It takes 24,000 cast member hours to make the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival happen. But that’s just a number until you’re able to actually see the work behind it all — so, how about an exclusive peek? Take a look at overnight time-lapse video featuring the creation of an area containing three of the more than 70 Disney character topiaries in the park this year. Notice how many hands touch it

Extras:

• Click Here (large file – 14 megs) to view The Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival 2010 guide map.

If there was ever an undiscovered treasure in Walt Disney World, it’s Tom Sawyer Island and Ft. Langhorn, located in the Magic Kingdom.

Tom Sawyer Island is a lushly-landscaped outdoor playground in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom theme park where children of all ages can relive the rustic 19th-century adventures depicted in the novels of Mark Twain.

The wooded island is surrounded by the pastoral Rivers of America, and the only way to reach the island is aboard a raft that docks at Tom’s Landing near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Sail across the river to romp through dense forests, forge rugged trails, cross swinging suspension bridges, explore mysterious caves, take shelter in a frontier fort built from unfinished timber and embark on mischievous, playful adventures—just like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Discover hidden treasures for those who care to do a little exploring; highlights include the mysterious jewels hidden deep in the dark caves, the creaky waterwheel at Harper’s Mill, the bouncy barrel bridge and Fort Langhorn with its twisting escape tunnel.

How do you get there?
To get to Tom Sawyer island, you’ll take one of four small rafts from Tom’s Landing located across from Big Thunder Rail Road. The rafts are all named for characters in the book: Injun Joe, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher and Tom Sawyer. Each raft carries about 55 people and contrary to popular belief, they do not run on rails or tracks but are free floating vessels.

Early in the morning, cast members hide several paintbrushes for guests to find. If you find one, let a cast member know and you’ll be rewarded with a small prize, such as a soft drink or a pass to get to the front of the line of an attraction, for your entire group. The island is a great place for kids to stretch their legs and for parents to relax and since it’s Disney, it’s all very safe. Kids will love climbing up and down the stairs at Fort Langhorn and exploring all the rooms. From the lookout towers, they can fire popguns at imaginary targets.

Tom Sawyer Island usually opens at 10:00 a.m. and closes at Dusk. Be sure to check the daily schedule for the exact closing time. If you want to get a snack, Aunt Polly’s Place sells sandwiches and refreshments. It’s open seasonally. Even when it’s closed, Aunt Polly’s makes a great place to sit and relax; consider bringing a sack lunch and eating it there.

Foldable strollers are allow on the Island, but must be folded before boarding the raft. Most people will find strollers hard to use on the island as the paths are not made for them and there are a lot of steps. Still for some it is the only way to get around the large island.

Location:
Magic Kingdom Theme Park Frontierland

Height Requirement:
Any Height

Category:
Fun for Everyone Outdoor

Pictures:

• The Dock
• Raft
• Fort
• View
• Map

“By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn’t care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It’s the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits – “Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast ,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” and more – over a 10-year period.” … source Disney.com

Fast Tube

For more information Click Here

In line at Space Mountain if you look at the Matterhorn at an angle. You will see something that looks like a classic Mickey. You can only really get the Mickey shape by standing far to the left (the side where Finding Nemo is) of the Mountain and as high as you can go (i.e. in line for Space Mountain).

The best viewing point is from the entrance to the innovations Dream Home.

If you have any Hidden Mickey’s you would like displayed please submit them to our Facebook Fans photo album with a caption and we will add it. You can join us on Facebook by Clicking Here or copy paste this address in your browser: http://www.facebook.com/pages/D23Magic/305071331473 .

Have a Magical Day

• Animated Feature Film – UP
• Music (Original Score) – UP

Congratulations Disney Animation and Pixar!

The City of Marceline, Missouri (the future boyhood home of Walt Disney) is incorporated. Located 6 miles south of US Highway 36 on Missouri Highway 5, the Disneys will arrive in Marceline in 1906 and stay for about 4 years.

Here are some easy steps to ensure good weather and less crowds on your magical vacation to Disney World!

Decide what kind of weather you would like.

If you want to get a tan and spend part of the day by the pool, avoid November through beginning of February.
If you want to stay warm but dread 100% humidity and unbearably hot days, avoid July and August.

Next, is it important to you to be apart of Holiday festivities? Even though it is gorgeous at Christmas, as the parks decorate to the max and parades and events are countless, expect heavy crowds and colder weather. My favorite time of the year.

Very Busy: (reminder the parks will close down if they are overfilled)

June – School’s out, it’s the middle of the year and vacation time begins being used
August – The last of the summer months… Again, kids are still off and people want to get in their last minute vacations
December – Tons of time off for both students and employees. Lots of attractions draw crowds and families are together for holidays.

Avoid Holiday Weekends:

January – New Years Eve/New Years Day
February – Presidents Day Weekend
May – Memorial Day Weekend
July – 4th of July
Sept – Labor Day Weekend
October – Columbus Day Weekend
November – Thanksgiving/Black Friday

Avoid Summer months if possible:

Disney Resorts have MANY specials going on August-September. To get more people in the parks, they offer discounted hotel stay and free meal plans to guest staying in their resorts. As it may look desirable to anyone on a budget, the lines are extremely long and the weather is extremely hot!

The Best Times to go:

January – 1 week AFTER New Years until the end of the month
February – Until week 3
April – Every week but the week of Easter (if it falls in April)
May – Until week 2
September – Last week
October/November – Until Thanksgiving

Calendar Guide:

Take a beach holiday on Florida’s picturesque Atlantic treasure coast. Anchored by a grand Inn and flanked by clusters of villas, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is both an idyllic retreat and a perfect family-fun destination. Have a blast on the beach surfing, boating, or just splashing around. At the end of the day make yourself at home among the old world architecture of spacious Vacation Homes and stand-alone beach cottages. Enjoy the rich environment and history of the region just two hours southeast of the Walt Disney World® Resort.

Room availability includes Deluxe Inn Rooms with ocean and garden views, Studios, One-Bedroom Vacation Homes, Two-Bedroom Vacation Homes and free-standing Three-Bedroom Beach Cottages with oceanside views of the Atlantic. Wireless internet is available across the property.

Dining:

Shutters is a full-service casual dining restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with daily seafood specials and a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere. Weekend character brunches are popular with families.

Sonya’s is a formal dining room that features steaks, chops and seafood.

The Green Cabin Room is located above the lobby and serves drinks and light fare in an Old Florida bar atmosphere, with additional seating on a deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Live music is often featured during the evening.

Bleacher’s is the poolside quick-service food and beverage counter. The walk-up counter offers frozen specialty drinks and beverages, soft drinks, light snacks, ice cream, a lunch menu and a refillable mug station.

Barbecue Grills Cook your own specialties at one of the grills located throughout the resort, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Recreation:

Disney’s Vero Beach Resort offers a Mickey Mouse-shaped swimming pool, flanked by Pirate’s Plunge pool slide). The pool is surrounded by Port Holes Miniature Golf (a nine-hole Peter Pan-themed miniature golf course), Community Hall (an air-conditioned room with board games, table tennis, and arts and crafts), Anchors’ A-Weigh fitness center, Blinker’s Arcade, Eb and Flo’s rentals, and Rub Dubs massage. A complete resort activities program targeted at families is offered daily. Beach equipment rentals are provided by an on-site partner. A volleyball court, soccer field, fishing pier, lighted tennis courts, and a basketball hoop are located on the western half of the property, which can be accessed through a passage under highway A1A.

Transportation:

• Click Here for driving directions

Resort Maps:

• Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (pdf)

Pictures:

• View From The Beach
• Vero Beach Resort Pool
• Vero Beach Resort Lobby
• Vero Beach Moon
• Character Breakfast – Donald Duck
• Character Breakfast – Donald Duck
• Sunset

(1895) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures. The tale is filled with allusions to Dodgson’s friends. The tale plays with logic in ways that have given the story lasting popularity with adults as well as children. It is considered to be one of the most characteristic examples of the “literary nonsense” genre, and its narrative course and structure have been enormously influential, especially in the fantasy genre.

(Original 1951) Alice In Wonderland Trailer

Fast Tube

Alice In Wonderland 2010 – Release date March 5, 2010

Plot

Alice Kingsley, now 19, attends a party at a Victorian estate shortly after the death of her beloved father. Alice spots a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat and pocket watch. In shock and confusion, she runs off into a maze and follows the White Rabbit through it. She eventually tumbles down a rabbit hole into Underland, more commonly referred to as “Wonderland” by its inhabitants. She had visited this place 10 years earlier, but had entirely forgotten about it. She is also told that she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, the dragon who terrorizes the inhabitants of Wonderland under the rule of the Red Queen.

(2010) Alice In Wonderland

Fast Tube