Bonsai at EPCOT Continues to Intrigue

 by Beth Keating

Theme Park Life

DisneyBizJournal.com

July 2, 2024

 

For many, many years, our youngest son has been intrigued by bonsai trees.  Maybe it was the steady diet of Japanese anime and Pokémon as a small child that influenced his fascination with the miniature works of art.  It surely wasn’t a love of gardening, because he had no use for poking around the vegetable garden with me, pulling weeds or deadheading flowers.  But every year at the EPCOT festivals, he would peruse the marketplace booths at length, deciding which tiny tree he wanted to bring home.  

Alas, no amount of begging was going to help.  Back then we were flying home, and there was no way of getting those little treasures onto a plane.

Fast forward to today, and the little boy fascinated by bonsai trees is now grown up, and doesn’t need my permission to buy things anymore, nor is he flying home on a plane.  On a recent shopping trip at the Mitsukoshi Department Store in the Japan pavilion, he came across a kit that allows you to grow your own bonsai tree from seeds.  Did he buy it?  Yes, yes, he did.  And there is now a small gardening dish on our windowsill with a hopefully soon-to-emerge miniature tree that needs daily tending. 

The kit was $15.95, and came with the seeds, special bonsai potting soil, a cute little growing container to start your seeds, pebbles, and an instruction booklet. The set comes in your choice of Black Pine, Red Maple, Dwarf Juniper, or Miniature Elm.  Sonny boy selected the Miniature Elm.  The kit comes with multiple seeds, which, down the road a bit, will be sorted out once they reach a certain size to allow the extra seeds to be transplanted into their own pots, with the healthiest single sprout remaining in its original pot to begin its horticultural journey.

Bonsai, for those whose talents don’t bend toward gardening and nature, is an ancient Japanese art that cultivates trees with enormous patience and care, training the tree into miniature forms that not only mimic their full grown cousins, but also reflect Japanese concepts, such as balance and harmony.  Because it takes so long to grow these specimens, the trees are often prized possessions that are passed down from generation to generation in a family.  These are slow-growing plants that take time to reach their final forms, and enormous fortitude to painstakingly train the tiny leaves and needles over the decades!

If you aren’t visually familiar with bonsai, the Japan Pavilion is filled with stellar examples of the artform during the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival each year, thanks to the Bonsai Societies of Florida.  Several dozen small trees are displayed throughout the Japan Pavilion, both along the waterfront, and along the koi ponds on the terraced area.  Next to each plant is a small sign, crediting the patient gardener who cultivated and presented the specific tree, and listing the type of cultivar, the age of the plant, and how long the plant had been “in training.”  (Many trees were in the 20 year old range or more!)

It requires much serenity to grow these delicate masterpieces, and if you are looking for some serenity yourself in the midst of a crowded festival day, the Japan pavilion offers a chance for a little peace and quiet.  At the risk of giving away one of our favorite hideaways, there are shaded tables at the top of the Japan terraces, and you’ll be looking out over the ponds while you rest up.  Along the way, you’ll pass these amazing bonsai creations, but only during the Flower & Garden Festival. They are, after all, on loan for a limited time.

Here are just a few of the gifted gardeners who brought their trees to this year’s Flower & Garden festival, and what they were working with:

• Reggie Perdue, with an Informal Upright style Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), tree in training 20 years. 

 

• Joshua Brown, with a Hollow Trunk style Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia), tree in training 20 years. 

 

• John King, with an Informal Upright style Dwarf Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria ‘Schilling’s Dwarf’), tree in training 18 years. 

 

• Robert Kempinski, with a Raft style Headache Tree (Premna obtusifolia), tree in training 16 years. 

 

• Mike Blom, with a Cascade style Brazilian Rain Tree (Pithecellobium tortum), tree in training 11 years; and a Slant style Water Jasmine (Wrightia religiosa), tree in training 10 years.

 

• Jesus A. Brito, with a Slant style Bottlebrush Tree (Callistemon), tree in training 7 years. 

 

Kudos to these gardeners, and thanks for sharing your skill with the guests of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival.  Just hope my son’s bonsai seeds can go that distance!  Wish him sunny days, and much perseverance.

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

https://raykeatingbooksandmore.com/shop/ols/products/disneyplanner.  A PDF version is available here.  And please listen to the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast. 

Catching the Last Few Days of the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival

 by Beth Keating

Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

May 23, 2024

 

There are just a few days left to the 2024 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival. And given that we don’t know if there are any summer surprises coming our way to fill the nearly three month gap before EPCOT returns with the 2024 International Food & Wine Festival on August 29, 2024, we decided yesterday that we would try to squeeze in one last visit to the Flower & Garden Outdoor Kitchens (food booths) to grab a few dishes we’d missed.  And we were glad we did!

The Avocado Toast ($6.00) at the BRUNCHCOT kitchen near Test Track has been a family favorite every time it’s been offered at an EPCOT festival, and it didn’t disappoint this year, either.  This year’s rendition may have even been a bit better than the usual, because while the toasted ciabatta was crispy, it wasn’t as hard to bite into as the baguettes can sometimes be. And this year’s mashed avocado?  Excellent, with a thicker-than-remembered, slightly salty slather on the bread.  The marinated tomatoes came in a variety of colors, and while the tiny flowers didn’t add any flavor to the dish, they sure were pretty!  A sprinkle of plant-based cheese stood in for the blue cheese crumbles you’d typically find on such a breakfast treat, but if you didn’t know better, you’d be completely unaware that these bits weren’t the traditional cheese.

Without planning to, we leaned heavy on the veggie dishes on this trip. We also stopped at The Honey Bee-stro to try the Honey-Glazed Cauliflower ($5.00).  This economical and filling plate was served on a pool of honey-roasted carrot puree and wild rice pilaf, and topped with a handful of asparagus and spring peas.  Four “honey-blistered grapes” decorated the dish, and “sunflower brittle” gave a touch of texture to an otherwise softer dish.  I personally had been looking forward to the choice earlier in the season, but for whatever reason, just hadn’t made it to the booth.  Now, I’m disappointed that I didn’t try it earlier, because this was a lovely dish that I would have been happy to be enjoying for the second time, instead of the first!

A colorful dish, there was an unexpected touch of heat in the follow-through of the cauliflower.  (No worries, it was just the teeniest hit.). While the asparagus could have been cooked a bit longer, this plate of goodness was full of flavor.  With so many components labelled as “honey-roasted” and “honey blistered,” I expected this dish to be on the sweet side, but it truly wasn’t.  The carrot puree was by far the sweetest part of the combination. While the multi-colored cauliflower bites were labelled “honey-glazed,” the half-dozen florets weren’t sweet, but it certainly was the most flavor I’ve ever gotten from cauliflower.  The wild rice, a blander element to the entrée, was still a welcome choice, because it helped give a firmer foundation to the rest of the veggies.  A toss of micro-greens on top of the green veggies offered a fun presentation to this wonderfully vibrant plate.

Since not all of our family members are as veggie-friendly as others, we also made a quick stop at the Lotus House booth in the China Pavilion, where we selected the Spicy Mala Chicken Skewer with Creamy Peanut Sauce ($6.75).  Weirdly, where the cauliflower at the Honey Bee-Stro was not listed as spicy, but had the tiniest bit of heat, this chicken dish was supposed to be spicy, and wasn’t. There was plenty of sauce on this single chicken-thighed skewer, but there was an odd undertone to the sauce.  It wasn’t a bad flavor, just a slightly unexpected one underneath the predominant peanut ingredients. This dish wasn’t the best quality chicken, but it wasn’t the worst either.  Overall, it was the least spectacular dish of the day.

One of our favorite drinks of the festival, however, is the new this year “Lucky Peach” ($14.25), which happens to be available at the Lotus House kitchen, so that made up for the lackluster chicken skewer.  Made of peach whiskey, Oolong tea, honey, lemon juice and water, it is light and refreshing, perfect for a hot day at the park.  We’re hoping that this drink either finds its way back to next year’s festival, or even finds a permanent home at EPCOT year round!

 
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival ends May 27, 2024. If you are interested in any of these dishes, you’d better make your way there soon, because the Memorial Day holiday weekend is sure to pass quickly.

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

https://raykeatingbooksandmore.com/shop/ols/products/disneyplanner. And please listen to the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast. 

What Are Those Weird Towers at EPCOT?

 by Beth Keating

Parks Visit

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 24, 2024

 

There’s an unwritten rule at Disney that no matter where you are in the Resort, you need to look up, down and sideways because the Imagineers “fill in all available spaces,” and if you aren’t looking up-down-and-sideways, you’ll be missing important stuff.  Sidewalks aren’t just sidewalks, and plants and trees are often chosen for reasons other than just aesthetics.

If you’ve hurried along the World Showcase bridge recently, and didn’t raise your eyes to the sky, you may have overlooked a very neat detail.  On the Odyssey pavilion side of the bridge, you’ll find a half dozen strangely shaped towers, and you may have wondered what these sci-fi looking spires were.

  
Those poles are home to Disney’s visiting Purple Martin families.  For more than two decades, EPCOT has played host to visiting Purple Martins as part of Disney’s conservation efforts, and you can learn more about them at the 2024 International Flower & Garden Festival.

   
Purple Martins make their home throughout North and South America, migrating to North America to nest. These songbirds are only native to the Americas, and will often travel thousands of miles during their yearly migration. Their journey northward from their warmer winter homes brings them through Florida in late January or early February, meaning that their arrival fortuitously coincides with the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival. They will stick around until early to mid-summer when they finish nesting.

  
And that’s what those weirdly shaped towers are for – a place for momma and poppa martin to hatch their babies. If you look closely, you’ll see that the individual, gourd-shaped houses are lettered and numbered, so that observers and researchers can keep track of the new little families. Bonus? The Purple Martins often return to the same breeding site, year after year if they liked the digs the first time around.  According to the Purple Martin Conservation Association, “East of the Rocky Mountains, Purple Martins nest almost exclusively in human-supplied housing. They are dependent on us for their survival.”

I may have noticed the nesting towers a few years back, not because I’m more observant than the average Disney fan, but because, many moons ago, when I worked in suburban government in New York, we had a town wide project to increase the number of Purple Martin colonies visiting our area.  (Fun fact: Purple Martins eat while flying, making them especially lethal to the local flying bug populations.)  So, to combat our area’s mosquito population without resorting to more chemical means, one of our councilmen dreamed up the idea of encouraging residents to post their own Purple Martin houses.  Soon, local scout troops, schools and individual families were picking up plans to design Purple Martin houses for these members of the swallow family, and the birds were welcomed with open wings… err, arms. Or at least, available housing units.

In Florida, nearly one-third of Walt Disney World Resort has been set aside as a protected area. That’s 8,000 acres of wetland and upland habitats in which a wide variety of critters make their homes (and not just the Florida gators or the animatronic creatures!). More than 200 different species of birds feather their nests at Walt Disney World, both seasonally and permanently. You aren’t the only one who wishes they never had to leave the most magical place on earth!  Central Florida is on the flight path for many kinds of migratory birds, and like countless families, they too enjoy making a vacation pitstop in Lake Buena Vista along the way.

   
The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival runs through May 27, 2024.   Stop by and see if you can spot a Purple Martin or two.  

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

https://raykeatingbooksandmore.com/shop/ols/products/disneyplanner. And please listen to the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast. 

Butterfly Landing Offers Peaceful Retreat at EPCOT

 by Beth Keating

Park Visit

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 17, 2024

 

Whenever we travel, it’s a sure bet that we’re going to step into the butterfly tent at the regional zoos or botanical gardens where we are visiting.  It’s always a colorful and peaceful respite in what is sometimes a hectic round of airline flights, business obligations, or family events.

EPCOT is currently hosting the 2024 International Flower & Garden Festival, and tucked away near Figment’s Imagination! pavilion is a delightful butterfly garden. The enclosed tent is home to dozens of different butterflies in various stages of their life cycles, flying freely and occasionally landing on delighted guests.  Disney is usually a loud and boisterous place, but stepping into this tent, it’s as if someone turned the sound off.  It’s quiet and peaceful, an oasis in the middle of park craziness. People find themselves whispering to each other.

It's a beautiful place with winged creatures all around you, but Butterfly Landing also harkens back to EPCOT’s original mission – that of “edutainment.”   You can certainly enjoy these delicate creatures just for their beauty, but you also have the chance to learn about their role in the environment.  Placed strategically throughout the walkways are small signs that introduce some of the flora needed for each stage of the butterflies’ lives, as well as ways that you can encourage butterflies to make their homes in your landscape.

  

There are a number of nesting boxes for the chrysalis along the walkways, so you can see the hatching butterflies as they make their way into the world, but there are also markers helping you learn what plants are necessary for each step of the butterfly life cycle.  Other placards give you details about individual species of the creatures.  

While this is a fascinating spot to visit during your trip to EPCOT, it isn’t just for the “oohs” and “ahhs” (though there are quite a few of those happening!). Disney has been very involved in breeding Atala butterflies, a species thought to have been extinct in Florida.  Helping these delicate flyers make a comeback, Disney has been breeding the Atala and releasing them back to their native habitat.  Atala butterflies only lay eggs on cycad plants, and Florida happens to have a native plant, the Florida Coontie (Zamia integrifolia), a fernlike looking plant, which is attractive to the butterflies as an egg site since it is an important food source for the caterpillars.

In fact, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, on Florida’s east coast, is very involved in the efforts, and the Vero Beach climate is perfect for these special butterflies (and the Florida Coontie).  Vero Beach has reported promising new Atala butterfly populations as a result of Disney’s efforts.  (They aren’t just about the Loggerhead Sea Turtles at Vero Beach!)

The butterfly pavilion hours are different than EPCOT’s daily hours. The tent closes at dusk, and cast members will also limit the number of visitors in the tent as needed so that everyone gets a great visit with the butterflies.  The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival runs through May 27, 2024.   

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. More information at

https://raykeatingbooksandmore.com/shop/ols/products/disneyplanner. And please listen to the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast. 

 

Disney Gearing Up for the 2024 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

 by Beth Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 18, 2024

 

The EPCOT Festival of the Arts has just begun, and a good portion of the country is still in a deep freeze. Despite the weather, Disney is rolling ahead with planning for the 2024 EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival, bringing back the gorgeously designed landscapes, the walk-through Butterfly Landing, and beautiful garden-inspired dishes at the Outdoor Kitchens. The festival begins on February 28, 2024, a mere 9 days after the Festival of the Arts ends on February 19.

In a move that took many guests off-guard, however, this year’s festival is shorter than usual, and will only run through May 27, 2024, leaving some guests disappointed that the trips they’d already booked will not overlap with the new festival dates. 

If you are hoping to attend one of the Flower & Garden Festival’s “Garden Rocks” concerts at either 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. or 8:00 p.m., Disney has released a sneak peek at some of the new names that will be on stage this year. (The full schedule of artists isn’t completed yet, but you can get updates here.)  The Garden Rocks Dining Packages open February 6, so you’ll be able to book a table and reserve a seat to see your favorites very soon.

This year, “Garden Rocks” will feature a number of groups who are new to the festival, including Modern English, Crowder, Lit, and Monsieur Perine. Disney also announced that, “For the first time, Raul Acosta & Oro Solido will share the stage with Magic Juan, then return the next day with Luisito Ayala and The Puerto Rican Power Band in a series of unforgettable performances.”

Among the scheduled performers (subject to change) are: 

 

• Vybe (February 28 and 29)

• Jason Scheff (March 1 and 2)

• Richard Marx (March 3 and 4)

• Evolution Motown (March 5, 6 and 7)

• Berlin (March 8 and 9)

• Rick Springfield (March 10 and 11)

• Dian Diaz (March 12, 13 and 14)

• Modern English (March 15 and 16) NEW

• Commodores (March 17 and 18)

• Foreigners Journey (March 19, 20 and 21)

• The Orchestra (March 22, 23, 24 and 25)

• The Female Collective (March 26, 27 and 28)

• Mike DelGuidice (March 29 and 30)

• Pointer Sisters (March 31 and April 1)

• Funkafied (April 2, 3 and 4)

• Blue October (April 5 and 6)

• Crowder (April 7 and 8) NEW

• Hooligans (April 9, 10 and 11)

• Jo Dee Messina (April 12 and 13)

• A Flock of Seagulls (April 14 and 15)

• M-80s (April 16, 17 and 18)

• Plain White T’s (April 19, 20, 21 and 22)

• Champagne Orchestra (April 23, 24 and 25)

• Starship featuring Mickey Thomas (April 26 and 27)

• Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone (April 28 and 29)

• Southbound (April 30, May 1 and 2)

• Monsieur Perine (May 3) NEW

• Raul Acosta & Oro Solido with Magic Juan (May 4)

• Raul Acosta & Oro Solido with Luisito Ayala and The Puerto Rican Power Band (May 5)

• To Be Announced (May 6)

• Gilly & The Girl Band (May 7, 8 and 9)

• Simple Plan (May 10, 11, 12 and 13)

• Element (May 14, 15 and 16)

• The Spinners (May 17 and 18)

• To Be Announced (May 19 and 20)

• Epic (May 21, 22 and 23)

• Lit (May 24 and 25) NEW

• To Be Announced (May 26 and 27)

 

While seating at the concerts is free to EPCOT guests, Dining Packages guarantee you a place in the theatre before the standby lines are admitted.  During this festival, Dining Packages will be available at seven EPCOT restaurants, including:

• Akershus Royal Banquet Hall

• Biergarten Restaurant

• Coral Reef Restaurant

• Garden Grill Restaurant

• Rose & Crown Dining Room

• Le Cellier Steakhouse

• Regal Eagle Smokehouse: Craft Brews & Barbecue (same-day, in-person walk-up packages only)

 

Note that at this publishing, Disney is still listing Spice Road Table as one of the locations for the Dining Packages on its website, but did not list it among the seven dining spots in this week’s announcements. We’ll see what happens on February 6, when Dining Package reservations go live.  For more information, including pricing and availability, visit the Dining Packages page at DisneyWorld.com.  

A few new topiaries will be taking root among the more than 70 topiaries at this year’s festival, including Guardians of the Galaxy’s Groot, who will make his appearance near Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in World Discovery.  Miguel and Dante from Disney Pixar’s Coco will show up in the Mexico pavilion, and you’ll be able to find Figment in the new World Celebration Gardens. Asha, Valentino and the Wishing Star from the animated film Wish will pop up at the park’s main entrance. 

The festival scavenger hunts will be returning this year as well, with two seasonal scavenger hunts. Spike the Bee’s “Pollination Exploration” will kick off the festival, but later on, you’ll also be able to partake in the “Egg-stravaganza Hunt,” finding twelve bunny-inspired eggs throughout the park. Both scavenger hunt maps will be available for purchase at multiple locations while supplies last, and when you find all the hidden surprises, you can turn in your map for a special reward.  

Families traveling with little ones might want to set aside some extra time for the camp-themed garden where kids can play, climb and explore at the “Camp Get Out N’ Play Garden.”

If you are living in one of the states experiencing the below zero temps right now, we are so sorry for you. Hang in there… maybe some photos and inspiration from the Flower and Garden Festival will give you something to look forward to while you wait for things to thaw out.

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.

 

Support the Daily Dose of Disney with Ray Keating podcast – and by extension Disney Biz Journal – at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1724143. Subscribe at the $8 or $10 level, and get The Disney Planner: The TO DO List Solution by Ray Keating. Remain a supporter and you'll get a FREE BOOK by Ray Keating every six months going forward. Thanks!

V.I.Passholder Month Underway at Disney World

 by Beth Keating

News/Review

DisneyBizJournal.com

June 5, 2023

 

Passholders are getting their day in the sun this month, with Disney World offering up a pretty lengthy list of expanded perks for Annual Passholders until the end of June.  

 

Among those special promos are extra merchandise discounts, larger dining discounts, a loveable Figment Passholder magnet, a limited time Passholder lounge area at EPCOT, specialty snacks, and new Photopass shots for Passholders.

 

As huge Figment fans, we knew we had to head over to EPCOT to grab our Figment magnet, so we decided to see how many of the Passholder perks we could fit into one visit. Our first stop was straight to the Creations shop to snap up our magnet, just in case they ran out. Not to fear, though, there were huge stacks of the magnets available, and the line was fairly short and very efficient. We were through the line in less than ten minutes. These Annual Passholder-exclusive magnets will be available at the Creations Shop through June 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Bring your ID.)

 

Of course, the magnet line empties into the Creations shop, where we perused the various themed merchandise, before leaving with a Guardians tee-shirt, at a 30% Passholder merch discount. The Passholder merchandise discount at select Disney owned and operated merchandise locations is temporarily increased from 20% to 30%, which can be a big chunk of change, especially on higher priced merchandise.  It knocked $9.00 off our tee-shirt purchase.

 

Next stop was the BRUNCHCOT food kitchen, where we were able to get our 20% discount on the yummy avocado toast. There are roughly 15 Flower & Garden Festival booths offering the special, limited time 20% off discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages, and our $6.00 avocado dish rang up at $4.80 with our Passholder card.  (You also need to use a cashless form of payment to get the discount.)  If you are wondering, the avocado toast was good, though the ciabatta itself was a little soggy rather than “toast” crisp, but the layer of avocado was thick and creamy, with a hint of lemon.  The multi-colored Toy Box tomatoes were super sweet and juicy, the radish slices crisp, and the sprinkle of cotija cheese added a touch of saltiness.

 

Photo by Jonathan Keating

The Passholder discount applies to a wide array of dining locations as well, with an increase from the normal Passholder discount of 10%, to 20% on food and nonalcoholic beverages at select locations throughout Walt Disney World. We dined at Trattoria al Forno on the BoardWalk, one of our favorite Disney restaurants, before they close for a short refurb next week. It was delicious, with outstanding service from our waiter, Alejandro, and our Passholder card garnered a $22.00 discount for dinner.  We’ve always had superior service at Trattoria al Forno, and the discount was a great bonus.

 

One of the perks that we missed along the way was the special Photopass Magic Shot for Passholders. Since it was pouring that afternoon, the Photopass photographers had also ducked for cover, so we’ll have to try to collect those shots another time.  They’ll be available exclusively for Passholders until the end of June. The EPCOT spot provides props inspired by the new Figment Annual Passholder magnet. You can find it near the fountains outside of Journey Into Imagination with Figment from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily.  If you find yourself at Animal Kingdom instead, you can queue up for a Magic Shot with WALL-E and Eve. This shot was originally available for a limited time during Earth Week, but is now back exclusively for Annual Passholders. Find it near Discovery River and the Tree of Life, between Africa and Asia, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.

 

We also had limited success with our visit to the Passholder Lounge at Sunshine Seasons in the lower level of The Land Pavilion. Of course, since it was pouring, every other Passholder in EPCOT probably had the same idea in heading for a dry, air-conditioned hideout. The area is small, with maybe 15 or so tables, a charging station, and a water station, so it was filled to capacity by the time we arrived late afternoon. The cast members were standing at the entrance to the seating area, scanning IDs and handing out small bags of M&Ms, Figment stickers, and bags of Guardians of the Galaxy zargnuts to guests. We were able to make our way to the water station to grab a few cups of cold water, but there wasn’t a seat to be had.

 

Instead, we headed back out to the main section of Sunshine Seasons to find a table. There we enjoyed one of the two Passholder exclusive offerings, the Figment dessert cake. There’s also “A Spark of Grape Shake,” a combination of grape, guava, passionfruit, orange and lime, topped with whipped cream, that others seemed to enjoy.  The treats are available until the end of June at Sunshine Seasons, from park open to park close.

 

Photo by Jonathan Keating

The Figment cake ($6.99) was adorable, but I can’t say it tasted all that fabulous, and it was a “one and done” for us.  Described as a raspberry “lemonade” tart, it was a firm shortbread shell filled with a very tart lemon mousse, and a raspberry mousse dome that was not nearly as strongly flavored as the lemon mousse. The dome was covered in the traditional Disney gel in a bright purple hue, with white chocolate “wings” colored orange for our favorite Figment.   

 

As an additional June plus for Passholders, Disney is offering “Bonus Reservations” as part of V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. Every day until June 30, bonus reservations are available for EPCOT and Animal Kingdom, and the bonus reservations don’t count against your Annual Pass’s allotted park reservation hold.  There’s no limit to how many you can make (so go crazy!), and there’s a good chance Disney may be adding more bonus locations to the schedule, so be sure to check back on the reservations calendar.

 

To take advantage of any of the discounts or freebies, including the lounge or magnet, Passholders must present their valid Annual Pass ID from the Tickets and Passes section of their My Disney Experience app, and a valid photo ID to receive the discount. We even needed to show our Annual Passholder ID to purchase the Passholder treats at Sunshine Seasons. 

 

Enjoy your extra goodies this month!

 

__________

 

Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.