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Epcot Enthusiast wrote in this week to say: I saw a Tweet today that said that you and Len Testa were touring Future World and World Showcase recording stories for a new " Unofficial Guide Disney Dish with Jim Hill" podcast. Epcot is my very favorite WDW theme park. Could you please share some...

Last Monday afternoon, I got pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol. It was all my fault. I was out on State Road 429. I was rushing to get back to property so that Nancy and I could do a little shopping at Downtown Disney before we then headed out for the airport. And six miles north of Western Way...

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." Ah, but when Shakespeare wrote that over 400 years ago, he was talking about teenage romance. Not two hugely successful divisions of this massive corporation that – while they had been working together for more than...

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time when we reconnect with friends & family. And this year, The Walt Disney Company must be feeling especially thankful for the way the public passionately re-embraced the Muppets last week. I mean, who would have thought that a viral video (which was shot on the...

As you walk around Walt Disney World this time of year, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by all the seasonal sights, sounds and colors. Unless you happen to be David R. Hartmann. As Art Director for Walt Disney Entertainment Design, Hartmann actually has the opposite problem. Whenever he walks around...

I don’t know how many of you got to see Jason Garcia ’s great story about the Space Mountain redo at WDW ’s Magic Kingdom (It was featured on the Orlando Sentinel ’s new Daily Disney blog . Which is well worth adding to your Favorites list, by the way). Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved Anywho …...

30 years ago this month, I made my very first trip to Walt Disney World . And for 25 years now, I’ve been writing about Central Florida’s Vacation Kingdom. I offer this info up not because I want to impress JHM readers with my advanced age. But – rather – to give you some idea of how long I’ve actually...

Over the years, I have heard a lot of stories from Disney insiders that I’ve been lucky enough to interview. Like how Alice Davis once told me that she knew that Mary Blair must be dealing with some horrific personal problems. Given that – in the early 1970s – this Disney Legend’s acclaimed sense of...

Since Epcot ’s International Flower & Garden Festival is now headed into the home stretch (this celebration of Spring in Central Florida officially wraps up on May 31st with a Flower Power Concert starring Tony Orlando ), you’d think that at least some of the blooms that are currently on display...

I realize that this is incredibly short notice. But if you’re a theme park history buff, you should really find a way to get down to Orlando next week. Why For? Because next Friday morning, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be celebrating its 20 th anniversary. And in addition to the two fan-run events...

Alright. I know. It's been kind of a scary week for all you folks who live and work in Central Florida. What with all the stories that are making the rounds about Walt Disney World 's projected occupancy rate for the month of January as well as how miserable things have gotten for all those hotels &...

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to break out all of those Christmas lights and start decorating the exterior of your home. Mind you, Rob Hamberg got kind of a headstart on the rest of us. This Walt Disney World Entertainment show producer didn't wait 'til turkey time to start his holiday decorating...

Are you like me? And after you finish carving the turkey ... Well, it looks like that once-beautiful bird has just been through the blender? Let's face facts: Most of us haven't had enough knife time to properly carve a turkey. Which is why we make such a hash of things whenever the holidays roll around...

It's all that anyone in Central Florida can talk about these days. The huge impact that the current consumer spending slump is having on the tourism industry. And with people now admitting that they're cutting back on toys and apparel purchases ... Well, that's not what the folks at Walt Disney World...

Having already put together Imagineering Field Guides for the Magic Kingdom , Epcot and Animal Kingdom , Alex Wright has taken a break from writing about the Walt Disney World Resort (Reportedly because the folks at Disney Editions want WDW Guests to get used to calling the park-formerly-known-as-MGM...

Okay. I know. This is a really tough time to be a Disney World fan. Especially with last week's news about how advance reservations for the Resort were 'way down and WDW officials were already getting ready for what looked to be an incredibly lean 2009. But -- you know -- it's not always going to be...

Bob Iger didn't mince words during yesterday's earnings call . Though Disney's CEO said he was pleased with the Company's overall performance in fiscal 2008, 2009 looks to be a very different story. What with advance bookings at the Walt Disney World Resort down almost 10% from what they were a year...

It all comes down to what happens tomorrow night. More importantly, Wednesday morning. As in: Who winds up in the White House and how Wall Street & consumers then react to this news. That's what I've repeatedly been told by Mouse House personnel. That the Walt Disney Company wants to see who wins...

As you might expect, NYC's World of Disney is currently all tricked out for trick-or-treat time. Photo by Jim Hill And as you wander all three floors of this 5th Avenue store, you'll find all sorts of Halloween-related materials. From 15th anniversary " Nightmare Before Christmas " merch ... Photo by...

Were you shocked when you learned that 2008 would be the very last year for the ABC SOAPnet Super Soap Weekend at the Walt Disney World Resort ? Well, so were managers at Disney's Hollywood Studios . They had little or no warning that ABC Daytime was planning on pulling the plug on this annual event...