Walt Disney World.....Oooooorlando

[epicure3]

My family and I will be at Disney World this coming week and was wondering if there were any cool palms I should be looking out for. I know that there are some coconuts here and there but was curious about some more exotics.

Thanks, in advance, for the heads up.

[Tag]

I was just at the Magic Kingdom yesterday.  My identification skills are pretty poor, but nothing unusual stood out to me.  There aren't any coconuts that I'm aware of, and I do know what they look like.  I go to Disney World quite often.  In addition to the Magic Kingdom, I've been to MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom within the past month and a half or so and the most unusual thing to me were the Caryotas Sp? at Animal Kingdom.  The entrance to the Magic Kingdom has some nice clumping Phoenix reclinata and standard queen palms.  The most diverse palm selection is throughtout Adventure Land.  I think the most commom palm is L. Chinensis.

[ruskinPalms]

It has actually been a good year and a half since I have been there, but I remember that animal kingdom has some impressive Foxtails around, also some nice banyan trees (I know, not palms). I remeber in epcott, I think, seeing some impressive Bismarckia and even thicker trunked, soltary dypsis of some kind. Someone ID'd it a long time ago, but I don't remember what type. I could try to find some of my old digipics from my last visit. I also don't remember seeing coconuts there, but I am sure you can find some big ones to see in Orlando while you are there. Probably, the closest good coconuts that you are sure to see in Orlando area are over on the east coast around Cocoa Beach. That's not to say there are not nice cocos in Orlando, people from there might be able to tell you where some are.

[Logolight]

epicure3,  I'll also be there with my family thur and fri.  Maybe I'll see you there.

[Jeff Searle]

A couple of different people have told me that Animal Kingdom has some unusual palms planted there. Probably in protected areas.

Jeff

[epicure3]

(Logolight @ Feb. 18 2007,17:27)

QUOTE

epicure3,  I'll also be there with my family thur and fri.  Maybe I'll see you there.

I'll be the one with 3 kids in tow....all arguing. you can't miss us.  ::

[Logolight]

I'll be the one with the wife, two parents and a niece.  I'll be the one arguing with my wife about buying more palm trees.

[tropical1]

In Magic Kingdom there are some tall Archontophoenix by the bridge that goes into adventureland. Take monorail to polynesian hotel, plantings in atrium are nice. In EPCOT, Mexico has some interesting plantings.  Animal Kingdom has lots of interesting plants as does the animal kingdom lodge.

In general, I think the Universal Parks have more palms. (wodyetia, caryotas etc.)

Leu Gardens is really nice if you have time, lots of species there. not too far from WDW.

Also, if you have time I would check out Gaylord Palms Hotel which has massive indoor/greenhouse pavillions.

[Eric in Orlando]

Of all the Disney parks, Animal Kingdom has the best diversity of palms and plants. There are lots of unusual tropicals and very dense and jungle-like. It is hard to believe that that place is less than 10 years old. Universals Islands of Adventure also has nice plantings. The Polynesian Hotel at Disney is great, too.

Also, Leu Gardens is just north of downtown Orlando. Let me know if you get a chance to come by, I'll show you around.

Here are some photo galleries from Disney and Universal;

http://new.photos.yahoo.com/wdwplants/albums/

[epicure3]

Eric and others....thanks very much for the tips. I'd love to be able to get together but the family doesn't share the same priorities that I do.  ::

In the immortal words of my 8 year old....all palm trees look the same and what's the big deal about mangos.....you can get them at the store. Why do we have to look at these dumb trees.

[SubTropicRay]

John,

The atrium of Disney's Polynesian Resort is amazing.

Ray

[alex_7b]

When you enter the Magic Kingdom, go upstairs and board the train. Sit near the back and look into the "jungle" on the left side of the train. You should spot a Triangle palm in there somewhere. I recall it from 4 or 5 years back.

[ZoneTenNut]

I could be wrong, but I would swear that I saw a couple Lodoicea maldivica in the ground there a number of years ago. This was when my introduction to palms was just beginning and all I remember was the enormous size of the leaves and how I wish I knew what those were, cause I wanted to get one for my yard.

I have thought and wondered about them ever since and seen many pics of this palm and would swear that is what I saw up there. I've heard about how the one at FTG languishes and seems to like warmer temps than Miami, so figured that must not have been what I saw.

Does anyone know if they have these at Animal Kingdom and if they do, how do they get them to grow so well, because what I saw looked very healthy?

[Eric in Orlando]

I have been to AK several dozen times since it opened and never seen them there. They do have some big Amorphophallus titanum that have flowered but no Lodoicea that I know of.

[Alicehunter2000]

Some nice Acoelorraphe wrightii and Bismarkia and I believe P. reclinata at Epcot.

[xerophyte_nyc]

There are nice Bismarcks by the pool at the Grand Floridian Hotel in Magic Kingdom

[RadPalms]

I think they already got back from the magic kingdom

[Jason in Orlando]

^^^

But while we're on this topic, there is a nice Dypsis leptocheilos in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom with about ten feet of clear trunk.  There's a bulge on one of the leaf scars at the top of the trunk...