Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip and Dale welcome you to springtime, Disney style!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
Each year Anne and I take one (1) road trip to a different part of the United States and see attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home. One thing we rarely do is fly. We’d much rather drive than be flown unless we absolutely have to…or are given some pretty sweet incentives to do so. Fast-forward to December 2022 and a most unexpected opportunity: The Powers That Be at Anne’s rather large place of employment recognized her and several other employees nationwide for outstanding achievements in the field of excellence. Their grand prize was a Disney World vacation! We could at last announce to friends and family, “THE GOLDENS ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!”
For Anne it was officially, legally a business trip. Much of the time, she’d have to work. Not ME, baby…
One of the highlights of my EPCOT solo tour was their International Flower & Garden Festival. Each springtime since 1994 artisanal crews have bedecked the park with topiary sculptures of various characters from all throughout the Disney multiverse. I have no idea whether or not I stumbled across all of them, but I felt I captured a lot, as those shapely leaves were everywhere I turned.
My first glimpse of their green thumbs from the monorail.
New faces for 2023 included the Madrigal family from Encanto…
…and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.
Captain Hook and Peter Pan sorta prepare to duel…
…while Tick-Tock waits to eat Hook whether he wins or loses.
Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh and Rabbit…
…their exuberant friend Tigger…
…and the more hesitant Piglet and Eeyore.
Beast and Belle in the France section…
,,,and not-to-scale Cogsworth and Lumiere.
Flower. Thumper, and Bambi frolic in even lusher understory than their usual stomping grounds.
Bambi’s side of things.
A variant Mickey tucked away behind some buildings off the main walkways.
Dumbo stood next to Mickey in the same cul-de-sac.
Donald Duck and Daisy Duck (no relation).
Flashback to the days when Goofy was still wooing Max’s mom with flowers and other gifts.
When Anne and I returned that evening, the only bushy lifeform I hadn’t previously seen was this unidentified butterfly.
Figment, EPCOT’s own dragon mascot.
I didn’t see any leafy takes on Orange Bird, that other Disney mascot with zero feature films to his name, but he starred in some of the festival’s merchandise.
Horticulturists and garden geeks might enjoy closer looks at some of the actual unshaped plants, such as these philodendron hybrids.
Hawaiian Ti plants, which I’ve definitely never seen back home in Indy.
Great big bunches of flowers and a random donkey who’s no relation to any donkeys owned by any other animation studios.
Pandas in the China section might or might not have been Mulan references.
The Forgetful Troll, an icon of EPCOT’s Norway section.
Also of the north: Elsa and Anna from the Frozen series.
Lady and the Tramp.
A deep dive for the elder Disney fans out there: Donald with his costars Jose Carioca and Panchito Pistoles from The Three Caballeros.
Alternate versions of Mickey and Minnie, not the same two from our lead photo.
Buzz Lightyear, Shrub Command!
Miss Piggy and Kermit. No idea how he’s fitting all that luggage on his li’l bike.
…and that’s the festival that was. The 2024 edition is happening now from February 28th through May 27th. I’m sorry we won’t be back this year, but I trust it’s even cooler.
To be continued!
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[Link enclosed here to handy checklist for other chapters and for our complete major trip history to date. Follow us on Facebook or via email sign-up for new-entry alerts. For further signs of life between entries, wave hi to me on . Thanks for reading!]
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