By Jackie and Matt Roseboom
A brand new Holiday Inn recently opened on Disney property. The 14-story, 323-room hotel, located near Downtown Disney on Hotel Plaza Boulevard, opened in the spot formerly occupied by a Marriott Courtyard.
The Courtyard closed about five years ago after it sustained damage during a bad hurricane season. The hurricanes virtually [...]

Downtown Disney will welcome several additions in the coming months. Look for two new stores, a quick-service restaurant and 3D technology at the AMC Pleasure Island 24 movie theater.
“We’re excited to build upon our existing portfolio of unique offerings and are committed to bringing guests even more interactive experiences,” said Downtown Disney Vice President Keith [...]

Editor’s Note: We print Letters to the Editor in our print version, but that allows us only limited space. So from time to time, when we receive letters that are too long and have too much information to edit down, we’ll be posting them here as guest editorials. These letters are the opinions of the [...]

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the McDonald’s at Downtown Disney will be closing on April 30.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Representatives for Disney World and McDonald’s said the exit stems from a 2004 decision to end a 10-year exclusive sponsorship agreement between McDonald’s Corp. and Walt Disney Co. The Downtown Disney restaurant was included in [...]

Planet Hollywood has closed one of their retail stores at Downtown Disney. The Planet Hollywood On Location store in Downtown Disney’s West Side is closed as of today.
The store was located next to the recently opened LittleMissmatched store. Even though it was their largest store in Disney World, they’re still selling Planet Hollywood merchandise at [...]

La Nouba, the Cirque du Soleil show at Downtown Disney, is getting a new act featuring world-renowned juggler Anthony Gatto. Gatto will be added permanently to the 90-minute spectacle beginning Feb. 5.
Anthony Gatto comes to La Nouba from the tour of KOOZA by Cirque du Soleil and holds 11 world records in juggling. [...]

Last week we told you about a new hand art vendor that opened in one of the stands at the Downtown Disney Marketplace. We also mentioned that a wood carving store had closed down, with its stand remaining empty. Well it’s no longer empty.
Lefty’s has opened in a stand near the lake, just down from [...]

A new vendor has opened up in the Downtown Disney Marketplace. Located near Disney’s Pin Traders, Hand Art Memories lets customers place their handprint on paper, then an artist transforms the handprint into a picture. For example, your fingers may turn into a pirate’s beard or a princess dress, but they don’t offer official Disney [...]

The NFFC (National Fantasy Fan Club) is holding their All Disneyana Show and Sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 12, 2009. The Regal Sun Resort will become the place to be for Disneyana collectors, autograph seekers, and the just plain Disney crazed, as Disneyana memorabilia vendors and dealers from all over [...]

The 34th annual Festival of the Masters was held this past weekend at Downtown Disney. The West Side featured more than 150 award-winning artists – jewelry artists, painters, photographers, sculptors and more. The Marketplace featured the Central Florida Chalk Artists Association, and family fun could be found all around. Thanks to Bret Roseboom for providing [...]