Thoughts will soon turn to Spring as Epcot will unveil it’s 16th rendition of it’s annual Flower & Garden Festival on March 18th.

For 75 days (March 18th – May 31st) Epcot will add thousands of flowers, themed gardens, and over 70 topiaries to its already impressive landscaping.

This festival has long been a favorite of my family. Each year the Disney World landscapers, gardeners, and horticulturists outdo themselves coming up with amazing topiaries to match that year’s theme. The pictures that you see in this post are from Flower & Garden Festivals over the last few years.

For 2009 the theme will include an impressive Cinderellabration topiary display including topiaries of each of your favorite Disney Princesses. Making their debut in the entrance topiary display are: Cinderella and Prince Charming, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, and Belle and Beast from “Beauty and the Beast”.

Along with the flowers and topiaries, Epcot presents a number of educational sessions that take place. Several celebrity guests and authors are included in the presentations, along with members of Disney’s horticultural staff.

There are activities and gardens created just for the kids, including Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly garden, where you can see hundreds of free flying butterflies up close in a special enclosure, and Pixie Hollow, where you will see Tinker Bell and her friends captured in a wonderful topiary display in this special garden for kids.

For the Flower Children out there, they will be again reprising the popular Flower Power Concert series at Epcot’s Americas Garden Theater, featuring a different musical act from the 60’s and 70’s singing their classic hits.

All of these activities are free with your admission to Epcot!

Not that you need a special reason to go to Epcot, but this is a wonderful festival that is worth seeing. If you are able to schedule a trip during this time, you won’t be disappointed!