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!

We are still middle of summer and it is hotter than ever, but the Walt Disney World Resort is already planning for the holidays. Though many Orlando theme parks put a holiday spin on some of their attractions, Disney takes the cake in terms of decoration and events. There are a number of great things to do at the parks, all of them with a holiday twist. Even celebrities come down to Orlando for the festivities like in one of the most popular events, the Candlelight Processional, at the EPCOT World Showcase Pavilion.

Every year, celebrities from the television, movie and music industries come down to Orlando to read selections from the traditional Christmas story to crowds of guests. Not only will you be able to hear the celebrities read the stories, but the entire experience will be enhanced by a choir and a 50-piece live orchestra playing everyone’s holiday favorites. Fans will be delighted with some of the celebrity appearances Disney has in store for this year’s processional—especially if you’re excited about Disney’s return to 2D animation with The Princess and the Frog!

That’s right, one of this year’s Candlelight Processional guests is none other than Anika Noni Rose. This Tony Award-winning singer and actress will soon become a household name when she makes history as the voice of Disney’s first black princess, Princess Tiana. Disney’s last 2D animated feature was Home on the Range back in 2004, and ever since then 3D has been all the rage with movies like The Incredibles and Up. Now Disney plans to make a comeback with a re-telling of the classic fairytale that also marks the return of the Disney princess. Seeing Anika Noni Rose live and in person will be great for Disney fans of all ages!

Admission to the Candelight Processional is included with your EPCOT tickets and there will be three show times nightly at the America Gardens Theatre. This beloved traditional event runs from November 27th to December 30th. For more news on holiday events at the Walt Disney World Resort check back with OrlandoFunTickets.com where we will have all the information on the best holiday events Disney has to offer. Check out the other celebrities stopping by the Candlelight Processional in our list below!

Nov. 27-29 Isabella Rossellini
Nov. 30 & Dec. 1-2 John O’Hurley
Dec. 3-5 Steven Curtis Chapman
Dec. 6-8 Anika Noni Rose
Dec. 9-11 Andy Garcia
Dec. 12-14 Vanessa Williams
Dec. 15-17 Abigail Breslin
Dec. 18-20 Whoopi Goldberg
Dec. 21-23 Brian Dennehy
Dec. 24-6 Edward James Olmos
Dec. 27-30 Angela Bassett / Courtney B. Vance

In the Walt Disney World Resort, EPCOT is famous with older crowds for being one of the few parks where alcohol is easier to access. It is easy to do a “drinking tour” across the World Showcase Pavillion as you sample beer from Germany, wine from France and sake from Japan. Now with La Cava del Tequila in the Mexican pavilion, tequila lovers will get to enjoy a few shots of the desert drink as well.

Opening up just in time for the 2009 EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, La Cava del Tequila, located inside the Mexican pavilion, will be offering educational seminars about tequila and the process behind making the alcohol favorite. La Cava del Tequila will also have a Tequila Master on hand to answer any questions visitors may have. If you need some food to accompany your drinks, the lounge serves appetizers like ceviche and tostadas. This lounge holds around 46 people and also serves up premium margaritas. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the beautiful Mexico pavilion as you enjoy some of the finest tequila you will ever taste—La Cava del Tequila has 70 varieties!

If you’re really hungry you can leave the “pyramid” and head out to the Cantina de San Angel where you will find heavier fare like burritos and tacos. Mexican beer is also available and they make fabulous margaritas! If you happen to make it to the 14th annual food event at the EPCOT theme park, this new tequila bar isn’t the only treat you will get to experience.

This 45 day festival will feature cuisine from all over the world. The park has set up 25 International Marketplaces to fulfill every culinary wish you would like to experience. Every week the festival offers new entertainment and tasting events, so make sure you pick up a schedule when entering the theme park. Other events include book signings, meet and greets with authors and other “food celebrities” and a variety of lectures and cooking demonstrations. There is also the great “Eat to the Beat” series of concerts where music groups like En Vogue, Boyz II Men, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy will be stopping by to perform their best songs and turn EPCOT into a giant festival. So make sure to stop by the brand new La Cava Del Tequila during the Food and Wine festival or the next time you head over to the Disney theme park.

Want to ride a Segway but can not afford the price tag? EPCOT theme park has announced a fantastic tour that will give you backstage access to the World Showcase and other great EPCOT pavilions. There are various tour times throughout the morning, so your tour time will depend on the reservation you make. Remember, the price of the tour is not included in your theme park admission, so make sure you purchase your discount EPCOT tickets with OrlandoFunTickets.com to save some cash before booking the tour.

Every “Around the World on a Segway” tour begins with a 45 minute training session. This session is meant to teach riders the operation of the Segway vehicle as well as the necessary safety measures needed to keep riders from getting hurt. The training is provided by EPCOT cast members who ride along with your group to make sure everyone stays safe and to provide great insight and tidbits on the EPCOT theme park throughout the experience.

After your training session, you will leave Future World and head off to the World Showcase on your Segway. Your journey will take you through all of the pavilions: France, Italy, Mexico, Germany, Japan, China, Morocco, Norway, Canada, USA and the UK. Your Disney cast member tour guide will let you know about the parks history as you watch other cast members prepare the World Showcase for the day. Since the World Showcase doesn’t open until 10 am, the earlier you take your tour the better. These early hours will give you clear views of all of the pavilions without the hordes of tourists snapping pictures or waiting in line for rides. You will get to see, in detail, the amount of work put into the facades of the buildings and learn how Disney keeps authenticity in mind when replicating these foreign landmarks.

The Segway tours run for two hours, four times a day at EPCOT. The minimum age for the tour is 16 years old, and if you are under 18 a parent or legal guardian must sign the waiver for you. Also, because of the vehicle, there is a weight limit of under 250 lbs. You are standing on the Segway for long periods of time as you motor around EPCOT, so make sure you are in good health before signing up for the tour. This is a great addition to the EPCOT theme park and sure to be a hit with guests to the Walt Disney World Resort.

Not everything in the Walt Disney World Resort has to be done early. Unlike other Orlando theme parks, the Walt Disney World Resort takes advantage of their customers wanting to spend as much time in the parks as possible. Most people come to Orlando on vacation and who likes to wake up early during their vacation when you can sleep in and charge up for the day? For the night owls out there, the Disney parks have Extra Magic Hours available to all guests of the Walt Disney World Resorts.

Here’s how it works. If you’re staying in a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you’ll be given special access to stay at the park three hours after it closes. Just approach a cast member at the wristband locations set up throughout the parks with your hotel key and admission ticket for a wristband. Once the park closes during its official hours, everyone without a wristband must leave. This will weed out a large majority of the crowd and make certain park attractions easier to visit. Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and EPCOT all participate in the Extra Magic Hours. Many times you will be able to ride your favorite attractions back to back as the lines are greatly diminished.

Most of the parks most popular attractions remain open at this time. At EPCOT, rides like Soarin’, Mission Space and the Gran Fiesta Mexico ride remain open. Tower of Terror, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster and Star Tours are open at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom maintains Splash Mountain, It’s A Small World and the Haunted Mansion operating for the Extra Magic Hours time. If you aren’t sure what is open during your time in the parks, just ask a Disney cast member for assistance.

Another great bonus of staying late is the characters. The lines for character greetings and photo opportunities will be far shorter than they are during the day. Nights also provide relief from the warmer day temperatures one might experience in Orlando, so waiting in line will be a lot less troublesome. You’ll be able to get photos with many characters you don’t see in the parks earlier during the day. Late night Extra Magic Hours are a great way to experience the Disney parks without the larger crowds, so make sure you check out the Walt Disney World Resort hotels to ensure you can get in on the fun.

This weekend America lost one of the most legendary journalists in our history. Walter Cronkite, at the age of 92, passed away in his New York home this past Friday night. Both print and media news have been covering the death and remembering the enormous contribution he made to the journalism world. Many of today’s news anchors and reporters called into shows on CNN and MSNBC over the weekend to recount how Cronkite inspired them to join the exciting, yet rocky world of journalism.

Walter Cronkite led America through the challenges the nation faced from World War 2 onward. He began his career as a young man, covering America’s participation in the war and even the Nuremburg Trials. He was there during the Vietnam War and the chaos that erupted because of it back home. He wiped away tears from underneath his thick-rimmed glasses as he announced to the country that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, and he held back child-like joy as Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 mission 40 years ago. Because of his character and his integrity, Cronkite was nicknamed “the most trusted man in America.”

But Cronkite also lent his talents to other media outlets. Along with hosting special news reports and documentaries, “Uncle Walter” leant his image and his voice to various Walt Disney projects and a classic ride in the Disney lineup: Spaceship Earth. It makes sense that Cronkite would lend his distinct voice to the educational ride. As a man which America welcomed into their living rooms every night to inform them on the country’s on goings, Cronkite was a fitting choice to narrate the progress of communication throughout the history of civilization on EPCOT’s signature ride.

From 1986 to 1994, it was Cronkite’s voice that one would hear as they began their spiraling ascent through history and into the future on Spaceship Earth. He was the only American to narrate the ride, as he was then replaced by Brits Jeremy Irons (Lion King) and Dame Judy Dench. Cronkite continued his work at EPCOT by narrating the special Holiday Illuminations fireworks show that ran from 1994-1999.

Over at Disney Hollywood Studios, which was then known as Disney MGM Studios, he worked with Robin Williams on the video “Back to Neverland," a feature that would play to visitors of the Backlot Tour. Together, Williams and Cronkite demonstrated how Disney animators worked hard to bring classic stories to life through the animation process. He was as much a part of the Disney family as he was part of the American news world.

OrlandoFunTickets.com and Disney fans across the globe mourn the loss of this news legend and Disney contributor. As Walter Cronkite would say, “that’s the way it is.”

At the end of the day when your feet can not take anymore walking and your head can no longer support your Mickey ears, the Walt Disney World theme parks offer the best ending to your day with their fantastic fireworks shows. Out of the four Walt Disney World theme parks in Orlando, EPCOT and the Magic Kingdom fireworks are the best around.

Unfortunately, many tourists visiting the parks know this, so the usual spots can get extremely crowded. Even though you have to look up, not ahead, to see the massive display of fireworks, the last thing anyone would want is to be squished between the spectators as the dazzling colors light up the sky. So, OrlandoFunTickets.com is here to provide you with a few secret spots to check out the fireworks.

The Magic Kingdom is now running their Wishes Nighttime Spectacular. It’s one of Disney’s brightest and best displays yet. We recommend staying as late as possible in the theme park to catch the last show of the night. Many folks are usually on their way out of the park and try to catch the show from the Main Street USA area of the Magic Kingdom. Your best bet is to do the opposite. Head to Fantasyland right by the Mad Tea Party teacups ride and have a seat on the stone barrier surrounding the landscaping near the ride. The view of the sky is usually clear and free of any large trees or buildings to block your view. If you’re a photographer there will be plenty of space to set up your tripod and experiment with nighttime photography to get the best shots around.

If you’re over at the EPCOT theme park, you’ll be treated to the IllumiNations fireworks show on the big lake in the World Showcase. Illuminations not only features fireworks but a lovely laser light show that goes with the multi-cultural theme and promotion of unity the World Showcase at EPCOT endorses. The Rose & Crown Pub in the United Kingdom pavilion is a great spot to check out the show. There is an outdoor dining area perfect for viewing IllumiNations. Walk up to the order window outside and order yourself the great fish and chips before taking a seat for a great view.

If you’re looking to watch the fireworks from a hotel, the beach at the Polynesian Resort is a great spot to check out both of the park’s fireworks shows. The location can get a bit crowded but nowhere near the level of the parks. If you’re hungry, then the California Grill at the Contemporary also offers a fantastic view of the show as you dine.

Whichever you choose to do, make sure you get to your spot an hour early to pick out your viewing spot. As always, check out OrlandoFunTickets.com for the best offers on Disney tickets around. The best fireworks in Orlando are only a click away.

Music is definitely filling the air this season at Epcot. Fresh from the Flower Power concerts of the International Flower & Garden Festival, the Disney park will now be hosting a concert series of fresh summer tunes during the Sounds Like Summer concert series, taking place daily from June 15 through August 9. Park guests will be able to reminisce as they listen to the tunes that inspired long, carefree sunny days filled with beach trips, backyard cookouts, and summer romances.

An annual live concert series, Sounds Like Summer is returning to Epcot with an artist lineup that’s better than ever. This summer, the whole family will rock and roll to the sound of classic hits by musical icons like the Bee Gees, ABBA, and U2 when the country’s most popular tribute bands take the stage at the America Gardens Theatre. During the Sounds Like Summer concert series, seven tribute bands will close down a great day at Walt Disney World with multiple performances each evening under the stars.

Opening the concert series will be Stayin’ Alive, a tribute to the Bee Gees, who’ll rock the Theatre stage from June 15 through 21. Hotel California, a tribute to the Eagles, will follow from June 22 through 28; Slippery When Wet, a tribute to Bon Jovi, will perform from June 29 through July 8; 52nd Street, a tribute to Billy Joel, will perform from July 9 through 17; Sounds of the Supremes, a tribute to The Supremes, will perform from July 18 through 26; and 2U, a tribute to U2, will perform from July 27 through August 2. Petty Theft, a tribute to Tom Petty, will close out the concert series with performances from August 3 through 9.

Nightly concerts take place at 5:45 pm, 7 pm, and 8:15 pm. The only exception is on July 4, when the show times will be 5:15 pm, 6:30 pm, and 7:45 pm, along with an additional concert at 9 pm.

The Sounds Like Summer Concert Series at Epcot is a great one to catch because it offers concerts every night, unlike other theme park concert series which only take place on Saturdays or select days. Best yet, each concert is included with regular Epcot admission, so there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying the tunes of your favorite artists, performed by tribute bands that are just as passionate as the original performers. You might not even be able to tell the difference!

So get your must-have concert ticket this season – a pass to Epcot! Take a look at Walt Disney World tickets on OrlandoFunTickets.com now to begin planning your music-filled summer nights.

Normally, a rat would be a very unwelcome creature inside a restaurant and cause to call the Health Department. But at Les Chefs de France restaurant at Disney's Epcot, one special rat isn't just a welcome guest, he’s actually part of the restaurant’s crew. The star of the Academy Award-winning Disney Pixar film Ratatouille, Remy is the newest Audio-Animatronics character created by Walt Disney World Imagineers, and he’s part of a whole new guest experience at Les Chefs de France called “Bon Appétit from Chef Remy.”

Inside the France pavilion eatery, a Maitre d’ greets diners six days a week, four times a day, with a rolling food cart. That cart carries a silver domed cheese platter that the Maitre d’ dramatically uncovers to reveal the six-inch-tall Remy, complete with silky soft fur, pink paws, and a traditional toque. The rat-turned-Chef then comes to life, entertaining diners with nimble movements and lively banter. Chef Remy and the Maitre d’ make stops at each table through the restaurant, and in addition to chatting up the guests, the culinary rodent even breaks out his dance moves every now and then, dancing to various tunes from a romantic French song to a hip-hop jam.

The “Bon Appétit from Chef Remy” experience lasts 40 minutes long and includes small Remy laughing, sniffling, and even flirting with his new restaurant friends. The smallest Audio-Animatronic figure in Walt Disney World history, Remy is part of the Living Character initiative created for Disney Parks by Walt Disney Imagineering.

“By combining technologies, our Living Character initiative creates new levels of guest interaction and brings characters to life like never before,” said Holger Irmler, who worked on the Remy project for Walt Disney Imagineering. “Things we do are so complex, yet our goal is to make them seem so magical to our guests."

Since its inception, the Living Character initiative has been providing guests with never-before-seen animatronics technology and a heaping helping of legendary Disney magic. You might remember the first Living Character debuted in 2004, a large and loveable dinosaur named Lucky who visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom from June to August in 2005. Lucky was an 8 foot tall green dinosaur pulling a flower-covered cart and led by “Chandler the Dinosaur Handler,” and he was able to move freely and talk with guests much like Remy is able to.

Remy was originally debuted at Disneyland Resort Paris and was such a hit that Imagineers chose to have him visit Epcot next, with Les Chefs de France serving as the perfect Parisian setting for the French rat. Guests will be able to visit Chef Remy at the Epcot restaurant every Monday through Saturday until September 5.

For a dining experience like no other, be sure to pay a visit to Epcot soon to see one of Disney’s most charming characters come to life. In addition to getting your Walt Disney World tickets from OrlandoFunTickets.com, we recommend that you make reservations up to 90 days in advance if you plan to dine at Les Chefs de France and meet Chef Remy.

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.

As the first day of the 16th annual International Flower & Garden Festival gets underway today at Walt Disney World, hundreds of visitors visiting Epcot will be greeted by flowering blooms, lovely scents, and whimsical topiaries. In two days, however, that array for the senses will have an auditory addition – the rockin’ sounds of the Festival’s Flower Power Concerts, which will begin this weekend.

From March 20 through May 31, the festival’s beautiful flowers will be accompanied by a spring shower of songs from eleven famous performers of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Park guests will be able to travel back in time with nostalgic tunes like “If You Don’t Know Me By Now,” by Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes, and other hits during every weekend of the 16th annual Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.

The Flower Power concerts kick off opening weekend from March 20 through 22 with performances by Davy Jones, known for a string of pop singles including “Daydream Believer.” The music goes on from March 27 through 29 with Paul Revere & The Raiders, who’ll be performing “Good Thing” and other songs.

The Turtles featuring Flo & Eddie will take the stage next from April 3 to April 5 with hits like “Happy Together,” followed by Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone from April 10 through 12, who’ll perform their infectious “I’m Henry the VIII, I Am.” From April 17 to 19, The Ventures, known as “The Band that Launched a Thousand Bands,” will croon hits like “Hawaii Five-O.” And Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes will wrap up the month’s concerts from April 24 through 26.

From May 1 to May 3, Chubby Checker & The Wildcats, famous for “The Twist,” will perform, followed by Ricky Nelson Remembered featuring The Nelsons from May 8 through 10 with songs like “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection.” Jose Feliciano, known for “Light My Fire” will take the stage from May 15 to May 17, and the 5th Dimension will sing “Up, Up and Away” and other songs from May 22 through 24. From May 29 to May 31, crooner of “Tie a Yellow Ribbon” Tony Orlando will conclude the Flower Power concert series.

Each concert will take place at the America Gardens Theatre in Epcot at 5:15, 6:30, and 7:45 pm on each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the festival. There’s no extra cost to jam to the sounds of the Flower Power era – music lovers need only their Walt Disney World ticket, which they can get right here at OrlandoFunTickets.com. So don’t wait until the last minute to score yours so you can get in the spirit of spring with the great tunes of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

In only five days, the International Flower & Garden Festival will kick off at Epcot with a flowery celebration that includes colorful topiaries, groovy tunes, and plenty of green thumb fun and education. We can’t wait to see all that Walt Disney World has in store for the 16th annual springtime festival, which is sure to have lots of exhibits, activities, and fun for all ages.

From March 18 through May 31, Epcot will go green in honor of spring and all its beauty with some of the most beautiful and creative designs you’ll ever see at the park – and they’re all made out of natural flora and fauna. Each year, the festival presents an elaborate topiary, and this year’s “Cinderellabration” one is sure to be one of the best yet. The display, made out of a variety of plants, flowers, grasses, and mosses, is an extraordinary work of craftsmanship featuring Cinderella and Prince Charming, Show White and the seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip, and Belle and the Beast. The Cinderellabration topiary greets visitors at the front entrance to the park.

Seventy additional topiaries are scattered throughout Epcot, and guests can also take in the sights of several unique and interesting gardens during the festivals. A Green Garden features environmentally friendly landscapes while teaching guests about native and low-water-use plants, a Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden features colorful topiaries of Tinker Bell and her friends, a series of Floral Floating Gardens blooms alongside the concourse, and other gardens provide beautiful vistas and interesting facts.

Other festival highlights include the Flower Power concerts, which will rock the America Gardens Theatre every weekend with the sounds of the 60s. And guests can learn gardening secrets and tips from presentations like the Great American Gardeners series, featuring gardening celebrities and pros; Disney Gardening at Home, featuring Disney horticulturists; and the Garden Town Discoveries, featuring gardening experts. The festival will also offer visitors the opportunity to take an in-depth tour of Epcot’s many gardens, allowing them to learn how the park recreates landscapes from around the world.

If you’re wondering how the International Flower & Garden Festival comes together, here’s a couple interesting nuggets of information. It takes 300 Walt Disney World horticulturists to install the park’s 30 million blooms, and 100 of those garden pros are needed maintain the topiaries and other festival displays in tip-top shape. More than a full year is spent preparing for the annual festival, which features 300,000 bedding plants, 15 large gardens, and 100 floating mini-gardens of impatiens. There are also 750 container gardens of flowers, herbs, plants, and vegetables in clay pots, barrels, and urns, as well as 45 “flower towers” of impatiens lining Innoventions Plaza and more than 500 native butterflies in Minnie’s Magnificent Butterfly Garden.

There’s no better way to ring in the spring in style than by visiting Epcot during the International Flower & Garden Festival. Even if you’re not a green thumb, the park’s beautiful displays, gardens, and topiaries are a sight not to be missed. And best yet, unlike other Disney events, the Festival only requires a regular park ticket. So get your Walt Disney World tickets at OrlandoFunTickets.com today, and you’ll be on your way to enjoying colorful May flowers without the April showers.

The Christmas season of celebration is definitely under way at the Walt Disney World Resort. All of the Disney hotels and theme parks are dressed in their holiday best, and the special events are up and running full steam ahead. The Orlando theme parks really do go all out to celebrate the holidays with vacationers and locals alike. And OrlandoFunTickets.com goes all out too, providing you with the best discounts on Disney tickets to be found anywhere. Your best gift this Christmas will be the cheap theme park tickets you find at OrlandoFunTickets.com!

One of the most dramatic and oldest Christmas traditions in Orlando is the nightly Candlelight Processional at Epcot. This tradition is over 35 years old, and actually began as a living nativity presentation in Lake Buena Vista long before Epcot even opened. It has evolved into a truly spectacular presentation of the story of the Nativity.

Celebrities from all walks of Hollywood life transform into narrators with booming voices and heartfelt wonder to tell the story of the first Christmas. They are joined by a live 50-member symphony orchestra and gigantic mass choir made up of Disney cast members, who provide a truly touching performance. The arrangement of the music, and the way in which it is performed each night manages to convey this wondrous story in a way you have never heard before. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, the show is so well-orchestrated and performed that it is still worth a viewing just for the sheer entertainment value of this professional quality production.

Celebrity narrators this year include multi-Grammy winner Steven Curtis Chapman, well-known “Growing Pains” actor Kirk Cameron, movie and TV actress Marlee Matlin, and famed actor Gary Sinise, who will perform in the Processional from December 23 through Christmas Day, as he has for the past few years.

The Processional takes place three times each evening at the America Gardens Theater in the World Showcase at Epcot. This is an outdoor theater, so dress appropriately if the weather calls for one of Orlando’s crisp December nights. And it is those crispy nights that are the perfect setting for a holiday celebration at Walt Disney World. Even more perfect are the great discount prices OrlandoFunTickets.com offers on all of your Orlando attraction tickets. So whether you’re coming for a holiday get away or you’re here all year, OrlandoFunTickets.com is the place to get discount theme park tickets at Christmas and all season long!