We just spent the morning walking through Epcot, and the transformation is nothing short of a miracle.
If you live in Central Florida as we do, your backyard probably looks like a brown, crunchy wasteland right now. We just survived the region’s first significant hard freeze in years—with temperatures hitting a bone-chilling 27°F for several hours earlier this month. While most of us are still mourning our hibiscus and scorched grass, Walt Disney World isn’t missing a beat.
We saw firsthand how the Horticulture team is handling the “Great Freeze of ’26.” Over the last few days, Disney has been aggressively culling dead plants and cutting back anything that won’t recover. But as we walked past the World Showcase Bridge, the smell of frost-bitten leaves had been replaced by a much more welcome scent: fresh mulch and spring blooms.
The “Greening” has begun As temperatures climb back into the 70s, the infamous Florida “Greening” is officially here. We spotted that tell-tale yellow-green pine and oak pollen coating every surface of our cars. But more importantly, we saw the vibrant colors of the 2026 Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival finally taking root.
The festival doesn’t officially kick off until March 4th, but the horticulture cast members are already in high gear. We watched them hand-planting beds of violas, geraniums, petunias, and begonias. These flowers are being timed to hit full bloom just as the gates open, and being in the park right now feels like watching a masterpiece being painted in real-time.
2026 Topiary Tracker: Who’s Moving? The highlight of our walk was scouting the character topiaries. Because we’re in the park so often, we immediately noticed some major “neighborhood changes” for the 2026 season:
- The UK Pavilion Shake-up: Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and the Tick-Tock Croc have officially moved! They are now stationed where Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood gang have lived for the past few years.
- The World Showcase Bridge: We found Bambi, Thumper, and Flower looking fresh and green right next to the bridge, closer to the World Celebration side.
- The Returning Favorites: Phineas and Ferb are back in their 2025 spot in World Celebration, while Goofy is still “racing” the Disney Monorail along the old Rose Walk between World Showcase and the Imagination Pavilion.
Despite the record-breaking cold that threatened to derail the spring season, Epcot is proving that a little Disney magic (and a lot of hard work) can overcome even a historic Florida freeze.
Epcot Blooming Again After Florida Deep Freeze
Are you looking to get away from the cold weather? Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival – Find magic in bloom at a festival full of flowers, flavor, and fun—from March 4 to June 1, 2026.
