A lot of information has been coming out today about future plans for Walt Disney World.

First off, we all have heard of the Fantasyland Expansion. Recently there have been different rumors coming out that the Imagineers have been rethinking everything that will be added to the expansion since it is geared more towards girls than boys. These rumors have been confirmed today and Disney has announced that they have rethought of a few different additions to the expansion to make it more "boy friendly."

So what's staying? Disney hasn't official announced what is staying for sure, but I'm sure the Little Mermaid attraction, Be Our Guest restaurant, and Story Time with Belle will remain with the new plans. The Little Mermaid and Be Our Guest mainly due to the fact that they were two of the signature items on the expansion plans. I think Belle's story time will stick around mainly due to the fact that Disney recently announced that Rapunzel will be making a home for herself over at Fairytale Garden (the current place where you can meet Belle and hear her stories). Due to Belle's story time being so popular already I'm sure it will be included.

What could attract the boys to the Fantasyland Expansion? I have heard rumors that a Seven Dwarfs roller coaster (similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but in the Dwarfs' cave) is being looked at. It would be great if Disney brought in an attraction that dealt with Robin Hood (I personally believe an archery shooting attraction similar to Buzz Lightyear would be amazing), the Jungle Book, or even Pinocchio (Pinocchio's Daring Journey, anyone?) to the drawing board.

In other news, Disney released a preshow video today for Star Tours. Click here to watch the clip. I have always been a huge Star Wars and Star Tours fan and I am excited to see the new changes to the attraction. The new Star Tours, Star Tours II, will be coming out next year and will be set in between the two Star Wars trilogies.

Stop by the From Screen to Theme forums to talk about the Fantasyland Expansion and Star Tours II.

Today Disney released a trailer for their newest animated film, Tangled. Take a look:

A lot of information has been coming out today about future plans for Walt Disney World.

First off, we all have heard of the Fantasyland Expansion. Recently there have been different rumors coming out that the Imagineers have been rethinking everything that will be added to the expansion since it is geared more towards girls than boys. These rumors have been confirmed today and Disney has announced that they have rethought of a few different additions to the expansion to make it more "boy friendly."

So what's staying? Disney hasn't official announced what is staying for sure, but I'm sure the Little Mermaid attraction, Be Our Guest restaurant, and Story Time with Belle will remain with the new plans. The Little Mermaid and Be Our Guest mainly due to the fact that they were two of the signature items on the expansion plans. I think Belle's story time will stick around mainly due to the fact that Disney recently announced that Rapunzel will be making a home for herself over at Fairytale Garden (the current place where you can meet Belle and hear her stories). Due to Belle's story time being so popular already I'm sure it will be included.

What could attract the boys to the Fantasyland Expansion? I have heard rumors that a Seven Dwarfs roller coaster (similar to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but in the Dwarfs' cave) is being looked at. It would be great if Disney brought in an attraction that dealt with Robin Hood (I personally believe an archery shooting attraction similar to Buzz Lightyear would be amazing), the Jungle Book, or even Pinocchio (Pinocchio's Daring Journey, anyone?) to the drawing board.

In other news, Disney released a preshow video today for Star Tours. Click here to watch the clip. I have always been a huge Star Wars and Star Tours fan and I am excited to see the new changes to the attraction. The new Star Tours, Star Tours II, will be coming out next year and will be set in between the two Star Wars trilogies.

Stop by the From Screen to Theme forums to talk about the Fantasyland Expansion and Star Tours II.

While visiting the Magic Kingdom yesterday I decided to visit the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, or Peoplemover as most people call it. Well, as of yesterday, it looks like both names are correct since the sign out from shows the attraction has received a name change!

A wall has recently been put up in front of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Here's some looks at the wall and what is behind the wall near the tree:

There has been a lot happening over at Epcot this week.

Today new directional signs were put up near the World Showcase entrance. Another new addition to the park is a new Meet and Greet area for Donald in Mexico.

In addition to these two new additions, Via Napoli (the new restaurant in the Italy pavilion) and La Hacienda de San Angel and La Cantina de San Angel (the new restaurant in the Mexico pavilion) both are showing a lot of new progress this week as well. Below are pictures of all four additions and their progress.

Donald's new meet and greet area in Mexico:

Progress for the new Italy restaurant:

Progress for the new Mexico restaurant:

Hop aboard Dumbo the Flying Elephant with me and take a look at what's going on with the Fantasyland Expansion. In these three pictures you can see that they are leveling out all the dirt. The tents in the first picture are part of Mickey's Toontown Fair. I'll keep you posted on any further progress!

Today while in Fantasyland I notice two things. The first was that scaffolding has been put up around the Winnie the Pooh tree that is now located outside of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Also, Peter Pan's Flight now has a new exterior. Check out pictures for both below:

During the D23 Flowers and Fireworks event this past Sunday, Vice President of Epcot, Dan Cockerell, made some exciting announcements about what's to come to Epcot over the next year.

Coming Sepetember, 2010, will be a new restaurant in the Italy pavilion called Via Napoli. Just like everything else in Disney, this restaurant has a backstory which goes something like this:

There's a wealthy merchant family and the current restaurant is their home that they serve their guests. In the late 1700's they built these stables where they kept their horses. For one or two centuries the wealth grew in the family.

The son, Niko, is born. He worked in the stables and became close with the horses in the stables. He eventually decided to go out and see the world. While in Naples he discovered his calling. Here he discovered pizza in one of the shops. He visited the tiny shops and practiced making the dough and creating pizzas.

He eventually moved back home and his parents wouldn't let him in the house. They did let him convert the stables into a restaurant however. Using what he learned on his travels, he knew that the secret of pizza is having a good oven. So he created three ovens with each one being inspired by three volcanoes in Italy making each mouth look like one of the monster.

He also realized that the secret to pizza is the water you use. Due to this, the restaurant's water has been recreated to represent water from Naples.

Via Napoli will be out in Fall, 2010

Yesterday I updated about a new picture being placed on the wall outside of Scuttle's Landing showing Maurice's House. Today two more pictures, along with descriptions for all three pictures, have been added giving guests a whole new look at what is to come when the Fantasyland Expansion is complete. Below are three videos of the pictures along with their descriptions.

When the Fantasyland Expansion is over, one of the places guests will be able to visit is Maurice's (Belle's father) cottage. Inside they will see an enchanted mirror that allows guests to be in Beast's castle where they get to retell a story for Belle.

To give guests a glimpse into what's to come, a picture has been added to part of the wall outside of Scuttle's Landing. Here is a look at the picture:

Two days ago I have you an update on Pooh's Playful Spot pointing out that they had moved the tree within the area and looked like it was going to be moved in the near future.

Today, while in the Magic Kingdom, I went to see if there were any changes and it ends up there is a huge one! Last night they moved the tree across the street near The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. You can now find the tree (behind a wall) in between the entrance and fastpass distribution of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It appears this will become the new permanent spot for the tree. Below is a short video of the changes.

Disney announced today that Captain EO will be returning to Walt Disney World on July 2nd, 2010.

While in Fantasyland today I noticed that there have already been some changes to Pooh's Playful Spot. For instance, Pooh's tree, which is usually further behind the wall, was almost directly behind it. Also, the tree was no longer facing towards us, but towards Dumbo. Below are two short videos showing Pooh's Playful Spot from outside of the wall and from Dumbo. Enjoy!

Today was the grand opening of D Street in Downtown Disney's West Side. D Street features apparel for men and women with an urban inspired look. The main product is not clothes, however, but Vinylmations.

Vinylmations aren't simply the main product in the store, but the main piece of decoration as well. For instance, one of the signs hanging from the ceiling consists of 1,255 Vinylmations hanging from 81 rods with 15 and a half figures on each rod, and it weighs 196 pounds. One of the tables in the store consists of 782 Vinylmations underneath a piece of glass.

On top of the table is a Mickey that is made up of several small Vinylmations. However, the Vinylmations here don't consist of actual Vinylmations, but were created in a very interesting way. In the near future Disney will be releasing a Vinylmation ice tray. Using one of these ice trays they filled the trays with silicon, connected all of the Vinylmations to a structure and then hand painted all of them to match the look of Mickey.

In addition to these decorations they have taken several props from around Walt Disney World (and the world) to give the store a unique look. For instance just after walking into the store you will see a Zebra bookcase on your right hand side. If this looks familiar it's due to the fact that it once had a home in the Adventurer's Club. This isn't the only prop that fellow Adventurer's may recognize however. If you look at the far wall from the entrance you will see several props on a ledge on the right hand side of the store that also once had a home in the Adventurer's Club.

Just below the ledge you will see a glass display case that was actually relocated to D Street from the Contemporary Resort. The final item relocated to D Street is actually the hag hanging in the main lobby area. This hag made the farthest trip of all coming from the now closed World of Disney in New York City.

While going through the rest of the store be on the look out for several characters drawn upon the walls like Cruella De Ville, Cheshire Cat, Pluto, Peg Leg Pete, and Foulfellow. Behind the cash register is a very large, but very cool hidden Mickey made out of bricks, while the clouds in the entrance area form Vinylmation Mickey's.

The ceremonies kicked off today with speed painter Rock Demarco. Here's footage:

Following Rock Demarco's presentation Walt Disney World Ambassador Clay Schumacher welcomed us to the event and introduced Vice President of Downtown Disney, Keith Bradford. Keith talks a little bit about the store and introduces the cast members of D Street. Vice President of Merchandise/Product Design and Development Kelly Coleman talks about the unique features in the store and welcomes us to the store.

Finally we were presented with some amazing dance moves by Mickey Mouse himself and three cast members:

Overall, D Street has a great feel to it and the cast members, as always, are extremely friendly and helpful. If you love Vinylmation collecting or great theming, make sure you stop by D Street on your next trip! It's well worth it.

Yesterday Disney announced their plans for this Summer’s Nightastic plans in Walt Disney World. With last summer’s success with Summer exclusive events at Disneyland, the Company decided to give Walt Disney World a shot.

Leading the list of exciting changes is the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade which ran in the Magic Kingdom from 1977 through 1991 and 1999 through 2001. Joining the parade for the very first time are Pinocchio and Snow White floats, along with LED lighting.

In addition to the parade changes, the Tower of Terror will be receiving new lighting effects along with some new drop sequences. Keeping with the Nightastic theme, Disney’s Animal Kingdom will receive some extended hours so guests can play in the park a little later than usual.

Back over in the Magic Kingdom, Wishes, my personal favorite Disney experience, will be replaced for the summer by a different fireworks extravaganza starting in June.

All changes are planned to last through the Summer and nothing has been said about whether or not these experiences will continue after the Summer is over.

While exploring the Beach and Yacht Clubs today I found a new reference that is not in the books. While walking around the Beach Club near the rooms you can find pictures of Sebastian, Flounder, and one of the fish from the "Under the Sea" sequence of the film.

After my trip to Disneyland this past week, I wanted to give you an update on all of the fun and exciting additions coming to Disney's California Resort.

First off, there are walls EVERYWHERE! The Silly Symphony Swings look to be complete. Band Concert Mickey is on the top while all of the other characters from The Band Concert are flying around in the center pole. They did several tests without guests while I was there, but from a visual standpoint, it looks like it is ready to go.

The trolley tracks that are being added to the Hollywood Backlot area are complete for the most part. The only section that still has a wall around it is near Playhouse Disney.

Now for the big three. Let's start with World of Color. World of Color looks like it is all set to go. They have been testing the show on an almost nightly basis. While in line for Toy Story Midway Mania they were actually testing the water screen (without anything projected on it). The size of the water screen is massive and extremely impressive. I did get an insider source saying that they are changing up a lot of the scenes in the actual show right now since some higher ups felt the show was too scary for the younger audience. This caused a lot of the merchandise that was already created featuring characters like Chernabog to be taken back.

The Little Mermaid attraction is being built quite quickly. You can see the frame of the main building being put up in place. The coolest part of the area right now are all of the signs on the side advertising the future opening of the attraction.

Cars Land looks AMAZING! From the top of Mickey's Fun Wheel you can see that the track has been laid out and looks to be almost complete! Other than the track and a bunch of dirt, there is not a lot to see, but the size of the land is very impressive.

Unfortunately the pictures I had taken for this update are not loading to my computer right now, but as soon as I fix the problem they will be up for your viewing pleasure!

On September 12, 1986 Captain EO premiered in Walt Disney World. The 3D film starring Michael Jackson and Anjelica Huston, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and produced by George Lucas, would open 6 days later in Disneyland and instantly became a hit in both parks.

The story focused around Captain EO, played by Michael Jackson, and his crew of aliens and robots (Fuzzball, Idey, Ody, Major Domo, Minor Domo, and Hooter) as they fly in their spaceship to deliver a message to an evil alien leader, the White Witch, played by Anjelica Huston.

After the crew arrives they are captured and Captain EO points out that there is beauty within the White Witch still. Captain EO and his crew then begin to mesmerize the White Witch and her guards by singing, “We Are Here to Change the World.” Right in the middle of the song, Hooter breaks his instrument which in turn breaks the spell EO has placed over the White Witch and her crew.

Eventually, Captain EO would sing his way to victory and his crew would fly away in their spaceship knowing that they had changed the world.

While the attraction was popular, it eventually became dated and would close in Walt Disney World on July 6, 1994 and in Disneyland on April 7, 1997. While fans did try to bring the attraction back by writing to Disney, it seemed like all hope was loss for its return.

Things changed on June 25, 2009, however, when Michael Jackson, Captain EO himself, passed away. Disney fans around the country began to demand that Captain EO should return to the Disney parks to honor the King of Pop. Their demands were heard and today, February 23, 2010, Captain EO will return to Disneyland for a brief stay as he once again will try to change the world.

As of today, the Walt Disney Company has run longer without Walt as it did with him by one day.