How Disney Blends Technology and Nature to Create the Amazing EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival Topiaries
As the 2025 Flower & Garden Festival continues to unfold at EPCOT, the park has come alive with festive flavors, amazing topiaries, and beautiful horticultural displays.
While every EPCOT festival is memorable, this year’s Flower & Garden Festival is particularly meaningful as it marks the 30th anniversary of the fan-favorite event.
To celebrate Flower & Garden’s big anniversary, Disney is peeling the curtain back on how some of the festival’s iconic decorations come to life.
Here is what we learned!
Clay Is the Key
If you have ever visited EPCOT during the International Flower & Garden Festival, you have undoubtedly seen the iconic Beauty and the Beast topiaries.
Did Imagineers use organic dried plant material and clay to bring the couple to life?
2025 Flower & Garden Festival
“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 new process of sculpting faces out of clay allows Imagineers to improve the details of EPCOT’s topiaries!
Utelizing 3D Printing
For the Princess Tiana topiary, Disney also used 3D printed elements to add even greater depth to the character.
“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.
A similar process was used for Maui’s fishhook, which is the largest 3D-printed element ever incorporated into an EPCOT topiary!
Moana Topiary
The printed product was hand-textured using traditional clay and sculpting elements.
Moana Topiary
“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.”
Upping Their Special Effects Game
In addition to improving their topiary technology, Imagineers have created new special effects for EPCOT’s horticultural displays. Newer topiaries, including Cogsworth’s swinging pendulum, the Norway troll’s glowing lantern, and Star’s glistening celestial dust, exemplify Disney’s blend of nature and technology.
“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.”
The Disney horticultural team has also upped their game by testing new plant species!
If you plan on visiting EPCOT during the 2025 International Flower & Garden Festival, make sure to examine the park’s topiaries. They truly are awe-inspiring displays.
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