As the central Florida temperature approaches 90 degrees, Cecil Gordon of Walt Disney World Holiday Services touches up the face of a six-foot-tall angel tree-topper inside one of the resort’s holiday warehouses. The angel will be placed on the top of the giant Christmas tree at Epcot during the holiday season. Gordon and his colleagues [...]

Veteran wide receiver Joey Galloway gives his autograph to a fan during 2007 training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will come back for their seventh NFL training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex starting tomorrow through Aug. 14. The team’s daily practices are free and open [...]

World-famous chef Paul Bocuse and country-rat-turned-chef-extraordinaire Remy of “Ratatouille” exchanged culinary secrets this week at the France pavilion in Epcot. Bocuse, founder of the gold-standard Bocuse d’Or global competition of chefs, brings the USA semifinals competition to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival Sept. 26 and 27 before an audience of park guests. The [...]

A new grand marshal vehicle has debuted in the Magic Kingdom with a uniquely Disney touch – Mickey Mouse tread designs on all four tires and the spare tire attached to the rear. The new car now carries guests of honor down the park’s daily parade route in grand style. To fit the theme of [...]

I recently had a chance to spend a couple of nights at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort, just down 535 from Apopka-Vineland Road. It doesn’t look as large as it really is from the road, but the place is huge and has many activities. But you can read all about that in our upcoming [...]

I realize Ricky just did a photo update on the Magic Kingdom last week, but our photo updates will come as we happen to visit the parks. We’re making this a random feature. The photo updates will come as we visit the various attractions, whether we happen to be visiting for the magazine or just [...]

I made the mistake of taking my family to Downtown Disney to watch the fireworks last night. The fireworks were set to start at 10:30 p.m., so we arrived around 9:30 p.m. The traffic was a mess, as expected. All of the parking lots were full except for the far one down past the West [...]

Eight Grammy-winning acts will join 10 other hit-makers to bring a rocking mix of classic tunes to Epcot during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival from Sept. 26 to Nov. 9. From rock to jazz, funk to pop, 10 new Eat to the Beat! acts and eight returning bands take their turn on …

Happy 4th of July! On Tuesday night, I attended a preview of tonight’s Magic Kingdom fireworks entitled, “Disney’s Celebrate America – A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky”. In honor of America’s Independence Day, we’re bringing these fireworks to all of you who can’t be at the parks. Below is an edited YouTube version [...]

Disney released this Audio-Animatronics Timeline this morning. I thought it was interesting enough to repost. From Tiki birds to Mr. Potato Head … Early 1950s Walt Disney purchases a mechanical bird while vacationing in Europe. The souvenir becomes the inspiration for Audio-Animatronics technology. 1951 Work begins on “Project Little Man.”  Roger Broggie and Wathel Rogers, [...]

I spent most of the day Tuesday at Epcot and took these pictures of new/different/interesting things is saw … The line for The Seas with Nemo and Friends ride was as long as I’ve seen it in a long time. This was around 1 p.m. The sign said 45 minutes, but knowing how long the [...]

I headed to the Magic Kingdom this morning for a couple of hours, before the summer heat really set in. Here are a few shots I snapped in the fairly crowded park: A relatively new food cart (the tan one on the left) has emerged in Liberty Square serving cheese pizzas ($6.25), assorted chips ($1.50) [...]

Disney has provided us with concept art for some of the updates to Downtown Disney previously reported on: Hanes Custom T-Shirt Store “La Dolbe” Restaurant Tuscan Country Trattoria (formerly Portobello Yacht Club) Tuscan Country Trattoria Interior (formerly Portobello Yacht Club) New Marketplace Stage New Marketplace Stage (Reverse Angle) Updated Fulton’s Crab House exterior Photo of [...]

We spoke with Downtown Disney vice president Kevin Lansberry today in front of Pleasure Island to clarify and confirm details released in last night’s release from The Walt Disney Co. regarding the closing of all six Pleasure Island clubs and updates to Downtown Disney. Lansberry confirmed that all six Pleasure Island clubs will be closing [...]

Walt Disney World Resort today unveiled a new vision for Downtown Disney, with new shopping, dining and other experiences including a completely re-imagined Pleasure Island. Also planned are numerous enhancements to popular Downtown Disney locations, as well as additional theming and storytelling by Imagineers. To make way for the new offerings, all of the clubs [...]

An attraction based on the second film in The Chronicles of Narnia series, Prince Caspian, officially opened on June 26, 2008 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In attendance at the opening were Prince Caspian, who rode in on horseback, Warwick Davis, who plays Nikabrik in the film, and Dave Hoffman, Walt Disney Imagineer and Art …

The Orange County Regional History Center will unveils its newest permanent exhibit, “Destination Florida: Tourism Before Disney,” on Friday. The new installation will take visitors back in time to the ‘Golden Age of Tourism,’ nearly a century before Disney. Visitors may be surprised to learn tourism in Florida stretches back to the late 19th century, [...]

If you’re able to make it to the last Star Wars Weekends this coming weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, be sure to watch the unlikely and entertaining pairing of an iconic music video and an iconic movie villain as Darth Vader and a quartet of stormtroopers reenact the famous dance scene from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. [...]

The Norway pavilion at Epcot will host Sig Hansen – one of the featured stars on the popular reality series on The Discovery Channel, The Deadliest Catch – for an in-park appearance July 10 to 13. Hansen will appear inside The Puffin’s Roost, the pavilion’s merchandise location, each day. He will be joined by his [...]

A popular July 4th tradition at Walt Disney World Resort will continue this year as star-spangled salutes to America’s independence are presented all across the World. Magic Kingdom: A Fourth of July “Concert in the Sky” will light up the night at Magic Kingdom in honor of Independence Day. Featuring a display of aerial fireworks, [...]