With the previous schedule, I will now give my reports and observations of this, the "Year of a Million Dreams". As Jay Rasulo, Chairman of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts gave his speech to the press, the focus of the Year of a Million Dreams will be "Focusing all our energies to take the immersive experiences of a Disney Vacation to Greater Heights" The goal: "To Make the vacation dreams of our guests come true like never before" With all the new attractions, shows and new guest services I observed, this indeed will be a "Year of a million Dreams" for Guests.

To begin, the weather was cold, damp and very grey, but you would not know it by the smiles and electricity in the air. The opening of the new "Finding Nemo the Musical" was received by the press with a standing ovation at the end. I myself have seen the show 5 times previous. It is innovative, beautifully done and choreographed. The cast members in the show have fiery enthusiasm. I got a chance to talk to several of the cast members in the show. Michael Morgan who portrays Nemo's father, Marlin, Michelle Lane, Dory and Allison Case plays Nemo. The cast cannot say enough about their love of this musical. Michele Lane stated that the show is "Visually Astounding" and the "Show has much Heart". When Michael Morgan was asked how it compares to other Theatrical experiences, he replied: "Oddly similar, amazingly different"

Michelle Lane is originally from Los Angeles, Michael Morgan from Wisconsin and Allison Case from California. The entire dialog is live with the music taped. I spoke to Ann Hamburger, the Executive Vice President of Disney Creative Entertainment. She heads up the entertainment for the Parks worldwide. She describes the show as "Merging spectacle with Heart". I asked how the idea of producing a musical came about and she said: "Disney created the Team and we came up with the idea" It was three years in the making. With a Tony-award winning team of songwriters Robert Lopez and wife, Kristen Anderson Lopez, director Peter Brosius, creative director Michael Jung and puppet creator Michael Curry, it is easy to see why this new show will be loved for years to come.

Ann also said that the show was rehearsed for 7 weeks and that they have 2 ˝ casts, since the show has four runs a day, seven days a week. The show is in the Theatre in the Wild, home of the previous Tarzan Rocks show.

From Animal Kingdom the next event was at EPCOT for a showing of "The Seas with Nemo and Friends". I have also seen this attraction many times since it's soft opening. Here you will board a "Clam Buggie", similar to the "Doom Buggies" at the Haunted Mansion. This attraction is beautifully done, the scenery and video of Nemo and Friends is top-notch. One of the most unique features of this attraction is that toward the end, it passes by the aquarium tanks (The largest in the world) and through the "Magic" of the Imagineers, Nemo and friends are seen to be actually swimming with the real fish! After our ride, Hor'Derves were served and "Turtle Talk with Crush" had several showing for our enjoyment. I was still raining (Hard!) but the beautiful decorations (Floating Jellyfish, cast members in costume) were still in evidence. Disney as usual pulled out all the stops for the Big Blue World Party. We had dinner and entertainment inside the Coral Reef restaurant. The rain never let up this night, but the re-dedication of the pavilion and official opening of "The Seas with Nemo and Friends" went on under umbrellas and parkas. Meg Crofton, President of Walt Disney World gave the re-dedication speech, and of course Bruce the shark pitched in to help. It ended with a fantastic fireworks and laser-light show.