Category: Special Events

Epcot’s International Festival of the Arts Kicks Off With Can’t-Miss Experiences

The second annual Epcot International Festival of the Arts. is underway! The festival celebrates all things art – performing, visual and culinary with festivities running every day.

Back by popular demand, the Festival started Friday and runs all the way to Feb. 19. This year’s fest is seven days a week with the Disney on Broadway series running Fridays through Mondays.

Here are some of the highlights you don’t want to miss!

5. Workshops/Seminars – A plethora of different offerings spotlight this year’s Odyssey Festival Center. Guests can learn to draw Disney animated characters; get tips on taking the perfect photos; and study a host of artistic genres including acrylics, watercolors, musical composition, storytelling and even floral arranging. The seminars are included with Epcot admission and are generally 30 minutes; and the workshops have a nominal fee but last 75 minutes and include hands-on training and a cool take-away. Seminars can be reserved day-of at the Odyssey Festival Center. Workshops can be booked in advance by calling (407) WDW-TOUR.

4. Kids’ Activities – Younger guests will discover lots of activities including “Figment’s Brush with the Masters,” a scavenger hunt through the countries of World Showcase. They can also grab a paintbrush and join in on the fun as they help create a wall mural at Expression Section in World Showcase Plaza; and there is even an interactive kids “chalk art” area this year.

3. Artful Photo Ops – Put yourself into classic masterworks of art and take the perfect selfie. This year’s newest photo ops allow guests to step into Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus” and “picture” themselves in an homage to Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

2. Food Studios – With more culinary options this year, guests can find edible works of art including a basil- scented salmon roulade with purple rice and Romesco sauce; wild mushroom risotto with aged parmesan, truffle shavings and Zinfandel reduction; and a deconstructed Reuben sandwich, with shredded corned beef, Thousand Island dressing, pickled red cabbage and a rye curl. And the sweets are just as tempting with my favorite being the Pop’t Art cookie with strawberry filling.

1. Disney on Broadway Series – So sue me – I’m a HUGE musical theater fan. The fact that we have seven superstar performers is so exciting for me. One of the best ways to experience Disney on Broadway is through a dining package. Guests can book a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner, and later enjoy priority seating at the show.

The festival runs through February 19 and if you you want to plan your magical vacation so that you are there in time to see it let me know. Contact Travel Time with Vikki today help. My services for are completely free and I will always find you the lowest rates. Let me do all the work so you don’t have to!

January 13, 2018
“Glow at Home” Hats Interact with Disney’s TV Christmas Special

Disney is always coming up with new ways to make viewing Disney specials more interactive for folks at home and this year you can Glow with the Show from home during “Disney Parks Magical Christmas Celebration”. The special airs on Christmas morning on ABC.

Viewers will be able to “Glow at Home” during select performances in the holiday special, thanks to the brand new “Made with Magic 3.0: Connected Ear Hat” and the Shop Disney Parks app. Leveraging Bluetooth technology, the Shop Disney Parks app enables viewers wearing the new 3.0 edition ear hats at home to sync with the Christmas Day special playing on the viewers’ TVs or other devices. Viewers will feel like they are part of the show.

The app also has a remote-control feature to adjust the ear colors and speed of the strobe – a brand-new feature for the Made with Magic Ear Hats. If viewers at home don’t have the special edition ear hats, the Shop Disney Parks app will allow them to enjoy a second screen experience as their mobile phone comes alive, mirroring the spectacle on-screen during select performances. The Made with Magic 3.0: Connected Ear Hat and the interactive ear hat remote control feature on the Shop Disney Parks app became available in November.

Holiday magic is endless as Disney theme parks transform into winter wonderlands filled with seasonal attractions, joyful entertainment, festive deìcor and special treats that make every day feel like a holiday. The spirit of the season shines even brighter in these magical places where families share traditions and make memories together.

Disney Parks presents a celebrity showcase of seasonal sights, performances and traditions, including the beloved Christmas day parade, December 25 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST on The ABC Television Network.

December 24, 2017
Star Wars: Galactic Nights Blast Off Tonight
Star Wars then there is only one part of the galaxy you want to be tonight as Star Wars: Galactic Nights returns at Hollywood Studios.

Following a sold-out event last April, this gala evening will be filled with out-of-this-world entertainment celebrating the entire Star Wars saga, including special guest appearances by Star Wars celebrities. Favorite film moments, special effects and, of course, the epic Star Wars cinematic score will fill the park all evening long. So get your tickets online while you still can.

Among the many thrills in store, guests will be treated to a red-carpet arrival, iconic attractions with little to no wait time, amazing fireworks and projections, and experts sharing details about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, an entirely new land coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2019. Below you can find some of what to expect or check out our complete guide to the event.

Hyperdrive powers the night with:
- The Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks and Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away stage show will both be enhanced with special elements from the entire saga. In between, a DJ will keep things spinning at Center Stage for a Star Wars dance party.
- The Epic Theater plays host to a special, celebrity-led panel discussion about Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Experts from Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm will share some of the excitement coming to the 14-acre Star Wars-inspired expansion opening in 2019 at Disneyland Park in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. Panelists will be joined by Warwick Davis, beloved by Star Wars fans since appearing as Wicket the Ewok in “Return of the Jedi” among many Lucasfilm roles. Actor David Collins will host the special insider’s look.
- Park-wide, guests will step into immersive and iconic scenes from their favorite Star Wars films in a series of incredibly detailed photo locations, including a new backdrop inspired by Star Wars Rebels.
- Star Wars: Galactic Nights features encounters with Star Wars characters like Ewoks, AWR Troopers and roaming droids; Jedi Knights teaching younglings in Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple; rocketing to the stars aboard Star Tours – The Adventures Continue; and stunning projection effects on park icons such as the Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Tower, whose façade will transform to showcase stunning locations from across the galaxy. At Star Wars Launch Bay, the theme park’s home base for Star Wars fandom, guests will meet denizens from the light and dark side of The Force.
- Darth Vader and a battalion of Imperial Stormtroopers will march menacingly down Hollywood Boulevard.
- Star Wars-themed food and beverage and merchandise will be available.
- Select park attractions will be open to all guests. At embarkation points to Star Tours – The Adventures Continues, guests may come face-to-face with Stormtroopers on the lookout for a Rebel spy.
- Guests are encouraged to come dressed in their finest Star Wars costumes, however, masks may not be worn by Guests 14 years of age or older. Arriving park guests will walk a red carpet that runs the length of Hollywood Boulevard. The street itself will be dressed in all the trappings of a Tinseltown premiere.
December 16, 2017