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On this day in 2001, Disney's California Adventure Park (now simply Disney California Adventure) was opened for the first time to the public.
Throughout the years it has undergone some extreme changes, which culminated in it's grand re-launch last summer.
Now, with Cars Land, Buena Vista Street and the amazing entertainment and characters that they have in DCA, it really is a fantastic Disney Park and one I am sure Walt would be proud to have facing his beloved Disneyland.
You can check out our dedicated DCA page here, and discover all of it's shows, attractions, restaurants, stores and more!
Of course, we are going to celebrate in Character Central style with a photo cavalcade! [ Read More... ] |
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 | Happy 73rd Birthday Pinocchio! | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, February 7, 2013 4:04:07 AM |
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Today is the 73rd anniversary of the premiere of Walt Disney's classic animated feature, Pinocchio (1940).
Pinocchio has become synonymous with dreams and wishes for generations. Pinocchio's dream of becoming a real boy, and having to learn to be good and honest along the way to achieve his dream, has driven the inspiration of millions. The main song from the movie is considered one of Disney's most treasured pieces. "When You Wish Upon a Star" has been used time and again to convey the message of dreaming and wishes, in many Disney parades, shows and elsewhere.
Walt Disney's Pinocchio is a timeless classic, and will no doubt inspire many more generations to come.
Here to celebrate are all of the characters from the movie, in a picture cavalcade (as per our usual Character Central style!).
Happy 73rd birthday Pinocchio, Jiminy and all the family!
Dan. |
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 | Happy 60th Birthday Peter Pan! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, February 5, 2013 12:23:15 PM |
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| Today is the 60th anniversary of the premier of Walt Disney's animated classic, Peter Pan (1953).
To never grow up, and to remain youthful forever is a dream that people have had for centuries. The ideal was captured in Sir James Barrie's early 20th century plays so perfectly that it still captivates new audiences today.
So, here's a collection of pictures of our adventures with Peter, Wendy and all the Neverland inhabitants at the Disney Parks throughout the years.
Happy 60th Birthday Peter Pan, Wendy and the entire of Neverland! May you never grow up!
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Hello everyone!
WELCOME TO THE BRAND NEW VERSION OF THIS SITE!
We are so pleased and excited to FINALLY be able to share it with you, after a long update process.
It has taken us a very long time to bring this to you, and we really hope it was worth it!
There are some fantastic new features built into this new site, which we really hope you will love!
If you encounter any problems with the new site, please let us know.
I will make a fuller update later, as I want to showcase some of the new site features, but for now I'll let you go and explore! Have fun everyone!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Sorry this has taken me a bit longer than I had anticipated, but of course life gets in the way! Anyway, here we are at part two of my Christmas trip report!
You can check out part one here, which was all about Disneyland Park.
Before we move on to the hotels and Disney California Adventure, there are a few additional things that I wanted to mention for Disneyland.
We were sad that this year Disneyland had axed the reindeer that used to feature at the ranch. In the past they had featured at Santa's Reindeer Round-up, which this year became the Jingle Jangle Jamboree. Overall this was a positive move, as the characters were still on Main Street, and Santa was still at the ranch, but additionally there were more Christmas characters at the ranch too. Besides losing the reindeer, Santa used to also appear after Christmas in a "post-Christmas" outfit, since Christmas is over. This year though, they decided that Santa would not appear. Instead, what they did was change Mickey and Minnie's outfits for after Christmas. Before Christmas they wore traditional, almost Victorian wear, after Christmas they sported neat Santa and Mrs Claus outfits. So, overall not a bad change. No Santa, but some really cute outfits.
One really annoying thing we discovered also, is that Disneyland are REALLY fussy about the weather. We travel a lot to all the parks, especially Florida and Paris, and the rain, and even snow in DLP, doesn't seem to affect things too much unless it's really serious. At DL though, the second there was the slightest inkling of some small drops from the sky, that was it. Ranch closed, characters cancelled. I am all for safety, but honestly, if you had seen the way they over reacted, it was ridiculous.
Similarly on the Santa situation, Santa at DCA disappeared after Christmas too, and did not return like in the past (we'll come to him shortly though).
While we're still at Disneyland, although not Christmas related, we did get to meet Ralph and Vanellope from the new Wreck-It-Ralph movie, which was neat.
We also, for the first time, had dinner at the Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. We had intended to eat here in the past, but for one reason or another, it had never happened.
I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The live entertainment were good, and while they normally have a band there, they were especially festive for the season. Oh, and make sure you order the dessert! (I think it was called a S'mores Bake, or something)...
Something randomly that I thought of also, regarding "snow". At Walt Disney World, during the Christmas parade when it is travelling down Main Street, it snows. At Disneyland Paris, during the Christmas Cavalcade, and at intervals throughout the day, everyday, it snows. So, I don't understand why Disneyland only snowed at night during the Castle Lighting or the Christmas fireworks. I realise this shouldn't bug me too much, but would it have killed them to have it snow when Santa was heading down Main Street atop his sleigh? Just a thought.
One last thing before we head to the hotels, Downtown Disney and finally DCA, is about some things we heard while in DL.
On many - far TOO many - occasions this trip we heard things like "because Florida say no", "because Florida don't allow it", and so on. It seems that gradually WDW are trying to somehow cripple everything that DL do. Every time we asked why something had changed, why something wasn't as nice or good any more, why something had to be cancelled - you name it - the answer was that Florida didn't like it. Maybe now that Meg Crofton is being inched out the door, things might change a little, but only time will tell.
The other thing we heard a few times is that to everyone's great sadness, it might appear that this would be the last real year for Christmas season as we know it in DL. Once again Florida want their way, and Christmas sounds like it might be ticketed, like it is at the Magic Kingdom. That would be a heavy loss indeed. I am glad we went this past year to experience it fully, before the magic is sold out to hard ticket events.
Ok, so that's enough about Disneyland, now we shall take a stroll through Downtown Disney and the resort hotels, before heading into DCA!
For the new Tinker Bell movie about the winter, and because it is winter, Downtown Disney featured an ice skating rink for the Christmas period. Other than that, and some regular decorations, there wasn't too much in the way of Christmas offerings at DTD, not that we saw at least.
At the resort hotels, before Christmas Day they had Santa greeting in the evenings in their main lobbies. We managed to meet Santa at the Grand Californian and DL Hotel, but not the Paradise Pier.
The hotels looked pretty with their large Christmas trees in their lobbies, and the restaurants had gingerbread houses made by the in-house chefs.
Ok, so we shall step in to Disney California Adventure now, and discover their festive line-up.
It was DCA's first Christmas with it's shiny new look. Buena Vista Street, Cars Land and all the other things that they had re-launched earlier in 2012 got another chance to shine with the decor and lights of Christmas.
The decorations on BVS and Cars Land were really nice, and felt appropriate and not too overdone. The rest of the park didn't have too many decorations, but here and there were some small things, that just added a nice touch.
There was some new entertainment offerings for Christmas too, including the really talented Community Bell Ringers.
The other regular park bands played seasonal tunes, too, and the Phineas and Ferb mini-show had a small Christmas overlay.
Of course there were all the normal things that you would expect for the holidays, such as treats and merchandise. Some of the DCA Christmas merchandise was actually really nice.
Over at Hollywood Land, they had switched the Muppets 3D movie for the new Prep and Landing short film. We got to see it twice, which was good as we got to sit in the warm, and see a decent Disney movie in 3D for free!
One other main thing that they did, oddly though only on select days, was the Holiday Tree Lighting in Carthay Circle.
This little show in front of the large Christmas tree involved the characters, Citizens of Buena Vista Street and the Bell Ringers coming together and lighting the tree.
It was a pretty touch, but for some reason they didn't do it every night, and it ended on Christmas Eve, which is weird since they call the entire season Holiday Time (note the lack of actually being Christmas), and their "Holiday Time" runs until 6th January. The least they could have done is lit the tree on Christmas Day itself, but nope, it ended on Christmas Eve. Odd.
Now we come to characters at DCA for the Holidays.
On Buena Vista Street, Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale all had festive alterations to their BVS outfits. Milly/Molly the Messenger, Phi Phi the Photographer and Donna the Dog Lady got a few small additions too.
Over in Cars Land Tow Mater had a large Santa hat on (but not McQueen though), and at Paradise Pier Donald and Duffy had Christmas clothes too.
Of course no Christmas would be complete without Santa, and he was available up until Christmas Eve at Elias and Co, in a traditional America department store setting, along with some Elf helpers.
Lastly we come to New Year's Eve. We had decided that our best option would probably be to stay over at DCA because, honestly, we had experienced Disneyland on busy days, and that was bad enough. Add New Year into the equation and you get a whole other level of insanity! DCA provides larger open areas, wider walkways and generally less intensity of craziness than DL park (generally, not always!).
We actually ended up making the right decision, because really, honestly, compared to what DL Park had been the few days leading up to New Year, DCA was a BREEZE. We were pleasantly surprised how quiet it was. We wandered around and checked out the special New Year entertainment, which consisted of three bands. One country rock in Cars Land, and two jazz (one on BVS and the other in Paradise Pier). I'm not a fan of jazz and found them quite dull, especially the one on BVS, but that's just me.
I think that overall the bands and entertainment for New Year's Eve could have been a bit better, but the best was yet to come!
For the turn of the year there was a breathtaking spectacular on Paradise Bay, with lasers, fireworks, fountains, music and an energy that really brought the park to a roaring climax, before they followed it up with a full presentation of World of Color.
Over at Disneyland they would never been able to achieve what they did at DCA simply because of the setting, surroundings and size. DL wouldn't have the fountains, and probably no-where near as many lasers, if any (has anyone ever seen lasers used in DL for spectaculars? Let me know!).
If we are ever back at DLR for New Year we would definitely chose DCA again. I can't imagine at the end of the night how horrendous the crowds must have been. Getting out of DCA was relatively easy. DL was at capacity, and we know from previous experience - on a non-New Year's event - that even if it gets remotely crowded the park grinds to a miserable halt. We made the right choice for sure!
Well, that concludes this report. We really enjoyed Christmas ("Holiday Time") at Disneyland Resort, and definitely recommend it. We just hope that they continue to add things to the season, and they manage to stave off Florida's advances regarding the ticketed Christmas!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Not really anything too exciting sadly this week, but just a few updates regarding Limited Time Magic,the new Fantasy Faire and Valentine's Day.
As Long Lost Friends Week at the Magic Kingdom draws to a close, we heard that it has been quite a success, and that WDW are now seriously considering more events for later this year, which would be really great! Once we hear more, we'll report it of course, but so far we heard it suggested that there could be a voting system like there was for Character Fan Days at DL last year.
This week's Lost Friends line-up consisted of the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, Scrooge McDuck, Ludwig von Drake, Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Pinocchio, Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket (don't think I missed any!).
My only problem with an otherwise really neat week, is that some of those aren't so much "long lost" as they are just harder to find - especially the Pinocchio family. Long Lost to me would be characters that have not literally been seen in years. I guess we can't have everything! I hope that their next round - when ever they decide to do it - is just as well set up, and has even better characters!
Over at Disneyland, their Limited stuff continues with the Horseshoe running until the start of February, and the Bayou Bash with the Princess and the Frog gang.
Sadly, the next offering for this coming week is nowhere near as exciting, and is instead a vote on next years merchandise logo. I try to stay positive overall normally, with balanced arguments and seeing both side, but I have to admit, I'm at a loss with this one. In the past they wouldn't have thought twice about just asking that sort of thing on Facebook or the Parks Blog anyway, so why now make it a "limited time opportunity?" Did I miss something?
Anyway, later this year we know that they plan to hold a Villains dance party event in WDW, and at Valentine's both US Resorts will feature a week long celebration with all the Princesses and their Princes.
Also, in WDW we know that the 4th July will be celebrated all week long with patriotic characters and the like, instead of just on the day, as in the past. So there are definitely some good things to come, but this week is certainly the lamest attempt so far!
Speaking of Valentine's, you may recall that earlier this week I revealed some details exclusively here on the blog about Disneyland Paris's happenings this year. Now, in addition I have discovered that the character meet 'n' greets (click the link to see details) will extend through the weekend, making Valentine's a four day event this year! The cavalcade will remain exclusively for the 14th though, sadly.
We will be there for the entire 4 days, so be rest assured we'll be updating live from the parks on Twitter and Facebook!
Jumping back to Disneyland, and someone on the DIS posted some new details about how the new Fantasy Faire will be set up. I can't guarantee the accuracy of the information of course, but it does sound like it will be quite good once finished! Nearly every Princess will be represented and new character based entertainment will be in the line up. We look forward to seeing it in May!
Finally for the parks, and actually not a Disney park for once! As you probably know, we aren't just Disney Character fans, and we do visit other parks, including the Universal ones (which we LOVE incidentally!). Technically this site is actually Character Central, meaning we cover all characters where possible, and we do have dedicated sections for non-Disney Parks. Anyway, my point was going to be that we have been adding a bunch of characters from other parks to the site increasingly often, and two we added recently were Bumblebee and Optimus Prime (Transformers) at Universal Studios Hollywood. We now know that just in the last few weeks Universal added Megatron to their line up! I thought this was really cool, and worth mentioning, as I know a lot of our fans out there also love similar things to us! We look forward to meeting him some time!
Some brief website updates now. I have been adding some new Disney Characters also, and the latest ones can be easily seen on the Recently Added list in the panel to the left of this article.
We are also working really hard to get all the character meeting information up to date across the site, though this is a massive task! I have also been updating location information, descriptions and guidebook information, as well as giving many pages brand new images. It's hard work, but we hope that you all appreciate our efforts.
We are really hoping that VERY Soon the new version of the website will be launched, and we can assure you, you will all LOVE it!
Finally, although we are now three weeks into the New Year, I thought if any of you had missed it, you might still want to check out my EPIC Year in Review for 2012. Be warned though, it is HUGE and you need some time to be able to read the whole thing! There are HUNDREDS of pictures, so you might want to make sure you're at a good computer before hitting the link!
Ok, I think that is all for now. You can discuss anything mentioned here by clicking the blue title bar above, and then scrolling down to Discuss, to leave comments on our forum.
Dan. |
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 | Happy Blue Monday everyone! | |
| DisneyDan
Monday, January 21, 2013 2:32:01 AM |
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Today is recognised as being the most depressing day of the year, and is dubbed "Blue Monday".
There is one Disney character who probably beats them all for being the most down-trodden and sad, and that's poor Eeyore.
Why not show him some love and check out his dedicated page here at Character Central.
Here's some of our most saddest pictures of Eeyore, which will definitely make you want to grab some tissues!
Finally, there is one at the end, that shows in Eeyore in a more "excited" state, just to show that even the most melancholy of us can have a "spring" in our step sometimes!
And finally...
Happy Blue Monday everyone!
Dan. |
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.jpg) | Happy Penguin Awareness Day! | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, January 20, 2013 12:32:11 PM |
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Today, Sunday 20th January, is Penguin Awareness Day, and there are some very special Disney friends who wanted to make you aware of their cause!
Happy Penguin Awareness Day everyone!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well on this very wintry day!
I have heard from a couple of different inside sources some information about Disneyland Paris's Valentine's Day offerings this year, which I thought I would share with you all!
In the past, Disneyland Paris has had some characters, and a couple of years ago they even had a cute pre-parade. Well, after not really doing anything last year, this year they seem to have stepped up their game again! Probably to compete with the Valentine's Limited Time Magic in the US!
Anyway, this is everything that I have heard so far, that I am willing to tell you! (I can't ruin all the surprises after all!)
"Be My Valentine" will run just for the day of the 14th February, which is a Thursday this year.
I have heard that there will be some sort of cavalcade/pre-parade. It might run a couple of times that day.
Marie and Duffy will be in Town Square. Duffy might have a cute new outfit exclusively for Valentine's! The first time he will ever have one at any Disney Park!
Various rare and interesting Disney "couples" will appear all over the park. These romantic couples will greet fans throughout the day, and will be ones that cannot normally be found.
Duffy and Marie will have set times throughout the day, but the other characters are more of a "pop up surprise", with no set (or at least released) schedule.
We are so excited for these events, and can't wait to be there to experience it all! Just three and a half weeks to go! We'll be there Tweeting live from the park that day, so be sure to look out for those updates! I'll remind you all nearer the time, of course.
Ok, I think that's all for now. I might post later today about some of the new Limited Time Magic events in the US that have been revealed, so stay tuned for that.
Stay warm everyone!
Dan. |
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 | 2012 - A Character Filled Year in Review | |
| DisneyDan
Saturday, January 12, 2013 5:25:29 AM |
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Hello everyone!
This is a little later than I had anticipated, but thought you would all appreciate it nonetheless.
Last year, 2012, was an incredible year for us. We set new records throughout the year for our trips, and we had some of our most magical adventures ever!
Let us start way back at the beginning, with the turn of the New Year, at Disneyland Paris.
Please be warned that this is a very picture heavy post, so before clicking to continue you should ensure you are in a position to load HUNDREDS of photos! [ Read More... ] |
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