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Just yesterday, Universal Orlando served up its five-millionth glass of Butterbeer. Which is quite an achievement. Given that -- prior to the June 2010 opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal's Islands of Adventure -- this beverage only existed between the pages of J.K. Rowling...

When many Guests enter New Fantasyland at The Magic Kingdom and see the Beast's Castle looming in the distance, their initial thought is "Ooh! I wanna go on that ride." Which explains that trio of Cast Members that you'll typically find stationed along the bridge that leads up to this...

The Tinker Bell drone that Disneyland almost got Over the past week or so, there have been a number of stories out there about media companies and drone technology. With TMZ insisting that it wasn't really in the market for a celebrity-seeking missile, Mid-Missouri NPR affiliate KBIA revealed that...

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...

Over the past week or so, I've gotten a number of e-mails from JHM readers about this year's Attractions Expo . People wanting to know more about what it was like to wander the floor of the Orange County Convention Center after the International Association of Amusement Park & Attractions...

ADD US TO YOUR ADDRESS BOOK | VIEW IN YOUR BROWSER Long ago, a fantastical land was cursed by an evil queen and a band of wicked villains. Their spell shrouded our memories and hid the land from our view. But that place still exists. It's always been there, waiting for you to believe again. Waiting...

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"...

Earlier this month when I was down at Universal Studios Florida for the " Transformers The Ride - 3D " press event, a longtime Universal cast member pulled me aside and suggested that -- as part of that trip -- I make an effort to swing by that theme park's International Food & Film...

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...

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? My apologies for JHM basically being on hold these past few days. But I've been out in Southern California since Saturday morning working. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you do there? Copyright DreamWorks Animation LLC. All rights reserved Len Testa and...

Make-up master Greg Nicotero helps make AMC's "The Walking Dead" a gory must-see Let's face it: Nobody likes going through security at the airport. But for Greg Nicotero, the Emmy-winning makeup effects artist and co-executive producer of AMC 's hit series The Walking Dead , that...

Director Rob Reiner told this great story earlier this month at the 50th New York Film Festival about how he didn't want " The Princess Bride " to wind up like " The Wizard of Oz ." "And why exactly would he say something like that?," you ask. Given how popular that...

The moon was shining bright this past Saturday night ... Photo by Jim Hill ... as more than 10,000 runners lined up at the toll plaza for Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park ... Photo by Jim Hill ... eager to take part in the inaugural run of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Miler race. Mind...

Chris B. wrote in on September 10th to say Hi Mr. Hill, Great website and so appreciate how you share your Disney knowledge. With the opening of the New Fantasyland Disney has installed a statue for Beauty and the Beast's Gaston. Disney villains have typically only been out and about for the Halloween...

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...

Pirate Pete wrote in this weekend to say: Have you been following what's been going on with the Luigi's Flying Tires ride at DCA 's Cars Land ? Why exactly did they remove the balls from that attraction? Was it a safety issue? Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer. Copyright Disneyland. All rights reserved...

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...

My apologies, folks. I know that JHM has been extremely light on content this past week or so. But I have been traveling. Dear Lord, have I been traveling. I wonder how many Frequent Flyer miles The Dreamfinder racked up while he was flying this contraption around EPCOT Center's Kodak pavilion? Copyright...

Last Monday afternoon, I was at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and overheard a pretty funny exchange between two of the docents who'd been assigned to work the " D23 presents Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives " exhibit. Photo by Alice Hill It seems that one of these...

When you go to a theme park, it kind of goes with the territory that the food you're going to encounter over the course of your day is going to be ... meh. Well, that's not really an option at Knott's Berry Farm . After all, this is a theme park that actually grew up and around Mrs. Knott's...