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Disney Nabs Four Thea Awards

The Themed Entertainment Awards announced their choices for this year's Thea Awards recipients on Tuesday, naming four that were Disney-related.

Disneyland and Walt Disney World shared an award for outstanding achievement in the "attraction refresh" category for Star Tours. The attraction reopened in May in both the California and Disney Hollywood Studios locations.

Disney World also nabbed another award with the nightly Magic Kingdom show, "The Magic, The Memories and You." Shown on Cinderella's Castle, it received outstanding achievement in the "show spectacular" category.

A Video Look: Imagineers, Technology and Fantasyland

It's not really news that the Fantasyland expansion is in full swing with many updates planned for that area. What is new is the use of some innovative and generally nifty technology used by the Imagineers hard at work on the expansion.

The video below takes us behind the scenes as Imagineers plan and construct a virtual project on a computer before the real thing goes up in WDW, and are able to pinpoint any concerns before the first nail is hammered into place.

Walt Disney World to Limit Refillable Mugs?

You know those refillable mugs you can purchase at your Disney resort? They cost around $14 each and allow you unlimited soda pop refills for the length of your stay. Reports are surfacing about these mugs, saying Disney may test out software that would limit some usage of the mugs.

New Laserman Show to Debut Friday at Disney's California Adventure

He's been entertaining audiences at ElecTRONica at Disney's California Adventure for some time, and now he's back. We're talking, of course, about Laserman. His new show will debut Friday, June 17 at ElecTRONica.

Look to Laserman to deliver a show full of music, lasers and technology inspired by the movie "TRON: Legacy" and to showcase a battle between technology and man. Called a "must-see" show by Disney Parks Blog, this looks to be one attraction that is sure to have this coming summer's nights lit up.

Grand Opening For Disney's HP Field House

One big thing to come out of the partnership between Disney and HP was unveiled this past Thursday: the "newly re-imagined" HP Field House. In true Disney form, a sports star studded grand opening ceremony was held to reveal the facility and its state of the art sports technology.

On hand at the ceremony were Mia Hamm, of soccer fame, and the NFL's Jason Witten. They joined ESPN radio personalities Mike Greenburg and Mike Golic as well as Mickey, Goofy and execs from both Disney and HP.

Disney Partners With Gowalla

Eat your heart out, Foursquare. Disney's signed up to partner with Gowalla check-ins for now.

The location-based software programs -- where guests can "check in" to different Disney locations via smartphone apps -- have been quickly climbing the charts as popular social networking options, and Disney's choice to partner with location service Gowalla instead of Facebook or Foursquare is big news.

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The Fireworks Photography Field Guide

I love taking pictures while I'm in Walt Disney World, there are so many interesting sites to see, it's almost impossible to capture them in the ever-changing Disney Parks environment. I do fairly well at taking pictures by day, but when the night comes it's a whole different story. Before each vacation I try to read the camera's little manual so that I remember what settings I have available, but armed with my little point and shoot in the dark I frequently forget what I'm supposed to do.

Power Up: New Tech Merchandise Available at Disney Shops

Extra batteries and chargers are staple items to add to your tech bag before leaving on vacation. In my bag you'll find a variety of chargers to keep me going throughout my day of heavy touring. For my usage of heavy tweeting and texting during vacations, my iPhone battery will last me until about mid-day. After that it's time to plug in and power up to both keep in touch with the rest of our party, and share the fun with my Twitter stream. In the past if you forgot your spare battery you were just plain out of luck, but now if you forget, now Disney's got your back.

Possibilities of Disney's "Next-Gen" Technology

Walt Disney World has just turned 40 years old and they are not stopping. With the upcoming opening of the Art of Animation Resort, a new Fantasyland and the announcement of an Avatar land in the Animal Kingdom, Disney is also pumping a rumored $1 Billion in "Next-Gen" technology.