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  • Blog Post: New shops & entertainment options re-energize Downtown Disney’s West Side

    Whether it’s with relatively big projects (EX: That $300-million-plus expansion of Fantasyland that’s currently underway at the Magic Kingdom) or with somewhat smaller changes (EX: The Imagineers pulling “Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop” out of DHS’s Toy Story Mania! attraction so that they could then replace...
  • Blog Post: Pook-A-Looz give classic Disney characters a quirky new look

    From the people who brought you Passamaquoddy , Heffalumps and Woozles as well as Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo , now come Disney Pook-A-Looz . The official tagline for this quirky new line of plush is “Too cute for their own good.” But these classic Disney characters didn’t get that way all by themselves. They...
  • Blog Post: Florida’s frosts fail to stop Disney World’s annual Flower & Garden Festival

    By now, you’ve probably heard about the freakishly cold weather that the Sunshine State experienced back in January. Where temperatures actually dipped down into the 20s in the Central Florida area. Well, it wasn’t just the state’s fruit & vegetable crop that got whomped by these...
  • Blog Post: Walt Disney Imagineering is very serious when it comes to play testing

    Did you hear about the play test that WDI ran at The Magic Kingdom last month? Where the Imagineers used Guests who were waiting in line for a character meet-n-greet right outside of Pooh’s Playful Spot to try out a new entertainment-based queuing system? Though the Imagineers are being pretty close...
  • Blog Post: Enjoy the return of Warm Weather with a 4-Day Dream Pass

    First, let’s start with the news that everyone has been waiting to hear: Florida’s freak cold snap appears to be over. After this past weekend, where the temperatures got so low that a few spots in Central Florida had scattered snow flurries, we’ll be back in the 60’s later today and the mid-to-high...
  • Blog Post: A Time of Change for Orlando Theme Parks

    With just hours to spare ‘til 2009 gives way to 2010, I thought that it might be interesting to review the year from the Orlando Fun Tickets point-of-view. 2009 got off to a pretty fast start with tens of thousands of runners pouring into the area January 8 – 11th to take part in the Walt Disney World...
  • Blog Post: Disney World soldiers on, looking for new ways to plus the Parks for the holidays

    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...
  • Blog Post: NFFC Disney World Holiday Extravaganza places the emphasis on in-park fun

    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 …...
  • Blog Post: The Magic Kingdom: From Scary to Merry in Just 5 Nights

    It always looks so easy in those Disney films. Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother just waves her magic wand and a pumpkin immediately becomes this beautiful coach. But when it comes to removing the hundreds of jack-o-lanterns that are used to decorate the Magic Kingdom for “Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween...
  • Blog Post: Mickey varies the menu at Walt Disney World

    Once upon a time, if you wanted to get away from the crowds at the Magic Kingdom , you hopped on a bus and then headed over to the Lake Buena Vista Village. Where – if you could find a seat by the window – you could then kick back a cocktail or two at Cap’n Jacks Oyster Bar and watch...
  • Blog Post: When it comes to fun Fourth of July festivities, O-town is the “Oooh” & “Aaah” capital of the USA

    This year, there are lots of places around the country where you can go to see Fourth of July fireworks. The bank of the Charles River in Boston, South Street Seaport in NYC as well as the National Mall in my hometown of Washington DC. But what if you’re one of those “too much ain’t enough” types and...
  • Blog Post: Why the bloom is never off the rose at Epcot's International Flower & Garden Festival

    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...
  • Blog Post: Have you ever wondered what Central Florida was like before the Mouse moved in? Then go check out the Disney Wilderness Preserve

    I'm sure that you've all experienced something like this during at least one Disney World vacation. That moment when the crowds start to close in. When the noise & the heat at the theme parks get to be too much. Well, if you ever find yourself feeling like this ... Might I suggest that you climb...
  • Blog Post: Get ready for Central Florida's coming coaster war

    As you enter SeaWorld Orlando , it's really hard to miss the thing. Photo by Robert Bish That enormous construction wall that's been erected around the front of this theme park. Photo by Robert Bish Not to mention the rumble of heavy equipment, as that behind-the-scenes construction team clears brush...