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.

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