OFFBEAT: Reader asks about Lana Turner Hammond connection

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

"Casey at the Bat"

Walt Disney brought newspaper writer Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat" to life and to the big screen as an animated feature in 1946.

OFFBEAT: Wellman name equally famed for Baseball, as well as Star Plaza Theatre stage

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

Floating "Bread and Butter Flies" and Daffodils from Walt Disney's 1951 "Alice in Wonderland"

Floating "bread and butter flies" and animated daffodils welcome Alice to Wonderland in Walt Disney's 1951 animated feature film "Alice in Wonderland."

OFFBEAT: Daffodil Days 40th year marked Tuesday with burst of blooms

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

New Fantasyland officially opens in Orlando

It's the largest expansion project in the park's 41-year history. The new spaces are built on what was once the site of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea experience, and the expansion doubles the size of the original Fantasyland.

Holiday events: Trees, lighting displays and more

From elaborately decorated trees to drive-through lighting displays to boat parades and train shows, a variety of holiday spectacles are being staged through the end of December and into early January around the country. Here are a few of them.

PHIL WIELAND: And the winner isn't - President President

This is a wonderful country where anybody can grow up to run for president whether they actually grow up or even actually exist.

Wild Turkey has a job offer for pardoned turkey at the distillery

Wild Turkey has an official spokesbird job opening at the distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, just waiting for the turkey who gets the Presidential Pardon this year. ---Pat Colander, Associate Publisher and Editor.

OFFBEAT: Time for Round 2 of Brookfield Zoo's 2012 costume winners

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

King Ludwig II's Famous "Fairy Tale Castle" Neuschwanstein

Surrounded by fall colors, King Ludwig II's famous "fairy tale castle" Neuschwanstein, which is nestled in the side of a mountain in Bavaria, served as the inspiration for the castles of Walt Disney's amusement parks.

Mary Poppins Hoasting Floating Tea Party from the 1964 Walt Disney Film "Mary Poppins"

Actor Dick Van Dyke and comedian Ed Wyn play surprised guests at a floating tea party hosted by Mary Poppins in the 1964 Walt Disney film of the same name starring Julie Andrews (bottom left) in the title role.

OFFBEAT: New tea time destination in Chicago welcomed with tea party

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

OFFBEAT: Glen Theater in Gary celebrates 5-year anniversary of reopening

Phil Potempa's daily entertainment news column.

"Mary Poppins" Stage Musical

A first regional Chicagoland staging of Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins," is part of the 2013 season at Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire Oct. 23 to Jan. 1, 2014.

Two must-see venues in L.A. where the show must go on

When I called my friend Myles to tell him I would be visiting L.A. during the Thanksgiving holiday, he said, "I want to take you to see the Walt Disney Concert Hall." He bragged, "Designed by the great architect Frank Gehry."