Today was the first day of the 2013 Flower and Garden Festival which is celebrating it's 20th year this year! Here are just a few of the pictures I have taken today (with some descriptions)! Enjoy!

Donald, Daisy, and Badminton greet guests at the entrance to this years Festival!

Buzz Lightyear hangs out in front of Mission: SPACE

Where the old Pixie Hollow area sat, Radiator Springs now resides

It's the Circle of Life!

Monsters, University greets guests at the entrance to World Showcase

Only time I'll allow trolling on my website

A dragon! A dragon! I swear I saw a dragon!

Germany has a miniature Flower and Garden Festival occurring!

Snow White and all Seven Dwarfs

Lady and Tramp greet guests in Italy

Lotso!

Belle and Beast

The enchanted objects from Beauty and the Beast sit on the waters edge

So this is love

Winnie the Pooh and friends

Peter Pan stands triumph atop a building while Hook is pursued by Tick-Tock

Inside the Festival Center, located in the old Wonders of Life pavilion, guests can attend different seminars. One of the greatest sections of this area, is a look at Disney Legend Bill Evans!

I know a lot of people out there have grown up with Winnie the Pooh or have a special place in their heart for Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and the rest of the Hundred Acre Woods.

Next summer, Winnie the Pooh will return to theatres with a brand new movie. Today, Disney released the newest trailer and here it is:

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

A few weeks ago I discussed the special Limited Time Magic event known as Long Lost Friends Week. During this week guests were given the chance to meet characters that are rarely found in the parks anymore. It was a great event and one that got me excited for future weeks dealing with Meet and Greets.

This week, in honor of Valentine's Day, Disney is hosting True Love Week! While the Disney Princesses are regular meet and greet characters, the princes, for the most part, are absent (even ones like Charming and Beast who actually made their princesses the royalty they are today). To make up for that, and give the princesses a chance to be with their loved ones for this special day, the Disney Princes are joining the Disney Princesses for this week only!

Today I woke up bright and early and rushed on over to Town Square for the opportunity to snap a few shots with some of these often forgotten heroes. The three couples, which were all surprisingly chatty, were Cinderella and Prince Charming, Aurora and Phillip, and Rapunzel and Flynn Rider (or Eugene as he introduced himself).

After pointing out to Prince Charming that it was good to hear him speak more than a few lines he explained he was grateful for the meet and greet so people would know he had a voice.

Phillip took full advantage of the fact that guests were actually meeting him for a change. He was a chatterbox and his constant gabbing almost put Aurora to sleep again!

Rapunzel and Flynn were a lot of fun, as usual. It got to the point where we tried to find Paschal and Flynn began to shake the flowers shaped like a heart behind us. He wasn't there.

In addition to these three couples, guests could also meet Mary Poppins and Bert in Fantasyland. Also in Fantasyland guests had the opportunity to get a picture in front of Cinderella's pumpkin coach as well! Both lines were fairly long for both of these. If you do get a chance to stop by before True Love Week ends, I highly suggest getting a Fastpass for the Princess Meet and Greet instead of waiting in the regular line (which got up to 120 minutes yesterday).

Have a Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Late in 2012 I was extremely excited about the special theme for Disney parks in the year 2013: Limited Time Magic. The concept? Each week a different themed event will be occurring in the Disney parks and it will only last for one week only. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Well, honestly, the first few weeks I was fairly disappointed with the themed weeks. Celebrating the New Year every hour in Tomorrowland was slightly disappointing and the Canadian meet and greet was good, but too random. This past week however, we got our Long Lost Friends week and I have to say I couldn't be happier.

The concept of the week was guests would have the chance to meet characters who are rarely in the parks anymore, if ever. While the lines were insane later in the day (when I could typically go) I did get a chance to run over yesterday morning to meet the characters I didn't get to meet earlier in the week. So which characters were there? Take a look below!

The best part about the themed week was Disney's response to it. Due to its popularity there will most likely be at least one more Long Lost Friends week at some point during the year and rumors have already begun to be heard on Hunchback of Notre Dame or Hercules characters, or even everyone's favorite rabbit, Oswald! If any of these characters do show up, believe me, I'll be one of the first ones in line!

With Wreck-It Ralph coming to theaters this weekend, Ralph and Vannelope have made their way over to The Magic of Disney Animation building at Disney's Hollywood Studios for a new meet and greet opportunity!

The line takes guests through Game Central Station. While going through, guests can see what the video game characters can see from their point of view of being inside the game!

Entrance to the line

The dreaded Cybug!

Fix-It Felix Jr. and an out of order game (from in the game!)

The update board on past games has some very clever shout outs!

Moore is a nod to Rich Moore, director of Wreck-It Ralph while JL is a nod to John Lasseter

Overall, the Meet and Greet area is very well themed and the character interaction was very well done! Make sure you go meet these two great characters on your next visit!

Just two days ago we reported additions to Storybook Circus, but at the time Pete's Silly Sideshow was unfortunately still closed. Today the new character meet and greet area opened giving guests a new opportunity to meet Minnie, Daisy, Donald, and Goofy (in their alter ego forms!)!

In front of the entrance you can find Pete leaning against the Melody Time Brass Horn Band machine. Upon the machine you can find two references to former Disney films. Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom, Disney's 1953 short cartoon which also was the first CinemaScope short cartoon has a nod on the top of the machine, while the name of the machine itself is a nice nod to Disney's 1948 animated feature film, Melody Time!

After entering the tent you can find signs for Minnie and Daisy (if you go through their line on the left) or Goofy and Donald (line on the right) describing what is in store for you!

Daisy and Minnie

Donaldo and Goofini

After passing the signs you enter inside of Pete's mouth (this reminds me of the creepy clown slide at the Boardwalk) where the characters await!

On the left you will find Daisy and Minnie!

Madame Daisy Fortuna!

Minnie Magnifique!

On the other side of the line you can meet up with Goofini and Donaldo!

The Great Goofini!

The Astounding Donaldo!

Overall, the character interactions were great, however, Donald and Goofy really got into their roles of not being themselves, but Goofini and Donaldo while Minnie and Daisy mainly just gave hugs and kisses and posed for pictures. I spent at least five minutes with Goofy as he showed me everything there. With Storybook Circus finally being complete, I can honestly say that I love it! It has become one of my favorite sections of Magic Kingdom with Dumbo's lit up fountains to the detail inside of the Big Top! There is so much to see and the detail is incredible! I love it!

Storybook Circus almost doubled in size two days ago. Today was my first chance to head on over there and see the new additions to this extremely detailed area!

This giant banner found in the Fastpass machine area shows the final product of Storybook Circus!

Let's start by taking a look at the new shop, Big Top Souvenirs!

Entrance from the front

Entrance from the side

This new shop, which has a very similar feel to the old Toontown Hall of Fame tent, continues the circus theme! The center piece brings back the popular short cartoon character, Humphrey the Bear and his treat stand!

The top looks like an actual big top!

The different sections of the store are set up to look like animal carts. My favorite is the refrigerator is the Penguins home!

The floor is one of the coolest parts of the shop! Extremely detailed!!!!

The new Cast Member costumes for the section!

While the shop sells the typical merchandise of any other Disney shop, the look and feel truly makes you feel like you are at the circus! Just outside of the back door is my favorite part of the expansion so far, however. The Magic Kingdom has never had an area where guests can just simply sit back and relax at...until now!

The area features a pretzel and hot dog cart

The outdoor seating section has tables meant to look like trampolines!

The better portion of the section is actually located inside near the new Fastpass machines for Dumbo and The Barnstormer!

Fastpasses for Barnstormer? YES!

While the Fastpass machines aren't anything to get excited about, the chairs in the area definitely are! Found around typical picnic tables are different benches and stools. Some of the stools are actually "buckets" flipped upside down with each bucket belonging to a different Disney character that makes their home at Storybook Circus!

Al Gator (Fantasia), Donald, and Practical (as in Pig) are just three of the characters with these awesome chairs!

Unfortunately, Pete's Silly Sideshow isn't open yet, but according to the Cast Members, it should be open in the coming weeks! Here is a shot of the entrance for this character meet and greet area!

Today I checked out the new Perry the Platypus game in World Showcase after attempting to do so the past few days. Your secret agent mission starts at the same starting point as Kim Possible used to. Our agent put us under an umbrella while pointing out that we were "under cover" and prepared us for our mission. He asked for my last name and the rest of the time my phone referred to me as Agent D!

I was given my phone and the mission was underway!

My mission took me to France where Phineas and Ferb just happened to be on vacation as well! Unfortunately, Dr. Doofinshmirtz was also in the area trying to woo a lady who he talked to on the phone. Much like the television show, the storyline between our battle against him and Phineas and Ferb's trip to a museum went hand in  hand!

Much like Kim Possible, the game was very interactive with the surroundings. A lot of the old interactive sections were open as well including the old smell test in France!

While the majority of the interactions are the same, there was one addition that was extremely cool! I give you, zip-lining Perry!

While most things have been updated for the new adventures, there was one mistake that I'm sure they are still working on. At the end of the mission you are instructed to put your phone away and the following picture shows up:

As you can see the old KP (Kim Possible) logo is there!

Overall, the game was entertaining, but a lot more time consuming than Kim Possible was. It was cool watching a brand new storyline for Phineas and Ferb right there on the phone, but at the same time the story does take up a lot of time at some points. While it's great to get a full story, it's also too bad since guests have to put aside even more time than usual for gameplay.

I do recommend checking it out. Like Kim Possible, it allows you to explore the countries with a different intention!

Today I was walking past Dumbo the Flying Elephant and was greeted by an amazing surprise! Guests were actually entering the tent where the interactive queue is at!

Naturally I jumped in line and after about a five minute wait to get inside I found lights galore and a brand some signs explaining what was going on inside the tent:

Unfortunately the area was not open today, but I was able to grab a few pictures. As you can see from the picture on the left the scene from Dumbo has been reenacted where Dumbo must jump from a burning building. The play area on the bottom section of the picture is intended for younger children. The picture on the right shows Dumbo flying overhead! In fact, he just keeps flying around in circles! In addition to that you can find the play area in the background which features exciting attractions like The Human Cannonball!

While the area may not be 100% ready to go, the excitement that this new waitless queue has in store seems extremely promising and I can't wait to experience it!

Today I headed over to see if the new Agent P interactive game that replaced Kim Possible was open yet. Unfortunately, according to all the Cast Members I talked to, the soft opening only went from 11 til 1 today. I did explore the different interactive areas that were around for Kim Possible and did find a new image on all the drop boxes. Below is a picture of the new symbol along with the old one:

In addition to that, I love the new Cast Member costumes!

Unfortunately there are no set times for the soft openings for this new interactive adventure, however, I will be returning tomorrow in hopes to be one of the first guests to try out this new game! Keep stopping by for when I do play for a full review!

Today Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station had its soft opening. I stopped by and took the following pictures of the newest area. Starting off with the sign out front:

In the center of the area you will find the star of the attraction Casey Jr. pulling the giraffe and elephant cart.

On the far corner you can find the monkeys causing havoc on top of the clown car:

On the back of the four main cars you can find car numbers. Each of the numbers represent a different year a Walt Disney World park opened. On the back of the monkey car is 82 (for Epcot):

On the back of the elephant car is 71 (Magic Kingdom) while the giraffes are 89 (Hollywood Studios):

On the back of the camel car is 98 (for Animal Kingdom):

After spending quite a bit of time in the new area, it is a must see for fans of Dumbo and families with kids. Several parents were lounging around while their kids played. I do suggest bringing a change of clothes since the word soak is not being used lightly. You will get soaked, no questions asked!

Also in Fantasyland is a brand new meet and greet area for Winnie the Pooh. It's located where the original Tigger jump area was for the interactive queue. Below is a picture of the welcome sign and meet and greet location:

A few days ago I explored Fantasyland to get some pictures of the progress of the Expansion. Today's update mainly focuses on the signs in the area. The first image was a tough one to look at. The amazing Snow White's Scary Adventure sign has now been replaced:

Here's a picture of what it looked like on the night of closing:

While heading towards Storybook Circus I made a stop at Winnie the Pooh and near the boarding area snapped the next picture. This is the area where Gaston's Tavern and the gift shops are going to be! Not the greatest picture, but gives you an idea of how far along they are:

Storybook Circus is making advancements every day! The first notable one is the new entrance sign for Dumbo (and yes, I believe that is the Timothy that used to sit on top of the original Dumbo)! The interactive queue area has been in testing on and off the last week, but sadly, I have never been able to catch it yet.

The final area that is making a lot of progress (and should be in soft opening soon) is Casey Jr. Splash 'N' Soak Station! There is a new sign out front, along with the rules for the area being added near the entrance. In addition to that, I snapped a picture through the fence so you can see what lies ahead!

Some pictures for tonight's episode:

Just a few days after exploring the cart near the Brave Meet and Greet area, the meet and greet opened up in a soft opening phase yesterday! I missed meeting Merida by just a few guests yesterday so I woke up early and made sure I was one of the first in line today. Below is a video, and some pictures of the new area! Enjoy!

Not the greatest video, but gives you an idea of the meet and greet experience. The bears did a different interaction with each guest up there as well which is very cool! Can you find the Hidden Mickey in the picture below?

A better shot of the Mickey:

Also while waiting in line you can color or shoot a bow and arrow!

Merida's autograph:

Today our very own Hidden Mickey Alex and I were wondering around the Magic Kingdom and came across the old Tangled meet and greet area which will soon be home to Princess Merida from the Disney/Pixar film, Brave! While there we noticed that a lot of new merchandise for Brave has been set up at the cart just next to the area!

As you can see below guests can now buy Princess Merida dolls, crowns, and wigs (which is what the box on the bottom right contains):

For those little girls that are sick of dressing up like Belle, Tiana, Cinderella, Ariel, etc. there should be some relieve that they can now wear a spanking new green dress. And if that's not all, a very cool purple t-shirt featuring Merida.

Want to quench your thirst? Might as well get a Brave water bottle with a top featuring Hamish, one of the adorable bears from the film. If that's not good enough, check out the awesome bow and arrow (that even though I know I don't need I'll probably own in the near future)!

The item that Alex and I agreed is sure to be a hit are the two stuffed animals pictured below. Guests can now own Merida's horse Angus or, my personal favorite, Hamish!

What do you think of the Brave merchandise? Are there any items that are must haves for you? Share your thoughts over in our Forums!

It's Earth Day which means Disney's Animal Kingdom is celebrating its 14th birthday today! So naturally, I headed over today to participate in all the festivities! I'd like to start by pointing out that if you have never been to Disney's Animal Kingdom on Earth Day you must put it on your bucket list for things to do at Disney.

All around the park there are different activities going on helping guests to celebrate Earth Day. For instance, over at Maharajah Jungle Trek there is a game where you get a clipboard with a shopping list upon it. You then have to look at a table filled with items, half of which are good for the environment and half which are not. After you complete the activity you receive a button and a postcard that you can take to the other three locations throughout the park!

Over at the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail we went on a search for signs of Chimpanzees in honor of the new Disney Nature film being released this past Friday. While there we searched for chimp dung, termite mounds, nests, and footprints. Of course afterwards, we got another button and keep the card!

While Disney's Animal Kingdom is the place to be on Earth Day, the location that celebrates this holiday the most is Rafiki's Planet Watch!

While there we searched for birds inside a tree while identifying them (with a card to help identify) and after finishing, we received the coolest notebook ever. Trust me, this will be in use for future books, Fun Finds, and more!

While inside Cast Members played a game with guests to learn how cell phones go through being built to recycled and how it affects the environment. After completion, guests received the final button!

Rafiki's Planet Watch also had freebies galore, practically ever Cast Member that works at the Conservation Station working, and a whole lot more. One of the greatest souvenirs of all though, was a miniature poster for Chimpanzee. Happy Earth Day everyone!

Today I attended a D23 Tweet Meet over at the Sunshine Tree Terrace in Adventureland.

The Sunshine Tree Terrace has been going through a major refurb over the past few months and to celebrate its joyous return D23 had a special get together for 65 D23 members and their guests at 8AM (I'm still in shock I got up in time).

The Sunshine Tree Terrace originally opened with the Magic Kingdom back in 1971, but it had something very unique about it: The Orange Bird! Now who is the Orange Bird and what is his story?

The Orange Bird was created in 1969 by Disney as the mascot for the Florida Citrus Growers who, at the time, sponsored The Sunshine Tree Terrace and the attraction attached to it, Tropical Serenade (aka, The Enchanted Tiki Room). The Orange Bird, although created by Disney, was technically not a Disney character yet still did meet and greets in Adventureland back in the 1970s!

Unfortunately The Orange Bird disappeared in 1986 and became a member of Disney's past...until now.

So what's new with the Orange Birds return? Well, as you can see from the picture above The Orange Bird now is featured on the Sunshine Tree Terrace sign, but that's not all! A brand new poster has been added to the Main Street Train Station featuring the Orange Bird and the Sunshine Tree Terrace:

In addition to that while at the Sunshine Tree Terrace you'll find a nice familiar face looking down at you behind the counter. The Orange Bird here has a very interesting story to go along with it. When the Sunshine Tree Terrace first opened you could find The Orange Bird behind the counter, but in 1986 he disappeared with the retheming of the spot. When Disney decided to bring back The Orange Bird they sent the picture of the Orange Bird around the company to see if anyone had seen the original. Luckily, someone knew where it was, they cleaned it up and returned him to his former home!

Naturally, The Orange Bird, being such a lovable fellow, has inspired some new merchandise. The signature is the Orange Bird cup you can purchase at the Sunshine Tree Terrace (which is actually a redone version of the most popular Orange Bird item from the 70s):

As you can see from the sign in the back of the picture there is additional Orange Bird merchandise available at the Agrabah Bazaar. Over there you can find two brand new shirts, a smaller version of the Main Street Train Station poster, and a new Orange Bird pin:

The final piece of merchandise they announced was new Mickey Mouse ears themed towards The Orange Bird. These aren't out until June, but here's a picture of me with the designer and the only pair of ears that exist (as you can see 8AM is way too early for me)!

Overall it was a great event and it's always great to see an old character return to glory. Now if someone could just get bring back my friend the Dreamfinder...

Today I decided to check out the brand new Innoventions game, Habit Heroes, over at Epcot.

I haven't done a ton of reading up on Habit Heroes so I really wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I knew it was super hero themed in a way and it had to do with bad habits. So what's the game like? Let's take a look!

The entrance to Habit Heroes

When you first arrive there is little clue as to what you will encounter once you enter inside the brand new game. Your first stop is in a mysterious alley located just outside of Will Powers (get it, will power) Gymnasium. Once you enter the gym (which features a door leading to the trainer, Callie Stenics, room. Calisthenics being a form of aerobics), a clip show is presented about how back in the day people did a great job of working out and staying healthy, but recently things have gone wrong!

Enter our hosts, Will and Callie (Will Power and Callie Stenics that is), who instruct us that today they are going to help us turn into Habit Heroes as we defeat things like obesity and unhealthy eating! Our subject? Help a teenage boy (who is hands down my new favorite Disney theme park character) defeat these nasty habits! I know, I wasn't expecting a workout, but man did I get one! You are then divided into four teams by receiving a different color bracelet and are sent into the first room where we must defeat our television watching habits!

This is the most recent footage Disney could find of people actually working out

Will, our overly enthusiastic teenage friend, and Callie

Yay! I became part of the yellow team (my favorite color)

Once you enter the room there are several stations with four buttons (red, yellow, blue, and green) upon them. During the game the screens which circle the entire room above these stations will have televisions falling. You must blow up the television by pushing the buttons! Sounds easy, right? Not even a little! All of the televisions falling from the air are one of the four different colors and you are only allowed to push the television that corresponds with your colored bracelet.

To make things even tougher, half way through the game the televisions are multicolored so you must work with the other teams to destroy certain televisions! Once you complete the level, and work up a sweat, you realize that our subject (my buddy the teenager) may have gotten rid of his television obsession, but now he's starting to eat unhealthy! Enter the next room!

Oh no! He's going for the yogurt!

The next room wasn't explained in full detail to us, but you enter and face one of two delicious looking walls:

I really didn't see what was so bad about this town, but apparently all of this is unhealthy

In front of you is a gun (similar to the one found at Toy Story Midway Mania) where you must shoot fruits and vegetables at the buildings found in this (amazingly delicious looking, really wish it existed type of) town. In between a fairy flies around who you must shoot as well. The more you hit a building the more it begins to disintegrate while showing us that healthy eating always overpowers unhealthy choices!

After you complete your task, you move onto the next room where you must fight the notorious Leadbottom!

Leadbottom!!!

That's right! This dude is scary! You enter the room and upon the ground are sixteen lit up circles. Once everyone has chosen a circle to stand on, Will and Callie join you on screen to defeat Leadbottom. In order to defeat him, we must exercise! That's right! Will and Callie take us through a series of exercise moves trying to encourage Leadbottom to participate as well. The more you work out, the more he does too, the less you work out, the more he stands there.

Overall, this was exhausting, BUT a lot of fun! I think I may start attending Will Powers gym instead of the gym I don't go to right now. The game may not be for everyone, but it is worth checking out at least once mainly to see the hilarious acting of the teenager. Trust me, he's hilarious!

As you can see from my ripping biceps and nonexistent gut, I've been fighting bad habits for years.

Today while at the Magic Kingdom I received an amazing surprise! They were doing test runs for the new interactive Magic Kingdom game, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom! What is Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom?

Well, it all begins over at the Main Street Fire House (which now has a semi new look) where you receive a map, a key, and five cards that will help you on our quest. You are then greeted by Merlin (yes, from The Sword in the Stone) who informs you that Hades, ruler of the Underworld, has stolen crystals that keep the Magic Kingdom together and has given several different Disney villains the task of protecting them for him.

You are then given a location to go to somewhere in the park to start your mission. My first assignment was Fantasyland where I learned that Maleficent was causing trouble, starting off by kidnapping Flora, Fauna, and Merriweather. But how does the station work exactly?

First you place your key against a padlock at the location and then stand on the Sorcerer sign on the ground and a window display with start the animation.

Your key!

While fighting the villains you cast different spells on them in order to defeat them. The five cards I got are the following:

Each attack has a different level and unique animation that goes with the game. Unfortunately, right now the attack levels don't result in anything differently, but supposedly they will in the future. If you take a look at one of the cards closer you'll see the following:

If you look at it closely you'll see that each card has a rhyme that goes along with the card, but even cooler is just above the castle tower! Here you see that this card is 05/70, meaning that every time you play you will most likely get a different set of cards which gives guests a great reason to continue going back to the game and playing over and over again!

As you can see from the maps below, there are several different locations for guests to interact and fight off these villainous no gooders:

Today I played four different missions. One in Fantasyland (against Maleficent), two in Liberty Square/Frontierland (one against Dr. Faciler fro Princess and the Frogs and the other against Governor Radcliffe from Pocahontas), and then my favorite in Adventureland (against Yzma from The Emperor's New Groove)!

Overall, the game was a lot of fun! It reminded me a lot of Kim Possible, but brought a lot of characters from animated films that we all know and love! It was great having the characters thrown in the park in not a right in your face way and now I must head off and try to collect all the cards!

A few months ago Disney announced that a large portion of Downtown Disney was going to be getting a makeover. Part of this was Pleasure Island's transformation into Hyperion Wharf, but the part that a lot of people I know were most excited about was the expansion of the Lego Store!

Well my friends, the wait is finally over. While the inside of the store is just slightly larger, the exterior got some new additions that will please any Disney fan! Take a look and enjoy!

Maleficent and Prince Phillip dual it out...Lego Style!

"This isn't flying. This is falling. With style."

Snow White and Dopey share a moment.

Bambi and Thumper?

While Dopey hangs out with Snow White, the other six dwarfs bring home the big bucks.

Even the Lego family has gotten a makeover! Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Pirate's League have never looked so good (well, that's not true)!

I know we already had an update today, but here's another one!

The Mad Tea Party's refurbishment is over and the coloring is a little different, but it's still the same attraction we all know and love! A cast member told me she heard the color scheme is to match that area of Fantasyland after the expansion is finished!

I also took another trip on Dumbo to get some pictures of the progress of Fantasyland. Enjoy pictures of both the Mad Tea Party and the expansion!

This Thanksgiving Tangled, the newest Disney animated film, will be released. To help guests get excited about this new film Rapunzel and Flynn Rider, the stars of the film, have begun to meet guests in between the United Kingdom and Canada pavilions in Epcot.

Below is some video footage of my interactions with them yesterday, along with the picture. Beginning October 24, 2010, these two will be starring in a new show over at the Fairytale Garden, the former home of Story Time with Belle. Keep watching the updates section to read all about that show on the 24th. Until then, I hope you enjoy the video!

Today I rode Dumbo so I could get a few pictures of the progress of the Fantasyland Expansion. The first pictures are of the Under the Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction. The next group are of Beast's Castle for the Be Our Guest restaurant. And the final pictures are of the Mad Tea Party and the progress of the refurb going on over there.

The Little Mermaid attraction:

Beast's Castle for the Be Our Guest Restaurant:

Mad Tea Party:  

Today a new character joined the Epcot family and this time it wasn't a creature with two tiny wings, eyes big and yellow, but he is indeed a marvelous fellow! He is the one and only Duffy.

Now I know what you are thinking, "Who is Duffy?" That's a great question! Duffy is a bear, but not just any bear. You see, a few years back Disney released a new stuffed animal called the Disney Bear. The Disney Bear was full of Mickey marks on  his paws and face and was fairly popular. Eventually he made his way to Tokyo Disneyland and became a superstar with the name of Duffy.

Not only is Duffy a star over there, some Cast Members that are good will ambassadors from Tokyo Disneyland that are currently working at Epcot told me that Duffy is the second most popular character in Tokyo, right after Mickey.

Starting today you can now buy your own Duffy stuffed animal, Duffy key chains, and if you really want to dress Duffy up, you can buy him his own clothing (with different costumes for each World Showcase pavilion).

Here are some pictures of the Duffy meet and greet area:

Here's the Duffy story:

Duffy Mania hits the stores!

While working today on the W.E.D.nesday Show! I was flooded with messages...well, three people wrote to me, about something in the parks that I truly love disappearing.

I, like everyone else, love Walt Disney World. But unlike most people, I realize there is tons of freebies throughout the parks and my favorite is the Block Party Bash balls that are shot out at the end of each party zone during Block Party Bash.

Unfortunately as of January 1, 2011, Block Party Bash will just be a memory in most people's minds, but for me it will be the end of a dream. In the past I have talked about creating a giant ball pit filled with Block Party Bash balls and now I realize that I really need to step up my game even more. I have over 50 of these marvelous Nerf balls, but I have far from a pit full.

With the disappearance of Block Party Bash, Disney did announce they will have a new Pixar inspired parade taking the place of Block Party Bash at Disney's Hollywood Studios starting January 16, 2011. Included in the parade will be Carl and Russell from UP along with Remy and Emile from Ratatouille. 

One can only hope that at the end of this new parade there will be guns that shoot Nerf balls at us. If not, there will be one Disney author silently crying knowing he has one pathetic looking ball pit.

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.

Today was a HUGE day! The Disney Dream arrived in Port Canaveral early in the morning and Cast Members and construction workers cleaned up the ship and performed different drills throughout the day.

Realizing that I am only an hour away from where the Disney Dream was I went to see it early this morning (but not early enough to see it arrive unfortunately) and got some pictures!

As seen here, it is roughly the size of a pickup truck:

Herbie longing for life at sea:

While at Disney's Animal Kingdom the other day, I had a question about the Tree of Life for Guest Relations. Unfortunately they couldn't answer my question, BUT they did bring to my attention a hidden Mrs. Potts and Chip, from Beauty and the Beast, which never made it into From Screen to Theme. This is very debatable whether or not this is meant to be Chip and Mrs. Potts so I will let you decide for yourselves!

The one on the left is Chip and the one on the right is Mrs. Potts. Scroll down to see the same two characters with added features to give you a better idea of where what is!

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.

Just a couple of a years ago a brand new Disney video game took the world by storm, Epic Mickey (read all about it over here). The plot of the game was simple: Mickey Mouse traveled to a world known as Wasteland, a land where all the forgotten Disney characters and attractions now reside.

While the game wasn't the most exciting game in the world, for huge Disney fans like myself it was amazing to explore areas and meet characters that very few people actually remember. The star of the game, however, was Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Oswald has had an extremely interesting life compared to most Disney characters. He was Mickey Mouse's predecessor and was eventually taken from Walt and became the property of Universal where he was practically never heard from again.

Luckily for Disney, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit returned home in the 2000s when Bob Iger decided to trade sports announcer Al Michaels for the Lucky Rabbit. While Oswald remained jobless for the most part, in 2010 Epic Mickey debuted and a brand new group of Disney fans learned of this forgotten character. The game was so popular that it has inspired a sequel, Epic Mickey 2 (which comes out on Mickey's birthday this year) and recently Disney released the storyline for the game which you can watch below. Enjoy!

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