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Hello everyone,
In part 1 of our grand circle tour of the world's Magic Kingdoms, we toured Main Street USA and World Bazaar.
In this second part we are going to adventure into the depths of Adventureland. For reasons that will become clear later, I'll also be including New Orleans Square in this tour.
Before we begin, I just want to clarify the usage of certain names in this article. Some of you may dislike the fact I refer to each park by its location, but please bear in mind that when referring to “Disneyland”, there are actually four parks that carry that name in one way or another, and while I could type “Tokyo Disneyland”, for example, each time, it would be very time consuming. So, to avoid confusion, for the most part I will simply refer to each park by their physical location, to avoid any confusion (for example, Paris, for Disneyland Paris).
Throughout this tour you will also discover that not everywhere has a comparable experience in the other Magic Kingdom style parks, but in fact sometimes lie in other parks. Although we are comparing Adventureland overall, you will find that I throw in other parks too, where necessary, in order to show the comparable experiences.
There are many, many photos in this article, so be warned, it might take a few minutes to fully load! [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
First of all, I'm sorry for the lateness with which this news article comes. Some of this news has been around for a few days, but Jon and I have been so very busy that I just haven't had time to post. However, if you join our forums our helpful members there nearly always post the latest things they find, so be sure to join our friendly community and never miss any updates! With that said, I've put together a roundup of the latest character news from this week, including brand new news today about Disneyland Paris' Halloween season this year, and a new Frozen event for Tokyo.
Let's start with an event that is just 2 days away, Villains Unleashed at Disney's Hollywood Studios!
Various sites across the internet, including this one, have been posting information regarding all the characters and locations for this hard ticket event. I have used various sources and compiled together the following guide based on everything we know so far. Of course, Disney can change anything at any time, so just bear that in mind. It should also be pointed out that there are no less than THREE brand new characters on this list that have never met guests before! Constantine from the Muppets Most Wanted (as announced here by the Disney Parks Blog), and the Star Lord and Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy (as announced here by the Disney Parks Blog)!
Characters with set locations (locations with a proper line):
- Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow - Captain Hector Barbossa until 11.30pm
- Animation Courtyard - Maleficent until 11.30pm
- Sunset Boulevard - The Witch
- Near MuppetVision - Constantine the Muppet
- Streets of America - Cruella de Vil, Dr. Facilier, Jafar, Bowler Hat Guy, Shan Yu, The Queen, Captain Gantu, Dr. Hamsterviel
- Near Star Tours - Darth Maul, Boba Fett, Darth Vader, Stormtroopers
- Near the Sci-Fi Drive In - Emperor Palpatine and the Royal Guards
Wandering Characters (characters that may appear randomly and may or may not form a proper line):
- Near Hades Hangout (AKA the Sorcerer's Hat Stage at the centre of the park) - Queen of Hearts, Big Bad Wolf, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Governor Ratcliffe
- Near Indiana Jones Stunt Show - Brer Fox and Brer Bear, the Hyenas - Shenzi, Ed and Banzai
- Villains Dominion (the Streets of America) - Stromboli, Gaston, Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Frollo, Lady Tremaine, Drizella, Anastasia, Gideon, J. Worthington Foulfellow
- "The Dark Side" (near Star Tours) - Jawas, Jango Fett, Stormtroopers, Greedo, Asajj Ventress, Tusken Raiders, Gamorrean Guard, Zam Wesell, Aurra Sing
Shows and Happenings (all information adapted from the Disney Parks Blog):
- “Guardians of the Galaxy” Awesome Mix Tape Dance Party at the Animation Courtyard - Dance party featuring Gamora and the Star Lord. They will not greet guests, but the Disney Parks Blog did say they would "interact".
- Hades Hangout - The party kicks off at 8pm at the Sorcerer's hat stage, where hosts Hades, Megara, Pain and Panic. They’ll be joined throughout the night by other villains such as the Queen of Hearts, the Sheriff of Nottingham, the Big Bad Wolf and Captain Hook. None of them will be greeting guests, as per the norm with Disney dance parties.
- Oogie Boogie’s Freaky Funhouse Show - On Sunset Boulevard, Theater of the Stars presents a production of extreme performances, hosted by Oogie Boogie. It’s an all-new show that’s sure to thrill!
- Fantasmic! - On Sunset Boulevard, a gang of villainous henchmen, known as the Night Crawlers, tempt you to join them for a special pre-show to the evening’s performance of Fantasmic!
- “Villainy in the Sky” Fireworks - Hades summons Maleficent to the main event stage (Sorcerer's Hat) to close things out with a devilishly dazzling display of pyrotechnics!
What's interesting also about this list is that The Witch and The Queen will both be greeting, in separate locations. I think there may be some sorcery involved in this one! (Remember, they are both the alter egos of the evil Queen Grimhilde!)
It's also worth pointing out that Emperor Palpatine and the Royal Guards will be greeting, which is very rare. On top of that, of course as we already knew from a couple of weeks ago, Captain Gantu and Dr Hamsterviel will be landing for some alien terror!
On to some Frozen news now, and Hong Kong Disneyland announced at a special media event, and later via their Facebook page, that Anna and Elsa from the wildly popular movie Frozen would feature as characters at the park during their "Disney's Sparkling Christmas" celebrations, from mid-November this year.
Just a few hours ago the Tokyo Disney Resort Blog also announced some news regarding Frozen at the resort. From January 13th until March 20th a new Frozen section will be added to their poplar nighttime show, Once Upon a Time, and, from what I can make out (the Japanese being difficult to translate, as always), they will also feature in some capacity either in the parade, or at least along the parade route during the day.
Staying with the Asian parks, Hong Kong held special preview event of their brand new nighttime parade, Paint the Night, which debuts in October this year. We have some videos posted on our forum here which you should check out, it looks really awesome!
We come to Paris now, where just today they sent out their press release regarding the upcoming Halloween season. The complete English version is below.
A Maleficent Halloween at Disneyland® Paris
From 1 October to 2 November 2014, Disneyland Paris is the place to be to meet the Halloween gang of Disney Villains. Every day, Maleficent will bring together the Disney Villains in a cheerfully ominous atmosphere, promising Disneyland Paris guests encounters to die (laughing) for. The Sleeping Beauty Castle Courtyard will be transformed to welcome the good Disney Villains who will take mischievous pleasure in taking over Disney's Halloween Festival.
And that's not all! During this delightfully frightening month, ghosts and "Disney’s Funky Pumpkins*" will take possession of Main Street, U.S.A., astonishing pumpkins will take over the flowerbeds in Central Plaza and Frontierland will be transformed into an autumn garden, where sunflowers and pumpkins will take centre stage. Finally, Mickey and friends will offer guests a special Harvest festival-themed cavalcade, not far from Minnie's Halloween Costume Corner or the incredible candy-making machine invented by greedy Goofy, all designed to ensure Disney's Halloween Festival is a laugh a minute!
NEW: The Maleficent Disney Villains Promenade
Every day, the Disney Villains will be happy to have their photos taken with guests to immortalize this fearsomely funny occasion forevermore. Together with Maleficent, the Disney Villains will parade around Central Plaza to welcome guests.
NEW: Maleficent's Court
This year, Maleficent will cast a spell on the Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Disneyland Park and will invite some of the Disney Villains to join her in the Castle Courtyard. Maleficent, surrounded by her friends, the Disney Villains, will take over the place - it has now been invaded by imposing brambles, which guests will be able to pose in front of, next to the Disney Villains.
That is how huge brambles mysteriously appear in the Castle Courtyard. Shaped like the famous horns of Maleficent herself, these brambles form the outline of an imposing dragon. As night falls, the bramble will take on a more disquieting look, immersing guests in a universe of bright, unsettling colours.
Mickey's Halloween Celebration
To celebrate Halloween and to provide guests with a unique party, Mickey and friends will offer guests a cavalcade specially dedicated to the Harvest festival, and have naturally been inspired by the autumn and Harvest theme. Several times a day, Mickey and friends will parade in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle and along Main Street, U.S.A., surrounded by dancers wearing autumn colours.
This year, the lovely Daisy will open the cavalcade. The Three Little Pigs and Horace will join Mickey's Halloween Celebration on their brand new float "Raise the Rafters!". Surrounded by owls, black cats, spiders and bats, the Three Little Pigs, Horace and Clarabelle will dance to country music in front of their farm. A tree and an enchanted mushroom will come to life as if by magic.
As for the Disney Characters, they will be showing off their most stunning seasonal costumes. Donald will explore the wonders of autumn in a world made of straw and pumpkins, together with his inseparable nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. Meanwhile, Uncle Scrooge will bring up the rear, determined to keep determined to keep careful watch over a strange pumpkin that appears to be worth its weight in gold…
Mickey and Minnie pay homage to the Harvest season from their huge horn of plenty, filled with autumn leaves, fruits and pumpkins. Behind them, Chip and Dale, accompanied by the charming Clarice, have taken advantage of the Harvest to steal and hoard as many hazelnuts as they can lay their hands on!
Ghosts invade Disneyland Park
They thought they could keep a low profile throughout Halloween month, but guests will only be able to unmask them and immortalise them in a photo!
The ghosts of the former residents of Main Street, U.S.A. will use Halloween as the perfect opportunity to make their grand appearance. Delighted to be able to make an appearance during Disney's Halloween Festival, they will take over Main Street, U.S.A., trying to blend into the scenery. The Park's apprentice ghost hunters will be invited to unmask them, armed with their cameras.
Hilarious encounters with Disney Characters
The Disney characters get dressed up to the nines to welcome guests in a vibrant and colourful Halloween atmosphere for those special photo opportunities with guests.
Halloween Costume Corner - Passionate about sewing and fashion, Minnie will invite guests to discover her amazing sewing workshop, specially created for Halloween. An extravagant, colourful world where everyone is encouraged to let their imagination run wild. Minnie, in her fabulous Halloween-inspired dress will no doubt jump at the opportunity to pose with her admirers.
Goofy Bonbons - Halloween would not be the same without bonbons and spells. For that reason, Goofy has designed and created a truly amazing candy-making machine to dazzle those with a sweet tooth, young and old! Fans of bonbons and Goofy will not miss the opportunity to stop in front of this astonishing machine. Goofy might even join them to make sure everything is in good working order. A moment to treasure and a chance for everyone to persuade him to share his confectionery secrets!
Jack and Sally's Cemetery (from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas© Disney) - The famous couple created by Tim Burton will be at Disneyland Paris during Halloween for a mortally enchanting encounter. The set recreates the universe of the film The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Jack and Sally in person will welcome those who will be courageous enough to meet them. A reproduction inspired by the universe of Tim Burton, Jack and Sally's Cemetery is a unique place.
NEW: Disney PhotoPass+
The perfect opportunity to capture your best moments with the Disney Villains.
Disney PhotoPass+ allows guests to collect all their souvenir photos taken on rides or with Disney Characters by Park photographers at photo locations in high definition in a virtual portfolio. The photos are also available on a dedicated website (www.disneyphotopass.eu) and on a mobile app that enables guests to download them, share them on social networks and even purchase personalised photo products (photo albums, mugs, calendars etc.).
Disney's Halloween Festival will therefore be the ideal time to capture the best poses next to the Disney Villains.
Disney's Halloween Party: the grand finale on 31 October!
Guaranteed screams, even for the bravest guests. The most magical Halloween night will take place at Disneyland Paris!
The now famous Disney's Halloween Party (ticketed event) will be held on 31 October 2014 in Disneyland Park. A unique experience to share with family or friends from 8.30 pm to 1 am.
Disneyland Park will reopen its doors after dark and guests will see it as they have never seen it before - in a more mysterious atmosphere than ever, with unexpected animations, terrifyingly delicious surprises and a "hellish" atmosphere. The moon will bring out the ghosts, Disney Villains and other creatures for the party, who are all ready to play their tricks around the most mysterious of places. After enjoying the many attractions Disneyland Park has to offer, guests will be able to immerse themselves in the magical extravaganza of the Disney Dreams®! night-time show.
Thrilling rides
Hair-raising, high-speed sensations!
Halloween will be the perfect occasion to test guests' vocal chords on rides that will make them tremble with fear! With The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, Crush’s Coaster® and Space Mountain: Mission 2, Disneyland Paris will be the place to be to test the limits of the most overwhelming fears.
The Disney Villains have chosen the right occasion for their largest gathering — Disney's Halloween Festival 2014 has become autumn's unmissable event.
In an atmosphere where laughter mingles with spells cast by Maleficent, guests will find themselves immersed in a strange, delightful world that only Disneyland Paris knows how to create. To celebrate Halloween and the Harvest season with Mickey and friends, come to Disneyland Paris from 1 October to 2 November 2014.
Finally, although nothing official has been announced (as far as I'm aware, and I get all the press releases such as the one above for Halloween), Merida will finally be coming to Disneyland Paris for Christmas, and Anna and Elsa will be greeting guests there, too, instead of just being in the parade. Many sites and pages on the internet have been circulating this news this week, and I have reason to believe it holds a good amount of truth. What's interesting is that Anna and Elsa are said to be going into the Princess Pavilion - I wonder where the other princesses will go? Of course, Disneyland Paris only today released the full Halloween information (above), so until they release the full Christmas press release, anything can change! When they do finally release it, I'll be sure to post it here on the blog.
Ok that's everything for today. We were at DLP on two separate occasions over the past few weeks, I have already compiled one photo trip report which includes over 50 photos of the brand new Ratatouille area there, so be sure to check that out! Another report for our second trip will be coming soon!
Also, don't forget to read part one of my Grand Circle Tour of all the world's Magic Kingdoms, here. Part 2 is coming soon, too!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
I'm starting a new series here on the blog in which I aim to share my thoughts and experiences of the different lands of the Magic Kingdom style parks around the world. Think of it as the ultimate "grand circle tour of the Magic Kingdom", to coin a classic phrase!
Of course, there will be many, many photos, so be warned, this post might take a while to load!
[ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
First of all, apologies for being absent recently, we have had a lot going on here (real life) and so I haven't had chance to keep as up to date as I would like. Anyway, there are some cool new things I want to talk about today.
First of all the big event of the week will be the 24 hour event, "Rock Your Disney Side", coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and both Disneyland Resort theme parks on Friday this week (23rd).
Details are a bit sketchy right now though, sadly, as Disney seem to want to keep tight-lipped about which characters will appear, when and where. Of course, this doesn't make planning easy, especially since it is likely to be exceptionally busy like the previous events!
I have highlighted below some of the key moments (mainly character experiences) for Disneyland Resort, as per the Disney Parks Blog:
Event operating hours: 6 a.m May 23rd until 6 a.m May 24th.
At Disneyland Park:
In terms of characters, that's pretty much all that has been announced for DLR, sadly. Of course everyone anticipates that there will be a lot of characters out and about, and there is speculation floating around that some characters - villains in particular - may replace the princesses at Royal Hall, but that has not been confirmed publicly by Disney yet.
Over in Walt Disney World, the Disney Parks Blog reported the following (again, I've only highlighted the important moments and character experiences):
Event operating hours: 6 a.m May 23rd until 6 am May 24th.- Everything kicks off with a special edition of the Welcome Show, as heroes and villains make their way to Magic Kingdom Park.
- The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party will feature Disney heroes at 10 a.m and Disney villains at 1:30 p.m. When it comes to the 5:45 p.m. performance, though, exactly who makes an appearance will be determined by your votes throughout the day! (More information on how you can vote will be posted on Friday morning on the Disney Parks Blog).
- Magic Kingdom Park parades will each have two performances. “Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade” will be at 12 p.m and 3:30 p.m, and Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade at 11 p.m and 1 a.m.
- Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks at 9 p.m
- Prior to each presentation of Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade, the Disney villains roll through Magic Kingdom Park in a pre-parade, celebrating how “It’s Good to Be Bad!”
- Starting at 11 p.m half of Princess Fairytale Hall becomes Scary Tale Hall, where you can meet Maleficent and the Queen. The other side of the hall will still feature favourite royals Anna and Elsa.
- Around 1:45 a.m, the villains will take over the rest of the park’s character greeting locations. Where Aladdin and Jasmine appear in Adventureland during the day, expect to find Jafar. Dr. Facilier takes the place of Princess Tiana in Liberty Square, Captain Hook replaces Peter Pan in Fantasyland, and more!
- In Tomorrowland, the INCREDIBLES Super Dance Party rocks the Rockettower Plaza Stage from 4:30 p.m – 10 p.m, and is expected to feature characters from 'The Incredibles'.
- Disney’s “Up All Night” Dance Party at Cinderella Castle and the Frontierland Dance Party will run from 2 a.m – 5:45 a.m, and may (or may not...) feature Disney characters (no official confirmation, yet)
- The event concludes with a special “Kiss Goodnight” at 5:50 a.m at the Railroad Station in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A.
The Move It Shake It heroes line up is likely to include Hercules, who has been seen out and about at EPCOT the past few weeks in preparation for his starring role in this event!
It should be noted that for both WDW and DLR there were more things announced such as bands, food and merchandise, which you can find out about if you search the Disney Parks Blog. Here at Character Central our main focus is of course characters!
Staying with Walt Disney World, and this year's Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Welcome and Motorcade saw the debut of three new characters to the Disney Parks! Sabine, Ezra and a grumpy droid named Chopper have all landed on Earth for the special weekends this year, from their new Star Wars TV show, 'Star Wars Rebels'.
Check out this video below from Attractions Magazine, which features the new characters in the Motorcade!
At the Magic Kingdom, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends have left the Nook in Adventureland, and sadly all the fairies have now left Florida and are heading back to Pixie Hollow. Tinker Bell has found a new home at Town Square Theatre on Main Street USA, filling the empty space left by the princesses when they moved into the new Fairytale Hall.
Other recent character changes in Walt Disney World include the Pooh characters leaving Animal Kingdom, and Donald and Daisy replacing them - just in regular outfits, sadly (I wonder what happened to their special DAK costumes from when they met in Camp Minnie-Mickey?).
Taking the heat off the summer at Disneyland Park in California, the Disney Parks Blog announced the other day that Anna and Elsa from the ever-popular Frozen will feature in a brand new pre-parade addition to Soundsational. At the moment no other details are known except they will feature from "mid-June".
Keeping with Frozen, and the big news this week was that there will be a brand new Disney On Ice show this autumn featuring the characters from Frozen! You may recall that I actually reported about this way back in January, when I even suggested that characters such as Olaf and Sven would appear, and now it has come true! The video below was posted by Disney On Ice and shows some great concept art for the new show.
The description on the Disney On Ice website also specifically mentions Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and the magical trolls, leading us to believe they will all feature in the new show!
Finally for news, and Hong Kong Disneyland finally announced today that their new nighttime parade will debut in October, ending long running speculation that it would start in the autumn. The brand new electric light parade will use innovative new technology and will be interactive, too, whereby guests can use a mobile app to control the colour changes on the floats!
Don't forget that Disney's Swing into Spring season continues at Disneyland Paris until the 22nd June, and features a fabulous new show-parade, characters and other offerings. You can read my review of it here, and visit our dedicated guidebook page to it here.
You can also continue to meet Spider-man at Disneyland Paris until the 10th July. The Walt Disney Studios is the only place in the world you can currently meet the webbed hero! You can read my review of our meeting with him here, and visit our dedicated location page here for more photos and information.
Finally, don't forget that the Halloween and Christmas party dates for WDW were released less than two weeks ago. You can check all the dates on my previous blog post, here.
Ok, that's everything for today,
Dan.
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No trip to a Disney Park would be complete without meeting everybody's favourite star, and the world's most famous mouse, Mickey! I've compiled a list of our top places to meet him at each of the 11 Disney Parks around the world. Some of them are not as obvious as you would initially anticipate, as I have tried to offer suggestions of places where you find him wearing different outfits, or where lines are shorter.
So, let's take a look! I've organised the locations purely by destination, and not in any kind of rank order.
1. Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in California
Disneyland is the gateway to the whimsical world of Toontown, and where better to meet Mickey than in his house there? Depending on your time of visiting, Mickey could be wearing a variety of outfits which include his classic suit, his bandleader outfit, Steamboat Willie outfit or Sorcerer's Apprentice hat and gown. You never know which one he'll be wearing, and while you wait you get to explore the magical home of the world's most beloved mouse!
2. Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California
When Mickey visits DCA, he greets is fans on the historical Buena Vista Street, wearing his 1920's Los Angeles clothes. It's a cute outfit and a fitting location indeed.
3. Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
Mickey's home at the Magic Kingdom is in Town Square Theater on Main Street USA. Here Mickey feels most comfortable, and actually talks to guests whilst wearing his special magicians costume! What sort of conversation will you have with him?
Sadly we haven't yet visited Mickey at Town Square Theater since he started talking to guests. The photo above is from a previous visit. The picture below is one taken by our good friend Lori, who has been lucky enough to meet him since he started talking!
4. EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
While visiting EPCOT, Mickey greets guests at the Character Spot. Although he doesn't wear a special outfit here, it is the only place you can meet him regularly in the park.
Note that the backdrop has changed since we last saw Mickey here, but remains largely similar.
5. Disney Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Mickey wears his Sorcerer's Apprentice inside the Magic of Disney Animation building. Which spells will you help him conjure up?
6. Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
Join Mickey before he sets off on his next expedition, at the Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island! Minnie is nearly always there too, also wearing her explorers costume.
7. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris
This one is a bit more obscure (you might have expected I had chose 'Meet Mickey Mouse' in Fantasyland), but I have chosen Discoveryland because when Mickey visits the retro-future he dons his special space suit. Although he doesn't come out daily in Discoveryland, unlike the rest of the locations listed above, it is fairly regular, and it is the only place in the world you will find Mickey wearing a space suit!
8. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris
When he's filming on location at the Studios, Mickey greets fans wearing his classic outfit at Toon Plaza, in Toon Studios. The backdrop is nearly always that of his house back in Toontown.
9. Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort
Again, you might have expected me to chose Mickey's permanent location in Toontown, but that can often get lines of 4 hours or more, and so I have picked somewhere a bit more "relaxed". Although he doesn't come out daily in Westernland, when he does, Mickey wears his special Western outfit. The Japanese call this a "free" character set, meaning he will walk around greeting guests, instead of having a multi-hour wait! Be warned though, when he appears, there will nearly always be hoards of Japanese fans screaming for the attention of their idol! The experience of watching them do that is alone worth meeting Mickey here over any structured location!
10. Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort
Deep in the heart of the Lost River Delta, Mickey is on an excavation trip. When he's taking a break from digging up ancient ruins, he greets his fans in his tent, wearing his cute archaeologist outfit. This is one of the few places at Tokyo Disney Resort where a structured meet 'n' greet location has relatively "short" lines, too, making it a great place to visit Mickey and friends!
11. Hong Kong Disneyland at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Bears and gold are the main attraction in the little town of Grizzly Gulch. It's also where Mickey likes to hang out when visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, and he does it in style, wearing his excellent gold rush costume! Minnie nearly always appears alongside him, too.
Of course, these locations aren't the only places at the parks where you can meet the Big Cheese, but are the ones that I felt were different or unique in some way.
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Hot on the heels of the Marvel/Spider-Man news the last few days from Disneyland Paris, which I talked about yesterday, today the Disney Parks Blog announced that the Disneyland Resort would be hosting an Avengers half marathon from 14th - 16th November this year! The promotional video clearly states that Avengers characters and entertainment would be at the event, with the picture showing a cartoon of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, who have all previously featured as characters, but also now the Hulk! If the image is accurate then as far as we know right now, this will be the first time the Hulk will be featured as a character at the Disney Parks! There is of course the chance he may appear before then anyway, or he may not show up at all, but I am guessing they are going to be fairly accurate with their concept portrayal and who actually shows up. Very exciting news indeed!
EDIT: I just checked the official runDisney site, and it states "Join the Avengers team of Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Tony Stark for the Inaugural Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend." Could this mean that Black Widow and Hawkeye will come to Disneyland, too? It would be amazing if true!
Also, the blog site Disney and More posted yesterday that the new Hong Kong Disneyland nighttime parade, Paint the Night, that I had previously mentioned could be on its way to Disneyland for their 60th anniversary next year also! This would mean that, sadly, it would only be a Hong Kong exclusive for a few months before Disneyland get their own version. Although it is awesome that Disneyland could get a new night parade again, it is sad that they have to degrade the uniqueness of Hong Kong's efforts by copying it. Nonetheless, I'm sure it will be a welcomed addition to both resorts.
There has been a ton of news the last few days, so why not check out my previous blog posts for all the latest information. Links below.
Read here the news about Spider-Man at Disneyland Paris, Festival of Fantasy at WDW and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Read here the news about Star Wars Weekends at WDW, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Spring season at Disneyland Paris and parade changes at Hong Kong Disneyland.
That's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
This week the Disney Parks Blog announced that the insanely popular Star Wars Weekend at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios would be extended to a fifth weekend, up from its normal four. In addition, there would be brand new nightly fireworks (during the weekends), similar to those seen last year at the May the Fourth event. Other Disney news sites are also reporting that there will be a new "experience" to replace the long running and very popular Hyperspace Hoopla. There is no word yet as to why they are doing this and what exactly Hoopla will be replaced with, but we can only hope it's as energetic and fun as Hoopla has been in the past few years. We'll be sad to see Hoopla go, but look forward to having some new entertainment, hopefully!
Across the Twitterverse and beyond, many people have now been talking about the strong possibility that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will finally be allowed to step out of Toontown and join the Disney Characters at the Disney Parks, for the first time ever this spring! It has been suggested by many that he will start appearing during Disneyland Paris' and Tokyo Disney Resort's spring events. Of course, it could be a rumour that has just spiralled and grown, or there could be something in it, but I have a feeling, and talking to some people I know, that it could very well be true! I guess we shall see at the end of next month! Let's hope it is true!
Speaking of the new spring season at Disneyland Paris, although I had talked about this before, and other sites have also all been talking about it, I wanted to just mention here what we know so far, to give a roundup of what we can expect.
There will be a brand new cavalcade at Disneyland Park, featuring around thirty characters, some of them I'm told are "uncommon". It's strongly hinted that Thumper and Miss Bunny will come to Disneyland Paris for the first time (as well as Oswald, who I mentioned above). The cavalcade will utilise the former Casey Jr train from years gone by, along with three of the cars from Stars 'n' Cars (Walt Disney Studios Park's parade). The cars being taken out of Stars 'n' Cars are Mary Poppins and Bert, Snow White and Dopey and Sulley. The loss of three cars and five characters means that the parade will no longer be able to operate in its current capacity, and therefore plans are in the works to use the remaining cars for a special meet 'n' greet cavalcade. Details are sketchy right now, so we will have to wait until next month to see how it all works out.
As well as the parade changes for both parks, Disneyland Park is also expected to get some awesome decorations, musicians, street artists and there has even been talk of a small show on Main Street, but, that's still as yet unconfirmed.
As you would expect, there will also be some special meet 'n' greets at Disneyland Park, with our favourite characters in special outfits.
Of course, as I said, much as all this is currently unconfirmed. Admittedly, a lot has come from usually very reliable sources, and the odd thing about DLP is that rumours more often than not tend to turn out true! So let's hope all of this works out that way, too!
Staying with DLP, I want to draw you attention my extensive report I posted the other day that covered the new changes at the Disney Hotels and character greetings around the park. It's a sort of hybrid trip report and news report, but if you're planning a trip to DLP soon, it's well worth reading.
Finally we skip over to Hong Kong Disneyland, where the popular blog Disney and More revealed that the long running Glow in the Park Halloween Parade will sadly not return this year. Jon and I saw it several times in 2012 and really liked it. However, the park will be gaining a brand new nighttime parade, titled 'Disney Paint the Night' which will be a permanent addition. This of course is awesome, but I'm sure the Hong Kong fan community will miss not having a dedicated Halloween parade during the season.
Ok, I think that's everything for today,
Dan. |
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 | Happy 55th Anniversary Sleeping Beauty! | |
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014 11:41:08 AM |
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Today, 29th January 2014, is the 55th anniversary of the release of Walt Disney's beloved masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty.
Despite the fact that the film was not released until 1959, Walt Disney opened Disneyland in 1955 with Sleeping Beauty Castle as it's central icon, an icon which has since been duplicated in Hong Kong Disneyland (2005), and vastly improved upon at Disneyland Paris (1992).
In our usual Character Central style, let's celebrate with a cavalcade of photos from the Disney Parks around the world.
Happy 55th Birthday Sleeping Beauty!
Dan.
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 | 2013 - A Character Filled Year in Review | |
| DisneyDan
Friday, January 3, 2014 10:27:12 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Last year, 2013, was an incredible year for us here at Character Central, filled with some awesome moments.
For the past couple of years I have done my 'Year in Review' here on the blog, but I don't think any of them will compare to this one!
Let's start at the beginning of the year of course, at the Disneyland Resort in California, where we finished up a wonderful Christmas trip on New Year's Day meeting some characters around Disneyland Park.
Warning! This is a very long, photo-heavy post! If you're on the Blog home, then click to continue! [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
Last night was quite obviously Halloween night, and what a night it was!
It was the last Halloween party of the season at Disneyland, the penultimate one at WDW (the final one being tonight), the Halloween Soirée at DLP, and the final day of Halloween season at the Asian parks.
This Halloween has seen some great additions and improvements across all the parks and resorts.
Tokyo altered their Halloween parade slightly, and had the ghosts and goons greeting for the first time ever! Oh how we would have loved to have met one of Maleficent's goons!
At WDW, Jack and Sally greeted guests on a regular basis for the first time.
They also held the Unleash the Villains event which saw the never-seen before Oogie Boogie (excluding one private special event years ago), come out for guests! Amazing!
In Disneyland, Roger Rabbit was out at the start of every party in Toontown, greeting guests properly for the first time in years! (I don't count the bunny hop at Easter, as you couldn't officially meet him)
Disneyland Paris launched their brand new Halloween cavalcade, which starred Huey, Dewey and Louie, as well as a character never seen before in DLP, Clarabelle Cow!
Now let's come to yesterday.
WDW continued a fairly new tradition which we are glad to see them improving upon as each holiday comes around - having special characters out at the hotel resorts for greetings.
For example at the All Stars Sports, I know American football Goofy was out, and at the Coronado Springs the Three Caballeros!
When we were at WDW at Easter they did something similar at the deluxe resorts, so let's hope they keep it up!
Moving to Paris now, and last night was DLP's grand finale, the Halloween Soirée.
Lots of favourites from last year returned, such as the Stitch dance party hosted by Stitch, Angel, Goofy and Buzz, and Dr Facilier's show on the Molly Brown, which this year included Louis (as well as the returning Tiana and Naveen).
The new daily cavalcade also ran during the party.
The biggest news of all all though, was the appearance of some ultra rare characters throughout the evening - some making their first public appearance ever, not just in Paris, but worldwide!
So far I can confirm that all of the following were out (rare or otherwise):
- Duffy and ShellieMay
- Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu and the Sultan
- Yzma, Kronk and Kuzco (in human form)
- Mike Wazowski
- Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat and March Hare
- Russell, Dug and Carl
- Goofy and Max
- Scrooge McDuck
- Darkwing Duck
- Launchpad McQuack
- Panchito, Jose and Gauchito
- The Hyenas
- The Witch/Hag
- Cruella de Vil
- Maleficent
- Bowler Hat Guy
- Queen of Hearts
- Governor Ratcliffe
- Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and R2-D2
There were probably more, but I just haven't had any confirmed sightings reported as of yet.
Unfortunately we weren't at the Soirée, as much as we really wanted to be. Money and other circumstances of course got in the way, as they always do.
On the flip side, fortunately we had met all of those rare characters before at the Disney Dreamers Everywhere event in May this year (hence why I said first 'public' appearance, as some had appeared at an event).
So, that concludes another Halloween season across the world, which can only mean one thing.
Christmas!
Dan. |
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