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Thursday, October 31, 2013

World of Dreams Photo of the Week- Happy Halloween!

Hello, and Happy Halloween everybody! I love Halloween- it's one of my favourite holidays- so wanted to delay this week's photograph to today, with a very special Halloween image to celebrate the season!

As I'm sure you know, to say that Disney celebrate Halloween at their parks doesn't even begin to do their Halloween celebrations justice! At Walt Disney World, and at the Magic Kingdom in particular, they truly take celebrating Halloween to the next level, with parties, exclusive experiences, and awesome decorations. And it's one of these incredible decorations- an example of the ubiquitous Mickey Pumpkins to be exact- which is my photo this week. The pumpkin shown is one of the wonderful ones which adorn the lamp posts all along Main Street USA at this time of year, and was photographed last year in the midst of the Magic Kingdom's Halloween Festivities. I've edited it, and I really hope you like the result...





Pretty cool effect, right? I love the colours in the image, especially of the wreath surrounding the pumpkin! Of course, I also love the effect created by what I guess has become my 'signature' tilt shift effect! I'd love to hear what you think- a comment would be much appreciated! Also, check out the blog's Facebook Page for an exclusive version of this picture!

Before I go, I'd just like to leave you with some recommendations for some great Disney websites to visit this Halloween! Firstly Magical Mouse Radio is playing all Disney Halloween music today, with some great audio from Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party! I for one have been listening all day, and have been absolutely LOVING it- there is nothing better to get you in that Halloween Spirit! Another thing you should check out this Halloween is Show #7 of the Disney Nerds Podcast. To celebrate the holiday, they have a special Halloween Treat for us, in the form of the original recording of the Haunted Mansion's intriguing backstory, from back in 1969. I've listened, and I can tell you, it is INCREDIBLE! I found myself transfixed from start to finish by this amazing example of Disney Storytelling, and will definitely be listening again and again! The spooky atmosphere it created was perfect for today! Lastly, I have posted some great Halloween Photos to my Instagram account, which is @BloggerDisney.

Thanks for reading! I hope that you're having a 'spook-tacularly' magical Halloween!

And don't forget to check out the awesome We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! There's a new show coming soon!

Thursday, October 24, 2013

World of Dreams Photo of the Week

So, it's official! Disney's Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World's newest and largest theme park, will be receiving the biggest expansion since its opening on April 22nd, 1998! The expansion, which is already beginning construction, will centre around the much discussed Avatar Land, scheduled to open in 2017, as well as a whole host of smaller projects which will combine to finally make the Animal Kingdom a full-day park.

Here on the blog I have reported extensively on the subject, and wanted to take this opportunity to summarise the four articles I have written on the Animal Kingdom expansion, as well as sharing a photo I took of the beautifully landscaped entrance of this wonderful park. The four articles published are as follows...

1~ 'More Details Shared Concerning Avatar Land...', October 13th.

2~ 'Yet More Avatar Land News!', October 14th

3~ 'My Views on the New Nighttime Entertainment Coming Soon to Animal Kingdom', October 15th.

4~ 'My Views on Avatar Land', October 20th.

If you haven't seen them already, I hope you enjoy reading them!!!

Now for the photograph...





Despite it being a fairly generic shot of the front of the park, I actually think this image turned out pretty well. I used a rectangular tilt shift focus and slightly increased the brightness and saturation, and I think it creates a pretty cool effect. I also like the rare sense of mystery that the tilt shift effect has seemingly created, a perfect connotation for the Walt Disney World park which arguably has the strongest sense of adventure!

Another thing I wanted to talk about is that it is now a year since my family and I were last in Florida, on our second trip. I have so many wonderful memories of the time we spent together at the most magical place on earth, as well as at some of the other attractions in the Central Florida and Orlando area. Of course, Disney was by far the best part of the trip, with us spending A LOT of time at the World! I have so many incredible memories from my time there, and can't wait to return for our third trip, hopefully sometime in 2014!

Thanks for reading! If you haven't yet, please take the time to check out the absolutely awesomely incredible We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! I hope you're having a magical week!

Sunday, October 20, 2013

My Views on Avatar Land

We as Disney Fans were lucky enough recently to be served a feast of information concerning the upcoming Avatar Land at Animal Kingdom. What we now know to be a project unlike anything Disney has done before was previously shrouded in almost complete mystery, with little knowledge of even if it was still going ahead. But that all changed when Disney decided to announce a sudden flurry of details concerning Avatar, analysed in both this article and also this one here on the World of Dreams Blog. Both posts link back to the original Disney Parks Blog announcements- THE place to go if you haven't yet seen that breathtaking concept art!

I personally was just as shocked by this extremely sudden news as everyone else, whilst of course being INCREDIBLY excited about it too! I've spent several days contemplating what my true view on this hotly debated topic is, and I'm pleased to say that my opinions still resemble the positive outlook I took on the matter back on September 22nd 2011, when I reported on Avatar Land's original announcement on this Blog's predecessor- the Disney Parks Unofficial Blog. Here's what I said back then regarding my first impressions...

Personally, I am really excited about this, although I haven't seen it all, Avatar is a great movie and I think it will fit in perfectly at the Disney Parks, especially Animal Kingdom. I hope that the Avatar land will feature some serious thrill rides, as well as some gentler rides doing credit to this wonderful movie. I would love there to be a rollercoaster and a water ride in Avatar Land! I wonder where Disney will put it? It's hard to expand and change parts of Animal Kingdom due to the animal enclosures. Regardless of this, I think it's great to see Disney giving the park some of the TLC it deserves, and I look forward to more details being released.


So how do I feel now that those details have indeed been released? Since then (2011) I have gone through a short period of scepticism about the project, around the time that it was RUMOURED that Disney were cancelling Avatar altogether. Whilst I never believed this, some of the more critical articles I read, also around that time, made me a little worried about if this new Land would have enough potential for development and if it would have the staying power that any park addition vitally needs.

Fortunately, all my doubts are now gone, and now, just over two years later, I have happily returned to a feeling of excitement about the new experiences this will bring to me as a fan of the Disney Parks. That feeling was firmly cemented by Disney's aforementioned recent series of announcements concerning the project, with the beautiful concept art, promising attraction concepts and passion with which James Cameron and Joe Rohde spoke about this project convincing me for good that Avatar Land is going to be awesome.

Any questions of how much staying power the land will have with regards to the popularity of the franchise have vanished due to Disney seeming to be focusing pretty much exclusively on the stunning environment of Pandora from the Avatar movie rather than the characters who inhabit it. Hitherto even if the popularity of the Avatar story declines, the Animal Kingdom Land's most likely won't, as it'll still be a highly themed area. As many before me have already pointed out, just because people haven't seen the movie, it doesn't mean they won't enjoy and grow to love how the movie's represented in a theme park- just look at Splash Mountain. I have still only seen the start of Avatar, yet I find myself enthralled and excited to see the incredible environments I witnessed in the movie translated into a theme park environment. Yes, Disney should have used one of their own franchises if they had to use one, and yes, they should be building more original attractions with no movie connection, but Avatar is a unique and inimitable story, and the majority of Animal Kingdom's existing attractions are original concepts anyway.

In terms of the attractions, firstly I'm thrilled that I was right about the boat ride! I just feel that the setting, themes and atmosphere of Animal Kingdom are absolutely perfect for a relaxing, maybe non-thrill ride boat attraction, and it seems that the park's finally getting one. The concept art shows exactly that- a boat trip through Pandora's wondrous bioluminescent jungle- and it looks like it's going to be awesome. It seems like we'll be getting an Imagineering classic here, such is the potential for this attraction. So far all that can be inferred from the concept art is that this attraction will be something like a sci-fi version of Epcot's Living With the Land, leaving many questions unanswered. What storyline will there be? Will there be any elements of thrill? How long will the attraction last? Here's to hoping that Disney gives us more information soon on this one!

The other attraction we know to be featuring in Avatar Land's opening day lineup is one we know considerably more about. It will feature a simulation of the sensation of flying with a Banshee, one of the winged creatures from the Avatar Movie. We have seen concept art, and have also been treated to a few precious seconds of video of what appears to be the testing of early animations for the attraction. This has led to many predicting this attraction to be similar to Soarin', also at Epcot, but I've heard rumours reporting a more advanced verbose of the complex ride system used by Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Disney have confirmed neither, but I personally am desperately hoping for the second one. In my opinion, as ingenious as it is, Disney shouldn't try to re-use the ride system for Soarin', and should rather attempt to innovate even further- as Joe Rohde suggested they are- and create a ride system unlike anything ever seen before. We shall have to wait and see!

Lastly, I have found myself particularly fascinated by the floating mountains which will form the centrepiece of the new Land. Aside from being very curious about the actual structure, I am very excited to see how this will change the landscape of the park. My answer to those who worry that this new 'wienie' will distract from the Tree of Life, the park's true icon, is that Expedition Everest already has the potential to do that, and doesn't. Rather, the two work perfectly together to create a park environment which still has the Tree as it's crowning glory, despite it being smaller. However big these floating mountains are, they won't exceed Everest's 199.5 feet, as being any higher would require them to have lights on top to alert passing air traffic. This would disrupt the theme, so Disney never build above that height. One thing we can be certain about is that these mountains will be spellbindingly beautiful, but not so that they steal attention from the Tree of Life. I actually think they will create more of a balance within the park, with them joining Everest in flanking the Tree of Life, putting it even more so at the centre of attention than it is now.

So overall it's fair to say that I'm pretty excited about Avatar Land... Who am I kidding- I CAN'T WAIT!!! It looks like it's going to be terrific- a much needed major addition to the Animal Kingdom.

Now I want to hear your thoughts! Am I anticipating Avatar Land too much, or are you just as excited as me? (I hope you are!) What are your opinions? Please share by either posting in the comments, on Facebook or Twitter, or by writing a good old fashioned email message. Details of all of these can be found on the Blog's 'Contact Us' page!

Apologies for the lack of Photo of the Week and Attraction Review this week. I was on a Geography Field Trip, and simply didn't have enough time to get them published, due to preparing and packing prior to the trip and relaxing afterwards. I really had an amazing time, and am looking forward even more to getting back to the blog's regular schedule!

Thanks for reading! Please also check out the incredible We're Going to Walt Disney a World Podcast! I hope you have a magical day!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

My Views on the New Nighttime Entertainment Coming Soon to Animal Kingdom

There is no questioning the fact that the recent Avatar Land News has been at the forefront of discussions amongst Disney Fans over the past few days. It's fair to say that this very exciting piece of news has very much overshadowed the other upcoming new additions to the Animal Kingdom, which were announced by Tom Staggs at the same time as the Avatar developments; in the same article even! It's therefore no wonder that this additional revelation, every bit as exciting, hasn't been talked about nearly as much as Avatar has!

Specifically, we have learnt that Disney are finally allowing the Animal Kingdom to complete its transition to a full day park, and are doing so through the addition of a variety of new entertainment offerings, most notably the park's first ever nighttime spectacular. This has been widely rumoured for a long time, and will ensure that every Walt Disney World theme park has an end of the night show. The show, which is yet to be publicly named by Disney, will take place on Discovery River, and will interestingly feature live music, alongside what Tom Staggs describes as “floating lanterns, water screens and swirling animal imagery”. Mr Staggs also promises that the new show “will delight our guests and truly cap off their day...
In addition to this, he revealed that a new nighttime version of the ever-popular Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction will debut, as well as live performers in the evenings on Discovery Island, of which some concept art was released.

My first reaction is another 'wow'- Disney have really spoilt us over the last few days with all these exciting announcements for what many consider to be Walt Disney World's best themed park! The Animal Kingdom is an absolutely breathtakingly beautiful theme park, and I for one can't wait to experience just how incredible its atmosphere will be at night! Having never experienced the park at this time (opportunities to do so are very rare due to short opening hours), I am really looking forward to being able to walk around and soak up the park's unique ambiance at night, which I feel will be enhanced in so many ways by how Disney present the park to compliment the advantages brought by evening touring. And as for experiencing Kilimanjaro Safaris at night, three words- I'M SO EXCITED!!! Not sure I feel quite the same about Kali River Rapids though!

With regards to the nighttime spectacular- I have a feeling that this is gonna become a classic! I think that having this will not only really benefit the park, but will also help to add a whole new dimension to the experience of visiting it, and will truly make it 'the place to be' in the evenings at Walt Disney World. I like that they seem to be taking a different approach to this than with the more traditional nighttime spectaculars, and will be intrigued to see how the Imagineers use this unique, beautifully themed setting to help tell a very profound story with this show, and indeed how they use the show to help deliver the Animal Kingdom's message of conservation and loving our wonderful planet. There is so much potential here, and it looks like this is shaping up to be an experience which will be every bit as unforgettable as Wishes, Illuminations and Fantasmic.

It seems almost a certainty that this show will in some way incorporate the Glow With the Show Ear Hats, which have been available at Disneyland for some time, and cleverly light up and synchronise with their nighttime spectaculars to add a whole new dimension to the experience. Today's Disney news has been that the hats will be making their Walt Disney World debut in tonight's two performances of Fantasmic at Disney's Hollywood Studios. This is to celebrate Fantasmic's 15th anniversary at the park, with the Ears then making their Magic Kingdom debut on the 19th in Wishes and Celebrate the Magic. No word yet on when (or if) they'll be appearing in Epcot, but the article on the Disney Parks Blog at the above link reports that the hats will feature in the Christmas festivities at WDW this year. Based on this, I assume that Disney will be incorporating them into the new Animal Kingdom show! These are exciting times indeed to be a Disney Fan!

Now I want to hear what YOU think! Be your opinions about Avatar, Glow With the Show or the Animal Kingdom's new nighttime offerings (or even everything!), I'd love to hear what you think. Any feedback about the blog is also much appreciated! You can get in touch through the comments, on Facebook, Twitter, or by email. Details of all can be found on the Blog's 'Contact Us' page!

Thanks for reading! I hope you're having a magical day!

Monday, October 14, 2013

Yet More Avatar Land News!

The past few days have seen the Disney Community abuzz with excited activity, following Friday's announcement by Tom Staggs at both the D23 Expo in Japan and on the Disney Parks Blog concerning new details about the much anticipated Avatar Land, set to open at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2017. Following my article yesterday on this exciting piece of news, I was planning an article for today detailing my views (of which I have many!) on the information shared about Avatar Land, as well as my thoughts on the prospects this new area will have and finally opinions which I have encountered in this wonderful Disney Community of ours over the few days since the news broke. But then... More news!!!

Today saw Thomas Smith- the Social Media Director for the Disney Parks- share an awe-inspiring video about Avatar Land, which was originally shown alongside Tom Staggs' presentation in Japan. The video, which was released as part of this Disney Parks Blog Article, features messages from both James Cameron and Joe Rohde, as well as some fascinating animated concept art, clips from Avatar showing things that will be brought to life in Avatar Land, and so much more.

All I can say is wow. Wow, wow, wow. Just wow. This is going to be absolutely amazing! Whilst there was never even the faintest whisper of a doubt in my mind that the Imagineers would make what is widely considered to be an unusual choice for a new land as magical and immersive as all of their previous work, it seems like they have truly outdone themselves as they always do without fail with every new experience they bring to the parks. Any scepticism I did have towards Avatar coming to Animal Kingdom has completely vanished, and I am now more excited about this new addition to the park than I have been since its original announcement. Joe Rohde and James Cameron spoke with such enthusiasm and passion about the project that I couldn't help feeling the same way about it myself, and am now itching to learn more about the experiences that will be offered when this new land opens.

I won't say anything else- only that if you haven't already, go watch that video! I promise that you won't be disappointed! I for one can't wait to see Avatar Land to come to fruition, nor can I wait to write more about my views on the subject, an article which I will publish sometime at the weekend, as I want to give this news time to settle and see what other people's opinions are on it. Therefore it's actually quite convenient that I'm having to delay the article somewhat!

Thanks for reading! Please also check out the amazing We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! Have a magical day, and see you tomorrow for an article about the other changes coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

More Details Shared Concerning Avatar Land...

If for some reason you haven't been online this weekend, you've missed some pretty incredible and in my opinion very intriguing news! Updates for the much debated upcoming Avatar Land at Animal Kingdom have been few and far between since its September 2011 Announcement, but now that's no longer the case. At midnight on Friday evening, at the same time as an official announcement at the D23 Expo in Japan, Tom Staggs published this exciting article on the Disney Parks Blog, exhibiting some breathtaking concept art, as well as some details on the experiences this new land will offer.

Mr Staggs describes such wonders as 'awe- inspiring floating mountains' and 'a nighttime jungle of bioluminescent plants', whilst also teasing information about an attraction themed to flying with a Banshee, just like in the movie.

This could well be the long rumoured Soarin'-esque attraction which many have considered a certainty for Avatar Land for a while now. This would be a great idea in my opinion, especially if they could take the natural next step in how immersive that attraction concept is and make it a 360 degree screen. Soarin' at Epcot has proved to be consistently popular ever since it opened, despite technical issues, and I think that Disney will recognise how good this original attraction concept is and will want to explore its potential to an even further extent.

That said however, the concept art seems to suggest something a bit different. It shows a series of Banshees with a single person aboard each of them, making me think that this attraction could be more akin to a dark ride, or even a rollercoaster. Some kind of simulator also springs to mind, which I actually feel might prove to be more likely due to the sheer scale of Pandora- the alien world on which Avatar is set- as a setting. Having a screen allows so much more potential for the development of that.

The other attraction hinted at in the article is some kind of boat ride, which the concept art shows as being set in the aforementioned nighttime jungle. This is almost certainly a dark ride, and I truly hope that it'll be one which they really let the Imagineers make awesome. Not that I can think of any times where this hasn't been the case, it's just I would love to see the potential of the environments from the film used to the greatest extent possible. It will be interesting to see what kind of storyline this attraction follows, whether it'll exclusively be about a 'tour' of the jungle, or if there'll be an element of adventure and some thrill ride features too.

As with the rest of my fellow Disney Fans, I have a great deal of opinions on what it's fair to say is proving to be one of the most divisive additions in the history of Disney Parks. Construction has barely even begun on this new land, and its opening is at least 3 years away, but Avatar has already become the subject of much discussion in all corners of the Disney Community. Tomorrow I'll be presenting that very opinion of mine in an entirely new post, such is the length of my ramblings! Then check back on Tuesday for my opinions on the other announcements shared by Disney about what will be the biggest expansion in Animal Kingdom's 15 year history! That will be followed by the normal Photo of the Week on Wednesday and Attraction Review on Friday. Last week's Attraction Review has been pushed back to then to accommodate this post.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a magical day!




Thursday, October 10, 2013

World of Dreams Photo of the Week- Celebrating Magic Kingdom's 42nd Birthday!!!

It's truly amazing to think that the Magic Kingdom- and in turn the whole of Walt Disney World- turned 42 just last week. The park's 42 year history has seen it grow and grow, evolving since its opening in 1971 to become the magical metropolis of dreams we know and love today. I think I speak for all my fellow Disney fans when I say that the park is more than deserving of its status as the most magical place on Earth!
The Magic Kingdom's exciting history has been more than worthy of the wonderful place it represents, and has featured an abundance of pure Disney Classics in terms of attractions and entertainment; some still in operation whilst others are unfortunately not. Whilst it's always sad to see an attraction go (believe it or not, I would miss Stitch's Great Escape!), Disney can always be counted on to replace any closed attractions with an experience which is equally- or even considerably more- impressive than its predecessor. The great thing about Disney is that you can always count on them having something new and exciting in the works for our future enjoyment!
So, for that very reason, I have decided to mark this sensational theme park's 42nd anniversary in a slightly different fashion. Instead of focusing on the park's past, I have elected to focus on something which is looking very bright for the Magic Kingdom right now- its future. Never has the famous quotation “There's a great big beautiful tomorrow...” been more appropriate!
The undisputed biggest element of this intriguing future is undoubtably the Seven Dwarves Mine Train, which will complete the New Fantasyland project when it opens, widely believed to be early next year. This attraction will utilise brand new technology, and will be a more than worthy replacement for Snow White's Scary Adventures, which made way for Princess Fairytale Hall- New Fantasyland's primary meet-and-greet location which opened last month. The Mine Train, which will bring the rollercoaster total in Magic Kingdom up to four, will be the final major piece of New Fantasyland, a project that has dominated Walt Disney World construction over the past few years.
As this much anticipated new addition to the park nears completion, photographs of the Imagineers' progress with construction are everywhere, meaning one can easily see the attraction taking shape by regularly being on the lookout for new pictures. I wanted you, my readers, to be able to compare the attraction in its different stages of development, and so have chosen to show you a picture I captured of it just under a year ago, on my last trip to Walt Disney World, so you can also observe just how far it's come in the space of little less than twelve months.
For the ride in its current state I would highly recommend these awesome pictures on WDW Magic which were shared yesterday and have some great views of the detail going into this new environment. It's easy to see that this attraction has evolved so much since I went in October 2012...




Despite the fact that it pretty much just shows a construction site (hey, it is a DISNEY construction site- automatically awesome!) I do really like this photograph, which I took just outside the entrance to Pooh's Thotful Shop. I've made some pretty significant editorial changes, most notably increasing the saturation quite dramatically, as well as adding a cool tilt shift effect, which I'm becoming quite a fan of! I think the composition turned out pretty good too, especially for an iPod 4th Generation Camera!
Thanks for reading, it's great to FINALLY be back into the rhythm of writing for the blog! If you have the time, please check out the incredibly magical We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! I hope you have a magical day, and see you tomorrow for my long-awaited ImageWorks Attraction Review!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

By Way of Apology...

Hi everyone- I hope you're having a magical week! I just wanted to quickly write this post to apologise for not fulfilling my promise of posting on the blog last week. After saying I finally had enough free time to give the blog the attention it deserves... Well, it seems I might have tempted fate! It's been one of those weeks I'm afraid, with several last minute arrangements, most notably a new project for the School Council which I'm a member of at my school, which I've been working incredibly hard on! Unfortunately, when added to homework, sports and everything else I struggled to write the posts last week. However, I had a considerably less busy evening today, meaning I had more than enough time to write some exciting posts for the blog! Stay tuned for a Photo of the Week tomorrow and that Epcot Attraction Review on Friday!

I can't wait to share these new posts with you!

Please also check out the incredible We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! Have a magical day!



Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Blog Update, and Walt Disney World's 42nd Anniversary!

Hello again everyone- I'm so incredibly excited to be back on the blog!

I must apologise for the lack of posts and also the lack of explanation for that. As I have mentioned a few times on Twitter, school restarted after summer a few weeks ago, and, as I predicted, this year is proving to be very busy for myself and my year group! I am now in Year 11 here in England, the second, last and hitherto busiest year of GCSEs. Because of this, the past three weeks have been incredibly manic for my friends and I, thanks mainly to the tests we've had for the school to be able to test our progress at the beginning of this extremely important year. When coupled with sports, family gatherings and of course existing homework this unfortunately left me with very little time to write for the blog.

Luckily the exams are all over, and I'm happy to report that they went wonderfully well! Even better is the fact that I can now resume my regular schedule with regards to the blog, which I'm very much looking forward to! As I'm sure you all know, I love sharing my love of Disney, and Walt Disney World in particular, by writing this blog. I'm aiming to make myself more organised in terms of writing posts, something which admittedly I didn't get the opportunity to do in the past few weeks due to the sheer volume of work!

Like I said, the blog will now resume its regular schedule. I have a brand new Photo of the Week coming tomorrow, which I hope you will all find interesting, which will be followed by a review of ImageWorks at Epcot, coming your way on Friday. These two posts will go back to their regular weekly rotation.

Also, I have made a decision regarding Pin of the Fortnight and My Top Seven. I very much enjoy writing both posts, and have got some great ones lined up for you over the next few weeks. What I have decided to do is relax the schedule for these two posts. Instead of alternating between the two every Sunday, the posts will now be written and posted at any time- as I write them, if you will. The main reason for my decision here is that both are long, complex posts which require a lot of thought, time and effort, and I feel that they will be significantly better if I allow myself all the time I need to write them, and not subject myself to the pressure of deadlines and such. I hope that this way I can bring you editions of these posts which are even better than before!

As always, these four regular articles will be supplemented by others detailing news, reviews, and my opinions on interesting topics concerning Walt Disney World.


Now that I've explained all that, I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Walt Disney World Resort a very happy and magical 42nd anniversary! As I'm sure you know, it is now exactly 42 years ago today- on October 1st 1971- that the Magic Kingdom, WDW's first park, opened. Nowadays, 42 years later, it's the most popular theme park in the world, and is a favourite of many Disney Fans.

I am delighted to announce that not only will tomorrow's Photo of the Week celebrate this wonderful milestone for Walt Disney World, the anniversary will also be the focus of the second edition of 'My Top Seven'. Stay tuned for that later this week!

Thanks for reading! I can't wait to get back into writing for the blog! Please also check out the wonderful We're Going to Walt Disney World Podcast! I hope you have a magical day!