By Kevin Yee Life rolls on in Orlando, with Kim Possible Adventure closing down in Epcot and the end of the Flower and Garden Festival as well, but the big new addition was a scale model of Fantasyland put on display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, at the One Man’s Dream museum exhibit. Hollywood Studios was [...]

By Kevin Yee We take you to see what’s new at the Disney parks plus to Universal Studios for their new parade and lagoon show on this week’s Photo Finds: At Walt Disney World, the Build a Droid counter has opened, and a new Muppet display greets visitors in the Stage 1 store. More progress [...]

By Kevin Yee Vertical construction has begun at the Grand Floridian DVC timeshares, and little tweaks continue throughout the parks, like a Duffy push for Mother’s Day and new windsocks on the World Showcase Lagoon. But the little stuff this week pales next to the big news stories. Fatspass Plus, the “ahead of time” ride [...]

By Kevin Yee There are incremental changes as always in the parks (more pylons for Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster, a new play area for kids outside Innoventions’ Vision House, railings installed at Big Thunder along the track), but the big news this week will be the test of Fastpass Plus, the reserve-rides-from-home technology previously called [...]

By Kevin Yee It’s been a whirlwind of activity in Walt Disney World lately. Test Track closed down for refurbishment and an a capella singing group now performs in front of the construction walls. The Orange Bird mascot has returned in a big way to the Sunshine Tree Terrace at the Magic Kingdom (and on [...]

By Kevin Yee By popular demand, Photo Finds is back in its original form. Watch for the weekly News in the Queue segment later this week. This week in Photo Finds we capture images of the newest Fantasyland construction at Disney’s Magic Kingdom – the support pylons for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster are now [...]

April 3, 2012 – Welcome to the first stand-alone version of News in the Queue by Kevin Yee. This is a continuation of Kevin’s Photo Finds combined with the news of the week. This week we bring you up-close photos of new Avengers advertisement now wrapped around Monorail Red, as well as smaller updates from [...]

By Kevin Yee If you’re looking for something a little different in a town that includes recreation of all stripes, you could do much worse than a trampoline arena. Airheads operates out of Tampa and opened a new facility in Orlando about three months ago. For $12/hour per person (yes, adults can do this too) [...]

By Kevin Yee The first section of the new Fantasyland opened more than a week ago, and the Internet has been abuzz since. We take a closer look at some of the finer details. Numerous posters have been added to the construction walls, some giving hints of coming attractions like the Casey Jr. water play [...]

By Kevin Yee This week we look at minor changes in Fantasyland (new costumes for outdoor vendors, new stroller parking patterns) and see the alternate distribution center for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom in Liberty Square. In Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Echo Lake is being refilled after a quick draining for infrastructure work. Fantasmic has recently [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

By Kevin Yee The new offering at Epcot’s Innoventions is Habit Heroes, a physical interactive exhibit with three main games: dashing about, shooting a cannon, and aerobics. We also catch a few quick photo glances at Fantasyland, the new castle projections in honor of Valentine’s Day and catch up on the mini golf course under [...]

By Kevin Yee The new card-based interactive game in the Magic Kingdom won’t open officially until late February, but you can test it on select days now if you get lucky. This review shows you the process and what to expect, as well as highlights some of the main features of the game, like your [...]

By Kevin Yee The roadside attraction Dinosaur World, about halfway to Tampa from Walt Disney World, has recently upgraded its facilities and gift shop. We take a quick photo tour of the entire location and also pause on their innovative use of QR codes. At Walt Disney World, the Exotic Driving Experience posts new signs [...]

By Kevin Yee We have two brief updates as Photo Finds brings you a collection of pictures from Legoland and the Brevard Zoo. In Legoland, the emphasis is on the (now-removed) holiday decorations, with special attention given to all the Santas, elves, and reindeer added to Miniland (miniature cities built of brick). At the Brevard [...]

By Kevin Yee If you’re into botanical gardens, you’ll definitely want to check out Bok Tower Gardens, a privately-owned parcel of land just south of Legoland that includes the “singing tower” carillon, a period mansion from the 1930s, and grounds of botantical gardens and flowering plants. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAOxvCwndX4

By Kevin Yee The SeaWorld Orlando penguin exhibit will be replaced by a ride in the coming months and years, so we swung by to document the building and exhibit as it exists now (the puffin exhibit is already closed). We did the same for Jaws at Universal, which is rumored to be replaced by [...]

By Kevin Yee Photo Finds this week returns with a tour around SeaWorld Orlando, looking at area decorations, the Sea of Trees show, the Shamu show “Miracles”, the sea lion holiday show, and the new show in the Nautilus theater, “O Wondrous Night: The Greatest Story Never Told”. It’s the nativity story, told with gospel-style [...]

By Kevin Yee Two exciting new features have been added to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights: animated windows that were in the past one color and simple are now colorful and more varied, and the San Francisco Street canopy has received all new LED programmed lights that turn the entire experience into something [...]