Tucked away in WDW’s Wilderness Lodge is a place that many people never take the time to visit. It goes by a number of names, the Disney vets will call it “The Iron Spike Room.” What makes it fun is that is loaded with train stuff and most know of Walt Disney’s love for trains. I used it for settings in the Key to the Kingdom series and was amazed at how many people used the books as a guide and went to visit. They are...

From the very outset of the creation of Disneyland, Walt Disney instructed artist Herb Ryman to create a concept of Disneyland to show to the bankers, his instructions were clear: “Herbie,” Walt said, “I just want it to look like nothing else in the world. And it should be surrounded by a train.” Disney’s love for trains began in Marceline, Missouri as a youngster and stayed with him his entire lifetime. Walt arrived nearly broke in...

From the files of Disney “Did-You-Know?’ here is something else you can add to the list of “things you never knew you never knew!” It is always fascinating to discover ideas, dreams, and concepts that are part of the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. This one is a concept that never came into existence, but who knows? Someday it just might. The United Kingdom Pavilion in Epcot is a great place to visit. During the 1980’s,...

Here is a Disney “Did-You-Know?’ that you can file under “things you never knew you never knew!”  As you can imagine there are many things that are planned in blue-sky meetings as Imagineers toss about ideas and concepts that possibly would fit into the worlds of Walt Disney theme parks. Sometimes those ideas take flight and are explored, others disappear quickly, but all have merit…because they might be the very idea that sparks...

Each of us are called to help create brand new chapters of joy and memories that will last forever… that is something that we can all share this Christmas season.

 Any fan of Walt Disney World will remember the names – Disney Village, Disney Marketplace, Pleasure Island, The Landing, West Side… and Downtown Disney. One of the most recent and extensive changes at WDW has been the reimaging and redevelopment of the three separate sections into a single story, venue, and entertainment center called… Disney Springs.  The Imagineers started from scratch and drew from the history of Florida and dreamed...