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I'm really excited about this year's Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival . Normally it's just nice to get out and experience Spring as the frigid Central Florida weather starts to warm up and it is once again becomes possible to go outside after the horrifically cold 50 and 60...

Never mind March coming in like a lion. This month is really more a mouse, given all of the Disney-related events that are going to be happening all over the country in the coming week. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved Like what? Well, for starters, today through Monday, March 11th...

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...

It's been a very interesting week to be in Orlando. What with IAAPA 's Attractions Expo currently being loaded into the Orange County Convention Center . Photo by Jim Hill Out in the parking lot, all manner of sample amusement park rides are still being assembled. Photo by Jim Hill While inside...

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...

How tall is Walt Disney World 's Space Mountain ? Seems like a relatively straight forward question, don't you think? But the way that Company officials have answered that question has changed greatly over the past 37 years. By that I mean: If you were to ask a spokesperson who works for the...

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...

Wow. Has it really been 15+ years since Beth Dunlop wrote " Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture " ? Obviously Disney's world has gotten a whole lot bigger since 1996. Which is why I think it's terrific that Disney Editions recently decided to revisit Dunlop's book....

It's one of those generally accepted beliefs about The Walt Disney Company. That the fortunes of the Mouse House are directly tied to how well the Studio's movies do at the box office. More importantly, how successfully the characters from Disney's live-action films - not to mention those...

It's one of those must-do aspects of a Walt Disney World vacation. Especially if you've got young kids. Character dining . That pricey breakfast, lunch or dinner which is periodically interrupted as Disney characters come by your table, pose for pictures and sign autographs. Copyright Disney...

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 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;...

"You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen ..." Well, if you're a Disney history buff, then you must already know about Walt's land searches of the early 1950s. As Disney tried to find just the right spot in Southern California for his family fun park . Likewise if you're...

Picture this: It's late June of 1995. And the folks in charge of Disney-MGM Studios are racking their brains, trying to come up with some sort of signature holiday event for that theme park. "The Magic Kingdom had Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and Epcot had its Candlelight Processional...

Earlier this week, Steve B. wrote in to ask: Dear Jim, When the Disney-MGM Studios theme park opened, it was promoted as a working studio. Both live action and animation were being produced there. There was discussion in the news about the high costs in California driving production out of that state...

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...

In response to Wednesday's Entertainment Designer Forum article , JacksBack wrote in to say: Paper model of Wizard's Crag from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Signed by Ray Keim, this one-of-a-kind collectable will be just one of the items up for bid...

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...

We got any " No Ordinary Family " fans out there? The cast of "No Ordinary Family." (L to R) Romany Malco, Kay Panabaker, Michael Chiklis, Julie Benz, Jimmy Bennett, Autumn Reeser and Stephen Collins. Photo by Bob D'Amico. Copyright American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights...