Details on the 2013 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival Revealed

©Walt Disney Company

The Fab Five are having a party, and everyone’s invited to join the fun during the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 6-May 19, 2013 at Walt Disney World Resort. 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.

For the first year ever, Mike and Sully from Disney/Pixar “Monsters Inc.” will join the festivities with their Disney/Pixar “Monsters University” topiary on the walkway from Future World to the park’s World Showcase. A new Disney/Pixar “Cars” playground– Radiator Springs–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 (“I’m a Believer”) 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.

For more information about the 20th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

Disney has since announced the presence of “Oz The Great and Powerful” at the Festival as well:

We’re happy to announce today that guests visiting the 2013 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival this spring can visit this Land of Oz in the form of an original interactive play area that will be one of the festival’s newest offerings. Here, guests can follow in the footsteps of Oz The Great and Powerful by playing carnival games in a circus-themed area. Here red-and-white tents will offer all kinds of midway games, plus fun photo opportunities.
The next stop is the “Land of Oz Play Area”, where bubbles fill the air, and where you can find: play equipment adorned with giant flowers, The Great and Powerful Oz’s crashed hot-air balloon, and more! Guests can also wander through the “Oz Movie Garden,” which will feature lush, unusual plants inspired by the Land of Oz.

PIXAR Place Expansion Coming Soon??

I'm going against everything I believe in when it comes to rumors, specifically DISNEY rumors, but I find this one way too juicy (and likely accurate) to pass up. According to a few reputable WDW fan websites, it seems that the Studio Backlot Tour is poised to close down at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We know that since Oaken's Trading Post and Frozen Funland are moving out of the Soundstage 1 area, work should soon begin on the rumored (and much needed) third track for Toy Story Mania. Why close the Backlot Tour? It appears that area is destined to be home to a rather extensive PIXAR Place expansion. According to WDW News Today, we will likely see smaller, flat-rides developed for Toy Story Playland at Disneyland Resort in Paris and Toy Story Land at Hong Kong Disneyland including RC Racer, Slinky Dog Zigzag Spin, and the Toy Soldier Parachute Drop. Attractions in this area don't take us much real estate as these rides would require, so WDW News Today specula...

The Art of Topiary Gardening from Walt Disney World Resort

Topiary gardening, the art of fashioning living plan into ornamental shapes, has been practiced for centuries. Found throughout the gardens of the Walt Disney World Resort are hundreds of topiary figures, ranging from traditional hedges and sheared trees to fanciful shapes and a whole menagerie of "chlorophyll" Disney characters. Types of Topiary Four different types of topiary at the Walt Disney World resort have developed out of our desire to put on an award-winning horticultural show. Free-form topiary and standard form topiary require your imagination and some sharp shears - the other two utilize a frame specially suited to their needs. A lightweight frame is used for shrub topiary, while sphagnum topiary require a much stronger frame specially designed to support the weight of the figure. Standard Form Topiary The world standard is used to describe a plant that is grown to a designated height and then encouraged to bush or form a "head" at t...

Disney's Animal Kingdom Entertainment Changes

T here have been several entertainment changes taking place at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park in preparation for spring break. Those changes include DiVine meeting Guests in the Oasis area and Viva Gaia returning to the park. - Tam Tam Drummers of Harambe March 25-27: Earlier show-times in the day: 8:45 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 9:45 a.m., 10:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. - Burudika March 25-27: Later show-times in the day: 4:20 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. - Viva Gaia Street Band! March 24 - April 6: Returning to Discovery Island. Set times are: 12:30 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. - DJ Anaan Beginning March 31: Schedule ending at 7 p.m. - DiVine (DON'T MISS!!) March 11-13 and March 24 - April 6: Meet-and-greet location change to Oasis.

Welcome to MikeandTheMouse

Search This Blog