire, and We the Kingdom. Other performers include Herman's Hermits, Plain White T's, Rick Springfield, Don Felder from the Eagles, A Flock of Seagulls, Blue October, Air Supply celebrating their 50th anniversary, and 38 Special, among others.

The concert series will be bringing back the Garden Rocks dining package. These dining packages allow purchasers to receive access to the best concert seating as well as enjoying dinner before the music starts. Also returning: the fest's two scavenger hunts, the search for Spike the Bee in Spike's Pollen-Nation Exploration and the Easter-time Egg-Stravaganza Hunt.

But of course, it's flowers and topiaries themselves that are the heart of the festival. Over 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists and a year's prep are necessary to create the park's 90-day event. The result is a magnificent selection of approximately 30 million flowers, 240 floating flower planters, and 700 gardens. There are almost 100 Disney character themed topiaries as well as 30 flower towers, and even a butterfly tapestry of flowers. The Flower & Garden Festival can be experienced at no extra charge for EPCOT guests, other than food costs.