Disney never does anything without putting an immense amount of thought into it. This is true even for the gardens and landscaping around the parks. While many Guests don’t even realize that the plant life around them is part of the storytelling, Disney meticulously picks the specific types of flowers, trees, and greenery that are used within the landscaping for every area of the park.
This is something that Disney does for all of the Disney Parks and Resorts. However, in this article, we’re going to focus on the plant selections around Walt Disney World.
As we take a look at the plant life and landscaping around Walt Disney World, it’ll become clear how much thought and effort is put into these details that are often missed and overlooked by many.
Before you even enter Magic Kingdom Park, you’re met with one of the most iconic garden areas in Walt Disney World – the Mickey flower mural in front of the Walt Disney World Railroad. This floral Mickey has been at Magic Kingdom since its opening day in 1971. However, the features of the Mickey have changed over the years. This floral arrangement is a nod to its predecessor that sits in front of the Disneyland Railroad at Disneyland Park.
Once you enter the park, different plants and landscaping can distinctly be seen as you go from land to land. Each land has its own unique collection of shrubbery, trees, and flowers.
Main Street, U.S.A., which is designed to look like a town from the turn of the 20th Century, has a limited amount of plant life. In the town square, there are a few gardens with standard flowers and shrubbery. During the holidays, these garden areas are filled with decorations for Halloween and Christmastime.
As you walk down Main Street, you’ll notice there are trees and light posts that line the street, just as there would be on the main street of a quaint town like this. There are also several hanging flower baskets that hang on the light posts. However, during the holidays, these are swapped out for decorative wreaths. At the end of the street there is a big grassy area where Guests can sit down, relax, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy the overall feel of the park. This grassy area is referred to as the Hub.
READ MORE – 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Visiting Disney That People Get Wrong
After you pass through the Hub, you’ll be right in front of Cinderella Castle, the entrance to Fantasyland. Around the castle, there are a number of small gardens. Unlike the casual gardens in the town square of Main Street, these gardens are filled with pristine, uniquely designed, and exquisitely manicured shrubbery and flowers. We would not expect anything less from plants that are located on castle grounds.
Overall, Fantasyland doesn’t have too much plant life apart from some shade trees. However, there are exceptions. Some attractions do have some decorative flowers and shrubs surrounding them, such as Mad Tea Party. Others have landscaping that adds to the theming of the attraction, such as Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, which is surrounded by palm trees, water, and rocks, giving it a true sea-side feel.
Tomorrowland is another land in Magic Kingdom that doesn’t have too much plant life apart from shade trees and shrubs. However, there is a futuristic detail in regards to a few specific trees in Tomorrowland. Have you ever noticed the palm trees that stand in front of Space Mountain? These trees of the future don’t look like normal palm trees. Why? Because they’re made of metal!
As the story goes, these metal palm trees were created by the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company. The purpose of these trees, called Power Palms, was to store energy from the sun. On the trees, you’ll see coconuts. These coconuts are actually orbs that store the energy from the sun, which is then used to power Tomorrowland.
If you pay close attention, you may notice that one of the Power Palms has no coconuts and its palm leaves are folded down, while the leaves on the other Power Palms are in an outright position. This is because the coconuts, once full of energy, are harvested for use. Once the coconuts are removed from a tree, that tree is then folded up until it needs to be used again.
Adventureland is the area of Magic Kingdom where you’ll find the most vegetation. When you enter Adventureland, you’ll immediately know that you’re somewhere full of wonder and excitement. Beyond the excellent theming created with the décor and structural designs, the plant life truly immerses you deep into an adventurous setting.
During your time in Adventureland, you’ll feel like you’re in the depths of a jungle. Tall lush trees will loom overhead, with vines hanging down, and a wide variety of tropical plants covering the ground. This jungle feel will be the thickest near Jungle Cruise, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and gradually get thinner as you near Pirates of the Caribbean. Shortly after you pass Pirates, the landscape and feel will change entirely.
After you make your way through Adventureland, you’ll enter Frontierland. Immediately, you’ll notice that the lush green plant life is gone. In Frontierland, you’re meant to feel as though you’re in the Wild West, with its dry and dusty environment. However, there were of course trees in the Wild West. In Frontierland, you’ll find trees more so in the background and on Tom Sawyer Island. Within these trees you’ll see Fir Trees, Oak Trees, Pine Trees, Sycamore Trees, Elm Trees, and Red Maple Trees.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, however, is set in the desert area of the Wild West much more than any other part of Frontierland. Throughout the ride you’ll find plants such as Cacti, Prairie Grass, Succulents, and other less than lively looking plants growing from the dusty earth.
Once you finish passing through Frontierland, you’ll enter Liberty Square. Here, you’ll return again to the staple shade trees and decorative gardens and shrubbery. However, there is one tree in particular that is extremely special in Liberty Square. This tree, which is called the Liberty Tree, is a Southern Live Oak. From this tree, there are 13 lanterns hanging from the branches. These lanterns represent the 13 original colonies of the United States of America.
The best gardens in all of Walt Disney World are found at EPCOT. In the Springtime, EPCOT even hosts an International Flower and Garden Festival. During this time, the grounds are covered with the most beautifully put together gardens, which are full of bright colored flowers and intricate topiaries.
These gardens begin at the entrance and spread throughout the entire park. Each area of the park has topiaries that are unique to that location, even in the World Showcase pavilions. These are some of the different topiaries that are often seen in the different countries: Japan – Dragon, China – Panda Bears, Paris – Beauty and the Beast, Italy – Lady and the Tramp, United Kingdom – Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, Norway – Anna and Elsa, and so forth.
At EPCOT, there are also different attractions that have immersive plant life all year long. In front of The Seas with Nemo & Friends, there is a display that showcases many of the fish friends in a beautiful flower bed. The plants in this flower bed are meant to look like seaweed and other underwater plants, giving the area an underwater feel.
Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana, is another attraction where plant life is extremely immersive. Throughout this walk-through attraction, there are many palm trees and tropical plants. Along with the detailed rockwork and immersive water effects, the plants help make you feel like you’re deep in an island oasis. One of the most impressive topiaries can be found in Journey of Water. At the end of the attraction, you’ll see Te Fiti, which is an impressive 16 feet tall. She looks exactly like she does in the movie!
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is designed to give Guests a true Hollywood experience. When you first enter the park, you feel as though you’ve been dropped right in the middle of old school Hollywood and are walking down a Las Angeles street. The sight of magnificent landmarks helps with this feeling, such as the Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard and The Hollywood Tower Hotel at the end of Sunset Boulevard.
However, it isn’t just the theater, hotel, old-timey shops, or Hollywood tunes that you hear playing that gives you this Hollywood feel. It’s the trees that are used that places you in that exact location. In the front portion of the park, the streets are lined with tall, towering palm trees. These trees really make it feel as though you’re traveling through Las Angeles and give you that movie star feeling.
In regard to Sunset Boulevard, you’ll notice that this movie star feeling ends when you reach The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Normally, one would expect a hotel of this stature to have exceptionally manicured landscaping. However, that’s not the case. When you arrive at the hotel, notice how the plant life on the grounds looks erratic, overgrown, and quite sloppy.
As the story goes, on October 31st, 1939, paranormal activity took place at the hotel, resulting in 4 Guests and 1 Bellhop to mysteriously disappear. The hotel closed immediately after and has remained closed ever since. This explains the lack of groundskeeping and why all of the plant life around The Hollywood Tower Hotel is so unkept.
As you make your way further back into the park, you’ll find yourself in the middle of actual movies, specifically Toy Story and Star Wars. Both of these movies have extremely immersive lands at Hollywood Studios. While the buildings, props, music, and attractions add a lot to the overall theming, the vegetation also plays a large part in the immersion.
When you’re in Toy Story Land, you’re actually walking through Andy’s backyard. You’ve shrunk down to the size of a toy and everything around you now seems extremely large. As you're walking through the land, notice how you’re surrounded by tall, lush, and thin green plants that easily sway in the breeze. Many of these are bamboo trees. This greenery is meant to resemble tall grass blades! Since you’re in Andy’s backyard and are now a smaller size, of course the tall blade of grass will be looming all around you.
At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, you're visiting the planet of Batuu. Like other Star Wars planets, Batuu is not overly vegetated. The planet gives off a very dry and stony feeling. However, the plants that do grow there naturally look very exotic to us human travelers.
Many African and Australian plants are used for the landscaping of Batuu. Some plants that you’ll see there are Protea, Grevillea (a.k.a. Spider Flower), and Erythrina. All of these plants are colorful and unique in shape, which perfectly fits the Star Wars ambiance. A more familiar plant that you may see in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is Sage. The shape and color of the leaves makes the Sage plants blend in beautifully with the more exotic plants.
No matter where you’re at in Animal Kingdom, you'll be surrounded by plants, flowers, and trees. Animal Kingdom has the most plants out of any other Walt Disney World theme park.
At Animal Kingdom, the plant life does not compliment and help accent the theming of the props and attractions. It IS the theming. Not only that, the many trees and plants also serve as habitats and food for many of the resident animals of the park, making the park both visually appealing to Guests and an ideal living space for the animals residing there.
There is one area of the park where the plants are purely for show, but immersive nonetheless. This is in Pandora – The World of Avatar. When you’re in Pandora, you’ll see the amazing floating mountains with plants and vines hanging off of them. On the ground, you’ll be up close to the plants that grow on this mysterious planet.
The plants that you’ll see in Pandora are extremely exotic, and look rightfully otherworldly. One special thing about the plants in Pandora is that many of them are man made. Disney Imagineers created 20 new species of plants specifically for this land. You’ll not only see the unique plants of Pandora throughout the land, but also within the two attractions – Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
While these plants are beautiful during the daytime, they are exceptionally gorgeous at nighttime. The plants that were hand sculpted by Disney Imagineers are bioluminescent, which means they glow at night time. The different colors of the plants pair together wonderfully, reflect off of water, and blend in with other colors of the land. It’s truly a sight to be seen.
When you’re visiting Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you will without a doubt feel like you’ve left Earth and traveled to Pandora. This world would not be able to give you that same feeling without the plants that were used.
EPCOT's Mission: Space attraction allows guests to experience what it would feel like to blast off on a thrilling NASA-inspired mission to Mars or orbit the Earth through space. Mission: Space debuted in the World Discovery area of EPCOT in October 2003. There were hundreds of thousands of hours spent developing and building this attraction to truly give guests a similar experience as astronauts. Check out 10 fun facts about Mission: Space that may surprise you!
The Disneyland Resort as we know it today has expanded dramatically since Disneyland Park's opening in 1955, with three Disneyland Resort Hotels, the shopping and dining district Downtown Disney, and a second theme park that was introduced in 2001. Some may not remember that there was almost a different future for the resort. Before the project was officially canceled, however, Disney released details and concept art for this park that would never come to be!
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Magic Kingdom
Before you even enter Magic Kingdom Park, you’re met with one of the most iconic garden areas in Walt Disney World – the Mickey flower mural in front of the Walt Disney World Railroad. This floral Mickey has been at Magic Kingdom since its opening day in 1971. However, the features of the Mickey have changed over the years. This floral arrangement is a nod to its predecessor that sits in front of the Disneyland Railroad at Disneyland Park.
Once you enter the park, different plants and landscaping can distinctly be seen as you go from land to land. Each land has its own unique collection of shrubbery, trees, and flowers.
Main Street, U.S.A.
Main Street, U.S.A., which is designed to look like a town from the turn of the 20th Century, has a limited amount of plant life. In the town square, there are a few gardens with standard flowers and shrubbery. During the holidays, these garden areas are filled with decorations for Halloween and Christmastime.
As you walk down Main Street, you’ll notice there are trees and light posts that line the street, just as there would be on the main street of a quaint town like this. There are also several hanging flower baskets that hang on the light posts. However, during the holidays, these are swapped out for decorative wreaths. At the end of the street there is a big grassy area where Guests can sit down, relax, grab a bite to eat, and enjoy the overall feel of the park. This grassy area is referred to as the Hub.
Fantasyland
READ MORE – 10 Biggest Misconceptions About Visiting Disney That People Get Wrong
After you pass through the Hub, you’ll be right in front of Cinderella Castle, the entrance to Fantasyland. Around the castle, there are a number of small gardens. Unlike the casual gardens in the town square of Main Street, these gardens are filled with pristine, uniquely designed, and exquisitely manicured shrubbery and flowers. We would not expect anything less from plants that are located on castle grounds.
Overall, Fantasyland doesn’t have too much plant life apart from some shade trees. However, there are exceptions. Some attractions do have some decorative flowers and shrubs surrounding them, such as Mad Tea Party. Others have landscaping that adds to the theming of the attraction, such as Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, which is surrounded by palm trees, water, and rocks, giving it a true sea-side feel.
Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland is another land in Magic Kingdom that doesn’t have too much plant life apart from shade trees and shrubs. However, there is a futuristic detail in regards to a few specific trees in Tomorrowland. Have you ever noticed the palm trees that stand in front of Space Mountain? These trees of the future don’t look like normal palm trees. Why? Because they’re made of metal!
As the story goes, these metal palm trees were created by the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company. The purpose of these trees, called Power Palms, was to store energy from the sun. On the trees, you’ll see coconuts. These coconuts are actually orbs that store the energy from the sun, which is then used to power Tomorrowland.
If you pay close attention, you may notice that one of the Power Palms has no coconuts and its palm leaves are folded down, while the leaves on the other Power Palms are in an outright position. This is because the coconuts, once full of energy, are harvested for use. Once the coconuts are removed from a tree, that tree is then folded up until it needs to be used again.
Adventureland
Adventureland is the area of Magic Kingdom where you’ll find the most vegetation. When you enter Adventureland, you’ll immediately know that you’re somewhere full of wonder and excitement. Beyond the excellent theming created with the décor and structural designs, the plant life truly immerses you deep into an adventurous setting.
During your time in Adventureland, you’ll feel like you’re in the depths of a jungle. Tall lush trees will loom overhead, with vines hanging down, and a wide variety of tropical plants covering the ground. This jungle feel will be the thickest near Jungle Cruise, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, and Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and gradually get thinner as you near Pirates of the Caribbean. Shortly after you pass Pirates, the landscape and feel will change entirely.
Frontierland
After you make your way through Adventureland, you’ll enter Frontierland. Immediately, you’ll notice that the lush green plant life is gone. In Frontierland, you’re meant to feel as though you’re in the Wild West, with its dry and dusty environment. However, there were of course trees in the Wild West. In Frontierland, you’ll find trees more so in the background and on Tom Sawyer Island. Within these trees you’ll see Fir Trees, Oak Trees, Pine Trees, Sycamore Trees, Elm Trees, and Red Maple Trees.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, however, is set in the desert area of the Wild West much more than any other part of Frontierland. Throughout the ride you’ll find plants such as Cacti, Prairie Grass, Succulents, and other less than lively looking plants growing from the dusty earth.
Liberty Square
Once you finish passing through Frontierland, you’ll enter Liberty Square. Here, you’ll return again to the staple shade trees and decorative gardens and shrubbery. However, there is one tree in particular that is extremely special in Liberty Square. This tree, which is called the Liberty Tree, is a Southern Live Oak. From this tree, there are 13 lanterns hanging from the branches. These lanterns represent the 13 original colonies of the United States of America.
EPCOT
The best gardens in all of Walt Disney World are found at EPCOT. In the Springtime, EPCOT even hosts an International Flower and Garden Festival. During this time, the grounds are covered with the most beautifully put together gardens, which are full of bright colored flowers and intricate topiaries.
These gardens begin at the entrance and spread throughout the entire park. Each area of the park has topiaries that are unique to that location, even in the World Showcase pavilions. These are some of the different topiaries that are often seen in the different countries: Japan – Dragon, China – Panda Bears, Paris – Beauty and the Beast, Italy – Lady and the Tramp, United Kingdom – Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh, Norway – Anna and Elsa, and so forth.
Attraction Plant Life
At EPCOT, there are also different attractions that have immersive plant life all year long. In front of The Seas with Nemo & Friends, there is a display that showcases many of the fish friends in a beautiful flower bed. The plants in this flower bed are meant to look like seaweed and other underwater plants, giving the area an underwater feel.
Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana, is another attraction where plant life is extremely immersive. Throughout this walk-through attraction, there are many palm trees and tropical plants. Along with the detailed rockwork and immersive water effects, the plants help make you feel like you’re deep in an island oasis. One of the most impressive topiaries can be found in Journey of Water. At the end of the attraction, you’ll see Te Fiti, which is an impressive 16 feet tall. She looks exactly like she does in the movie!
Hollywood Studios
Disney’s Hollywood Studios is designed to give Guests a true Hollywood experience. When you first enter the park, you feel as though you’ve been dropped right in the middle of old school Hollywood and are walking down a Las Angeles street. The sight of magnificent landmarks helps with this feeling, such as the Chinese Theater at the end of Hollywood Boulevard and The Hollywood Tower Hotel at the end of Sunset Boulevard.
However, it isn’t just the theater, hotel, old-timey shops, or Hollywood tunes that you hear playing that gives you this Hollywood feel. It’s the trees that are used that places you in that exact location. In the front portion of the park, the streets are lined with tall, towering palm trees. These trees really make it feel as though you’re traveling through Las Angeles and give you that movie star feeling.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel
In regard to Sunset Boulevard, you’ll notice that this movie star feeling ends when you reach The Hollywood Tower Hotel. Normally, one would expect a hotel of this stature to have exceptionally manicured landscaping. However, that’s not the case. When you arrive at the hotel, notice how the plant life on the grounds looks erratic, overgrown, and quite sloppy.
As the story goes, on October 31st, 1939, paranormal activity took place at the hotel, resulting in 4 Guests and 1 Bellhop to mysteriously disappear. The hotel closed immediately after and has remained closed ever since. This explains the lack of groundskeeping and why all of the plant life around The Hollywood Tower Hotel is so unkept.
Movie Theming
As you make your way further back into the park, you’ll find yourself in the middle of actual movies, specifically Toy Story and Star Wars. Both of these movies have extremely immersive lands at Hollywood Studios. While the buildings, props, music, and attractions add a lot to the overall theming, the vegetation also plays a large part in the immersion.
When you’re in Toy Story Land, you’re actually walking through Andy’s backyard. You’ve shrunk down to the size of a toy and everything around you now seems extremely large. As you're walking through the land, notice how you’re surrounded by tall, lush, and thin green plants that easily sway in the breeze. Many of these are bamboo trees. This greenery is meant to resemble tall grass blades! Since you’re in Andy’s backyard and are now a smaller size, of course the tall blade of grass will be looming all around you.
At Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, you're visiting the planet of Batuu. Like other Star Wars planets, Batuu is not overly vegetated. The planet gives off a very dry and stony feeling. However, the plants that do grow there naturally look very exotic to us human travelers.
Many African and Australian plants are used for the landscaping of Batuu. Some plants that you’ll see there are Protea, Grevillea (a.k.a. Spider Flower), and Erythrina. All of these plants are colorful and unique in shape, which perfectly fits the Star Wars ambiance. A more familiar plant that you may see in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is Sage. The shape and color of the leaves makes the Sage plants blend in beautifully with the more exotic plants.
Animal Kingdom
No matter where you’re at in Animal Kingdom, you'll be surrounded by plants, flowers, and trees. Animal Kingdom has the most plants out of any other Walt Disney World theme park.
At Animal Kingdom, the plant life does not compliment and help accent the theming of the props and attractions. It IS the theming. Not only that, the many trees and plants also serve as habitats and food for many of the resident animals of the park, making the park both visually appealing to Guests and an ideal living space for the animals residing there.
Creating a New World
There is one area of the park where the plants are purely for show, but immersive nonetheless. This is in Pandora – The World of Avatar. When you’re in Pandora, you’ll see the amazing floating mountains with plants and vines hanging off of them. On the ground, you’ll be up close to the plants that grow on this mysterious planet.
The plants that you’ll see in Pandora are extremely exotic, and look rightfully otherworldly. One special thing about the plants in Pandora is that many of them are man made. Disney Imagineers created 20 new species of plants specifically for this land. You’ll not only see the unique plants of Pandora throughout the land, but also within the two attractions – Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey.
While these plants are beautiful during the daytime, they are exceptionally gorgeous at nighttime. The plants that were hand sculpted by Disney Imagineers are bioluminescent, which means they glow at night time. The different colors of the plants pair together wonderfully, reflect off of water, and blend in with other colors of the land. It’s truly a sight to be seen.
When you’re visiting Pandora – The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you will without a doubt feel like you’ve left Earth and traveled to Pandora. This world would not be able to give you that same feeling without the plants that were used.
Read More – 10 Surprising Facts About EPCOT's Mission: Space You Didn't Know
EPCOT's Mission: Space attraction allows guests to experience what it would feel like to blast off on a thrilling NASA-inspired mission to Mars or orbit the Earth through space. Mission: Space debuted in the World Discovery area of EPCOT in October 2003. There were hundreds of thousands of hours spent developing and building this attraction to truly give guests a similar experience as astronauts. Check out 10 fun facts about Mission: Space that may surprise you!
Read More – Inside Disneyland's Scrapped Plans For an EPCOT-Style Park to Be Built Instead of Disney California Adventure
The Disneyland Resort as we know it today has expanded dramatically since Disneyland Park's opening in 1955, with three Disneyland Resort Hotels, the shopping and dining district Downtown Disney, and a second theme park that was introduced in 2001. Some may not remember that there was almost a different future for the resort. Before the project was officially canceled, however, Disney released details and concept art for this park that would never come to be!
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