My Favorite New Stuff Of 2016

We were lucky to be able to experience a lot of the newest offering around Walt Disney World on our fall trip last year. We missed Disney Springs entirely, but we did hit each of the parks. Here's a run-down of what we saw.

Magic Kingdom

I think we only got to experience two really new things here, but they were both glorious. The Muppet show in Liberty Square is a must-do. It's perfectly Muppet-esque. The show is funny, the Muppets look exactly as you'd want and expect and it was carried off flawlessly. The setting is great, right in an open courtyard area, and you can sit yourself down on the wall surrounding the Liberty Tree and have a terrific view. We loved it.

MUPPETS!!!!!!

We also got to try the newest table-service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom, the Jungle Navigation Company Skipper's Canteen. This place is themed perfectly to the 1920s-30s era of adventure in far-flung lands. We ate in the main dining room, which was great, but next time I'll request the Adventurers' Club room, which is even better. The menu is a bit different, but for us that's a good thing. We enjoyed pork, chicken and fish all cooked very well and presented in unique ways, especially the fish which was a whole deep fried lion fish with spines and all poking out and its little fishy face looking right at you. This place is really worth a try if you are looking for Magic Kingdom dining options. And now it even serves beer! So go ahead and give it a shot :-)

The waiting room at Skipper Canteen is even cool

Epcot

Not a lot new here, especially since we decided not to even attempt the new Frozen ride. We did, however, really love the new Soarin' movie, so much so we rode it twice in a row. We also got to see Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker on their Mobile Muppet Lab. Apparently this is headed for Hollywood Studios sometime, but wherever it ends up, you need to track it down. It's a hilarious interactive show with, again, very Muppet-y looking Muppets. I just can't get over seeing these guys in the parks. Love it.

Hollywood Studios

With so much of the park closed and under construction, this one is getting a lot of shade thrown its way. We had a good day there, though. We enjoyed all the Star Wars stuff immensely, from the March of the Stormtroopers to the Chewbacca greet. They may seem like little things compared to a Star Wars Land, but they were some of my favorite things on our trip.

Animal Kingdom

This was my favorite. And none of the highly anticipated things, like Avatarland and Rivers of Light, were open. The thing is, they've begun leaving Animal Kingdom open into the evening hours, after dark, and it's the best thing ever. The nighttime safari was great! It's quiet and just different enough to be a lot of fun. Plus, we got to see the male lion roaring at the fireworks going off in another park, which was thrilling. But the entire atmosphere of Animal Kingdom at night is the real draw in my opinion. People left in the afternoon, so the place was empty. No lines for anything at all. We did Expedition Everest several times in a row with no wait. But just wandering around that place at night is great. It's the best-themed park Disney has, I think, and it becomes absolutely magic after dark. We were so very impressed.

Nomad Lounge bar

Oh, and we ate at Tiffins, which was spectacular. It's not cheap, but the food and service are some of the best I've experienced on the Disney property. Next trip I hope to spend more time in the attached Nomad Lounge, which looks across a river at the forthcoming Pandora.

I know there are some biggies planned for 2017, the opening of Pandora chief among them, but I'm wondering what else we'll see. Some of the coolest things from 206 were quietly introduced without a lot of pre-opening fanfare, like the Muppets in Liberty Square. Here's to 2017 bringing more of that!

15 Days: Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM!

We never got to see the Osborne Family Christmas Light Spectacular (or whatever it was officially called), and that kind of bums me out because it was apparently a real experience. But with the Streets of America giving way to Star Wars Land construction, the Osbourne lights had to go. And the people were sad, particularly on Twitter.

Until yesterday! Then Disney blew up Twitter with the announcement of a new holiday show for Hollywood Studios, and the people rejoiced. Especially on Twitter.

The new show, called "Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM," replaces the Galactic Spectacular and begins November 14 running through the holiday season. It is in the same vein as the Star Wars show, with a combination of pyrotechnics and projections on the Chinese Theatre, and it looks AMAZING! It's based on the elves, Wayne and Lanny, from the Prep and Landing specials with appearances by Mickey and friends, the Nightmare Before Christmas gang and more.

No telling if this will last long enough (meaning doing it again next year or maybe even into 2018) for us to experience it, but it's great seeing Disney keeping what looks to be a great Christmastime offering at Hollywood Studios.

Disney World's Main Street Electrical Parade To End October 9

According to Disney Parks Blog, the Main Street Electrical Parade will roll down Magic Kingdom's Main Street for the last time on October 9, 2016. It will make a limited encore run at Disneyland, then presumably be retired for good.

I'm kind of bummed we've seen our last MSEP, but I'm hoping the Paint The Night parade, that closes at Disneyland in September, will be moving to Florida. DIsney hasn't said as much, but keep your ears open.

Here's a little Pooh Sticks Photo Goodbye

88 Days: Typhoon Lagoon Gets A New Ride!

Disney announced today a new attraction coming to the Typhoon Lagoon water park, a raft adventure called Miss Fortune Falls. The trip clocks in a two minutes of ride time, apparently making it the longest ride at either Disney water park, which is cool. It's themed as a trip both up and down in which guests will get to check out some of the artifacts collected by adventuress Captain Mary Oceaneer on her journeys around the world.

Miss Fortune Falls is scheduled to open in the spring of 2017, one of many cool additions coming to Disney parks in the near future.

"Descendants" Coming To Disney Channel

So here's the plot outline from the D23 website:

In a present day idyllic kingdom, the benevolent teenaged son of the King and Queen (Beast and Belle from Disney’s iconic Beauty and the Beast) is poised to take the throne. His first proclamation: offer a chance at redemption to the trouble-making offspring of Cruella De Vil, Maleficent, the Evil Queen and Jafar who have been imprisoned on a forbidden island with all the other villains, sidekicks, evil step-mothers and step-sisters.  These villainous descendants (Carlos, Mal, Evvie and Jay, respectively) are allowed into the kingdom to attend prep school alongside the offspring of iconic Disney heroes including Fairy Godmother, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel and Mulan.  However, the evil teens face a dilemma.  Should they follow in their nefarious parents’ footsteps and help all the villains regain power or embrace their innate goodness and save the kingdom?

This sounds is to be a movie produced by and for the Disney Channel and directed by the same guy who brought us High School Musical. It's billed as an adventure/comedy, but the director is also a choreographer, so I sort of expect some song and dance involved. I may be wrong, they don't say one way or the other, but it's Disney, there ought to be some breaking into song and dance. It's supposed to premier in 2015.

I was intrigued immediately by this idea and went to read the comments about it on Facebook. Wow. People are downright mean about this one. It may not have hit me so hard if not for the explosion of snark during the recent Sound of Music Live, but coming on those heels, it did. It's almost as if people WANT to be disappointed or upset or even angry. I just don't get it.

Sure, as Disney fans we all feel invested in the culture surrounding the whole Disney experience, from movies to television to theme parks to stage shows to computer games to books to merchandise and on and on. Disney relies on that emotional investment as one key to its success. A lot of that investment is based in nostalgia and fandom for the things Disney has produced in the past, so when Disney "messes" with our memories by removing a favorite ride or changing a menu or re-making or serializing a beloved story, we can get defensive.

But I think maybe we've gone a bit too far. Look at the Disney message boards lately and all you find is complaints. The biggest investment in a Disney Theme Park since Cars Land, the coming Avatarland at Animal Kingdom, was being roundly panned before the first design element was mentioned. The new MyMagic+/FastPass+ system is driving the vacation planning geeks bonkers. And now when a new TV movie is announced, it's pounced upon and torn apart within seconds.

Ok, maybe all the things Disney does aren't for everyone. Maybe they aren't for all the Disney fans, even. But maybe we could give these things a chance before we attack the very IDEAS?

Back to Descendants, I have some questions. I wonder where the heck the Villain children came from? I mean, the heroes often end up paired up, Princess/Prince-style, but not the villains. The image of Cruella De Ville pregnant is......odd. But awesome, in its oddity. I can't wait to see how that's handled. If it isn't handled, if it's glossed over and left for us to wonder who slept with Jafar, then I'll be disappointed. But I'm going to wait and give Disney a chance.

Living Worlds and Amateur Imagineering

This afternoon I came across disneylivingworlds.com, where I read this--

Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development wants to work with innovative storytellers willing to push the limits to create fully immersive worlds where guests can explore, play and discover deep narratives. To help us achieve this goal, we are excited to announce the Living Worlds program, through which we hope to support the development of a few unique concepts through collaborative project work.

Wow. Just wow. How exciting is that?

They used the term "transmedia" to describe a method of storytelling that takes the audience inside the story where they can interact with, and sometimes change, the story itself through the use of a variety of media and environments. This is what Walt Disney set out to do with his theme parks, tell a story in a fully immersive way. Everything in the Disney parks is about storytelling, even the rides start as storyboards, like a movie would. Walt Disney Imagineering is first and foremost a storytelling outfit. More from the website--

At Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development, storytelling is in our DNA and we are always looking to advance this art form. We have developed the Living Worlds program to catalyze and support the transmedia community and continue to push the limits of immersive storytelling.

Apparently, there is a "transmedia community," who knew?  The closest thing I've seen to Disney-type immersive entertainment is the MagiQuest attraction in Myrtle Beach, and it was developed by former Imagineers from Disney. It looks like WDI is trying to draw out anyone else exploring this area and perhaps give them a hand, perhaps recruit them? It sounds like a recruitment tool to me, anyhow. And more power to them, I'd love to see what comes from this project. Participants must apply with an idea, then a few are selected for further fleshing out and development. The winner or winners, such as they are (this isn't billed as a contest by any means) will benefit from the brain trust at Walt Disney Imagineering to help bring their idea to life. Not financial help, but coaching and support, which coming from the Imagineers could be worth more than money. It's all very cool. I mean, "Living Worlds" has a ring to it without any explaination at all.

Of course my first glimpse at this program triggered my imagination and my sizable ego drove me to look at the submission guidelines right off the bat. Surely I could come up with an idea worthy of Walt Disney Imagineering. I got nuthin' if not ideas. Well, maybe this one's not so much for me. They want interactivity with ipods and smartphones and such and they want you to have a venue and resources and experience and be able to carry the whole thing off inside of a year. Reality popped that ego bubble. But I'm still very excited about this project and I hope there will be some way to find out how it turns out, if not follow along. I think that would be fascinating.

In the meantime, I'm not going to be disappointed I can't play in the majors with the Imagineers because I have my own bit of "immersive storytelling" coming up right here at home with my friends and neighbors. The next town over, Southport, is hosting a Charles Dickens Christmas Festival this year in honor of the author's 200th birthday. As I understand it, the idea is to turn the historic downtown into a Victorian Christmas village. The Brunsick Arts Council is organizing this whole thing and has gone whole hog, bringing in shows of every kind, from dance to theatre to concerts. They also promise "clowns, town criers, carolers, Dickens characters, puppet shows, story-telling, children's Victorian games and food!" It's going to be quite immersive, and I'm going to be immersed in it as a "cast member" so to speak :)

Our friend Jen, the same one who gave us our introduction to theatre work with the Wizard of Oz this past summer, was asked to organize a recreation of Fezziwig's Ball from A Christmas Carol, and Lisa and I will be party guests. The ball will be an on-going party that festival goers can visit and even participate in if they'd like. There will be dancing of a reel, caroling, and general Victorian merry-making. I'm taking a couple days off work to be able to help with the set-up and decorating and be able to participate both Friday and Saturday. We'll need to decorate our space, an old visitor center, and we may be selling refreshments. Lisa and I get to dress up and learn a dance (we have our first rehearsal Saturday) and be a part of the show. I'm excited to do something "theatrical" again and doubly so because Jen is such fun to work with. She's the closest thing to an Imagineer I've ever met.

But wait, that's not all! I mentioned "Dickens characters" a bit ago right? Well, I'm also going to be one of them--Uriah Heep, the villain of David Copperfield (Wikipedia calls him an "antagonist," but "Villain" sounds better, and more Disney). Jen was asked to help find someone "tall and gangly" for this role, and apparently I fit the bill. I'm not an actor by any means, but Jen tells me I'll just need to learn a few lines of script and ad-lib the rest as I interact with festival goers. We attended a few murder mystery parties Jen put together as fundraisers, and she says it will be a lot like that. We'll see. I've not read David Copperfield, nor even seen the movie, so I was at a bit of a loss as to who this Uriah Heep is. So I did what any responsible person would do and turned to Google. I found out that he is utterly repulsive physically and even worse personally. I found that on a list of male English literary characters rated on their "bangability" my man Uriah came in 110 out of 111. He was just one better than Frankenstein's monster. Uriah apparently goes on about his humbleness while stabbing everyone in the back to get ahead. I hope I'm not being typecast, but this guy sounds like he could be a lot of fun.

So I'm not going to be chosen to work with Walt Disney Imagineering to make the products of my fevered imagination come to life, but that's fine. Maybe I won't be discovered and hired to spend my life living my Disney dreams. But that doesn't mean I can't be my own Imagineer, helping to make a story come to life for friends and strangers in my way and in my own community. It's all about the story after all, and not just the stories we tell. I like to think of life as a story, one I can add to and embellish everyday. It's the ultimate immersive experience, and this story is getting better all the time.

Hoping The Latest "Avatarland" Rumors Aren't True

According to the blog StitchKingdom, the gymnasts performing the Festival of the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom have been put on notice that they will no longer be needed after about six months. This is StitchKingdom's take on the news:

If this is indeed the case, it basically sets FOTLK for an early 2013 closing at the latest, lasting perhaps no longer than February (we were provided only with a rough timeline, not a specific date). Even so, it would be possible for the company to simply end the show and pay off the remainder of the contract should it determine to be more cost effective to do so.
The logical explanation provided for the end of the popular show’s reign (which has been a staple at the park since it opened in 1998) is that Camp Minnie-Mickey will be leveled in favor of ‘Avatarland’ which is expected to break ground in 2013. Most recently, reports have come in that ‘Avatarland’ is anywhere from stalled-to-canceled, but these reports mostly cite an IGN report which mentions only that the project is delayed, but even that arguably incorrectly culls its info from its own cited source, which effectively bases the rumor on nothing more than a combination of no concept art being publicly shared and (what amounts to) fanfic.
While The Walt Disney Company is being conspicuously mum on its plans for ‘Avatarland,’ it has seemingly been moving forward with the project, conducting balloon surveys and, of course, telling its current cast members their services will no longer be required soon.

I really really hope this isn't true. I much preferred the rumors of Avartarland's demise. At the least, I'd hoped it would be built on land that wasn't now being used, sparing the need to tear down presently existing attractions. I wondered how long Camp Minnie Mickey would survive "as is" though. It seemed a lot of land to be used for a character meet and greet. But damn it, it worked! In the atmosphere of Animal Kingdom, having a tucked away spot to find Mickey or Pluto or Donald away from the main part of the park seems to fit right in. Animal Kingdom is about exploring and finding the little off the beaten path spots.

And to close the Festival of the Lion King is completely wrong. That show was our favorite on our last trip and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it again in a week, hopefully not for the last time. Lion King gives the parks a show not geared to little girls or small children, though both will enjoy it. It is truly a show for everyone, featuring some of the most spectacular costumes and songs Disney has ever produced. To see it go in favor of an idea as poorly conceived as Avatarland would be a true shame.

Avatar the movie deserves no land. Maybe, if you begged, I might concede to a ride, but a whole section of a Disney park? I think not. Avatar was visually stunning, but one of the most trite collection of bad cliches to ever find it way to the big screen. There was no story, and Disney is all about the story, first and foremost. The Imagineers would have a huge pallet to work with, but no subject to paint. I think it's a horrible idea no matter where they place it, but to tear down Mickey's camp to build a tribute to James Cameron is one of the most un-Disney ideas imaginable.

Always Changing, Always Something New

People tend to roll their eyes at those of us who visit Disney regularly. They wonder, I think, why we don't get bored going to the same place year after year.These people are missing out on one of the greatest things about the Disney parks -- the fact that they are always evolving and changing. Like I wrote about trying to capture in my personal life in a previous post, they Keep Moving Forward. So, as an example of what I mean, here are just some of the changes to old things we look forward to seeing and some of the new things we've never tried.

Some changes are just cosmetic, but as much as we love taking pictures in the parks, these things are exciting for us. The castle in the Magic Kingdom, as iconic as it is, almost always has something new going on. It's been covered in what looked like birthday cake frosting, which was horrid, and it's been decorated with golden statues of characters from decades of Disney films, which was really cool. It gets lights at Christmas and this time we will get to see those going up. There will be a crane involved, so our castle pics will have that in them sometimes, but it's still something we're looking forward to seeing because it's new and different. In Epcot we will be seeing the big golf ball of Spaceship Earth without its accompanying Mickey hand and wand. It's been a long time since we visited Epcot, so we are as happy about Spaceship Earth being "plain" as we are about the castle being decorated.

The biggest change coming to Disney World is the New Fantasyland expansion.Most of it won't be open yet when we are there, so peeking over the walls at the construction is pretty high on my list of things to do at the Magic Kingdom. The New Fantasyland required the demolition of the old Mickey's Toontown Fair, which is a bit sad, but not a heart breaker. We liked Toontown and captured one of my favorite Disney pictures of my son at the Donald Duck themed water play area there. But the new Fantasyland will feature a new water play area based on a circus theme, AND it will be open when we go next week! Wish me luck, I'm going to attempt to make the boy go in and try to capture an updated version of this shot. I'm hoping he won't be "too cool" for that. Again, changes I guess.

There is a whole litany of rides and shows we either haven't seen at all or our son hasn't seen or we've just skipped for far too long. We always seemed to rush past the Swiss Family Treehouse, Tom Sawyer's Island and the Liberty Belle riverboat. Not this time, we have eight days in the parks and plenty of time to explore all the nooks and crannies. We've skipped the Carousel of Progress for years, but after reading a lot about Walt Disney and his ideas about moving forward as a society into a brighter future, I really want to see it this time. During our last visit to Epcot, we skipped Soarin' because it had a long line and we had no idea what it was. We skipped Universe of Energy because the dinosaurs would have scared the boy half to death. This time they are on the list. Captain Eo is back and I'm dragging the family in just to revel in the pure 80s awfulness. We plan to explore the World Showcase much more thoroughly now that John is old enough to appreciate it and is really looking forward to it. It's been just as long since we visited Animal Kingdom and we have lots to try there as well. Kali River Rapids, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur are must do's on this trip. Our friend Jen has told us we NEED to see the Nemo show, so that's a priority. Actually, we look forward to stopping to take in about all the shows we can, having a new appreciation for the inner workings of stage productions from our work on Wizard of Oz this summer. Hollywood Studio's production of Beauty and the Beast is very high on the lovely Miss Lisa's list. Also at the Studios, Star tourrs was closed for a refurb last time we visited, so we can't wait to get in again and see what's new. We missed the Indian Jones show as well, so we will catch that, and we still need to experience the cowboy side of The Great Movie Ride.

We are spending the week at the Caribbean Beach Resort, someplace we've never even seen let alone stayed. It's a huge resort with tons to explore, and we'll take the time to see it all.

So, yes, we've been to Walt Disney World three times in the last four years and we are going again. But there is no way we will be bored or feel like we've been there done that. In the Magical World of Disney, it's always a Big Bright Beautiful Tomorrow, and that's just the way we like it.

Disney Is Hiring Heroes

Haters beware, this post is going to be so pro-Disney, even pro-Walt Disney Company corporate, that you may just want to bail out now.

Disney has done something that hits me at home and makes me not just happy, but proud to be dropping thousands of dollars their way this summer. Today, Disney announced the Heroes Work Here initiative. Here's a short piece of the blog post from Disney explaining what the initiative entails,

Disney will:

• Provide at least 1,000 jobs, career opportunities for returning U.S. veterans over the next three years.
• Support military families, veterans transitioning into civilian life.
• Launch a national public awareness campaign to encourage job opportunities for veterans.

The logo alone almost brought tears to my eyes. Disney, built upon the story of imaginary heroes defeating imaginary villains, is recognizing real true-life heroes and the value they can bring. I'm thrilled at the way they go about explaining this, not as some welfare, let's all be kind to the poor dears, affirmative action program, but as a logical and smart business practice. Veterans are trained leaders, they know how to do the most with the least and they tend to have a strong work ethic. They have character, having volunteered for a duty that could very well have killed them or left them maimed for life. These are people you want working for you, and as a bonus for the Disney Company, they allow it to boast of having not only imaginary heroes like Prince Charming and Flynn Ryder greeting their guests, but real ones, ones the children can see are just like their fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers. The value in that is unmeasurable.

My father is a Vietnam Vet. He came home to a country that acted ashamed of him. There were no parades. The movies made about him portrayed him as a psycho at best and a monster at worst. His fellow vets were spit on and called baby-killer. My mom told me my dad was a hero, but it took decades for the country and the culture to even grudgingly admit that he deserved some thanks. The toll that takes on a man, even one as strong as my dad, is hard for us who've not had to experience it to understand.

I remember when the first Gulf War started, my dad was glued to the TV until all hours of the night. I thought he was upset about the country getting involved in another war, and he was, but not for the reason I assumed. My dad said he was worried that if we got into another war, the men and women would be treated by the country on their return the way he was treated. He didn't want to see that happen to anyone else.

That never happened, the Gulf War vets were welcomed home as heroes and we have treated all our vets in the conflicts that followed the same way. Sure there are the throw-back anti-war folks, but even they haven't in large part attacked the vets. Good. We learned. But to see a company as huge as Disney, as much an integral part of our American cultural identity as Disney is, embrace veterans as valuable contributors to civilian society really made me proud.

Are you seeing this, Dad? I know it'll make you happy. And thanks to ALL the heroes, but especially mine.

A Few Good Links

Today I saw some really interesting and/or fun articles and blog posts concerning the Dis, so I thought I'd share.

What's On Walt's Bookshelves?

 I have something in common with this author. I too love to look at the bookshelves in homes of people I visit. It gives me a window into the person who owns the books and, as the author says, it may show me a book I want to find for myself. I'm sure anyone old enough to remember the Wonderful World of Disney shows on television can remember seeing Walt Disney standing in front of a huge wall of books. This article delves into the story behind that bookshelf and shares some of the books found on it. It's not what I was hoping for, but extremely interesting anyhow.

How To Get And Use A Pin Code

This is an installment in Everything Walt Disney World's series of how-to's. I have heard of pin codes, special discounts Disney sends out to people it considers good potential customers, but I've never gotten one myself. I'm going to try some of the tricks in this blog post and see what happens.

Disney Monorail Stuff

Our new decal. Thanks Iapaluccis!

I have always LOVED Disney's monorails. Riding the monorail was, and still is, an attraction in itself. I love the retro-modern styling, the way they are different colors so you can try to ride them all, the cement rails that look exactly the same way today as they did when I was 5, I love it all. Apparently they no longer let people ride up front with the driver, which is a bummer, but at least my son got that experience before they quit. This article from MousePlanet has some awesome pictures of monorail toys and models.

The Coming of the XPass?

All the hub bub about enforcing Fastpass rules may be just a prelude to the introduction of a new XPass system. XPass would reportedly allow visitors to some deluxe resorts the option of paying more to schedule ride times weeks or even months in advance. I'm not sure what I think about this idea, and I want to know more than just rumors about it before I give it a post of its own, but this article is at the very least food for thought.

Sorcerers Of The Magic Kingdom

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom is a new game being play-tested right now in the Magic Kingdom. Similar to a Kim Possible adventure available in Epcot, this game will allow park guests to assume the role of Sorcerers defending the Magic Kingdom from Disney villains. There is a great description of the game by a couple that were part of play-testing last week over at MouseSteps, including lots of pictures (such as the one at left) and a couple of videos of the game in action.

It appears players will sign up at the Fire Station on Main Street, then proceed to one of the other lands to play. Completing the mission in one land lets you continue on to the next. Play is accomplished by finding special locations on a map, waving a playing card over a key symbol, then interacting with a video that pops up. You use your cards, each player is given five, to cast spells and defeat the villain.

I'm personally really excited to try this. Our family loves a good adventure, we (well especially me) love us some maps and we are regular Geocachers, so this game is right up our alley. On your first trip to Disney, there are probably other things you should do instead. This game is meant, I think, for those of us returning to the parks after multiple trips. It looks like it will let us enjoy the Magic Kingdom in a new way and find parts of it that maybe we had missed on previous trips. That's what I'm hoping for in any case.

Our good friends and fellow Disney Geeks are heading to the Dis in a couple weeks. Our fingers are all crossed hoping that Sorcerers is up and running when they arrive. If they get to play, the lovely and talented Jenny has agreed to write a guest blog for me about her experience. Expect to hear reports from their trip here in any case. One of the best things about Disney friends is reliving their trips vicariously, and I find myself really excited for them.

This Looks Really Tasty

The Main Street Gazette blog reports on some tasty new offerings in the Magic Kingdom. Sleepy Hollow Refreshments, found in Liberty Square near the Hall of Presidents, has started serving waffle-sandwiches. They come in three varieties, fruit and nutella (pictured at left), ham prosciutto and swiss, and sweet and spicy chicken. The post at the above link describes all three sandwiches with pictures.

Two Cool Videos

Disney posted two very cool videos today, and I thought I'd share. One features the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Fantasy, leaving dry dock.   And the other is a pretty good introduction to the newest Walt Disney World hotel, The Art of Animation Resort. 

Enjoy!