Dennis HigbieDirector of Horticulture and Pest Management
Walt Disney World
Orlando, FL
Walt Disney realized the significance of horticulture before he broke ground at Disneyland in California and from the very beginning placed great importance on the landscapes in his park. Providing a great environment for our guest is critical for the success of our parks, and we count on the businesses in the horticulture industry to provide the products and services to make that possible. A short list includes nurseries, irrigation companies, landscape contractors, landscape architects and fertilizer providers. Almost all of them are members in the FNGLA.
The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, which began in 1994, has taken our guest expectations to a new level. Never before was horticulture given a starring rather than supporting role in the show. For the first time, there were large numbers of guest who were asked to come to Walt Disney World to see the great horticulture show we were able to provide. From the beginning it was a great success. From the beginning the FNGLA was a part of the show. A majority of the plant material at the Festival comes from Florida nurseries, and many of the participants in the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival are based in Florida. Since a high percentage of the guests visiting the Festival live in Florida, the industry helps to make our show relevant by presenting our guests with plants and products they can use at their homes.
Obviously, not all of the guests who come to Epcot during the 60 days of the Festival are drawn by the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Many of them, especially those from out of the area, get lucky and have the show going on during their vacation. However, there are a great many guests who do come just for the Festival, and their goal is to see a great horticulture show, enjoy the park, and take home knowledge they can use to improve their personal landscapes. Their interest level is large and spans the various aspects of the industry. A great many of them are relatively new to the area, and they have discovered the unique challenges Florida presents to gardeners and are looking for solutions to their problems. From bedding plants to containers, hanging baskets to irrigation, these guests want to learn it all. An area of increased interest in the past few years is environmentally sensitive gardening, particularly techniques which help conserve water.
Over the past 13 years our guests have become much more educated and savvy about gardening. What impressed 10 years ago would hardly raise and eyebrow today, and that is a real testament to the horticulture expectations of our guests, and the public as a whole. While it is true that the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival has helped raise our guest expectations, the industry as a whole has made tremendous strides in this area. The result of creating more educated and demanding guests is that our quest for higher quality and more spectacular shows never stops and this trend can also be seen industry wide. However, one thing that we learned long ago is that our guests keep returning if they are given a great show, and your customers will return if they are given high quality services and products. As long as everyone in the landscape industry keeps this fact in mind, the customer base will continue to grow.
Finally, if you have never visited the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, 2007 will be a great time to come. The show runs April 5-June 3 and our goal once again will be to exceed our guest’s expectations. And make sure you stop by the Growing Future Gardeners garden which is presented by our friends at the FNGLA and is designed to ensure a future generation of great gardeners.
