Astro Orbiter (Walt Disney World)
Originally uploaded by Damgaard

Welcome to the first edition of PhotoMagic! This photo was taken on Astro Orbiter in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. This is just a great shot. The background in motion and the rocket in focus is just great. This is a perfect example of a photo I’m looking for in the PhotoMagic series. Here is the description the poster gives us: “In Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland, my five year old son’s favorite ride. Works for both of us, he’s the pilot and I record the mission!” Taken by Damgaard. For more info, click the links below the picture! Thanks for reading, and enjoy future PhotoMagic posts!

Welcome to a new feature here on WDW Central called PhotoMagic! [I realize it's a lousy name - if you can come up with something better, I'm all for it!]  Here’s how it works. Occasionally I’ll be going on Flickr to look for great shots at Walt Disney World.  It could be a park icon, a ride, a shop, fireworks, or anything.  I’m picking the photos that look great.  That’s the point.  And I won’t be claiming to own any of the photos, because I’ll link back to the photo on Flickr and the poster’s profile.  You can look forward to the first post tomorrow.  Thanks for visiting WDW Central!

Pleasure Island is closing their six night clubs (8 Trax, The Adventurer’s Club, Mannequins™ Dance Palace, BET Sound-Stage™ Club, Motion and The Comedy Warehouse) as of September 28, 2008.  Based on guest feedback, the area will be completely re-themed to include fun for the entire family - with a mix of dining and shopping.  Disney calls it “a bold new vision” for Downtown Disney; they are also going to spruce up the existing areas to create an overall better guest experience.

Here is some more information:

• Pleasure Island Annual Passholders will be able to request a refund.
• WDW Premium Annual Pass will not include Pleasure Island, but will include the ability to play a round of golf at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course
• The Water Park Fin & More Ticket will no longer include Pleasure Island, but will include the ability to play a round of golf at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course

For more info - click here, here (official), here, and here.

Welcome to WDW Central, and thanks for stopping by!  There’s some new stuff happening here - some of it’s minor and some of it’s not.  Either way, I’m going to let you know about everything that’s going on, so let’s get started.

Fresh Logo. Sure, the old logo is great, but I thought it was time to freshen things up with some brighter colors and better fonts, while not straying to far from the original.  I hope the new logo freshens up the place.  Are you tired of that word yet?

Fresh Sidebar. The sidebar has a long story.  A couple of months ago, I got great icons on the sidebar, and was very satisfied.  I wanted to change one word in the “About” description - so I went in, changed it, and hit okay.  Or so I thought.  It turns out, I accidentally hit “Remove”, and it deleted all that hard work.  The sidebar has never been redone since.  I finally redid it, and everything is okay.  Enjoy the design!

Fresh Content. I have also been working hard for all new content here at WDW Central.  I’m now finished (with some of it) and I’m making it public.  Introducing the Parks and Games section of the site!  The Parks section will give a brief overview of each theme park for newcomers, with the top three attractions for each park.  The Games section is small now, but will hopefully continue to grow.

Your comments are appreciated!  Don’t like the sidebar?  Think I should reword something in the parks section?  Let me know by commenting on this post or simply by contacting me!

Disney is being sued by Sukhbir Channa, 24, who claims he was discriminated by Disney because of his religion.  Channa wears a turban, and has a beard and long hair in accordance to his religious beliefs.  Disney removed him from his position because he was lacking the “Disney look”.  He was first hired by Disney in October 2005 as a seasonal musician, then was a toy soldier in the Disney parade, and was released in October 2006.  According to the suit, Channa complained to human resources and was told he was never hired for the atmospheric position and no corrective action was ever taken. The suit also claims he was singled out to perform menial tasks for his supervisor.  Disney is currently reviewing the lawsuit.

For more info, click here.

This week has been an extremely hectic week (with today being my birthday). I apologize for the “updateless” few days. After this weekend things will be getting back to normal. Thanks for your patience with everything (including the sidebar - which will get done sometime soon), and thanks for stopping by WDW Central! See ya real soon!

-Matt

Starting in 2011, tens of thousands of bowlers will be heading to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex for tournaments hosted by the United States Bowling Congress.  The USBC will host seven open and six women’s championships - both lasting about 20 weeks.  The deal is expected to produce $750 Million in economic impact from 2011-2029.  The facility needed to host these bowling events will be built, Officials said.

For more info, click here.

The Walt Disney World Website just unveiled their 3D Virtual Tour. Now, with the help of Google Earth, you can explore every inch of the Walt Disney World Resort. The tour will make it easier to play your WDW vacation with attraction descriptions, videos and photos, and links to menus, event calendars, and tickets and reservations. Click here to go to the official website and download Google Earth for free. Just download Google Earth from the WDW site. While in Google Earth, click the gold mickey ears to enable the official WDW info.

For more info, click here.

Unfortunately, the video was removed from the site.

Have you ever wondered how Disney managed to create the interactive attraction Turtle Talk with Crush? Here is a video going behind the scenes to give you a look at how it is done. This was recorded before the show moved to it’s larger auditorium in the Seas pavilion. If you don’t want to spoil the magic, then don’t watch this video.

Watch the Behind the Scenes Video

Welcome to another post of “In the Spotlight”. Today, we take a look at some fun facts about Expedition Everest, located in Asia at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

• Expedition Everest contains 2 encounters with the mysterious Yeti.
• Expedition Everest has one drop, 80 feet in length.
• The train reaches 120 feet high.
• The train goes forwards and backwards.
• To get a more intense experience, ride in the back car.
• You must me 42″ or taller to ride Expedition Everest.
• The ride vehicles carry 34 passengers per train.
• The maximum speed in Expedition Everest is 50 mph.
• Expedition Everest is the largest ride in WDW.
• Expedition Everest cost $100 Million (USD) to build.
• Expedition Everest is composed of three “structures”.
• The anamatronic Yeti is so big, it’s on its own structure.

Add content to WDW History’s Expedition Everest Page.