Posted on Monday, 16th January 2012 by Aaron DelPrince

As they say, “Change is inevitable”.  In order to make improvements sometimes you have to step back, analyze the situation, and make adjustments along the way.  Case in point was Walt Disney World’s 1990 “Disney Decade”.  It was the 10 year period where previous CEO Michael Eisner took the Mouse by the ears and expanded Walt Disney World in a huge way with 2 new theme parks, several new resort hotels, and an aggressive approach to new attractions at the other theme parks.  Once this expansion was over, around the year 2000, Disney World executives were left with quite a lot to maintain.

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Tags: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Test Track, Walt Disney World Resort
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Posted on Saturday, 14th January 2012 by Tom Bell

It’s time again for a construction update!  With “Summer 2012″ looming on the horizon, Disney California Adventure is still a maze of construction walls.  The Pan Pacific inspired main entrance is done, but Buena Vista Street is still a mass of steel and Cars Land is littered with construction equipment.  There’s even a surprise construction wall I’m pleased to tell you about.   Put on your hard hat and read on for some recent pictures from the Park.

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Tags: Buena Vista Street, Cars Land, Carthay Circle Theater, Cozy Cones, Disney California Adventure, Elias & Company Department Store, Flo's Diner, Luigi's Flying Tires, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, Paradise Pier, Radiator Springs Racers
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Posted on Saturday, 14th January 2012 by Corey Martin

Blog written by Emiel and Yvette van Leeuwen

On the morning of January 8th, we planned to go to Papenburg Germany to the Meyer Werft shipyard for the float out of the Disney Fantasy.  Our day started at 5:00am when the alarm clock went off. To shorten our drive we stayed the night before with family that lives in Leeuwarden. This way it would only be a 1.5 hour drive, instead of a 3 hour drive to Papenburg. We planned to leave at 6:00am, but we ended up leaving at 6:15am which was good by our standards!

We hoped for an experience that would be similar to the one we had with the float out of the Disney Dream. We figured that the best thing to do was to get there early, before the crowds, to get a parking spot nearby. In our opinion we had to arrive just before sunrise, which would be around 8:00am local time. By the time we arrived (7:30ish) it was still pitch black outside and there was literally nobody there. We could park in the parking lot in front of the inner harbor. Shortly after we arrived it started to rain. Even though it was raining we really wanted to get our first pictures, so we got out of the car and walked towards the dock where the Fantasy was floating.

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Tags: Disney Cruise Line, Disney Fantasy float out, Karl Holz, Meyer Werft Shipyard, Power of 10 fundraiser
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Posted on Tuesday, 10th January 2012 by Nancy Johnson

“How the other half lives.”  We hear this phrase all of the time, but what does it mean?  Well, I had a rare opportunity to find out how those with a taste for luxury spend their vacation time at Disneyland Resort’s flagship hotel, the Grand Californian Hotel and Spa.    Ten years ago, when the Grand first opened in 2001, I had a chance to tour their “Vice-Presidential Suite” – the Frank Lloyd Wright themed Arcadia Suite.  Located on the 6th floor, above Storyteller’s Cafe and overlooking the Redwood Pool, is a masterpiece of Arts and Crafts Architecture.  I was rummaging through a pile of memories and found these old photos.  I thought I’d scan them in and share them with you.

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Tags: Arcadia Suite, Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel, Disneyland, Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Lloyd Wright fireplace, Frank Lloyd Wright Stained Glass, Frank Lloyd Wright Tree of Life, Grand Californian Hotel, Mission furniture, Stained Glass, Stained glass patterns, Vice Presidential Suite
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Posted on Sunday, 8th January 2012 by Dave Parfitt

During this first full weekend of 2012, distance runners from around the world flocked to Walt Disney World for what has become one of the largest weekend of races in the country.  Over 56,000 people registered for one of the Disney races including: 8,000 in Friday’s Family Fiesta 5K, 26,500 in Saturday’s half marathon, and 16,500 for Sunday’s full marathon.  In addition, 6,500 runners took up Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, which required completing both the half and full marathons.  You didn’t have to look hard for inspiring stories among the participants such as reality TV star Ethan Zohn (Survivor/Amazing Race) battling leukemia and raising money for cancer research.  In addition, four wounded veterans ran as part of the Achilles Freedom Team supporting disabled runners.  Personally, I was inspired from the many friends I have made via the DISboards ”W.I.S.H.” (We’re Inspired to Stay Healthy) forums who had the courage to commit and stick to a healthy lifestyle.  I tip my hat to everyone who participated in the runDisney races.  Continue after the break for videos, photos, and more details from the weekend’s events.

Image: Some members of the WISH Running Team gather after completing the WDW Half Marathon

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Tags: Adriano Bastos, Ethan Zohn, Fredison Costa, Half Marathon, marathon, RunDisney, running, Survivor, Walt Disney World Half Marathon, Walt Disney World Marathon, WISH forum, WISH Racing Team
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Posted on Saturday, 7th January 2012 by Kathy Werling

I love being a spectator at the 2o12 Walt Disney World Marathon here at Epcot!  It inspires me to think that starting my running program is possible.

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Tags: 2012 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by Cigna, ChEAR Zone, disney world, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, marathon
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Posted on Wednesday, 4th January 2012 by Aaron DelPrince

One of our family’s favorite activities is to hunt for hidden Mickeys.  We recently did a hidden Mickey hunt at Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Jambo House back in June.  We did this same hidden Mickey hunt back In October as part of a Power of 10 – Give Kids the World Grand Villa fundraiser.  Discovering hidden Mickeys is a lot of fun, especially with family and friends.  Recently, another very large hidden Mickey was discovered over at the Animal Kingdom Theme Park.  To see this amazing discovery continue through the page break.

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Tags: Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas, Expedition Everest, Hidden Mickeys, Jambo House, Kidani Village, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney World Resort
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