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ESPN RISE Girls Showcase Inaugural Event Coming to ESPN WWOS in June

This June America’s top female athletes will compete in a multi-sport festival at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will include national championships and elite-level events in basketball, gymnastics, softball, taekwondo and volleyball. This is the inaugural year for the three-week event and is expected to draw nearly 15,000 nationally-ranked and recreational female athletes to Walt Disney World.

“ESPN RISE is proud to expand its commitment to high school girls through the inaugural ESPN RISE Girls Showcase,” said Laura Gentile, vice president, espnW and ESPN RISE digital and publishing. “The educational and leadership opportunities are just as important to the student-athletes as the competition.”

Among the events taking place will be national championships such as the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championships, USA Gymnastics Open Championships, U.S. Rhythmic Classic, Junior Olympic Rhythmic Gymnastics Optional Championships and Invitational, and the USA Taekwondo Women’s Invitational Cup. Other elite-level events will include the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase, the USA Softball National Qualifier, the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Tournament Qualifier, and the USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials, in addition to several recreation-level competitions.

The showcase will also include leadership and education components involving current female athletes as well as marquee former athletes and coaches such as former UCLA softball head coach Sue Enquist, whose teams have won 11 national titles.

“To bring together this many female athletes at an event featuring the nation’s best in a variety of sports will be a unique and inspiring experience for these young girls,” said Gail Brown, senior sports event manager for Disney Sports. “Disney and ESPN RISE value and support female athletes at every level and this event will give these talented young athletes a great opportunity to showcase their skills on a national stage.”

Portions of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase will be shown online at ESPN3.com, including the AAU Jr. National Girls Volleyball Championship, the AAU Elite Eight 9th Grade Basketball Showcase Championship, the USA Gymnastics Open Championships, the USA Basketball U19 National Team game against Brazil and the USA Taekwondo Women’s National Qualifier.

The creation of the ESPN RISE Girls Showcase comes on the heels of the instantly successful ESPN RISE Games at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The annual ESPN RISE Games made its debut in 2009 and features some of the leading high school athletes and teams in the nation competing in baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse and softball in a two-week-long sports festival style event. This year’s event, July 13-27, is expected to draw more than 13,000 athletes from around the country.

The ESPN RISE Girls Showcase adds to the growing list of elite-level national youth sports events taking place at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which is widely recognized as the leading multi-sports venue in the nation. This event further cements the sports complex as the preeminent sports destination for female youth athletes, who make up a little more than half of the nearly 300,000 athletes who compete and train annually at the sports complex.

Event details below the jump:

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Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Appearance List

Disney has announced the celebrity guest list for the 2011 Star Wars Weekend event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This will be a particularly big year as it also marks the return of Star Tours with it’s updated, randomized show, featuring new technology and favorite Star… Read More »Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Appearance List

Pixar Weekend at EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival

Does the idea of Pixar films and flowers coming together sound dreamy to you? Well then you’ll be happy to lose yourself in the world of Pixar films at Pixar’s 25th Anniversary Weekend coming May 13-15 as part of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World Resort. Celebrate Pixar with exciting activities, special character appearances and a speaker series with Pixar insiders.

Disney has just opened up free seat reservations for the Saturday and Sunday talks featuring experts from Pixar. So if you’re planning on attending, drop what you’re doing now and register over at http://www.pixarweekend.com.

Presenting Pixar Speaker Sessions

Get the inside scoop from Oscar®-nominated Pixar producer Jonas Rivera, Oscar®-winning composer Michael Giacchino and Cars Franchise Guardian Jay Ward at the speaker series held inside World Showplace Saturday and Sunday.

Daily Speaker Session Schedule: May 14 – 15, 2011

Now, go get your seats if you haven’t already.

Thoughts on why this isn’t at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and more details about the weekend below the jump:

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Disney’s Private Government Loses its Manager

The longtime manager of Reedy Creek Water District, the governmental body Disney had the state set up to make Walt Disney World possible (this is the book to read), has announced that he will be stepping down. Thomas DeWolf is 84 and suffering from diabetes,… Read More »Disney’s Private Government Loses its Manager

The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World makes Vacation Planning a Snap

When it comes to planning a vacation to Walt Disney World there are two books the you hear mentioned over and over again as the best – The Unofficial Guide which has a long history and many versions, and The Complete guide, which features beautiful… Read More »The Complete Guide to Walt Disney World makes Vacation Planning a Snap

Disney World reveals plans for Princess themed rooms

Disney World has been experimenting with lightly themed rooms at its resorts for the last few years. You may have stayed in a Pirates or Little Mermaid themed room at the Caribbean Beach Resort. They’re even building a whole new resort (Art of Animation) with… Read More »Disney World reveals plans for Princess themed rooms

New T-shirts Spotted at Walt Disney World

As I’ve mentioned before, Disney’s T-shirt designers have been doing a great job rolling out fun t-shirts that capture the sort of nostalgia I feel for the Disney brand of old. So if I can’t have the Disney of my youth back, I can at pretend that I can when I wear these.

Here are a few Disney recently added to Walt Disney World’s growing catalog:


As if there was any argument.


This t-shirt cleverly reads “Mousetaches – the key to any disguise”… get it.

Lot’s more below the jump:

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Expressions – Epcot – April 23rd, 2011

I’ve long wanted to experiment with the sort of environmental pieces one associates with the last few minutes of CBS’ Sunday Morning. With that as the inspiration, I’m starting a new series called “Expressions.” I’m afraid I don’t have the best video or sound equipment… Read More »Expressions – Epcot – April 23rd, 2011