New clothing at Hollywood Studios features characters with clapboards

40th Anniversary merchandise is EVERYWHERE

The exterior refurbishment on Tower of Terror continues

“Hamm and Eggs” Toy Story Mania shirt for women now available

The north end of the Celebrity Five and Dime is under tarps

The Speeder Bike by Star Tours is back after a brief refurbishment

Service resumes May 20th

Over at Downtown Disney, work continues on the AMC Dine-In Theaters, opening in the Spring

Pleasure Island continues its run as a seating area while we wait for Hyperion Wharf

Motion is history, Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club is next

The bridge between Marketplace and Pleasure Island was recently widened to make it more inviting

More 40th stuff…

The Spice and Tea Exchange is now open inside Mickey’s Pantry at the Marketplace

An interesting addition…

The Pirate and Princess Party banners have been repurposed for “Let the Memories Begin!”

There’s even a new floral display outside the Magic Kingdom

The Confectionary on Main Street is now behind tarps, scheduled to be like this until June

The garden next to City Hall is under tarps as well

Even more 40th stuff!

The Fantasyland walls have added some characters

No more forest, just New Fantasyland

We can’t believe how well-themed this food cart is!!!

It looks like it leapt off the screen from Beauty and the Beast

Thanks for the report Zach!

We begin at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Gnomio & Juliet was going to be a Disney movie, now it’s just a Disney promoted movie…

Bambi is coming to Blu-ray

Disney Junior billboards are already up at Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage!

Playhouse Disney closes for the conversion on January 30th

Some of the Hall of Fame busts are missing for some reason

PIXAR Pals is not listed as a parade… that statement took new meaning later in the day…

I would have taken more photos, but I dropped my camera in disbelief

Moving over to Epcot, MouseGear has a window display for the Walt Disney World 40th anniversary merchandise

A lot of work going on in Future World central, but more on that later

The redesign of MouseGear is just about complete

New Epcot “toothpick holders”

The movement of the merchandise really opens the store up, very reminiscent of the Centorium

Animation Vinylmation… or is it Vinylmation Animation series… I’m confused… so go to the Vinylmation Station website…

We’d love to know what the ten on this shirt stands for… trust me, we tried everything!

40th Anniversary merchandise out in full force

“toothpick holder”

Playing cards

The last little piece of store is being worked on now

New Mickey and friends skateboarding action figures

The checkered concrete placed in 1999 is being ripped up, and most likely the remaining Millennium props from the area with it

More concrete marked for removal

Let the Memories begin… with napkins…

Just like Space Mountain, Test Track now places text over your photo preview

The big red planet at Mission:Space is getting dirty

Maybe they need the AXE detailer… (someone got the joke)

Moving briefly to the Magic Kingdom, rumors have El Pirata Y El Perico becoming a Pirates restaurant after the exterior refurbishment is complete

We’ll just have to wait and see if “Tortuga Tavern” ever happens…

Splash Mountain is under refurbishment

Thanks for reading!

Rumors are still circulating that Disney is waiting for some Play Parade floats to arrive in Florida for the Spring, and we certainly hope these rumors are true. If not, one of the shortest and worst received parades in Disney history may have you squeezing in another ride on a DHS favorite instead of waiting for a parade.

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Disney press release:

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – In a dramatic new projection show filled with special effects and magic, Cinderella Castle will transform into a shimmering canvas for images of Walt Disney World guests and the memories they made that day at Magic Kingdom.

In the nighttime spectacle, photos of guests captured that very day in the park will be projected larger-than-life among the spires and turrets of Cinderella Castle. In similar fashion, guest images will be projected onto “it’s a small world” on select nights at Disneyland Park in California, beginning Jan. 27.

The ten-minute experience – called “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” – will dazzle park guests on both coasts in ways never before experienced, themed to beloved Disney stories and with playful animated sequences that seem to defy the architecture of the buildings. The spectacle is scheduled most nights with up to two shows per night depending on theme park operating hours and other special ticketed events.

As many as 500 images shot that day will project onto the castle each night the show is presented, producers estimate. Disney PhotoPass photographers will capture guests creating new memories as they “smile for the castle.”

“Disney parks create family vacation memories to last a lifetime,” said Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “What better canvas for those memories than Cinderella Castle, one of the most photographed icons in the world.”

After the sun goes down, 16 high-powered state-of-the-art projectors will bring the castle to life as that day’s photos (and videos taken from Disney’s “Let the Memories Begin” online hub) seem to dance about the famous facade, explained Alan Bruun, associate creative director, Walt Disney World Entertainment.

As classic Disney music weaves in and out of the new “Let the Memories Begin” theme song,turrets spin while the castle shimmers and magically transforms itself in playful and exciting ways to accompany the guests’ memories of fun, adventure and family experiences.

“The images dance to the music and culminate in a spectacular finale punctuated by animated and actual fireworks,” Bruun said.

As Disney Parks encourages families to “Let the Memories Begin,” guests have been celebrating their only-at-Disney memories by sharing their stories and by uploading photos and videos online at DisneyParks.com/memories.

Vacation memories hold a special place in the hearts of families, too, according to a recent survey of Americans and Canadians conducted by Ypartnership, a leading research firm that tracks consumer insights and trends in travel.

Nine out of 10 parents polled said they plan their vacations with the express hope of creating a lasting family memory. And most memories don’t fade with the passage of time. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed said they think back “often” or “very often” on their most cherished vacation memories.

BY THE NUMBERS: ‘The Magic, The Memories, and You!’ Nighttime Spectacle

* Height of Cinderella Castle: 189 feet
* Number of shows: up to two per night (select evenings)
* Length of each show: ten minutes (approx.)
* Projectors: 16
* Same-day guest photos per show: up to 500
* Total number of images projected per show: more than 5,000

Motion has just about been erased from existence on Pleasure Island

You can now see straight on to Saratoga Springs with Motion out of the way

A little bit of the building remains

Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club will be next in line for the bulldozers

We still don’t know if anything is happening inside the Adventurer’s Club, but we doubt it

Star wars Vinylmation area bout to launch, but you’ll want to check out The Vinylmation Station

The side entrance of the AMC 24 is being converted into the entrance for the “fork and screen” theaters

At least the birds visit Pleasure Island…

And off they go to the Marketplace with everyone else…

There is still a fair amount of live entertainment at Pleasure Island to take guests eyes away from the empty building during the Hyperion Wharf conversion

We imagine there will be more life in this area once Motion is out of the way and guests can enter the Island via a path next to Fulton’s and Portobello

Ooooooooo….

Some new items at the Art of Disney…

Some sketchplates from Disneyland have made their way to Walt Disney World

The Rocket to the Moon model from Disneyland has been available at WDW for a few months now

Yummmm, Mickeyroni and Cheese! Your childhood is calling…

The Spice and Tea Exchange was a recent addition to Mickey’s Pantry in the Marketplace. Don’t fear, all the usual housewares are still in the store

The AMC has closed their side entrance to convert it into the new “Dine-In Theater” entrance

Coming Spring 2011

Meanwhile, Pleasure Island is fading away (or being dismantled, whatever you prefer)

No progress on Comedy Warehouse

Same for the BET soundstage

Adventurer’s Club sits and waits for something

Meanwhile, Motion is crumbling

Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club should be next

From what we’ve heard, Mannequin’s is just being remodeled into new shopping and dining

The Motion wreckage at close range

The back of Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club is slowly disappearing

There is evidence of work going on

After Banks visited Pleasure Island, he made a trip over to D Street to see what’s going on with Vinylmation. To see what’s going on at D Street, see our latest Vinylmation Station Report.

Most of the Motion building is gone already, but it was starting to come down in this photo

Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club behind walls

No visible progress at the Adventurer’s Club

It appears they’ve lowered the “bat-shield” on the windows…

More covered windows/doors

They missed one, but nothing has been touched inside BET Soundstage since the closure

No change outside either

The back of Rock ‘N’ Roll Beach Club starting to come down

Stay tuned to WDW News Today as we track the progress on Hyperion Wharf over the coming weeks, months, and years!

If you are interested in booking any of these offers, you can do so with Magical Travel…

We love to tell the story of Walt Disney World cuisine being so much more than hot dogs and hamburgers, but when you want a burger, well, you want a burger. The Walt Disney World chefs have kicked it up with nearly a dozen satisfying “designer burgers” that take buns to new heights.

All of the new sandwiches start with a 1/3 pound Angus burger (you might consider sharing). In the Magic Kingdom Park, try one at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe topped with Cheddar cheese, guacamole and bacon. At Epcot, Liberty Inn features two: a veggie burger with Monterey Jack cheese, avocado, tomato and lettuce; and a second topped with smoked ham, bacon, smoked Gouda cheese, red onion, tomato, pickle, lettuce and mustard aioli sauce. Also at Epcot, the Electric Umbrella is serving the mushroom-blue burger with sautéed mushrooms, bacon, blue cheese, fried onion straws, lettuce and tomato.

At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, try the surf ‘n turf burger at the ABC Commissary – the Cheddar cheeseburger is topped with fried shrimp, a sweet onion ring, tomato, pickle, lettuce and their own special sauce. Rosie’s tops a Cheddar burger with fried onion rings, tomato, pickle, lettuce and special sauce. At Backlot Express, look for a Cheddar cheeseburger topped with diced avocado, sweet onion ring, lettuce, tomato and special sauce.

In the Walt Disney World Resorts, All-Star Music features a bacon-mushroom-Swiss burger; All-Star Sports a chili cheeseburger, and All-Star Movies a bacon-guacamole cheeseburger. At Old Port Royale at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, try the Caribbean burger topped with sweet plaintains, fried onion straws and pineapple barbecue chutney. Port Orleans Riverside has a chipotle-barbecue cheeseburger topped with bacon and onion rings, and Sassagoula at Port Orleans is serving the Creole burger topped with crispy popcorn shrimp and remoulade sauce. Everything Pop at Disney’s Pop Century Resort piles on Swiss cheese, bacon, fried onion straws and barbecue sauce.

It’s a meal in a bun. Devour with delight, then walk an extra hour – or two.