shopDisney is a bi-weekly blog that will focus on Disney merchandise and products sold in the parks, in Disney stores, and in other retail markets.  We will explore product reviews, affordability, and to whom the products are marketed.  Like any other good product review, we will conclude with a rating scale for several different key components: price, age group, and whether the product is a “must have.”

Spring is here, or might be, depending on where you live.  This time last year in Indiana we were consistent temperatures in the 60s and 70s, but this year it will be 70 today and 40 tomorrow.  I don’t know about you, but I really need some sunshine and warmth in my life!

However, just because the weather isn’t cooperating, doesn’t mean that retailers have not been pushing their outdoor products and, of course, there are many that involve some of our favorite characters!

While I was out shopping for groceries, I began wandering through the garden section of my local Meijer, where I spotted a familiar face.  I thought he might be lost, but upon further inspection I found that Mickey (and several of his friends) were right where they should be, and were being displayed on several different garden figures.

The characters that were being used for these items, as you can see, are: Mickey, Minnie, Winnie the Pooh, Tinkerbell, Grumpy, and Eeyore.

Disney Character Statues and Flowerpots:

The first two products I noticed they offered were pot-holders that you could place a flower into for display and yard figures.  The company did an good job at making each character look believable, but I was not impressed by the material of the product.  They were made from a light-weight plastic that would easily be blown over by wind and, in my opinion, might not last outdoors in the elements.  Four characters were offered in both variations: Mickey, Minnie, Tinkerbell, and Winnie the Pooh.  The yard statues did have a part that would be lit during the evening and were solar-powered.  For example, Mickey was holding a lantern that would light up and, obviously, Tinkerbell’s wings lit up.

Review:

Price:  $24.99 for the pot-holders, $29.99 for the solar-lit statues

Age Group: Adults

Must Have: I couldn’t believe that these products were priced as high as they were.  I don’t think it is a must-have, unless you are an avid gardener.

Solar Lights and Flowerpot Stakes:

The next two products looked like an item I would buy for my home and garden.  The first was a little decorative stake that you could put into a flowerpot to give it some “character.”  They aren’t very big, so maybe an indoor plant might be the best place to use these.  The second one, and my favorite of all, was the solar-lit garden globe stake.  It was like a snow globe, but without the water and snow.  Think of the solar lights that line people’s sidewalk and add Mickey to the inside!  They were cute, but again, looked like they might not last long.

Review:

Price:  $5.99 for the flowerpot stakes, and (yikes) $14.99 for ONE solar Mickey light

Age Group: Adults

Must Have: Again, priced a little high for me, so not really a must-have.

Character Garden Stones:

This last group was perfect for making a statement in your garden.  Small little stand-up stones with a Disney character on them and a cute little statement.  Minnie and Tinkerbell were very up-beat and sparkly, while Grumpy wanted to know “how long are you staying?”  They would make any Disney fan smile.  They were not made of real rock but a little heavier than the statues were.

Review:

Price:  $12.99 ($2.00 less than one solar light)

Age Group: Adults

Must Have: If you are missing something in your garden, sure, go buy one of these faux stones

I did do a quick internet search for Disney garden products and found that they are offered by places like: Lowe’s, Kmart, Target, Disney.com and ebay.  And among some of the same products some offered a few more things like: flags, stepping stones, and wind chimes.  So, get out there and enjoy the sun this spring and summer and maybe add some “Character” to your outdoor space!

If you know of any other items that you would like to see a review of, please let me know.  Or, if you have one of these products and have an opinion of them, please leave a comment below!

Alyssa Wiseman (also known as ajwiseman09 in the box) and her husband Brandon reside in central Indiana (too far from Disney) with their 4 year old puppy London.  Alyssa and Brandon enjoy traveling to Disney several times a year to see what is new and enjoy classic Disney.  While traveling, and at home, Alyssa is frequently shopping for Disney products and making a list of items to buy while in the parks.  Please follow Alyssa on twitter @ajwiseman09.

The post shopDisney: “Character” in your Garden appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Day one of my Disney vacation involved getting up at five am to catch a flight to Florida with my mom. We were lucky to land early and after quick stops on the Disney’s Magical Express bus at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs, were at Port Orleans French Quarter (my favorite moderate resort) by around eleven am. We had planned our first day entirely around wandering through Epcot and being able to see all of the amazing topiaries and floral displays from this year’s Flower & Garden Festival. First off we wanted to try and get a FastPass for the new version of Test Track, as it wasn’t open yet on our last trip in November. Even at noon, the line was about an hour and a half long and the FastPasses were too close to our dinner reservation that night. So instead we decided to pay a visit to The Land and get a FastPass for Soarin’. While there we ate in our favorite quick service dining location on property, Sunshine Seasons. Nothing beats their strawberry shortcake! We then rode Living with the Land and Journey into Imagination with Figment. After walking through Future World West, we headed over to the Tinkerbell and Fairies themed butterfly house, where we found beautiful topiaries of numerous fairies, gorgeous floral beds, and of course butterflies. While the flowers are all in full bloom, there were hundreds of butterflies still in their cocoons, so if you are planning on visiting in a few weeks, there will be many more butterflies for you to enjoy as well. We then walked through the Oz playground which was wonderfully themed and included some carnival-like game booths such as ring toss and bean bag throws. My favorite two touches of the Oz themed area were the giant poppies which appeared to be made out of glass and around five/six feet tall, and Oz’s balloon which was deflated and draped over nearby bushes to appear as though he really landed there. We then continued on through all of World Showcase starting on the Canada side and took our time exploring the pavilions and all of the amazing flower beds, arrangements, and topiaries. We also sampled champagne from France and the Waterkist Farms Heirloom Tomatoes with house-made Mozzarella, Minus 8 Vinegar and Basil from the Cottage booth. Once we worked our way around to Mexico, we hopped on the Grand Fiesta Tour featuring the Three Caballeros and then continued on to check out the Flower & Garden Festival center in the old Wonders of Life Pavilion. Unfortunately, we only had a few minutes to browse the center as it was closing at five o’clock, so we quickly scanned the merchandise and took in our surroundings. After the center, we headed back to The Land to use our FastPass for Soarin’ and found it was time to head to our dinner reservations at Kona Café in the Polynesian. We took the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center and walked over to the Polynesian, taking time to wander the grounds a little bit on our way. The Polynesian is my favorite resort on property, so I love being able to visit and wader on each trip. Once we arrived at the Grand Ceremonial House and walked upstairs to Kona Café, we were quickly seated and started to dig in on the delicious bread and macadamia nut-honey butter. I also ordered a Lapu Lapu, which if you read my post last week you will know that it’s my favorite drink on property and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The food in Kona Café was excellent as always, and my dinner consisted of the New York Strip Steak and the Chocolate Torte. After finishing dinner, we were debating whether to head over to the Magic Kingdom to do a few attractions before it closed for the night at 11 pm. But we decided that we were too tired from getting up so early for our flight, so we headed back to the room to call it an early night and rest up for the next day at the Magic Kingdom.

We were up bright and early Monday morning and found ourselves headed back to The Polynesian for breakfast. Now, breakfast here is a big deal for me- Tonga Toast may be one of my favorite foods in the world, and definitely obligatory on our trips. So we headed straight to Captain Cook’s to have our Tonga Toast for breakfast, and then took the monorail to the Magic Kingdom, arriving in time to see the opening show. Once the gates were open, we headed straight to Adventureland and rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. We then continued around through Frontierland and over to Liberty Square riding Bight Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion along the way. After the Haunted Mansion, we stopped in the new Tangled themed restroom area to check out all of the new great details. My personal favorite touches from the Tangled area were the paintings that continued all throughout the ceiling inside the restroom and the hidden Pasquals in the scenery. Working our way through Fantasyland, we rode it’s a small world and Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. We also walked to Dumbo, however the line was too long so we continued on to Tomorrowland instead. I picked up a FastPass for Space Mountain (which I unfortunately didn’t end up using), and we rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, the Carousel of Progress, and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. The TTA is one of my favorite attractions in all of WDW and it rarely ever has a wait, I highly recommend trying it if you haven’t- it offers great views of Tomorrowland, breezes on hot days, and a chance to sit back and relax for a few minutes. At this point we decided to head back to the hotel to go swimming for a few hours before returning to the Magic Kingdom again that night. We had lunch in the Sassagoula food court and lounged by the pool for a little while, recharging our batteries. Once we were back in the Magic Kingdom, we rode the WDW Railroad to Storybook Circus and found Dumbo with a much shorter line, so we decided to ride it. The new circus tent waiting area is gorgeous and a great place to cool down and let kids blow off some energy playing. Afterwards we made sure to stop and ride the Mad Tea Party as I knew it was closing for refurbishment the day after and we would not get to experience it again on our trip. After a stop at Mickey’s Philharmagic, we stopped to eat lunch in Columbia Harbor House. Next time you are there try the Lighthouse Sandwich, it was delicious! We then were able to just get on the last sailing of the Liberty Belle for the night and got to basically watch the sun set as we sailed through the Rivers of America. At this point, I still hadn’t gotten to ride Space Mountain as I missed my FastPass when we returned to the hotel, so we headed back over to Tomorrowland to check out how long the line was. Unfortunately we found that it was broken down. We stopped to talk to a Cast Member who told us that it had been down for over four hours and that was the third time that day!  So instead, we decided to ride the TTA again and even got glimpses of inside Space Mountain with the lights on since it was down. We then rode Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin again and then Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor. At that point, it was around 9:45 pm and Wishes started at 10, so we situated ourselves on the bridge connecting the hub and Tomorrowland with a pretty good view. After watching Wishes, we walked over to the curb of the hub and sat ourselves down to wait for the 11 pm Main Street Electrical Parade. While waiting we saw the castle projection show Celebrate the Magic! and then enjoyed the parade with a great view. After a long day, we were pretty tired so we wandered a little bit on Main Street before heading back to the buses and back to our resort.

Tuesday morning began bright and early as we wanted to be at Epcot before its 8 am Extra Magic Hours opening. While we had a plan for the order we wanted to see things, Test Track proved to re-write our entire plan as it was down most of the morning. Immediately at opening, we headed to Test Track to find it down so we doubled back and headed for The Land where we rode Soarin’. We then tried Test Track again with no luck, so I rode Mission Space (the orange track, of course!). With still no luck for Test Track, we were beginning to lose hope that we would be able to experience it on this vacation. We headed back over to the Seas with Nemo and Friends and rode the attraction. We were also able to watch one of the Dolphins in Depth tours interacting with the dolphins in one of the aquarium tanks. After watching the dolphins for a few minutes, we headed back over to Test Track where we heard a familiar sound- cars running along the outside track. A Cast Member told us that it was still closed, but if the cars were running to not go far. Apparently a lot of other people had the same idea, as a huge line was forming despite it still being technically down. My mom jumped on the line that was forming and I went to wait by the FastPass kiosks. This planned worked perfectly as there was such a bottleneck when the ride officially opened that by the time my mom had gotten to the main queue entrance, I had already procured the FastPasses and was waiting for her. We got to ride twice back to back, and though we thought the new look was great we were slightly disappointed. Both times we rode the screens displaying our car’s results were blank so we had no idea how our design was holding up. We also got stuck waiting to go into the design studio the second time around for about twenty minutes when the attraction went down again. All in all we were pretty happy though that we got to experience it twice. At this point, we were starving so we headed back across to Sunshine Seasons again (can you tell we crisscross the parks a lot while there?), and got some small banana loafs as we didn’t want to eat too much before our lunch reservation. After eating we visited the butterfly house again and then headed over to Canada where we saw O’ Canada. Afterwards it was time for our reservation at Le Cellier. The pretzel bread was delicious, as was the “Le Cellier” Mushroom Filet Mignon. For dessert I had the White Chocolate Cheesecake which was so rich and tasted excellent. To accompany my meal, I also ordered a Blanche de Chambly which was a very crisp and delicious beer- definitely recommend it if you are planning on eating at Le Cellier. Once we finished up at Le Cellier, we walked (okay, more like waddled) over to the International Gateway to take the boat over to Hollywood Studios. Once we got to DHS, we rode The Great Movie Ride, The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow, the Studio Backlot Tour, Muppet Vision 3D, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster twice (hooray for the single rider queue!). Of all the attractions in Hollywood Studios, my favorite has always been Muppet Vision 3D, there are just so many great sight gags throughout the experience, my favorite being the inclusion of characters from it’s a small world singing their signature song during the chaotic finale. Perhaps the best part of the entire attraction comes in a quote from Sam Eagle- “It’s a salute to all nations, but mostly America.” A close second favorite attraction in Hollywood Studios is the Tower of Terror. There are so many amazing details intricately worked into the attraction and its scenes, and I find that every time I visit I discover something new. After working our way around the park and experiencing a lot of attractions, we entered into Fantasmic pretty early to ensure that we had seats. We have always had the worst luck with Fantasmic, from it being cancelled halfway through the performance, to it being cancelled due to lightening after we’ve waited for an hour, to it being delayed for over a half hour once and starting just after we had given up and left the park. This time was a total success as we somehow ended up sitting dead center in the second row with no one in front of us. It was an amazing view of the show, and other than getting a little wet from all the mist, I was so happy to have finally seen it again. After Fantasmic, we headed back to our resort where we picked up some late night beignets and called it a night.

I hope you enjoyed this first part of my trip report! I would love to hear your thoughts or reactions, so let me know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned next week for the second half of my recent Disney vacation!

Caitlin Corsello was born and raised in New York. She graduated from Adelphi University with a Masters in Mental Health Counseling in 2012. Her love for Disney started as an infant and has continued to grow with family vacations to Disney parks almost every year since. She holds a particular interest in WDW’s parks and attractions, never passing up an opportunity to visit. She looks forward to continuing to explore and learn about all things Disney and to share that passion with readers.

The post Disney From The Twenty-Something: Disney Trip Report Part I appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The Epcot Flower and Garden Festival kicked off last month, and the Disney fan community has had gardening and images of flora on the brain ever since. This month’s interest-based Disney vacations post is dedicated to those who love to garden!

Magic Kingdom:

Jungle Cruise- This attraction is a tour of some of the prettiest plants that line the rivers of the world.

Enchanted Tiki Room- “the birds sing words and the flowers croon..”

Swiss Family Treehouse- The view from atop this treehouse is the best of Adventureland, which is known for its lush plant life.

Gardens around the castle- Here you can find inspiration for specific flowers and various color combinations for your own flower beds.

Crystal Palace- Dining here is like eating in a greenhouse- pure bliss for a gardener.

Epcot:

Living with the Land- If I ranked these attractions in terms of relevancy to the interest, this would be at the top of my list. If you enjoy gardening, you must do this attraction. You will feel right at home and completely inspired, especially if fruits and vegetables are your expertise.

Japan- This pavilion features a beautiful tea garden, complete with a Koi pond.

Canada- The gardens in this pavilion located toward the entrance to Le Cellier are gorgeous. Unfortunately because of its “off to the side” location, many people miss it. Don’t be one of those people!

Garden Grill- This restaurant is perched up above Living with the Land. It offers healthy and fresh food and slowly rotates, giving you a peak of the attraction below it.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios:

Star Tours- Although the destinations featured in this attraction are fictional, the visual design and lush imagery is sure to invigorate your senses and gardening mindset.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Pangani Forest Exploration Trail- The plants and wildlife here are abundant, just as they are in the rest of the park.

Discovery Island trails- As you enter the theme park, don’t head straight to an attraction. Take time to soak in the immense amount of green nature that surrounds you.

Resorts:

Polynesian- The plants at the entrance and lobby of this resort are breathtaking.

Art of Animation- This resort utilizes various plants to aid in the storytelling. It will give you great ideas on how to make your garden look like a coral reef or an African savanna.

Other:

Epcot Flower and Garden Festival- Attending this event in the Spring is a “no-brainer” for a gardener. There are amazing topiaries and delicious food, plus plenty of opportunities to learn about how to improve your garden at home.

Behind the Seeds Tour- This tour, which is offered year-round, is an affordable and simple way to learn the behind the scenes tricks used to create the healthy crop seen in Living with the Land.

Do you enjoy attending the Flower and Garden Festival? Has WDW’s landscaping ever inspired your garden at home? Comment below or tweet me @MickeyWaffle71 to share your responses or recommend ideas for future interest-based vacations.

Lindsay is a passionate writer and hopes to one day become a Show Writer for Walt Disney Imagineering or write scripts for Disney Animation Studios / Pixar.  In addition to being a WDW Radio Running Team member, she has launched with her best friends Enchanted Rose Entertainment, which provides authentic character entertainment in her community for birthday parties, public events, and charity organizations.

The post Interest-based Disney Vacations: WDW for Gardeners appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Jens Dahlmann, executive chef for Epcot, said in the blog,  “For some dishes, we found fun and interesting ways to present them, like the ‘Frushi’ [fruit sushi] for example, while other dishes such as the Watermelon Salad combine a familiar fruit paired with the unusual tastes of arugula and feta cheese, making it a whole new experience.”

As a parent of three notoriously picky eaters (and yes, I admit, I am a picky eater as well.  I was the one who ordered chicken nuggets while dining with Lou and Tony in Morocco!)  I am really excited about the idea of there being small-portion dishes that give my children the opportunity to “try it” without the risk of buying an entree that after one bite receives a twisted look and a decree of “gross.”  I am thinking we can purchase single item and allow all 3 children to try a bite.  I’m also planning to review the items in advance with them and have them make predictions about their favorite items and then rate them after trying each bite.  It will be our own version of Top Chef–”Top Chef: Disney Kid Edition!”  (Though I’m telling you now–I hold out very little hope for the beet lollipop!)

Below is a list of the items that will be offered as part of the TRYit program.  Which do you think your children will like most?  I’ll have my children start with the top vote getters first, and we will report back!

And let’s hear from our younger Disney fans!  Which do YOU want to try?  Ask mom or dad and with their help, post your thoughts in the comments below!

The post ‘TRYit’ Tastes for Kids at EPCOT Flower & Garden: Which Will YOUR Kids Try?? appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – HGTV brings novel design inspiration to the 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 7 through May 20 with its festival sponsorship that features weekend appearances by the network’s acclaimed designers and landscaping experts. The star-studded lineup includes John Gidding, Sabrina Soto, Jason Cameron, Camille Styles, Dan Faires, Brandon Johnson, Meg Caswell Holladay, Monica Pedersen, Antonio Ballatore, Carter Oosterhouse and Genevieve Gorder.

The country’s leading home and lifestyle television brand offers an addictive blend of design, decorating and landscaping inspiration to the enduring 75-day gardening extravaganza at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

At the Festival Center presented by HGTV, popular celebrity experts will appear twice daily each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, delivering valuable tips to Disney guests on topics that include “Designing for Curb Appeal” and “Working Makeover Magic for Desperate Landscapes.”

As part of the sponsorship, HGTV also will present the expansive Bambi’s Butterfly House along the Future World Imagination Walkway.  Inside this popular festival stop are hundreds of native butterflies and character topiaries from the timeless Disney classic film, “Bambi.”

The HGTV celebrity lineup includes:

John Gidding, Curb Appeal                                                      March 9-11

Designing for Curb Appeal

Sabrina Soto, The High Low Project                                     March 16-18

Decorating Design Tips, Tricks and Savvy Shopping Secrets

Jason Cameron, DIY Network’s                                              March 23-25

Desperate Landscapes and Man Caves

Working Makeover Magic for Desperate Landscapes

Camille Styles, Design Happens                                           March 30-April 1

Planning Garden Parties that Are Simple, but Not Your Garden Variety

Dan Faires, DanMade — HGTV.com                                    April 6-8

Planting with Terrarium, Vertical Gardens and Small Space Greenery

Brandon Johnson, My Yard Goes Disney                         April 13-15

Bringing Disney Inspiration and HGTV Design To Your Backyard

Meg Caswell Holladay, Meg’s Great Rooms & HGTV   April 20-22

Design Star Winner Season 6

Tips for Turning a Good Room into a Great Room

Monica Pedersen, designer/host Dream Home              April 27-29

And Designed to Sell

Make It Beautiful: Designs and Ideas for Entertaining at Home

Antonio Ballatore, The Antonio Treatment                     May 4-6

Design Outside of the Box: How to Personalize, Customize and Inspire

Carter Oosterhouse, Million Dollar Rooms                     May 11-13

10 Renovation Tips You Need to Know

Genevieve Gorder, HGTV Design Star and                      May 18-20

Dear Genevieve)

Turning your Landscape Inside Out

In addition to its own celebrity stage appearances, HGTV will present the popular twice-daily Disney Gardening at Home series, where guests can join a workshop and take home projects ranging from hanging baskets to water garden features.

Also each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Flower Power concerts will rock the open-air America Gardens Theatre during evening concerts featuring popular acts like Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, The Guess Who and The Spinners.

More information about the 19th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visiting disneyworld.com/flower.  The festival, including all gardening programs, presentations and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

The post Star Designers Bring Fresh Ideas to HGTV Stage During 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -The largest-ever Disney front-entrance topiary and a stellar cast of HGTV design celebrities boost the flower power at the 19^th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival presented by HGTV March 7-May 20 at Walt Disney World Resort. Here’s a sneak peek of this year’s festival news:

• Disney’s gardening magic goes a long way when an eight-foot-tall floral Sorcerer Mickey topiary holds court in front of the park’s iconic Spaceship Earth. Standing atop a 12-foot-tall floral mountain cliff, Sorcerer Mickey directs a riot of color in the manicured shapes of dancing broomsticks, buckets, mushrooms, hippos, alligators and elephants straight from the classic Disney film, “Fantasia.” The scene pops with pink geraniums, white poppies, violet petunias, blue delphiniums and pansies.
• Twice daily each Friday through Sunday of the festival, HGTV designers and hosts share their insights on landscapes and design with Festival Center audiences. John Gidding of “Curb Appeal: The Block” kicks off the series March 9-11 with curb-appeal design tips for homeowners.
• Music fills each festival weekend when pop music hitmakers of the 1960s and ’70s rule the America Gardens Theatre stage with performances of their greatest songs. Jose Feliciano ignites the Flower Power concert series March 9-11 with his treasure trove of tunes. Two new festival acts are in store: Chuck Negron formerly of Three Dog Night (April 27-29) and The Orchestra featuring former members of ELO and ELO Part II (May 4-6).

The front-entrance floral spectacle will welcome guests to a festival packed with new gardens and displays, featured speakers and hands-on fun for all ages, including daily gardening workshops with take-home projects for all who participate.

Thirty million blooms, 240 floating mini-gardens on two ponds, 700 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants and vegetables, dozens of Disney character topiaries, 30 “flower towers” of impatiens and sweeping beds of original floral designs create a new tapestry of brilliant color across the 260-acre Epcot landscape. It takes more than one year and 400 Walt Disney World horticulturists to plan and prepare for the 75-day festival.

Halfway through the festival, Disney gardeners remove the cold-hardy blossoms that thrive in March and early April to plant a new crop of flowers that flourish in spring’s warmer temperatures. And throughout the event, dozens of gardening experts meet guests daily with fresh landscape ideas for 2012. Daily workshops at the Festival Center let guests dig into projects they can take home at the end of the day.

Don’t Miss!

• The Festival Center- Guests can shop for festival merchandise, attend demonstrations and get ideas and tips from master gardeners. In Future World between Universe of Energy and Mission:SPACE.
• Disney Gardening at Home presentations - Disney horticulturists and local experts like Robert Bowden of Harry P. Leu Gardens will share gardening tips and lead guests in a hands-on, take-home activity. At the Festival Center.
• Special Festival Weekend Celebrations - An Art in the Garden celebration of plein air artists is scheduled March 23-25; a Disney’s Animal Kingdom Specialists weekend presents indigenous insects that are part of our world; a Florida Federation of Garden Clubs gathering will be April 27-29; and a Fresh from Florida Farmer’s Market salute is slated for May 4-6.
• Bambi’s Butterfly House, three times the size of the festival’s original, is a-flutter with multiple species of brilliant butterflies. At Imagination Walkway by Innoventions West.
• Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden - Fabulous Disney fairy topiaries alight to greet young fans who enter this whimsical garden designed with play structures for children ages 2-5. At the Test Track Walkway.
• The HGTV Designers Stage presents HGTV celebrities each Friday through Sunday and nationally recognized garden personalities Monday through Thursday. At the Festival Center.
• Flower Power concert series welcomes back 20^th century pop favorites this year when Chubby Checker and The Wildcats, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Davy Jones and eight other bands rock the America Gardens Theatre with their timeless tunes. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Performers and appearance dates subject to change.

More information about the 19th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival is available by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visiting disneyworld.com/flower. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

The post Sorcerer Mickey Topiary, HGTV Star Designers Headline 19th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 7-May 20 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.