Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Visit Disney World with a gardener’s eye

My family and I visited Disney World this past weekend to celebrate our grandnephew, Alexander’s first birthday. Alex is the first member of the newest generation of kids in our family that will grow up going to WDW regularly.
Visiting Disney World for my family is a yearly habit and, when my girls were little, a twice or three time a year event. We love Mouse Land but also, when you live at the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, there aren’t many places close enough to drive just for the weekend other than Disney.
The older I get, the less trips I take to Disney. My last visit was three years ago when my daughter graduated from a college in the Orlando area (Rollins College in Winter Park) and the entire family celebrated at EPCOT. Lately my trips are less about the rides (seen that, done that) and more about the landscaping and the beauty of the grounds, especially at Epcot Center. This park is great for gardeners, especially World Showcase, where you can visit re-created gardens from around the world, all in one day. How cool is that!!!!!

At the Canada pavilion you can visit a replica of Butchart Gardens, not exactly as magnificent as the real one but quite close.

In Britain you can walk in an English garden, complete with beautiful rose bushes, making you feel as if you are in merry old England.

My favorite place in Epcot is The Land pavilion, located in Future World. One of the attractions is “Living With the Land”, a journey through the different topographies of our earth, focusing on mankind relationship to the land. The ride finishes in an experimental green house, where Disney agro-scientist are growing fruits and vegetable, experimenting with eco-sensitive growing mechanisms and maximizing the potential of farming techniques that care for the environment.


If you are considering a vacation with your family, come to Disney World and let the kids go to the Magic Kingdom while the adults head for Epcot. I guarantee you’ll have a great time. You’ll be able to visit most of the world in one day, your dollar is actually worth a dollar, the tax payers of Florida will be very appreciative for you contribution to our economy (I know, I know – a shameless plug!) and you can experience a sunset like this one while eating a taco in Mexico.


7 comments:

Wicked Gardener said...

Ohh! I haven't been to EPCOT since I was 10! It is time I went back. Thanks for the tour. Too bad you didn't see a moose.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Wow, this is lovely!!! I didn't know that this kind of thing existed; such lovely gardens! Thanks very much for showing me around Rusty. BTW I love Disney World as I'm still a kid at heart. I've visited both Disney World in California and the one in Paris.

chuck b. said...

A garden replica of another garden--how interesting!

I've read about that food garden at Epcot before. Would love to see it someday.

Connie said...

Love the English style house and gardens! Nice post, thanks for sharing.

Frances, said...

Enjoyed your tour. That is one of the most fun things about the garden blogs, seeing places other gardeners have visited. Thanks and keep it up.

Anonymous said...

Pam @ Digging says:

We went to Disney World last Xmas and had a marvelous time, surprising even ourselves. We loved the Magic Kingdom best, but even our youngest (6 at the time) had a wonderful day at Epcot. I recommend taking kids there too.

Anonymous said...

We love all the 4 parks at the Disney World. Plus having spent so much on the Disney World Tickets, we usually stay for 5-7 days as the ticket costs for the extra days is minimal. Love the gardens in EPCOT very much.