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The Internet is really a wondrous place. Especially if you're a young person who's considering a career in animation. If you've ever considered becoming a character designer someday, you can always swing by Tom Bancroft 's Character Mentor Studio or Stephen Silver's blog and then...

Francis T. sent me this e-mail yesterday: I know that you mostly write about Disney. But my eight year old has recently discovered the Dreamworks animation movies and is now completely obsessed with Shrek . We're headed to Orlando next month. So I was wondering if you had any recommendations about...

Earlier today, Chris sent me a note which read: Hi Jim I am loving the daily why for entries. I heard that when planning a european park the original plan was to construct somewhere is Spain. if this is true why for did Disney feel the need to build it in France? As a Britt, I can say that the amount...

January used to be the start of the slow season at the stateside Disney Parks. How so? So slow that - immediately after New Year's Day -- Disneyland Park wouldn't even open on Mondays & Tuesdays. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Which -- as far as the maintenance crew...

Okay. We're T-minus country now when it comes to the holidays. And with just a handful of days between now and you-know-when, it always helps to have a list. So that you don't wind up forgetting anything when you next head out for the Mall. "And what's on your list, Leslie?," you...

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...

It’s a problem that every theme park has faced at one time or another. As in: How to keep those turnstiles turning in the weeks & months just before a major new attraction opens. And in the case of the Universal Orlando Resort , there’s a very real fear among UOR managers that many Guests are now...

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...

Still working your way through the last of the Halloween candy, eh? Well, before we all totally transition away from trick-or-treating to Turkey Time, I’ll share a Halloween Horror Night-related story that you may have missed. Copyright 2009 Universal Orlando. All Rights Reserved Do you recall the theme...

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...

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...

This may seem like kind of an odd question, but ... Have you ever been to Universal Orlando 's Halloween Horror Nights ? If so, have you ever found yourself stumbling through one of their mazes? And as some performer jumps out of a darkened corner and scares the living cr*p out of you, have you ever...

In God's Waiting Room (AKA Florida), you're bound to run into a few blue hairs over the course of your day. Though -- that said -- one wonders what the AARP would make of the bunch pictured below. Photo by Nancy Stadler Believe it or not, the multiple Marges that you see above aren't actors. They were...

My apologies, folks. I know that JHM has been somewhat erratic lately when it comes to maintaining our usual Monday-through-Friday publishing schedule. It's just that -- in order to score new stories for this website -- I sometimes have to do a little traveling. That's what I'm doing today, anyway. Flying...

There are many things that one might expect to hear at a full-service eatery at the Walt Disney World Resort . An attentive server asking a guest if they can get them another Coke. Or an anxious parent -- as they clutch their camera -- asking when's Mickey going to come through the restaurant again....

It's perhaps the most eagerly anticipated addition to Orlando's assortment of rides, shows and attractions in more than a decade: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter , which is slated to open at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure in 2009 Copyright 2007 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved And...