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Hello everyone,
In this second part of my Walt Disney World December trip report I am going to share you with your our adventures at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot. In case you missed it, the first part of my report, which covers Disney's Animal Kingdom and the Disney resort hotels, can be found here.
Let's start with Hollywood Studios. [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
During the last week of December we visited Walt Disney World for Christmas and New Year. In this first part of my trip report I am going to share with you our adventures at Disney's Animal Kingdom and some of the resort hotels, including character dining and more.
Let's start with Animal Kingdom.
At the front of the park, the giant Christmas Tree was on display, looking exactly the same as it has for the past ten years! Despite its age, it is a nice tree.
[ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
On January 19th this year the Main Street Electrical Parade came back to Disneyland at a special event, which was followed the next day by the start of its final daily run at the park, which will end on June 18th this year.
Last weekend (Friday 10th February), Disneyland began hosting the first of this year's AP Days events, which for this month is themed to the Main Street Electrical Parade. Running until March 9th, annual passholders can visit the park every week to receive special buttons, menu cards, and other giveaway items, and meet characters. We were there this past weekend for the 2017 debut of AP Days, and to see the Main Street Electrical Parade (MSEP), and so I have my report here for you now! [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
Yesterday the Disney Parks Blog (DPB) made a surprise announcement about an upcoming event at the Disneyland Resort. From May 27th - the day that the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction opens at Disney California Adventure - until September 10th, the park will present the Summer of Heroes.
The DPB describes this new event as follows: [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
As always, I have been pressed for time to write updates recently, but I am here today to share with you some things that I thought worth mentioning regarding the imminent arrival of the 25th anniversary celebrations at Disneyland Paris. Over the past week or two a lot more information about the celebrations has been coming to light, with various sites and pages leaking information, and of course Disneyland Paris revealing a little more themselves, too.
During the 25th anniversary celebrations, you will be able to experience two brand new stage shows, a brand new parade, meet and greets, and other offerings such as the new versions of Space Mountain (Hyperspace Mountain), and Star Tours (Star Tours - The Adventures Continue), and the new nighttime spectacular, Disney Illuminations. Of course, being Character Central, I am going to share with you the character based offerings in this article.
To begin, let's take a look at the parade. [ Read More... ] |
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 | Character Central Anniversary and Updates | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, January 8, 2017 1:11:24 PM |
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Hello everyone,
First of all, Happy New Year to you all! Jon and I both hope that the new year started well for you all and that 2016 ended with a bang!
If you are a regular here to the blog, you will know that it is fairly unusual for me to post updates about the internal workings of Character Central, but I felt that today we reached an important point in our history. With us turning seven years old last week, I needed to share with you all some of the things that are coming to Character Central in 2017. Part of the reason for this is due to the fact that I am more than well aware that the site has become slower with time, and that some of you regularly experience time out problems, and get either the Flik or Figment errors. Trust me when I say, these things annoy us, too, and we want nothing more than to be able to prevent those pages from displaying!
A massive overhaul of Character Central is well passed due, and while we have had some upgrades over the past seven years, we both feel that it is now time to completely change the site. Let me lay out some of our plans, which I hope you will agree, are quite exciting!
We want to move away from external image hosting, with all content being directly embedded into Character Central. This will allow the site to run faster and for pages to load all images without having to rely on an external source. One of the main issues we get now is that when the external sources are down, it brings pages on Character Central to a grinding halt while our servers try to locate the files.
We are are going to redesign all location pages to be less cluttered, with less photos, deleting those that are older/no longer relevant. We may be removing many non-Disney locations (such as Universal, Busch Gardens, etc), the Disney Store locations and other redundant content, too.
Removal of dead links and pages that no longer receive traffic, such as the calendar and trip reports pages.
We are going to redesign all character profile pages to provide clearer, more accurate information, removing many duplicate/redundant images, and making it easier to view a character's wardrobe.
The blog will be completely redesigned, and will allow commenting directly on blog posts instead of having to go to the forum to comment (which is how it is now).
We are considering either reducing the scale and scope of the forum, or removing it altogether. This is probably our biggest change, and while we have made many new friends, and undoubtedly brought many fans together over the years, it is simply unsustainable in its current format. We are just two guys, and we don't have a huge amount of free time, and the forum gets a lot of abuse, spam and irrelevant content posted to it that is becoming increasingly difficult to monitor.
Make the entire site mobile friendly, with a design that works on most smart devices.
While the site undergoes this work, there may be days when the site is down completely, links may not work or pages will disappear and reappear. We will try to reduce the impact of this as much as possible, but sadly it will be unavoidable.
You have to understand that all of this will take time, and a lot of patience from both us and you. We really appreciate all of your support, and we couldn't have lasted for more than seven years without you all. We are positive that once we are done with the site, it will be better than ever, and that you will only see that tolerating the "construction" period was only worth it for a cleaner, smoother, over all more pleasant experience.
Finally, since we have so much work ahead of us, and our schedule seems to get increasingly more busy and erratic, I am going to have to abandon some incomplete reports and projects on the site. I know that a lot of you like my trip reports, and I know I am behind on the last few trips, but sadly they are not going to get written at this point. I want to start 2017 fresh, and need to go into the new year and new site without being bogged down with things from months ago. Going forward I will of course continue to post my reports from new trips, but anything that was as of now unfinished, will sadly remain that way.
Have a great day everyone, and thank you again for your support, patience and understanding.
Dan. |
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 | Happy 115th Birthday Walt Disney | |
| DisneyDan
Monday, December 5, 2016 8:51:54 AM |
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Today is 5th December, which would have been Walt Disney's 115th birthday.
Born in Chicago on 5th December 1901 to Canadian father Elias and American mother Flora, Walt found himself growing up in a rapidly changing world. The automobile, electricity and telephones were amongst the new technologies that were gradually altering the way people went about their everyday lives.
Soon came World War I, and Walt found himself too young to enlist - but he found a way!
While away he discovered his talent for drawing, and became known for decorating the helmets his comrades had found, with illustrations.
From there Walt developed his talents further, and found himself creating characters and shorts such as the Alice comedies and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. [ Read More... ] |
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 | Walt Disney World July 2016 Trip Report | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 10:47:42 AM |
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Hello everyone,
I realise that this is a little late, but better late than never, right?
Back in July we made one of our several trips for this year to the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. As always, we had an agenda for visiting at the time that we did, and filled our short trip with everything that was wondrous and new!
Let's start with our hotel, Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo House. We have previously stayed at Kidani Village several times, and of course have visited Jambo House (but up until this trip never stayed there), and while we have enjoyed our stays at Kidani Village, Jambo House is clearly the better of the two. [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
In a bold and and virtually out of the blue announcement, Disney today announced a massive regeneration project for Hong Kong Disneyland.
The most shocking of all the details was by far the revelation of a brand new castle! Yes, you read that correctly - Sleeping Beauty Castle will be transformed into a towering structure, completely unlike what we see there today.
Instead of me paraphrasing everything, I am going to provide the full press release below, followed by the press images. Then I have some additional information from the New York Times, and finally I'll provide my thoughts on it all.
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) announced a multi-year development plan to take the park to a new level of excitement, leveraging some of the most beloved and successful franchises of The Walt Disney Company. Plans include new themed areas, attractions and entertainment, launching almost every year from 2018 through 2023.
Guests will experience Marvel and “Frozen” like never before as HKDL leverages the best of Disney to bring both these world-renowned franchises to life in their own immersive areas. The centerpiece of the park and the gateway to Fantasyland – the castle – will also be transformed to create spectacular entertainment experiences for guests.
“We are more excited than ever about the future of Hong Kong Disneyland,” said Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “We are bringing the best of The Walt Disney Company to this wonderful tourist destination, giving guests from around the world an experience only Disney can deliver and an experience they can only have with us at Hong Kong Disneyland.”
Some highlights of the new experiences that will delight Disney fans and guests from around the world include:
- An epicenter of Marvel Super Heroes that will continue to unfold. From the launch of Iron Man Experience, the Marvel universe continues to grow at HKDL. Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters will be reimagined into a brand new experience for guests to fight alongside the icons of the Marvel Universe. Further, another thrilling attraction dedicated to one of the most popular Marvel franchises will be added to expand the epicenter of Marvel Super Heroes as exciting events unfold in phases.
- An exciting new “Frozen” themed area where characters and stories from the kingdom of Arendelle will come to life in ways guests have never experienced before at a Disney park. Guests will enjoy two new attractions and be immersed in Arendelle with uniquely themed dining, shopping, and entertainment.
- A completely transformed Castle and Hub area to showcase brand new daytime and nighttime shows and entertainment offerings that will celebrate every prince and princess who ever wished upon a star and dared to follow a dream. An “Adventureland Show Place,” which invites guests to “Moana’s Village Festival” through a series of daytime entertainment offerings anchored around a lively stage show in a new interactive entertainment environment. In addition to experiencing live shows and immersive Disney storytelling, guests can meet Moana, heroine of the new Disney animated film that will be released globally starting November 2016.
The major development plans extend the excitement and amazing growth at HKDL, as the resort is set to open the eagerly anticipated Iron Man Experience officially on January 11, 2017 and the richly themed Disney Explorers Lodge resort hotel later in the first half of the year.
HKDL has continued to grow since its opening in 2005 and has broadened its appeal to families and young adults as well as diverse markets, including local, mainland China and overseas guests.
The three themed areas launched between 2011 and 2013, Toy Story Land, Grizzly Gulch and Mystic Point, have enhanced the park’s attractions and entertainment offerings and boosted the park’s attractiveness to different market segments. In 2013, Mystic Manor was awarded the prestigious Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement – Attraction, the equivalent of the Oscar in the theme park industry. In the following year, the nighttime parade “Disney Paint the Night” was launched and subsequently honored with a Thea Award.
In celebration of HKDL’s 10th Anniversary in 2015, the new stage show “Mickey and the Wondrous Book” and a new walk-through experience “Fairy Tale Forest” were introduced. This past summer, “Star Wars: Tomorrowland Takeover” presented attractions and offerings themed after another classic Disney franchise.
“The all-new developments will further reinforce HKDL’s position as a world-class tourist destination for everyone, including families and young adults, and help build lifelong memories across generations of families,” said Samuel Lau, executive vice president and managing director of Hong Kong Disneyland.
HKDL’s two shareholders – The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government – have agreed on the development plans, subject to funding approval by the Company’s Board of Directors and Legislative Council for their respective share of investment.
Disney have thus far provided the following concept images for the brand new areas:
All images (C) The Walt Disney Company and their associates.
There are some very interesting things in these images, which I'll discuss in a moment, but first I also want to direct your attention to a New York Times article from today that states (according to them, at least), that the new castle will stand 197 feet tall, versus the current 77 feet, and will be the tallest Disney castle in the world upon completion. They also suggest that the cost of the park's regeneration will be around $1.4 billion.
So with that in mind, what does all this mean? To be absolutely clear, everything from here on is my own opinion.
First of all, the new hub area is going to be very neat, and clearly they are going for something akin to the area in front of Enchanted Storybook Castle at Shanghai Disneyland. However, having been to Hong Kong multiple times, and looking at this concept art, it will be very interesting to see how they are going to fit this in exactly. Even if they manage to make it look like the concept art, it'll be very small. I doubt the seating area capacity will be very high at all.
The castle itself is a mixed one for me. Ultimately, it is definitely a good thing that they are making such massive improvements. However, in my opinion, it's a real shame that they have lost such confidence in their own brand that they would go to such lengths. Nothing like this has ever been done before, and it really shows that they are admitting their mistakes. Why didn't they just spend the money to make it awesome in the first place?
The castle show images are also interesting because they give us a glimpse of who we might come to expect in the new performances there. There are two character based images - one that depicts the daytime and one depicting the nighttime. Why these images show us what appears to be two different shows, with two different sets of characters, is not made clear at this point, and I don't think we should read anything into who we see in the images until Disney themselves know exactly what they are doing. However, it is interesting to note the presence of characters such as the Cheshire Cat and Br'er Bear.
The Marvel area looks utterly epic, with the new hangar looking building completely swallowing Autopia and transforming the face of Tomorrowland altogether. Replacing Buzz Lightyear is a smart move, especially since there is one in every park, and the nearby Shanghai has the far superior newer version.
The Moana area is cute, and doesn't appear to envelop anything existing, except perhaps a small water area and some trees. It's a smart move to have an area dedicated to her, and we look forward to seeing it.
The Frozen area looks really nice, and while Frozen is used on overkill these days, I actually have hope that they'll do a real good job of it, looking at the pictures we have so far. Of course, the Oaken's Dancing Sleigh Ride looks completely adorable!
Finally, the it was inevitable that with a brand new castle will come a new nighttime spectacular. Disney seem to be upping their game on nighttime spectaculars all the time, so by the time the new castle is completed, hopefully we see something really awesome there!
Despite some of my slight criticisms (mainly the workability of the hub, and them losing faith in an iconic Disney castle), I am very excited for all these changes. Hong Kong Disneyland is a beautiful park already, and I constantly sing its praises here on the blog and to every Disney fan I meet. Looking around the internet today, though, I see that there is a lot of resentment swirling around already, and, right or wrong, I think that the following perfectly sums up how a lot of people feel.
To rebuild an iconic Disney castle is unprecedented, and virtually unthinkable. Some may say that this investment is just what the park needs - and to a degree they are right. However, perhaps what the park needed was a little love and investment from the beginning though, and not being sold out for a bigger, better park just a few hundred miles away in Shanghai. A couple billion dollars later, and perhaps Disney have realised that money should have gone to Hong Kong in the first place.
Now fans can blame Shanghai even more for US cutbacks... but at least Hong Kong will be pretty, right?
What do you think?
Have a great day everyone,
Dan. |
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 | Happy 88th Birthday Mickey and Minnie Mouse! | |
| DisneyDan
Friday, November 18, 2016 7:21:54 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Today is the 88th birthday of the most famous, most adorable and most popular mice in the world - Mickey and Minnie Mouse! Debuting on this day in 1928, in Walt Disney's classic short, "Steamboat Willie", Mickey and Minnie Mouse are the world's sweethearts, and have captured the hearts and imaginations of every generation since.
Happy 88th Birthday, Mickey and Minnie Mouse!
Have a great day everyone,
Dan. |
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