Merriweather Pleasure Sails Into The Sunset… In today's Tapestry article, Jackie Steele takes a look back at the rich history of Downtown Disney Pleasure Island, and how its origins were firmly rooted in the original plans for the Florida Project. Sizing Up EPCOT: How does it compare to the World’s Fairs? Epcot has been billed as a "permanent World's Fair." So how does it stack up in terms of size when compared to the World's Fairs of days gone by? Today's article gets out the measuring tape to find out. Before the Omnimover… Before there were Omnimovers, there was the Carry-Go-Round... learn a bit about the granddaddy of the omnimover, and find out about different kinds of continuous-loading attraction vehicles. 1939’s Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow MousePortal takes an introductory look at some of the similarities that the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs share with today's Disney theme parks. Kilimanjaro Safaris: The Jungle Cruise Unplugged In today's "Tapestry" article, we take a look at how Kilimanjaro Safaris came to be, standing on the shoulders of the Jungle Cruise and the True-Life Adventures television episodes. Space Mountain Refurb Finally Announced! The staff here at WDW News Today will be keeping you up to date on the latest news through-out the Walt Disney World Resort while Tom Corless is down at the resort for one of his many, many trips. This update is to let everyone know that it has been made official that Space Mountain [...] Jose Eber’s 1/2/09 WDW Update WDWNT Photographer Jose Eber has some interesting updates from outside the parks to share with us today, so let’s take a look: Some work going on at the Monorail platform of the Transportation and Ticket Center A closer look The Bay Lake Tower addition to Disney’s Contemporary Resort continues to take shape A close-up shot later in the evening A final look [...] “Take Flight” in 2009 WDWNT cast member Jose Eber has provided us with construction photos of the upcoming Characters in Flight balloon at Downtown Disney, which will take guest high above the ground for a small price beginning in the Spring: Signs showing what the area will look like upon completion. As you an see, the balloon will be decorated with famous [...] Stitch’s Supersonic Construction Update Matt Paul has provided us with some photos (which are the first to make use of our larger site width) and a video of the ongoing stage construction for “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” taken yesterday at the Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland: This construction is taking place directly in front of the old Skyway building in Tomorrowland    This video [...] Time to Celebrate!!! It’s finally here!!! The Year of a Million Dreams has just ended after over 2 years and now Disney Parks wants to know “What Will You Celebrate?” in 2009. Here’s some of what we have to look forward to (even though WDWNT has reported most of this already): New immersive fun in theme parks         Disney Parks’ initiative to create [...] Disney opening American Idol Experience Feb. 14 (AP via Yahoo! News) An attraction inspired by the "American Idol" TV show offically opens at Disney's Hollywood Studios Feb. 14. Disney offers free passes to military (Orlando Sentinel) Walt Disney World said Monday that it will offer free five-day multi-park passes to members of the U.S. military. Active and retired military personnel are eligible for the "Disney's Armed Forces Salute" promotion, which will run through Dec. 23, 2009, at Disney World and aims to build on Disney's 2009 consumer theme, "What Will You Celebrate?" In addition to the free five-day ticket, members of ... Architect designed Disney resorts (Orlando Sentinel) Denver architect Peter H. Dominick Jr. always said a turning point in his illustrious career came in the early 1990s, when he presented his design for the Wilderness Lodge at Walt Disney World to Michael Eisner, then chairman of Disney. Creative students have chance to win Disney passes (The Gainesville Sun) Florida's fourth and fifth graders who are talented artists and high school students who are skilled writers have a chance to take their family to Walt Disney World for a day, three days or a year. Bob Iger rocks Disney (CNN Money) Bob Iger is inside the Royal Festival Hall in London on a September afternoon, geeking out with some young guys about two of his favorite things: tunes and technology. The CEO of Walt Disney Co. pulls out his iPhone and thumbs through his playlists, looking for a particular live U2 track from an Italian concert. Briefly the conversation is drowned out by the squeals of teen girls standing behind ...