Fast Facts about the 17th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Thirty million blooms, half a million plants, 60 tons of topiary and 600 butterflies add up to a wonderful world of theme park color at the 17th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, March 3-May 16 at Walt Disney World Resort. Among this year’s fun festival facts:

30 million blooms blanket the park throughout the festival, which runs 75 colorful days.

More than 100 topiaries displayed throughout the park add up to 60 tons of plant materials.
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Splash Mountain Refurb Photo's

   Thanks to Disney Lori and Alex Goldman we are able to bring you photo's of the Splash Mountain Refurbishment.  Splash Mountain closed the first week in January and should be opened back up on or around February 27th.  But they picked a good time for it to be down being that the temperature has been unusually low.

Disney's Wide World of Sports re-branded to ESPN Wide World of Sports

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Aligning the world’s No. 1 family vacation destination with the worldwide leader in sports, Walt Disney World Resort and ESPN have joined forces to re-brand Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex with the ESPN brand.  This partnership will take youth sports to a new level by creating an entertaining and immersive experience for the nearly 2 million athletes, coaches and spectators who come through the Disney sports complex each year.

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Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Review

By:  Heather Leigh Carroll-Landon

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater is one of the best restaurants to eat at for kids of all ages. No matter how old, everyone loves the rich shakes, the 50s drive-in theater atmosphere and the mouth watering cuisine. That is why this restaurant is one of the first to be reviewed for my dining guide of Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater offers themed dining taking guests back to the 50’s as they sit in a vintage convertible table and enjoy classic sci-fi, monster and horror movies from the 50s and 60s. Large movie screens surround the dining area of the restaurant, giving each guest prime seating for watching one of the movies. Bring back memories while watching the movie under the stars that fill the night sky above. It is always night in the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.

To start off make sure to order one of the thick and rich shakes in strawberry, chocolate or vanilla. It is definitely a must have over anything else on the menu. For those over 21 experience a mad scientist delight with a cosmic concoctions. Enjoy a shake with Baileys Irish Cream, a perfect combination.

The menu offers burgers, sandwiches, ribs, seafood, pasta, steak and salads with meals ranging from $15 to $36 per person for lunch or dinner. My recommendation is to order the Italian Grilled Chicken Sandwich for lunch. The seasoning and side was just enough to satisfy my hunger and still leave room for dessert. The sandwich was topped with Bruschetta and was served on a Kaiser Roll. I was a bit nervous at first to try it with the Bruschetta topping (not sure if I would like it), but when it arrived all worries went away. Disney sure knows how to had a flavor twist to a traditional sandwich. I never had a sandwich like this before, but know for sure I will order it again.

My dinner recommendation is the Shrimp Pasta, but I love both of those ingredients, so I could not go wrong with this order. The bow-tie pasta, shrimp, artichoke hearts and other ingredients was the perfect dinner. My mouth watered throughout the entire meal.

Though I did not have dessert when I was there the last time, the peanut-butter cake look absolutely decadent. I may have to try it next time.
As usual, the service was excellent. In true Walt Disney World fashion, the server was attentive and helped keep the atmosphere feel authentic. I will definitely go back.


Go back to my dining guide to see the full lunch, dinner and dessert menus for the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.

The restaurant is located at the Backlot area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Advanced Dining Reservations are highly recommended, but not required, for this location and can be made by calling 407.WDW.DINE.

And please follow the author of this article at  http://twitter.com/WDWTravelExam  

We follow her and so should you if you want to get great tips about Walt Disney World.

If you enjoyed this article go to the original article it can be found at http://www.examiner.com/x-1712-Walt-Disney-World-Travel-Examiner~y2010m2d1-Walt-Disney-World-Travel-Examiners-Dining-Guide-SciFi-DineIn-Theater

One of the Hidden Gems at Epcot: Club Cool

By  Matt Correia

There are many hidden gems in all the Walt Disney World theme parks: places you never noticed before, or always thought “I’ll do that next time”. Unfortunately, these little details and hidden coves can sometimes be of great value.
Take Epcot’s Club Cool, for instance. People have spent the whole day at Epcot – it’s in the middle of the afternoon, everyone is sweating and just dying for some shade. Yet in all of their misery, they seem to always pass up Club Cool. Why? They don’t know what it is, and don’t care to take the time to find out.
Little do they know, inside this building are fountains and fountains of all different carbonated beverages from around the world – just waiting for them – for free, and with unlimited refills. And being in the sun all day, it’s wonderful.
Disney was so smart in the placement of this. It’s in the biggest “intersection” of the whole park for all to enjoy – right at the crossroads of a way into and out of World Showcase, and also Future World.
So next time you visit Epcot, be sure to walk towards that big fountain (can’t miss it) and check out Club Cool. Get some refreshments, relax, cool off, get hydrated – then go back out for your next Disney adventure. What are some of the hidden gems you’ve found? Share with me!



Make sure to follow the Author of this article on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tcwmatt

And His blog can be found at http://wdwcentral.wordpress.com/

4 Parks, 4 Days for a $99 Deal at Walt Disney World (Florida Residents)

  If you're a Florida Resident to get into Walt Disney World it will only cost you $99 for a 4 parks and 4 day pass. Even if you are not a Florida resident you should check out this cool commercial.

As it Once Was: A look into WDW’s past Project X

By  Tyler Enboden
http://twitter.com/TheCurrentMouse


     If you look back into past of the Disney Company you can often find the most interesting stories of what once was, compared to what it is now. The biggest of these changes is 27,000 acres of farm and swap land that in the late 60’s became property of the Disney Company. This area today is now a thriving world with 4 themed lands, 2 water parks, 32 resorts, and plenty of land to expand on. The most interesting story to tell about Disney world is how all this land was acquired without anyone knowing.

    In 1955 Disneyland opened its doors and started a successful legacy of Disney theme parks. All together Disneyland was only on 300 acres of land, with little to no room to expand. When Disney first purchased the land in Anaheim, it was nothing more than various orange groves and Lemon trees (which I might add explains why in the fall and early winter you see lemons growing in the park). By the time Disneyland was complete all the surrounding land was bought up by various companies to place hotel, restaurants, and souvenir shops in. While Disney’s original idea for a park was complete he was upset that he would not have the ability to control the surrounding area.
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