From luxurious spa retreats and five-star dining experiences to Segway tours through theme parks and special holiday parties, there's something for everyone to enjoy in the expansive, 40-square-mile resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

As a self-proclaimed Disney addict who has made more than 20 trips to Walt Disney World, I want to share some of the hidden treasures, tidbits and tips of "the world" that I have found through the years to help you make a memorable vacation.

First-timers

There's more to the parks than It's A Small World, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Space Mountain.

Buy a Mickey hat. At The Chapeau, on Main Street, USA in the Magic Kingdom, you can customize your mouse ears. Pick a colorful beanie from 19 colors (including purple satin, pink fur and green glow-in-the-dark). Next, add snap-on ears in different colors. Then, add patches with your favorite characters or some rhinestone bling. You can even embroider your name on the back. Prices start at $7.50.

Hidden Mickeys. The Walt Disney Imagineers, architects of many of the resort attractions, have cleverly hidden silhouettes of the world's most famous mouse. No one knows how many are actually in the resort complex because an official record has never been kept. But make a game of it! My favorite is in the Norway pavilion in Epcot's World Showcase. While waiting in line for the Maelstrom attraction, see if you can spot Mickey in the large mural.

Paintbrushes on Tom Sawyer Island. If you can't seem to stop riding rides, take the boat to Tom Sawyer Island in the Magic Kingdom. There are six paintbrushes hidden around the island. Bring a brush to a cast member and your party could land a FASTPASS to bypass the lines for Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Families and large groups

Walt Disney World is a great place for a reunion. Whether you're bringing together the entire family or a group of longtime friends, Disney offers the Magical Gatherings program to help plan the perfect vacation for everyone. The program offers online tools to plan your group's itinerary, create custom maps and even provides a planning specialist to work with your group's specific needs.

Walt Disney World offers nearly 28,000 resort hotel rooms. Accommodations range from deluxe (starting at $240/night), moderate ($149/night), value ($82/night), campsites ($42/night) to campground cabins ($265/night) and deluxe villas ($269/night). Some of the villa rooms, such as the grand villa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort, can hold up to 12 people.

It can be beneficial to stay on Disney property with complimentary transportation and other perks such as Extra Magic Hours (entering the parks early or staying late on select days). But if you want more freedom, rental houses in the nearby Orlando suburbs are great deals.

Sports and recreation enthusiasts

There's no need to stop exercising on vacation. You can get all your training done on the miles of trails on the resort property. Or, you can take part in one of Disney's Endurance Series events.

Each January, Walt Disney World hosts its annual marathon through the parks that attracts more than 20,000 runners. Athletes may also enjoy some of Disney's other sporting events throughout the year such as the Expedition Everest Challenge, a 5K run through Animal Kingdom park and an obstacle course, or the Princess Half Marathon and Royal Family 5K and kids' races at Epcot.

Baseball lovers can catch an Atlanta Braves game at the Wide World of Sports complex. The team has called Disney its spring training home since 1998.

For a complete schedule of sporting events, visit disneysports.com.

If speed is more your thing, strap on your safety belt at the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Walt Disney World Speedway. Get behind the wheel for an experience that will take you 145 mph around the track. For more information on the Richard Petty Driving Experience, call (800) BE-PETTY.

The foodie

Walt Disney World is a food lover's dream. Restaurants range from classic home cooking at Disney's Hollywood Studio's '50s Prime Time Cafe to central Florida's only AAA Five-Diamond restaurant, Victoria & Albert's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

There are some special experiences that foodies will love that are purely Disney:

Dine with an Imagineer. A Disney Imagineer will share a meal with your party. Ask questions about their projects and leave with a special autographed souvenir to remember the experience.

International Food & Wine Festival. Each fall, Epcot hosts this 45-day festival that features food and wine tastings, cooking demonstrations and seminars with top chefs from across the globe. Enjoy popular music during the "Eat to the Beat" concert series with artists such as Billy Ocean, Boys II Men, Los Lobos and Richard Marx.

Planning your trip

No matter the reason you're traveling, Disney will make it magical for you. If you're celebrating a birthday, honeymoon, anniversary, first visit or just making a special trip, make sure you tell the cast member when you make your reservation. Also, pick up a special button at your resort hotel or Guest Services at any theme park. You may find you receive special perks during your stay such as free desserts or special seating accommodations on attractions.

It can be hard to make sense of everything Walt Disney World has to offer. It's important to do your research in advance. Before you even enter Walt Disney World's four theme parks, two water parks, more than 20 Disney-owned hotels, five golf courses or other destinations, direct your mouse to a few of the best online resources to help plan your vacation.

The official Walt Disney World Web site (disneyworld.com) has been upgraded to offer online dining reservations and links to menus for many of the resort's restaurants. You can also order gift baskets for your room and cakes for special occasions on the site.

Variety - ABC is close to giving a pilot order to a modern version of the classic 1970s TV actioner "Charlie’s Angels."

Josh Friedman, who recently adapted the "Terminator" franchise for his Fox series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," is onboard to write and exec produce the new "Angels."

Also involved are original "Charlie’s Angels" producer Leonard Goldberg, who launched the series with Aaron Spelling in 1976, as well as Drew Barrymore, who starred in and produced the 2000 film version and its sequel. Sony Pictures TV is the studio.

Insiders said that ABC Entertainment Group topper Steve McPherson is particularly high on this project.

Networks of late have found that it’s frequently a challenge to take on iconic franchises — and several recent reboots, such as this fall's "Melrose Place," have fallen short.

But ABC is riding high this fall with its adaptation of another such property, "V," which bowed to boffo numbers. And insiders note that most of those other properties had laid dormant for some time, while "Charlie's Angeles" was just recently a strong movie franchise. Plus, there's the part where "Charlie's Angels" will make some noise by finding three new ass-kicking female stars.

Sony is also busy adapting another 1970s Spelling (and Goldberg-produced) property, "Fantasy Island" — but as a reality show, along with Mark Burnett. No U.S. network is attached as of yet to that project, which was announced last month at the Mipcom TV confab.

The original "Charlie’s Angels" ran from 1976-81 and was back in the news this summer following the death of original star Farrah Fawcett.

Spelling attempted a revival in 1988, sealing a deal to produce a version called "Angels 88" for Fox. That show never got off the ground, but it eventually led to Spelling’s deal to produce the original "Beverly Hills 90210" (now also enjoying a revival, via the CW).

The franchise then lay dormant until 2000, when the McG-helmed "Charlie’s Angels" feature, starring Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz, was a box office hit. Movie spawned a second edition, "Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle."

It also led to an earlier attempt at a TV series revival, in 2004. That version was written for ABC (again, through Sony) by a pre-"Lost" Carlton Cuse and John Wirth and given a script-plus-penalty order but ultimately didn’t go to pilot.

This time around, a pilot is expected to be greenlit. Friedman, Goldberg and Barrymore will exec produce with Nancy Juvonen.

Friedman’s other credits include co-writing the features "War of the Worlds" and "The Black Dahlia."

Beyond "Angels" and "Fantasy Island," Goldberg was an exec producer on "Starsky and Hutch," "Hart to Hart" and "Family."

After making our air travel, hotel and dining reservations exactly three months before our vacation and lining up our theme park tickets, I finally could relax. The hard work was done, and I could leisurely look over information on each of the parks and consider the rides and attractions we wanted to see during our visit.

"With a Walt Disney World trip there are more variables than in any other vacation — four theme parks, two water parks, dozens of Disney resorts and literally hundreds of non-Disney hotels," said Doug Ingersoll, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Walt Disney World." "Then there are all the attraction, entertainment and dining choices. You have to find what is right for your family, as well as what is not.

"When you go to Paris, you see the Eiffel Tower, you visit the Louvre. The formula is simpler than most imagine. At Disney you can't see it all so finding what you should see and do is more essential to a successful trip. And with so many choices, it is more time consuming."

Formulating a trip to Disney is hard work, but it's worth the effort when you feel and see the kids' excitement upon arrival. If you are considering a trip to Disney World, here's what you need to know before you go.

Do your homework

As anyone who has ever gone to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., can tell you, it pays to plan.

Start by checking out a good book. Try "The Unofficial Guide to Disney World" by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa or "The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World" by Julie and Mike Neal, both of which are updated annually.

I relied heavily on Ingersoll's guidebook. It helped me get started by having me follow these initial steps in planning a trip:

The dual-purpose event served to open the museum's exclusive "Dreams Come True" exhibit of artwork from Disney's classic animated fairy tales, but officials also took the opportunity to screen the first 30 minutes of the studio's newest animated feature, the forthcoming "Princess and the Frog," which is set in New Orleans and goes out of its way to put local scenery and culture front and center.

To hear locals after the screening -- which was also attended by directors Ron Clements and John Musker, as well as Disney Animation honcho John Lasseter -- New Orleans movie-goers should be pleased with what they see.

"Wasn't that spectacular?" Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said in the museum's Great Hall after the screening. "For you guys (at Disney) to come here now, and to provide us with this exhibit at one of our great institutions is incredible, only to be topped by the magnificent animated film that has in it Louisiana actors, it's got Louisiana music, it's Louisiana-made, Louisiana-proud. ... Children that see this at a very young age are going to remember later in life where they were the first time they saw that, and New Orleans, Louisiana, will be forever on their mind."

Mayor Ray Nagin said the film nailed the local dialects -- a frequent bugaboo to local moviegoers -- but more importantly, he said, it successfully captured the city's spirit.

"We knew it was going to be something special," he said, "but after seeing this film, we can all bear witness that this is going to be something that is going to be a classic that is going to last forever."

The part of the film screened Friday was built on a bright color palette featuring lots of golds and oranges that impart a glow to its beautifully rendered 1920s version of New Orleans, set to a score by Randy Newman.

"I travel all over the world," Nagin said, "and (people) say, 'Is there still water in the streets of New Orleans?' When they see this film, they're going to see that the magic is back in New Orleans."

No only does "The Princess and the Frog" mark a return to hand-drawn animation for Disney -- an art form that has been missing from the studio since 2004's "Home on the Range" -- it also gives the world Disney's first African-American princess, Tiana. Tiana is a young woman who rides the streetcar and makes gumbo and dreams of one day opening her own restaurant. That dream gets put on hold, however, when a backfiring voodoo curse turns her into a frog alongside her would-be prince, Naveen. 

'The Princess and the Frog' producer Peter De Vacho, co-director Ron Clements, Disney animation chief John Lasseter, co-director John Musker, Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin chat at the opening of the New Orleans Museum of Art's 'Dreams Come True' exhibit of Disney artwork. In keeping with Disney tradition, as Tiana and Naveen race through the swamps in search of a remedy to the curse, there is humor, there is artistry and there is a great deal of heart.

For his part, Lasseter -- a frequent visitor to the city -- said he considers "The Princess and the Frog" a love-letter to New Orleans.

"We did send our artists here on many, many trips, because we wanted to get the details right," he said. "We wanted to get the feeling for the world to see, because the Disney films, the animated films, they're dubbed into 38 different languages. Your city will be seen all over this world by millions and millions of people, families, and we wanted to portray your city right, from the beginning, the way it looks, the feeling, the people, the characters, the music."

He added: "The exhibit is called 'Dreams Come True,' and one of my dreams that I hope comes true is that for families all over the world will look at this film and get so inspired that they all want to come here as a family vacation and experience this city for themselves. They wont be disappointed because it's just magic every time you come here."

Leonard had 11 birdies and three bogeys on a sun-baked Friday at Disney World, where the 15 mph winds caused problems for the players. Justine Rose and George McNeill were two strokes back.

Leonard landed his approaches close to the pin, leading to short putts in the breezy conditions. He's one of the few not feeling pressure to secure a tour card next year.

AP - Shares of the Walt Disney Co. got a boost Friday after the company posted a surprise 18 percent jump in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit and announced an executive job switch that might point to a successor to CEO Robert Iger.

Iger told analysts Thursday he was behind the decision to turn Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs into the parks and resorts chairman, while making parks Chairman Jay Rasulo the new CFO. The switch was designed to give both a better perspective on the whole company.

Disney's adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share easily surpassed Wall Street's expectations. The quarter's revenue was also higher than expected.

Tony Wible, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets, said the company's results were "generally good," with revenue and margins meeting or exceeding his expectations.

The analyst, who rates Disney "Buy," said strength in the company's media network business more than offset weaker studio and consumer sales.

"(Disney) is seeing improvements in ad rates and content sales, which are helping to offset ratings erosion at ABC," the analyst wrote in a note to investors. "Overall Park attendance was higher and profit margins, with the exception of the Studio business, were generally good across the board."

But, he added, ratings at ABC "continue to struggle," and the economy is still weighing on consumer products and spending at the company's theme parks.

Among the factoids appearing today on the official Disney Parks blog:

+ Riders will be able to have photo taken during the trip via the Disney Photopass.

+ New color scheme for the ride’s capsules, line and load areas (paint, carpet, seat fabric and such).

+ New technology in the track but preserving the previous feel of the coaster. Not a lot of explanation there.

Sentiment among American shoppers fell in early November to the weakest in three months, according to the index compiled by the University of Michigan.

But the S&P 500 turned negative for just a few minutes after the report, and was up 0.5 per cent up at 1,093.05 by midday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 per cent to 10,269.57 and the Nasdaq was up 0.5 per cent to 2,160.25.

“Overall trading suggests that sentiment appears indecisive heading into the weekend and that investors may look to Monday’s US retail sales report to set direction for next week,” said Colin Cieszynski, an analyst at CMC Markets.

US stocks hit fresh highs for the year this week after assurances from the Federal Reserve over low interest rates lured in more investors.

A rush of deal activity also raised hopes that corporate America was returning to health.

Kraft launched a hostile bid for Cadbury on Monday, which the British chocolate-maker promptly rejected.

After the closing bell on Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard announced that it had struck a deal to buy 3Com, sending shockwaves through the rest of the networking gear industry.

Over the week, the S&P gained 2.2 per cent, the Dow was up 2.5 per cent and the Nasdaq 2.3 per cent.

“It’s been a slow news-week and volumes have been light but we expect economic data to continue to drive this market higher,” said Ryan Detrick, senior strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.

Positive surprises from the consumer discretionary sector helped to lift the market further on Friday.

Shares in Walt Disney rose 3.8 per cent to $30.15 after the world’s largest media and entertainment group reported an 18 per cent jump in fourth-quarter profit.

The company also lifted the mood across the industry after optimistic comments about the prospects for television advertising over the next six months.

Abercrombie & Fitch, the fashion retailer, also surprised analysts by reporting a smaller decline in profit than had been expected, mainly due to aggressive cost cutting. Its shares were up 7.5 per cent at $39.50.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, Goldman Sachs upgraded PetSmart to “buy” from “neutral”, citing the prospect of improved margins. Its shares gained 3.6 per cent to $25.59.

However, Nordstrom, the department store chain, warned that its gross margin would not increase in 2009 as much as analysts had hoped. Its shares were down 2.6 per cent to $33.62.

Shares in JC Penney, the third-largest department store in the US, gained 7.1 per cent to $31.48 after the retailer raised its annual profit forecast.

In its market debut, Dollar General, the discount retailer that is almost entirely owned by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, rose 7.5 per cent to $22.57 after pricing shares at the lower end of estimates.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber also added to the market’s optimism after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral”.

Earlier this week, the group said it would raise prices on consumer replacement tyres in North America by up to 6 per cent to help offset higher raw materials costs. Its shares rose 5.5 per cent to $14.49.

Blockbuster, the largest movie rental chain in the US, posted a larger-than- expected quarterly loss after the closing bell on Thursday. Its shares fell 6.6 per cent to 78 cents.

Lime Energy was one of the day’s worst fallers after the engineering company reduced its sales forecast.

Potentially positioning Staggs for his long-coveted role as president of the Walt Disney Co., the new job gives him the operational experience that he has lacked. As chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, Staggs will oversee the company's vacation business, which spans three continents and includes theme parks, a cruise line and time-share-style resorts.

In switching roles with Staggs, Rasulo will become senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Walt Disney Co. The 23-year company veteran, like Staggs, got his start in strategic planning at the Burbank entertainment giant. Rasulo now takes responsibility for the company's worldwide finance organization, corporate strategy and development, brand management and investor relations.

"Jay and Tom are both dynamic and versatile executives, who have done a great job over the last several years and have helped me to shape Disney's strategic direction," Iger said in a statement.

Brooke Hundley told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday that she never stalked the baseball analyst and that he harassed her, not the other way around. Both were fired in October after the affair became public.

In a statement, ESPN told ABC that its investigation found Hundley's characterization of the events as inconsistent.

Phillips' acknowledgment of his relationship with the 22-year-old Hundley was splashed across New York tabloids for days, embarrassing the Bristol, Conn.-based sports giant.

AP - ABC says its new fall drama "Eastwick" won't be on the air beyond its first 13 episodes.

The show is based on the John Updike novel "The Witches of Eastwick" and a 1987 film version, but has been haunted by low ratings. It attracted fewer than 5 million viewers last week.

It stars Paul Gross and Lindsay Price.

Seeking Alpha - Disney (DIS) wraps up September quarter earnings for media and communications companies when it reports after the close on Thursday. Analyst estimates call for EPs of 40 cents on revenue of $92.6 billion. If estimates are hit, revenues will be down about 2%, operating income will fall 15-20% and EPS will be down 4%.

At the segment level, Media Networks should hold up the best while Studio Entertainment operating profits will plunge. Media Networks includes ABC and local TV stations, ESPN, the Disney Channel, and other cable nets. Growing affiliate fees and a rebound in advertising growth, though still negative, should be the drivers at Media Networks. Studio Entertainment faces challenging comparisons and is coming off generally poorly performing movies at the global box office.

Investors will be looking for insight into several issues on the conference call. ESPN ad sales have been lagging the industry due to high auto exposure. Is the company seeing a recovery in auto that is apparent at other networks? ESPN's ratings have been good, as have sports ratings in general. Is the company able to translate ratings into ad sales?

Disney's Theme Parks remain under pressure as consumers watch their pocketbooks. The company has kept hotel occupancy at surprisingly high levels but the cost has been very aggressive pricing and depressed profit margins. Has the pricing environment improved or have promotions eased? How do advance bookings look into the holiday season and spring break 2010?

What kind of things are you seeing? Last night we saw Main Street getting all decorated. We saw the Castle. We saw people practicing. Just everything and all happening simultaneously. Really quite amazing.

Did they rip down Halloween in front of you? They ripped out Halloween before we even got there, and we got here
pretty early. They were on top of things.

Is it giving you a flashback to your time as a cast member? Absolutely, I worked with visual merchandisers for
several years. I knew a lot of the stuff that happened, but it’s always so crazy and amazing to see it again and again and
again. You never get sick of it.

You host “Color Splash” and Disney IS a color splash. What style would you call that? You can go into the Magic Kingdom and see a very traditional Christmas then go over to Tomorrowland and see something really wacky and far out
and wild. Then go to Animal Kingdom and see something completely opposite. That’s the great thing about Disney, there
are so many places that you can go and be inspired by different things.

Did you learn something you did not know in the last two days? I didn’t know it only took three days to do
[decorate] the entire Magic Kingdom. That was the biggest thing. I knew it happened quickly — just not that quickly.

What else have you seen? I actually got to go into the Disney Christmas warehouse, where cameras have never really
been before. I got to see all the trees, the fake trees all dismantled and being ready to be shipped out. All the floor trees, wreaths and garland. It’s huge — 5,000 square feet of Christmas crazy. Awesome.

Disney News - Travelers will find more ways to celebrate the first half of 2010 with adventure, magic and special offers that make a family vacation even more affordable at the Disneyland Resort.

From Jan. 5 through April 29, 2010, guests get two more nights free when they buy a three-night hotel package with a five-day special value Disneyland Resort Park Hopper ticket. For information, visit disneyland.com

For guests who already have theme park tickets, a second offer features a 30 percent savings at any of the Disneyland Resort hotels when travel agents book guests on a two-night hotel-only stay (hotel-only offer does not include theme park tickets).

Travel agents can book guests on either vacation offer starting Nov. 9, 2009, through April 1, 2010, for arrivals between Jan. 5-April 29, 2010. Travel must be completed by May 4, 2010.

2 Nights Free

The Park Hopping tickets included in the two-nights-free package make it easy to experience the best of Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Guests can buckle themselves onto the Soarin' Over California attraction for a birds-eye view of the Golden State or aim for the highest scores aboard the exciting new Toy Story Mania! attraction at Disney's California Adventure. Then they can hop over to Disneyland for a journey aboard the recently enhanced "it's a small world" attraction - the happiest cruise that ever sailed. Guests will enjoy riding "it's a small world" again and again as they search for the 29 Disney and Disney-Pixar characters now represented in the classic attraction.

The packages feature extras such as admission to Magic Morning, where families can enjoy select theme park attractions before Disneyland park opens to regular guests. The package also features entry into Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness - an interactive guest and character experience - and preferred seating at select attractions and restaurants at the Disneyland Resort.

The special offers are valid at the three Disneyland Resort hotels - Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, Disneyland Hotel and Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Whether it's discovering whimsical Disney art at the Disneyland Hotel, stepping back in time to the golden days of California beachfronts at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel or indulging your senses at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, staying at any of the resort hotels provides the Disney magic from check-in to check-out. Guests are steps away from two of the world's most famous theme parks and Downtown Disney, a vibrant dining and entertainment district.

For reservations or more information on this offer, call 866/60-DISNEY, contact a local travel agent or visit disneyland.com.

Offer is valid for bookings from 11/9/09 through 4/1/10 and for arrivals from 1/5/10 through 4/29/10 with travel being completed by 5/4/10. Blockout dates of 1/15-1/17, 2/12-2/14, and 3/28-4/10 and other restrictions apply. Upon the purchase of a 3-night package, with 5-Day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper souvenir tickets at a participating hotel for a family of four (3 adults and 1 child (age 3-9)), two (2) consecutive free nights will be added to the hotel stay. Limited to two (2) free nights per package / reservation and not valid for previously booked rooms. Check for offers associated with longer night stays. The Disneyland® Resort Park Hopper souvenir tickets expire 13 days after first use or 5/12/10, whichever occurs first, and each day of use of a ticket constitutes one full day of use. Tickets may not be sold or transferred for commercial purposes. Offer subject to availability and blockout dates; advance reservations required. Not valid with any other discount or promotion. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Walt Disney Travel Company CST: 1022229-50. Disney

30% savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room at the same hotel. Must stay two (2) consecutive nights or longer. Offer valid for arrivals January 5, 2010 through April 29, 2010 when booked between November 9, 2009 and April 1, 2010. Blockout dates of 1/15-1/17, 2/12-2/14, and 3/28-4/10 and other restrictions apply. Applies only to standard and concierge level rooms. Rates for other room types will vary. Excludes Resort fees and taxes. Advance reservations required. Subject to availability as the number of rooms allocated for this offer is restricted. Limit two (2) rooms per reservation and five (5) people maximum per room. Not valid in combination with any other discounts or offers. Subject to change without notice. Walt Disney Travel Company CST# 1022229-50.

Mickey's Toontown Morning Madness Entitlement is available for one morning on Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday. Days and times of operation and all other elements including, but not limited to, attractions, entertainment, and services may vary and are subject to change without notice. Subject to capacity and other restrictions.

Passengers will be able to immerse themselves in unique game play as they prepare for blast off, becoming part of the space station adventure. During a recent walkthrough, we deflected asteroids to keep runways clear as part of the story.

The interactive experiences are based on duties you’d find on board a long-traveling space craft, according to Walt Disney Imagineering Senior Show Designer Alex Wright. Each game lasts about 90 seconds with a 90-second interval and the games can accommodate 86 players at one time.

As you move along on your journey, there are “insider” touches typical in projects created by Imagineers. For example, if you’re up on your Disney trivia, you’ll recognize a sign bearing the logo “H-NCH 1975″ as a tribute to late Imagineer and Disney legend John Hench. There are also other “Disneyphile” references hidden throughout the attraction.

AP - Walt Disney Co.'s new version of "A Christmas Carol" got a Bah Humbug from Deutsche Bank, which predicts a disappointing $31 million in opening weekend ticket sales will lead to smaller quarterly profits.

The computer animated film, starring Jim Carrey as Ebenezer Scrooge, opened this weekend at No. 1, according to studio estimates Sunday.

But it measured well short of the $55.1 million opening for "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," the holiday classic voiced by Carrey in 2000.

In a note to investors, Deutsche Bank's Doug Mitchelson estimated Disney will take a $50 million write-down based on the film's opening weekend and $200 million budget. He cut his earnings forecast for the company's fiscal fourth quarter to 2 cents per share from 40 cents per share. Disney reports earnings for the three months ended in September on Thursday.

Mitchelson said the good news is that the write-off will be taken at the end of the fiscal year, leaving a clean slate for 2010.

The weak release caps "a very disappointing year for Disney's film division," Mitchelson wrote. He cited a $50 million write-down for "G-Force" and the poorly timed release of "Confessions of a Shopaholic," a film about big spending that came out "in the midst of the recession."

The cable channel has ordered a second season of the pop stars' comedy series "Jonas," but only after parting ways with the executive producers who launched the series.

"Jonas" premiered in the spring to solid numbers, but couldn't match the heights of Disney Channel hits like "Hannah Montana." It has been winning its Sunday time slot in key kids demographics, averaging 3.4 million viewers.

Production on Season 2 is slated to begin in February for a premiere in the middle of next year. It will follow Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas as they set out on a summer vacation in Los Angeles that leads to them landing gigs in show business. In real life, the brothers are in Italy as part of the European leg of a world concert tour.

Additionally, Disney Channel has renewed the trio's short-form reality series "Jonas Brothers: Living the Dream" for a second season. Filming already is under way for a premiere early next year.

"These guys are the superstars of their generation," said Gary Marsh, Disney Channels Worldwide entertainment president. "We had the opportunity to extend our relationship with them, which we did."

The Children's Miracle Network Classic is a Pro-Am event, in which professional and amateur golfers play together for the first 36 holes.

The tournament benefits the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida.

The movie, shooting in Hamilton, Ontario, will debut next year on Disney Channel worldwide and on the CBC and YTV in Canada.

The script sees young Harriet determined to be her high school's class blogger as she clashes with her nemesis, popular student Marion Hawthorne.

Event will feature 13 thesps selected from a pool of 500 who auditioned. Each of the 13 actors have been assigned a Disney/ABC casting exec to serve as a mentor and career coach for the coming year.