Fun Facts about the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

With our trip about 2 weeks away, I thought I would share some fun facts about this year's Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. I am so glad that we will be able to enjoy at least a little of the festival before it closes out for 2014. All of these fun facts were provided by Walt Disney World through their Disney Blog.

I also included some pictures from the 2011 Festival when Christopher and I went down for vacation.

-          30 million blooms blanket the park throughout the festival

-          1,000 native butterflies represent up to 10 species at the expansive Tinker Bell’s Butterfly House

-          At 13 ft tall, 4,300 pounds and 4,000 small plants, the garden’s Sulley Topiary is one of Disney’s Largest

-          The festival’s front-entrance "Spring is in the Air" topiary scene comprises three character topiaries – Donald, Daisy and Goofy on a butterfly spotting excursion and more than 15 varieties of flowers, plants and other garden materials

-          Mike & Sulley’s Monstrous Garden is one of the largest festival gardens created at near one-third acre

-          At least 25 different plants, grasses and mosses of various colors are used to create and define facial and other features of festival character topiaries

-          More than 500,000 plants, trees and scrubs are planted for the festival, 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival

-          Festival plants include 60 different species of trees, 47 types of palms and 48 varieties of bedding plants

-          150 hands on gardening demonstrations and seminars will be presented

-          Thirty “flower towers” of several varieties of blooms and plants line Innoventions Plaza

-          225 floating mini-gardens each three feet in diameter of multi hued impatiens provide splashes of color on two ponds that border the walkway between Future World and World Showcase

-          700 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants and vegetables in clay pots, barrels and urns enhance the landscape throughout Epcot

-          400 WDW horticulturists are needed to install the festival landscape, topiaries and many exhibits

-          100 Epcot horticulturist maintain topiaries and other festival displays

-          It takes more than one full year and about 24,000 cast member hours to prepare for the annual festival