Kathleen Hesketh

Epcot Flower & Garden Festival Bringing Disney Characters to Life Spring comes early in Florida, especially at Disney World’s EPCOT Resort where the annual Flower and Garden Festival brings Disney characters to life. The Holy Grail of garden shows, EPCOT’s festival offers up the usual fare for gardeners and home improvement enthusiasts, with stunning landscape displays and advice from top gardeners, but it’s the character topiaries who take center stage. And no wonder. This is Disney after all. EPCOT’s festival delivers the largest display of character topiaries anywhere in the world, a fact made even more impressive when you consider the time and skill required to create each life-like figure. Crafted by gardeners, horticulturalists, irrigation specialists and even welders, it can take close to 60,000 blooms to bring each mesmerizing character into existence and hundreds of bedding plants to build the scene they call home. Each year, a new theme draws a host of characters into the limelight, some often coming out of hibernation just for the event. While you can be sure to catch more than a glimpse of Mickey and his friends, Bambi as well as Thumper, Chip, Dale and more recently, Mater, have also made appearances in the park during the annual event. You never know who you might meet, turning the corner or walking down a main thoroughfare. A 14 foot tall Goofy became the tallest topiary ever in 2008, but stunning special effects have been known to keep guests on their toes. Chipmunks blowing bubbles, potted plants squirting water, and glowing jewels from the mine of the Seven Dwarfs have added dimension to past displays—proof that Disney imagineers are always hard at work to make each year a new experience. Seminars are offered throughout the festival and tackle continuing and emerging challenges in horticulture and landscape design. Experts address popular topics such as mobile gardens or improving home value through landscaping. Each year, the festival also looks at issues of sustainability, with seminars offered on green gardening and displays that highlight the principles of green living. Topping off select nights during the festival is the Flower Power concert series. Past years have seen artists such as Davy Jones or Gary Puckett and The Lovin’ Spoonfuls take center stage in the America Gardens Theater overlooking the World Showcase Lagoon. The concerts are free to EPCOT resort guests, but seating is limited, so it’s a good idea to arrive a little early. With amazing topiaries, awe-inspiring landscape design, and the Flower Power Concert Series, spring may be the best time yet to visit Disney.