The 2009 Epcot Flower & Garden Festival officially opened on Wednesday, March 18 (and runs through May 31). I wasn’t there on opening day as I usually am, but I had a good excuse. This year, Epcot held a special press event for a number of the Disney web sites like Allears.net – and I was invited! Cool.
I’m going to try to chronicle my day, but with an emphasis on the Festival and not on my adventures, but there will be some overlap.
The theme of this year’s event is “Celebrate Springtime,” which fits in nicely with the resort’s “What will you celebrate?” slogan. This theme is generic enough that it allows for a lot of leeway when designing the different gardens and displays.
When entering the park, you first encounter the “Cinderellabration” garden. Here you’ll find Princess Arora and Prince Phillip engaged in a beautiful waltz. Also in this area are Belle and the Beast, Snow While and the dwarfs, and Cinderella’s coach.
The two walkways that flank each side of Spaceship Earth have been lined with the Flower Towers.
Once in Innoventions Plaza, Sorcerer Mickey and his brooms create a wonderful picture spot. Off to each side you can find the ostridges from the “Dance of the Hours” segment of Fantasia.
In the nearby planters the Fantasia theme is continued with hippos and an elephant, also from the Dance of the Hours segment.
In the Future World East section of the park you can find prankster Stitch.
Near the south exit to Mouse Gear is a wonderful sand sculpture promoting Disneynature EARTH.
The following is a quote from a nearby sign:
What is Disneynature? Disneynature is The Walt Disney Studios’ film label dedicated to working with leading filmmakers to produce one cutting-edge theatrical release each year, celebrating the wonders of the world in which we live. In 1948, Walt Disney created the Oscar©-winning True-Life Adventure series, which produced landmark wildlife documentaries that taught an entire generation about the beauty and fragility of the world. As Walt Disney said of the series, “Nature writes the screenplays.” Our journey into these true-life adventures continues with the first film in the Disneynature series, EARTH, starting in theatres on Earth day, April 22, 2009.
Also in this general vicinity is a wonderful spot for kids. Disney provides a small plastic pot that children are encouraged to color and design. When they have completed their creation, they are given a packet of Fairy Dust Impatiens seeds and instructions on how to plant and care for their flowers once they get home.
Around the corner is Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden. Hundreds of these delicate creatures fly about and pose for some stunning pictures. Also in this pavilion are several signs that compare butterflies to the animals featured in Disneynature’s upcoming movie “EARTH.”
New this year for the Flower & Garden Festival is Pixie Hollow. The opening of this enchanting area was one of the events I was invited to attend as a member of the Allears team.
The festivities began with Mother Nature and Mr. Green Thumb welcoming us to Pixie Hollow.
Soon after, five fairies from the Disney movie “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” arrived on stage.
After some impish mischief and coquettish poses, some additional fairies joined in the merriment and were officially sworn in as residents of Pixie Hollow.
Each day at 2pm, all Fairies and Princesses are invited to this wonderful spot to show off their costumes and be a part of a daily celebration.
Also on hand was the new Epcot VP, Dan Cockerell (left) and the director and producer Klay Hall (right) and Sean Lurie (middle) of “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.”
After some welcoming speeches, we were invited to experience Pixie Hollow for ourselves.
I have to admit, I have not seen this movie so I can’t offer any opinions as to this recreation’s resemblance to that in the film. However, my good friend Anita Answer was visiting Epcot that day and her daughter, Mini-Answer told me that Disney did a great job of creating a magical place for your little fairies.
After leaving Pixie Hollow we headed over to the Odyssey Restaurant for a special buffet luncheon. I was fortunate enough to be seated next to Dan Cockerell and was treated to a delightful conversation with this Disney exec. I found out that he started his Disney career working in the Epcot parking lot directing bewildered tourists. And as his career progressed, he was fortunate enough to be part of the opening team for EuroDisneyland. He’s been in his current position as Epcot VP for almost three weeks.
After lunch we were all given a chance to have our pictures taken with the fairies.
Leaving the Odyssey Restaurant I headed over to the Rose Garden and checked out the “Let’s Get Moving” display. This area is designed for kids and has a number of play structures for them to enjoy. Also in this area is a video display sponsored by the DIY Network.
Of course, no Flower and Garden Festival would be complete without the tapestry of flowers.
This concludes part one. Stay tuned for part two.
Thanks so much for the pictures! I am going to Epcot in May and they make me even more excited about the Flower and Garden Festival.
Thank you so much for the great pictures! They bring a tiny bit of Disney to coollldd Wisconsin (expecting more snow this weekend :-() I SO WISH I lived closer to Orlando.
Thank you for the wonderful pictures. I will be going on my birthday in May and can’t wait to see all the flowers.
Really bummed they moved the festival up, it used to go until the first weekend in June, when I always visit. Too bad.
Fabulous pictures, I loved seeing the morning sun drenching the flowers with light, made the colors really pop. Thank you for a wonderful walk through Epcot. I can’t wait to be doing it myself in just 9 more months.
Thank you!!
Many excellent photos Jack…glad I took a look and I can’t wait to visit this coming weekend! Really looks like the horticultural staff did a wonderful job again this year…amazing work!