 | So, here we are in 2022... |
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| DisneyDan
Thursday, March 3, 2022 9:29:33 AM |
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Hello everyone,
I know it's been a while again since I posted here, but as anyone who follows us on various social media platforms knows, we are still very much active and always having adventures at the parks. I do update the website with new locations and characters when I get chance, but I find social media an easier, more immediate to access platform these days than constantly blogging. The "stories" feature of Instagram and Facebook I use particularly heavily; almost daily in a lot of instances, in fact.
However, I thought I would give a more thoughtful update on life here in Central Florida, some of our more recent trips, and upcoming plans - and also what it has been like to enter into a third year of a global pandemic living close to the magic. I've included a lot of photos in between sections, which I hope you enjoy.
We were reluctant to travel for quite a while, even when things got more back to "normal" (I use that word very lightly - there is nothing "normal" about the ongoing situation in the world. I more refer to how businesses and countries continue to adapt and reopen in the face of either "getting on with it", or closing permanently). So, [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
Today I wanted to share with you all my personal thoughts on the upcoming 90s Nite at Disneyland park at the Disneyland Resort in California.
Since Disney announced the night, and subsequently put tickets on sale - which have since sold out - there has been much speculation online about what to expect from the event. I see a lot of people posting on social media about all sorts of crazy characters that they some how expect to appear, but honestly, I think we need to just be a little realistic. I, and I am sure many of you, would rather be surprised than disappointed.
First of all, I want to make it clear that while this is an opinion piece, I am not deliberately trying to be negative - I want to be objective and point out some key factors involved here.
First of all, this event is a four hour event that cost $99 per person. That's about what the Halloween parties cost. It should be repeated again that this is a four hour event, from 9pm until 1am.
For $99 it isn't going to be all out extravagance. You have to figure that some of that money will not go towards characters. Disney has said there will be merchandise and food offerings, as well as special fireworks and themed backdrops. There will also be a collectable Indiana Jones card, a free guidemap, a free fanny pack, and a free Disney Afternoon map. These things cost money to produce, and whilst merch and food items will be at an extra cost to guests, there is no guarantee to Disney anyone will buy them - the initial outlay for these items has to come from somewhere. They won't purely rely on sheer hope that someone will buy them. So, already we have money out of our ticket price for specially produced fireworks, the free items, food offerings and merch items.
Next, we come to [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
Pixar Fest is in full swing at Disneyland Resort in California, and we were there recently to check it out.
To begin, let's take a look at the decor that greets you as you walk from the hotels and parking, through Downtown Disney and the Esplanade.
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Hello everyone,
Last weekend John Smith and Meeko joined Pocahontas in Disneyland's Critter Country for a special surprise greeting. It was really cool to all three of them together - a sight that rarely ever happens.
I wanted to share with you all some photos from our encounter with them. Enjoy!
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Hello everyone,
It isn't often that extraordinary characters like the Blue Fairy just randomly appear at the parks, but for whatever reason, that exact thing happened this last week at Disneyland when the Blue Fairy made some surprise appearances over several days!
I thought it would be nice to share here some of our photos from the magical encounter. Enjoy!
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Hello everyone,
In my continued effort to catch up on my reports, today I am going to share with you my photos from our amazing experience at the Disneyland Resort Thanksgiving Banquet.
The Thanksgiving Banquet was held on Thanksgiving day, November 2017, at the Disneyland Hotel. The Banquet was held in one of the main ballrooms, and required pre-booking at least 60 days in advance.
The main reason for us wanting to attend this experience is because in previous years they have had some really neat characters. While we didn't get anyone super rare at this one, there was a really good number of characters in attendance, including many of our favourites.
The food was pretty good, and was buffet style. We did have a server who brought drinks and saw to any requests we had. The buffet food was pretty good, and while there wasn't anything amazing for vegetarians, there was enough for us to eat.
For the money we paid (and while I don't recall the exact cost right now, it was certainly less than $100 per person), it was exceptionally good value. The sheer number of characters and the amount of time we spent there (at least four hours!), and the quality and quantity of the food, made it well worth it. Regular character meals can easily cost upwards of $60 per person these days, and the fact there were 18 characters at this meal made it phenomenally good value.
My only complaint is that the character lines were long (you lined up, as opposed to them coming to you), and they rotated without guarantee who you would get - hence why we spent four hours there! It took us three attempts of standing in line to get Horace, which was a little frustrating. However, the backgrounds were really nice, and well themed for Thanksgiving/fall.
Since it was several months ago now, I won't say anything more - so please enjoy these photos!
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Hello everyone,
Earlier this week the Disney Parks Blog announced the Disneyland Resort's plans for Halloween Time this year, including dates for the popular Mickey's Halloween Party event.
The daytime activities at Disneyland park are anticipated to be the same, with Mickey and friends greeting in their Halloween costumes, Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, and the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay. For the most part, the Mickey's Halloween Party event at Disneyland park sounds very much the same as last year, with the return of the Frightfully Fun Parade, which features the Headless Horseman, the Halloween Screams fireworks, character greetings, and more. I'll come back to the party a little later, however, Disney California Adventure will be joining the spooky festivities with its own Halloween celebration, with two key additions. Buena Vista Street will be taken over by Oogie Boogie, and Cars Land will feature "Haul-O-Ween".
The images below were shared by the DPB:
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Hello everyone,
This week has been a particularly good week for character news, with lots coming out of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris.
Let's start with Tokyo Disney Resort, where last night they announced a brand new character to join Duffy and friends at Tokyo DisneySea - a bunny named StellaLou. [ Read More... ] |
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 | Disneyland, February 2017 - A Trip Report | |
| DisneyDan
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 10:41:27 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Last month I shared with you my report on our trip to Disneyland for AP Days and the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade. That report specifically focussed on those two things, can be found by clicking here.
In this second and final part of my trip report for our visit to Disneyland, I am going to share with you everything else that we managed to do in the whirlwind less-than-two-day adventure we had there!
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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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