Leisure … more than a word, it's a lifestyle

During the holidays, Walt Disney World’s Epcot theme park is transformed into an international celebration of Yuletide traditions filled with festive decorations and live entertainment. From Holidays Around The World to Candlelight Processional, you can delight in the sights and sounds of the season.

The Candlelight Processional is a special holiday event held nightly at the America Gardens Theatre as part of Holidays Around The World. The event retells the stirring story of Christmas with a special celebrity narrator  accompanied by a 50-piece orchestra and a mass choir.

The Candlelight Processional is a terrific way to get in the Christmas spirit and to share the magic of the season with your family and friends. The event has become an essential family tradition for many Guests — once you experience it, you may be inspired to share it every year with the ones you love.

Academy award-winning actress Mira Sorvino returns to Walt Disney World Resort Nov. 25-27, 2011, to kick off the event. Sorvino is among a dozen celebrities, ranging from contemporary Christian and country music artists to a soap opera legend and award-winning actor, who will take the stage for the joyous retelling of the Christmas story. They join a 50-piece orchestra and mass choir at Epcot America Gardens Theatre for performances at 5, 6:45 and 8:15 p.m. most nights. The lineup (artists subject to change):

Nov. 25-27: Mira Sorvino
Nov. 28-Dec. 1: Michael W. Smith
Dec. 2-3: Geena Davis
Dec. 4-6: Edward James Olmos (guest shows at 6:45 and 8:15 p.m. only)
Dec. 7-9: Isabella Rossellini
Dec. 10-12: Neil Patrick Harris
Dec. 13-15: Lorraine Bracco
Dec. 16-18: Chita Rivera
Dec. 19-21: Trace Adkins
Dec. 22-24: Susan Lucci
Dec. 25-27: Blair Underwood
Dec. 28-30: Marlee Matlin

Over the weekend we had the pleasure of attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. The party is a special event held each winter on select nights and the purchase of an additional event admission ticket is required to attend. This festive celebration is filled with live entertainment, spectacular fireworks and an oh-so-jolly holiday parade.

It;s a chance to celebrate the magic of the season in the holiday wonderland of Magic Kingdom theme park and gather with loved ones for a festive sight- and sound-filled special event that is sure to make you merry!

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party features:

• The enchanted Castle Dream Lights on Cinderella Castle
• Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmastime Parade, complete with a special appearance by Santa Claus himself
• An exclusive holiday fireworks extravaganza — Holiday Wishes: Celebrate the Spirit of the Season
• Live entertainment featuring Disney Characters
• Meet and greet opportunities throughout Magic Kingdom theme park with some of your favorite Disney Characters
• Complimentary cookies and hot cocoa
• A magical snow fall on Main Street, U.S.A.
• Many of the most popular Magic Kingdom attractions

The party is also a wonderful opportunity to be at Magic Kingdom when the crowds are a little quieter and getting on rides is a little easier. One of the highlights of our evening out was being able to ride Buzz Lightyear and become a “Galactic Hero”… here’s me getting my badge…

Tickets are available from www.FloridaLeisure.com and the remaining event nights are as follows:

November: 27, 29, 30, 2011
December: 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 2011
Event time: 7:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

More photos are at Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure and here’s some video:

This weekend sees the 36th Festival of the Masters at Downtown Disney. This vibrant event showcases fine art, food and entertainment and has become a classic event on the Orlando calendar. There’s some amazing artwork from over 150 award winning artists and new this year is a very special festival showcasing the stunning work of some of the Disney artists at Pleasure Island.

Apart from signature artists there’s a lot to see and do and all the family will have a great time wandering around the Downtown Disney area. There’s plenty of interactive areas as well as a chance to learn how to illustrate a Disney character, see some fabulous street painting as well as pose for a picture with a performer from Cirque Du Soleil’s “La Nouba.”

Of course, no art festival would be complete without a little competition and this year there are several categories for artists to compete in including Best of Show. Other categories that guest judges Professor John Dishman, Bonny Lhotka and Sally Viskochil will be deciding will be clay, digital art, drawing, printmaking & graphics, glass, jewelry, leather, fiber & paper, mixed media & collage, painting, photography, sculpture, watercolor and wood. More than $50,000 in prize money will be at stake and the Best of Show will win $5,000.

Other highlights of the festival include the Festival of Disney Masters, the Michaels Design Team showing you how to create some amazing art, D-Street and the House of Blues Folk Art Festival. Make sure you get along to Downtown Disney …

More photo’s at Facebook.com/FloridaLeisure and here’s some video to get you in the mood…

Construction at Fantasyland inside the Magic Kingdom theme park continues at a rapid pace. The new and expanded area  is scheduled to open in phases, starting next fall, 2012. Here’s some timelapse video showing you the progress so far…

The popular Walt Disney World Epcot International Food & Wine Festival kicked off last weekend and it’s already received some great reviews.  There’s a lot to do and with all the food, drink and lively events taking place there’s a lot to take in.

While there are a few exceptions, most of the Food & Wine festival revolves around the World Showcase at Epcot, where there are 29 separate booths (International Marketplaces) set up around the lagoon. Each marketplace serves tapas-sized servings of food from that country along with wines and other beverages.   The portions aren’t particularly large and the servings generally aren’t very expensive (roughly $3 to $8 per item) but you’ll need to choose wisely as 29 booths are a lot to tackle.

That’s our first tip… plan your walk. Before your visit, take a look at our 2011-food-and-wine-guide-map and see what interests you. On the map, you’ll find the food and beverage selections from each of the marketplaces. Make a list of what you want to try. Then, decide which way makes the most sense to walk around World Showcase based on your choices.

Another suggestion we have, is to pick up a Marketplace Discovery Passport when you arrive before you head to World Showcase. Introduced last year, these passport-sized booklets are free and contain listings of each of the menus at each booth. There’s also a place for a stamp and for notes so make sure you get a stamp when you stop at a booth.

To collect a passport, head to the Festival Welcome Center, one of the few areas that isn’t in World Showcase. The center is  in between Mission: Space and Ellen’s Energy Adventure in the old Wonders of Life Pavilion in Future World. If your schedule allows try and get to Epcot before World Showcase opens or plan to visit on a weekday if you can. During the festival, World Showcase can get pretty busy on weekend afternoons and some marketplace lines can get quite long.

The lines and crowds closer to 11 a.m., when World Showcase typically opens, are often shorter and thinner. While each marketplace accepts cash and credit cards, many festival visitors find it easier to purchase a Disney Gift Card for convenience as they find it easier to hand over the card than to pull out a wallet every few steps. Others like the cards as a way to track their spending and it may be easier to put a certain amount you want to spend on the card and just eat until it’s gone as opposed to totaling multiple receipts.

The International Marketplaces are all included with Epcot admission. There are, however, some separately ticketed events and if this is your first time visiting the festival, we suggest sticking with the booths as there’s absolutely plenty to sample.

There are several other free events, such as the Eat to the Beat concert series and the new HGTV Home Entertaining seminars. The Eat to the Beat concert series features the following:

Taylor Dayne: 9/30-10/2/11
38 Special: 10/3-5/11
Jon Secada: 10/6-7/11
Roger Hodgson formerly of Supertramp: 10/8-9/11
Billy Ocean: 10/10-12/11
Starship starring Mickey Thomas: 10/13-16/11
Sugar Ray: 10/17-19/11
The Orchestra starring former members of ELO: 10/20-21/11
Howard Jones: 10/22-23/11
Boyz II Men: 10/24-26/11
Gin Blossoms: 10/27-28/11
Sister Hazel: 10/29-30/11
Hanson: 10/31-11/1/11
The Pointer Sisters: 11/2-3/11
Night Ranger: 11/4-6/11
Air Supply: 11/7-8/11
Richard Marx: 11/9-10/11
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy: 11/11-13/11 

 

The concerts, which are included with Epcot admission, will be at the America Gardens Theatre stage beginning September 30. Performances will be nightly and of course, this year’s schedule is subject to change.

Seven popular HGTV celebrities will offer the inside scoop on home entertaining at weekend seminars during the 45-day Epcot International Food & Wine Festival running Sept. 30-Nov. 13.  Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival a top HGTV personality will appear at The Festival Center in Future World to share his or her own secrets to throwing a perfect party.

“Design stars from the network will talk about home entertaining,” said Michael Jenner, festival manager. “Think about the way interior decorators design a room … and imagine that same creative process brought to the dinner table. It’ll be a great way to get ready for all the holidays coming up.”

Here’s the lineup (subject to change):

Sept. 30-Oct. 2 – Vern Yip, “HGTV Design Star” and “HGTV Urban Oasis”
Oct. 7-9 – Monica Pedersen, “Designed to Sell”
Oct. 14-16 – Erin Loechner, “Design Happens”
Oct. 21-23 – Taniya Nayak, “Designed to Sell”
Oct. 28-30 – Kim Stoegbauer, “On-line Party Inspiration”
Nov. 4-6 – Lisa LaPorta, “Designed to Sell”
Nov. 11-13 – Emily Henderson, “Secrets From a Stylist” and “HGTV Design Star,” winner Season 5 “Design Star”

The appearances are also included with Epcot admission.

Walt Disney World is 40 today!

Walt Disney World opened on 1st October 1971 with 22 attractions and 5,000 costumed cast members and since then Walt Disney World Resort has grown on founder Walt Disney’s imagination and vision.

“Here in Florida, we have something special we never enjoyed at Disneyland . . . the blessing of size,” Walt Disney said after the “Florida Project” was announced in 1965.  “There’s enough land here to hold all the ideas and plans we can possibly imagine.”

In 1982, Epcot opened as a theme park celebrating innovation and discovery rather than as the “city of tomorrow” Walt initially had envisioned.

In 1989, Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney’s Hollywood Studios) brought Tinseltown magic to Central Florida to showcase movies, television and animated treasures from the Disney collection.

In 1998, Disney’s Animal Kingdom first welcomed guests to explore a world of exotic, extinct and imaginary animals.

Early Walt Disney World Milestones

Early 1960s – After Disneyland opens in 1955, Walt Disney is approached many times to build another park.  Offers of free land come from inside and outside the United States.  Disney begins developing attractions for the 1964 New York World’s Fair:  General Electric’s “Carousel of Progress,” Ford’s Magic Skyway,” Pepsi-Cola’s “It’s a Small World” and the state of Illinois’ “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln.”  Walt is absorbed with the technological achievements of his Imagineers and considers ways to expand.

1963-65 – A team assigned by Walt begins searching for a location where he can build his dream park. When Walt flies over the initial 20,000-acre Central Florida site with its pristine wetlands and forests, his mind is made up.  Secret purchases of the acreage and adjoining property continue for more than a year with the average price per acre at $185.

In the end, the Disney company paid about  $5 million for 27,000 acres (about 43 square miles) in Orange and Osceola counties (“Walt Disney, An American Original” by Bob Thomas, 1976, Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)

November 15, 1965 – Walt and his fiscally astute brother, Roy O. Disney, announce the Florida Project at an Orlando press conference with Florida Gov. Hayden Burns.

1966 – Ideas based on Walt’s dream crystallize as Imagineers prepare plans for EPCOT – an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow designed as a showplace for technologies of the world.  State legislation creates municipalities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake and the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which allow Disney to pay for major services without depending on its Central Florida neighbors.  Walt dies in December 1966 before construction starts.

Fall 1967 – Site preparation begins

Spring 1969 – Construction is underway on Magic Kingdom, the Polynesian and Contemporary resorts.  More than 50 miles of water-control channels are built to wind through the natural landscape, and more than 8,000 acres are set aside as a permanent conservation area.  The resort builds its own energy plants, maintenance shops, food and laundry centers.

Early 1970 – It takes 18 months to complete Cinderella Castle and 9,000-plus workers at a cost of more than $400 million to finish the iconic Magic Kingdom park, Seven Seas Lagoon, Palm and Magnolia golf courses and the first two resort hotels.

October 1, 1971 – Walt Disney World Vacation Kingdom opens with fewer than 10,000 guests

October 23-25, 1971 – A star-studded Grand Opening celebration takes place with celebrities that include Bob Hope, Julie Andrews, Glenn Campbell, Buddy Hackett and Jonathan Winters.  Boston Pops maestro Arthur Fiedler conducts the 60-nation World Symphony Orchestra concert.

Roy O. Disney, reads the dedication plaque: “Walt Disney World is a tribute to the philosophy and life of Walter Elias Disney… and to the talents, the dedication, and the loyalty of the entire Disney organization that made Walt Disney’s dream come true. May Walt Disney World bring Joy and Inspiration and New Knowledge to all who come to this happy place… a Magic Kingdom where the young at heart of all ages can laugh and play and learn — together. Dedicated this 25th day of October, 1971. Roy O. Disney.”

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is underway on select dates at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park and we often get some great questions about this event so we thought we’d answer them on today’s blog.

The Halloween-themed special event is held on certain select dates (see below) but is not included in the regular priced day admission. Instead if you want to visit the event you will need to purchase an additional special event admission ticket to be able to attend Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

During Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, guests of all ages are encouraged to dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes…and make sure you have some deep pockets as you can collect delicious candy as you trick-or-treat around Magic Kingdom theme park!

In addition to many of the favorite Disney attractions, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is filled with special entertainment, including:

• Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade—including Disney Characters and the stars of the Haunted Mansion attraction. The parade begins with a spook-tacular ride by the Headless Horseman.
• Happy HalloWishes—a spectacular fireworks show where the Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky.
• Many favorite Disney Characters and Disney Villains in special Halloween costumes.
• Special lighting, music and theming effects transforms special areas of Magic Kingdom theme park into happy haunted hollows.

The tone of the event is, well, “Not-So-Scary”, and is appropriate for children of all ages.

Dates / Times:

September: 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, 30, 2011
October: 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 2011
November: 1 2011
Hours: 7:00 pm – midnight, Parade at 8:15 pm and 10:30 pm, Fireworks at 9:30 pm

Halloween’s happiest haunts will be reappearing for a season of “spook-tacular” fun as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party returns to the Magic Kingdom for 23 select nights between Sept. 13 and Nov. 1, 2011.

The after-hours Magic Kingdom party will once again be immersed in the Halloween spirit, including two entertainment spectaculars created especially for the event:

Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade proceeds down Main Street, U.S.A., heralded by the Headless Horseman and his trusty steed, and trailed by a cavalcade of holiday-themed characters, from Mickey and the gang to Disney villains and the stars of the Haunted Mansion (but make sure to watch out for Hitchhiking Ghosts!).

The bewitching “Happy HalloWishes” fireworks spectacular illuminates the sky in bursts of orange and green fireworks, while Cinderella Castle is draped in eerie hues and ghostly apparitions flit along the park’s rooftops.

The Boo-to-you Parade takes place at 8:15 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. with HalloWishes Fireworks Spectacular in between at 9:30 p.m. Special lighting, music and theming effects combine to transform areas of the park into happy haunted hollows.

The night of ever-so-slightly-frightful fun begins at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight, with guests encouraged to don their favorite Halloween costumes and trick-or-treat around the Magic Kingdom theme park.

In addition to Land-to-Land trick-or-treating, meet and greets with characters and entertainment unique to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, many popular Magic Kingdom attractions — including, of course, Haunted Mansion — are available to experience.

Party dates in 2011 are: Sept. 13, 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30; Oct. 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30 and 31; and Nov. 1.

To purchase advance tickets, guests can visit disneyworld.com/halloween or call 407/W-DISNEY. Advance purchase (prior to event day) savings of $6 per ticket are available for Sept. 13, 16, 20, 23, 27, and 30; Oct. 2, 6, 10, 11, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25 and 27; and Nov. 1.

The Sunshine Pavilion, featuring a show variously known as “Tropical Serenade” and “The Enchanted Tiki Birds,” debuted on Oct. 1, 1971, in Magic Kingdom. In 1998, following substantial refurbishment, it re-launched as The Enchanted Tiki Room-Under New Management, with two famous Disney birds – Iago from Aladdin and Zazu from The Lion King – taking control and trying to spruce up the show.

Now the “new management” has been let go and the future of the Adventureland landmark is in the wings and wit of José, Fritz, Michael and Pierre – four crooning parrot hosts who have been entertaining guests at California’s Disneyland since 1963 in The Enchanted Tiki Room. Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, as the Magic Kingdom attraction now will be called, is being prepared for the premiere (tentatively on Aug. 15, 2011) of a show that will pay tribute to the Disneyland original - notable in theme park history for ushering in sophisticated Audio-Animatronics technology.

Prior to 1963, Walt Disney’s creative team had produced movable figures, but none had the sophistication of the bird-brained cast of the Tiki Room. José, Fritz, Michael and Pierre produce movements when solenoid coils hidden inside receive signals recorded onto magnetic tape and are regarded as the first “true” Audio-Animatronics figures.

They introduce a musical presentation by more than 200 birds, flowers and tikis. Even the audience gets into the act, joining in during the musical ditty “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies Sing.”

While the show is steeped in tradition and maintains the original intent created by Walt Disney and his original team of Imagineers, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room will feature the latest in technology – a state of the art show-control system, remastered audio, and a new versatile and energy efficient lighting system.

The attraction has shows throughout Magic Kingdom operating hours.

After a whirlwind eight month romance, American Idol winner Lee DeWyze got down on bended knee just recently to propose to his girlfriend model/actress Jonna Walsh here at Disney World in Florida. 25 year old, DeWyze went all out for the July 16 proposal as he chartered a private yacht and poured champagne for his 26-year-old lady love. The singer waited until fireworks went off in the sky to make his move.

“I’m excited,” DeWyze said. “Jonna is a Disney freak. They were playing love songs on the boat and I got down on my knee and asked her. I had a speech prepared but it all went out the window so I just asked her. She started crying and I said, “Is that a yes?”

The engagement comes after they enjoyed a whirlwind romance since last October. The happy couple met whilst shooting a video for his single Sweet Serendipity and are now planning a fall 2012 wedding.

Congratulations to Lee and Jonna… Orlando is a great place to get engaged or married…and we wish them all the very best for the future.