Animal Kingdom is a park where one can really stop and savor the atmosphere and the beautiful animals. Two places that are great for taking it slow are the Maharajah Jungle Trek and the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

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.

Located between France and Japan in Epcot's World Showcase is the Morocco pavilion. It is here that we find one of our favorite rare finds in Epcot, the Morocco Fez House.

The Fez House represents a typical Moroccan home with its beautiful mosaic tiles, carvings, and artifacts from daily life.

2011 is the International Year of Forests, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly, and Disney's Animal Kingdom will help celebrate this in a special festival Wednesday, July 27.

The International Year of Forests brings to light ways to manage, conserve and develop forests. The celebration at the AK later this month will extend on this theme, giving guests a chance to "discover the wonders of forests and learn more about the variety of wildlife that depend on them."

"From 1984 to 1994, a perfect storm of people and circumstances changed the face of animation forever." That's the premise of Waking Sleeping Beauty.

Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival will get a dose of home and garden expertise this year as HGTV stars get set to share their knowledge. Recently, Disney Parks Blog announced this fall's lineup of celebs that will appear in seminars every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the fest.

Here's the lineup:

• Sept. 30-Oct. 2: Vern Yip, "HGTV Design Star" and "HGTV Urban Oasis"
• Oct. 7-9: Monica Pedersen, "Designed to Sell"
• Oct. 14-16: Erin Loechner, "Design Happens"
• Oct. 21-23: Taniya Nayak, "Designed to Sell"

Just a year-and-a-half after plans for it were announced, construction on Disney's Hyperion Wharf has come to a halt. Work on the dining and shopping area that was to replace the long-shuttered Pleasure Island is now delayed indefinitely as Disney "pauses" to evaluate their "master plan."

In an update on its blog, Disney had this to say for guests and fans:

Who doesn't love the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover? It's become a must-do for me during every trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Disney has cut down on its monorail transportation hours this summer in an effort to give more maintenance time to the system.

Guests of Disney need to know that the monorail systems servicing Epcot and the Magic Kingdom will be shut down one hour after the parks' regular closing times. Also, it will remained closed during any of the parks' Extra Magic Hours.

These new hours of operation have already went into effect for Epcot and are set to start August 1 for the Magic Kingdom. Guests can still return to their cars and hotels from the parks via boats and buses.

Fans of Disney's The Haunted Mansion attraction take note! On September 30, 2011, there will be a merchandise event at Disney's Contemporary Resort called "Room for 1 More."

Look for the Haunted Mansion's cemetery to be recreated inside the Contemporary. Guests at the event can dine among the crypts and take part in a "deadly" silent auction. In addition, tickets to the event include:

• Be the first to pre-purchase limited edition event logo product, Haunted Mansion themed collectibles and Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary collectibles.