Hi all,

The Character Central Team have arrived safely in Hong Kong, and have free WiFi at the hotel! So expect updates over the next few days while we are here!

We are not staying at Disneyland itself, but on Hong Kong Island.

We will be in the park from tomorrow, but for now here is a quick pic I snapped as we whizzed by the Disneyland Resort exit on the highway on the way to the hotel!

Dan.

Hi all,

Just to let you know that we will be away from our desks until next weekend as we will be in Hong Kong!

We will be leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow, arriving Sunday.

We will be spending next Monday and Wednesday in Hong Kong Disneyland!

Tuesday we do know our plans yet, but will be in HK, of course.

We arrive home again Thursday, but it will take us a day or two to get sorted out.

When I return I shall post the next Character of the Week (I know it is over due - but gives you more time to vote!).

Have a good week everyone!

The Character Central Team

Dan, Jon and Loren

Hi all,

As you know, yesterday was Disneyland's 56th Birthday. To celebrate the occasion at 2.30pm in Town Square they played Walt Disney's opening day speech, and a whole host of characters sprang from the backstage exits to fill the street with no less than 69 characters (that I could count!).

Our friend Mr Daps was there, and has all the pictures and video from the special moment here.

Hopefully some year we will go on the Birthday day itself and see a similar fantastical array of characters!

I did hear that also a short while later throughout the park, some of the characters came out to greet their fans. I saw pictures of the Princesses and Princes who were out near the Castle. Anyone catch anyone else? Hit the Discuss button to go to the forum and let us know!

Ok that's all for now,

Dan :)

Hi all,

I discovered that this week for some reason the stars of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show at Disneyland Paris have been doing a parade through Disney Village at about 6pm every day. Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley and their friends have all been there daily, riding real horses through the streets of the Village. I found this picture, but I did see more from a contact that I cannot post here. I can only assume this is a marketing thing - one of several attempts recently to try to boost numbers at the ailing show. Jon and I both personally like the show, having seen it twice now, but it has been there for many years, and I am sure most people would love to see a new show. But of course as always, it comes down to money. And with the 20th fast approaching, I'm sure DLP have more important things to worry about than Buffalo Bill.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Today we begin in Disneyland Paris. The summer season started three days ago, which meant the return of Disney's FantIllusion, their night time parade. Maleficent has been given a slight makeover, and now appears as face character. She had previously been a masked character in the parade. What was strange is that FantIllusion was the only place she appeared like that! Returning her to her regular self is definitely an improvement. Sadly I do not have any picutres to share, but if I come across any I will be sure to post them here.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Today we begin with Florida. The Disney Parks Blog has reported that the Fairies will return to the Magic Kingdom from July 28th at the Adventureland Veranda. We look forward to seeing how the new location looks and works out.

The big news in WDW this week of course was that Naveen and Flynn Rider left their permanent meet 'n' greets with their princesses. There has been much fan uproar about this, and user Shiva on the Forum has since reported (later down the thread) that WDW Guest Services replied to an email saying that Flynn will appear at the Halloween and Christmas Parties, and Naveen occasionally in the Parks with Tiana, but not full time. This is better than dropping them altogether I suppose!

Jon reported on the forum that there are no longer going to be any EMH meet 'n' greets any more either, which is really sad. It seems like WDW - especially the Magic Kingdom - are really scaling back o nthe characters. But then, the WDW management never cease to disappoint us character fans any more.

Jumping aboard the Cruise Line now, and the Disney Cruise Line Facebook page posted some really cute images of some of the Characters in Alaskan gear. You can see them here and here.

Over in Tokyo, Angel got a facelift (picture later down in the thread) and I have to say I'm not sure about her new look! Her head is smaller, which is a good thing since she was HUGE before when compared to Stitch, but she just doesn't look right now. I think she needs to go back to Jumba and have it tweaked slightly!

Across the pond in Paris, although they feature no real Disney Characters, the monster and ghoul filled Terrorific Nights at the Walt Disney Studios are set to return for a third year; and it has been announced that there will two parties this year, since it was so popular last year.

Finally, last week I said that the Star Wars characters were set to return to Discoveryland, and my source was correct - the new schedule was released today, and they are back on it!

Ok, that's all for now,

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.