New topiaries, dining packages, entertainment announced for 2017 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

Disney is slowly releasing new details for 2017 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival in Disney World including the festival first of giving everyone’s favorite dragon, Figment, his own topiary.

Photo by Disney Diary of 2016 Epcot International Flower& Garden Festival  of Frozen topiary

Disney previously announced it is expanding the festival to 90 days from March 1 to May 29, 2017 and now is giving out some additional information on what to expect at the festival.

“A lot of people, including young children, are serious foodies now, and they have lots of questions about gardening,” Eric Darden, festival horticulture manager said in a news release. “We’re getting more and more people in their 20s and 30s asking, ‘How can I grow this?’ I think we’ll be creating more gardeners because people can see what’s possible.”

There will be 70 character topiaries throughout park including the return of Anna and Elsa, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Lady and the Tramp, Simba, Timon and Tinker Bell.

Here are some highlights of the new things to expect:

• Disney will debut a 6-foot-tall topiary of Figment, the dragon mascot of the park’s Imagination! pavilion, perched atop a 5-foot-diameter ball fashioned from yellow Joseph’s Coat.

• The Epcot front-entrance topiary garden will be inspired by a vintage Walt Disney short film where with floral-festooned maypole featuring Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Daisy and Pluto.

• The new generation of princess topiaries which are created with topiary facial features will now include Belle. Located outside the France pavilion with the Beast topiary, Belle will come to life with sculpted facial features and her yellow ball gown created with golden blooming Joseph’s Coat plants, according to a Disney news release. Previously Snow White, Anna and Elsa had detailed facial features on the topiaries.

• Two Outdoor Kitchens will be added to the 13 already being offering. No specific details have been released yet on what they will be.

• The Garden Rocks concert series will expand to four days each week, with three concerts each Friday through Monday.

• There will be a new Garden Rocks Dining Package.

• The play gardens will be revamped to to become a “Cars”-themed garden introducing a new character topiary from the June 2017 release of “Cars 3.”

• Music Garden Melodies play area will return with new garden and topiary elements.

• The Festival Center will extend operating hours from Wednesday, March 1 through Sunday, March 5. Throughout the rest of the festival, the center will be open each Friday through Sunday with gardening seminars and DIY workshops.

• A garden featuring on edible flowers and plants that benefit health and healing will be on display on the way to the new Soarin’ Around the World film at the Soarin ’attraction in The Land pavilion.