WDW Daily News

New sights, sounds and flavors of spring will envelop Walt Disney World Resort guests beginning March 6 when the 26^th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival bursts into bloom.

This year’s festival will be chock-full of lush new topiary whimsy, edible delights, gardens to play in and an expanded lineup for the Garden Rocks Concert Series.

The 90-day event continues through June 3, featuring dozens of Disney-crafted topiaries and beds of multi-colored blooms that will transform the Epcot landscape into a floral extravaganza. As just one example of this metamorphosis, nearly 70,000 festival blooms will surround the lakes in Future World, while on the water, hundreds of colorful mini-gardens will be set afloat.

Here is a look at some of the discoveries guests will make this year:

• The popular Garden Rocks Concert Series will expand to every day of the festival, featuring chart-topping artists performing three shows daily on the America Gardens Theatre stage. That’s 270 concerts – more than ever before – spanning multiple genres. Returning favorites like The Spinners and Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone will be joined by artists new to the festival like TobyMac, Steven Curtis Chapman, Eddie Palmieri and Colin Hay of Men at Work.
• Creative new culinary dishes and four new Outdoor Kitchens will debut this year, including Arbor at The Gardeners Terrace featuring unique food and beverage, interactive experiences and specialty merchandise. Guests will also enjoy the all-new Health Full Trail presented by AdventHealth featuring the new Flavor Full Kitchen, Play Full Garden playground experience and Mind Full Retreat decompression area where guests can relax and unwind.
• Guests of all ages will enjoy a fun playground and garden located at Bo Peep’s Training Grounds presented by Toy Story 4, where Bo Peep will join topiaries inspired by her Toy Story pals Buzz & Woody.
• Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration family scavenger hunt will be more fun than ever this year with new locations to discover along the garden pollination trail. Guests can also commemorate their scavenger hunt experience with select merchandise offerings featuring everyone’s favorite bee, Spike. Another guest favorite returning to the festival April 5-21 (while supplies last) is the Eggstravaganza Scavenger Hunt, where guests can search for Disney character-themed eggs around World Showcase.
• In celebration of Disneynature’s “Penguins,” opening April 17, a 9-foot-tall art sculpture made from recycled marine debris will be on display in Future World featuring adult and baby Adélie penguins. Created by the non-profit organization WashedAshore.org, this work of art is designed to inspire guests to keep the world’s oceans and waterways clear of plastic pollution.

Among the returning gardens and exhibits, guests will once again enjoy the Goodness Garden Butterfly House presented by GoGo squeeZ, where nearly 1,000 native butterflies willfly among the garden’s two dozen nectar plants. Additionally, several World Showcase pavilions will include gardens with floral life representing plants from those countries, such as the Kokodema Garden and Bonsai Collection in Japan, the Urban Spice Garden in Morocco and the Alpine Container Garden in Germany.

As festival-goers take in all these floral wonders, they will come across fine tastes to savor along their journey. In addition to the Outdoor Kitchens, raised-bed or in-ground gardens of herbs and produce will offer the perfect inspiration for learning to grow healthy ingredients. Several Epcot food-and-beverage locations – including Taste Track and Refreshment Port – will offer festival-themed eats and libations. Additionally, guests can enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner at 15 popular Epcot restaurants and guaranteed seating for a nightly concert with a Garden Rocks Dining Package. Dining packages are now booking at FreshEpcot.com or by calling (407) WDW-DINE.

Guided tours are also available for guests interested in learning more about nature’s magic. In Behind the Seeds – The Land, guests can explore the fish farm and four greenhouses that make up The Land at Epcot. Additionally, two guided experiences exclusive to the festival include:

• The Royal Tea Garden Tour, presented by Twinings, which takes place each festival morning at the United Kingdom. For a small fee, guests can follow a knowledgeable guide through the tranquil tea garden setting to learn the history and artistry behind growing and blending tea. A post-tour treat of tea and scones is included. The shorter, complimentary English Tea Garden Touralso will be offered on select days.
• During the Gardens of the World tour, guests will join a Disney horticulturist for a three-hour walking tour to explore the award-winning topiaries and gardens that make the festival so special. Guests will learn about the unique role landscaping plays at Walt Disney World and discover new plant materials and gardening techniques to use for home gardens.

Guided tours are offered select days throughout the festival for an additional fee. Epcot admission is required. For more information or to make a reservation, guests can call (407) WDW-TOUR.

Guests can also commemorate their visit to the 2019 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival with official event merchandise. They can dig up a charming array of whimsical apparel and headwear designed to capture the splendor of spring, garden tools and accessories, and magical Disney keepsakes to adorn their homes and gardens.

For more information about the 26^th Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, visit FreshEpcot.com or call (407) W-DISNEY. Additional details available at WDWNews.com. The festival, including all gardens and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

In summer 2020, Disney Cruise Line will embark on a variety of itineraries around the world, including a long-awaited return to Greece and the addition of five first-time ports of call in Europe. Along with an expanded European season aboard the Disney Magic, adventures will continue across the fleet with sailings to Alaska, the Caribbean and Bahamas.

Bookings open to the public on March 7, 2019. More details can be found on the Summer 2020 Itineraries page of disneycruise.com.

European Explorations

After a five-year hiatus, the Disney Magic will return to Greece in summer 2020 as part of three special Mediterranean voyages departing from Rome. During one 12-night and two nine-night cruises, guests can marvel at the beautiful landscapes and archeological wonders of destinations like Piraeus, the gateway to Athens; Katakolon, near ancient Olympia; and the islands of Santorini, Mykonos and Crete.

When Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland this summer and Walt Disney World this fall, it’ll give hopeful fans the opportunity to build their own lightsabers to fulfill their deepest wannabe-Skywalker fantasies, pilot the Millennium Falcon, and drink a cocktail at a wretched hive of scum and villainy. What does local intergalactic food actually taste like on Earth, though?

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MACY ROSE INSTAGRAM

Buzz Wall

Location: Disneyland California AdventureThis dark blue wall featuring Toy Story‘s Buzz Lightyear jetpack is designed to make it look like you’re the one going to infinity and beyond. Located in Hollywood Land on the Hollywood Backlot to the right of the Monster’s Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue! attraction, this wall is sure to bless your Instagram feed with intergalactic energy. Photo by @macy_rose

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There’s something new coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park starting March 3, 2019!

Bollywood Beats, an exhilarating Indian dance experience, is a wildly energetic show that brings traditional Indian dance together with the fire of Hindi film. From classical Indian rhythms of Kathak to the proud folk style of Bhangra to modern Bollywood popular dance, the performers of Bollywood Beats have something for every dance lover to enjoy in this spirited interactive performance.

Bollywood Beats will be presented several times daily at the stage across from the Anandapur Theater in Asia.

Are you visiting Walt Disney World® Resort on March 8? In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, Guests can enjoy special entertainment experiences, and food and beverage offerings in all four Walt Disney World theme parks!

Here’s what’s on tap for each location:

At Magic Kingdom® Park, you can enjoy the Sisters Soiree Dance Party in Tomorrowland, featuring favorite female characters like Judy Hopps from “Zootopia” and Joy from “Inside Out.” Guests can also purchase special Strawberry Shortcake Shooters at Cheshire Café and Westward Ho.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios® Guests exploring Star Wars Launch Bay will encounter Rey alongside Chewbacca in a hidden Resistance base. The women of the Green Army Patrol will also proudly march through Toy Story Land, while the citizens of Municiberg honor the Super women of their city as part of “An Incredible Celebration.” The park’s special treats include a Mrs. Incredible Pretzel Mask at Neighborhood Bakery, Key Lime Pie Verrine at Backlot Express and Rosie’s All-American, Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake at Catalina Eddie’s, and Tres Leche at Fairfax Faire.

Guests visiting Epcot® for the day can enjoy Voices of Liberty inside The American Adventure, celebrating women with special performances of empowering songs. Guests can also stop into Fountain View at Epcot for a Purple Minnie Dome Cake, Purple Cupcakes at Kringla Bakery and Sunshine Seasons, Mascarpone Apple Cake at Akershus, Purple Troll Kreme Slush at the Norway Beer Cart, and International Women’s Day Cookies at Biergarten Restaurant.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park Guests can commemorate the day during the Hakuna Matata Time Dance Party on Discovery Island and the Dino-riffic Dance Party that night in Dinoland, U.S.A. Guests wishing to purchase an International Women’s Day Cupcake can find this sweet treat at Creature Comforts and Restaurantosaurus, or Infinite Ambition drinks at Tiffins Restaurant or Nomad Lounge, or Sangria at Tusker House Restaurant and Dawa Bar. International Women’s Day Cookies can also be found at various outdoor vending locations throughout the park.

And Guests visiting Disney Springs® on March 8 can enjoy special International Women’s Day Dark Chocolate Ganache Squares and chocolate Power Pinata can be found at the Ganachery, while a Pink Macaron Lollipop can be purchased at Amorette’s Patisserie.

Beginning today, Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando are now designated as OfficialWalt Disney World® Hotels. Each guest staying at these hotels in 2019 with valid Walt Disney World theme park admission will have access to the Walt Disney World theme park Extra Magic Hours benefit.

Each day, one of the four Walt Disney World theme parks opens early or extends later for Guests to enjoy select attractions, and during select dates, the Extra Magic Hours benefit may also be offered at a Walt Disney World water park.

Guests at these OfficialWalt Disney World Hotels must present an official voucher, which they may obtain at the hotel, and a valid Theme Park ticket to utilize the Extra Magic Hours benefit. Guests without the Park Hopper® Option or Park Hopper Plus® Option must use their ticket for admission to the same theme park where they would like to enjoy the Extra Magic Hours benefit.

This hotel benefit is subject to change without notice.

Also, scheduled to begin April 3, 2019, guests at Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando who have booked a Walt Disney Travel Company package including a stay at Hilton Bonnet Creek or Waldorf Astoria Orlando, and theme park admission, will be able to link their hotel reservation on MyDisneyExperience.com, and with a linked, valid theme park ticket, these guests can utilize a 60-day booking window for FastPass+ selections.

Pixar Pier, the reimagined land in Disney California Adventure® Park, shares the stories and characters of Disney•Pixar films with exciting attractions, themed neighborhoods and fun eateries. Today, we’re excited to share Jessie’s Critter Carousel will open in April!

You can mosey on over to a giant toy carousel starring Jessie, the yodeling cowgirl and a friendly bunch of desert critters for a rootin’, tootin’ romp. Inspired by the “Toy Story” films, this attraction invites you to saddle up on a whimsical snake, armadillo, turtle, bunny and more from the world of Woody’s Roundup. This newly reimagined attraction will have you yelling “giddyup!”

For fans who have waited a lifetime to board the Millennium Falcon or be ushered through a Star Destroyer by an army of Stormtroopers, let me tell you first-hand: it’s real, it’s happening, and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

Travel + Leisure was given a first look into Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the forthcoming Star Wars-themed land opening at Disneyland Resort in summer 2019 and Walt Disney World Resort in fall 2019.

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We previously mentioned that when visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you will be able to explore this entire new land with all of their senses. Visitors will be able to taste otherworldly flavors and enjoy the tantalizing scents of our many food and beverage locations. Among the newly revealed list of venues at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo.

A multi-purpose transport shuttle docked on top of the large hangar will beckon Guests into this fast-casual restaurant, a designated location for traveling food shuttles. Chef Strono “Cookie” Tuggs is in much demand for his culinary skills, so he moves from site to site in a modified Sienar-Chall Utilipede-Transport that becomes a mobile kitchen and restaurant – like an intergalactic “food truck.” His travels across the galaxy allow him to fill his pantry with exotic ingredients he uses to make new and unusual dishes inspired by the fare he created during his time working for Maz Kanata in her castle on Takodana. Now, “Cookie” is proud to share his cuisine with visitors at Tuggs’ Grub, a “traveling diner for diners traveling.”

Cookie’s food shuttle, now docked on the roof of the hangar bay, has lowered a series of pods into the hangar, carrying precious cargo – Chef Tuggs’ finest ingredients gathered from across the galaxy. Situated inside Docking Bay 7, other pods from Black Spire Outpost provide other produce, provisions, and equipment for all incoming freighters to the hangar. Guests may choose to dine indoors in the hangar bay or outside in a shaded courtyard.

From the early days of the design of this new land, we partnered with the amazing team from Disney Parks Food and Beverage Concept Development to provide innovative and creative food and beverage offerings that enhance the immersive storytelling of the various dining establishments located in Black Spire Outpost. Throughout the outpost, Guests will encounter familiar flavors but sometimes with unexpected and surprising colors and textures. The unique presentation takes Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo to the next galaxy.

Along with the Food and Beverage Concept Development team, we’ve selected just a few of our favorites to share with you today, including the Ithorian Garden Loaf, a plant-based “meatloaf” that comes served with roasted vegetable mash, seasonal vegetables, and mushroom sauce. Another hearty option is the Smoked Kaadu Ribs. These country sticky pork ribs come with a unique blueberry corn muffin and cabbage slaw. Stay tuned for more details.