When it comes to fireworks few places do it better than Disney World.  When it comes to 4th of July celebrations, Disney World pulls out all of the stops and makes their incredible fireworks displays even better.

Here is what Disney World has planned for the 2010 4th Of July:

Magic Kingdom
The Magic Kingdom will be open from 8:00 am - 1:00 am.  At 9:00 pm you will be treated to the "Celebrate America Fireworks" which is a special fireworks display with a patriotic flair that can only be seen on the 4th of July.  Afterwards you can enjoy the 10:00 pm "Main Street Electrical Parade" that is filled with lights, music, and plenty of teh famous Disney Magic as Tinkerbell leads the way.

Disney's Hollywood Studios
There is a special treat for those who are spending their Independence Day at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  A special fireworks display synchonized with a rock 'n' roll soundtrack will be presented at 9:50 pm.  Fireworks are not usually shown here so this is a special treat.

"Fantasmic!" will be shown twice, with spellbinding shows at 9:00 pm and 10:30 pm.  Park hours for the day are 9:00 am - 10:00 pm.

Epcot
Not to be outdone Epcot also has big plans for those looking to celebrate the 4th of July.  The night time spectacular “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth,” which already includes lasers, fire, water effects, and of course fireworks, becomes bigger and better for the 4th of July.  A patriotic musical score is synchonized with the effects to add a special finale to the already impressive show.  This all happens at 10:00 pm.

Before you get to the fireworks there is plenty more to enjoy during the day including:

• Voices of Liberty 4th of July Concert – featuring an expanded cast of singers plus the Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps and Disney characters – at 12:30, 1:45 and 3 p.m. on the America Gardens Theatre stage.
• Betsy Ross will be engaging guests inside The American Adventure with storytelling
• Ben Franklin will be making appearances on the promenade near the attraction.

Park hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m.




Celebrate 4th Of July At Disney World
Although you can see fireworks every night at Disney World, the 4th of July is bigger and better as only Disney can do it.  The hardest decision is choosing which park to enjoy it from!  You could even catch the Epcot fireworks from Disney's Boardwalk like the picture above.  The choice is up to you.

Disney World is introducing a new first of its kind Audio Description Technology in its Theme Parks to aid guests with visual disabilities.

This Disney patented handheld technology will be made available at no cost for its guests to allow them to receive detailed audio descriptions of the Disney World theme parks as they tour them.

It’s time for Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios again!

Star Wars Weekends is the annual Disney World tribute to the Star Wars movies, television series, and characters that lasts four weekends each year. This year is special because it coincides with the 30th Anniversary of “The Empire Strikes Back.”

Star Wars Weekends are filled with activities that are included with your Hollywood Studios admission.

2010 marks the 15th Anniversary of Epcot's Food & Wine Festival which will run from October 1 through November 14.

During this incredibly popular Epcot event more than 25 international marketplaces are set up around World Showcase to tempt your palette with their delightful cuisines and tasty beers and wines.

The Disney Parks Imagineers don't create attractions, they tell magnificently rich stories.  The attractions that are built just help them communicate the stories that they tell.

Disney's Animal Kingdom may be the Disney Parks Imagineers' best example of storytelling at the Walt Disney World Resort.  Today we will look at just one small element of the story that takes place in the mythical town of Anandapur.

Anandapur Mountaineering Association
Within the FastPass queue for the Expedition Everest attraction you may have noticed a small stand that is set up to sell mountaineering supplies.

Actually, if you were in the FastPass queue you most likely raced past this area and never had a chance to look closely at all there was to see.

Disney Parks now offers a combined  Annual Pass for both Disney World and Disneyland.  It is called the Disney Premier Passport.

This new premium annual pass combines the features of the individual premium annual passes that you can purchase at Disney World and Disneyland.  The Disney Premier Passport is available for sale now and costs $700 + tax.  This is a savings of over $350 versus buying both premium annual passes individually (Disney World Premium Annual Pass = $619 + tax, Disneyland Premium Annual Passport = $439 + tax). 

Disney Premier Passport:
Disney Premier Passport grants the Passholder unlimited admission to the following theme parks, water parks and special locations:

• Disneyland® Park
• Disney's California Adventure® Park
• Magic Kingdom® Park
• Epcot®
• Disney's Hollywood Studios™
• Disney's Animal Kingdom® Park
• Disney's Typhoon Lagoon® Water Park
• Disney's Blizzard Beach® Water Park
• DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park
• ESPN Wide World of Sports® Complex (some events require an additional charge)
• Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course (some events require an additional charge)

Plus, the Disney Premier Passport also entitles you to exclusive Premium Passholder-level perks, including invitations to special events, members-only discounts and email updates that keep you in the know about the latest Disney insider information.

Available For Purchase Now
You can purchase the new Disney Premier Passport at Disneyland Resort ticket booth or Disney World Parks Guest Relations or Downtown Disney.

For those of you that visit the Disney Parks on both coasts frequently there is now an option for you at a substantial savings over having to buy individual annual passes for Disney World and Disneyland.

Disney World realizes that their “inspired” guests would love to take a little bit of this Disney magic and bring it home to their own yards and gardens.

Disney World Guests Learn From the Experts
During each weekend of the Epcot Flower & Garden Festival, Disney World presents members of their horticultural staff, as well as, nationally recognized gardening experts to lead a series of presentations. Topics such as “Creating Backyard Garden Retreats”, “Disney’s Top Picks For Mixed Containers”, “Easy To Do Water Features”, & “The Small Budget Garden” will be presented during the festival.

The presentations occur on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday with different topics and Gardening experts to speak. There is the “Disney Gardening At Home”(11 am & 2 pm), and the “Great American Gardeners” (12 noon & 3 pm) sessions available to all Epcot guests. These are included for FREE with their park admission. The sessions take place in the festival’s Garden Town which is located next to Mission: SPACE in Epcot.
Here is the full schedule of topics for the 2010 Flower & Garden Festival:

• March 5-7 Disney Gardening at Home: Easy-To-Do Water Features
  Great American Gardeners: Florida Fruit & Vegetable Gardening (Robert Bowden)
• March 12-14 Disney Gardening at Home: Fun Family Gardening Projects
  Great American Gardeners: The Truth about Garden Remedies (Jeff Gillman)
• March 19-21 Disney Gardening at Home: What’s Old Is New
  Great American Gardeners: Gardening with Heirloom Seeds (Lynn Coulter)
• March 26-28 Disney Gardening at Home: Butterfly House-How To Create a Pollinator
  Great American Gardeners: The Small-Budget Garden (Maureen Gilmer)
• April 2-4 Disney Gardening at Home: Disney’s Horticulture Past-Festival Favorites
  Great American Gardeners: Bringing Nature Home (Douglas Tallamy)
• April 9-11 Disney Gardening at Home: Irrigation ‘How To’
  Great American Gardeners: Stylish Sheds & Elegant Hideaways (Debra Prinzing)
• April 16-18 Disney Gardening at Home: Creating Backyard Garden Retreats
  Great American Gardeners: Sweet Herbal Recipes & the Creative Herbal Home (Susan Belsinger)
• April 23-25 Disney Gardening at Home: Disney’s Top Picks for Mixed Containers
  Great American Gardeners: His & Hers–What Makes a Great Garden (Tom & Joani MacCubbin)

Take The Disney Gardening Magic Home
Plan to visit this year's Epcot Flower & Garden Festival and take advantage of these great Gardening Seminars.  Then you can be creating some of that Disney magic in your gardens that you can enjoy long after your vacation is over.

Although the show is fun to see, the real reason to wake up early and be at the park for opening (aka Rope Drop) is that the first few hours each morning have the lightest crowds of the day.

By using a combination of FastPasses and hitting your favorite attractions first, you can cover a lot of ground in the first 2 hours that the park is open.  As you get closer to noon the parks really start filling up and by early afternoon during the busy seasons, the parks can be near their capacity and the waits for attractions are their longest.

During early afternoon, you are best served by heading out of the park to swim in your Resort pool or take a leisurely lunch, or even a nap.  Then head back to the parks in the evening to enjoy the attractions at night.

This approach will allow you to see and do more than you could ever accomplish if you got to the parks at 11:00 AM and stayed until closing.  It really is amazing how much you can see and do in the first two hours that the parks are open.

One last tip: To really make the most of your morning avoid the park that has Morning Extra Magic Hours.  Although the park does open an hour earlier, it drives a larger number of people to that park and you may actually accomplish less even with the extra hour due to the additional crowds.