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2013 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival- an overview

Published March 3, 2013 by Disneyways.com

One of the most welcome signs of spring is Epcot’s annual International Flower & Garden Festival. While the grounds at Epcot are always beautiful, the Flower and Garden Festival takes them to the next level. If you’ve never been to the festival – here is more about what we can expect. Below are are some Disneyways photos from last year.

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Throughout Epcot over 100 topiaries will be on display. The Flower Power Concert Series will return as well as special kids’ activities and gardening workshops.  An exciting addition to this year’s Festival is several presentations by HGTV stars at the Designers Stage.

Perennial Flower and Garden favorites such as the Flower Power Concert series, the English Tea Garden, and Ask An Expert will be returning. For the kids, there’s Bambi’s Butterfly House, GoGo on the Go Challenge, the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, and the Bee Scavenger Hunt.

Over at the France Pavilion, there will again be a “lift and sniff” Fragrance Garden focusing on some of the flowers used in making the Guerlain line of perfumes.

Throughout the event, Disney horticulturists and garden experts will conduct seminars, sharing tips and secrets for you to try at home.

Discover dazzling gardens, high-energy entertainment, family fun and more at this spectacular springtime event. The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV is brimming with special experiences for every age and interest.

Festival highlights include:

With so much to see and do, you can return to the festival again and again… and discover something new each time!

Get Into the Groove

Musical entertainment pairs perfectly with brilliant botanicals during the nightly Flower Power Concert Series. Enjoy a diverse lineup of performers — popular musicians of the 1960s and 1970s — throughout the festival.

Learn Tips, Techniques and More!

Fascinating designer presentations offer helpful information that you can use in your home or garden. Whether you wish to learn new gardening techniques or simply see a favorite television personality, you can look forward to an array of engaging seminars and demonstrations.

Beauty Abounds All Around

Special displays — like blossoming gardens and vibrant topiaries — add to the beauty of Epcot.

Know Before You Go

Epcot theme park admission is required. Most Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival events are included with admission to Epcot theme park. Availability is limited for some events. Events may be rescheduled or cancelled at any time.

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2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival – Book a Tour!

Published February 2, 2013 by Disneyways.com

March 6 – May 19, 2013 is the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival where you can celebrate the great outdoors!


Every weekend during this special time you can catch a Festival tradition, the Flower Power Concert Series. Head over to the Festival Center, where you can experience a demonstration led by HGTV personalities or get tips from Epcot gardening experts. Be sure to visit Festival Center located in Innoventions East for all the details!

festival center

Don’t want to look at a map? Let someone else be your guide!

The Gardens of the World Tour is only offered on select days during Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival

Everywhere you look at the Walt Disney World Resort, the trees, shrubs and flowers play a vital role in setting the stage for recreation, entertainment and beauty.  Disney landscaping has become a recognized show in itself, providing color and enjoyment throughout the year.  Did you know that only during the Flower and Garden Festival – you can book a tour of all this beauty?

The Gardens of the World Tour gives participants the chance to study the various gardens of Epcot with one of the experts responsible for helping maintaining it all.

Your “horticultural instructor” will turn Epcot into a living classroom. Discover how seeds are planted and design ideas take root to produce extraordinary botanical backdrops, imaginative themed areas and topiaries of some of your favorite Disney characters. Your guide will describe the basic process of plant design and how it is incorporated in the landscape for the World Showcase pavilions.  Find will even find out how you can design and theme your own home gardens.

Here’s more about what will happen on the tour.

You will:

  • Study the five principles of the Disney horticulture program.
  • Examine the role of landscaping at the Walt Disney World Resort.
  • Discuss ways to adapt the Disney landscaping techniques at home.
  • Discover how landscaping helps develop a theme.
  • Explore plant materials and gardening techniques in World Showcase.

The beauty of each country’s traditional landscaping makes this tour an extraordinary introduction to the World Showcase nations!

Prices are subject to change, but this year you can take the tour for $63.90 including tax. That price also includes a pin and a poster for you to take home.

Book online or call (407) WDW-TOUR or (407) 939-8687 for exact schedule.

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Know Before You Go (Here’s the fine print.)

  • Guests are not allowed to carry backpacks, camera bags, duffle bags or large bags during the tour. Fanny packs and purses are allowed. Lockers are available for bags for a nominal fee (not included in price of tour).
  • For safety reasons, closed-toe and closed-heel shoes, such as sneakers, are required for this experience. No sandals, open-toe or open-heel shoes will be permitted. Guests should wear comfortable shoes as there will be periods of walking and standing.
  • Tour itinerary, content, duration and availability are subject to change without notice.
  • Guests must be 16 years of age or older and have a valid photo ID.
  • Please check in outside the Epcot Main Entrance 15 minutes prior to the start of your experience. You will forfeit the entire price of your tour if you no-show or cancel within 2 days of your reservation.

Please let us know if you will be taking this very special tour!

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2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Fest Designers – What do they look like again?

Published January 30, 2013 by Disneyways.com

While some of you up north are still fighting snow and freezing weather, here in Orlando the temperature is already starting to go back up, and with it – the flowers are starting to bloom. Warmer temperatures around here are a good reminder that the it’s almost time for the 20th Annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.

The festival runs from March 6th until May 19th this year and offers a wide range of special activities. For the last few years the Flower and Garden Festival has partnered with HGTV to bring in some of their top talent for special appearances at the festival.  This year’s line-up is better than ever with a full calendar of home and garden experts.

Guests of the Festival can see their favorite HGTV and DIY stars on “The Designers’ Stage Presented by HGTV” at the Festival Center. In case this is your first visit – The Festival Center is  located between Mission Space and Ellen’s Energy Adventure in Future World. Click here to see a map of the exact location. Here is a photo so you’ll know what to look for:

festival center

2013 HGTV Stars present at Festival Center

Are you like me – and perhaps a bit better at remembering faces than remembering names? I have to admit, when I saw the lists of designers all over the internet – it really didn’t mean much to me. In an effort to make this list a little different, I have hyper-linked each name. Click on the name and you will be taken to a site with the designer’s picture. That way, even if you are just a casual watcher of the HGTV and DIY channels, or maybe not much for TV at all – you will still know a bit about each designer. As a bonus – if you run into one of them shopping for souvenirs in Mouse Gear – you will know to take pictures – and you can brag to your friends later.

Presentations will take place  Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Festival at noon and 3 p.m. and no reservation is required. Keep in mind Disney reserves the right to change the schedule and the line-up at any time. You can always check Disneyworld.com for the latest information.

Here is the schedule made public as it stands today:

March 8-10: Chris Lambton, (Going Yard)

March 15-17: Chris Grundy, (DIY Network’s Cool Tools)

Marach 22-24: Egypt Sherrod, (Property Virgins)

March 29-31: Brandon Johnson, (My Yard Goes Disney)

Apri 5-7: Meg Caswell, (Meg’s Great Rooms)

April 12-14: Jason Cameron, (DIY Network’s Desperate Landscapes and Man Caves)

April 19-21: Sara Peterson, (Editor-in-Chief, HGTV Magazine)

April 26-28: Carter Oosterhouse, (Million Dollar Rooms)

May 3-5: Casey Noble, (Design on a Dime)

May 10-12: Dan Faires, (HGTV.com’s DanMade)

May 17-19: David Bromstad, (HGTV Design Star, ColorSplash, Design Star All-Stars)

TIP: Sometimes each designer has cards available with their photo on it to ready to sign and give out on they day of their presentation – and even extra time designated to do so. When you are in the pavilion, you can ask a cast member about this, and they will usually have the day’s information for you.

Do you have a favorite celebrity listed here or are you glad we posted pictures?

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Quick Tips for Saving time at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival

Published October 9, 2012 by Disneyways.com

Food and Wine is here and if you’re like me, you want to make the most of every precious minute you have to spend in Epcot!

To help you with your Food and Wine plans here is a link to the Disney Food Blog’s page. This will show  you where each World Showcase tasting station is located, the menu items from each one, prices, and some even with pictures and reviews of the food and libations! Click HERE to check out all of their guides.

Before you head to World Showcase, I want to recommend that you find the top 5 items that you really have your heart set on trying. Sometimes the lines are long and people are blocking the menu boards – so just knowing where you want to go and what you want to get when you get there can save you a ton of time!

Another time saver is to get a Disney gift card before you go. You don’t even have to wait until you get here, you can get them online! It’s fun just to check out all the different designs there are! This will help you stick to your budget and there’s no fumbling with cash or change at the kiosks. They do have special gift cards at the festival that you can attach to your wrist with a rubber band – but other then that – they don’t do anything that a regular old Disney gift card can’t do. You can reload them as many times as you want. Below is a video showing the gift cards that attach to your wrist – only these were at the Flower and Garden Festival.

If you do have extra time (and money) however, you will want to read up on the special events and possibly make a reservation or two for those. There are wonderful low cost seminars and food demos too!

One other tip. If you can spare the time, take a minute to find the festival welcome center and grab a free passport. It’s a wonderful (FREE!) souvenir and you can get each country stamped by a cast member when you visit the kiosks! These have menus but not pricing, so doing your homework if your on a budget is still a good idea.  If you take just a few minutes to check out the festival welcome center while you’re there – you could meet a TV star from HGTV, get a free chocolate or wine sample, do some shopping, and definitely enjoy the air-conditioning.

Do a little planning before you go and you will find there is so much more to the festival that you may not have gotten a chance to experience otherwise. If you have any questions or maybe your own tips for saving time at food and wine please post them in the comments section.

Have a magical day and CHEERS everyone!

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