Friday March 4th 2016
This afternoon I went to the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. It began on Wednesday and runs until May 30th. The park is decorated with flowers and topiaries for the festival. There are also special demonstrations and entertainment.
I went to see the flowers and related displays, but I did have a couple of other adventures. I went on the Mission Space ride. I had never been on this ride before, but based on recommendations I tried the tamer side of this motion simulator ride. In general, I don’t do well on motion simulators. The green side of this ride does not have the severe motions of the orange side. I survived the ride and enjoyed it, but will probably not do it again.
The other adventure was eating supper at the UK Pavilion. I was attacked by a sea gull that thought my fish and chips looked like his dinner. It dived in and garbed the fish right out of my hand. Another bird followed it in to pick up the rest of the fish that dropped on the table. For a few seconds I was surrounded by attacking gulls. Luckily I was just about finished and didn’t get hurt by beaks or wings.
The flower displays in the park are very pretty. It is a big improvement from January when very few flowers were in bloom. Some of the displays, like the floating flower beds haven’t fully bloomed yet and the butterflies in the butterfly house aren’t out of their cocoons yet. I will have to return later in the month to check on progress.
I was at the park in the late afternoon. This is not a good time for taking pictures. The low sun angle washes out many of the colors. It is not always possible to take the picture from a good angle. A trip to the park earlier in the day is in order.
A couple of things that stood out were the beds of purple geraniums and the sheer number of creative topiaries. I’m not sure how long purple geraniums have existed, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen them. They really stand out.
Flowers line the water’s edge with floating gardens in the center
Purple Geraniums. Who knew?
Buzz Lightyear topiary
The entertainment was “The Orchestra starring former members of the ELO”. I didn’t get to the theater in time to get a seat so I only stood to watch the first song. They weren’t playing music that I recognized and didn’t seem to be doing anything interesting on the stage.
I was only at EPCOT for about three hours. I didn’t come prepared for cooler temperatures and once the sunset that’s exactly what we had. An enjoyable outing with more to see on future trips to the park.
