The Torres family was chosen as the first family to help open the Magic Kingdom theme park and start One More Disney Day, the 24-hour Leap Day celebration in 2012. They shot this video that offers a look behind the scenes of this historic event. In this video, the Mayor of Main Street U.S.A. leads [...]

The D23 Expo is returning for the third time to the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. next year from Aug. 9 through 11. The first Expo was held in 2009 followed by a second in 2011. Each event played host to thousands of Disney fans from every corner of the globe. In 2011, more [...]

Judging by the previews, I wasn’t very excited to see Disney’s new John Carter movie. Besides the regular previews, I saw an extended clip at Disney’s D23 Expo last year. The special effects looked great, but we all know a movie needs a great storyline to be successful. Even though Disney has had trouble conveying [...]

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort will be opening in stages, with the first section opening this May. The resort will feature many family suites and some standard rooms (opening Dec. 31). The resort will offer three swimming pools and four playful courtyards — one for each section of the resort. The suite sections include Finding [...]

We took to the skies today to bring you some theme park construction updates. In this update we’re taking a look at the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom. The photo above gives you an overview of the huge area under construction. Scroll down for more photos and video. Click on any of the photos [...]

Here’s a few more photos showing what the 24-hour Leap Day was like at the Magic Kingdom. The morning started with heavy fog, as seen in this view from 4:45 a.m. Feb 29, 2012. The queue for the Ferryboat was lined with balloons. Balloons also decorated the Transportation and Ticket Center on 40th Anniversary …

There are a lot of details showing up all over the new Fantasyland expansion at Magic Kingdom as the Storybook Circus’ late March opening nears. Above is the view of the new Dumbo attraction where awnings have been added and details have been added to the big top.  The old Dumbo spinner base hasn’t seen [...]

Hundreds of fans flocked to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World before the crack of dawn to kick off One More Disney Day. In honor of Leap Year, on Feb. 29, 2012 the park was open for 24 hours along with Disneyland Park in California, a first for Disney Parks.  The celebration started at [...]

For the first time ever, Disney’s Magic Kingdom will be open for a full 24 hours from 6 a.m. Feb. 29 to 6 a.m. March 1, 2012 in honor of Leap Year. During the day, the parks will offer their normal schedule with attractions, parades, fireworks, and characters, but there will be a few extra [...]

More than 19,000 women raced in this morning’s Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World, making it the world’s largest women’s sporting event. This was the fourth year of the race, and it has grown tremendously. The inaugural run had 8,000 participants. This view of the staging area gives an idea of how large the [...]

Disney’s Mobile Magic app is now available to download free on the iPhone. It is the only official Disney Parks app and is available to download free from iTunes. It offers wait times, show times, dining guides and much more for Walt Disney World and Disneyland. While the Disney Park’s Mobile Magic app has been available for [...]

It was announced today that the first part of the new Fantasyland will open in late March. The first phase openings will all be a part of the Storybook Circus area. In the Storybook Circus, Dumbo the Flying Elephant spin guests on one of two carousels. The other spinning Dumbo carousel will open at a [...]

By Kevin Yee Vertical construction continues at New Fantasyland, where Dumbo’s structures are now painted, and the queue building circus tent is fully in place. Themed and painted elements are appearing outside the Little Mermaid ride, and a new wall near the restrooms by Pinocchio Village Haus gives a hint of the quality theming awaiting [...]

Many rooftop details have been added, as well as new paint and a few trees in the area that can be seen by the public in the Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Above is the view of the new Dumbo attraction that can be seen while walking near the teacup [...]

Starting on Feb. 17, 2012, Disney’s D23 official fan club will be celebrating its third anniversary with a “23 Days of Celebration” Twitter sweepstakes. Each day at approximately 1 p.m. eastern time, D23 will provide a different challenge for the day and the first person to submit a valid photo that matches the challenge will [...]

By Kevin Yee This week we bring you some photos of the ground clearing happening near the Grand Floridian for a new Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort; work is progressing on both sides of the monorail beams. We’ve also got some shots of the extensive scaffolding at Big Thunder Mountain, and some new decorations popping [...]

First Lady Michelle Obama and a few Disney Channel stars visited Walt Disney World yesterday to speak to hundreds of local children and parents about the importance of exercise and eating right. But they not only talked about it, they got some exercise themselves as they did the The Platypus Walk and played some …

Two months ago we debuted a first for “Orlando Attractions Magazine”, a time lapse video. The video, a Jaws ride tribute, was well received by viewers and we will be doing a monthly video series of time lapse videos. First up is Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Rides featured in the video include Splash Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, Jungle Cruise [...]

Say your last goodbye to Little Red. Today the Disney Parks Blog announced some changes are coming to the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Starting this spring, Disney Imagineers will begin the removal of some of the end show elements, including the Audio-Animatronic elephant known as Little Red, to make room for more [...]

Disney’s Fastpass attraction return time tickets have always had a time window for guests to come back to ride the attraction. While cast members have always kept guests from entering the attractions before their Fastpass return time, it was a great tip for those in the know that they could return to the attraction anytime [...]