The 2025 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival is underway through June 2nd, and we’re covering the various offerings during the Festival. In this article, we’re going to head into CommuniCore Hall for a look at how it has been dressed up for the Festival. Let’s jump right in!

At first blush, the exhibit represented the realized dream for the space, but once it became clear that the EPCOT exhibit was a repurposed exhibit from the Museum of Broadway titled Disney on Broadway: 30 Years of Magic, some of the shine wore off a bit.

To be clear, the Festival of the Arts exhibit was wonderful, but as we now know, it was not representative of a sudden surge in creativity or effort to use the space as intended for Festivals. CommuniCore Hall during the 2025 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival sees the return of couches, indoor dining, and the removal of Festival merchandise.

As you’ll see in the photos below, CommuniCore Hall certainly looks better than other Festivals in 2024, but the substance of the space doesn’t reach what we saw during the Festival of the Arts. Instead, Disney has applied some stickers on surfaces, changed some lighting, and rolled in some plants for the Flower & Garden Festival.

It’s better than some of the early Festival efforts, so it earns a passing grade, but it’s rather mediocre now that we know what is possible for the space. I was hoping that we’d get a detailed look at how the topiaries go from concept to seed to final product, and while there are some displays that attempted to showcase some of the process, I left a bit underwhelmed by the effort.

That said, the guests who love CommuniCore Hall for its most endearing feature – air conditioning – are sure to enjoy the space. It is a relaxing spot that has soft music playing and a wonderful vibe for the 2025 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival – I was just hoping for something more substantial in terms of displays. We also see the return of the indoor food kiosk this Festival and the removal of merchandise from the space. I’ve done a lot of writing; let’s take a look at some photos.

Ok, now that we’re on the northern half of CommuniCore Hall, we’ll take a closer look at the Farmer’s Feast seating area.

Here’s a closer look at the Spike the Bee ceiling decal on this side of CommuniCore Hall, as well as a look at some of the banners that stretch the length of the space and a closer look at the giant flowers bookending the venue.

In the center of the space is a large floral display that has been outdoors in festivals past. Spike the Bee can be found perched atop the display.

Making our way to the southern half of the building, we can find some displays on either side of the room and couches in the middle for lounging. We’ll start on the left side of the room as seen from the Spike the Bee central planter.

There are three large displays, offering The EPCOT Festival Almanac. This is a fun display and offers some wonderful history and insight into Flower & Garden Festival – well done! There are also some fun easter eggs in the display as well.

The EPCOT Festival Almanac
Since 1994, EPCOT has celebrated nature’s beauty with the International Flower & Garden Festival. Originally running for 38 days, the first Festival featured topiaries, gardening education, and a few special exhibits – such as the picturesque Train Garden in the Germany Pavilion. Today, the Festival spans almost three months, featuring over two dozen gardens and 70 character topiaries created with love by EPCOT’s Horticulture Team.

With creativity, innovation, and experimentation at the heart of the process, Disney’s talented Horticulturists have been telling stories through plants since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. With each passing year, the team grows, just like the gardens they nurture throughout all of Disney parks and resorts.

Topiartistry
Unlike older styles of topiary, a sphagnum character topiary can come together in a single year — thanks to the hard work of Disney Horticulturists and Imagineers!

A sturdy metal frame is the foundation underneath every one of these living artforms. Inside this strong structure, Disney Horticulturists place sphagnum moss, a type of moss from New Zealand.

Once the sculptural base is filed, various plants are placed inside holes in the moss to give the topiary a sense of color, texture, and movement.

Natural Knowledge
Throughout history, gardeners have been looking to the phases of the moon to help them perfectly time their plantings. At EPCOT, however, plants are cultivated year-round thanks to our robust greenhouse program – though the Festival’s flowers and topiaries are still installed under the light of the moon!

Unbeleafable Facts
– There are nearly 100 topiaries on display, from character topiaries to more geometric forms.
– A traditional woody topiary can take up to 10 years to achieve its final shape.
– At 14 feet tall and 8 feet wide, the Maui topiary is as striking as the daring demigod himself!
– The stylish boa worn by the Miss Pissy topiary is made from tillandsia, a type of air plant that can grow without soil.
– During the Festival, over 350,000 flowers are planted in the garden beds throughout EPCOT.
– It takes over a year to dream up, design, and install each Festival. In fact, by the time the Festival opens, preparations for the next year have already begun!

Feather Forecast
…the story of some brave little birds and the Most Magical Place on Earth

Every January, like clockwork, a flock of birds arrives at Walt Disney World – their final stop on a 3,000-mile journey. These fearless travelers, called purple martins, are the EPCOT Flower & Garden most loyal visitors.

Beginning their epic trek in South America, the feathered Disney fans fly from Brazil to Orlando every year of their lives. Touching down just as the mild Florida winters begin to warm, gesting grounds — carefully prepared by Disney Cast Members – are already waiting.

The oldest most experienced birds arrive first, paving the way for the rest colony. These early birds start nesting in February, while the late arrivals wrap up in June or July. But no matter the timeline, their mission is the same — raising the next generation of chicks, who will one day make the same daring flight.

Flower Towers
Disney Horticulturists create the base of a flower tower by stacking a series of trays from largest to smallest. Inside these trays are a plethora of plants that go well beyond just flowers – including succulents, bromeliads, and vegetables.

This side of the room also has a few flower displays.

There’s another, smaller display that I didn’t mention earlier over by the Farmer’s Feast seating area. Let’s head back over there now to take a look before we wrap up this article. The display features a closer look at some of the hanging gardens and floating gardens available during the Festival.

We’ll close by saying that the use of CommuniCore Hall during the 2025 EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival is better than most other Festivals, which is certainly a step in the right direction, but it’s a downgrade from the most recent Festival – the EPCOT Festival of the Arts.

If we had to give this a review on a scale from 1-10, with 1 being a non-Festival use of the space and 10 being the 2025 EPCOT Festival of the Arts, this would land somewhere around a 4 or 5. This grade is certainly better than other Festivals, which have been 1s and 2s, but it’s not necessarily a close second place behind the Festival of the Arts. Earlier in this article, I said that CommuniCore Hall earned a passing grade, but when you’re talking about CommuniCore Hall, you’re always grading on a curve.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!