AllEars® Team Blog

Along Walt Disney World's monorail track, you'll have a lot better chance of seeing Mickey Mouse than Captain America. Still, Disney's "highway in the sky" currently features a train-wrapped promotion for the current blockbuster film "The Avengers." Have you seen the monorail promotion yet? And have you taken a photo of this unique, one-of-a-kind train? If so, here's your chance to show off your favorite picture of Monorail Red, which features promotional images of Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor and, of course, Captain America.

From now through May 22, send us your most original or unique photo of the monorail as it appears at Walt Disney World. It might be the train in front of the Grand Floridian or with the Magic Kingdom as a backdrop. Maybe you've taken a photo of it entering or leaving the Contemporary Resort or just sailing high above the Seven Seas Lagoon. We'll pick the 10 most interesting photos, which will be showcased in our end of the month "Wandering the World" featurette here on AllEars.Net. The best photo will win a one-year subscription to Disney Publishing's Marvel Super Heroes Magazine, a new publication for kids. If you haven't taken a photo yet, don't worry. You can catch the train as it travels around the track from the Ticket and Transportation Center to the Magic Kingdom and the resorts around the Seven Seas Lagoon.

Email your photos with the word "Avengers" in the subject line to allearsnet@yahoo.com no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern on May 22, 2012. Be sure to include your name, age and phone number so we can contact you.

Contest for U.S. Residents ONLY.

Good luck!

Sorry for the delay in finishing this report on the Summer to Remember Resort Showcase -- time got away from me and I had to catch up on a few things once I got back home. Without further delay then: the final full day of the event:

The day started early with a special breakfast and What's New/What's Next? presentation by Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations, U.S. and France. Deb Wills attended this event alone, while I stayed behind to update the website and work on some other things. As you may know by now, there were several relatively important announcements to come out of the presentation:

-- details about the redesign of Test Track in Epcot. Deb Wills interviewed a cast member working on the project and has more details on it HERE.

-- a better timeline about the opening of the next phase of Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland. For more details, click HERE.

-- details on the summer version of the castle projection show, The Magic The Memories and You!, which will include Phineas and Ferb and is set to debut on May 25. For the official press release and an artist's rendering, click HERE.

Following the presentation, the media was able to participate in a sort of information "expo", with stations featuring a variety of Imagineers and other cast members available to discuss the upcoming developments at Disney Parks. Deb Wills will have more video and details from the expo, including more on the Fantasyland construction, in the coming days.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Animal Kingdom to meet up with team members Jason (of disneygeek.com) and Kristin Ford for a special character lunch at Tusker House.

On our way, we paused to check on the Discovery Trails and It's a Tough to Be a Bug -- in case you hadn't heard, earlier in the week a 5 lb. branch fell from the Tree of Life! No one was injured, but the attraction and the surrounding trails were closed immediately while the tree undergoes some "refurbishment." According to cast members in the area, the 3D show is still closed, as are the trails, but they will hopefully reopen soon.

I also had a close encounter with Dug, from the Disney-Pixar film UP! I hadn't seen him in the park before, though I had read that he was around. Squirrel!

We had a little time to kill, and as we passed by Mombasa Marketplace I noticed that there was a henna artist doing tattoos. I'd been wanting to get one for a while, so on a whim decided that this was the day. After flipping through the book of designs, I decided on one that represents the characteristic "Kind." The artist was so adept that within five minutes I was sporting some lovely new "ink", enhanced by a sprinkling of glittery pixie dust... watch for a blog on the experience soon!

I'd eaten at the character breakfast at Tusker House shortly after it had converted from a counter service restaurant, but had never dined there for lunch, so this was a new experience for me. Even though our lunch was scheduled for 1:30 p.m., the place was pandemonium. Long lines, cranky kids melting down -- it just didn't seem to be the most efficient way to handle the crowds. After waiting to be admitted, then waiting to get our photo taken with Donald, we were finally seated at about 10 minutes to 2.

The inside of Tusker House is largely unchanged from how I remember it -- it still has the cool decor, with African touches. And the food is still very good. Many of the dishes are very similar to what you might find in Boma, the buffet at Animal Kingdom Lodge -- Malay curry chicken, hummus, couscous, tabouleh, that sort of thing, all very tasty.

The characters appearing at this lunch are Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy, all in safari attire. Because it was the end of the lunch period, we had a little more time with them than usual. Daisy in particular spent more than a few minutes with us, striking multiple poses.

Read more about the Tusker House lunch in Kristin Ford's blog HERE.

It was 3 p.m. by the time we finished our "lunch" -- nearly time for our next event, over at Port Orleans Riverside. But we did take some time to watch the Street Party that had just begun outside the restaurant, featuring the Tam Tam Drummers and Bourudika.

Over at Port Orleans, we found -- surprise! -- more food waiting for us. This time, it was in the form of a delightful Pirate Punch and Princess Tea Party on the lawn of the resort's Magnolia Bend section. Sweet and savory scones, an assortment of finger sandwiches and fresh fruit were beautifully displayed with table decor befitting the pirate and royal themes of Disney's storybook rooms. A wandering jazz band provided entertainment as the lovely Princess Tiana, from the film The Princess and The Frog, greeted guests.

Several of the new Royal Rooms were open, so I wandered in to have a peek. I had seen the model for the rooms at last year's Resort Showcase and was interested to see how or if they had changed. There seemed to be only minor changes, most noticeably in the magical headboards, but it was still a treat to see the rooms in their finished state.

The rooms definitely are beautiful, representing upscale improvements over Disney's other moderate resorts -- queen-sized beds, plusher fabrics, throw pillows -- and are rich in backstory and detail. I love spotting items that were "left behind" by visiting princesses -- such as the Magic Carpet from Aladdin's Princess Jasmine, and the footstool left by Beauty and the Beast's Belle. All 512 Royal Rooms are now finished, although I learned that the room renovations for the Alligator Bayou section of the resort are not yet completed. When done, those rooms will still have their rustic theme, but the trundle beds will have all been replaced by new Murphy beds that pull out from the walls.

As an added treat, a cast member even pointed out a very hard-to-spot Hidden Mickey in the table for me.

(You can read more about the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside and see more photos in Kristin Ford's blog HERE.)

When our visit to the Royal Rooms was over, we (and by that I mean the media group as a whole) were taken over to Downtown Disney, where we were invited to experience the shopping and entertainment district on our own, after being treated to dinner at one of its 10 restaurants. AllEars.Net had been assigned to Rainforest Cafe, a spot I hadn't visited in years.

Currently under renovation (they're working on the big volcano outside, among other things), the restaurant is still operating -- and from all the hustle and bustle I would say that their refurbishment process is not hindering business. Noisy, with the sounds of wild animals and a periodic thunderstorm, the restaurant was exactly as I had remembered it. The extensive menu features burgers and other sandwiches, salads, pasta dishes and other entrees, as well as a long beverage list. Prices are moderate to high, but food is plentiful, and the atmosphere is definitely Disney-like, with all the animatronic creatures surrounding you.

After an overwhelming platter of assorted appetizers was brought to the table, I then tried to make my way through the Mediterranean pasta, with olives, feta cheese and asparagus. It was very good, but I didn't get too far -- I'd still not had the chance to digest lunch and afternoon tea!

Our entrees were followed by chants of "Vol-Ca-Noooo!" as servers brought these chocolate exploding desserts -- triangles of rich, moist brownies were arranged to form a volcano around mounds of vanilla ice cream, topped by whipped cream and silvery streamers simulating lava and fire shooting from the peak.

I really had no room, but managed to at least sample a bit of the chocolatey goodness. If you are looking for casual dining with a very American menu and plentiful portions, the Rainforest Cafe might be for you. If, however, you want a quiet, relaxed dining experience... well, you might want to look elsewhere!

Dinner was the end of the Resort Showcase for me. The only remaining event was a discussion with the Disney Moms Panel the following morning that I was unable to attend -- it was going home day.

But I'll be writing more about some of the things I experienced and learned at the Resort Showcase over the next few weeks -- I'll certainly be looking forward to visiting Walt Disney World again soon, for its Summer to Remember!

Day 2 of the Summer to Remember Resort Showcase here at Walt Disney World was a busy one.

The day started early with a bus ride over to the convention center at the Yacht Club for a nice buffet breakfast.

Following the eggs, sausage and pancakes, we were treated to a panel discussion led by one of my celebrity idols, Samantha Brown, host of many a Travel Channel special on the Disney Parks, Cruise Line and Aulani. The panel, which also consisted of Leslie Ferraro, executive vice president, global marketing for Disney Parks and Resorts, Dan Lazar, president of market research firm Chatter, Inc., and Susan Newman, Ph.D., a social psychologist and author of several books on parenting, focused on the "state of the American family vacation."

The panelists discussed the merits of family vacations, and Lazar, whose company has recently conducted a study on such trends, talked about how our busy lifestyles can result in life becoming a "forgettable blur". Newman in particular stressed the importance of families vacationing together, and emphasized how even a bad vacation memory can become part of a family's "lore," and eventually be something that bonds the family in a good way. I know, I know, cynics among you may say that of COURSE Disney wants families to vacation, AND wants them to spend their vacation dollars at Disney -- but speaking from personal experience, I think the underlying message of the panel was valid. Vacations do serve to tie family members together in a special way and provide important lessons to the children.

After the panel discussion, the panelists were available for brief one-on-one interviews. As someone who is something of a travel enthusiast, I've followed Samantha Brown's adventures over the years, and was excited to have the chance to speak to her, however quickly. We only had a minute -- literally -- so I simply asked her what she found most challenging about covering the Disney Parks for her television shows. Below is a short video of her reply.

After the busy morning, I had a little free time to stop and smell the roses -- so where else should I go but to enjoy some time at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. It was great to see so many of the plantings in full bloom. I normally visit the festival during its first weekend, before everything has really filled in.

A quick bite to eat and one trip on Soarin' later, I headed back to my room to get ready for the afternoon's big event -- a sneak peek at the new Art of Animation Resort, due to open on May 31.

I'm not going to lie -- I was anxious to see this place, after all I've been hearing about it for the past year or so. I was not disappointed. From the black and white sketches that gradually give way to full color images in the lobby, to the bold, bright colors of the Finding Nemo wing, to the desert-inspired Cars section, the resort is a masterpiece of Disney's famous attention to detail. I'll let some of my photos speak for themselves.

Deb Wills also put a few short videos of the resort online:

After checking out as much as we were allowed to at Art of Animation, we returned to Epcot. Disney had arranged for dinner for all the media in our group at the various restaurants around World Showcase -- I was assigned to Biergarten, which was great since I haven't eaten there for a few years. The items on the buffet had not changed much, and the food was good -- and how can you not enjoy the oompah band (especially the saw player!)?

Closing out the night was a viewing of IllumiNations from the World Showase Plaza. IllumiNations is just about my favorite thing in Walt Disney World, so any day that ends with that, is a good day indeed. Back at it again, tomorrow, for the "what's new, what's next?" presentation.

Well, here I am back in Walt Disney World for a few days, for what's become an annual event in recent years -- the Resort Showcase, during which Disney shines a spotlight on everything that's new and exciting all around its parks and resort hotels, here in Florida and even worldwide.

This year's theme for the showcase is Summer to Remember, and so tonight's kick-off featured a quintessential summer activity -- the backyard barbecue. But not just any backyard barbecue. No, this evening we (a fairly large group of media and guests) visited Mickey's Backyard BBQ, which is held seasonally at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground. (NOTE: This does NOT mean that Disney World has changed the BBQ to a Phineas and Ferb theme. This was a one-time special BBQ staged for this media event. The BBQ is still Mickey's Backyard BBQ.)

The evening was taken over by a couple characters whose stars are shining brightly right now in the Disney universe -- none other than Phineas and Ferb, of the Disney Channel's wildly popular animated comedy-musical TV series that bears their names.

When we arrived at Fort Wilderness, we were directed to the pavilion, which usually hosts the character barbecue. Mini-blimps advertising Doofenschmirtz, the evil nemesis of Phineas and Ferb, marked the way, although he was nowhere to be found.

I'd not ever been to the pavilion before, so I was interested in seeing the set-up, even though it was specially decorated for the night's event, rather than with its usual Mickey motif. A DJ spun current pop songs, including some well-known to viewers of the Phineas and Ferb show. There was even a trailer decorated to look like Perry the Platypus, the boys' sidekick who frequently turns into Agent P, a mysterious spy-like creature who battles the evil Doofenschmirtz.

Special guests for the evening were the creators of Phineas and Ferb, Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, along with the voice of Phineas, Vincent Martella.

For those not familiar with the show, it follows the adventures of two boys as they fill their days of summer vacation. In the grand tradition of other cartoon series like Bugs Bunny and Looney Toons, Phineas and Ferb is entertaining on many levels -- innocent enough to appeal to children, but sophisticated in ways that speak to older viewers. The show has caught on so much that last year a "play and greet" experience featuring the duo debuted in Disney's Hollywood Studios. They also lead a dance party over on the West Coast at the Disneyland Resort. More recently, it was announced that the characters will take over the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure game in Epcot this summer.

After our traditional barbecue dinner of hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken, baked beans, coleslaw and more, everyone had the chance to visit with Phineas and Ferb, as well as speak with their creators.

Povenmire and Marsh told us a bit about how they were approached by Disney to bring their characters to the parks, and adapt what they do for the Kim Possible activity. Like their TV show, they said that the primary audience for the new game will be 6 to 12 years old, although they pointed out that nearly half of their viewers were older than 18. They even teased that they had had the chance to try the new game a little already themselves. But rather than reveal any specifics, they asked Martella to share some of the dialog he'd been recording for the new adventures, and he readily obliged.

"Ferb, it's me again, will you pick up?" Martella laughed, slipping into his alter ego's voice easily. But none of the men could give us a date for when the new show would debut for the rest of us beyond "sometime this summer."

Later, when we returned back to our room, we found that Agent P had apparently stopped by. He left us his signature fedora, as well as a pin lanyard, with a mission to find the perfect pin.

I just might do that, as we continue on our exploration of what's new and what's next around this resort.

Well, it's nearly St. Patrick's Day, and even though I'm not Irish (a little bit of Welsh and English,
yes, but Irish, no) I have always observed the holiday. I wear green, including my little shamrock earrings, and sometimes even cook up a good corned beef and cabbage dinner.

But, according to the lovely people at Raglan Road Irish Pub, located at Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island, I've been doing it wrong -- and they are going to be showing me, and anyone else who will listen, how to do it RIGHT this year.

This weekend, Raglan Road is celebrating St. Patrick's Day in a big way.The invitingly cozy pub, accented with warm woods, leaded glass windows and Irish memorabilia, including photos of Irish icons like sir Bob Geldof, will be buzzing with live bands playing authentic Irish music, Irish dancing, and genuine Irish cuisine.

To launch the weekend, Raglan Road's Master Chef Kevin Dundon hosted a four-course lunch and culinary demonstration that featured cuisine representative of the Emerald Isle, including a traditional loin of bacon with cabbage. Having garnered many accolades over the course of his career for his high standards and inventive take on Irish fare, Dundon, who has cooked for the Queen of England and many other celebrities, is a bit of a personality himself. Handsome and charming, with the gentlest of Irish brogues, Chef Dundon worked his culinary magic while entertaining a full restaurant with little anecdotes about St. Patrick's Day celebrations and the four dishes themselves.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the luncheon by the restaurant, and had a front row seat to all the preparations.

Chef Dundon began with an appetizer of hickory-smoked Irish salmon, served on a bed of buttered leeks in a mead cream reduction. Not being a fan of things "smoked", I was dubious about this course, until I realized that Chef Dundon's idea of "a little bit of butter" -- that is, a lot -- matches my own. The smokiness of the salmon was so subtle that the freshness of the fish shined through. It was enhanced by the buttery goodness of the mead-sweetened sauce and the delicate flavor the leeks was the perfect compliment to the dish. I nearly licked the plate!

Our second course was an "espresso" of tomato and gin soup, so called due to the intensity of the tomato (or "to-MAH-to" if you're Chef Dundon) flavor. After again adding "a little bit of butter," Chef Dundon explained that he doesn't use flour in any of his soups or sauces -- he relies on reduction to thicken and concentrate the flavors. No one needed to have worried that this soup would lack taste, however. Served over a dollop of creme fraiche (no, this lunch wasn't for weight watchers!), the flavor of tomato fairly burst in your mouth with each sip. Once again, societal niceties kept me from licking the bowl. That doesn't mean I didn't want to!

These first two courses were paired with a chardonnay from Acacia. The creaminess of the wine perfectly suited the buttery courses, and it had just the right touch of acidity.

For the main course, Chef Dundon prepared a loin of traditional Irish bacon with Irish Mist glaze on a bed of colcannon potato with a parsley cream sauce and raisin cider jus. The term "bacon" in this case, though, is a little misleading -- it's more an uncured ham, carefully scored so that the flavor of the Irish Mist (a whiskey liqueur) can soak in. So if the Irish actually eat ham on St. Paddy's Day, why do we here in the U.S. celebrate with corned beef? It's what was available to the Irish immigrants who arrived in this country decades ago, according Chef Dundon. He, though, is an advocate of reverting to the "proper" dish, and attempted to sway all of us to his way of thinking with the succulent version of Irish bacon that he served up. I think he succeeded.

We were served a pinot noir from Acacia to accompany this course. Amy, the wine represenative from Coastal Wine and Spirits, called the full-bodied pinot the perfect pairing for the main course. Not being much of a pinot fan, I wasn't expecting much, but to my surprise, the wine complimented the course beautifully.

We concluded the meal with a jam jar filled with rhubarb jelly topped with a light, creamy panna cotta. Chef Dundon accented the dessert with a buttery, shamrock shaped cookie, to provide some crunch. This was the only course I didn't finish, and not because I didn't enjoy it, but because I was too stuffed already with so much Irish goodness I had no room.

If I had had any preconceived notions that Irish cuisine was going to be boring and bland meat and potatoes, or the everyday corned beef and cabbage, they were clearly banished by this point. This year, I will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in an entirely different (and hopefully more authentic!) way.

You can't make it to Raglan Road this weekend for St. Patrick's Day? Don't despair! The luck of the Irish will still be with you if head over on June 20, the pub's "Midsummer Night Feast." They'll be celebrating with an equally delicious-sounding menu: picnic basket of assorted pates and jams; champagne splashed raspberry sorbet; stuffed suckling pig with vegetables and a Pimm's knickerbocker glory for dessert! (Pimm's is a fruity British liqueur -- notice how most of Chef Dundon's recipes include some sort of alcohol? Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

And for another taste of Ireland, it sounds like Chef Dundon has been cooking up a special
Raglan Road signature dinner menu for this fall's Food and Wine Festival. Called "an Ode to the Classics," it starts with Coquille St. Jacques and end with Cherries Jubilee. (Subject to change, of course -- October is still six months away.)

For more details about the Midsummer Night Feast, or any of the events happening at Raglan Road this weekend, call the restaurant at 407-938-0300 or visit raglanroad.com. You can also make reservations for Raglan Road through Disney Dining at 407-WDW-DINE.

Read more about the St. Patrick's Day happenings at Raglan Road and Pleasure Island HERE.

So now that the 24 hours of One More Disney Day have passed, and I've had the chance to catch up on my missed sleep, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos and impressions of the experience.

Deb Wills and I got up around 4 a.m. the morning of February 29, Leap Day, to begin our "One More Disney Day" adventure. We really had not planned to spend all 24 hours in the park, but we knew we HAD to be there for opening and closing, and figured we'd pop in periodically throughout the day to see how things were progressing.

Deb had booked a room for us at Bay Lake Tower so that we could walk over to the Magic Kingdom easily, but our plans to park there early in the morning were foiled by the crowds already backing up at the guard gate at 5 a.m. I got out of the car and walked over to the park, leaving Deb to deal with parking.

Though I'd been in Magic Kingdom after midnight several times in the past (remember the old E-Ride Nights?), I'd never been there so early before! It was extremely foggy -- I mean, so foggy it was the lead story on the news -- and it gave the whole area a very spooky atmosphere. The place seemed deserted, which was surprising to me. I had been expecting a huge crowd for the opening.

As I approached the entrance, though, THERE were the people! Hundreds pressing in around the turnstiles -- that's what I'd been expecting.

As we entered the turnstiles, we received a special set of One More Disney Day Mouse Ears and a commemorative button. (Thanks, Mike Scopa, for being our model.)

We huddled around the Mickey Floral display in front of the train station to await the 6 a.m. kick-off. From where I stood, I could just barely see Mickey and Minnie, in their pajamas, as they greeted their fans.

I already shared my video of the opening ceremony HERE. Sorry for all the Mouse Ears and tops of people's heads in the video -- but that's generally your view when you're as short as I am (5'1")!

After the opening -- which really wasn't that different from the Magic Kingdom's opening ceremony on any other given day -- we all shuffled into the park to see what 24 hours of Magic Kingdom madness had in store for us. As you can see, Main Street was thick with people.

We noticed that the line for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom registration at the Firehouse was almost instantly out the door -- and it pretty much stayed that way all day. There were numerous characters out and about and lines forming for them right away, as well. In fact, the wait for the Princesses in Town Square Theater shot to 20 minutes within a half-hour of the park opening.

As we made our way up Main Street, we stopped and asked people where they were visiting from, and if they had made the trip to Walt Disney World expressly for the "One More Disney Day" event. Interestingly, to us at least, nearly everyone we spoke to that early was a local -- the furthest journey anyone had made was a two-hour drive. As the day wore on, though, we encountered quite a few folks who had come from further afield, and many of those HAD come just for Leap Day.

As we reached the Hub around sunrise (7 a.m.-ish), the fog had cleared a bit and the day was brightening, but there was no chance of snapping a shot of the sun coming up over the castle as we had hoped. It was still beautiful, though.

From there, we just meandered around the park, checking wait times and riding a few rides when we could. We also spent some time watching the progress on the New Fantasyland.

We held an AllEars.Net meet at Pinocchio Village Haus at 9:30, and we were so thrilled at the turnout. Several of our readers came from out of state just for One More Disney Day -- we met people from all over, including North Carolina, New York, and Virginia (that I can remember -- sorry, if I forgot anyone!). Thanks so much to all who came out to say hello!

After the meet, I walked around the park with a friend and we were able to ride Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and several other rides, all with short waits of 15 minutes or less. While definitely not empty, the Magic Kingdom was not what I'd call over-crowded at all at that point. In fact, the longest lines I saw continued to be those at the character meet-and-greets, like Tinker Bell's Magical Nook (25 minutes 1 p.m.) and at the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom portals. It seems that many people had come for the opening ceremony, then had quickly left again -- probably to return later in the day.

After a late lunch at Columbia Harbour House (love that Lighthouse Sandwich!), I decided to leave the park myself for a break -- and possibly a nap. On my way out, I passed the Main Street Bakery, where they were showcasing special One More Disney Day treats.

And as I left, I snapped a shot of the nearly abandoned turnstiles, which had been the scene of so much activity just nine hours earlier.

When I returned later in the evening, after watching Wishes from the California Grill (where we had an absolutely amazing meal!), that same location was again buzzing with people entering for the evening.

There was a serious exodus of people after the 10 p.m. parade, and walking up Main Street was like swimming upstream. Still, the park was by no means empty. In fact, I think it was even more crowded than it had been early in the morning. Characters were still out in force, and there was plenty of live entertainment to keep everyone not riding the rides occupied.

After watching the 11 p.m. showing of "The Magic, The Memories and You", we wandered around to see what rides were still available. Posted wait times for most rides had climbed -- 20 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean (though it looked longer), 50 minutes for Space Mountain. Even "it's a small world" had a 15-minute wait, but we made sure that we didn't miss that!

There was another showing of the Main Street Electrical Parade at midnight, but there didn't seem to be the wave of people leaving afterward as there had been earlier.

Shortly before 4 a.m., I returned to a few of the spots I had photographed earlier, just for comparison's sake.

The turnstiles:

Looking down on Main Street from the train station:

The Main Street vehicles were all parked neatly around Town Square, and it was fun to be able to climb aboard and try them out. The kids (young and old alike) were loving it.

I was surprised at how many people were still in the parks at 4 a.m., and even more surprised at the number of children still going strong. I really had thought crowds would dwindle in these wee hours, but I was proven wrong.

We ran into a family on Pirates of the Caribbean who had just been in the park since the evening before and the daughter, about 8 or so, was urging her parents to take her to Universal after they were "done" at the Magic Kingdom! Ah, youth...

The energy emanating from the dance party in front of the castle was irresistible, and as I walked toward the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! floats that were stationed around the Hub, I noted that many of the participants here were twentysomethings who were clearly spending, if not the entire 24 hours, then at least all of the wee hours in the park. I thought this was a great idea for those die-hards. The enthusiastic DJ, high-energy music and familiar dances -- the hokey-pokey, a conga line -- were just the ticket to jolt you awake if you were feeling drowsy, and the characters joined in the fun.

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR THE VIDEO!

Even though there were still plenty of people in the park, lines at the attractions were practically nonexistent by 5 a.m. I guess maybe everyone had had their fill of rides by then. A number of rides had closed by that time, but we walked right on to popular attractions like Snow White's Scary Adventures and the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I mean, when can an adult ever spend time playing in the queue at Pooh? There are normally so many kids running around, you couldn't even if you wanted to.

We also took a spin on the Carrousel, and walked right on to the Speedway -- that never happens!

But, somewhat surprisingly, there were STILL lines at the portals for the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game!

Shortly before 6 a.m., we realized that One More Disney Day was drawing to a close, so we made our way to the front of the castle. The DJ wrapped up his dance party and the floats paraded down Main Street as he signed off, thanking everyone for spending One More Disney Day in the Magic Kingdom. The remaining park-goers waited, as I did, for something to signal the end of the event. But there was... nothing. It was all rather anti-climactic. No fireworks, no big HUZZAH... The regular Main Street atmosphere music (tunes from The Music Man) began playing. It was over, and I must admit, it was a bit of a let-down. All that hoopla for what amounted to little more than a slightly enhanced regular park day.

As I stood there talking to some friends about whether my trip the World for this event had been worth it, the lights around us gradually went down, and the music started for the "Kiss Goodnight", the little send-off that often ends the day in the park. And so I think that's an appropriate way for me to conclude my "One More Disney Day" report.

It's been a hectic 18 hours so far here at Walt Disney World's "One More Disney Day" Leap Day celebration -- 24 hours of Magic Kingdom fun! I admit, I haven't been in the park the entire time -- we were up at 4 a.m. to be here before 5:30 a.m. for this morning's opening ceremony and by 2 p.m. or so I definitely needed a little break. We went back into the park tonight to see the Magic, Memories and You show and the midnight showing of the Main Street Electrical Parade, and we'll be popping back in in the wee hours to see the day-long event wind down at 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

Just to give you an idea of how the day started out though, here's a video of the morning's opening ceremony -- we'll have lots more photos in the next day or two! And if you're a night owl like me, be sure to follow our late night tweets on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AllEarsNet

by AllEars® Team Member Jack Marshall

You have probably seen them a hundred times. Walked right past them without paying any mind. I know. I'm guilty of doing it, too. Every resort lobby in the Value and Moderate categories has one. Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, too. I'm talking about that little fold-up stand by the door where the caricature artist sits.

Every night from 6 to 11 pm and an occasional mid-day, too, you will find one of these artists ready to perform right in front of you. Most of their subjects are children but they do all ages. They can do face only or they can put your face on one of many body poses you can choose from a notebook they have. You can even specify one that isn't there and they will tell you whether they can do it or not.

The artists themselves are not Disney cast members. They work for an outside firm that Disney contracts with. There are currently about 40 artists who alternate between 11 locations. Some work once or twice a week. A few work a little more and a few are vacation/illness fill-ins. There are four different art companies that handle the various caricature and portrait business throughout Walt Disney World.

The artist that I spoke to on a recent Sunday night was named Michael. As I was asking him some questions, a young lady named Lily, all of 4 years old, came up to the booth with her mother and asked to have her caricature done. She was wearing the cutest Little mermaid dress. When Michael asked what she wanted her body to look like, she didn't hesitate: "Mermaid!" Shocker, huh?

So Lily was seated and Michael took out a fresh piece of paper to begin. The first step is to put the name in the upper left corner. Then it's on to the rough sketching of the shape and features of the head using a pencil.

The beginning:

Pencil sketching:

Michael drawing:

Once satisfied with the pencil drawing, Michael uses a thin-tipped permanent marker to outline the features.

Adding marker:

Soon the mermaid's tail is added and other "under the sea" friends start to appear.

Tail fin appears:

Sebastian and Flounder appear:

If you want the black and white sketch, this would be your finished product. Total time from start to this point was about 8 minutes.

Finished black and white head and body picture:

But Lily is going to be in full color so here goes:

The coloring begins:

Sebastian comes to life:

Flounder is colored and work on the tail begins:

Almost done:

Finally, Michael adds the sea and the finished product appears. Total time: about 15 minutes.

Putting the finishing touches on the sea:

The finished product: Lily the Mermaid

The cost for these caricatures is currently $15 for face only black and white, $20 for face only color; $20 for face and body black and white; $30 for face and body color. But note that the price is PER PERSON.

If you are worrying that your child would never sit still for long enough, here's a secret. The child only needs to be looking at the artist during the pencil sketching. Once that's done (and it only takes about two minutes), the child can do pretty much whatever they want.

The artists can also work from photographs as long as they are of a decent size. Postage stamp size photos don't work well, but they can use most photos from cell phones.

I asked Michael about mistakes. "Do you ever do an oops when you're drawing?" He said absolutely. Just the other day he spelled a name wrong and redid the entire caricature. Yes, mistakes do happen.

So next time you come upon one of these artists seated at their booth, stop and think about it. Ten years from now you will wish you had. My wife had one of these done of my daughter about 12 years ago and it's still one of my most treasured things from her childhood. Fifteen minutes now will mean a lifetime of memories.

by Michelle Scribner-MacLean

As part of Team AllEars, I can tell you that I’m part of a group of people who love our gadgets and data collection, in addition to running. Lots of us use different gear to track our training progress including running watches, GPS apps on our phones, and satellite running watches. They are all great tools for collecting data and analyzing our progress.

During a recent trip to Walt Disney World, I thought it might be fun to spend a few days collecting data about how far we traveled during the day. We all know that any visit to WDW involves a lot of walking (my frequent blisters are evidence of this)…so I wondered how far my son Liam and I would travel during some of our days at the parks.

Each day we arrived, I turned on the watch and let it run during the day, recording our walking and, when the satellite was available indoors, some of our riding for the day. When I got home I uploaded the info onto my computer and, with the help of Google maps, found an interesting “story” of what our days were like.

One the day we spent about 12 hours at the Magic Kingdom, the GPS indicates that we “traveled” over 18 miles! Now when I say “travel,” that doesn’t mean that we walked the whole way…One the right you can see that we were in Tomorrowland, “traveling” on Space Mountain and on the Carousel of Progress (traveling on attractions was included in our overall mileage). I found it interesting that the GPS picked up the two times that we road the Jungle Cruise, that we were technically “outside” of the guest area in the separate building where part of Pirates of the Caribbean is housed, and the fact that we realllllly love Splash Mountain.

For another day at Animal Kingdom, it was also clear what our favorite attraction is there….

Did you guess it? Yup! Expedition Everest…over and over again!

Another day at Future World showed that we really didn’t plan our time well…we were walking everywhere with no apparent goal. Sometimes that's nice to do at WDW.

It was a fun exercise for us to track what we did and review what we had done. We might try it again and pack lots of extra BandAids for the dozens of blisters I got (but every one was worth it).

As you may have read, Disney is christening its newest ship, the Disney Dream, on January 19. As a precursor to the christening ceremony and cruise, a special event was held Tuesday night in Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom for an assortment of guests, including members of the media, who were also treated to a briefing on what’s new and what’s next in the parks as Disney launches their new “Let the Memories Begin” campaign.

Many of the plans discussed at the briefing were announced earlier in the day, but the briefing, and the subsequent interviews we were able to conduct later, shed a little more light on them.

The briefing began at the Philharmagic Theater, with Al Weiss, president of Worldwide Operations, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Weiss stated that there were more projects in the works than ever before in the company’s history and recapped additions to Disney parks around the world.

Weiss then introduced Walt Disney World Resort’s president Meg Crofton, who officially kicked off the “Let the Memories Begin” campaign by talking about how memories were at the core of everything they do at the parks.

Crofton detailed several recent park additions or new “immersive experiences”, such as the Wild Africa Trek experience which started a few days ago at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. She also highlighted such features as the interactive queue area at The Many Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh, and the new “Tangled” Play and greet that allows children to play with Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder.

As she revealed that the renovated attraction “Star Tours” would reopen on May 20 – in 3D -- Crofton also had the chance to tease the audience a bit. Imposing music from the “Star Wars” films began to play, announcing the arrival of Imperial Stormtroopers and Darth Vader himself. “Now that’s what I call 3D,” Crofton joked as the villain and his entourage strode out of the theater.

Eric Jacobson, Senior Vice President of Creative Development, Walt Disney Imagineering, then took the stage to outline some of the major changes coming to Fantasyland as part of its current expansion project. Some of the changes were previously announced last year, like Under the Sea: Journey of The Little Mermaid, but there were several new attractions just announced today.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will feature first-of-its-kind ride technology that allows the cars to swing back and forth a bit as it takes riders both inside and outside on a journey starring the Dwarfs and even Snow White. The Scary Adventures of Snow White will close as a result, but on its site will be the new Princess Fairytale Hall, which will host a variety of princesses, including the newer members of the royal family, Tiana and Rapunzel. Finally, fans of the gentle coaster, Goofy’s Barnstormer in Toontown will be happy to hear that it is being slightly rethemed, but will still feature Goofy. Redubbed The Great Goofini, . the storyline will have Goofy as a stunt pilot who is part of the Storybook Circus, new home to Dumbo All of these attractions will start “rolling out” in late 2012.

You can watch Deb Wills speak with Jacobson about the Fantasyland changes below:

Alan Bruun, associate creative director at Walt Disney World Entertainment, was tasked with introducing the new 10-minute castle show that is tied to the Let the Memories Begin campaign.

"The Magic, The Memories, and You," features photos of visitors to Walt Disney World taken during the day, and then projected on the castle in the evening. This basic description, however, fails to take into account the special effects also used to create an almost 3D effect and bring the castle to life.

According to Bruun, as many as 500 photos shot during the day will be projected onto the castle -- but these photos are all selected individually, in a process that Bruun says involves as much 'high touch" as high tech, and then are interwoven into a "story" that tells the guests' experience.

After dinner in Frontierland and desserts in front of the castle, we had the chance to see the new show first-hand. I was skeptical at first as to whether watching photos of strangers would be entertaining at all. But after viewing the show, I must say I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. Some of the special effects are simply amazing, the music is stirring and of course the finale with fireworks is the perfect end to any show. I don't want to ruin all the surprises, but if you don't mind spoilers, we recorded the show here:

Tomorrow is a whole new kind of experience for me, as we take to the "high seas" and I get my first taste of cruising on the brand new Disney Dream! We'll have lots of photos and hopefully we'll get the chance to write a bit, if our luck with the internet holds out.

Follow Deb Wills and me on Twitter as we send mini-updates whenever we can:

Deb Wills = @AllEarsDeb
Deb Koma = @dcdeb_allears

I haven't been to Walt Disney World during the holidays for two years, so the big Gingerbread Tree at the Contemporary Resort, located on the Grand Canyon Concourse Level adjacent to the monorail station, was new to me. Said to be inspired by the art of Disney Legend Mary Blair, the Gingerbread Tree is placed right in front of one of her impressive murals.

The tree is made of gingerbread shingles and other confections and is 6 feet wide, 17 feet tall.

They say it took the following to construct the tree:

-- 1050 pounds of honey
-- 800 pounds of flour
-- 600 pounds of chocolate
-- 600 pounds of powdered sugar
-- 180 pounds of apricot glaze
-- 140 pints of egg whites
-- 35 pounds of spices
-- tons of creativity with some Disney Magic and Pixie Dust

The Contemporary Bakery cast members needed more than three months and 1200 hours to produce, cut and bake the 4,939 shingles used to decorate the Gingerbread Tree.

In addition to all the goodies sold there at the Gingerbread Tree, the Contemporary Resort is offering hand-painted holiday ornaments made to order for $10.50.

Here's a list of what you can purchase after you've done drooling at the tree:

Butter cookie $4.00
Chocolate candy cane $4.00
Chocolate Happy Holidays Frame $11.00
Chocolate Monorail $6.00
Contemporary Season's Greetings Chocolate Frame $12.50
Butter Cookie Holiday Tree $16.00
Linzer Cookie $4.75
Dark Chocolate Lollipop $4.25
White Chocolate Lollipop $4.25
Princess Lollipop $6.00
Gingerbread Man $7.75
Gingerbread Ornament $8.50
Gingerbread Snowflake $4.00
Peppermint Bark $6.00
Hand-painted Ornament $10.50
Gingerbread House $55.00

The shop at the Gingerbread Tree is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The artist who hand-paints and personalizes white chocolate ornaments is on hand 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Did you know All Ears® has a Disney Desktop section? Now it has 56 new wallpapers are waiting for you, including Disneyland, California Adventure, Walt Disney World, and the Disney Cruise Line!

One of the great things about these is: you’ll find the big icons like Cinderella Castle and Spaceship Earth, but you also get some hidden little details in attractions or different views of them. We're also building up our resorts section and in fact, we expanded the Grand Floridian in this update. We also added holiday photos sprinkled throughout each section.

All Ears wants to give you access to favorites that don’t get the attention they deserve.

Foodies, your time is here! Do you need not just a Disney fix, but you’re thinking of Cheddar Cheese soup? We have a Disney restaurant wallpaper section featuring these special places and some signature dishes.

Another nice touch to these are: they all came from photos taken by the All Ears team, including our staff photographers.

Below, you can see me taking a break from getting menus to get pictures for the wallpapers section:

The rest of the team would like you to know that their camera equipment is much more modern.

As always, please give All Ears your feedback. Do you like these wallpapers? Let us know! Do you need different sizes or want to see certain attractions, shows, restaurants, events….? Let us know!

Enjoy! Fill that Disney fix! And when your friends and family have one, send them to our Disney desktop wallpapers!

Deb and the team (including me) are headed for Walt Disney World very soon, so we'll be getting more great images for you. Make sure to say hello if you see me, I have my own All Ears team trading card to hand out too!!!!

And since I'm writing this on Thanksgiving, thank you so much for supporting All Ears!

Erin Blackwell

Mmmm... I can still smell the amazing, buttery aroma of freshly made caramel, even now -- 24 hours after I first set foot in the new Karamell-Küche shop that opened just a few days ago in Epcot's Germany pavilion.

This new store, located on the site of the former Glas und Porzellan in the front of the pavilion, is sponsored by Storck USA, makers of Werther's Original Caramels. It's unique, in that it is the only freestanding retail location for Werther’s in the world -- how did Epcot get so lucky?

Not only does the shop sell a wide array of prepackaged Werther's candies, but each day cast members are busy making fresh caramel confections, including caramel apples and popcorn, caramel-drizzled cupcakes, rice krispie treats, cookies, strawberries, and much more.

Not only is this place a treat for the nose and tastebuds, but it's a feast for the eyes, with attractive displays of its goodies, as well as the chance to watch the cast members at work. You can see them mixing up batches of savory hot caramel, or generously drizzling it over popcorn, cupcakes, and a variety of fruit and freshly baked items.

All of this gooey goodness does not come cheap, of course. You can expect to pay $5.45 for a regular caramel-dipped apple, and up to $9.95 for a specialty, such as Rocky Road (covered with nuts, chocolate chunks, and marshmallows) or Apple Pie. But get this! Some of the items count as snacks on the Disney Dining Plan, including the small bag of caramel popcorn ($2.95), the gourmet caramels ($3.95), the chocolate and caramel covered strawberries ($3.95) and several of the various cookies (prices vary).

If you're buying some of the regular Werther's candies, you can get 1.8 oz. roll packs for $.95, 4.5 oz. bags for $2.95. You can also get sugar-free Werther's: 1.48 oz. minis for $1.45; 2.75 oz. bags for $2.95 and 7.7 oz. bags for $8.95.

The shop is open during regular World Showcase hours, and the lines are currently long, but fast-moving. This is one sweet destination, if you'll pardon the pun, that you should definitely check out on your next visit to Epcot.

by Debra Martin Koma
AllEars.Net Senior Editor

“We want to make you feel like you’ve made the big time.”

Ken Potrock, senior vice president of Disney Sports Enterprises, and George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN, were just two of several speakers who repeated this mantra yesterday during the day-long relaunching of what was formerly known as Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

Now christened ESPN Wide World of Sports, the 220-acre complex hosted a number of members of the media (including yours truly), as we toured the facilities, which encompass two field houses, a baseball stadium, soccer and softball fields, clay tennis courts, and much more. During the tour, we were treated to an inside look at all the recent changes that have taken place at the complex recently to “merge the two powerhouse brands of ESPN and Disney” in an effort to create an “immersive experience” for guests.

What’s New:

--The Innovation Lab. This lab actually opened in October of last year, but what’s new is the announcement that this location will be the hub for developing and testing ESPN’s 3D technology. Chuck Pagano, Executive Vice president of Technology for ESPN, called the lab a petrie dish for growing and testing methods of “all things broadcast”. We were given a sneak peek of 3D television, which ESPN will debut officially in June, when ESPN covers the FIFA World Cup Soccer games held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

-- ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. The former All Star Sports Café has been completely renovated and rethemed with ESPN décor and slogans.

-- Playstation pavilion. Adjacent to the grill is the new Playstation pavilion, which houses 64 gaming stations (16 pods, each with four games), plus a kiosk featuring the game Singstar. Five different games are currently available for play, including brand new titles not yet available to the public. Visitors to the pavilion will be able to register a unique gamer name and pay for play time in increments of 30, 60 or 90 minutes. The Playstation pavilion is the first of what the ESPN WWoS complex is calling a “wait buster.” As it was explained, this area will be the perfects time-killing location for athletes at the complex who have a game early in the morning and then another in the afternoon. That gap is not enough time to go to the theme parks to play, so they can visit the pavilion to while they wait for their next event.

--Customized Tee Shirts. Through a partnership with Champion the WWoS complex now has several locations at which athletes can design their own t-shirts to commemorate specific achievements or events. For example, if they have participated in a tournament, they could design a tee with their particular bracket, or scores. One such location is in the Josten Center, but others are mobile units that can be positioned at various spots around the different fields.

In addition to all the recent changes at the complex, speakers like Potrock and Bodenheimer revealed what’s in store for the complex in the future.

-- At least 25 new events that will appeal to a wide range of guests, including untraditional events like “major league gaming.” Other events will include a new baseball tournament in partnership with Rawlings called the “Golden Glove”; and other events that will focus on the health and wellness of children.

-- New and enhanced partnerships with corporate sponsors such as Josten’s, which is now the exclusive medal and trophy provider for ESPN WWoS, CIGNA, CLIF energy bars and gels; and others.

The overall goal, as restated time and again throughout the day, is to make an athlete who comes to the complex loving sports, walk out knowing “that sports loves them back.”

As the sun began to set, a host of sports celebrities and ESPN personalities assembled, walking the “green” carpet at the complex entrance. Notables including football star Chad Ochocinco and golfing great Annika Sorenstam stopped for photo ops and autographs, then joined the fans and others to watch the official opening ceremonies.

Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton, Potrock, Bodenheimer, and Florida governor Charlie Crist, stressed the significance of this "reimagined" effort. Crist also emphasized that this complex’s rebranding and new events would help boost the state’s economy through growing tourism and jobs. He concluded, “It’s the right thing to do, and the right time to do it.”

After the officials’ remarks, Garrett Hartley, kicker for the 2010 Super Bowl-winning New Orleans Saints, came out to “kick-off” the opening by booting a football (brought out by Football Player Mickey) through the entrance’s “goal posts” accompanied by fireworks and a shower of confetti.

The day's events concluded with a special performance of the Harlem Globetrotters, hosted by "coaches" Mike Golic and Mike Greenburg of ESPN. After more than an hour of slapstick tomfoolery, it came to no one's surprise that the Globetrotters won the game.

AllEars.Net's Mike Scopa and Jack Spence recently attended the "Celebrate Volunteers" press event at Walt Disney World, where they had the chance to speak with Michelle Nunn, CEO of the Points of Light Institute and co-Founder of the Hands On Network.

Text: Mike Scopa
Photo: Jack Spence

I was able to track down and spend some time with Michelle Nunn who wears two hats: one as the CEO of the Points of Light Institute and secondly as the co-Founder of the Hands On network.

I asked her how she got involved with volunteerism.

She said that some 20 years ago she had met some folks like her who wanted to get into volunteer service. They combined their initiative to create Hands On Atlanta, the first volunteer organization of its kind anywhere.

Soon other organizations around the country began to pop up and soon there were sets of these organizations all becoming part of the Hands On Network.

She mentioned how then President Bush had called for 1000 points of light and how that got the Points of Light Institute on its way and how eventually that and the Hands On Network were on a course to one day merge…which happened about two years ago.

Since that merger, the executives at Walt Disney World contacted her and wanted to discuss an initiative and theme for 2010 on volunteerism.
The time and economic climate seemed right and the goal was to make the awareness for volunteers, to call for service across the country, and most notably work towards creating a new, younger generation of volunteers.

It took nine months of hard work to design and get the program in place.
Since the program was launched over 10,000 organizations has signed on to be a part of the effort.

So how does one get involved in the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program?

Michelle says to go to www.disneyparks.com and look for instructions on how to go about serving your community.There is a pipeline of projects just waiting for volunteers.

She says with a twinkle in her eye that she would love to see all who sign up to be lifelong volunteers.

The partnership with Walt Disney World allows the combination of Walt Disney World’s “extraordinary and unrivaled assets” along with Hands On Network expertise in how to create and manage volunteer projects and how to activate people to do service, to create and implement and amazing program to inspire people from across the country to volunteer.
I asked her what has been most heartwarming about this program and she did not hesitate in saying that the testimonials from the organizations and volunteers are at the top of her list.

She mentioned how people like architects and technologists are stepping up to offer their skill sets to the volunteer efforts.

She mentioned the wonderful volunteer stories like Amanda from Canada, who from the age of 2 has been selling lemonade to raise money for all kinds of causes and at the age of 12 has already raised more than $135,000. That is a lot of lemonade.

Michelle also mentioned the wonderful networking of ideas that has resulted from this initiative and how sharing good ideas can only reap positive dividends.

Most of all she loves the fact that the partnership with Disney will Inspire young families and young people and create a whole new generation of citizens who will serve their communities and serve as change agents.
There are so many benefits from having young children get involved.

• Studies have shown that children who grow up in a household where at least one parent volunteers are twice as likely to be active citizens and participate as volunteers in their adult life.

• Studies have also shown that those who participate in service learning programs are more likely to complete college because they are developing self esteem and emotional intelligence and find ways to navigate the world around them.

• It has also been found that young people who volunteer at least one hour a week had 50% less chance of risky behavior such as smoking, drugs, and alcohol.

I asked her about the day’s events and she said it was nice to see the volunteers be the stars of the show.

I asked her if there would be more honoring of volunteers this year and said to me she was looking forward to finding that out herself.

Finally she remarked how wonderful it was to partner with a corporation who certainly knows how to engage its customers and finds exciting ways to profile these volunteers.

I said to her that Disney has always been a great storyteller and we have heard many stories so far but we have many more to come. She agreed.

You can read about the Points of Light Institute at www.pointsoflight.org
and the Hands On network at www.handsonnetwork.org where you will find local volunteer organizations and toolkits to help you get started.
Get involved…what you will receive in return for your service will be priceless smiles and an indescribable feeling of gratification… not to mention a Disney Day.

AllEars.Net's Jack Spence and Mike Scopa attended the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day press event held Thursday, February 11, 2010. The following are images from the day's activities.

This week Walt Disney World’s “Give a Day Get a Disney Day” promotion was given its official launch with a huge celebration of volunteerism at Epcot.

The celebration was held in what was formerly known as the Millennium Village portion of the United Kingdom pavilion in World Showcase -- now called World Showplace.

A few thousand people were in attendance, notably volunteer families elected from across the United States, representing their home state. These volunteer families were being honored by Walt Disney World and their partner in this venture, the Points of Light Institute and the Hands On Network.

Walt Disney World Ambassador Introduces Day's Events

Tom Staggs, Chairmen of Walt Disney World Parks and Resort opened up the ceremony by welcoming everyone with a special welcome to these families. He had a little help from Kermit the Frog who made a special surprise appearance.

WDW Ambassador Talks to Kermit the Frog about Volunteering

Staggs focused on how the theme for 2010 was volunteerism and how the goal was to inspire one million people to go out and do volunteer service for their community.

He then smiled and reported that as of this week 600,000 volunteers have already committed to or have already performed volunteer service within their community.

He mentioned how Walt Disney World’s own cast members have served as role models for volunteering and reported that over the last 25 years cast members have contributed over 5.5 million hours of volunteer service to their communities including most recent efforts to help the people of Haiti.

Walt Disney World is partnering with the Hands On Network and the Points of Light Institute in this push to inspire volunteerism across the country.

The Hands On Network has over 70,000 organizations answering the call to serve. It’s the largest volunteer network in the world.

Staggs introduced Co-Founder of the Hand On Network and Points of Light Institute CEO, Michelle Nunn who addressed the audience.

Michelle Nunn, co-founder of HandsOn Network and CEO of the Points of Light Institute

Nunn talked about the spirit of volunteerism and how this partnering with Walt Disney World had created an “extraordinary lift” for volunteerism across the country.

She proclaimed this partnership to be the most creative volunteer/corporate initiative effort she has ever experienced and applauded everyone’s effort.

She paid homage to the “amazing families” in the audience and talked about just how much this program has accomplished so far.

Over 10,000 community organizations have signed on since the announcement of the program.

The Hands On Network in Jacksonville, FLA has collected eight tons of canned food representing 10,000 meals.

Volunteer families have donated 4000 books for after school programs and have created 800 disaster kits.

Over 60,000 blankets have been collected for those in need.

Nunn closed out by saying Disney’s “Give a Day Get a Disney Day” promotion and partnership with the Hands On network is really “helping dreams come true.”

JAMMitors were on hand

Chairman Staggs stood in front of a wall of white balloons and mentioned that behind the balloons was a structure made of over 150,000 cans of food that will be boxed up, loaded onto trucks, and delivered to food banks in Central Florida, Miami, and Atlanta.

The 150,000 plus cans represented 70,000 meals and was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the Largest Structure of Canned Goods Ever Assembled.

He then introduced Ty Pennington, star of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to help reveal the structure.

Pennington asked for some helpers and Mickey Mouse and Goofy were happy to assist.

Amid fanfare and cries of “Raise those Balloons” the several hundred balloons rose to the ceiling to reveal an enormous wall of canned foods with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy peeking over the edge.

Mickey Mouse canned goods sculpture

Pluto canned goods sculpture

Canned Goods for the Record-Breaking Sculpture

Later on several of the Disney Channel stars came on hand to help put together disaster kits for Haiti and help box and load the canned goods onto a special truck convoy that was led around World Showcase by Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Sweetums.

Friends for Change, Project Green -- Hands On Activities

Haiti Care Kits were Assembled

Mike Scopa Interviews Michelle Nunn, co-founder of HandsOn Network and CEO of the Points of Light Institute

Honorary VoluntEARS Cavalcade at Epcot

Be sure to check back later for more on this event, and Mike Scopa's interview with Michelle Nunn.

AllEars.Net's Mike Scopa and Jack Spence were at today's "What's New? What's Next?" presentation held at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Here they share some exciting new things we can expect to see over the next few months at the Most Magical Place on Earth!

What’s New... What’s Next!

That was the name given to the press conference held on Wednesday evening at the Disney's World of Sports Complex.

Walt Disney World President Meg Crofton, World Wide Operations President Al Weiss, and Senior Vice President, Disney Sports Enterprises, Ken Potrock, made some announcements that will surely bring smiles to Walt Disney World fans around the globe.

Crofton addressed the audience by saying how Walt Disney World is always working to give guests, “…new reasons to visit Walt Disney World!” and also new ideas such as the “Give a Day Get a Disney Day” celebration and how WDW in 2010 wants to inspire 1 million volunteers to give a day of service to one of the thousands of community organizations that are registered with the Hands on Network.

Once these volunteers have contributed their day of service Disney wants to celebrate that volunteer spirit with a day of fun in the parks.

Crofton then discussed the success of the American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. She went on to say that the AI experience helps WDW cast members to get to know guests better. They have found it to be quite inspirational to learn more and more about the guests.

She also discussed how guests have well received the newly refurbished Hall of Presidents in the Magic Kingdom.

Crofton then talked about the many more options given to DVC members with Kidani Village, Bay Lake Towers, and the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs Resort.

She also mentioned the well-received new dining experiences of Kidani Village’s Sanaa and Kouzzina by Cat Cora on the Boardwalk.

That’s What’s New… then she told the audience What’s Next!

• The term “Summer Nightastic” was introduced to describe the 2010 Summer nights at Walt Disney World.
• Crofton announced to a very happy audience that the Main Street Electrical Parade was coming back to The Magic Kingdom in early June 2010. This time the ELP will have Tinker Bell leading the way. Also, Snow White and Pinocchio will also be joining the parade.

• Also this summer The Magic Kingdom will have a new fireworks spectacular at The Magic Kingdom.
• At Disney’s Hollywood Studios the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror will welcome “drop-ins” with new surprises, new lighting effects, and a new drop sequence.

• The Sounds Like Summer concert series returns to Epcot and there are plans to expand Disney’s Animal Kingdom evening hours.

Al Weiss, president of Worldwide Operations, took the podium and talked about things on the horizon.

• Fantasyland Expansion (groundbreaking 2010) – This three-year construction project will result in the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history. For the first time, guests will be able to step into their favorite Disney fairy tales to have more magical and immersive encounters with Disney princesses. Each princess will have her own themed village within Fantasyland Forest. At Dreams Come True with Cinderella, guests can meet Cinderella face to face in her country chateau, share a dance or train to be one of her Royal Knights. At A Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty, it is party time inside the Briar Rose Cottage, nestled in a lush, forest setting. The three good fairies give Aurora the Sweet 16 party she never received, and everyone’s invited to join in the surprise celebration. And an enchanted mirror will transport guests from Belle’s father’s cottage to Beast’s castle for an enchanting storytelling performance during Enchanted Tales with Belle.

• The new district will invite parkgoers to the Be Our Guest Restaurant, one of three enchanted dining rooms inside Beast’s castle. And just outside the castle in Belle’s Village will be Gaston’s Tavern, another themed eatery. Meanwhile, in the new Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid attraction, Ariel and all her friends will entertain in a ride-through adventure featuring favorite songs from the popular animated feature.

• The big top comes to Dumbo’s Flying Circus with a magical flight high above brand-new circus grounds, twice the size of the classic attraction. Inside a stylized tent, guests enjoy midway games and other fun-filled experiences.

• Perfecting Paradise – A Magical Makeover for Castaway Cay (2010) – Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island paradise in the tropical waters of the Bahamas, is getting an extra dose of pixie dust. Enhancements include an expanded family beach, a floating water platform featuring two twisting water slides, two fresh-water play areas for guests to cool off, a new teen retreat and 20 new private rental cabanas offering the ultimate in beachside luxury. The additional island amenities are scheduled to be complete by summer 2010.

• New Sailings for Disney Magic and Disney Wonder (2010, 2011) – In 2010, the Disney Magic will sail to Europe for an unprecedented five-month season of Northern European and Mediterranean cruises. Book-ending the summer season of 12-night Northern European Capitals cruises, the Disney Magic will once again return to the Mediterranean for 10- and 11-night cruises, with three new ports of call – Tunis in northern Africa, the island nation of Malta, and Ajaccio, Corsica. In the summer of 2010, the Disney Wonder will sail four- and five-night cruises to Nassau, Key West and Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. In the summer of 2011, the Disney Wonder will sail for the first time to Alaska, with seven-night cruises calling on Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

• Disney Cruise Line Expanding Its Fleet (2011, 2012) – The Walt Disney Company is expanding its successful cruise vacation business by adding two new ships, Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy, to set sail in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Two decks taller than the existing Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, the new 1,250-stateroom liners will more than double the passenger capacity for Disney Cruise Line. Now under construction, the Disney Dream will offer magical innovations, engaging children’s spaces, family entertainment and immersive experiences for which Disney Cruise Line is renowned.

• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex Relaunch (February 2010) – A re-imagining project involving ESPN and the Disney sports complex, the leading multi-sport venue in the nation, aims to create immersive and entertaining sports experiences for athletes, coaches and fans by incorporating signature elements of ESPN in ways that will connect athletes and coaches with their favorite ESPN programs, personalities and elements. Guests will discover a new welcome center, a digital center where video captured by 56 high-definition robotic and handheld cameras across the 220-acre sports campus is edited for display on 40 video screens and two “jumbotrons” throughout the complex as part of a veritable Wide World of SportsCenter, and the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, technical staff will continue work in the Innovation Lab to develop ground-breaking ESPN on-air products – using the action throughout the complex as a real-world testing environment.

• That’s not all. Exciting coming attractions for Disney include new dining, retail – and even extend to a “galaxy far, far away.” An all-new 3-D version of the popular Star Tours attraction launches in 2011 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, featuring immersive new elements that will take guests to many familiar places in the “Star Wars” galaxy.

by Debra Martin Koma
AllEars® Senior Editor

OK, OK, I know I said I'd write a Day 2 recap, and it's coming, I promise... but we have breaking news from TODAY.

And when the news breaks, the news breaks!

So, what's so important?

Well, today, at a presentation I attended just a little more than two hours ago, Jay Rasulo, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Chairman, made some really exciting announcements that I wanted to share right away!

First, the rumored expansion of Walt Disney World's Fantasyland is TRUE!

They are going to be more than doubling the size of Fantasyland and adding a number of
amazing new attractions.

The down side? Toontown is going to go away. Completely. Although the Imagineers have said they are going to try to save Goofy's Barnstormer somehow... they're just not sure how yet.

Based on Rasulo's presentation, and a press conference I attended afterward with several Imagineers and Rasulo as well, here are some of the major features of the expansion:

-- A country chateau where Cinderella lives with her stepmother and stepsisters, where you'll see her transform.
-- An area for Sleeping Beauty, in which you can make birthday cards for Aurora's Sweet 16 birthday party and give them to her.
-- Beast's Castle, which will house a 552-seat restaurant that is counter service by day, table service by night. The castle will have three areas, including the "West Wing", in which you will be able to see the Beast's private antechamber and the rose with dropping petals, featured in the animated film, Beauty and the Beast.
-- An "under the sea with Ariel" attraction, like the new Little Mermaid attraction in Disneyland, only with a completely different queue area.
--Expanded Dumbo -- Basically two Dumbo rides, and NO queue. Instead, there will be a 3-Ring Circus interactive play area with bleachers for adults, so that you can have fun while you wait for your "feather" to be called so that you can ride.
-- Pixie Hollow, which will be a second phase of the expansion, will eventually join the rest of Fantasyland.

Construction on the first phase of the expansion is expected to start soon, and, according to the Imagineers, impact on guests and existing attractions in Fantasyland should be minimal. The new areas should be completed by 2012, with the second phase following in 2013.

The second biggest announcement came as a good news/bad news thing.

The bad news? Star Tours in Disneyland is going to close in October 2010.

The good news? A whole new Star Tours, in 3D, will open in 2011!

The new attraction will feature scenes like the Pod Race in The Phantom Menace.

Although it was unclear when Star Tours in Walt Disney World will close, it, too, will be
receiving the new makeover.

For the official press release on this and other remarks Rasulo made today at the D23
Expo, as well as some artist renderings, check out our Disney News Blog HERE.

I'll be back more later with a recap of Day 2 and 3!

by Debra Martin Koma
AllEars® Senior Editor

The other day, I had the chance to speak with Marianne Hunnel, manager of culinary programs for the upcoming Epcot International Food and Wine Festival. I asked her if she could "spill the beans," so to speak, about what we can expect at the annual 45-day eating and drinking extravaganza, which runs this year from September 25 through November 8.

"I'm really excited about this year's festival,"Hunnel stated. "We have such an exciting lineup of chefs and programs."

Hunnel, who, along with her husband, Victoria and Albert's chef Scott, just celebrated her 20th year with Disney, noted that they are still adding the final touches to many of the events scheduled for this year's festival. She did, however, share many, if not all, details of what's to come.

What's New?

"We're going to have three new kiosks around World Showcase," Hunnel said, referring to the international food booths scattered amidst the country pavilions around World Showcase Lagoon. "The first will be right as you enter World Showcase, and it will feature desserts and champagne. You can arrive at the festival and toast the day along with maybe a Grand Marnier parfait. Then if you're hungry for real you can move to straight to another new kiosk -- Rio de Janeiro, from Brazil."

The other new kiosk this year is Thailand, featuring samples of savory Thai food paired with, not wine, but beer.

"We've found that in many countries wine isn't necessarily as popular," Hunnel noted. "And it's sometimes not the best pairing with the food."

While there won't be any big "experiences" around World Showcase, like last year's Louisiana or Australia exhibits, there will be several additions that offer more than just the samples you'll find at the food booths. For example, the Edy's Ice Cream Experience will offer a variety of flavors and interactive activities. The Italian region of Puglia will also be represented for all 45 days of the festival. Located near the Italy pavilion, of course, you'll find demonstrations there on pasta-making and tastings, including tastings of Puglia-produced olive oil, which Hunnel claimed is "incredible in flavor -- fruity, sweet, the aromas." My mouth was watering as she waxed poetic -- I do so love food.

Hunnel also said that by the time the festival starts the new lounge, Cava del Tequila, will be open in the Mexico pavilion, and it will be the site of tequila tastings each Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

"Spirits seem to be making a comeback," she noted. "There's a timeless tradition, obviously, of people enjoying spirits, but it seems that they are gaining in popularity again. Some guests at the festival like to explore different tastes like this, particularly when the people who crafted the beverages are present. It's an educational journey."

Also in Mexico, at least for part of the festival (the specific dates have yet to be determined) there will be chefs and demonstrations courtesy of the Mexican Tourist Board.

One program the Hunnel said she was very excited about is the new Celebrating with Family and Friends in the Kitchen. The concept is that a celebrity chef will prepare a three-course lunch for the audience, alongside one of their friends, another chef, or perhaps even a family member. The tentative schedule of these lunches is listed below.

What's Returning?

Although last year's experimental venture City Tastes is not returning, the ever-popular Party for the Senses will again be featured every Saturday, adopting at least one aspect of City Tastes -- a weekly theme.

"Each week, we'll be celebrating something," Hunnel noted, "from Comfort Foods with a Twist to Classical Cuisine presented in a new way." (Hunnel detailed the themes for each weekend, which I've listed at the end of this blog, along with other info she shared with me about other programs.)

The Party will, however, feature a new twist this year -- an exclusive Wine View Lounge, available for an additional fee, will give a limited number of guests the chance to partake of special amenities: a secluded area; private, reserved tables; and special menu items.

"Guests have expressed a desire to have an exclusive area like this," Hunnel noted. "We think this will be the place to see and be seen."

Also returning are the popular Sweet Sundays brunches, during which a celebrity chef prepares a variety of desserts after guests have a light brunch. Programs like Authors without Borders, the Wine School and other signature dining events, will also return. The Cheese Tastings are being offered again as well, although they'll be starting a little earlier than in previous years -- 10:30 a.m. Hmm, wine and cheese first thing in the morning -- Breakfast of Champions? Could be, could be...

Hunnel said that the final schedule, complete with dates, times and prices, should be available online at disneyworld.com within the next 5-10 days, but here are some specifics that she could share with me:

Celebrating Friends and Family in the Kitchen

• September 26 The Deen Brothers (Jamie and Bobby, sons of Food Network's Paula Deen)

• October 2 Suvir Saran

• October 9 Patti LaBelle (yes, the singer -- she has a cookbook out!)

• October 16 Dean Max and Paula DaSilva

• October 23 Alan Wong with Art Smith

• October 30 Cat Cora (possibly with her mother)

• November 6 Andrea Immer Robinson, M.S. - With husband John Robinson

Party for the Senses

• September 26 – Spanish cuisine/wines (chef Douglas Rodriguez will be on hand this week)

• October 3 – Comfort Foods with a Twist (think macaroni and cheese made with artisanal cheeses and homemade pasta)

• October 10 – South American (including chef Jeff Tunks)

• October 17 – Classical Cuisine presented in a new way

• October 24 – Asian (including chef Alan Wong)

• October 31 – Fall Harvest (including chefs Cat Cora and Tory McPhail of Commander's Palace in New Orleans)

• November 7 – Italian

Sweet Sundays

• September 27 Andrew Shotts
• October 4 Warren Brown & Mary Meyers
• October 11 David Guas of Bayou Bakery in Arlington, VA
• October 18 Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
• October 25 Clair Clark from The French Laundry
• November 1 Geraldine Randalsome
• November 8 Jacques Torres

My mouth is watering already! I'll be covering the first weekend of the Festival and returning again later in October with my family for our annual visit. If you have any suggestions of things I should try specifically, drop me a note here and I'll make the supreme sacrifice of "researching" these fun food and wine events for our readers!

AllEars® Team Member Erin Blackwell brings us this blog entry on Disney's PhotoPass.

What can we tell you about Disney's PhotoPass? Well, like everything else on the site, we try to be as comprehensive as possible, so you have all the information you need for your Disney vacation. Let's start with the basics for everyone who hasn't been to the parks in awhile or is about to go for the first time!

What is Disney's PhotoPass? It used to be Disney's photographers would take pictures of you in a park and give you a slip of paper to claim the photos at the end of the day. If you forgot or if you couldn't get the picture(s) then, you were out of luck. But now, that's all changed... and for the better! With the advantages of digital photography, Disney created the only system of this kind: the photographers still take pictures of your vacation, but now you can claim that any time, including online for 30 days after your trip is over. From there you can view your photos, order prints, and create photo keepsakes. Many guests say since PhotoPass has done away with the old system, they had more photos taken.

The first time you have your picture taken, the photographer will give you a plastic Disney's PhotoPass card with an ID number on the back. Hang onto that card and use it for the duration of your trip. In fact, you can hang on to it and use it on every trip you take! Each time you see one of the roving photographers and want a photo taken, just go up and hand them your card - they'll get you situated, snap the pose, scan your card and off you go - and you can do this as often as you like.

By the way, you're not limited to one card. If you and others in your party each have a card, or you forgot yours in your room so you get another, it doesn't matter. Your online account will take the ID numbers from all those cards and combine them, so everything's in one place.

You'll also get a separate card if you attend a special event such as Halloween parties, and the Walt Disney World water parks give you a small card on a wrist strap like the one on the right. These cards are getting so popular, the Magic Kingdom now offers them at Pixie Hollow, and hopefully, that'll expand to all the parks.

The most important thing is the ID number on the back of the card. All of your photos are linked to that code, so write it down, take a clear picture of it, or save it somehow. That way, if you lose your card, you still have your pictures! You can even send this ID number to someone at home, so they can look at your pictures online and share in your trip. They can also tell you if a picture didn't come out well, so you can have it done again.

Each park at Disneyland and Walt Disney World has PhotoPass Centers, and even some of the resorts, so you can look at them while you're on your vacation. But since they're online for 30 days, from the date the photo was taken, you just go to http://www.disneyphotopass.com, register for free, and enter the ID number on the back of the card(s). Now you can add characters and borders, look at the Disney Gallery for their pictures, and figure out what kind of products you might like.

So where are the photographers? That's the biggest question that I hear. Where are they? How do you recognize them? I'm going to give you two ways of finding them. You'll be able to print these (and even download them to a PDA) so you can have them while you're at the parks.

First, how do you recognize them? Most Disney PhotoPass photographers wear the same basic costume: dark shorts or pants, white shirt, and, most times, a khaki photographer's vest. One exception are the photographers on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom; look for blue and white pinstripe shirts, with white pants and oversized beret-type hats. Both costumes are pictured on the left.

Second, the next big question: where are they? And "why doesn't Disney have maps for them!" Actually, Disney does have maps for the photographer locations. It's true that they aren't on the maps you get in the parks; Disney feels the locations can change so much, the paper maps become too easily obsolete.

But! The All Ears.Net PhotoPass page gives you the link for the only Disney PhotoPass maps; they're online and in PDF format, broken down by the six parks: Disneyland, California Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios. Just look for the camera icons on the map to find the photographers. You also get some general tips and where you can find the PhotoPass Center in that park.

I said I'd give you another way to find them, and here it is: each PhotoPass page on the site (one for Disneyland parks, and one for Walt Disney World) lists each location. I also give tips like the official maps and the PhotoPass Centers, but (putting on infomercial voice) wait, there's more! The pages give additional tips like characters in each section, and what can you get in the "magical photos", plus the restaurants, special event locations, and resorts. You can read these Disneyland PhotoPass locations and Walt Disney World PhotoPass locations tables, and use the print link to take them with you!

Remember: because of the weather, character times, and photographer availability, photo locations are subject to change without notice. Some locations are meant to be temporary: my husband and I had our picture taken by a photographer taking advantage of the sunset on a lagoon, as an example.

Some readers reported seeing fewer photographers lately; the good news is, Disney is bringing in more, so this problem can be resolved.

Note: one PhotoPass location outside the parks is the NYC World of Disney store, so you can get a touch of Disney while visiting the Big Apple.

"Magical photos"? Yes, Virginia, I did say "magical photos". They can also be called "special poses" or "magical poses". The photographers will ask you to pose in what might seem like odd ways: cupping your hands, pointing to the ground, looking surprised.... They do this because characters are added into the photo, like you crossing swords with Captain Hook or Stitch popping out of the ground. The latest magical photo is the Mickey balloons, like you see in All Ears team member Laura's hands. Disneyland told Laura they've only been available for a month. My personal opinion is, they've been added to coincide with the balloon theme for "What Will You Celebrate?", but it could just be, the balloons look great!

One Disney manager told team member Jack Spence that these balloons are available at all PhotoPass locations. We haven't tested all the places, but we can say that they're definitely available at these two locations:

Disneyland in front of the train station: as you see with Laura.

-and-

Disney's Hollywood Studios on Sunset Boulevard, as you can see with Jack on the left.

Ask if you get the balloon pose in other locations, and if you do, please let AllEars® know! More on that later.

The other newer magical photo that I've seen is also at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and it's Stitch bursting out of a hat in your hands. They offer it on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards.

Professional Portrait Service: Walt Disney World offers a private portrait session for you and your party at five of their hotels: The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, The Beach Club, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the newest location, Wilderness Lodge. (Each of these also has their own PhotoPass center.) For full information, check the Disney's PhotoPass page for Walt Disney World under Locations & Tips.

General tips: this section on the pages is about what you'd expect - tips on making Disney's PhotoPass work for you. The most important tip is what I said above: save that ID number! Others tips include help with dining locations, pictures with children, and not forgetting the great opportunity for beautiful night photos.

Ways to save money: that perked up the ears, didn't it? And why not? Who wouldn't like to save money? Disneyland guests save money on the PhotoCD of all your pictures, but did you know there is a way to get that price when you have a trip to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland?

Walt Disney World guests: If you booked your trip through either via Disneyworld.com or through Disney's Reservation Center, you will get an email from Disney Destinations called "Disney Vacation Must Sees for the (name) Family". It is sent approximately mid-way between when a reservation is booked and the arrival date (or 45 days prior to the arrival date if the mid-way point is more than 45 days prior to arrival). The email has a link to pre-order the PhotoCD and save! (Note: This is the ONLY way to get the link now and you only get this link if you booked your trip through the 2 ways described above. At this time, you will not get the discount if you booked through a travel agent, if you're staying off-property, or if you are a DVC member. Also, you must pre-order the PhotoCD to get the savings, you cannot do it during or after your trip, and the link is not transferable.)

Look for other ways to save money in this section. Of course, it lists all the products you can purchase; they're the same for Disneyland and Walt Disney World. If you've been to these sections before, one of the updates is to product prices. Some even went down.

Yes, Virginia, you read that right: some prices went down.

Tips on Posing: here's a whole new section added to the pages. It deals with what kind of fun and creative poses you can do. Some photographers are great with this and so are some guests. One of AllEars.Net's photographers, Lisa Berton, for example, got an apple to pose with the Evil Queen from Snow White poisoning her. She also used the crowd behind her at Cinderella's Castle to do a "I crush your head! Crush! Crush!" pose. (Everyone who knows Lisa is nodding their heads right now and grinning.)

Another that I really love is Mickey cupping his hands with a couple's hands folded on top of his, displaying their wedding rings like you would in a wedding album. It's a lovely "intimate" photo that is all Disney.

So check out these new sections to inspire your imagination and have fun!

Contacting PhotoPass: Two things that never change (besides death and taxes): 1) people make mistakes and 2) so do the machines they create. Your photos might not show up in your account, or you have some other reason you need to contact Disney's PhotoPass. The pages give you five different ways to do this: their contact form, 3 different email addresses, and their phone number.

The only difference between the Contact PhotoPass section for Disneyland vs Walt Disney World is: the latter also has the phone number for the Portrait Sessions and the NYC World Of Disney store.

Both also have a link to the Disney's PhotoPass Help FAQ.

What's coming up: For Disney's PhotoPass? Quite a lot, I'm sure: locations are fluid, technology improves, more and more special events are created. For the PhotoPass pages on AllEars.Net? My next big update will be Photo Galleries. This way, you will see all the "magical photos" characters, some of the creative poses you can do, Special Events, and PhotoPass pictures in general.

Of course, I need to keep the pages current so they're useful. One way I do that, in addition to whining badgering politely asking people on the team for help, is reading the feedback, tips and reviews from our readers. Please send in what you learn about Disney's PhotoPass. You help out me and your fellow guests!

Thank you to Jack Spence who dared to open an email with the subject line "Good Morning, Mr. Phelps" where I begged asked for help, and to Laura Gilbreath for all her help!

by
Debra Martin Koma
Senior Editor
AllEars®

I recently had the chance to chat with Kristi Koester, a manager of WDW Product Marketing, and we talked about what's going on with the Downtown Disney area. While there was a lot she couldn't talk about, because it's still in the planning stages, there were a few things she COULD reveal. Plus we had the chance to talk more at length about some plans that have already been announced.

"When the night clubs closed on Pleasure Island (on September 28), we announced a complete transformation, not only of Pleasure Island, but of the whole Downtown Disney area," Koester says. "Over the past few months we have been working with Imagineers and many others to finalize this vision we have of making the area Disney's dining, shopping and entertainment metropolis."

Some of the changes to the area we're already seeing, she notes, pointing to the fall 2008 opening of T-Rex and the recent opening of the Design-A-Tee shop at the Marketplace. On the horizon is TrenD (pronounced trend-dee), an upscale, hip Disney fashion boutique, located on the site of the former Summer Sands in the marketplace, due to open in late March. And soon after that there will be a new, as-yet-unnamed restaurant with a Central and South American theme.

E-Brands Restaurants, based in Orlando, is the name behind the new restaurant, and the company already operates a number of high-concept eateries around the country, including Timpano Chophouse and Martini Bar, AquaKnox ( seafood), and David Burke (Modern American cuisine in Las Vegas). Nonetheless, Koester claims that this particular restaurant's concept is new to E-Brands, and will add to the mix of the Downtown Disney area, which she says is evolving from "night clubs" to "night life."

The new restaurant, which is slated to open later this year with a wine bar and a tequila bar, will also feature an impressive view of the waterfront.

"That's been one of the issues at Downtown Disney," she notes, "the real estate issue. You have this prime location sitting on the water and it was blockaded by all these buildings. The area needs to be contemporized and the waterfront opened up -- we're looking at ways to maximize this asset."

Another way Downtown Disney will "maximize this asset" is with Characters in Flight, the first Downtown Disney attraction, scheduled to open in April. This tethered balloon ride, situated in the water between Pleasure Island and West Side, is operated by the same company that runs a similar ride at Disneyland Paris. It will allow 30 participants at a time to go 300 feet off the ground and will last six minutes. The cost for the experience has not yet been set, but Koester notes that it will be quite an exhilarating ride.

"The ride will operate day and night," she explains, adding that the balloon will be illuminated in the evenings. "It's off-white, silhouetted with Disney characters, and will be quite a unique site hovering over the water at Downtown Disney."

When asked if this type of activity along with the closing of the night clubs, signals a shift to making Downtown Disney and specifically Pleasure Island more family-oriented, Koester shakes her head.

"No, I don't think that's it. I think the area will have a family focus, but will also be accommodating to others, not catering to one group more than another." She adds, "We're looking at rounding out what we have already and bringing in the best brands from all over. Not necessarily chains, but more unique experiences, like Raglan Road. We're looking at an array of dining possibilities, places with show kitchens, open lounges, that will appeal to everyone, not just families."

So what about bringing some of the old night clubs back, then? Specifically the beloved Adventurers Club, which was a uniquely Disney experience.

"I can tell you for certain that the Adventurers Club as it was will not be coming back to Pleasure Island," Koester states. "I'm afraid it will be a line in Disney history."

As for the rest of the changes the area will be seeing, Koester says they are coming, but as Imagineers are looking at transportation and a whole host of other related issues, it's been a challenge to develop and lock onto a finalized plan. But, she adds, there will be a succession of smaller announcements over the next 18 months to two years, as Disney reaches agreements with other partners who will open locations in the Downtown Disney area.

"As you can imagine, tough economic times like these tend to slow things down," she notes. "But you can expect an announcement at least of the overall vision for Downtown Disney early this summer."

by Debra Martin Koma
Senior Editor
AllEars®

ESPN The Weekend Schedule!
Saturday Part 1
Saturday Part 2
Sunday Part 1
Sunday Part 2

Some of you may know that I visited Walt Disney World during ESPN The Weekend for the first time last year, and that my son came away a winner after participating in the Dream Job Experience (read his blog a see video about the event HERE).

Well, he's twisted my arm, so I'm taking him down for the event again this year -- we'll be heading to WDW later this week!

While I was in the World LAST week, though, I had the chance to speak about ESPN The Weekend to Jason Dobbins of Disney's product marketing. For those of you who also might be going to the see the star athletes and ESPN personalities, here's what he had to tell me about this year's event.

The format for the event will be the same as last year's -- as Dobbins noted, it was so successful last year, they didn't see any reason to change anything this year. So you'll still see the motorcades with the athletes throughout the day, and they'll still have conversations under
the Sorcerer Mickey Hat.

There will also be live broadcasts of popular ESPN shows like "NFL Live" and "1st and 10," live ESPN Radio broadcasts, and interactive game shows like the returning Dream Job Experience and Stump the Schwab for fans to take part in.

In the former show, members are selected from the crowd and have a chance to act as broadcasters of a major sporting event. The
audience votes who does the best job, while the participant gets feedback from some celebrity athlete judges. (That's the one my son the ham participated in.) In the latter, select members of the audience team up with an athlete to answer trivia questions, hoping to outscore ESPN personality Howie Schwab.

Dobbins added that they have been trying to add on another new interactive experience with one of the athletes scheduled to appear, but details weren't quite ironed out when we spoke... so keep your eyes peeled for something new on the schedule!

Shows like these and other activities will again be spread out all over the park, some taking place in the Theatre of the Stars (working around showings of Beauty and the Beast), others possibly in the Sounds Dangerous theater. One of last year's venues, the ABC Theater, is now home to the new American Idol Experience attraction, so instead some shows will be held in what's now called the Premiere Theater, back in the Streets of America area of the park. That theater, former home of the Hunchback of Notre Dame show, is now fully enclosed and air-conditioned.

The theme park will also host the ESPN SportsZone, located behind Rock'n' Roller Coaster and the Soundstages. You get a really cool perspective of the park from back there, plus there's lots going on -- basketball and baseball "clinics", autograph signing... you won't be bored, that's for sure.

Sort of a random note: attendees will be treated to the introduction of a new Powerade product -- apparently, Coca-Cola is giving ESPN The Weekend guests an exclusive first taste.

A tentative list of attendees for the weekend's festivities can be found HERE, but remember -- it'll be changing up until the last minute, as details are being finalized. (But Steeler Lamarr Woodley had better show up, or I'll have one disappointed Pittsburgh fan on my hands!)

If you're heading south for the event, have fun! And if you spot me in the park (I'm sure I won't get out of Disney's Hollywood Studios all weekend!) be sure to say hi!

Watch for a report on the weekend when we get back.

by Debra Martin Koma
AllEars® Senior Editor

At the outset, I have to say one thing: I am very excited to announce that I was the very first non-Disney cast member to set foot in the brand new American Idol Experience that is nearly set to debut in Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Yes, when Disney held its special Annual Passholder tour for the new attraction on Sunday, I was the very first person in the very first (10 a.m.) tour to set foot in the place. It was pretty exciting. For me, at least.

So, what did I learn on the tour? Well, lots of things. Most importantly, I guess, is that the new attraction is scheduled to open on February 14, 2009! Whatever the new attraction may be like, I'm always thrilled when something new opens.

What else can I tell you? Well, I'm sorry that I wasn't allowed to take photos on the tour, so I'll try to relate as much as I can remember.

Since they couldn't really let us see the actual show that guests will experience come next February, they walked us through both backstage and in front of the stage.

When you enter the backstage area, you'll first encounter the auditioning booths... two as soon as you enter, another two further down the corridor. The whole area is very sleek and contemporary, done in royal blue carpeting, light wood, glass block and chrome. Though it wasn't there yet, the area will also eventually have a plasma screen TV, which will show an introductory video featuring American Idol's host, Ryan Seacrest.

But wait... Maybe I should back up a bit. For those of you who want to try out to be a performer at the American Idol Experience, you'll be able to pre-register online on Disney's site, before you come down to Walt Disney World, or you can just simply turn up to audition on the spot. (You'll have to be at least 14, though.) Those who audition will sing, a cappella, for a casting director in one of the four soundproof rooms. They'll be allowed to bring one guest with them throughout the whole process.

If selected during the audition process, the contestant will next spend some time in the producer's lounge, where they will be given an iPod holding 113 songs. They'll have up to 20 minutes to listen to the tunes on the iPod to decide which one they would like to sing at the next step in the process -- in front of the producer.

The producer's room is slightly large than the basic auditioning booth. There the contestant will sing with accompaniment and will learn whether they are passing on to the next phase -- to perform in front of an audience. There will be three to five contestants selected for each show.

Once the contestants are selected they will be given a special "vote for me!" lanyard to wear as they walk around the park for the remainder of the day, until they are tapped to perform. Contestants will receive a phone call about an hour before they are due to perform for the American Idol Experience -- that gives them time to talk with the stage coach, vocal coach, and hair and makeup people.
As the tour guide told us, everyone will truly be set up for success.

On the audience side, though, no special skills are necessary. As you're waiting in the outdoor queue, a crew will be filming you -- excerpts will then be intercut into a video that will somehow be used during the show. (Justin Guarini, runner-up from the first season of American Idol, will be featured in this video.)

When you enter 1000-seat theater you'll find quite a sight. More sleek furnishings, blue carpeting and upholstery, but more than that -- the set is identical to the REAL American Idol show. Understandable, really, when you discover that it was designed by the same person who designed the set for the television show, Andy Walmsley.

This "smart theater", as the tour guides called it, is equipped with some impressive technology. For example, the LED lights that it uses save enough energy to power 60 houses each day. In addition, during the performances, the contestants will wear a transmitter that will enable the lighting to follow them automatically -- no worrying about stepping out of the spotlight.

After the contestants perform, they will be evaluated by three judges, who will be patterned after the familiar format used on the American Idol television show. One judge will be the hip, cool judge, one will be nurturing, and one will be the "tell it like it is" judge -- you know, like Simon Cowell. However, as our tour guide reminded us, it IS Disney World, so this judge won't be quite so nasty. And, just like on the television show, while the judges have their say, it is the audience's vote that counts. Members of the audience cast their vote using the keypads embedded in their armrests.

There will be seven preliminary shows per day, each running about 20-25 minutes. The eighth and last show of the day will be the grand finale, which will last about 45 minutes. During the finale, the seven winners from the day's earlier shows will perform, vying for the big prize -- a Dream Ticket that gives them the chance to go before a producer of the actual American Idol show. As one of our tour guides described it, it's like a FASTPASS to AI -- it doesn't guarantee you'll be on the show, but it gets you past the auditioning process and directly to a producer.

Other participants who don't win the Dream Ticket will receive special commemorative souvenirs, too, but it sounds like the experience alone will be a fantastic memory to take home.

Our tour guides concluded by telling us that a Passholder Preview is coming soon -- no date given, though. If you're interested in going, be sure you're registered on Disney's passholder site, as the announcement will be coming by email.

Overall, I'm anxious to see this new show -- I'm probably one of about 10 people in the World who has never watched American Idol on television, but still, I think seeing the new live "Experience" will be interesting -- but only from the audience! There is no way I would ever audition for something like that myself!

Jack Marshall just returned from a trip to Walt Disney World. He stayed at Old Key West and reports that all the villas have received new patio furniture!

Jack also spotted this sign at Downtown Disney!

By Michelle Scribner-MacLean

Beautiful weather was a welcome theme for this entire weekend, after traveling from New Hampshire, where it is still struggling to get out of the 50s. This May weekend was in Orlando absolutely beautiful with temperatures in the mid-80s and abundant sunshine for nearly the entire time I was there. This provided a terrific backdrop for my second full day at the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT.

I spent the first part of the day on my own, taking my time and carefully checking out the special exhibits and plants that were highlighted in Future World. I got the chance to speak with two beekeepers, whose booth was located in Future World East, between the Mousegear store and Mission Space. They brought two living hives, samples of honey, and were very willing to talk about the bee-plant relationship, as well as what is involved in keeping hives.

Next I made my way over to Minnie’s Butterfly Garden (Can you see a theme here? I'm a science teacher and love learning about bugs!).

Sandwiched between two amazing butterfly topiaries, this popular attraction is back with an array of local butterflies including zebra longwings, orange julias, and painted ladies.

It was fairly crowded (with lots of enthusiastic photographers getting shots of these interesting creatures on their native plants. Here’s a photo I took of a common buckeye.

Later in the morning I was joined by my friend, Pat, who had never seen the Flower and Garden Festival. I visit Walt Disney World frequently, but one of the things that I really enjoy is introducing my friends and family to new things that they haven’t seen before. Pat was thrilled with all that she saw and kept saying, “I can’t believe that I never knew this was here!”

At lunchtime we made our way over to Garden Town, former home to the Wonders of Life Pavilion. (I met up with a cast member friend who said that, although they’ve been opening the Wonders of Life for five weeks a year during the past several years, now it is officially closed for good – or, as we like to say in the Disney fan world – it has become an “extinct attraction”).

For Flower and Garden, they’ve converted this space into sort of an exposition of things related to plants and growing. There are two spaces for lectures and demonstrations (I caught a horticulturist talking about garden irrigation and walked by a group learning about proper ways to plant trees), there is a little garden store, and there is a wonderful 20-minute film which shows behind the scenes footage of how the Disney team of horticulturists prepare for this event.

Pat and I then ventured to the Garden Town Café for lunch. This was a perfect spot for a few reasons. First, it seems that not many people know about this café….so it was not crowded at all. Second, there were some great food choices. We had salads with edible greens and flowers and both agreed that it was really yummy (and I definitely felt as if I’d had my vitamins for the day after eating that).

We spent the remainder of the day walking around World Showcase, where each country featured some special plant arrangement, spice, or fragrant flower collection. The topiaries were just spectacular. I noticed these familiar characters in Germany.

My last morning at Walt Disney World was filled with interesting events. I decided that I could not go home without going to the Magic Kingdom (what trip to WDW would be complete without seeing the castle?). Taking advantage of my planned reservation later in the day, I parked at the Grand Floridian and took an easy monorail ride over to the Magic Kingdom. I spent quite a bit of time in Tomorrow Land and must comment that every time I’ve gone to the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, I’ve really enjoyed myself. I sort of feel that I don’t want to like it – because it’s so goofy, but every show that I’ve been to has been different and really funny. I’d recommend it if you’ve never been.

Crowd levels we really high, but I decided to venture over to one of my favorites – Splash Mountain – because I had a Fast Pass. Not a good idea. Ten minutes into it, the ride broke down and we were stuck for 25 minutes. Because we stopped at a difficult to access place in the ride, our evacuation required that we climb over the back seats of several boats before being taken backstage to exit (cast members requested that we take no photos). Although this doesn’t happen often, it happens occasionally, so here is a tip for parents: make sure that your child has visited the restroom before going on a long attraction. The poor family behind me had a 5 year-old girl who had to go and that 25 minute wait was not a pleasant one for her!

On the way out of Splash Mountain, I had a bit of a celebrity sighting. Cole and Dylan Sprouse (a.k.a. Zack and Cody from the show on the Disney Channel) were walking toward Splash Mountain with a VIP guide. There were so many people in the park, they seemed to be walking around unnoticed. Sadly, I didn’t have my camera out when they passed.

The final treat for my weekend was meeting my friend for high tea at the Grand Floridian. This was a new experience for me and I was very excited. The tea is served at a small restaurant at the back of the lobby called Garden View Lounge. The tables are small, the chairs are comfy, the room is sunny, and the wait staff was excellent. Pat and I both ordered three course teas and settled in for a wonderful experience. I treated myself to a Prince Edward’s Tea (but shared the pate with my friend since I’m a vegetarian). The first course also came with sherry (a fun surprise), delicious cheese, and an assortment of berries. Later I had scones with Devonshire clotted cream, while Pat, who had ordered the Sally Lunn Tea, had beautiful strawberries and cream. It was a perfect ending to a whirlwind getaway weekend and I highly recommend high tea as a change of pace from the parks and a new experience at Walt Disney World.

You can download your own copy of the Flower and Garden Festival at: http://adisneyworld.disney.go.com/media/wdw/Images2003/languagespecific/eng/nontheme/parks/epcot/events/flowerandgarden/FlowerGarden08_lores.pdf

Take a look at menu for high tea at the Grand Floridian Garden View Lounge.

By Michelle Scribner-MacLean

Ah, the generosity of friends….and all my friends happen to know that I love Walt Disney World. So, when my dear pal Pat invited me to stay at her off-property Orlando timeshare for the weekend, I jumped at the chance. I was particularly happy because, although we usually trek down to WDW in May as a family, this spring we’d decided to postpone our family trip until later in the year….which meant that I was going to miss the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT. However, yesterday, after a very early flight from cold and dreary New Hampshire, midmorning I found myself standing in front of Spaceship Earth taking in this splendid site:

The entrance area to EPCOT didn’t have its typical music, but instead featured tunes that you’d hear at a beach party….which is fitting since all of the topiaries are decked out in beach gear. Minnie had a cute bathing suit and her dear boy…..er…..mousefriend looked like this:

I didn’t get very far into EPCOT when my friend called and invited me to Downtown Disney for lunch. (See! I told you it was whirlwind). We met at Wolfgang Puck’s for a lunch on the outside patio (something that it pretty tricky to do in New Hampshire these days).

I ordered spinach salad with pecans and gorgonzola cheese, but had asked them to take the apples out since I am allergic. The waitress assured me it would be no problem at all. After the salad arrived and I started eating it….I bit down into an apple! Luckily, I only had a slight reaction, but I made sure to tell the waitress. The chef came out to personally apologize, but I wanted to mention this because, although anyone with allergies is very careful, mistakes do happen so be sure to double check (it reminded me that I need to remember to carry my benedryl wherever I go).

As my friend Pat headed to a water park with her son, I had some time to myself before we met later for dinner. As I got into my car I had an email on my phone from a friend suggesting that there might be soft openings of Toy Story Mania at Disney Hollywood Studios. Well, I guess that made the decision of where I’d be going next! When I arrived I found out that the soft openings were just for Cast Members….and that the line was a 90 minute wait (those Cast Members love the new attractions as much as we do!). This is was the area looked like.

You can see that it was blocked off, but there is a Pixar Studio banner, some plastic monkeys, and some army men on the roof. Looks like it is going to be a fun area….but I’ll have to wait until my next trip.

I did get to see something new…the Block Party Bash, which has just been around for about a month. The parade is a bit different from other Disney parades because there are about six or seven floats with performer and different characters and they start by moving up the street and then stopping to perform for 10 minutes….then they move to another part of the parade route and stop again. I was sitting at the second stop….and it seemed like a long wait until they got there.

The characters are from Pixar films so you’ll see Toy Story characters, the Bug’s Life crew, and the ones that stopped in front of me were from Monster’s Inc.

The characters, along with dancing Cast Member friends, engage the audience in jumping, clapping, and dancing to pretty much any party song you can imagine (think YMCA and macarana). It was different and the kids around me were thrilled when they were pulled out into the street to dance. At the end of the mini performance, they shot mini rubber balls into the audience.

After two trips on Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n Roller Coaster and two more on the Tower of Terror, I headed off to Boma for dinner (see previous note about the whirlwind nature of this trip). I introduced Boma to my friend last year….and now, just like me, she likes to make a visit to Boma part of every trip. Our new tradition is arriving about 45 minutes before our reservation so that we can walk around the lobby and check out the interesting artifacts and go behind the resort where you can see some African animals.

So, after a wonderful dinner at Boma….we headed back to her resort and preparation for another fun day. More to follow…

Debra Martin Koma is in Walt Disney World right now. She sent these photos of the continued removal of the wand/arm that's been on Spaceship Earth for several years.

Also, this morning she reported that at 10ish, the standby wait for Soarin was 75+ minutes. They were able to get FastPasses with a window beginning just after noon.

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