I’ve always said that I have THE best job at the Disney Parks. As a producer, I get to make television dreams come true at the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line. Every day, I work with television networks, production companies, and incredibly talented filmmakers as they tell stories that feature the Disney Destinations.
I’ve been at Disney for nearly seven years, and “My Yard Goes Disney” quickly became one of my favorite projects. As the series was being developed, working with the show’s creators has been such an exciting time. How about this for a fun gig: Planning magical days of filming in the Parks (and on the Disney Dream) that featured our families enjoying the very attractions and elements that inspired their future back yards.
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The first episode, featuring the Bradburn family, took us to both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. To watch the thrill in Tommy and Angie’s eyes as they got to meet one of the Walt Disney World Railroad’s train engineers up close and personal… or the extraordinary moment when daughter Maddie got to dance with Tinkerbell in the Fairy Garden at this year’s Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival…. These aren’t just memories that will last a lifetime for them, but for me as well.
See how those memories went home with them in “My Yard Goes Disney,” on HGTV tonight at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central. Here’s a sneak peek at tonight’s magical backyard transformation.
Check back here for a behind-the-scenes look at a backyard inspired by Disney’s Animal Kingdom. So, which Disney theme park would you want to see in your backyard? Please let us know in the comments.
Comments
It would be really awesome if you could do shows outside of Florida. My family and I are huge fans of everything Disney. I have been to Disney World 5 times and my parents have been 7 and my sister has been 4. We would really love for our yard to have a chance at going Disney since we love Disney World so much. I hope to one day maybe become a Disney Imagineer or take an internship to Disney World for the experience. We really love Disney World and with me starting college and having to pay the tuition for college we may not be able to afford to go for years. I’ll be transferring colleges hopefully and be moving out in two years and having a Disney backyard would just be great to have to come back and get the family together. I know you usually do stuff for families with younger kids but it would be cool to do something for older kids like teenagers and adults who are kids at heart.
Oh my goodness! This is beautiful. My kids would be in heaven:) How do I sign up?
I have 2 yr old triplet girls that are just NUTS about Jake and the Neverland Pirates. We have fights over which episode to put on demand through our cable company. We finally got our hands on a the orginial Pater Pan Movie and they were just thrilled to see Captain Hook and Mr. Smee make their appearance. We have a small plastic slide outside with a little telescope on it. The 3 girls are constantly fussing over who is looking for Captain Hook through it. I would just love to have a Peter Pan themed back yard. We have a beautiful little creek that our yard backs up to and I could see a big pirate ship overlooking the ducks swimming in the creek. Of course no Peter Pan themed yard would be complete without a fun Tinkerbell fairy house. Ohhh I can just see it all now. Come visit us in NJ and deliver us a fabulous Disney Backyard.
OMG This would be amazing to have them come to San Bruno and inspire our entire city again. My daughter loves bugs and would have to ask to make my yard a big bug castle. California adventure had a show It’s tough To Be a Bug, a awesome show that I would like to make my yard into. She is always going out to collect bugs and I have to check your hands and pockets before she goes to school and to bed, because she always has a bug in her hand. For me and my one year old I would have to ask to have a little of the electrical light parade sprinkled in there like pixie dust, as it was always my favorite as a child. Disney does some amazing things for people the one I believe is the most important is adding laughter to our lives. As Walt says, “Laughter is Americas greatest export.” I would be honored to have Disney come out and make my backyard a place for many years of laughter.
HEY I LIKE TO WATCH MY BACKYARD GOES DISNEY I WISH I HAD A TINKERBELL BACKYARD THEME FOR MY DAUGHTER KYLIE AND MY LITTLE SISTER ALEXIS THEY WILL LOVED TO SEE A TINKERBELL THEME IN THE BACKYARD BIG TIME
THANK YOU BRITTANY
with 7 kids (5 adopted from fostercare) a touch of disney magic would be awesome in out back yard. I would do a bit of Disneyland. and A touch of cars land for my son nick. I would have atouch of tinkerbell for my youngest daughter Hollie. soem playhouse disnete for the twins josh and caleb some thrill seeking for my son josiah. and a touch of pirates for all of them. for me a tough fo walt nostalgia A tiki room patio.
how do you get picked for that hgtv show?
A Disney backyard would be a great backdrop for my upcomming wedding.
I would like my backyard to be turned into a scene from Fantasmic! I love the way that there is fire in the water and video projected on water at Fantasmic in Orlando. It is my favorite show and I have to attend it everytime we go to Disney-which is usualy a minimum twice a year. It would be cool to have something like that in my backyard.
Please let me know how to enter for a yard transformation.
Fun, cool ideas! I would love to have our yard go Disney. We would love to have Redwood Creek Challenge trail in our yard and have our own “California Adventure” at our Nevada home. How can we apply?
I would like my yard to be an Epcot themed yard. I love all the character shaped bushes and topiaries and I would like my yard to be a futuristic disney with inoventions. I also like that Epcot brings the whole world to Disney. It’s the most relaxing park to visit and the gardens are beautiful. I would love to have life-size sculptured boxwoods of Mickey & Minnie in my front yard to greet all visitors and passers-by. What a wonderful place that would be to come home to every day.
Great show…great landscape design….and wonderful Disney attractions…I am looking for those KidSteam trains to put in my yard
OMG! Disney comes home!!!
As a proud DVC Family member and lucky dad of 4 beautiful kids, what a great opportunity to show my token of appreciation to my amazing wife who will be delivery our 5th child this August. She is addicted to Disney. Talk about making someone’s real dream come to life from your very own back yard!
Keep the inspiration going, Disney! Thank you….
Hands down, a Pirates of the Caribbean backyard would be the most awesome ever – between the ride, the movies, and all of the trappings of New Orleans Square, there’d be so many concepts to work with!
Wow This is great, and so cute! My dream is to have a Disney Pixie Hollow backyard.I hope that one day I can. If you want to do a pixie hollow garden, please come to my home 🙂
I love those hand-crank cars! What a hoot–such a good idea!
Hmm for me I would love a backyard that looks like the line cue for the tower of terror with the big pagodas and a broken, but magically creepily, working fountain, or a tiki room outdoor entertainment area.
I saw the show and I LOVED IT!!!!
Magic Kingdom (including utilidors)
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Epcot (with a couple of Segways)
How can you be on the show? We are DVC members with two small kids. We absolutely love Disney, and go two to three times a year! Would love to have our big backyard become Disney inspired.
I would love to have my back yard transformed into a mini Typhoon Lagoon with a lazy river. We live in the South Mississippi and it is hot almost year round. With lots of land, the addition of a nice pool, slide, lazy river, and a tropical landscape would make my 12 and 13 year old the happiest kids on earth ! Since Hurricane Katrina, Our area does not provide much activity for children so I am sure that we would be a summer destination for all of our kids friends ! Pick Me ! Pick Me ! Where do I enter to Win ?
I thought this show would be more about people who had their yards done or inspired by Disney and did it themselves… not got chosen to have Disney and HGTV come in and make them a backyard. It’s still neat, I was excited to see how creative normal people got by being inspired by Disney. My mom love LOVE lOvEs Snow White, so we (my mom, dad, sister, uncle, aunt, and cousins) all made Snow Whites wishing well by hand literally from scratch! It sits in our front yard, and every day someone walks by and comes into our yard and looks in the well, or takes a picture by it.
great show!!!!!
I’ll be watching every Monday night!
I’ve always said every child should be able to visit WDW at least once in their lifetime to experience someplace that is so positive. Maybe having all children experience such a good and wonderful place would change the world one child at a time. Now, it seems Disney is bringing the good of WDW to children one neighborhood at a time.
As a Disney fan since the Mickey Mouse Club I have tried in a much smaller way to bring Disney to my backyard. I even have Cinderella’s castle among my flowers. I am looking forward to getting more ideas and tips to help me develop a “Small World ala Disney”!
Once again, thanks for a really great show!
I LOVED this show — after a tough day at work it was just what I needed! And I’m all for Disney-HGTV partnerships. It’s two of my favorite things together!
I’m not going to assume your guys can come up to Canada, but this should be really interesting for decor ideas. Right now I don’t have a yard, but I do have an Enchanted Tiki Bathroom ^_^
Hey, I live on the West Coast.
A few years back my grandpa(Who i’ve beein going to disneyland with since I was 3) had a stroke.
Ever since then, he can’t really ride any disneyland rides because he has too much trouble getting on and off of them.
I would love it and I’m sure he would appreciate it if you could Disney my backyard?
I love all things Mickey.
I would love for you to make a toontown type of thing in my backyard.
I’m sure that I could bring my grandpa into the backyard and play with him.
Hope you reply soon.
Love,
Nikki
Welcome to the blog Mr. Tony.
Just watched the first show. What a neat idea!!! So much fun. Next week’s yard looks really cool & I can’t wait to see it. I set my DVR to record them all. I never get tired of watching Disney & love everyone’s happy faces when they see what was created. BTW, I have 40 acres that could always use a Disney touch for my boys 😉 If not my yard, then I will continue to live vicariously through those lucky people on the show 🙂 What a wonderful show.
I believe if you go to HGTV you can enter to be chosen on their website!
Personally, I would love to have fantasyland of MK and Future World of Epcot featured in my backyard!! and I absolutely agree with Kristin about reflecting Epcot’s flower and garden festival! :]
how do you sign up for this show?!?!?! i am a HUGE disneyland fan and have been to disneyland ever since i was in my mom’s stomach! i would really would like to have a disney backyard so that i would go outside more cause i am obssesd with disneyland and i wanna work there and i know lots of stuff about disneyland!!! please tell me how to sign up!
I have ALWAYS wanted my yard to be themed after Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge….If only you would do homes outside of Florida!!
(I’ve also ALWAYS thought it would be cool if you could commission imagineers to design your home…I would go with WL and AKL again…)
I’d love to look out my kitchen window and see Fantastland and Adventureland!! Hooray for Princesses and Pirates 🙂
I personally would love to have my backyard done as an homage to the “Magical” lands of the Magic Kingdom. Emphasis on the classic Disney rides that everyone loves, including the ones no longer in service, such as Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, etc. THE coolest things I would want to see are the attractions from Tomorrowland in the MK. Honestly, if you could squeeze the entire park into by backyard, that would be perfect!
My husband said to me last week that we couldn’t watch HGTV on Monday night, it would get too expensive. Considering what he usually watches on Mondays (wrestling! ick!) I asked what it was, and he said this. After 3 Disney trips, a Disney wedding/ honeymoon, a DVC membersip, and an upcoming Disney cruse (all this in 2 years), this would just top it off! Make my backyard look like Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival or Aulani and we’ll be your next episode!
What a great idea for a show! Myself, I’d like to have a backyard with the same theming as a Disney Deluxe Resort (Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, etc) with waterslide pool, gardens, etc
HOw do you get involved with the show. I want my Disney Backyard!!! I am going to DVR the show tonight.
That’s cool, I want a Disney backyard. I’m watching this show for sure. How do you sign up to be on the show?
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