Disney topiaries have been a key part of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival for decades. These living works of art blend Disney storytelling with horticultural craftsmanship, bringing beloved characters to life through carefully cultivated plants. Each year, the topiaries grow more detailed and impressive, delighting guests of all ages.
Let’s explore the rich history of Disney topiaries and the exciting highlights from 2024’s festival.
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A Living Legacy: The History of Disney Topiaries
Walt Disney’s fascination with topiary gardening began in Europe, where he admired the whimsical creations of traditional gardens. He envisioned similar displays at Disneyland and tasked animators and landscape artists with creating plant sculptures of Disney characters.
The first topiaries appeared at Disneyland in 1963, featuring waltzing hippos, bears, and giraffes. By 1966, these figures found a permanent home at it’s a small world. Over the years, the art of topiary design has evolved, combining animation-inspired designs with horticultural innovation.
At EPCOT, the Flower & Garden Festival introduced topiaries as a signature element in the 1990s. Today, they have become a cherished tradition, with over 70 topiaries on display each year.
Topiaries through the years
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Over the years, topiaries like Belle and the Beast in France have become even more jaw-dropping. Horticulture teams often work with Walt Disney Animation Studio artists and Imagineers to leverage different types of topiary designs.
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As we’ve shared, the Princess Tiana topiary at The American Adventure at EPCOT is an extra special creation that stays true to the New Orleans spirit and scenery – even using magnolias and florals native to the area. Imagineer Brittany Smith and cast member Antoinette Valentin studied every detail of Disney Animation’s “The Princess and the Frog” to help turn a hand-drawn animation into a 3D figure.
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It’s the beginning of the topiary project where sketches and 3-D models play a crucial role in guiding the planning process before it’s passed off to welders who create the frame that’ll eventually become a character like Anna or Elsa found in Norway.
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Many of the Disney topiaries that’ll stop you in your tracks. They are created with a design called Sphagnum Topiary, which uses a frame to shape the figure. The Lady and the Tramp topiaries at the Italy Pavilion are perfect examples – created with sphagnum moss and other plants.
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Like the stunning Simba and friends topiaries near The Land Pavilion, the process of creating a “living” masterpiece has been sped up by using sphagnum moss (a high-quality material from New Zealand) as a base to hold different species of plants to match Disney character clothing, hair and of course, fur texture!
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There are more than 70 topiaries at the Flower & Garden Festival. And many of these masterpieces can take months to reach full bloom and be “show” ready, like the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs topiaries in Germany.
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Visit EPCOT’s Topiaries Year After Year
Every year, Disney teams are looking to add new magic to the topiaires and 2024 is no exception. For the first time, Groot, the Flora Colossi from the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, took root near Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in World Discovery.
The design draws inspiration from the entertaining “I Am Groot” short featured on Disney+, titled Groot Takes a Bath, where the lovable character gets inventive with his topiary powers.
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In Mexico, you’ll find our first-ever topiary enhanced with special projection effects, featuring Dante, from the Pixar Animation Studios film “Coco.”
Miguel is in his mariachi attire with his great-great grandfather’s guitar and Dante, in his alebrije form, flying over a marigold bridge. Both topiaries have been dazzling guests since the start of the festival.
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At the entrance of EPCOT, you find new topiaries featuring Asha, Valentino, and Star from the film “Wish.”
To authentically represent these characters, the team hand-wove Asha’s braids and incorporated lighting effects for Star’s celestial dust.
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With Lumiere and Cogsworth topiaries in France, here are the rest of this year’s best photos of Disney topiaries and where you can find them.
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The Three Caballeros
Beautiful topiaries featuring the Three Caballeros (including Donald) can be seen near the Mexico Pavilion. Bambi and friends topiaries are at World Showcase near Refreshment Port and favorites Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip ‘n’ Dale and Pluto can be spotted at the bridge to World Showcase at EPCOT.
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Woody and Bo Peep
Woody and Bo Peep with her Sheep are can’t-miss topiaries at World Nature, between Imagination! and The Land Pavilion. A fantastic Captain Hook, with Peter Pan and Tick Tock Croc are at World Showcase between United Kingdom and Canada. And the intricate Pumbaa and Timon topiaries are near The Land Pavilion.
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The bright and colorful Figment topiary and flower towers greet guests in the World Celebration gardens area. An impressive Dragon is planted at the Japan Pavilion near Torii Gate. Of course, the fascinating troll topiary can be found in Norway.
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We hope you enjoyed this unique look back at Disney topiaries – old and new!
There’s still time to see the 2024 topiaries featured in today’s story at the Flower & Garden Festival. Here’s a list of where you can find all of the stunning topiaries. The festival runs through May 27.