Wow! This was a surprise! This is the last year that Disney is going to host the Super Soap Weekend at Disney's Hollywood Studios, the perfect spots on your Walt Disney World maps to live out your television fantasies. (Ok, so that's a stretch... but it really is the place at Disney World that celebrates the world of TV, film and music!)

Cameron Mathison will be the featured star. Joining him are 30 stars from the ABC daytime dramas: Thorsten Kaye, Aiden Turner and Rebecca Budig from “All My Children,” Erika Slezak, Michael Easton and Kristen Alderson from “One Life to Live,” and Laura Wright, Kelly Monaco and Jason Thompson from “General Hospital.” Soapnet.com will reveal the full Super Soap Weekend all-star lineup on Tuesday, Sept. 30.

So here's the official scoop on why this is the last Super Soap Weekend:

Time to update your Magic Kingdom map! You can visit Tinker Bell and her fairy friends at a new character greeting area in Mickey's Toontown Fair, one of the best places for character interaction at Walt Disney World.

The Imagineers have sprinkled their pixie dust over the Toontown Hall of Fame, nestled between Mickey's and Minnie's houses in Toontown ... and created a new greeting area. Guests are "transported" to a magical forest called “Pixie Hollow,” a special place deep in the heart of Never Land.

Isn't Disney magic wonderful?

Tinker Bell (of course, you recognize her in the center of this photo) is most famous at Peter Pan's pal in the 1953 Disney animated classic. Since then, she's been the hostess for many Disney television specials and for “flying” above the Disney theme parks. Tink is joined inside Pixie Hollow by four fairy friends: Iridessa (left), a light fairy; Rosetta (second from left), a garden fairy; Silvermist (second from right), a water fairy; and Fawn (right), an animal fairy.

So it looks like taking "the second star on the right" to reach Never Land just got a little bit easier... thanks to this last update to the Disney World maps!

If you've ever thought about heading to Disney World in June *just* to see Star Wars Weekends, then you just gotta see this video:

Enjoy!

This just in from Walt Disney World ....

"LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2007) -- In the Walt Disney World theme park famous for all things Hollywood, it's curtain up on the launch of new attractions, new looks, new breakthrough experiences...

"...and a brand-new name.

"Disney-MGM Studios will be renamed Disney's Hollywood Studios, effective January 2008, announced Meg Crofton, president of Walt Disney World Resort.

"'The new name reflects how the park has grown from representing the golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment that today's Hollywood has to offer -- in music, television, movies and theater,' she said."

A name change had been anticipated for some time... so this announcement answers a few questions. The news release had a few other tidbits:

• More details about the new Toy Story Mania under construction on Mickey Avenue. Here's what the release said: "Past a queuing area featuring a giant Mr. Potato Head, guests grab 3-D glasses, board fanciful ride vehicles and zip into a world of exciting midway-style games hosted by many of their favorite "Toy Story" characters including Woody, Hamm and Rex. Once inside "Andy's Toy Box," the competition heats up. Who can rack up the most points? Using spring-action shooters, guests launch darts at balloons, rings at aliens, eggs at whimsical barnyard targets."
• A new parade named the Block Party Bash will replace Disney Stars and Motor Cars. The new parade is being touted as "the wildest, most interactive parade in Disney history." Favorite characters from "The Incredibles," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "A Bug's Life" will be featured.
• Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage will be recast with new characters. After closing for most of January, the new show will reopen in February with stars from "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Little Einsteins," "Handy Manny" and more.
• The High School Musical Pep Rally is being replaced this fall with Disney High School Musical 2: School's Out. Not a big surprise... considering all the hype for the new movie coming later this month. We can expect more singing and dancing in the streets.
• Characters will be greeting guests in the Animation Courtyard, with Handy Manny joining the team in November. Many of these character greeting areas had been on Mickey Avenue, which is closed now for construction of Toy Story Mania.

The news release also reminded us of the upcoming Playhouse Disney In Concert series that is part of the Little Ones Travel Time this fall.

One more bit of news... The Harlem Gospel Choir will perform at the Studios November 30-December 25. Yet another reason to love the holidays at Disney World!

And one more observation... While the name doesn't officially begin until January, I noted that all of the references to activities planned for the rest of 2007 referred to the park as Disney's Hollywood Studios. I expect that we begin to see some rebranding right away.

I can hardly wait to see the new logos...

Hello to Hollywood ... and More

The world of entertainment is the theme of Disney-MGM Studios. Attractions, shows, restaurants and shops are all designed to bring the movies, television and music to life for guests. Tune in by flipping to the pages that follow.

The world of Disney is the world of entertainment. So it makes sense that eventually Disney would dedicate a theme park to showbiz. Since its debut in 1989, Disney-MGM Studios has been the WDW park where guests could immerse themselves in the world of movies, television and music.

The World of Entertainment

Disney-MGM Studios is divided into seven areas, each named for a street or area famous in the entertainment industry. The Sorcerer’s Hat plaza is the center of the park, but the areas don’t all connect through the plaza around a hub as at the Magic Kingdom. And while they are not as strongly themed as the Magic Kingdom lands, similar attractions are frequently grouped together.

Looks like the team at Disney World are making progress on the new American Idol Experience. The new idol, David Cook ... who I think totally rocks ... has recorded some video segments that will be used in the attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Here's a look inside:

The American Idol Experience is scheduled to open in January 2009, so you idol wannabes have a while to wait.

And in case you're wondering where Idol is going to appear on Disney World maps... This new attraction is taking over the ABC Theater area on Echo Lake, near the giant hat at the end of Hollywood Boulevard. Should look great!

Hmmm, wouldn't it be fun if Mission: Space at Walt Disney World was like this?

In case you're wondering, Mission: Space is an earthbound attraction in Future World at Epcot. It's a simulator that recreates the sensations of takeoff from Earth, weighlessness in space and landing on Mars. You can chose from two levels: Orange for the full experience or Green for a slightly less intense ride. I'm not including any more details so there are no spoilers here... If you want more details, leave me a note in the comments.

Great flying, Buzz!