As was rumored, the finger scanners appear to no longer be in use at the Magic Kingdom entrance, as a number of listeners let me know that only their Key to the World cards or tickets were scanned, and not their fingers.

Walt Disney World’s Moms Panel has published the dates for this year's Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. The 2008 dates are: November: 10, 11, 14, 16, 20, 21, 30 and December 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, & 19. Tickets are not yet available but are usually released at the beginning of May.

Custom Mickey Ears are now available at Le Chapeau in the Magic Kingdom. Guests can choose their own beanie, add ears and patches, and then have them personalized with either heat-fused letters or embroidery. Ears are priced individually at $2.50. Beanies are $5.95. Patches are $2.95. Package of letters is $5.95. Embroidery is also available for an additional fee. The embroidery is computerized and while it is a script font the stitching style is different so the lettering is not as bold as the hand-sewn style was. There are lots of different choices for ears and patches, so you can really get creative with your own personal design.

The 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival kicked off this past weekend on March 19th and will run for a full 75 days until June 1st at Walt Disney World. For the first time in its history, the event begins in March, but Guests are once again being treated to some spectaular sights and sounds. This year's theme is "Fun in the Sun” and Guests can see a 14-foot Goofy topiary riding a 6-foot wave of flowers and plants, as well as sandcastles and palm trees, a volleyball beach scene starring Donald Duck and Daisy, and Stitch keeping watch from a lifeguard stand. New festival items include "Peter Pan's Never Land Garden," a pirate-ship themed children's area along the Imagination Walkway from Future World to World Showcase with topiaries of Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and Tic Toc Croc, as well as a shaded play structure. Flower beds planted on the shores of East and West Lakes between Future World and World Showcase are in the shape of nautical flags representing letters that spell a secret message. The Three Caballeros -- Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito -- appear as topiaries at the Mexico pavilion. There are approximately 70 topiaries altogether throughout Epcot. A returning Guest favorite is "Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden," a walk through a screened enclosure filled with hundreds of live butterflies.

Also new this year is Garden Town, the festival center located in the former Wonders of Life Pavilion. Garden Town features shopping, speakers, demonstrations, and Q & A sessions, and the Garden Town Kid Fun Fair with activities for children. There is also a new Garden Town Café, serving Sandwiches, salads and chesse plates with choices like grilled chicken and caesar salad dressing in a spinach wrap ($6.49), smoked turkey and provolone on a tuscan baguette ($6.49), roasted vegetable and hummus in a whole wheat wrap ($5.99), Italian antipasto salad with fresh mozzarella and pepperoni ($6.99), Greek salad with feta cheese ($6.99), festival greens with edible flower petals ($6.99), or a selection of four cheeses with fruit ($5.49).

Guests can enjoy a variety of celebrity guest speakers, hands-on seminars and planting demonstrations and exhibits such as a new Florida-style "Key to Outdoor Living" garden display. Flower Power concerts rock the park with live entertainment from favorites of the 1960s and '70s including The Guess Who, Davy Jones, Jose Feliciano, Petula Clark, Paul Revere and the Raiders and others. Themed weekends such as "I Dig Bugs," "Art in the Garden" (including The Florida Highwaymen), "Coming Up Roses" (featuring Mother's Day Brunch) and "Garden Party" (featuring a Doll and Teddy Bear event) add even more fun. The "Growing Future Gardeners" area, with planting ideas for kids and parents, and "Disney Gardening at Home" presentations by Disney horticulturists help Guests learn how to take the magic of Disney gardens home.

For more information about the 15th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639) or by visit disneyworld.com/flower. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.

The Sorcerer Mickey meet and greet in Disney’s Hollywood Studios has returned, however, it is now located inside the Magic of Disney Animation. Studios Central has a great picture of the new area, which also features a preview of what the Animation Archway will soon look like.

This just in from our friends at Walt Disney World: the opening date for the upcoming Toy Story Mania attraction has been more defined a bit. Instead of "Summer 2008," as previously advertised, the new interactive, shoot-em-up ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios, is now set for a "late May" opening. The version at Disney's California Adventure will open in late June, they say. 

Speaking of Mickey Avenue / Pixar Place, the Journey into Narnia exhibit remains closed as it is being refurbished for the updated Journey into Narnia: Prince Caspian exhibit to coincide with the release of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" in theaters later this year. Guests will be able to see behind-the-scenes footage, original concept art, storyboards, props, blueprints and costumes from the film, including Aslan’s stone table chamber set recreated directly from the original molds, and to meet Prince Caspian.

The Doubletree Guest Suites resort at Downtown Disney celebrated two milestones at a grand re-opening event on March 19th. The all-suite hotel was presented with its designation as a member of the Florida Green Lodging Program after a multimillion dollar renovation. It also opened a new casual dining restaurant, the EverGreen Café.

Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, one of the original three Walt Disney World resorts, is making some changes to better accommodate today's Guests. A new Premium campsite will soon be available, with wider and longer concrete parking pads for larger RVs as well as upgraded picnic tables and grills. The main pool will be enhanced with a themed water slide, hot tub, and children's wet play area. The pool's deep end has been made shallower. Dogs are getting an off-leash playground of their own, the newly-opened "Waggin' Trails Dog Park." All the Wilderness Cabins have been refurbished with new furniture, carpeting, fixtures, linens and paint. The cabins are a wonderful option for families, as they have sleeping space for 6, a private patio deck with a charcoal grill and picnic table, as well as air conditioning, cable tv, a DVD player, and inside dining table, along with housekeeping service and plenty of recreational activities. 

J-3-H emailed me a link to Endor Express, showing photos of the latest wave of Star Wars/Disney toys - plus an Indy Mickey action figure - that are expected to be available starting with Star Wars Weekends in June. http://endorexpress.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=297&Itemid=80

As rumored some time ago, it is now official that The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. is ready to let the Walt Disney Company take back control of about two-thirds of the 335 stores in The Disney Store chain. The remaining 115 stores are expected to close. The Children's Place has owned The Disney Store since November 2004, but has failed to meet several obligations under its agreement with Disney.

If you have any news to report, email Lou here or leave a voicemail at the WDW Radio Show voicemail box: 206-202-4WDW (4939).