Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival

Children of All Ages Dig Flower Festival Fun at Epcot

Birthday Party Fun, Romance Topiaries, Butterfly House Featured April 21-June 11

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A garden birthday party for kids, a butterfly house filled with winged beauties and the Tinker Bell Fairy Garden playground promise fun for children of all ages at the 13th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival April 21 through June 11. Kids and their parents can even organize their own scavenger hunt for 50 Hidden Hearts planted across the landscape in celebration of the festival's romance theme.

Romance fits this year's festival like a bouquet of perfect red roses with opening day festivities that include a U.S. Postal Service issue of four "Art of Disney: Romance" stamps honoring the art of romance as imagined by Walt Disney and his studio animators. The stamps feature Cinderella and her prince, Beauty and the Beast, Lady and Tramp, and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. In addition, the four character couples will appear throughout the seven-week festival as intricately sculpted topiaries in the park's Future World.

When children aren't searching for Hidden Hearts of varied sizes and materials or exploring Tinker Bell's Fairy Garden, they can scale the SpaceNet climber or take their families to the new Growing Future Gardeners area for inspiration to create their own home gardens.

Entertainment is on tap for the whole family throughout the event, with highlights including themed weekend activities and the Flower Power concert series starring pop hit-makers of the 1960s and '70s. Thirty million multi-hued blossoms will paint the Epcot landscape with color.

Just for kids:

* The brand new Tinker Bell's Fairy Garden (Imagination Walkway), with a twinkling Tinker Bell topiary, playground, fairy maze and tunnel crawl.

* The Ultimate Backyard Garden Party presented by The Home Depot (next to Morocco pavilion) filled with ideas for your child's next birthday celebration and space for children to climb, play and explore.

* Growing Future Gardeners (Future World East), a collection of gardens where parents and children can get ideas for their own gardening activities such as a Pizza Garden planted with herbs to make pizza. Kids can also enjoy a bamboo fort, upside-down trees and garden crafts.

* Daily ladybug releases (1 and 3 p.m.) at the WaterFULL World Garden (Outpost). Children can participate with each release.

* Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden (Test Track Walkway), where hundreds of butterflies inhabit a screened-in gazebo lush with foliage and color.

* The big kids' SpaceNet climber (adjacent to the butterfly garden) which challenges climbers 5 and older to reach for the stars.

* A miniature Bavarian Village sets the scene for the elaborate Garden Railway with bridge walkway at the Germany pavilion.

* Kidcot Fun Stops at every World Showcase country that entertain children with a lineup of creative activities linked to each country's culture.

* Special festival weekends for kids and their families, including the new Party in the Garden Weekend, with tea parties, Alice's Unbirthday Party, and other special children's activities; plus the popular Mother's Day Weekend May 12-14, the Characters in Bloom Weekend May 19-21 and I Dig Bugs Weekend June 2-4. Themed craft activities are scheduled each weekend at the Rose Walk.

Guests can call 407/W-DISNEY or visit disneyworld.com/flower for more information about the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World Resort. The festival is included in regular Epcot admission.