The annual Star Wars Weekends begin next month, and Walt Disney World obviously expects huge crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  Many Star Wars fans will be there for the opening of the rebuilt Star Tours simulator ride.

Officials also plan to to nearly double – from 8 to 15 – the number of daily performances of the Jedi Training Academy -  the interactive children’s show staged next to Star Tours.

Hollywood Studios hours have also been extended on the planned opening – May 29th - the day that the new simulator tide is scheduled to debut.    The park will open at 8.00 a.m. instead of 9.00 a.m. and the park’s closing hours will go back from 9.00 p.m. to midnight.

One of the  reasons the park’s management were reluctant to change the Star Tours ride was that Hollywood Studios has fewer rides than most,  ( it has more shows) .  The main reason they finally decided to go ahead with the re-design of the Star Tours was due to the success of the highly popular ride Toy Story Mania! which proved to be so popular that they needed another big ride elsewhere in the park to even out the flow of the crowds.

Polk County’s Marketing group are getting excited about the soon- to- be- opening of the brand new Legoland Florida park at Cypress Gardens. Specifically designed to provide   interactive experiences for children between the ages of 2 and 12 years old, the park will be appealing to families, from toddlers to grandparents .

A new member of the Central Florida Visitors and Convention Bureau is Julie Casey of My Kid’s Plate fame, who will assisting businesses near the Legoland park how to prepare for the onslaught of the pint sized visitors.

Busch Gardens has had two new additions to its collection of animals this spring – a baby cheetah was born and having been abandoned by its mother, had to be hand reared, so to keep the baby company, a labrador puppy was brought in to be its playmate.  The public was asked to choose names for the pair, and photos of the little ones can be found on the Busch Gardens website.  The brand new Cheetah ride will open on May 29th and this will make the seventh Coaster ride at Busch.

Disney is moving right along with its building of the new FantasyLand at the Magic Kingdom.  Scheduled to open in 2012, the Beast’s  Castle ( from Beauty and the Beast) will tower over the rest of Fantasy land.

An artist rendition of the entrance to FantasyLand.

Polk Outpost27 recently hosted a group of local artists giving demonstrations of their painting prowess.  Visitors to Outpost 27 were invited to try it for themselves, and children were particularly involved with some of the works of art on display.

The local Kiwanis Club of Davenport Four Corners will be holding their Annual Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday 14th May;  come along and support the event.  It’s being held at Hunters Creek Golf Club in Orlando, and starts at 1.30  that afternoon.  At 6.00 p.m. there will be a Helicopter Ball drop and the ball closest to the pin will win first prize.   All proceeds from the event will go to help the children of the area.

Mothers’ Day will soon be here, so take the opportunity, if you can, to celebrate Mothers all over the world.

We shall be watching with the rest of the world the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on the 29th of this month. Let’s wish them a wonderful day and a happy life together.

After a most successful Goofy Challenge this year, when more than 55,000 runners set off over the two days, it’s now time to register for the 2011 event.

And they're off!

The Goofy Challenge is one of the premier events in the marathon runners calendar. Held each year by Disney, the event attracts runners from all walks of life, from the amateur athlete to top marathon runners.

This year’s event was held on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th January, during one of the coldest spells in Central Florida‘s weather for the past decade.   Volunteer helpers, race marshalls and spectators lined the route to cheer on the brave competitors running in below freezing temperatures with sleet, snow and rain.  The weather did take its toll, although the half marathon had just over 17,000 runners complete the course.  The winner of the men’s half marathon finished in 1 hour 7 minutes 2 seconds, and the women’s leader completed the race in just about 1 hour 20 minutes.

A friend of ours, Toni,  who was staying in one of Premier Home Management‘s vacation homes finished her half marathon in just under 2 hours. After returning to her home and relaxing, her preparations began for the full marathon on the next day.

Her start time on Sunday was 5.50 a.m. in an air temperature of 26 degrees. She managed to complete the race in just about 4 hours – while the leaders finished in 2 hours 22 minutes 8 seconds for Adriano Bastos and 2 hours 51 minutes 20 seconds for Lisa Mizutani. Over 16,000 runners completed the course.

Well doing the Goofy Challenge is a challenge in its self, but looking for good accommodation can be more of a challenge! But that’s where Premier Homes are brilliant – as they took the stress out of this for me!

I stayed at Windsor Hills, which was only about a 15 min drive from Epcot, so I didn’t have to leave my resort hotel at 3am to get to the start….. The accommodation was spotless and extremely well kitted out with a wonderful power shower, a tv in all rooms, a full equipped kitchen – just in case you don’t want to travel the 2 mins to the vast array of restaurants. The apartment also had a washer and dryer – which came in very useful for dealing with smelly running kit!

All in all I can only sing the praises of Marilyn and her team, they provided me with a great base to complete this challenge and I would certainly go back to them again even if I wasn’t doing the Goofy!

Thanks, Toni

The final race of the weekend, completed the most magical 26.2 miles on Earth.  The course takes runners through all four Walt Disney World®

Running the Disney Marathon in Orlando, Florida

Theme Parks starting at Epcot®, continuing on to the Magic Kingdom® Park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom® Theme Park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios™ and then back to Epcot® for an exhilarating finish.  The post race celebrations were less well attended this year due to the inclement weather.

For those of you who are so inclined, the Application forms are now open for next year’s Goofy Challenge.

Next year’s Challenge dates are below, if you are a runner, you’ll need to know this.

Before you run off we wanted to tell you all about the 2011 WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA, Thursday, January 6 – Sunday, January 9, 2011.  You’ll want to be here for a weekend of races that are as magical as they are memorable; from Disney’s Health & Fitness Expo to the final mile of the marathon, complete with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy medals.  We know you love running, now imagine a run where every mile is filled with Disney fun.  You’d be, well, goofy to miss it!

Toni, who stayed in one of our vacation homes, was so pleased that she was able to bring her family with her for support – it made all the difference between staying in an hotel by herself and having friends and family living in the vacation home with her. Everyone was able to enjoy themselves in their own way and their own time.

If you’re coming next year for the Disney Goofy Challenge, do let us know. We’ll cheer you on!