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  • Blog Post: "Celebrate the Magic" is a worthy follow-up to WDW's first castle projection show

    I have to admit that I'm kind of a sucker for all of these castle shows that Disney has begun doing in the Magic Kingdom . Whether it's draping this iconic structure with over 200,000 lights to turn it into a wintery wonder for the "Cinderella's Holiday Wish / Castle Dream Lights"...
  • Blog Post: Why WDW Cast Members aren't expecting to have a very Merry XPass in 2012

    It's the joke that senior members of Mouse House management have never found to be all that funny. That it now costs so much to vacation at the WDW Resort they should probably change the name of the place to Wallet Disney World. (L to R) Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties;...
  • Blog Post: Remember the good old days at Disney? They weren't quite as good as you remember

    And how was your weekend? Nancy and mine was going great there for a while. On Saturday, we were getting ready to celebrate her ... er ... 29 th - yeah, that's it - 29 th birthday when a freak October Nor'Easter came through and dropped two feet of snow on us. We did okay through most of Saturday...
  • Blog Post: Disney World's 40th anniversary celebration entertains Cast Members as well as Guests

    Since The Walt Disney Resort has long been associated with fairy tales, I'd like to borrow a turn-of-phrase from "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" to describe Saturday's 40 th anniversary celebration at the Magic Kingdom . It wasn't too long. It wasn't too short. It was just...
  • Blog Post: Looking back at the 2011 D23 EXPO: expectations vs. reality

    And how was your weekend? Mine contrasted sharply with last weekend. Instead of being inside of the brightly-lit Anaheim Convention Center surrounded by thousands of Disney fans, I was sitting in the dark here at home with Nancy, Alice and the cats. What with all the wind & wet weather associated...
  • Blog Post: How Disney's dream of building Epcot, the city, sank in Lake Buena Vista

    Deerborn Duck wrote in to ask me about Walt Disney World's real estate development arm: What you tell me about the Buena Vista Land Company? That name keeps coming up in regards to that Flamingo Crossing complex which Disney is supposed to be building out along Western Way near the State Road 429...
  • Blog Post: Ready to go rabbit hunting? Then let's begin the Disney World Bunny Hop

    Let me guess. You're slightly bummed that you didn't get to see the Easter Bunny (as well as the lovely Mrs. Bunny) when they made their short, seasonal visit to the Magic Kingdom this past weekend. Photo by Todd Anderson. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Not to worry, though...
  • Blog Post: Could WDW's New Year's Eve events possibly include a party inside of DisneyQuest?

    Look. I know. Hanukkah ended on the 9th. And Christmas and Kwanzaa are just around the corner. So the last thing that you probably want to hear about at this point is another holiday. But given that a lot of you like spending New Year's Eve at Walt Disney World but don't necessarily enjoy the...
  • Blog Post: Mickey always plans a few moves ahead when it comes to Walt Disney World

    There have been lots of looky-loos lately over that Fantasyland Forest construction fence. Which has resulted in an equally large number of theories floating around online about what's currently going on with this $300 million project. Take - for example - all that soil that's been piled up towards...
  • 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: 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 & Minnie say "Farewell" to Toontown Fair, "Hello" to the Town Square Exhibition Hall

    What with all of the excitement associated with the Fantasy Forest project , Disneyana fans seem to have overlooked one important aspect of this Magic Kingdom expansion. As in: Given that Mickey's Toontown Fair is going to be flattened to make way for new Dumbo Circus & Disney Fairies -themed areas...
  • 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: Treat yourself to tickets to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

    Throughout the country, people are looking forward to Labor Day. Trying to fit in the very last few moments of summer, including one last barbecue, one last dip in the pool, and those final few moments of joy, before the summer season disappears and the Fall grind of work and school arrive. But over...
  • 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: "We're rollin' on the Mickey's Birthdayland Express"

    Today's lesson: Sometimes our Disney fan obsessions do pay off. When EPCOT Center opened in 1982, Steve Hansen was already an accomplished puppeteer and performer, working as the PuppetMan in World Showcase. Someone as talented & versatile as Steve was bound to go far in the Walt Disney world. In...
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