Ears the News with Richard

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Celebrity Chef Art Smith announced the opening of 'Homecoming - Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine' at Disney Springs in summer 2016.

The Florida native will be offering farm-to-table food, with ingredients sourced from the local area.

“Once we heard the story of his passion for Florida and his vision for the restaurant, we knew that it was a perfect match” said George Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Art back to the state and share his spirit of Homecoming with our guests from around the world."

With a design inspired by turn-of-the century Florida architecture of the late 1800s, Homecoming will feature traditional Southern favorites with sophisticated, chef-inspired creations. The 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat restaurant “is where Florida heritage meets New Southern cuisine,” explains Smith.

“The menu is a big part of my ongoing homage to Florida’s bygone era,” explains Smith. “We will proudly and prominently support the Fresh from Florida campaign and the vast majority of our seafood, produce, poultry and beef will be from local farms, ranches or fisheries.”

The Homecoming menu will feature Southern favorites like homemade pimento cheese, Church Lady deviled eggs, low country shrimp and grits, kale salad with Sweet Grass Dairy cheese and spiced pecans and a grilled Blackstrap pork chop with sawmill gravy.

“Each dish has a little Florida twist and will make guests feel like they’re on the back porch with me for every meal,” says Smith.

Desserts will be a specialty, with cakes, pies and delectable sweets made daily and shipped from a bakery in Hamilton County, including the restaurant’s signature Mockingbird Cake. “Southern women, using delicious ingredients and love, are the world’s best bakers,” explains Art.

Inside, the restaurant has a glass-walled show kitchen and the Southern Shine bar, featuring whimsical cocktails, punches and coolers.

It was previously indicated that Chef Art would be opening 'Chef Arts Florida Fish Camp', but today's announcement seems to suggest a change of plan. The restaurant will be located in The Springs, between the Town Center and The Landing.

Art Smith has previously worked as personal chef to Oprah Winfrey, served as a judge on the TV show BBQ Pitmasters as well as authoring three award winning cookbooks.

Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, Art and Soul in D.C. , Southern Art and bourbon Bar in Atlanta and LYFE Kitchen Palo Alto are amongst Smith's restaurant operations.

You now have  an opportunity  to see a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the upcoming album 'We Love Disney.'  at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The movie is located in the ABC Sound Studio in Echo Lake, and includes interviews with the recording artists and producers.

NE-YO, Jason Derulo, Tori Kelly, Gwen Stefani, Ariana Grande, Fall Out Boy, Kasey Musgraves, Rascal Flatts and Lucy Hale are some of the artists taking part.

You can buy 'We Love Disney' from October 30 2015.

Disney opened the new I-4 entrance ramp which will take guests directly into the Disney Springs Orange Garage.

Traveling westbound on I-4 now offers 3 exits to Disney Springs. The first brings guests near to the Crossroads area, entering Disney Springs via Hotel Plaza Blvd. The next exit is the new direct ramp into the parking garage, and the third exit is the existing route onto Epcot Center Drive.

Disney has announced that a new character dance party will be opening with the new Sunset Showcase building at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Image courtesy Disney Parks Blog

Located between Rock n Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, the new Sunset Showcase is a flexible theatre space that has been designed to host a variety of shows. It is widely expected that the park's existing multi-purpose theater space, the Premier Theatre, will be removed as part of the park's redevelopment.

Club Disney gives guests a chance to join Mickey and the gang and take to the dance floor in this electric club environment, where a DJ Club Host spins the perfect playlist mix of your favorite Radio Disney Top 40 songs as the floor and walls come alive with vivid images from classic Disney animation.

Club Disney will also feature a cool seating area and snack station, where you can refuel and recharge – both yourself and your electronic devices.

Club Disney opens in the new Sunset Showcase opens on December 5 2015.

Catalina Eddie's and Rosie's All American Cafe at Disney's Hollywood Studios are now both closed for refurbishment.

The two quick service restaurants on Sunset Blvd closed for refurbishment from October 11 to November 19.

The Magic Kingom's Tortuga Tavern introduced a new BBQ menu.

Beginning October 14 2015, the seasonal restaurant located just across from Pirates of the Caribbean will serve a pulled pork sandwich, a grilled chicken sandwich, a sliced brisket sandwich, and a roasted corn vegetable salad.

The taping of the ABC Christmas Day Parade will be held earlier than normal this year on November 10 - 13 2015 at the Magic Kingdom.

This year's parade will be titled 'Disney Parks Unforgettable Christmas Celebration,' which is a change from last year's Frozen themed show.

Guests in the park during the filming days will be able to take part, although special tickets will not be made available to guests.