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Here comes the monorail!
© Copyright 2010 Tink *~*~*
I’m a total geek when it comes to trying to take photos of the monorail at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park. The tracks dip enticingly into the park before taking passengers on their merry way, and there are various places to stand around and wait for it to go by so you can get the perfect shot. And I do! Stand around, I mean. I’ve get to get the perfect shot 
Here’s one from last year’s Flower and Garden Festival. That’s the Test Track building behind the monorail, and the butterfly tent to the left. Can you see the “hidden” Mickey? I’ll give you a hint – this is Ruby Tuesday, when we post things that are RED. See it now? Good! Can’t wait to get there – 3 more sleeps!
Is there a particular Disney thing that turns YOU into a geek? I’d love to hear about it – consider the “comments” section your confessional
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6 more sleeps till the Flower and Garden Festival!
© Copyright 2010 Tink *~*~*
Next Friday after work, I’ll head over to Orlando to meet up with some friends for dinner. We’re going to cheer some other friends who are running in Disney’s Princess Half-Marathon, and take in the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT.
Be sure to check in over the weekend (Saturday March 6th and Sunday March 7th)for some mobile blogging fun – I hear we’re going to hit the tequila bar in Mexico
In the meantime, enjoy these topiary critters from last year’s Festival.
Happy Critturday!
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EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival drives away the winter doldrums
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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During the winter time, even here in Florida it can be chilly and bleak. Right now, we’re having an unusually long cold snap, with temps plunging into the lower 30s at night and never making into the 60s during the day. So I went looking for outdoor, watery scenes full of flowers and color and spectacular skies for today’s post. Here’s EPCOT during the Flower and Garden Festival this past May (2009). The Festival will begin again in March – that’s only 2 months away! In the meantime, photographs and memories can keep us going until spring comes once more.
You want me to be happy, don’t you?
DON’T YOU?
Jacaranda in bloom at the 2009 Flower and Garden Festival
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
http://MyMobileAdventures.com
The jacaranda is not a native of Florida, but close enough – it’s found in Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and other subtropical and tropical regions of the world.
On the day I took these photos, I stood beneath the jacaranda breathing in the fragrance as blooms shook free in the breeze and rained down softly upon me. It was heaven!
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The trouble with Tinker Bell
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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This is probably the last photograph I will be able to take of a Tinker Bell topiary at the International Flower and Garden Festival, which takes place each spring in Walt Disney World’s EPCOT theme park. The reason for this is that the Walt Disney Company, in its infinite wisdom, has decided to mess with the Tinker Bell character in order to cash in on her popularity, and I don’t think I’m going to be able to be brave enough to visit the Tinker Bell section of the festival ever again. Disney’s gone an made a movie filled with grave inaccuracies and a computer-generated effigy of the true Tinker Bell, and I could not be more upset! grrr!
Did you know they’ve actually got her TALKING in the film? Tinker Bell should NOT speak – ever. And nowadays, they’ve got her running around the parks – as a FACE character! You know, an actual PERSON. Hey, isn’t she supposed to be able to fit in the palm of your hand?
My childhood dreams are shattered. I’m traumatized, I tell ya! This is no way to treat Tinker Bell. Her entire mystique is being destroyed.
I hear this year in EPCOT they’re having a Tinker Bell fairy garden (she is not a fairy, she’s a PIXIE – sheesh! 
) The face characters will all be there doing autographs. Well, I guess I’m going to have to stay away from that part of the park. I cannot bear the prospect of coming face to face with these imposters, these… these… these POSERS! It’s going to be difficult, though, because the next time I go to EPCOT, I will probably be in the company of a certain 4-year old – Niece No. 5 – who really loves Tinker Bell, and probably loves the fairies too. She’s cute, this 4-year old. I may not be able to resist a request to go visit Tinker Bell…
Oh, and this has been yet another victory in the Monday Meme Trifecta. The prompt for Manic Monday today is “plant”, and I’ve got Tinker Bell’s yellow hair and blue wings to cover Mellow Yellow Monday and Blue Monday.
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Flower and Garden Festival Surprise
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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What’s in the bottom of this here pond?
SURPRISE – It’s a Hidden Mickey!
You want me to be happy, don’t you?
DON’T YOU?
Yet More Disney Characters Who Wear RED
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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Is there no end to the number of Disney characters who wear RED? Apparently not! I’ve already documented the phenomenon of Disney characters wearing red quite extensively. Then this evening, while drooling over some old photos from the EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival from ‘way back in 2004, I found a couple more Disney characters wearing red, and then fast forwarded to October of that same year to find one more, just because I think three is a nice number of photos to include in any given post This is, of course, in honor of Ruby Tuesday, where once a week, our host Mary encourages us to post a little something to do with the color RED.
Here we see Donald Duck in topiary, his jaunty blue sailor hat and perky RED bow tie standing out from the ivy he’s made of. At his feet, some RED apples; behind him, the RED brick wall that separates The American Adventure pavilion from… um… what’s on the other side of that wall? Oh yeah, Japan! See, it’s been all the way since October since I was last there, and I’m forgetting it all – I need a fix! The trip report I wrote about this day indicates that I spent some time just hanging out at the American Adventure listening to music – the twin brother duo Nelson was there, playing their one pop hit plus all the classics made famous by their more-famous father, Ricky Nelson.
Now we will fast-forward a few months to November 1st 2004. I was in the Magic Kingdom with Chez Bro and Da Fam (SIL and Nieceling) when the Share A Dream Come True parade came through. Many of the characters are presented inside these snow globes; I found myself hoping that these vehicles came equipped with air conditioning! I hear that it’s really quite hot and stuffy enough inside those costumes without the sun creating a hothouse effect inside the plastic bubble! Inside this particular bubble/snow globe is Pinocchio, who is wearing RED knee britches. If you look real close, you will see Jiminy Cricket hanging from the roof of the globe.
Last shot – back in time we go to April 2004 again. Here are Lilo and Stitch, waiting to greet what was no doubt a LONG line of autograph-seekers. Stitch is not looking as good as I’ve seen him; that costume just doesn’t seem right to me, maybe a little too baggy, and the head is too small. Or something. There doesn’t look to be anything particularly RED about Stitch. However, the lovely Lilo is modeling a RED Hawaiian print, and has a RED hibiscus bloom adorning her hair. And for my great buddy Christene, both are wearing leis made of plumeria blossoms. While I concede that they are probably not contraband plumeria (and therefore, probably not especially thrilling to Christene, whose tastes run toward contraband), they plumeria none the less
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Getting ready for the Flower and Garden Festival
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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I’M SO EXCITED!
I’ve booked a trip to Walt Disney World in mid-May, where I’ll attend the 16th annual EPCOT International Flower and Garden Festival. I look forward to this event each year, and I was really bummed one recent year when I could not attend (I had a really good reason – my checkbook and I were occupied at the time with moving here to Florida ).
The Flower and Garden Festival is held at EPCOT but its influence can be felt throughout Walt Disney World. Expect to see spectacular displays of all manner of trees, shrubs and flowers in decadent full bloom. The whole place is just eye candy; gardeners and flower lovers will think they’ve gone to heaven. Topiary figures of all your favorite Disney characters are encountered everywhere in the park. There’s usually a butterfly garden, demonstrations of new innovations and tried and true gardening techniques, garden sculptures, lectures and lots more.
Yep, I’m excited – so filled with anticipation, I’ve been going through photos of visits past, reminiscing and counting the days. Don’t be surprised if more than a few of these are posted in the next month or so.
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Of Mice and Mutts – Disney’s Flower and Garden Festival
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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click any photo to see a larger version in Flickr
Spring is coming, and you know what that means – soon it will be time for the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT in Walt Disney World! I am positively enamored of the Flower and Garden Festival. I used to be quite the garden geek back in the day, before I moved to a place where I have NO idea what is growing on the side of the road. It’s kind of disconcerting not to be able to identify any of the trees or shrubs or flowers that are in my own front yard! Yet when I go to the Flower and Garden Festival, I can identify stuff, thus re-inflating my sense of self-worth. (Pssst… if by chance I cannot identify it, guess what? They’ve got signs on practically EVERYTHING! )
Somewhere in my travels across the internet, I have heard Disney’s character topiaries referred to as “The Chlorophyll Zoo”. Now, it is true that not all of the topiaries you’ll find at Disney World are animals. Just a few weeks ago, I featured topiaries of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and despite Dopey’s big, floppy ears, none of these can be accused of being a critter. Even today’s topiary critters are suspect; they’ve all got some anthropomorphic qualities. Well, all except for Pluto. While Goofy, who is a dog, walks upright and speaks and has “hands” instead of front paws, Pluto, who is also a dog, was introduced in a cartoon short during the 1930s as Mickey Mouse’s puppy! And typically, you will see pluto on all fours. So technically, only one of today’s subjects is actually a critter through and through. The rest of them are suspect 
Back to the subject of topiaries – often you will find that Disney topiary supplies are offered for sale in Downtown Disney or at the festival itself. The frames can be rather pricey, but if you keep looking online, you can sometimes find a bargain. I’ve seen smaller versions of the ones you see here; I think most of these are taller than I am, and at 5′7″, I am not short. The smaller ones are about two feet high and I hear tell they take quite a bit of sphagnum moss and fishing line to get them set up. I’ve also seen very small table-top sized versions of a Mickey Mouse topiary for sale at the Flower and Garden Festival. The larger ones are started at least a year, if not more, before the Festival at which they debut. There must be a greenhouse somewhere on property with a dozen or so of each character in various stages of it’s life cycle – some just starting, some halfway there, and some ready to take their place in the landscaping of the parks
The year these photos were taken, the theme was pirates. Peter Pan, Hook, Smee and the pirate ship all graced the front entrance of EPCOT, with Spaceship Earth making an iconic backdrop for the scene. Meanwhile, in the World Showcase Plaza, Mickey and the gang were posed around a “treasure chest” with ivy and golden blossoms spilling out of it. I had my oldest niece with me; it was her graduation gift to be taken to Disney World.
In the middle of this coming May, my very youngest niece, just 4 years old, will be making her first visit to Walt Disney World. I’m not sure she will be paying attention to the topiaries. She’ll be too busy being excited over the prospect of having a meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Auntie Tink *~*~* recently sent her a lovely Cinderella costume that she’ll be wearing for her visit to the castle, complete with dainty slippers, tiara, and earrings that don’t pinch but she’s afraid they will, so she won’t try them on Bro. No. 2 says she’ll get over it by time she heads up to the Royal Table. She will be beyond adorable with or without them, I’m sure!
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EDITED Sunday 02-22-2009: someone suggested that I use this post to play Today’s Flowers, too. So that’s what I’m doing! I’ve never played before, and I hope this qualifies.
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RED Stuff at the EPCOT Festivals in Walt Disney World
© Copyright 2008 Tink *~*~*
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RED Stuff at the EPCOT Festivals in Walt Disney World
(a Ruby Tuesday post)
click a photo to see a larger version in Flickr
The color RED makes a strong showing in the Disney theme parks in Orlando, Florida. Perhaps that’s the reason that so many of my Ruby Tuesday posts are laden with photos taken at Walt Disney World.
This dragon topiary was photographed at the Flower and Garden Festival, which takes place in EPCOT each spring. Red is the predominant color at the China pavilion, which is no surprise because red is the most significant color in Chinese culture. From the Chinese flag to the emblem of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, red represents China like no other color.
In 2005, the theme of the Flower and Garden Festival revolved around “hidden” Mickeys. There were 50 of them hidden in the park in connection with the festival. Some were more obvious than others. They could be anything from an arrangement of stones on the bottom of a pool to this giant, red, not-so-hidden Mickey on the banks of one of the lagoons. It’s made up of hundreds of flowering plants in bloom. You might think that this one was sort of a “gimmee” because it is so big, but I think that sometimes, the best “hiding” place is right out in the open.
Here’s another water-side display, this time in the shape of a colossal red
butterfly. If you click through to the larger version of the photo, you will see that there are butterfly topiaries behind it. This display was near the butterfly house, a mesh tent that contains a butterfly garden and LOTS of butterflies. There are cocoons in there too, but I’ve never been lucky enough to be present while one was hatching. In the background on the right, you can see the tall spire from a defunct attraction called The Wonders of Life. Sometimes the Wonders of Life pavilion is used as a Festival Center. Last year when I was there in October, this pavilion was filled with food-related merchandise and racks and racks of bottles of wine during the Food and Wine Festival.
And speaking of Food and Wine, it’s time to switch festivals. Here’s a display that I found in the temporary “Louisiana” section of the 2008 Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT. This display represents the classic ingredients in Louisiana cooking. I didn’t recognize even half of these brand names, so I guess they are either local to Louisiana, or maybe they are memorabilia-type representations of classic ingredients from the past. Anyone out there from Louisiana that could enlighten us?
To give you an idea of scale, people were hoisting their little kids on top of the can that says “Delta….” to take a picture of them – until a Cast Member came over and asked them to stop. Spoil sport! Included in the display are a giant bottle of red wine, and a smaller red bottle that looks like it might be the equivalent of Tabasco.
This little vegetable garden was just across the path from the ingredients display. A little sign in the garden stated that these are the typical vegetables that go into Louisiana cooking. I see onions, parsley, several varieties of peppers that include some red ones and … not sure what all else was growing in there. It kind of made me all misty-eyed for the days when I had my own little organic potager growing in the yard… and then I remembered all the back-breaking work it is to grow vegetables, and I got over it!
Hope you enjoyed our little stroll through the RED stuff at EPCOT!
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