Care to guess which creatures are the most popular at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park? The answer may surprise you. It's not those real lions, elephants and giraffes that you can see while rolling across the faux-African savanna aboard Kilimanjaro Safaris. But - rather - those all-too-human animals who sing & dance daily in Camp Minnie-Mickey at the "Festival of the Lion King" show. Mind you, what's kind of ironic about all this is that - when The Walt Disney Company...

Life can really throw you some curves sometimes. Which is why - as 2010 draws to a close - a lot of us are probably looking for a spectacular way to put this bad old year behind us. Start the New Year off right by kicking up your heels and/or shaking your booty at some spectacularly exclusive party . Copyright 2010 The Venetian. All rights reserved And if that's really what you're looking to do this year, have your 2010 end well ... Well, has Best of Vegas got a deal for you? This New Year's...

If you want to truly get a sense of how different The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is, then why don't you join me outside on the terrace? Copyright 2010 The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. All rights reserved That's right. A terrace. In a town where virtually every other hotel room is sealed up tight and then air conditioned within an inch of its life, the 2995 rooms that will eventually come on line at this brand-new resort & casino will actually allow guests to step outside and then get some...

Disney executives are very excited about " TRON Legacy ." In fact, they've been spending millions of dollars in the most creative ways promoting this film. "FLYNN Lives," the alternate reality game that took place at Comic-Con and WonderCon , with virtual clues given by smart phone and computer, a "crashed" Encom press conference on San Francisco's Embarcadero, and a full-size Flynn's Arcade , with a secret portal leading to the world of TRON, has won its...

Okay. We're a few days past Halloween at this point. And you've finished off the last of that leftover trick-or-treat candy. You've even packed away most of the scary stuff that you use to decorate the house this time of year. But for some reason or other, you're finding that you feel a little bit blue right about now, don't you? Well, don't listen to your friends & family. They'll just tell you that you're coming down off of your sugar high, which is what happens...

As you walk through Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom these days and encounter all of those construction fences for the Fantasyland expansion project it's kind of hard to imagine what this part of the theme park will look like in just a few years. But me? I can't help but look at the attractions that Fantasyland already has and wonder what this place would have been like if the Imagineers had been allowed to build the dark rides that they had originally designed for this section of the...

Given that the kids are now back in school and/or just about to go back to school I thought that I'd start this week's column with a math question. How long does it take to fill those 12 huge funnel-shaped tanks that power Typhoon Lagoon's 2.75 million gallon wave pool? Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved And the answer is ... well, that depends on whether you want 5-foot waves (which are ideal for body surfing) or 8-foot waves (which then allows Walt Disney World to...

In 1979 George Lucas decided to create the Graphics Group as part of the computer division within Lucasfilm . In 1986, Steve Jobs paid Lucas $5 million and renamed the newly independent company Pixar . Twenty-five years have passed, and as of last Friday, " Toy Story 3 " has earned $920 million worldwide, making this the top-grossing animated movie ever . Pixar has had an amazing track record. It has produced 11 hit films in a row that have earned over $5.7 billion over the past 15 years...

There are a couple of things that you just have to do while you're in Las Vegas. Drive the Strip and gawk at all the lights Hit a buffet Catch a Cirque du Soleil® show Copyright 2010 Cirque du Soleil. All rights reserved But which of the Cirque shows should you see while you're in town? To be honest, that's kind of a tough question to answer. For " Mystere ," " O ," "Ka," " Zumanity ," " Love ," " Criss Angel Believe " and...

It's the last week of July here in Central Florida. So - what a surprise - it's hot outside. If you're looking to beat the heat during your next Orlando vacation, might I suggest that you employ a little psychology? As in: It might seem cooler outside if you deliberately went to part of a theme park that at least looked like it should be cooler. Case in point: The snow-covered rooftops of Hogsmeade Village at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Copyright 2010 Universal Studios. All rights...

When people get out to Vegas, they're constantly on the go. They're always rushing out the door to see the sights and/or catch some show. Which is why it's good sometimes just to take a break. Get away from the Strip and then do something different. Like - say - whiz around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 160 MPH? That sounds outrageous, doesn't it? But that's just what you'll get to do if you decide to try the Ride-Along Experience at the Richard Petty Driving Experience...

Dawn Bachers of Orlando Fun Tickets walks you through all of the exciting after-dark offerings that the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot will be serving up now through August 14th...

Dawn Bachers of Orlando Fun Tickets talks up recent improvements to WDW’s retail, dining & entertainment district. Which includes an exciting new performer who just joined the cast of La Nouba...

Jim Hill talks about Disney Legend Freddy Moore. Who Electric Tiki Design is about to honor with the release of a limited edition statue that then recreates one of his more iconic “Girls”...

Jon Nadelberg travels to Santa Rosa, CA to check out the most recent exhibitions to be presented at this acclaimed museum & research center...

Dawn Bachers of Best of Vegas profiles Jena Kerr, Head of Puppets for the Las Vegas Company of this acclaimed musical. Which is just about to celebrate its one-year anniversary at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino...

Jon Nadelberg reports in on last week's festivities at the Moscone Center. Which turned out to be far more entertaining than he had initially planned on...

Jonathan White reviews this Warner Bros. Home Video release. Which uses seven anime shorts as a way to explore and expand on the "Halo" universe...

As he pays tribute to this Disney legend, Todd James Pierce talks about the time that Fess fessed up about the Davy Crockett park that he almost built...

With the official start of Spring just days away, Lindsi Glass of Orlando Fun Tickets talks up the new arrivals as well as some of the old favorites that have returned to this Resort...

Todd James Pierce shares some of the great pastories that he heard this past Wednesday night when he chatted with Tony Baxter, Bob Gurr and Becky Cline at this after-hours gathering at The Happiest Place on Earth...

Lindsi Glass of Orlando Fun Tickets reports in from Epcot. Where Disney horticulturists worked ‘round the clock to make sure that all 80,000 bedding plants were in place for last week’s opening of this 75-day-long event

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Jim Hill chats with Don Hahn, the director of this terrific new documentary which takes a detailed look at all the personalities & projects that shaped Walt Disney Animation Studios from 1984 to 1994...

Todd James Pierce talks with Pam Burns-Clair, co-author of “Walt Disney’s First Lady of Imagineering, Harriet Burns,” a brand-new book which will make its debut this Sunday at the NFFC-Disneyana Fan Club’s Show and Sale...

Todd James Pierce talks with this Disney Legend about his longtime WED co-worker about the numerous contributions that Ms. Burns made to theme park attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean, The Enchanted Tiki Room as well as the Sleeping Beauty Castle walkthrough...