Are you excited for Disneys return to 2D animation? Fans all over the world have December 11th marked on their calendars as they eagerly await the arrival of Disney’s first African-American princess, Princess Tiana. Disney’s 49th animated film will take place in beautiful New Orleans, Louisiana and follow the story of Tiana, a 19 year old waitress with dreams of having her own restaurant and Prince Naveen, a man who is cursed by a voodoo doctor and turned into a frog. When Naveen searches for the beautiful girl that will reverse his curse with a kiss, he finds Tiana who agrees to kiss him, only to get turned into a frog herself. Naveen and Tiana then have to head out on an adventure through the swamps of Louisiana to find a way to revert back to their human forms. As always, they will encounter lovely animal friends to help them on their journey as well as an evil witch doctor and a good voodoo priestess that allies with Tiana and Naveen to help them both.

This story is going to be great and will hopefully get Disney back onto the 2D animation ball. The parks and the Walt Disney Company are going full speed ahead to promote this movie. Not only will Princess Tiana get her own riverboat show at both Disney parks this October, merchandise for the movie is already on shelves and tickets are being sold for the limited November 25th release in select cities. If you aren’t lucky enough to live in a city that is having the November 25th showing, Disney still has a treat for the rest of us that will have to anxiously await December 11th,2 009.

Starting October 5th, everyone over the age of 10 that visits Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will all receive a special certificate. Guests will then be able to redeem these certificates at various locations throughout the parks for a voucher of $8 off a child admission to the movie theatre when you purchase a regular price adult ticket. This is yet another great reason to get your discount Disney tickets and make it out to the parks this fall to get a head start on your The Princess and the Frog movie experience!

At Epcot, guests can travel around the World Showcase and get a taste of countries like Germany, Italy, France, and even Morocco. But for a true taste of Africa, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is the place to go, and even more so now with the opening of the new Kidani Village Resort. A new Disney Vacation Club property that’s begun opening in phases earlier this month, Kidani Village envelops guests with African-inspired art, authentic African cuisine, and incredible views looking out onto an animal-filled savannah.

Families will be able to indulge their taste for adventure at Kidani Village, which is named for the Swahili word for “necklace.” From the moment they step into the lobby and take in the hand-carved columns, intricate patterns, and gold-toned furnishings, guests will feel like they’ve been transported to Africa. Arching windows in the lobby provide an unparalled view of the savannah, and swaying floor lamps and vibrant fixtures add to the splendor and authenticity of the resort.

Guests can choose from studio and one, two, and three bedroom accommodations at Kidani Village, each equipped with homey comforts like kitchens, living areas, and more. Each villa features custom-made furnishings and African décor, in addition to a view of the savannah.

The Village also includes Jambo House, which opened in July 2007 and consists of 109 remodeled two-bedroom equivalent accommodations on the fifth and sixth floors of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The remaining rooms of Kidani Village are expected to open this fall.

Other new amenities in the resort at Kidani Village include Sanaa, a 150-seat restaurant serving African cooking infused with Indian flavors. Named after the Swahili word for “artwork,” Sanaa opened May 1 and features interiors inspired by African art.

Guests can also enjoy Samawati Springs Pool, a themed pool area with a 128-foot slide and two whirlpool spas, and Uwanja Camp, a water-play area with three themed zones featuring age-specific activities for kids. More active fun is available on a basketball half-court, a shuffleboard court, and two lighted, hard-court tennis courts located in a sports area, and there’s also a “Survival of the Fittest” fitness center featuring treadmills, bicycles, stair climbers, and limited free weights.

To wind down and relax, guests of Kidani Village can utilize the Zahanati Massage & Fitness Center inside Jambo House, which offers spa services. Meanwhile, any shopping bug can be satisfied at Johari Treasures, a merchandise shop with logo and character merchandise, plush toys, sundries, books and magazines, and more.

And of course, no resort is complete without handy access to Walt Disney World. Kidani Village offers convenient transportation to all the Disney parks.

To book a stay at Kidani Village, one need only call Disney to make reservations. And to begin your escape to the wild savannah, don’t forget to pair your African accommodations with an African-style adventure at Animal Kingdom or one of the other parks by getting your Walt Disney World tickets from OrlandoFunTickets.com.

With four theme parks and over 35 years of history behind it, there is so much to learn about Walt Disney World. And even if you have been to the parks a thousand times, chances are there’s still plenty of interesting Disney World facts you may have never heard before. We ourselves are learning new ones all the time! (See our first ‘Did You Know?’ blog.) So in honor of one of our favorite Orlando theme parks, or rather, several, here’s a sprinkling of even more Disney knowledge to brighten your day.

Magic Kingdom’s Secret Underground Lair

Originally considered a Disney urban legend, the intricate maze of service tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom is a sight that few guests ever get to see. But the Utilidors are 100% real, and they’re responsible for many of the seamless operations that go unseen by guests in the park. For example, have you ever wondered how cast members and characters seem to just randomly appear? They travel through the park via these tunnels, which were first created because Walt Disney was bothered by the sight of a cowboy walking through Disneyland’s Tomorrowland on his way to his post in Frontierland. Today, the Utilidors are also used deliveries and even collection of trash. It all happens under guests’ feet in what is actually the ground floor of Magic Kingdom – the park, unbelievably, is the second level of a massive structure!

Beastly Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom focuses on animals, obviously, but even more specifically, it focuses on three classifications of animals: those that exist today, those that did exist but are now extinct (dinosaurs), and those that exist in legend and mythology. And in the original designs for Animal Kingdom, there was supposed to be an area specifically devoted to this third category called Beastly Kingdom.

The area was supposed to feature mythical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and sea monsters, split into two different realms of good and evil creatures. The plans were all drawn up and the attractions all mapped out, but regrettably, budget limitations prevented the area from being built. In its place, Camp Minnie-Mickey was constructed, and rumor has it that the Imagineers who thought up Beastly Kingdom were laid off and rehired at Universal Islands of Adventure, where they created the coaster Dueling Dragons. Today, however, you can still see remnants of the Beastly Kingdom plans in the form of dragon figures throughout the park, as well as the Unicorn parking lot.

In the Movies

As many older Disney lovers know, Disney’s Hollywood Studios used to be called MGM Studios, and in the heart of those fans, the name change never took place. What many younger folks also might not know, however, is that the park really was a functioning TV and motion picture production facility back in the day – and that that was the Walt Disney Company’s original intention for the Studios. In the late 80s, feature-length films such as Ernest Saves Christmas and Newsies were filmed there prior to its completion and opening as a theme park.
From the early 90s to early 2000s, MGM Studios was also the birthplace of Disney animated films like Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, and Brother Bear, in addition to other Disney projects like the Mickey Mouse Club and Adventures in Wonderland, and many more third-party productions. Even a radio studio is located on the lot, appropriately behind “Sounds Dangerous.”

If you want to learn more about your favorite Disney theme park, one of the best and most fun ways to do that is to visit! Score your Walt Disney World tickets at OrlandoFunTickets.com, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a Disney expert. And in the meantime, stay tuned to our blog for more interesting Disney factoids.

Sure, everyone sees them when they enter the park, but chances are that most guests do not really know the many purposes of the Guest Relations centers at Walt Disney World. If you have special needs, however, are young, old, lost, speak a different language, or are allergic to peanuts, the Guest Relations center can provide you with a lot of help to make your Disney experience better. Here are a few of the things you can score through Guest Services at Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

First of all, Guest Relations has every kind of map you could possibly need in Walt Disney World. For families traveling with little ones, Guest Relations has special guide maps pointing out all the best kid stuff. They’re especially handy for finding characters, though they also make it easier to find attractions, entertainment, and interactive activities that are of special interest to young children. There’s also the Guidemap for Guests with Disabilities, which provides a detailed overview of services and facilities available for guests with disabilities – including those with mobility, hearing, visual, and non-apparent disabilities.

Theme park guidemaps are also available in six languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, and Portuguese. Visitors can also find times guides for shows, character greetings, parades, and fireworks in their language of choice.

Guest Relations is also the place to go if you’ve become separated from your party, or if you’ve lost a member of your party. If you need to exchange your foreign currency for US dollars, Guest Relations can help you out; they can even provide you with Disney Dollars. And let’s say you need to score a special gift for someone – try giving a Walt Disney World Gift Certificate, available for purchase at Guest Relations.

What if you want to stay or eat someplace really special within Walt Disney World? At Guest Relations, you can arrange your Disney Resort reservations and even make advanced reservations for dining. Speaking of dining, if you have a specific diet or food allergies that need to be taken into account, just make a mention of it and Disney will make sure your culinary needs are met.

And don’t forget that the guest services at Walt Disney World don’t end at the Guest Relations center. Throughout each theme park, guests can also find Baby Care Centers, ATMs, First Aid, Lockers, Wheelchair and Pushchair rentals, and even Camera Services. The latter is particularly cool – let’s say you’ve filled up all the memory on your digital camera. Simply head to one of the camera services spots within the park and you can burn all your photographs to a CD, leaving you free to wipe your camera’s memory card and continue photographing your fun at Disney.

There’s no end to the help you can find at Disney; they’ve thought of nearly everything a guest might possibly need to make their day at the parks a great one. But if, perchance, you can’t find what you’re looking for on a map or have a different kind of special request not listed here, Guest Relations will bend over backwards (as far as they can) to assist you.

So if you’ve been making excuses not to go to Walt Disney World because of some special circumstance, give Disney Guest Relations a chance to make that circumstance a non-issue. Start your Disney adventure today by checking out Walt Disney World tickets at OrlandoFunTickets.com.

This weekend is the beginning of daylight saving time, which sadly means that most people will lose an hour of sleep when they set their clocks forward one hour on Sunday night. However, instead of mourning the loss of time, Walt Disney World is celebrating it with a series of whimsical activities for the whole family. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests can get a “leap” on the weekend’s time change with some frog-focused events that will remind them to set their clocks ahead.

On Thursday, March 5, the park kicked off their daylight saving time celebrations, which will continue through the weekend. Some of the activities include a frog-leap that challenges children to see if they can jump as far as frogs and a special frog-calling game where guests match the frog to the corresponding “ribbit.” Little ones can also don “frog-wear” with goggles to model amphibians’ transparent eyelids, along with mesh vests that represent permeable skin and special suction-cupped gloves to mimic froggy feat.

The events are part of Animal Kingdom’s efforts to promote conservation and raise awareness of the serious decline in amphibian populations. Some estimates suggest that as many as one-third of known amphibian species may be threatened by extinction because of loss of habitat, climate change, pollution, and disease.

So aside from providing a subtle clock change reminder, the program is also designed to engage guests in conservation efforts. Guests will be given tips on how they can help combat the dwindling numbers of amphibians in the world and create a frog-friendly environment in their own backyard. Some of the suggestions include building a pond with native shrubs, providing an overturned pot or small areas of leaf litter to benefit amphibians, and using fewer chemical pesticides to keep amphibians healthy.

Incidentally, at Animal Kingdom, which is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, members of the Animal Programs teams are studying the nutritional needs of the Puerto Rican Crested Toad, a species native to Puerto Rico where it is threatened by extinction. Hopefully, the teams will help conservationists determine alternate habitats where food is abundant for the toads. Researchers are studying the amphibian population in Orlando’s backyard as well, in Disney's Wildlife Management and Conservation Area.

To learn more about Animal Kingdom’s conservation efforts, guests can also stop by the Conservation Station at the Rafiki’s Planet Watch area of the park. There, animal handlers and exhibits offer a behind-the-scenes look at the day-to-day activities of the park, and guests can get more information on what they can do to help in the preservation and conservation battle.

There’s no extra cost to participate in the froggy fun this weekend; you only need a Walt Disney World ticket, which you can get at discount rates right here at OrlandoFunTickets.com. Don’t forget to stop by Animal Kingdom for an educational amphibian experience, and don’t forget to make your clocks leap forward on Sunday, March 8.

Earlier this January, Disney Animal Kingdom Lodge welcomed the birth of two Ruppells Griffon Vultures. They’re the first hatchings of this threatened species at Walt Disney World. Each chick weighed less than six ounces and was about eight inches long, a far cry from what they’ll grow up to be – up to three feet in height and 15-20 pounds, with a wingspan of nearly eight feet.

Over the past twenty years, the population of Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures has been declining, leading the International Union for Conservation of Nature to raise the species’ status to threatened. Members of Disney’s Animal Programs Team hope to increase the species population and generate more awareness of the challenges these birds face.

However, the Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures wouldn’t be the first threatened or endangered animal to be born thanks to the efforts of Disney. Though Animal Kingdom is obviously themed around animals, many may not realize that the park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, meaning that it has met and exceeded the standards in education, animal conservation, and research.

In addition to Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture, Disney welcomed a newborn calf to a herd of African elephants at Animal Kingdom last summer. Twenty-six-year-old Moyo gave birth to a 327-pound male, a significant birth since African elephants are endangered and challenging to breed. And last December, Animal Kingdom saw the birth of its 28th Gerenuk calf, born under the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Gerenuk Population Management Plan.

To learn more about animal conservation and see what Disney is doing, the best thing you can do is take a train ride over to Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom. There, guests can see endangered cottontop tamarin primates up close at the Habitat Habit!, a fun and educational wildlife trail dedicated to the preservation of animals. You’ll learn about different conservation efforts as you get an up-close look at the inner workings of Animal Kingdom.

Also, don’t miss a chance to visit the Conservation Station, the center of Disney efforts to promote wildlife conservation awareness. A behind-the-scenes look at the animals of Animal Kingdom, Conservation Station allows guests to meet with animal handlers, learn about veterinary care, and other day-to-day activities at Animal Kingdom. You’ll also take part in a variety of wild animal experiences, interactive shows, and games. There’s even a veterinary hospital viewing window that allows guests to watch medical procedures conducted by the veterinary staff.

Similar to Animal Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom Lodge is dedicating to giving people a greater appreciation for wildlife. Home to a wide variety of animals that either originated from Animal Kingdom or other zoos, the lodge is a working wildlife reserve with a 33-acre savannah. Its species include Grant’s zebra, Thomson’s gazelle, sacred ibis, Ankole-Watusi Cattle, white-bearded wildebeest, and more. All the animals inhabiting the lodge savannah return periodically to an on-site animal care facility for feeding and routine care.

There’s no doubt that when it comes to the conservation and care of animals, whether stable in the wild, threatened, or endangered, Animal Kingdom is the cat’s pajamas – and the cat’s shelter, too. Take a trip into the wild and see what you can do to help; check out Walt Disney World tickets today at OrlandoFunTickets.com.

There is a new first of its kind attraction at Disneys Animal Kingdom Theme Park one that actually doesnt involve live animals or a roller coaster but is creating quite a buzz and level of excitement around the Walt Disney World Resort. But if it doesn’t produce thrills, then what exactly is it? The Yak & Yeti Restaurant, the first full-service restaurant at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme Park! This Pan-Asian-inspired restaurant located in (where else?) Asia in the village of Anandapur and next to the ride’s biggest attraction, Expedition Everest, houses both a 250-seat indoor full-service restaurant with a 350-seat outdoor pavilion for patrons who would prefer the adjacent quick-service dining option.