Epcot Flower & Garden Festival 2017 Overview

Celebrating 24 years when it kicks off March 1, 2017, the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival will jump-start spring with many gardens of earthly delights plus new topiaries, entertainers, food and drink offerings, and much more.

Among the new additions, Guests visiting Epcot during the festival will find the following:
•Fresh, farm-market food and beverage flavors will debut at two new Outdoor Kitchens that will join 13 returning Outdoor Kitchens. Guest can sip and savor their way around Epcot, enjoying chef-inspired noshes and refreshing libations with or without a kick.

•The new generation of princess topiaries (Snow White, Anna and Elsa – the first to be designed and created with topiary facial features) will welcome a brand-new Belle topiary as fans remember her from the Oscar-winning Disney film, “Beauty and the Beast.” Located outside the France pavilion with the Beast topiary, Belle will come to life with sculpted facial features and her yellow ball gown created with golden blooming Joseph’s Coat plants.

•Another festival first will be a 6-foot-tall topiary of Figment, the feisty dragon mascot of the park’s Imagination! pavilion, perched atop a 5-foot-diameter ball fashioned from yellow Joseph’s Coat.

•The brand-new Epcot front-entrance topiary garden inspired by a vintage Walt Disney short film will spring to life with a floral-festooned maypole featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy and Pluto.

•The popular Garden Rocks concert series will expand to four days each week, with three concerts each Friday through Monday presenting pop musicians that span multiple genres over four decades.

•New Garden Rocks Dining Packages will be available on select days at a number of Epcot restaurants.

•Reimagined interactive play gardens will include a new take on the “Cars”-themed garden introducing a new character topiary from the June 2017 release of the Disney•Pixar sequel, “Cars 3.”
Music Garden Melodies play area will return with new garden and topiary elements.

•For the first time, the event’s Festival Center will extend operating hours from Wednesday, March 1 through Sunday, March 5. Throughout the rest of the festival, the center will be open each Friday through Sunday with an entertaining mix of gardening seminars and DIY workshops.

•One of the popular Outdoor Kitchen gardens, Urban Farm Eats, will return with savory bites, sweet treats and ideas for planting produce that can inspire growing numbers of guests who want to learn to grow their own edibles.

•Topiaries of Donald Duck and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie will share Future World space in front of Spaceship Earth with Chip and Dale for a “Fresh Epcot” selfie and family photo opportunity.

•Anna and Elsa topiaries will return to the Norway pavilion festival landscape in celebration of the park’s new Frozen Ever After.
Nearly 100 festival topiaries in all will include up to 70 character creations such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp, Simba, Timon and Tinker Bell.

•Guests will encounter garden surprises and special appearances related to Earth Day and other spring activities.

•The Butterflies on the Go garden will return with the story of the Monarch’s epic journey across the continent and featuring butterflies emerging from their chrysalises.

•On the way to the new Soarin’ Around the World film at the Soarin’attraction in The Land pavilion, guests can discover gardens featuring edible flowers, plants that benefit health and healing, and a pollinator paradise.

For more information about the 24th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). As the festival nears, more details will be available at http://www.epcotinspring.com. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

Getting to Know the 2017-2018 Walt Disney World Ambassador Team

As they embark on their two-year term representing Walt Disney World Resort and the 74,000 Disney Cast Members who call Central Florida home, Ambassadors Ken Facey and Brandon Peters share their Disney memories, favorite aspects of the resort and outlook about their new roles.

Name: Ken Face.
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Years of Disney service: 9
First Disney role: Bringing to life classic attractions such as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Astro Orbiter, and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom Park.
Most recent role: A leader at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa supporting the housekeeping and custodial team.
Favorite Walt Disney World attraction: Can’t choose! What I love about our attractions is that each offers a unique story. For example, The Haunted Mansion gives guests a tour of Master Gracey’s mansion and is brought to life with spooky, funny and amazingly detailed elements.

Name: Brandon Peters
Hometown: Miami, Fla.
Years of Disney service: Four official, but I’ve been a Cast Member for 10 years.
First Disney role: My first role with Disney was as a performer in shows and parades, bringing our magical stories to life for our guests!
Most recent role: My most recent role was as an Equity actor in such shows as “Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial,” “A Frozen Holiday Wish” and “The Royal Majesty Makers.”
Favorite Walt Disney World attraction: All of our attractions have a special appeal, but I’ve always loved Pirates of the Caribbean. As a kid, I imagined how fun it would be to live in the houses if I somehow got locked in the park overnight!

Describe your feelings the moment George announced that you’d been selected as a Walt Disney World Ambassador last fall.

Ken: I was very surprised and humbled! I couldn’t believe I was selected to represent Walt Disney World Cast Members – the people I’ve looked up to since I was seven years old. I remember being inspired by the way Cast Members created happiness for guests during my first visit to Walt Disney World. I couldn’t help but think about my first visit in that moment. It was surreal!

What have you learned since that time?

Brandon: I’ve learned a great deal about The Walt Disney Company since selection day. Being on the Corporate Citizenship team, we’ve been able to see firsthand how Walt Disney World supports the Central Florida community in a variety of ways. During global training, we had the opportunity to meet fellow ambassadors from around the world and hear what makes their sites so special. I’m proud of our company’s goal of creating happiness, and how we at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts play a pivotal role in the fulfillment of that goal through our immersive experiences and exceptional guest service.

As you look ahead to the next two years, what kinds of events and activities are you most excited about?

Ken: I’m excited for Pandora – The World of Avatar to open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Of course, celebrating the 35^th anniversary of Epcot will be wonderful, too. But most of all, I’m looking forward to spending time with our Cast Members, not only at our resort, but out in our community as we work alongside them to make Central Florida an even better place.

Share your thoughts on Disney’s role in Central Florida’s community.

Brandon: As the largest single site employer in the country, Walt Disney World plays a key role in the Central Florida community through economic impact and employment opportunities. Many of our 74,000 Cast Members participate in the Disney VoluntEARS program, giving of their time and talents to support local organizations. Through the EARS To You grant program, Disney VoluntEARS donated more than $1.3 million last year, benefitting over 500 nonprofit organizations. Our Cast Members also raise millions of dollars every year in support of the Heart of Florida United Way. But overall, Disney’s most important impact on the community is our continued investment in the lives of Central Florida’s children and families.