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Disney-MGM Studios will become Disney’s Hollywood Studios in January. Walt Disney World confirmed Thursday the long-standing industry rumor that it would rename the theme park, one of four in its massive resort. The company says it is making the revision to reflect changes in the entertainment industry without mentioning details of its agreement to use the MGM name and logo.

The move has to do with a shift in focus after the Pixar acquisition. One thing you should expect to see is more Disney, ABC, and pixar characters being integrated into the park. The first of these is the Toy Story Mania attraction. The High School Musical Pep rally will also be replaced with High School Musical School’s out show to tie in with the release of High School Musical 2.

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Here are a few pictures from the Wonders of Life Pavilion when it was still open.

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The trick to successfully going through Fantasyland, or any of Disney’s parks, is to have a plan, and to use fastpass to your advantage. On my most recent trip to Disney World I used this plan successfully on two days, over the Memorial Day weekend, so unless you go during Christmas or Easter you shouldn’t have a problem getting it to work for you.

First off you’ll need to be in the park between 9:00AM and 9:30AM. When I say in the park I mean on Main Street, not on the monorail or ferry, not parking your white mini-van in Goofy aisle 53, and not sleeping in because gosh-darn it yore on vacation. As soon as you can go directly to Fantasyland, your first two rides will be It’s a Small World and Peter Pan, the order doesn’t really matter. After those two rides, head towards Dumbo in Fantasyland. At this point you’ll need to split up, one parent should take the kids and get on the line for Dumbo, The other parent will take all of the tickets over to Winnie the Pooh, and get fastpasses for everyone. You’ll need to resist the temptation to get on the ride now, you will be rewarded later. At this time of the day your fastpass should give you a ride time between 30 to 60 minutes after the current time. If you look at the picture you’ll see the fastpass was issued at 9:25 and the ride time is between 10:05 and 11:05. You should also notice the time down at the bottom that says you’ll be able to get another fastpass after 10:10, this is crucial. Go back and join your party waiting on line at the Dumbo ride. If any of your children are girls (I have two) chances are they will want to see Ariel, so get on line after Dumbo. If you haven taken a bio break this is good spot, as the bathroom is right next to Arils Grotto. You’ll need to do a time check at this point. It should be after 10:05 but you should still have enough time to ride the carousel before 11:05 (when your fastpass expires). Before you leave the area you’ll want to get a second set of fastpasses, this time for Mickey Philharmagic.

This is a key trick to maximizing your Disney Vacation, getting two fastpasses, whenever possible. Now you want to use your fastpasses, for the Winnie the Pooh ride. After Winnie the Pooh you want to head over to Mad Hatter’s Tea Cup Ride. This line can be fairly slow moving on busy days. After the tea cups it’s over to Snow White’s Scary Adventure. You’ll need to check the wait time and compare it to the fastpasses you still have for Philharmagic. If you have enough time go on Snow White then Philharmagic then do, otherwise go on Philharmagic first, then Snow White. I used this plan on two consecutive days and finished between 12:30 and 1:00 on both days.

You should be pretty tired and kind of hungry by now, so head on over to Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café for lunch and well deserved rest.

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Epcot Vice President Jim MacPhee said Thursday that the time has come to remove the Mickey Mouse arm, glove and wand that have served as a colorful, lighted Epcot sign — and as a lightning rod for criticism from many longtime Epcot fans.

The wand was cute when it it was the change of the millennium, however 7 years later many fans, including your truly, believed it had become nothing more than an eye sore. Some of our other favorite Disney blogs like Re-Imagineering: It’s Official! are celebrating. It’s a shame the Epcot Central blog shut down before the news.

We’re glad it’s down and look forward to a cleaner Epcot in the future!

Tags: epcot, wdw, disney+world, disney

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Tags: walt+disney+world, disney+world, magic+kingdom, gloria+estefan

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Slippery When Wet
June 11-17 The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute

Stayin’ Alive
June 18-24 A Tribute to the Bee Gees

Kevin White
June 25-July 1 A Tribute to Garth Brooks

Respect
July 2- 8 A Tribute to the Queen of Soul – Aretha Franklin

Bjorn Again
July 9- 17 A Tribute to ABBA

Hotel California
July 18- 24 A Salute to the Eagles

52nd Street
July 25- 29 A Tribute to Billy Joel

Captain Fantastic
July 30-August 5 The Magic of Elton John

Transit Authority
August 6-12 The Tribute to Chicago

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Tags: walt+disney+world, disney, epcot, soaring, wdw

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Detroit, MI: Fisher Theatre (June 26-July
Philadelphia, PA: Kimmel Center (July 11-22)
Chicago, IL: LaSalle Bank Theatre (July 25-Sept. 2)
Toronto, ON: Princess of Wales Theatre (Sept. 4-23)
Buffalo, NY: Shea’s Performing Arts Center (Sep. 25-30)
East Lansing, MI: Wharton Center (Oct. 2-7)
Rochester, NY: Auditorium Theatre (Oct. 16-21)
Columbus, OH: Palace Theatre (Oct. 23-28)
Cleveland, OH: Palace Theatre (Nov. 13-18)
St. Louis, MO: Fox Theatre (Jan. 9-13, 2008)
Baltimore, MD: Hippodrome Theatre (Feb. 19-March 2, 2008)

For more info be sure to check out HighSchoolMusical.com

Go Wildcats!!!

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