On October 1st, 2012, Walt Disney World (WDW) will reach its 41st Anniversary. Over the years so much has changed and yet so much remains the same as it was when it opened its doors on October 1st, 1971. When WDW first opened it was just the Magic Kingdom and 2 resorts – the...
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Monday October 1, 1982… …30 years ago on this date, my 2nd favorite theme park opened… EPCOT CENTER!! Happy 30th Anniversary Epcot! I enjoyed spending this past weekend following along on Twitter and Facebook with so many of my Disney friends who were down at Walt Disney World celebrating! I had planned to go...
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Time is the hardest thing to measure. It’s infinite, but has enormous speed, constantly moving forward towards a goal unknown. It has no value unless we give it some. The greatest method we’ve found to do so is by creating “milestones.” Anniversaries, birthdays, marks of time that celebrate the past and raise a toast...
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Hello my friends!! It’s the middle of September, school is back in session, so I figured I would share with you another fun connection between Walt Disney & Chicago ( & me!) Walt’s father, Elias Disney, worked as a carpenter for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago! The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition was held in...
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As you all know, I live in the south suburbs of Chicago, home to some of the most amazing museums in the world! One of my favorites, even from when I was a little kid, is the Field Museum! I always loved wandering around, looking at all the artifacts from Egypt, American Indians, and...
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Main Street U.S.A., its home for all of us who are truly Disney Fans. As you walk down and smell the fabulous baked goods and see the wonderful storefronts you just feel like “I am finally home!” But, have you actually taken the time to explore Main Street? I am not talking about the...
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When arriving at a Disney Park, we often check our notion of truth at the ticket gate. Fanciful stories consume us and we are able to leave behind the sorrows and troubles of our everyday lives. It is an enchantment. It is a place where Imagineers direct our thoughts and allow us the chance to “suspend our beliefs” by immersing us in atmosphere...
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“Welcome to the Hollywood that never was—and always will be,” said Michael Eisner, then-chairman of the Walt Disney World Company, when the third of the four Walt Disney World Parks opened on May 1, 1989. In partnership with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the Park was originally named Disney-MGM Studios. The name changed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (DHS)...
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Hello WDW Fan Zone readers! I wanted to share a fun fact I learned a few years ago while working at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. I found out that Walt had visited Chicago in 1948 to attend the Chicago Railroad Fair and to study the Museum’s exhibits in preparation for the construction of Disneyland. Ward Kimball also...
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In a land far, far away, in a place were fairy tales were born, stands a Disney castle that trumps all her local rivals. Next month, Le Chateau de la Belle au Bois Dormant turns 20, but planning for this international expansion began in 1975, (just 9 years after Walt’s passing). Research for a...
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