A staff of 28 maintains the 3,000 acres of Walt Disney World grounds which are open to the public. Two special challenges are maintaining the grounds without interfering with the visitors and providing the best horticultural environment for the native and exotic plants.
Walt Disney World, near Orlando, Fla., comprises 27,400 acres of native Florida landscape, approximately 3,000 acres of which have been intensely developed as a total destination vacation resort. The focal point is 100 acres of thematic entertainment park known as the Magic Kingdom.
The Magic Kingdom was designed with 45 attractions, numerous restaurants, waterways, streets and sidewalks in a park-like setting. Horticulture is important not only as a complement to the extensive amount of architectural structure, but as a special feature itself.
Plants contribute to theme
Each land in the Magic Kingdom presents a specific theme through the architectural details, signs, costumes and use of plants in the landscape. Landscape design ranges in effect from the formal Victorian parterre garden in the Hub to Chinese elms and wax leaf privets shaped to spark imaginings of the future in Tomorrowland.
Lush looking trees and shrubs are carefully selected and located in conjunction with waterways and animation to create jungle effects in Adventureland. Plants trained in the shapes of strange animals create a sense of magic in Fantasyland. Native American plants are used in Frontierland to create the effect of the natural landscape on American frontiers in the mid 19th century.
[…]
