We dropped by EPCOT a few days ahead of the official March 2nd start of the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival and were happy to see many of the topiary and flower beds were already installed. Because of that we’re able to provide you with this extended preview of the most colorful festival of the year at EPCOT.

This year the festival runs for 90 days, which means it will require at least two complete crop rotations to keep the floral displays fresh and seasonal. More than 500,000 plants, trees, and shrubs are planted for the festival; 250,000 of those are annual blossoms installed for the festival. Disney estimates that over 30 million blooms will blanket the park.

This year there will be 13 outdoor kitchens offering dozens of new sweet and savory food and beverage menu items. I’m looking forward to the new La Isla Fresca and Cider House kitchens.

The main front-entrance topiary scene is inspired by a 1943 Donald Duck comic book “The Victory Garden.” Included in the garden are the first-ever Huey, Dewey and Louie topiary, plus Donald and Daisy.

A huge thanks to Disney’s team of more than 400 horticulture experts for putting on this beautiful show for us. We have 90 glorious days to enjoy the festival this year. So make plans to head to EPCOT before May 30th and enjoy the 23rd EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival.

That’s part one of the update, we’ll have more photos from around the World Showcase tomorrow.