BACKYARD MAGIC

Spring is the perfect time to entertain outdoors in Florida. That's why your backyard should be as welcoming as your kitchen or your living room. In fact, the entire premise of a popular HGTV series is how to make your outdoor gathering area a truly magical place. Host Brandon Johnson - along with an enthusiastic and creative team of Disney designers, contractors and a little pixie dust - create such one-of-a-kind backyards on My Yard Goes Disney.

The HGTV team discerns a family's favorite memories and experiences and brainstorms with Disney pros to customize a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious personal oasis.

A prop company builds the installations and then a team of nearly 30 people - from landscapers to painters - assembles everything onsite, working 12- 13-hour days for almost two weeks.

If a family can dream it, the Disney imagineers can create it. From an Animal Kingdom-inspired backyard safari to a pirate adventure, no idea is too over-the-top. "It's a game of centimeters," says Johnson. "Everything has to be placed just so or it's off."

The makeovers are nothing short of spectacular. Orlando's Farrell family, for example, wanted to recreate their Disney cruise. So Imagineers designed a Mickey Mouse shaped pool, complete with a 17-foot lighthouse and slide. The outer edges of the yard were decorated with the children's favorite Disney characters as well as a zip line and performance stage.

While the Farrells witnessed part of the transformation, the final touches were hidden until the "big reveal."

"You really can't put it into words," says Mike Holland, founder of Holland Pools in Orlando, whose team worked on the project. "When the reveal happens with the family, and the neighbors and kids came out to see what was built, it's all about the 'wow' factor."

Johnson, however, says creating your own backyard oasis doesn't require a team of Imagineers.

For a beach theme, Johnson suggests building a private cabana by adding some eucalyptus poles and hanging some muslin. Dress up the walls with lights and shells collected from the beach.

You can decorate an outdoor wall using a one-stack vertical garden, available for around $200. The gardens come with automatic watering systems, so maintenance is easy. And you can grow almost anything, from flowers to herbs to small crops.

If you like sharing spooky stories and roasting marshmallows under the stars, build a fire pit for family gatherings. Dig out the area around the in-ground pit and fill in the spaces with brick or stone. Place monogrammed wooden benches for fireside seating to add a special touch.

Adds Johnson: "A little ingenuity can transform an ordinary backyard into the perfect getaway all year round."