This is great news for our Cast and our Guests. It will add an exciting new experience to the park and increase our capacity at Disney-MGM Studios. We hope to share more details in the near future.

Residential Street will be under construction beginning next month and because of this, the holiday event called Spectacle of Lights will not take place this year. We are looking for opportunities to bring it back in the future.

MISSION: SPACE AT EPCOT SET TO SEND GUESTS OUT OF THIS WORLD

The excitement, the thrill and the rush of rocketing into outer space is coming soon to Walt Disney World Resort. Beginning August 15, 2003, Mission: SPACE, presented by Hewlett-Packard -- the next awesome adventure at Epcot -- will send clients on an out-of-this-world journey they never thought possible.

Guests who accept the mission will engage in a one-of-a-kind astronaut experience that launches them into a simulated space adventure – from pulse-racing liftoff to the sensations of traveling through outer space on a mission to Mars.

The new attraction is the most technologically advanced ever created by Disney. In association with former NASA advisors, astronauts and scientists, Walt Disney Imagineering developed Mission: SPACE as the first ride system ever created to take guests straight up in simulated flight.

The setting for the attraction is several decades into the future at the International Space Training Center. As the "crew" selected for this ultimate space mission, guests head to the dispatch area and then move to the Ready Room where they receive a history of astronaut training and are given the role they will assume during the mission -- as the commander, pilot, navigator or engineer.

Then it's on to the pre-flight corridor to load into the spacecraft, receive final briefings from CapCom and buckle in for liftoff. When the countdown reaches zero, the most unique and exhilarating ride experience ever begins. The earth begins to rumble, white clouds of exhaust start to stir as the ascent toward the sky starts and guests are rocketed into the galaxies. Guests hear from CapCom and are asked to perform vital tasks that will land their spacecraft safely on Mars. Each guest will assume the role of Commander, Pilot, Navigator or Engineer. But there is no mission without surprise as guests encounter unexpected twists, turns and other challenges that test every astronaut. Quick thinking and fast reactions are needed by each guest to successfully complete the mission.

Training is not complete when the capsule lands. Guests can proceed to the Mission: SPACE Post Show, powered by HP. In this Advanced Training Lab, guests of all ages have an opportunity to explore interactive space experiences, which include:

• Space Race -- Two teams compete against each other in a race to send their rocket from Mars back to Earth. Nearly 60 people can play the high-energy game at one time.
• Space Base -- For junior astronauts, Space Base provides a fun, interactive crawl space for exploration.
• Expedition: Mars -- A joystick and a jet pack button help guests explore the surface of Mars.
• Postcards from Space -- Guests can e-mail a video of themselves with one of the space-themed backgrounds and create a great souvenir of their Mission: SPACE experience.

Walt Disney World Resort announced the addition of a new E-ticket thrill attraction to Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. The new ride, entitled Expedition EVEREST, opens in 2006 and will be themed after the legend of the Himalayan Mountains yeti, an enormous creature that fiercely guards the route to Mount Everest.

In Expedition EVEREST, guests board an old mountain railway destined for the foot of Mount Everest. The train rolls through thick bamboo forests, past thundering waterfalls, along shimmering glacier fields and climbs higher and higher through the snow-capped peaks.

But suddenly the track ends in a gnarled mass of twisted metal and the thrills intensify as the train races both forward and backward through mountain caverns and icy canyons and guests head for an inevitable face-to-muzzle showdown with the mysterious yeti -- known to some as the abominable snowman.

Expedition EVEREST will be located in the Asia section of the theme park. At nearly 200 feet high, it will be the tallest mountain in Florida. Expedition EVEREST will feature Disney's FASTPASS, an innovative system -- offered at no charge to park guests -- designed to reduce wait times at popular attractions in all four Walt Disney World theme parks.

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe in Magic Kingdom Park is the first quick-service restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort to offer kosher menu items with no advance notice necessary. Kosher selections include hot dogs, hamburgers and honey-glazed corned beef sandwiches. All products are Glatt Kosher and have Star-K certification.

Kosher meals are available at any Walt Disney World table-service restaurant. A 24-hour notice is required, as meals are purchased from a vendor. To order kosher selections and to make a priority seating, call 407-939-3463.

The Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers will return to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in July for their 2003 National Football League (NFL) preseason training camp. First workouts are slated for July 19. The Bucs will break camp on August 15. In 2002, they became the first NFL team to conduct training camp at Walt Disney World Resort. The experience launched the Bucs into their first NFL championship season.

June 13 – September 1, 2003

Curtain up on the Epcot World Music Concert Series June 13 - September 1. In the international spirit of Epcot, this high-energy series represents a wide variety of styles that blend diverse cultures through the fusion of music. World music ranges from lyrical interpretations of Celtic folk tunes to intensely rhythmic urban dance. Scheduled acts at America Gardens Theatre (subject to change):

• Bering Strait, June 13-29. This classically-trained, Grammy-nominated group of six young Russians is lighting up the world of country/bluegrass.
• Richard Wood, July 1-13. Canadian Wood is a fiddling virtuoso and stunning showman who takes folkloric music like the Celtic jig and turns it modern.
• Brother, July 15-July 27. This Australian rock band folds electrifying guitar techniques and riffs into astounding sounds sure to captivate World Showcase audiences.
• Baka Beyond, July 29-Aug. 10. Known as the original African Celtic crossover band, the group includes musicians from six countries in the Celtic fringes of Europe and the West Coast of Africa who blend beautiful harmonies and melodic rhythms.
• Mestre Ambrosia, Aug. 12-24. These Brazilian musicians mix irresistible Latin rhythms and energetic dance steps. Musical influences span from rock to Oriental music, resulting in urban rhythms with a rural feeling.
• Vieux Diop with Wassalou, Aug. 25-Sept. 1. Vieux Diop takes the heart of West African music into new territory, making it modern without sacrificing ancient overtones.

Showtimes for the Epcot World Music Concert Series are daily at 5:45, 7:00 and 8:15pm, except Mondays when local acts perform.

What would summer be without Fourth of July fireworks? There will be a special patriotic fervor in the air as skies above the Vacation Kingdom fill with spectacular pyrotechnics again this year. Among scheduled activities:

• Downtown Disney Pleasure Island takes a flag-waving theme July 3, 4 and 5 with patriotic decorations all about, All-American theme bands on West End Stage and in The Jazz Company, the tossing of patriotic-themed beads, and walk-around stilt-walkers decked out in red, white and blue. A special midnight fireworks salute follows the national anthem. Guests who want to let their spirit show can purchase special glow necklaces or patriotically designed face paintings. Fireworks fun and the special music is included in regular Pleasure Island admission of $19.95 plus tax.

• At Magic Kingdom Park on July 4, guests will be treated to a special edition of "Fantasy in the Sky" fireworks featuring patriotic music and pyro ringing the park. Fireworks are scheduled for 9pm.

• On with the "glow" at Disney-MGM Studios. Necks will crane skyward as a fireworks spectacular fills the skies above the showbiz-themed park on July 4. Showtime is 9pm.

• At Epcot, July 4 enhancements to the popular "IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth" show will burst skyward above World Showcase Lagoon, bringing down the curtain on a daylong patriotic celebration that includes special shows and meet-and-greets with Disney characters in colonial costumes.

The following highlights the special events at the Walt Disney World Resort: