It's that time of year again when Epcot comes into all its glory with the International Flower & Garden Festival. When you think about it, Epcot is always a joy to visit because of the over-the-top gardens, pristine flower beds, topiaries, and trees—and during the Flower & Garden Festival, it's almost indescribable.
This year we were impressed with the Disney gardening cast. The International Festival of the Arts ended on February 25 but the Flower and Garden Festival began on March 6, leaving them with just nine days to get things ready. Certainly, they began a bit early where they could, but there is only so much that can get done while another important event like the art festival is still in progress.
Last year we concentrated on the topiaries at the Flower and Garden Festival, and you can see some of the images in our article from last year, Topiaries at the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival: A Photo Tour. While the topiaries tend to change locations, most of them are here from one year to the next.
This year we took a more general interest as we wandered around Epcot. We found some interesting flowers, some new topiaries, and some very interesting food.
The Trowel and Trellis is a new Outdoor Kitchen this year, and is located in Showcase Plaza, toward Mexico. The kitchen is sponsored by IMPOSSIBLE Foods, from Redwood City in California. All of the items offered at this location are vegetarian.
IMPOSSIBLE Foods is an interesting company. They make plant-based meats, which means that they create hamburger from plants that, according to their web site, tastes and cooks like actual meat. This is a big idea and has been a while in the making, with a large amount of research and experimenting. It seems to have promise.
You guessed it, there is a honey-based menu at the Honey Bee-Stro, which is located in Showcase Plaza on the Walkway to Future World West.
Noah's Ark Topiary has been selling topiaries at Epcot during the Flower & Garden Festival for as long as there has been a festival, according to the company's owner. Before that, there was an assortment offered at the American Adventure pavilion. You can see demonstrations of how these topiaries are made by visiting their booth on Thursdays, March 28, April 4 and 19, and on May 9, from 11:00 a.m. through 2:00 p.m.
There are two scavenger hunts this year. Spike's Pollen Nation Exploration runs the entire length of the festival, and Egg-Stravaganza and Scavenger Hunt runs from April 5 until April 21.
You can purchase a map and stickers for Spike's Pollen Nation Exploration at Odyssey Center, Mouse Gear, Disney Traders, Port of Entry, Pin Central, World Traveler, and many of the Festival Markets. As you make your way around the park, locate Spike and the nearby plant sign that matches a sticker to place on your map for that location. When you complete the hunt, return your map for a "special surprise."
Egg-Stravaganza Scavenger Hunt works in a similar way, but its area is World Showcase rather than the whole park. You can learn more about these fun activities and more for the kids at their web site, here.
And Finally
Now that we've finished with our photo tour and pushed the "Submit" button at MousePlanet.com, we plan to visit Epcot several more times during the course of the Flower & Garden Festival. It's nearly impossible to take it all in with one or two visits, or possibly even from one year to the next. It's worth it to us in terms of pure entertainment to keep going back to see what we can find.
As we made our way around Epcot taking pictures for this photo tour, we managed to find a few clips that we think capture the spirit of this year's International Flower & Garden Festival. Take a look. Video by Don and Bonnie Fink.
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