10 Things You May Now Know About the Tree of Life ​Today is Earth Day, which also marks the anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, which opened on this day in 1998. To honor this beautiful park, we thought we would share some fun facts about the centerpiece of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and a true symbol of conservation and our relationship with nature, the Tree of Life.     1. Building an Icon From start to finish, the process of constructing and detailing the Tree of Life took just over two years, and what a process it was! Even before construction began, Imagineers had to solve ..read more

10 Things You May Not Know About Kali River Rapids 1. Not So Fast… Construction on Kali River Rapids began in the summer of 1997. But when the Animal Kingdom opened on April 22, 1998, the attraction was nowhere near completion. In fact, it would be nearly an entire year before park-goers would get to “ride the rapids.” The attraction finally opened on March 18, 1999, nearly two years after construction had initially begun. But it proved to be well worth the wait!     2. Rapid(s) Research Disney Imagineers undertook a great amount of research while developing the attraction. They tr ..read more

10 Things You May Not Know About Living With the Land 1. Inspirational Words The queue of Living with the Land contains numerous inspirational quotes from different world leaders, scientists, celebrities, and children painted on the walls. These include: “I may only be one person, but I can be one person who makes a difference.” (From a 10-year-old child from Kentucky) “Let us remember as we chase our dreams into the stars that our first responsibility is to our earth, to our children, to ourselves.” (From former United States President George Bush) “The earth is like my mother. You get pun ..read more

March Madness Tournament of Disney Movies The sweet sixteen. The elite eight. The final four. If you follow college basketball at all, you know what these terms mean. It’s the time of year that college sports fans live for, March Madness! Time to root for your school and see if they can go all the way to the finals and be crowned the champions of college basketball. On the other hand you might be one of the thousands, nay millions, who fill out that 64 team bracket, hoping you picked every game correctly so you can collect that big payoff. Or you may be like us. That nerdy group of people w ..read more

10 Things You May Not Know About Jessie   1. Thank You Nancy! We can thank John Lasseter’s wife Nancy for the introduction of Jessie in Toy Story 2. She felt that the film should have a strong female character, and that led to the creation of Jessie.     2. So Who Does Jessie Actually Belong To? Speaking of female characters, Jessie is the only female toy who belongs solely to Andy. What about Barbie, Bo Peep, and Mrs. Potato Head? They actually belong to Andy’s sister Molly!     3. Señorita Cactus?? But she wasn’t always going to be a cowgirl. Surprisingly, the c ..read more

The Continuing Search for A113 Last night, Lisa and I were watching Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (highly recommended, even though I struggled a bit to keep up with all the twists and turns!), when suddenly my ears perked up. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) calls for help and says “Agent A2 delta echo requesting immediate evac…Confirmed. Alpha 1-1-3.” “Hey, that’s A-113!” I exclaimed. Why was I so excited? Well, as most of you probably know, this cryptic number pops up throughout the Pixar universe. It’s an inside joke that has found its way into the films of Disney and Pixar. Its origins go ..read more

Disney Easter Eggs and the Return of the Grand Cottage There still may be some snow on the ground in some parts of the country (as I look out my window I can see the last few snowdrifts are still hanging on!). But Spring is definitely in the air…and that means lots of colorful excitement is on the way at Walt Disney World! The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival kicks off this Wednesday, and we’ll have lots of features, photos, and updates in the upcoming weeks. But Spring is also the time of year when we break out our Easter baskets and decorate (and collect!) all those Easter ..read more

10 Things You May Now Know About Wreck-It Ralph 1. Who’s the Real Star Here Anyway? Even though Ralph ended up being the title character in Wreck-It Ralph, that wasn’t always the plan. In early versions of the story, Fix-It Felix Jr. was intended to be the main character, with Ralph merely in a supporting role. Fortunately, the film’s writers soon realized that Ralph’s character arc, that of trying to become a better person, was a much more compelling story, so the two roles were switched.     2. We Know Ralph Can Be Scary, But Come On! Not only was Ralph not the main character in ..read more

10 Things You May Not Know About Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure 1. Bonjour! The arrival of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure saw an expansion of Epcot’s France pavilion, nearly doubling its size. The most stunning addition might just be the fountain outside the attraction entrance. Ornately carved rats can be found on every layer, including statuettes clutching champagne bottles. Topping it all is Chef Remy himself, wearing his toque and wielding a wooden spoon like a royal scepter.     2. Details Are Everywhere Little rat footprints adorn the cement as you make your way through the pavi ..read more

The History of the EPCOT Logos One of the unique aspects of EPCOT is the series of logos representing each of the original pavilions in Future World (Spaceship Earth, CommuniCore, Universe of Energy, Horizons, World of Motion, the Living Seas, the Land, and Journey Into Imagination). While the other Disney parks have their distinctive logos, EPCOT is unique in that it features a unified set of closely related symbols that reinforce the idea of the park being a modern-day world’s fair.   Creating the Icons The logos were the creation of Inouye, who was hired in 1979. This was Inouye’s f ..read more