The American Film Institute Showcase

The American Film Institute Showcase has a wonderfully bad attraction at Hollywood Studios. At Villains : Movie Characters You Love to Hate you will be able to see costumes and props from movies from across movie history. There are current (8/2008) displays of the popular villains Darth Vadar, Queen from Narnia, Davy Jones' organ, plus many many more.

The Back lot Tour ends at the front door of AFI Showcase so you can quickly view the villains before re-entering the park. You do not have to go through the back lot tour to visit the showcase though.You can find the AFI Showcase on all the Hollywood Studios maps.

Tip: It is rather dark inside the AFI so it may be harder to take a good picture without the flash.
Trick: If you don't have time for the 40 minute Back Lot tour, you can still visit the Villains.
Tidbit: The exhibits change often. So even if you visited the AFI before it's worth another visit to see the newest villains added to the showcase.

Walt Disney World Railroad

The steam train in the Magic Kingdom is a great way to move around the kingdom. There are 3 different stations around the Magic Kingdom: Main Street, Frontier Land, and Mickey's Toontown Fair.

The Main Street station is at the front of the park. You will actually walk under the station upon entering the park. There is quite a few steps to climb to the station. At the top of the stairs you will find not only a beautiful steam train but great views of Cinderella Castle.

The Frontier Land station is located just between Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. Again there are some stairs to climb to and from the train. This is actually the station we board at the most because our families routine is FantasyLand, Frontier Land, then Toontown Fair. The train takes us directly to Toontown Fair and we save our feet.

The station at Mickey's Toontown Fair is located at the outside edge of the area. It's just behind the Chip & Dale play yard. This station is the easiest to board since it is at ground level--NO STAIRS!!!

It is more than just a mode of transportation, the ride has some fun scenes set up along the route. Between the Main Street station and the frontier station you will pass Indian camps, an old outpost, and some neat views of Splash Mountain.

Tip: You can take personal strollers onto the train but Disney strollers have to be left at the station. You simply take your name card and personal items and a new stroller will be waiting at the next station.
Trick: Be a guest conductor! When the gates open, make a beeline to the back of the train and ask. My son has done this before. He got to announce "All aboard!", ride in the back of the train with the cast member and at the next stop he was presented a "Guest conductor certificate" for a keepsake.
Tidbit: the trains only go in one direction. The stops always go Main Street to Frontier Land to Toontown Fair to Main Street to frontier Land.....etc. There is no back tracking between the stops. So you can't go from Frontier Land to Main Street directly. You will have to go all the way around past Toontown Fair to get the Main Street station.

Pocahontas & Her Forest Friends

Pocahontas & Her Forest Friends is great little show in Camp Mickey Minnie at Animal Kingdom. It's located next to The Festival of the Lion King. The show takes part in an outside theatre so weather can effect not only your comfort but also the show times. This is a show geared for young children. If you are going with teens or all adults this probably would not be a crowd favorite.

During the show Pocahontas and Grandmother Willow chat with a new character Sprout about the animals and trees of the forest. Throughout the show a variety of forest animals visit the stage. The live animals are big hit with the kids. The show includes some songs from the movie and is finished off with a flutter of falling leaves over the audience. The first 3 rows of the theatre is reserved for children (like Turtle Talk with Crush at Epcot). I love when shows have children seating. There's no worries about if everyone can see.

Pocahontas & Her Forest Friends are at the end of run at Animal Kingdom. The show is scheduled to close in late September of 2008. If you visiting Animal Kingdom make sure you visit the show before it closes.

Tip: Pocahontas also makes an appearance during Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios. So there will still be a Pocahontas fix for all the fans after the show's closing.
Trick: Since children have reserved seating, it can be confusing reuniting after the show. If you arrive a little early then you can sit directly behind them or across the isle so it's easier to reunite your group.
Tidbit: Pocahontas & Her Forest Friends has been running in the Animal Kingdom for 10 years.