I have a confession to make. I love Walt Disney World. There. I admit it. As a father of two incredibly beautiful daughters (Thank the Mom for that), I enjoy watching them experience things I enjoyed as a child and things I never truly got to experience. Well, unbeknownst to my little rugrats, We are taking a surprise trip to the land that Walt built for the week of Thanksgiving. I went there as a child but my parents treated it like any other amusement park. It’s so much more than that. I love the atmosphere, the hospitality, the shows, and the special surprises that Disney brings to the park from time to time. Sadly, I will be there two weeks too early to experience a wonderful Chronicles of Narnia tie-in at the Disney-MGM Studios. (Editor's Note: Ha ha! I won't be there too early to enjoy it! -Rafe)

To coincide with the opening of Narnia nationwide on December 9th, Disney-MGM Studios will literally open the magical world of Narnia to all park patrons on the same day. Soundstage 4 on Mickey Avenue will be transformed into Narnia’s frozen world! Park visitors will enter the frozen world through a giant wardrobe. Ya got to hand it to Disney imaginers. They never do things half-assed. Michael Eisner on the other hand…. Oh sorry, this is a positive story!

Actual Narnia props and sets will be on display. The soundstage will also be filled with some of the creatures, costumes, and armor used in the film How cool is this??

Now, some of this information is not new but the date for its opening has varied from November 2005 to Winter 2006. I called Disney about an hour ago and they confirmed December 9th as the day. It should be noted that Disney, at times, has “soft openings” a few weeks prior for rides but I’m not sure if this will happen with a display. If you are there a few days earlier, I’d ask a Disney cast member.

It is unknown at this time how long the sets will stay up. It probably depends on the success of the movie. My Disney source (read: guy who answered the phone) said that the Haunted Mansion movie sets stayed in the soundstage for 8 months. Boy, if Narnia isn’t better than that, we’re all in trouble.