LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Feb. 10, 2010) – The “Main Street Electrical Parade” lights up the streets of Magic Kingdom and headlines a season of after-dark excitement coming to Walt Disney World Resort.

“After the sun goes down, our Walt Disney World parks will light up the night with ‘Summer Nightastic!’, ” announced Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World Resort, at a media event Wednesday.

Disney magic will shine and shimmer in a whole new light. Here’s a look around:

* With floats and characters appearing for the first time at Walt Disney World Resort, Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” returns with its joyous sights and sounds. Direct from Disneyland and marking its first engagement in Florida since 2001, the cherished parade will be led by Tinker Bell waving from the basket of a magical balloon aboard a new float. Pinocchio and Snow White join the parade this summer, aboard bright new floats. Disney’s “Main Street Electrical Parade” is set for its summer-long nighttime premiere in early June at Magic Kingdom.

* The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror welcomes “drop-ins” this summer with even more pulse-racing surprises. New lighting effects and the addition of a new drop sequence, created especially for “Summer Nightastic!”, will bring unexpected frights to guests who step into that infamous service elevator. If they dare.

* What could be more summery than fireworks on a star-studded night? Magic Kingdom will treat guests to a special summer fireworks spectacular. The night sky will explode in vivid colors and brilliant visual effects as whimsical music fills the air.

* Other fun! The return of the Sounds Like Summer concert series to Epcot and extended evening hours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom several times a week add up to summer fun as only Disney can do – at all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

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From StarWars.com:

This summer, Walt Disney World® continues the tradition of offering new Disney/Star Wars-themed logo art for its Star Wars Weekends event, with Jedi Mickey fending off laser blasts from the galaxy’s best bounty hunter, Boba Fett!

2010 celebrates the 30th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, the film which originally debuted Boba Fett, and for those fans with a slant for the old-school Star Wars aesthetic, you can’t miss that nod to the classic double-bar wrap-around logo!

Look for this event logo artwork on merchandise offered at Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida starting in May, and don’t miss the four Star Wars Weekends happening this summer:

* May 21 - 23
* May 28 - 30
* June 4 - 6
* June 11 - 13

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(L-R): Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; Michelle Nunn, co-founder of HandsOn Network and CEO of the Points of Light Institute; and Ty Pennington, host of the ABC-TV series “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” pose at Epcot in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Feb. 11, 2010 with Mickey Mouse and Goofy in front of a sculpture made up of 115,527 canned goods. The canned food structure, featuring Disney characters and a “Celebrate Volunteers” message, was unveiled during a special event for Disney Parks new “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” volunteer initiative. The canned goods in the sculpture represent more than 70,000 meals and will be donated to food banks in Orlando, Fla., Miami and Atlanta. The sculpture was authenticated by Guinness World Records as a new world record for canned food structures. To recognize their good deeds, in 2010 Disney Parks is celebrating those who volunteer through the program by giving them a free one-day admission to either a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort theme park. Volunteers can start the search and sign-up process by going to www.disneyparks.com. (Gene Duncan, photographer)

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – So how is New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees celebrating his heroic play in Super Bowl XLIV? In the frenzied moments just after his team claimed the National Football League championship Sunday night in South Florida, he stood in front of a TV camera and shouted five words that have become an almost iconic reaction to milestone achievements: “I’m going to Disney World!”

Brees’s pronouncement, part of the production for one of TV’s most enduring and celebrated commercials, was captured after the Saints’ 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts – a game during which he earned the MVP honor, completing a Super Bowl record-tying 32 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He was 16-for-17 in the second half, twice leading the Saints from behind. It added up to be a catalyst for the Saints’ first Super Bowl celebration in team history

On Monday (Feb. 8), Brees was to go to the place where millions of vacationers celebrate their personal milestone moments – Walt Disney World Resort. He was to be joined in the Magic Kingdom by NFL Youth Football players, who will participate with the Saints star in a Super Bowl celebration parade down Main Street, U.S.A.

This latest commercial is the 42nd of a series that began in 1987 following Super Bowl XXI. The first “I’m going to Disney World” commercial, featuring New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, was regarded as a groundbreaking concept – a produced national commercial involving a current event, airing on major networks within hours of its conclusion. Brees joins a lineup of people from sports and beyond who have celebrated milestone accomplishments in “I’m going to Disney World” commercials.

A Look Back at “I’m Going To Disney World!”

First Spot: Super Bowl XXI (Phil Simms, New York Giants)
Number of Spots Since Inception: 42
Chronology of “I’m going to Disney World” Spots:
2010 Super Bowl XLIV (Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints)
2009 Super Bowl XLIII (Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers)
“American Idol” Season 8 (Kris Allen, singer)
2008 Super Bowl XLII (Eli Manning, New York Giants)
“American Idol” Season 7 (David Cook, singer)
2007 Super Bowl XLI (Tony Dungy and Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts)
2006 Super Bowl XL (Hines Ward, with Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh Steelers)
2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII (Tom Brady, New England Patriots)
Major League Baseball World Series Champions (Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez and David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox)
2003 Super Bowl XXXVII (Jon Gruden and Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
2002 Super Bowl XXXVI (Tom Brady, New England Patriots)
2001 Super Bowl XXXV (Trent Dilfer, Baltimore Ravens)
Major League Baseball home run record (Barry Bonds, San Francisco Giants)
2000 Super Bowl XXXIV (Kurt Warner, St. Louis Rams)
1999 Super Bowl XXXIII (Terrell Davis and John Elway, Denver Broncos)
Women’s World Cup (United States Championship Team)
1998 Super Bowl XXXII (John Elway, Denver Broncos)
Major League Baseball home run record (Mark McGwire, St. Louis Cardinals)
1997 Super Bowl XXXI (Desmond Howard, Green Bay Packers)
Holiday Gift-Giving (Santa Claus)
1996 Super Bowl XXX (Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys)
1995 Super Bowl XXIX (Jerry Rice and Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers)
1994 Super Bowl XXVIII (Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys)
Winter Games XVII (Nancy Kerrigan, U.S. Figure Skater)
1993 Super Bowl XXVII (Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys)
Stanley Cup (Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens)
1992 Super Bowl XXVI (Mark Rypien, Washington Redskins)
1991 Super Bowl XXV (Ottis Anderson, N.Y. Giants)
NBA (Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls)
1990 Super Bowl XXIV (Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers)
Graduation (Jim Thompson of Temple University, and
Matt Kaldenberg, Phyllis Kaldenberg and Laura McEwen of Simpson College)
1989 Super Bowl XXIII (Joe Montana, San Francisco 49ers)
NHL (Al MacInnis, Calgary Flames)
NBA (Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons)
1988 Super Bowl XXII (Doug Williams, Washington Redskins)
Miss America (Gretchen Carlson)
World Series (Orel Hershiser, L.A. Dodgers)
NBA (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, L.A. Lakers)
1987 Super Bowl XXI (Phil Simms, N.Y. Giants)
America’s Cup (Dennis Conner)
NBA (Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers)
World Series (Frank Viola, Minnesota Twins)

* The Super Bowl has been the catalyst for the most “I’m going to Disney World” spots (23)
* There have been four “I’m going to Disney World” repeaters: Joe Montana (1989 and 1990), Emmitt Smith (1994 and 1996), John Elway (1998 and 1999) and Tom Brady (2002 and 2004).
* “I’m going to Disney World” spots immediately following the Super Bowl have featured non-Super Bowl MVPs nine times: 1989, 1995 (shared), 1996, 1998, 1999 (shared), 2001, 2003 and 2007 and 2009 (shared)

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The heartfelt story of a journey to fulfill a promise captivated audiences and brought in plenty of money at the box office for Up, making it yet another huge success to add to Pixar’s list of huge movies. Let’s not forget, Toy Story 3 is coming up soon along with Rapunzel; which will continue to make the Pixar/Disney team up almost unstoppable. They were certainly unstoppable at the Golden Globes and already people are looking towards the Oscars!

At the Golden Globes, where the decisions are made by the Hollywood Foreign Press, Up won in two categories. The most important award of all was the Best Animated Feature, where it defeated Coraline and its own company with The Princess and the Frog! The other category Up! won in was for Best Original Score. In a way, this win was also tied to Disney! Michael Giacchino, the hottest new composer in Hollywood, created the score for Up along with the blockbuster Star Trek and ABC’s LOST—and Disney owns ABC! So far the House of Mouse is scoring big with all of these awards shows. Will some Oscars be next for Up? What about The Princess and the Frog? Sure it got some nominations, but Disney’s return to hand-drawn animation definitely deserves an award of its own! We’ll just have to wait and see.

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You might have heard about the enormous Fantasyland expansion coming in 2011 and 2012 over at the Magic Kingdom. Fans of the Disney princesses will love all of the new features. You’ll be able to help plan Sleeping Beauty’s birthday party, learn to ballroom dance with Cinderella, read a story with Belle and even enjoy a ride through the journey of Ariel. For fans of Pixie Hollow, a giant sized replica of the fairy land will be built to make you feel like you’re Tinkerbell’s size yourself.

For fans of Dumbo there will be a new circus-themed area that will do away with the concept of lines. Yes, that’s right. Instead of waiting in line you will be able to play various games to keep yourself entertained in the meantime. It’s all part of Disney’s plan to make your experience at the parks better for you, and they’ve already begun to test it out!

Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios you can enjoy a musical roller coaster adventure like no other with Aerosmith’s Rock N Roller Coaster ride. Recently, the coaster has begun to test a “deli style” waiting system, where you are given a ticket and made part of a group. For example, if you’re group A, you’ll be told to return in 5 minutes and other groups at other times. Disney has set up games like Guitar Hero, benches, even DJ’s and other forms of entertainment outside of the ride for the various groups waiting to come back for their turn on the ride to enjoy (much like Dumbo will be doing). This “queue-less” system is receiving mixed reviews but it’s still in its very early testing stages. Once Disney fine tunes it, a queue-less ride seems like a great addition to the parks and much more fun than standing in a long line for hours and hours! We can’t wait to see what the parks work out.

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Justin Bieber, who was first discovered on YouTube after his mother would upload Justin’s performances for his scattered family to see, came to Orlando to hang out at the Magic Kingdom with a young girl that won a local radio contest to meet Bieber. If you aren’t familiar with the now 15 year old Bieber’s music, you soon will be. He began his career covering popular hip hop, pop, and r&b songs. He was able to generate enough buzz to catch the attention of Justin Timberlake, Usher and more. The Ontario, Canada native has quickly climbed the Billboard charts, becoming the first artist in Billboard history to have four singles from a debut album in the Top 40 before the album came out! His singles like “One Time”, “One Less Lonely Girl”, and “Favorite Girl” quickly captured the hearts of teenage girls across the US and Canada. When it came time to sign to a record label, Justin Bieber chose to sign with Usher’s label over Timberlake’s, which has been a great success for him.

Bieber was photographed riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and with the Genie from Aladdin. Though he was the biggest teen star in Orlando over the weekend, he wasn’t the only star. Over at Epcot, the very popular Candlelight Processional continues to delight guests from around the world. Whoopi Goldberg was photographed with Minnie Mouse after her reading at the Candlelight Processional. Teen actress Abigail Breslin was also one of the readers at the processional and coming up next we have veteran actor and star of Battlestar Galactica Edward James Olmos. Whether you like the teen scene or talent of all kinds, you can find it all at the Walt Disney World!

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While Universal Orlando Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort’s plans have overshadowed some of the other parks’ new attractions, that doesn’t mean DWTickets.com will leave it out of the picture. If you love water slides and enjoy a day in the sun at the beautiful Aquatica water park, you’ll be happy to know they will be expanding the park with a brand new slide called Omaka Rocka, meaning “rocky river.”

This new water slide will allow people of all ages to ride as long as they follow the rules—no height restrictions here! What you will find with Omaka Rocka is 2 slides with 3 funnels each. These funnels will feature 2-seater tubes that will send riders zooming through colorful fiberglass tubes. Some will be translucent and others will keep riders in the dark for an exciting experience! Even those who are waiting in line will be able to see Omaka Rocka riders zooming overhead in the colorful tubes.

“They’re going to slide up one side and get a sensation of near weightlessness. They’ll come down that side and back up the other. They’ll probably be going backwards, but most definitely going to be screaming,” Aquatice VP Rick Beddow told the Orlando Sentinel. “It’s going to be a taste of a half-pipe — near vertical thrills experienced only by skateboarders or snowboarders.”

The Omaka Rocka will share a tower with Whanau Way and be similar in ride style to both Whanau Way and the Tassie’s Twisters. This will be Aquatica’s first new attraction since it first opened two years ago. While the Omaka Rocka is scheduled to open in 2010 we don’t have a specific date yet. Considering it’s a bit chilly in Orlando right now, springtime seems perfect, and March is the rumored month of completion.

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