Mark Your Calendar - Upcoming Disney Events

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival - Epcot, Through June 1, 2008

Mickey's Pirate & Princess Party - Disney's Magic Kingdom Park, Select Dates through June 4, 2008

Toy Story Mania! - Disney's Hollywood Studios, Opens Late May 2008

Star Wars Weekends - Disney's Hollywood Studios, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays, June 6-29, 2008

Sounds Like Summer - Epcot, June 9 - August 10, 2008

Journey into Narnia - Disney's Hollywood Studios, Summer 2008

Night of Joy - Disney's Hollywood Studios, September 5-6, 2008

Source: www.orlando-florida.net

Celebrities to Appear at Star Wars Weekends

Star Wars celebrities will be at each weekend of 2008 Star Wars Weekends for photos, Q&A, autograph sessions and Hollywood-style motorcades. All four weekends, Star Wars actor Warwick Davis (who portrayed "Wicket the Ewok") will serve as celebrity emcee and host of the event. Here's the list of celebrities scheduled to attend (subject to change without notice):

June 6-8, 2008: Jeremy Bulloch ("Boba Fett") and Daniel Logan (young "Boba Fett")
June 13-15, 2008: Peter Mayhew ("Chewbacca") and David Prowse ("Darth Vader")
June 20-22, 2008: Amy Allen ("Aayla Secura") and Matthew Wood ("General Grievous")
June 27-29: Dave Filoni (director of the upcoming "Star Wars: The Clone Wars")

The Star Wars Weekends fun is included with regular admission to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Guests can access more information by visiting disneyworld.com/starwars or www.starwars.

Animal Kingdom to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

Animal Kingdom, Disney World's largest theme park, opened on Earth Day - April 22, 1998, and celebrates its 10th anniversary next Tuesday. More information to come . . .

Upcoming Disney World Events & Attractions

Source: HotelsCorp.com Travel Events Blog

Toy Story Mania!, a one-of-a-kind interactive ride, is scheduled to open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in May 2008.

The Wave, an upscale restaurant that will offer “bold American cooking with flavors from all over the world,” will make its debut at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in the summer of 2008.

The all-new Jostens Center at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex will open in the summer of 2008 with 45,000 square feet of competition space for basketball, volleyball, wrestling, martial arts, gymnastics, cheerleading and dance, team handball, roller hockey and more.

The 15th-annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival will continue daily through June 1, 2008, with Flower Power music filling evenings at the end of days that feature horticultural exhibits, seminars and demonstrations.

The Magic Kingdom’s newest after-hours special event, Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Party, will offer fun-filled adventure on seven evenings in May and early June 2008.

Star Wars Weekends will return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from June 6-June 29, 2008.

Epcot’s “Sounds Like Summer” concert series, which will take place nightly from June 9 through August 10 at America Gardens Theatre, will feature an excellent lineup of tribute bands covering tunes from the likes of Elton John, The Eagles, The Supremes, Bon Jovi, U2, the Bee Gees and more.

The NBA Pre-Draft, which will boast many of the top pro basketball prospects, takes place May 27-30, 2008, inside The Milk House at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will return for their seventh training camp at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex from late July to mid-August 2008. The Bucs’ daily practices are free and open to the public.

Star Wars Weekends at Disney World

Mark your calendar for the 2008 Star Wars Weekends, which will take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between June 6 and June 29, 2008, at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Star Tours will serve as a centerpiece for Star Wars Weekends, which will feature autograph sessions with Star Wars celebrities, photos, Q&A sessions and Hollywood-style motorcades. Star Wars Weekends is included with the regular admission price to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Don't miss it!

Catch the Wave at the Contemporary Resort

The Wave, an upscale restaurant featuring "bold American cooking with flavors from all around the world," will make its debut at Disney's Contemporary Resort in the summer of 2008. Located on the first floor, The Wave will offer a seasonal menu, "superlounge" and an innovative wine list. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served daily.

Explore "Cities in Wonderland" at Epcot Fest

Fine cuisine and some of the best "foodie" cities in the world will take a bow at the 13th-annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival September 26 through November 9, 2008.

Epcot guests can explore "Cities in Wonderland" - from trendy Cork, Ireland, to the melting pot of Cape Town, South Africa - around the World Showcase promenade while also discovering blissful bites at international and regional marketplaces brimming with exotic flavors and comfort foods. The six-week festival will showcase tastes from countries on six continents.

More than 25 international marketplaces will serve tapas-sized portions of regional specialties at $2-to-$5 each, and recommended wines and beers make perfect pairings at each kiosk. New festival flavors explore the culinary wonders of Lyon, France; Marrakesh, Morocco; Shanghai, China; Bologna, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; and Mexico City, Mexico.

Daily complimentary wine and beer tastings serve up sips from around the world, and culinary demonstrations dish up featured taste treats. A series of special culinary programs features a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.

Musical entertainment pairs perfectly with culinary fun during the nightly Eat to the Beat! concert series featuring a varied lineup of classic rock, soul, R&B, oldies, jazz and funk hitmakers. Concerts are performed three times each evening at America Gardens Theatre along the World Showcase lagoon. New acts to appear include Kool & The Gang, Spyro Gyra, En Vogue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. David Sanborn, Jon Secada and Otis Day and the Knights are among returning crowd-pleasing acts.

Other festival highlights include: The Festival Welcome Center, complete with a Champagne and Wine Bar, complimentary wine seminars and book signings; some 250 Disney chefs and guest chefs conducing culinary demonstrations and hosting elegant dinners and tasting events; a weekly Party for the Senses grand tasting event featuring tempting tastes from eminent chefs, more than 70 wines and beers, and live entertainment.

Wine and beer seminars, cooking demonstrations, special book signings at the Festival Center, Eat to the Beat! concerts, culinary and cultural exhibits, and all attractions and park entertainment are included with regular Epcot admission. The weekly Party for the Senses grand tasting, Food and Wine Pairings at select Epcot restaurants, Regional Feasts, Epcot Wine Schools, Cheese Tastings, Sweet Sundays, and other special wine and culinary programs require reservations and separate admission.

Guests can call 407/WDW-FEST (939-3378) for information and to make reservations for special events and programs.

Top 10 Most Popular Theme Parks for 2007

1. Disney's Magic Kingdom - 17.06 million visitors

2. Disneyland - 14.87 million visitors

3. Epcot - 10.93 million visitors

4. Disney-MGM Studios (Disney's Hollywood Studios) - 9.51 million visitors

5. Disney's Animal Kingdom - 9.49 million visitors

6. Universal Studios - 6.2 million visitors

7. SeaWorld Orlando - 5.8 million visitors

8. Disney's California Adventure - 5.68 million visitors

9. Universal's Islands of Adventure - 5.43 million visitors

10. Universal Studios Hollywood - 4.7 million visitors

Sources: Park World, InPark, TEA Inc., Economics Research Associates

Stump the Schwab at ESPN The Weekend

Remember the Skyway to Tomorrowland?

Opened in 1971, the Skyway to Tomorrowland once provided a bird's-eye view of Disney's Magic Kingdom between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The Skyway to Tomorrowland closed permanently in the fall of 1999.