The start of the 2012 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival is still nine months away, and with the heat of summer or the cold of winter upon us now (depending on your hemisphere), I thought it would be a nice treat to share more gorgeous springtime photos from 2011’s event. A special “thank you” to our two photographers, Samantha McElhaney and Mandy Chorman. Enjoy!
A Sheriff Woody topiary is posed in front of Epcot's Spaceship Earth. Photograph by Samantha McElhaney
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1178
Much to the dismay of budget-conscious Disney fans everywhere, Disney announced that new ticket prices for the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts go into effect today. Ticket prices for the parks increase annually, and AllEars.net has a wonderfully comprehensive history of the Walt Disney World Resort ticket prices, dating back to the 1970s when 1 Day ticket prices were in the single digits! My, how times have changed.
This year’s increase adds $3 to the Adult and $5 to the Child 1 Day “Magic Your Way” Base tickets to the Walt Disney World Resort. Ticket prices for longer stays are going up as well, with the 10 Day Walt Disney World Resort “Magic Your Way” Base tickets jumping from $262 to $291 for adults and from $239 to $272 for children under 10. Premium Annual Passes, which include unlimited access to Disney’s water parks and Disney Quest, are going up from $629 to $649 for adults and $567 to $598 for children under 10.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1145
These days it seems like the Walt Disney Company is officially “under construction”, and the Internet is abuzz with excitement over the new features and upcoming expansions that Disney has planned.
China celebrates as Disney breaks ground in Shanghai, image copyright Disney
At the top of the chat-worthy charts:
Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom is undergoing a major expansion with four brand-new attractions: “Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid”, the “Seven Dwarfs’ Mine Train”, the “Beast’s Castle”, and “Princess Fairytale Hall”.
“The Haunted Mansion” at the Magic Kingdom gets a makeover with a brand-new interactive line queue and enhanced hitchhiking ghosts.
“Star Tours – The Adventures Continue” re-launches with state-of-the-art 3-D effects and 54 different possible ride experiences.
“Ariel’s Undersea Adventures” finally sets sail with Disney’s most advanced animatronic characters and a soundtrack of beloved songs from the film.
Disney breaks ground in Shanghai for its newest theme park which will feature Disney characters and attractions, as well as all-new experiences and stories inspired by and created for the people of China.
Disney Cruise Lines launches the Disney Dream, its largest and most elaborately themed ship, with its fourth ship, the Disney Fantasy, scheduled to enter service in 2012.
Disney’s beautiful Aulani Resort & Spa is set to open in Hawaii as the twelfth Disney Vacation Club and the perfect vacation spot for fairytale weddings and honeymoons.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1075
For two months from March to May, the Epcot theme park at the Disney World Resort was in full bloom during the 18th annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. This year’s festival, hosted by HGTV, celebrated spring with more than 100 topiaries, including 75 Disney character topiaries arranged throughout the park.
Mickey and Pluto topiaries at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, photograph by Samantha McElhaney
2011’s brand-new topiaries: Toy Story 3, Winnie the Pooh, Cars 2, and Rapunzel’s Tower, joined perennial favorites Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Aladdin. The fairies of Pixie Hollow appeared live and in topiary form in the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden to promote Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games, coming this Fall on the Disney Channel. The festival also featured the brand-new Bambi’s Butterfly House with Bambi character topiaries and hundreds of native butterflies to celebrate the release of the Diamond Edition of Bambi on Blu-ray and DVD.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1011
Timeshares are vacation properties purchased by a group of owners who split the cost of the property and its annual fees and who are eligible to visit the property every year during the block of time that they have purchased. Timeshares are not without controversy, and many people believe that the overpriced properties touted by high pressure salespeople are a waste of money – they are more expensive and less flexible than hotels, are hard to get rid of, and depreciate in value faster than cars.
But for the people who love vacationing in the same place every year and who are comfortable with long term joint-ownership of a property, timeshares shouldn’t be discounted. As always, Disney has an answer for everything, and their answer to timeshares is the Disney Vacation Club.
One of the villas at the Old Key West Resort, photograph by Samantha McElhaney
The Disney Vacation Club is a vacation timeshare division owned by The Walt Disney Company which operates an annual Vacation Points system that members can use towards yearly vacations at the Disney Vacation Club Resorts or one of more than 500 other member destinations worldwide. There are eleven Vacation Club resorts located in Anaheim, California; Lake Buena Vista and Vero Beach, Florida; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; and the brand-new Aulani Disney Vacation Club Villas in Ko Olina, Hawaii.
Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=914
