Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration at Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival

Welcome to the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival! This is just one of many festivals that takes place around the park; Flower & Garden features incredible floral displays as well as delectable food offerings. One of the things my family loves about these festivals are the scavenger hunts that take us all around the park, looking to find hidden characters in various places. For the Flower & Garden Festival, we’re teaming up with Spike the Bee!

We visited the Festival in 2022, so if you are reading this in the future, please be sure to check on current prices and changes.  

Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration

Come along with the Flowers family as we’re joined by fellow MiceChat writer Laura Gonzalez and her son Johnny as we all go on Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration scavenger hunt at EPCOT!
Instead of only lasting for a few weeks like other festivals, this year’s Flower & Garden festival goes from March 2nd to July 4th. And while Scavenger Hunt Maps can be found all throughout Epcot, I hope the maps last that long!

We popped inside one of the stores and bought our map from a cast member. It’s $9.99 + tax, but as an annual passholder, we get a 20% discount. Only $8 for us!

Our journey today looks to be taking us around the World Showcase section of Epcot, as well as the Future World section. A lot of these locations are specific to the festival, referencing temporary displays, topiaries, and food booths. I’m not sure where a couple of these are, so it will be a time of discovery for us!

On the back of the map are our stickers. There are 12 different types of plants that we’re going to be on the lookout for, along with Spike. Once we complete our quest, the map can be returned for a special surprise!

We’re excited! Let’s go explore! Where should we start? Turning left or right at the World Showcase? Let’s turn left and head towards the Mexico pavillion.

The first thing we’re looking for is a Tropical Rainforest! But where would a tropical rainforest be? Just past the Mexico pavilion in this dense tropical jungle, we found Spike!

Orchids come from tropical regions, and they are grown on every continent except Antarctica!

Johnny has discovered that the walkway here is lined with a huge selection of different Orchids. This is beautiful!

Very nice, Alli. You’ve found some very bright pink ones. They’re her favorites because they are her very favorite color. 

We’re loving all the beautiful topiaries that are scattered throughout the park. Our princess wanted a picture in front of this one with Snow White and Dopey. 

Our next Spike destination is in the Garden Italiano. If you’re familiar with the layout of Epcot, you’ll know that that means we walked through Norway, China, the Africa section, and Germany before finally arriving at the Italy pavilion. That’s a long way to go without finding Spike! In the garden bed across from the replica of the Doge’s Palace from Venice, we found him! 

Ah, a tomato. That’s very fitting for the Italy pavilion. I didn’t see any tomato plants growing around here though, which is a bit odd… Though, there were plenty of Italian herbs in this garden. 

Next, we’re on the lookout for Magnolia Terrace. Of course, when I’m thinking of Magnolias, I’m thinking of the American South. Sure enough, in the American Pavilion there’s a section called Magnolia Terrace, and lining the area are Magnolia Trees. 

I love the Pluto, Dale, and Chip topiaries here in the American Adventure pavilion. 

And look at Pluto’s fantastic Magnolia lei! Was there any doubt that Spike the Bee would be here with a Magnolia?

Next, we’re headed to Japan to the Kokedama Gardens. From our previous walks around here, I know that there are quite a few gardens throughout the whole Japan pavilion. We must have wandered through each of them before finally finding this one at the edge, closest to Morocco. If we’d been coming from the other direction around the World Showcase, we’d have had a better chance at finding him sooner. 

It was here in the Kokedama Garden that Spike the Bee has located an Iris! In Japan, Irises are revered for protecting wearers from evil energies.

And now we’re off to find the next Spike figure… Morocco is known for spices aplenty. They have whole carts with baskets of spices here— even the restaurant at the Moroccan Pavilion is called The Spice Road Table. 

In this Spice Garden, we found Spike with a Pepper plant. 

Over at the France Pavilion, we’re looking for Spike amongst the French Gardens. We found Spike near the Perfumery. 

So it was appropriate that we’d find him near the shrubs of Rose Bushes. 

In the UK Pavilion, the Twinings London Tea Company has presented an English Tea Garden. 

Camellia is a plant that is very important to the tea industry. Most teas, except herbal teas, are derived from some variety of this evergreen shrub. Besides water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world.

The Honey Bee-stro, hosted by the National Honey Board, is a festival booth that has incorporated honey into all of its food offerings. The area has many beehives that my son hopes are all fake!

Here Spike has found Canna. These red flowers attract bees and other pollinators, so this plant is perfectly suited for the Honey Bee-stro.

Having my last name, Flowers, it’s a running joke that every day I come home I bring my wife Flowers. It’s a joke my father told, and it’s one that I carry on still. 

Here are a few more beautiful little Flowers!

The area at the entrance to the World Showcase has been covered with flowers. There are so many that the whole area has a fantastic perfume smell wafting throughout. It’s quite lovely. 

Speaking of Thumper and Prince Bambi, our next stop is at Bambi’s Butterfly House. 

Salvia is used as a food source for many species of butterflies and moths. They drink the nectar out of the tiny flowers that grow on it. 

Let’s go check out Bambi’s Butterfly House!

When we visited, it was the first day of the festival and there weren’t many butterflies out. Most are still in a chrysalis, waiting to come out. Whenever I see this, I think back to when we had Monarch caterpillars at our house, and we watched them change into Monarch butterflies. It was a really fun experience to have with the kids. 

It’s so colorful in here!

Next, we’re headed to the point where Future World and the World Showcase merge. It’s here where we have found the Donald and Daisy Duck Topiaries. 

And it’s no surprise that right at Daisy Duck’s feet, we have found a patch of Daisies! Good job Spike!

And Spike has friends! These actual honey bees were loving all these bright flowers. 

At the World Discovery Playground, the kids found their next flower. 

It’s a Gaillardia, also known as a Blanket Flower. It’s an easy-to-grow flower that covers large portions of the ground, and was also named after Native American blankets which share similar color patterns. 

And with the playground nearby, what kid can resist the opportunity to run around and have a little fun!

Our last location to find is labeled Prehistoric Plants, but where is it located? There’s not really anything in Epcot related to prehistoric things anymore. Actually, not too far from here, where the new Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind is being built, there used to be dinosaurs. The show building used to house The Universe of Energy and Ellen’s Energy Adventure featuring full-sized audio-animatronic dinosaurs. That’s why we figured this area would be a good place to check out— and we were in luck!

The Cycad has changed very little since the Jurassic period, and they grow very slowly. Some are known to be over 1000 years old!

Congratulations, kids! You’ve completed it! Great job finding all 12 plants for this scavenger hunt!

Here’s a look at the completed map!

Good job Johnny, Alli, and Ian! 

A few weeks later we were back at Epcot and the new prizes were in! They’re plastic sandwich holders, for a lunchbox, with a few fun characters on them. There’s the Orange Bird, Gardener Mickey, Spike the Bee, and even Figment! So many good choices. Which will the kids pick? 

Orange Bird! Fun choice!
We’re loving these scavenger hunts at Epcot! Bring on the next one!

Let’s Hear From You

We’re glad that you joined us on Spike’s Pollen-Nation Exploration! What did you think about this garden-centric tour around World Showcase? Was there a particular plant that you enjoyed seeing? Have you visited Epcot’s Flower & Garden Festival this year? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

And to learn more about Flower & Garden Festival, that runs through July 4, be sure to take a look at the article below:

Now Blooming: EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival

Sharing is caring!