|
|
Today is the 41st Anniversary of the opening of the Magic Kingdom, Disney's Polynesian Resort and Disney's Contemporary Resort at the Walt Disney World Resort.
Also, on this day 11 years later, EPCOT opened, which means it is also celebrating, and is 30 years young today!
Over the years Walt Disney World has strived to be the number one vacation destination in the world; and for us Disney fans, I think you'll agree that it really is a truly beautiful and magical place.
Magic truly lives at Walt Disney World, and I am sure that Walt Disney would be proud of the work that his company has achieved. Walt had one goal - to provide a place where people can come to have fun and escape the real world. He also dreamed of a place where a diverse range of cultures come together and live their dreams in a vast community built on the ideals and promises of a better future.
Those dreams and ideals have come true, and tens of nationalities work at Walt Disney World, and many more visit every day.
Happy Birthday Walt Disney World Resort. Long may you bring us joy and happiness, and a vision of a better tomorrow, for all.
Seeing as the most notable birthday today is EPCOT, my photo tribute will be primarily EPCOT orientated, with some pictures of the Contemporary, Polynesian and Magic Kingdom added at the end.
Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all,
I was going through some old emails and I noticed one I had sent to myself before the California trip regarding some news... But of course I had forgot to report it! LOL!
Anyway, there is some new news this evening, so I thought I would report this old news and new news altogether :)
The Disney Parks Blog finally announced when the New Fantasyland would fully open (minus the Fairytale Hall and Mine Coaster - they are both coming a lot later) on December 6th this year! This means that the new character features should be open by then too, including the new Enchanted Tales with Belle (replacement for Storytime with Belle), Pete's Silly Side Show (which I reported on earlier this week, and includes some cool new outfits for the VIPs!), Ariel's Grotto (which will see the return of Ariel in her true Mermaid form!) and also some new character appearances! We have heard that Gaston and Beast will start greeting guests in the New Fantasyland, as of course it will be heavily themed towards their home village.
We have also heard "someone" will move from EPCOT to Magic Kingdom. My theory is that this is Beast. He is a difficult character to cast, and thus having him two places would be awkward. So, although I could be wrong, the EPCOT character that is moving, in my opinion, will probably be Beast.
On top of that, because of the fact Donald and Goofy will now appear in the new Circus area in new outfits, they will no longer both meet in Frontierland. I have heard that Chip and Dale will be leaving Tomorrowland and will appear in Frontierland instead. This will leave Stitch and Buzz in Tomorrowland.
Overall this means we are gaining Gaston to the regualr character line-up at the Magic Kingdom.
For Mickey's Not So Scary in the Magic Kingdom, Panchito on our forum reported that Phineas and Ferb may appear in Town Square. Their addition could mean the loss of Rafiki and Timon in Adventureland.
At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Agent P is now strongly rumoured to start appearing in the Fall. If we hear more we'll report it!
Over at Disneyland Paris, you may recall that I had mentioned a while ago that Duffy had been sidelined in favour of more popular characters during quieter hours. Well, now it appears that he has been taken off the times guides altogether. The new one for this week completes omits his location on Main Street. We still hear he will be around for Halloween Season though in a special costume.
Also at DLP, a while ago I had heard that the Cowboy Cookout was returning to a regular restaurant from the start of November. User Frollo on our Forum now reports that he has heard this will be from the start of October. So, say goodbye to the the most peculiar tea party in the Wild West! (For those of you who aren't aware, Cowboy Cookout was an amazing counter service restaurant at DLP in Frontierland. About 3 years ago they stopped the regualr operation of the venue and added a "Tea Party with Disney Characters". A tea party with Woody, Jessie and the VIPs in their Western gear, in Frontierland. It was a n odd concept, but one which was very well received, reasonably priced, and offered good food).
I actually look forward to it returning as a counter service restaurant, despite being a huge character fan. It is more fitting that such a grand restaurant fulfil it's true potential.
That isn't all this week's news - check my post from two days ago, too, for some other relevant things!
Ok, I think that's all for now. Please remember that everything is rumour or speculation until confirmed by Disney. We try to be as accurate as possible, but s with everything, things can change!
Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all!
Wow it has been a crazy few weeks for us, but things are finally settling down, and I can catch up on all the character news in the world! Ok, so we might be a little late on some of this, but it's good to have it all in one place, and who knows - you may have missed something!
So, first up California.
The Disney Parks Blog revealed a few things about the new Cars Land, and some coming entertainment offerings.
Big Red and DJ, both characters from the popular movie series will debut on June 15th - Cars Land official opening date - in two new unique shows.
All the details can be found here on the Parks Blog. We can't wait to see these this summer!
Across the Esplanade, Disneyland surprised us all by announcing that they will be adding a new weekend entertainment to the Ranch area of Frontierland. It sounds like there could be some really awesome things going on there, with some rarer characters too, such as the Country Bears, Clara Cluck, Clarabelle and Horace - as well as Mickey and the gang in special themed outfits!
We're not sure that this will still be there when we go in the late summer, but we hope it is, as it sounds really neat!
MiceAge king, Al Lutz reported that the new Fantasy Faire, which replaces the Carnation Gardens (which closed this past week), will feature a daytime show which will rotate between the different princesses, and a special new meet 'n' greet area. Apparently the new meet 'n' greet rooms will be better than the new WDW versions which are going in to the Snow White attraction's space, which doesn't surprise me to be honest!
Over in Tokyo, they are gearing up for a summer of fun, and the Disney Parks Blog (in an unusual move) released some details about some of their character filled events.
There are a few different festivals and celebrations going on, which includes all your favourite pals in some neat outfits. Sadly I think we'll probably miss these when we go, but if you are able to get there we'd love to see your pics on the Forums!
The Parks Blog ALSO announced information regarding Tokyo's 30th Anniversary, which is coming up next April. The new parade will be titled Happiness is Here, and will replace the current day time parade, Jubilation (which incidentally is just four years old right now!). Tokyo sure do like to get through new parades! You can find a link to the official OLC Press Release on the Forum here.
Over in Walt Disney World, Princess Merida has been making surprise appearances ahead of her grand debut. She has been spotted by fans in EPCOT this week. Our fans here at Character Central have posted some awesome pictures to this thread here on our Forum, so be sure to check those out!
Finally, WDW have announced their dates for this years Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween and Very Merry Christmas Parties.
Check out all the dates and prices here for Halloween, and here for Christmas!
We attended Halloween last year and were really happy to see some great additions such as Gaston to the line-up. We can't attend this year due to other plans (how about Tokyo and Hong Kong for Halloween instead?! ;) ), but we look forward to hearing which villains might show up this year!
If you posted to our forums in the last month, be sure to check out the results of our competition that was held for our forum users!
Ok, that's all for now!
Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all, The last week or so has been fairly quiet overall (again) for character news, but I have the following to share. Not character related, but Disneyland Paris have now launched an official fan survey, where you can give quite in-depth feedback. There is a section on there to mention websites that you frequent for all you DLP news and information needs - so Jon and I would be eternally grateful if you would list us! Staying with Disneyland Paris, and after months of speculation, and nearly happening (I mentioned this back in June I think), Disney's Stars 'n' Cars has finally dropped the show part of the show/parade at the Studios. It has always been a bit of a struggle for them to make it work feasibly, ensuring everyone can see the show and the parade, and so now I guess they finally gave up trying. With the limited space and many disappointed guests who cannot get to the show part in time enough to get a good space, a straight out parade seems the most logical option. Of course, they do now need to beef it up a bit with some more characters or performers along the parade route, but we'll see what happens... Earlier in the year, when I was discussing the upcoming changes to the Once Upon a Dream Parade in DLP, I mentioned that the Dreams of Power (Villains) float would be dropped. Although this is still the case, we have heard that it will be back for Halloween next year, implying maybe that DLP are going to make a return to some special Halloween additions to the Parade, which were dropped for the first time this year, with much uproar from the fans. Maybe they learned their lesson? Be sure to check out the latest instalment of my Grand Circle Tour of DLP which of course includes some character encounters, and stay tuned for the next part coming this week. Finally for Paris, construction on Mickey's new meet 'n' greet location at the former Fantasy Festival Stage has begun, and you can check out my special report on it here. Discover the wonder and magic of this new location in Fantasyland! Jumping across the pond now to Florida, and I realise I'm a bit late on this one, but the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties have started in Florida, and as expected, no-one really special has showed up. Although Phineas and Ferb are appearing in Christmas hats and scarves, which is a nice addition to their usual costumes (they normally meet at DHS in the daytime). Also in Florida, Holidays Around the World started this week at EPCOT, and saw the return of many favourite characters including Father Christmas and Nowell the Lumberjack. Florida has also had some sort of divine inspiration this last week or two, and our friends on the ground have been reporting some cool random appearances, including Li Shang in China (who will be back on December 1st - so go check him out!) and John Smith. Ther have been some others too, but they were the most exciting ones! Over in California, Loren posted his latest report, and includes some of the character related Holiday happenigs there. Finally, Hong Kong Disneyland opened it's brand new Toy Story Land, and Woody, Jessie and the Green Army Men are reported to now be appearing regularly. Ok I think that's all for now. Nothing extraordinary, but good to catch up nonetheless! Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all, To begin with today, Walt Disney World are going to be hosting a series of DVC promotional events, and characters will be present! More information can be found on the Forum here. Staying in WDW, for the 4th of July the patriotic Mickey, Goofy and Donald as seen in previous years are set to make appearances at the American Adventure. Jumping across the world to Hong Kong, and we have heard that the Glow in the Dark Halloween parade will be returning once again. It looks really neat, and we hope we can see it some day! The park runs it during the evenings of October as an additional parade, without having to buy special tickets (unlike the US parks). Staying with Halloween, and flying back to the US, Disneyland Resort today put their Mickey's Halloween Treat tickets on general sale. We already have ours (Loren booked them when they went on sale to AP holders!), and will be attending two in mid-October - and we can't wait! It will be our first time to Halloween in California (having done Paris and Florida multiple times the last few years). Finally in Paris, I heard from a friend that Darth Vader and Chewbacca are going to be making appearances again throughout the summer as part of the Magical Moments Festival. They previously appeared for the last three months of last year, but disappeared in January. Ok, that's all for now, Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all, Disneyland Paris yesterday had it's premier showing of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie (not the French premier though). Disney Central Plaza posted to their Facebook page a photo of Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones meeting Guests at the cinema in Disney Village! There is some conflict of information as to whether these were real or not, but whether these characters were provided by Disney, or by the cinema, they were certainly very convincing, and were on Disney property for a Disney movie premier! In our eyes that makes them characters, but take a look and make your own judgement. Let me know what you think by hitting the Discuss button at the end of this post. I have also just literally heard from an inside source that Café Mickey in Disney Village, sadly, is no longer offering random characters at the meals! From now on it is only the Fab 5 and friends! This is quite a shame, as this was one of Disney best Character meal experiences around, and you never knew who you would get! Loren posted his latest Character Updates to the Character Central Forum. Jon also posted to the forum that a user on MiceChat heard that Phineas and Ferb would be coming to Disney California Adventure at the start of June! Of course the biggest news was from Florida where the D23 event came to a spectacular finish. None other than Dreamfinder and Figment made a surprise, and much welcomed appearance on stage. Check out the video Jon posted in the Forum here. Staying with Florida, I heard that Rapunzel and Flynn made a random appearance at International Gateway in EPCOT, and Tinker Bell is now greeting alone in the temporary Fairy Garden near Mouse Gear. She has six set times with no friends joining her. This is a massive come down from the glory days of her appearing from open to close with two other friends in Pixie Hollow in the Magic Kingdom. The lines get far too long, and she is way too popular to only have six half hour slots per day. Hopefully when she moves back to Adventureland, things will be restored to order. Don't forget to check out the latest Character of the Week, and vote for next week's star. Ok, that's all for now, Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all,
So after a slow week for character news, I now have quite a
lot to tell you!
First off Disneyland Paris has redesigned Jack Sparrow’s
costume, and he is due to start appearing in his updated gear very soon, to
coincide with the new movie. He already wears his new outfit in California,
where the film had its premiere last week. [ Read More... ] |
|
|
|
Hi all, Over on the forum Jon posted a video of the new night time mini parade at Tokyo Disneyland, called Nightfall Glow Parade. The idea of it has two purposes. It is currently filling the gap between now and when the revised version of Dreamlights launches, and when that does launch, this new mini parade will be the Park's "Rainy Day" version. If there is enough rainfall in one night to warrant cancelling Dreamlights, this new parade has been specially designed to cope with the wet conditions - albeit in a cut down format. I have to say that as short as it is, it looks amazing, and to be honest if they decided to make a whole new night time parade for any of the parks using the same technology I would not complain! The "light up panels" effect and the smooth, cleaner more defined lines and image of the floats makes it look modern and yet magical at the same time. Well done Tokyo Disneyland! Also over on the forum Jon posted the meeting times of the upcoming PIXAR Weekend at EPCOT. Check it out now to plan your fun filled character hunting weekend! Finally, staying with EPCOT, we have heard from a Character attendant friend of ours that for the time being the Fairies are to stay in EPCOT past the end of Flower and Garden Festival, and not move back to the Magic Kingdom. Ok, that's all for now, Dan. |
|
|
|
Hi all,
When I looked at my calendar this week I totally missed the fact that it had been Disney's Hollywood Studios birthday, so I apologise for this late post! Hollywood Studios opened this week in 1989.
Also, today is Norway at EPCOT's birthday, opening in 1988.
Here are two images from Hollywood Studios to celebrate, followed by two Norway ones :) [ Read More... ] |
|
|
|
Hi all,
I have some exclusive news for you all!
I have been told by a friend and good inside source of mine that rumours within Disney suggest that a brand new villain will replace Frollo at Disneyland Paris this year for their Halloween season. [ Read More... ] |
|