Iron City Travel

March 14, 2025

30 Years of Innovation: Topiaries at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

30 Years of Innovation: Topiaries at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

For 30 years, the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival has brought Disney characters to life in topiary form in new and innovative ways. Disney Imagineers work hand in hand with Disney horticulture to design and create topiaries at EPCOT that are not only impressive floral feats but also authentically represent some of Disney’s most beloved characters known worldwide. Harnessing the latest advances in technology, Imagineers set out each year to expand the level of detail and storytelling possible in a topiary by seamlessly fusing creative and technical elements within the organic medium of plants. This process of constant innovation fuels our desire for creativity.   Let’s take a look behind the scenes to see how Imagineers and horticulture cast members have been pushing the bounds of topiary innovation.   Sculpting Topiaries with Clay   If you take a close look at Beast’s face, you will see that it is made of organic dried plant material. While this dried plant material perfectly forms his chestnut-colored fur, Imagineers needed a new method to recreate Belle’s intricate facial features. Clay was the solution.   “We began sculpting with clay to create even more detailed facial features that would not have been possible using only natural plant material,” said Senior Production Designer Chris Nawara. “For Princess Belle, our sculpting artist created a traditional clay sculpt of her face using the character reference model from Walt Disney Animation Studios to complete the character’s iconic silhouette.”  The introduction of hand-sculpted elements to create character faces significantly expanded the level of detail that could be represented in our topiaries. However, this is no tale as old as time, as Imagineers are constantly creating new methods to expand the possibilities of storytelling.  The Perfect Print   Princess Tiana was one of our first topiaries to incorporate 3D printed elements, paving the way for us to add even greater depth and detail to our characters. “The medium of 3D printing introduced the digital component to topiary production, allowing us to create more complex geometries and intricate features,” shared Senior Industrial Designer Steven Montalvo.   Another example of this technology in use is Maui’s fishhook – the largest 3D printed element ever incorporated into an EPCOT topiary.  The printed product is then hand-textured using traditional clay and sculpting elements to further enhance each character’s specific details and features. “The fusion of authentic character representation with the natural horticultural elements is what really brings our topiaries to life,” Art Director Brittany Smith explained. “The charming part about sculpting within the horticultural medium is that the topiaries are allowed to be beautifully textured and uniquely irregular, just as plants are in nature, making them unlike any other icons across the property.”   Special Effects in EPCOT Topiaries Just as topiary technology has evolved throughout the years from traditional planted faces to hand-sculpting and 3D printing, Imagineers have also added impressive special effects to some of our newer topiaries, such as Cogsworth’s swinging pendulum, the Norway troll’s glowing lantern, and Star’s glistening celestial dust. Disney horticulture has also elevated the show by testing new plant species that provide us with a variety of colors and textures that bring our topiaries to life.   And new to this year’s festival are Moana and Maui complete with their glowing oar and fishhook, just like in Disney Animation’s Moana 2.   “We work closely with our horticulture partners from the very beginning to lean into similar effects that you might see in the character’s movie,” explained Senior Special Effects Designer Josh Harrison. “It’s all about adding that dynamic component to make the characters come to life, and the special effects provide that ‘wow factor’ to make this possible.”   Across three decades, Disney horticulture and Walt Disney Imagineering have worked together to weave art, technology, and nature to create the impressive topiary displays seen throughout the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, now through June 2.    The post 30 Years of Innovation: Topiaries at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival appeared first on Disney Parks Blog. ​

30 Years of Innovation: Topiaries at EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival Read More »

CELEBRITY MARCH

N O T H I N G  COMES CLOSE TO OUR BIGGEST SALE OF THE  Y E A R There’s no better time to plan the vacation you deserve than during our biggest sale of the year. For a limited time, get 75% off your second guest’s fare and save up to an additional $600 per room or get up to $500 per room to spend on board. Book today and discover why you’ll never want to vacation any other way. *Cruise must be booked Dec.10, 2024 through Apr. 07, 2025 (the “Offer Period”) and applies to select sailings 3-nights and longer departing Dec.10, 2024 – May 10, 2027 as well as 9-Night and longer Alaska Cruisetours on Celebrity Summit sailings departing May 09, 2025 – Sept. 05, 2025 (the “Offer Cruise”). Promo code not required. Full deposit must be paid by deposit payment required due date. Standard full deposit penalty is applied if booking is cancelled within final payment period; see CEL’s cancellation policy for details. Non-Refundable Deposit Bookings (“NRDB”): To qualify for the lowest available cruise fare, guest must choose a non-refundable deposit. All deposit payments for NRDB made after 03/02/23 are non- refundable from the time of booking. NRDB are applicable to groups at prevailing rates. Not applicable to incentive, contract, or charter groups. Nonrefundable deposit offers are applicable to sailings within final payment, however full deposit is due at time of booking. BOGO 50% Off 2nd Guest Offer is for Refundable Fares only, applies to new, individual bookings at standard rates during the Offer Period, and provides 50% off refundable cruise fares on the 2nd guest only in the same stateroom as the first full fare guest on an Offer Cruise, excluding Galapagos. All other charges, including but not limited to, taxes, fees and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests. BOGO 75% Off 2nd Guest Offer is for Non-Refundable Fares only, applies to new, individual bookings at standard rates during the Offer Period, and provides 75% off nonrefundable cruise fares on the 2nd guest only in the same stateroom as the first full fare guest on an Offer Cruise, excluding Galapagos. All other charges, including but not limited to, taxes, fees and port expenses are additional and apply to all guests. Combinability: BOGO 50% Off 2nd Guest for Refundable Fares and BOGO 75% Off 2nd Guest for Non-Refundable Fares Offers will be automatically applied at checkout and are combinable with Savings Offer and All Included or No Perk Rate. BOGO 50% Off 2nd Guest for Refundable Fares and BOGO 75% Off 2nd Guest for Non-Refundable Fares Offers do not apply to Group X Rates, single occupancy guests, charters or contracted groups and are not combinable with Travel Agent, Interline, or Net Rates, Exciting Deals, or worker cabins. BONUS SAVINGS/OBC OFFERS Up to $600 Savings Offer applies to new, individual bookings at standard and prevailing or closed group standard or GroupX rates on an Offer Cruise, excluding Galapagos, and provides cruise fare savings per stateroom varying by stateroom category and length of voyage booked: 3 to 5 nights, savings of $75 USD for inside and ocean view, $150 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $300 USD for Suites; 6 nights or longer, savings of $150 USD for inside and ocean view, $300 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $600 USD for Suites. Up to $500 Savings Offer applies to new, individual bookings at standard and prevailing or closed group standard or GroupX rates on an Offer Cruise, excluding Galapagos, and provides cruise fare savings per stateroom varying by stateroom category and length of voyage booked: 3 to 5 nights, savings of $50 USD for inside and ocean view, $100 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $250 USD for Suites; 6 nights or longer, savings of $100 USD for inside and ocean view, $200 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $500 USD for Suites. Up to $500 Onboard Credit (OBC) Offer applies to new, individual bookings at standard and prevailing or closed group standard or GroupX rates on an Offer Cruise, excluding Galapagos, and provides onboard credit (OBC) per stateroom varying by stateroom category and length of voyage booked: 3 to 5 nights, OBC of $50 USD for inside and ocean view, $100 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $250 USD for Suites; 6 nights or longer, OBC of $100 USD for inside and ocean view, $200 USD for verandas, Concierge Class, AquaClass® and $500 USD for Suites. Combinability: Savings or OBC Offer is combinable with BOGO 50% Off 2nd Guest for Refundable Fares or BOGO 75% Off 2nd Guest for Non-Refundable Fares Offers, All Included or No Perk Rate, and Alaska Cruisetours and will be automatically applied at checkout. Individual reservations can be transferred into an existing group, certain restrictions apply. Single occupancy guests paying 200% cruise fare are eligible. All offers are capacity controlled; availability varies by sailing, and eligible staterooms may sell out. All offers are non-transferable and applicable only to the Offer Cruise. Changes to booking may result in removal of offers. Prices and offers are subject to availability and change without notice, capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Refer to Cruise Ticket Contract for additional terms and conditions. Celebrity reserves the right to cancel the offer(s) at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice. ©2024 Celebrity Cruises Inc. Ships’ registry: Malta and Ecuador.

CELEBRITY MARCH Read More »