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Hi all,
Sorry it has been a few days since our last update, but we have been very busy preparing for WDW and the Disney Cruise in just a couple of days time! Very exciting!
Anyway, here's what we have from the last few days...
In California, Loren has been busy keeping us updated with all the latest happenings.
Be sure to check out his updates from the Blue Bayou Bash and Valentine's Day here, the launch of the brand new DCA show 'Minnie's Fly Girls' here (which features talking Minnie!), and some cool news about atmosphere characters to appear on the new Buena Vista Street when it opens (think Citizens of Hollywood and Main Street at WDW!).
Loren also reported that there is a chance of some rare characters at DL's Leap Day event. I have to admit that I have been so busy I haven't had chance to check properly, but as far as I know, nothing else has been announced yet for DL, and everything so far is just rumour.
On the other hand, over in Florida, WDW announced the schedule for their Leap Day event. As was expected, there is nothing special about the announced programme. Extra character entertainment includes the Main Street Electrical Parade, extended times for the the regular character meet 'n' greets and the Frontierland Hoedown in the middle if the night.
We have heard form a few different sources across the Internet that some other random characters may appear. So far nothing seems to be confirmed but a few different websites are reporting everything from Jack Sparrow, the Seven Dwarfs and Mickey and Minnie in their PJs. Of course there is no official word on any of this, and anything can change last minute. Nobody will know for sure until they are in the park sadly!
We'd love to hear from you if you are going to be there. Let us know what characters you got to meet. Just hit the Discuss button at the bottom of this article (if you're on the article page)!
Disneyland Paris held their annual meeting, and they had a sneak preview of the brand new outfits for the VIPs during the 20th anniversary. You can check out the video here, which also includes the Three Good Fairies, the Blue Fairy and Merlin all dancing along to the brand new Parade song!
Finally, this video was released for DLP's 20th anniversary, and is a "brief history" of the Resort's 20 magical years. It includes of course some very interesting character moments!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan.
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Hi all,
Not much again on the news front, but let's take a look at some of the things I've heard this week regarding DLP's 20th Anniversary.
The new version of the Character Express, as expected will feature the VIPs in their new sorcerer outfits, but surprisingly the train will feature Mickey Mouse, as well as the increasingly uncommon Clarice!
In all previous incarnations of the train Mickey has not featured - he is the Big Cheese - you have to make the special effort to go meet him on Main Street (or soon at his new home in Fantasyland, which I'll come to in a minute...).
It is great to hear that they will be making scheduled stops in Central Plaza and the whole gang will be there, including Clarice, and we really look forward to seeing them all in April for the 20th Anniversary!
Above, I mentioned Mickey's meet 'n' greet. As we all know by now, he is moving into the former Fantasy Festival Stage at the back of Fantasyland. We now hear that this has been delayed a bit, and will not open right at the start of the 20th celebrations, but is more likely to be May (which means we'll see it for the first time in June).
DLR Today posted this article suggesting that the new version of the parade will begin soft openings from the 26th March! Of course this could mean that some elements are not yet complete, or may not even run the new version at all some days from then 'til official launch, but nonetheless, if you're there at the end of March you should be i nfor an early 20th treat!
Finally, you might want to check out my latest in my special article series revealing the top 10 places at the Disney Parks and Resorts for meeting characters.
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Welcome to this second in a special series of articles looking at the top 10 best places for meeting the Disney Characters at the Disney Parks and Resorts. Our first edition looked at Walt Disney World in Florida.
In this second edition we look at Disneyland Paris's top ten. Throughout the article you can click the links to the specific places mentioned to find more detailed information about meeting characters there. At the end of the top ten, be sure to check our links to other hints and tips pages on this site!
Ok, here we go! First up, Disneyland Parc...
1. Main Street USA - Main Street USA has some fantastic character meeting opportunities, which are both structured and random.
There are regularly scheduled appearances by Mickey and Duffy in Town Square at the Boarding House, and also Pooh up at Casey's Corner. Although, Mickey will soon be leaving for his new home in Fantasyland come the spring - but Duffy will remain.
Throughout the day in Town Square you can quite often find a random selection of pretty much any character! These appearances aren't always announced, but if they are there once, there is a good chance they'll be out again later in the day - good to know if you miss one of your favourites!
In the past we have seen everyone from Stitch, Piglet, King Louie, the Wonderland characters (any or all of them), Peter Pan, any combination of the Big 8 and more!
At Christmas, Santa Goofy makes regular appearances at the gazebo, and you can sometimes find Elves wandering around too!
Early in the morning you may find Mickey riding around Main Street on his Mousemobile, which can be fun to see.
2. Fantasyland - Fantasyland in Disneyland Paris is probably one of the best places to meet random and cool characters at Disneyland Paris, if not anywhere.
Let's start with the scheduled appearances. The Princesses meet all day at the Princess Pavilion, and can include Aurora, Belle, Tiana and any number of the other main Princesses.
Soon, Mickey will start greeting his fans at his new home at the Fantasyland Theatre. This is expected to be somewhat similar to the Town Square Theater experience at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.
Throughout the day, and unannounced, you can nearly always find any number of random characters throughout Fantasyland, but namely near the "it's a small world" gates. Character do roam though, so be sure to keep an eye out. Fantasyland in Paris is probably one of the best places at any Disney Park, in our experience. We have met everyone from Maleficent, the Pooh friends, Big 8/VIPs, Alice friends, Peter Pan gang, Chicken Little, Abby Mallard, Princes and Princesses, other random classic characters and many, many more. The list is quite extensive to say the least!
3. Adventureland - Adventureland, like Fantasyland and Main Street offers it's own fair share of cool characters.
Making regularly scheduled appearances (listed on the times guide), are normally Aladdin and friends, Jungle friends and Jack Sparrow.
Throughout the day you are also likely to encounter other random pals, such as the Big 8/VIPs in safari outfits, other random critter or jungle characters, or classics such as Peter Pan or Hook and Smee.
We love to wander through Adventureland to see who we can find, and some of the backdrops of the land make for some excellent pictures!
Be sure to check near Colonel Hathi's Pizza Outpost or near Adventureland Bazaar for the best selection of random characters.
Next we step into the Disneyland Hotel...
4. Inventions - Despite being a very high end restaurant, Inventions does offer probably the most diverse character dining experiences of any Disney Park or Resort. Based in the Main Street Lounge area of the fabulous Disneyland Hotel, and with stunning views over Disneyland Park, you cannot beat the setting. The food is amazing, and consists of a fantastic hot and cold buffet. The theming is superb, and the service very good.
Of course, we're here to talk about characters though! On any given evening, characters join guests for dinner, and can vary wildly from the Pooh friends, Villains, Big 8/VIPs to Launchpad, Clopin and others!
Aside from the dinner mentioned above, Inventions offers Sunday Brunch, usually with a theme of the week. We know for sure they have French, Italian, British, Hawaiian, Princess and African to name but a few. It isn't just the food that is "themed", the characters are too, and you'll find the VIPs in their special costumes (African, safari, royal - you name it!) to mark which ever Brunch it is, as well as characters from that theme too - so for the Italian Brunch they had the Pinocchio characters, for example. We LOVE these Brunches, and definitely recommend them as the character variety is excellent and the dining experience fabulous.
5. Disneyland Hotel Main Lobby & Main Street Lounge - I had to mention the other areas of the hotel separately as the restaurant experience is quite different (and is a pay service of course), but for those who just want to meet characters, you can stop by the Main Street Lounge at the Rotunda every morning from early 'til just before lunch, and meet a whole manner of friends. We love to check out this area every morning before venturing into the park, as it can vary wildly from day to day. From the VIPs, Pooh friends, White Rabbit, Friar Tuck and even Hyacinth Hippo, you never quite know who you'll find at the Rotunda!
Later in the day (check location for exact times), usually after lunch, there are some rotating sets of characters in the main lobby. These are a little less random than the Rotunda, but can again vary a lot, and include Princesses.
In the late afternoon, during weekday peak times, and weekends, there is something called a "Magical Moment" down in the lobby. A random selection of characters will come and sing and dance to some music, before taking the time to meet their fans. It is a cute ceremony, and just adds a touch more Disney magic to your day! As with everything else at DLP, these can be fairly random, and the theme can also change from day to day. We have seen everything from Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's and Alice in Wonderland versions of these musical happenings, so they are well worth checking out!
So as you can see, a days' character hunting at the Disneyland Hotel alone can be quite exciting!
Now it's off to the Walt Disney Studios Parc...
6. Toon Studio - Toon Studio in Walt Disney Studios offers a random variety of characters throughout the day as well as some scheduled ones. In the past we have encountered Jafar, Abu, Big 8/VIPs, Rafiki, Sulley, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and more. Check on the day of your visit to see who is about as it tends to change quite a lot!
7. Production Courtyard - Across the other side of the park from Toon Studio, in Production Courtyard, again you will often find a random selection of friends near the Stitch Live! attraction. In the past we have seen Stitch, Friar Tuck, Big 8/VIPs, Villains and more! Again, check on the day of your visit to see who is about as it tends to change quite a lot!
We leave the parks now, and head to Disney Village...
8. Café Mickey - I don't like to have two character dining options on here really, as I prefer to provide hints and tips for the Parks and other "free" areas (those already included in your vacation, not "extra"), but DLP is so diverse in it's character range - and that includes dining - that Café Mickey in Disney Village deserves a mention also.
In the past we have had some very interesting character meals at Café Mickey, and you should go there expecting the unexpected! The food is pretty good for the relatively cheap price as they offer a menu, so potentially you can choose the cheapest option and still sit there all night - unlike other character dining. The restaurant is very popular and busy, and can be very noisy also. There are always a multitude of birthdays going on, which causes mass eruptions of dancing and music from everybody - cast, guests and characters alike - as well as regular, lively, dance parties around the room, and on the furniture. It is not uncommon to see Goofy table dancing in Café Mickey - so be warned!
The variety of characters has admittedly become more static these days, but can still be quite varied (VIPs, Pooh pals, Stitch, Villains) as with the rest of DLP, and for the price and sheer experience of the crazy place, it is well worth it!
Finally, we take a look at some additional options for character hunting...
9. Seasonal Celebrations - Disneyland Paris loves to celebrate the various holidays throughout the year, even more so than the US Parks to be honest.
In February for the days surrounding Valentine's you can expect to find the VIPs in special outfits, and special Disney "couples" out and about, sometimes in special dress too.
In March, Disneyland Paris likes to celebrate both St David's Welsh Festival and St. Patrick's Day. The Big 8/VIPs can be found wearing special outfits, and special entertainment is offered.
Come October and Halloween Season again sees special outfits during the day, and special characters - namely the Disney Villains, including the hilarious Witch from Snow White (who in DLP is a face character. Trust me, she is amazing!).
Be sure to attend Disney's Halloween Party on the 31st of October. In recent years there have been some truly amazing characters including Hades, Philoctetes, Pain, and Panic, amongst other really rare ones!
From November through January Christmas Season brings a sprinkling of extra magic, and you can find the characters in special costumes, as well as seasonal characters such as elves, and Père Noël himself!
10. The other Disney Hotels - I tried to resist putting this in it's own category, as I had already mentioned the Disneyland Hotel, but I felt that the DL Hotel was in a league of it's own really, and so the other hotels also deserved a mention.
As with the Disneyland Hotel, you don't have to be a guest staying at any of the Hotels around Lake Disney to be able to experience some of the cool characters they have.
All of them offer the VIPs, but usually in themed outfits for that hotel (Hispanic/Mexican at the Santa Fe, Cowboy/Indian the Cheyenne etc), as well as a mix of other characters appropriate to that "destination" (maybe Jessie at the Santa Fe, or if you're VERY lucky Robin Hood at the Sequoia Lodge, etc).
Though the range may not be as diverse as elsewhere across the Resort, we do think that the morning hotel meet 'n' greets offer some nice interactions and different costumes - with relatively short lines - and so it is worth checking them out before park open.
I hope you all found that useful!
You might also want to check out our special Hints and Tips Blog Post here, and join our members discussion about hints and tips for meeting characters here on our Forum. Other users have posted some great tips, so be sure to check those out and maybe make your own contributions!
Stay tuned over the next few days for my next in this series which will be Disneyland Resort in California's Top 10!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
This week the Disney Parks Blog announced that there would again be Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations at Disneyland in California. Moving this year from the Festival Arena though, to near "it's a small world", the event will run from the 20th through to the 29th of January. It will feature Mulan, Mushu and other Disney Characters. We hope that it means there will be some neat costumes for the Characters. Loren will be there, and we look forward to his updates as usual! You can discuss this topic on our topic about it here on our forum.
Staying with Disneyland, the Parks Blog also announced a special "meet-up" event at California Adventure involving Jake and his pirate band from the hit show, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. RSVPs are opening next week apparently, so keep checking their blog for more information. Loren hopes he can attend - we hope he can too! Discuss this event on our forum topic about it here!
Be sure to check out Loren's weekly Character updates from Disneyland - the latest instalment is here.
Finally for California, I thought this was a cool picture from the Disney Parks Blog - the Tick Tock Croc in a tea cup! Now if only he would come out of hiding to meet his fans once again...
Jumping over to Paris now, and DLRP Today posted some more detailed concept art from the new version of the parade. I have to say it looks really neat, and we really look forward to seeing all the cool changes to it in April. From new characters (Fairies and Merlin to name some!), some brand new mini-floats (carriages for the Princesses), new costumes, new music and newly redesigned old floats (that look simply stunning!), the new version of the parade really looks set to be the fantastic boost that the day parade needed (despite our LOVE of Once Upon a Dream Parade!).
Finally, we have heard confirmation from numerous sources across the Internet that the Tarzan show will be returning for another season this year at Parc Disneyland.
Ok, that's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
A couple of small things today.
After quite some time of ambiguity over it's fate - and being pushed back some months - the Disney Parks Blog finally confirmed that the "Minnie's Fly Girls Charter Airlines" show starring Minnie Mouse will finally be coming to Disney California Adventure from February 17th.
Although not really Character related, Disneyland Paris released the following video for the upcoming 20th Anniversary. I am posting this here because even with the absence of Characters, this new night time show looks set to be nothing short of eye-poppingly spectacular! (Yes, I know I just invented a word!)
Jon and I will be there in April for the opening of the 20th Anniversary and cannot wait to see everything. Between Mickey's new meet 'n' greet location, the new version of the parade with it's newly redesigned floats, new music, new characters and new costumes, and this awesome new Dreams show, the 20th Anniversary will undoubtedly be the best year yet!
Finally, we have been working to add some more new content to the site over the last few days, as well as update some older pages that were a bit out of date. New content includes Stitch's Hawaiian Brunch at Inventions (DLP), Christmas at the Disneyland Hotel (DLP) which includes three events, Princess Aurora's Christmas Wish (DLP) and the Disney On Ice show, Dare to Dream, which includes several new characters to the site. So be sure to check them out! Some of the pages are still being worked on and so might not have many pictures yet, but rest assured they will be added to over time!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all,
A few small pieces of information for this week, but nothing major.
Christmas Season ended at the Parks and Resorts, and at Disneyland Paris, unusually, Mickey's Winter Wonderland - which previously was a winter show running through February - ended also.
This now makes Winter Wonderland more a Christmas show than a Winter one, which is a little sad since it added some nice seasonal entertainment through the boring months of January and February!
Along with that, Central Plaza Stage has begun being decommissioned, hence ending the Mickey's Magical Celebration show. Disney Dance Express also had it's last performance.
The Once Upon a Dream Parade lost the Imagination unit so it can be converted to the new Fairies unit, and the Romance 2 unit is soon to follow.
All these changes are in preparation for the 20th Anniversary celebration, which will begin on 1st April.
We can't wait to see everything they have planned once it is all up and running!
Staying with Paris, and of course with the end of Christmas Season the Characters revert back to regular outfits. Duffy had made his début in Paris during the Christmas period, and so now makes his official regular début on Main Street in his regular sailor outfit on a permanent basis, alongside Mickey Mouse. Incidentally, the new Mickey meet 'n' greet is taking shape apparently, with some fresh new colours being painted onto the former Fantasy Festival Stage building. Again, we look forward to seeing it completed!
Over in Florida, much to my sadness, Dug and Russell from UP have stopped meeting guests just a month after they were added at Animal Kingdom.
This week saw the half marathon and the full marathon in WDW, and there were some truly amazing characters there. We really want to do a marathon some year (when we eventually get time!), and if any year has spurred us on to want to do it, it was this year. We have so far seen pictures of Darkwing Duck, Ludwig Von Drake, the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, amongst others. There were many more of course, but they are the most amazing ones I have seen posted online so far. Oh what we wouldn't do to meet Darkwing and Ludwig!!
In California, Disneyland held their Three Kings Day celebration, and of course Loren was there to get all the best pictures for us! Check out his picture filled Forum post here.
Finally, I posted some photo filled entries that I thought I would just highlight, as they are worth a look.
You can check out Part One and Part Two of my Disneyland Paris Christmas and New Year Photo Trips Reports here and here respectively.
I also posted a great over view of all the fantastic Character related things we have done this year, in my Year in Review post which can be seen here.
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Welcome to part two of my photo trip report from our two trips to Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year.
Let us take a look now at the other really neat things that we did this Holiday Season! [ Read More... ] |
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Hi all!
A couple of days ago I promised to show you some of the cool things we had done on our most recent two trips to Disneyland Paris for Christmas and New Year.
I haven't had the time unfortunately to upload as many pictures as I would have liked yet, but have made a start, and so as not to keep you waiting any longer, have decided to make a "part one", with the pictures I have so far.
For the most part I'm sure you can figure out if something is special or not, so I won't make too many comments, just enjoy the photos! [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone! May I take this opportunity to formally wish everyone a Happy New Year. We were in Disneyland Paris (I mean, where else WOULD we be?!), and so we could only Tweet and Facebook our New Year's greeting to everyone, so this is the first chance I have had on the Blog. We had an amazing time as always in DLP, and those of you who follow our Facebook page may have seen our various updates about all the cool things they were doing for New Year. Our pictures will be coming in due course; in fact later tonight I might just upload a select few to begin with and make an additional blog post here so that you can all see a selection of some of the neat things we did this trip. We are now back of course though, and counting down, as always, to our next crazy adventure, which will be to WDW and our first Disney Cruise next month! Following the WDW trip we are also seeing the Phineas and Ferb Disney Live show. February will be quite the amazing month!
Following a pretty quiet December, there are a few small bits of news for this new year, so let's take a quick look. In WDW, we have heard whispers that Princess Merida and Sophia the First will make appearances once the new Disney/PIXAR film 'Brave' has been released. To make way for the removal of the gargantuan Central Plaza Stage at Disneyland Paris, the final performance of this years main Hub show, Mickey's Magical Celebration, will be on January 9th. Also ending earlier than the official Magical Moments end date, are the Green Army Men Meet 'n' Play and the Disney Dance Express. Both of these will also end on January 9th. Also ending early, but not until March 4th will be the parade's show stops, the Following the Leader with Peter Pan show and Rapunzel's meet 'n' greet location in Fantasyland. It is expected that Rapunzel will simply move into the new Princess Pavilion on a rotational basis, just like the rest of the princesses. Character locations that will be staying that were added in 2011 will be the Alice and Mad Hatter area in Fantasyland, the Jungle Rhythms gazebo in Adventureland, and Aladdin's Magic Lamp (also in Adventureland). As far as we know the characters will still appear at these locations. Now as for the parade itself, the Dreams of Imagination float (Mickey and Friends) will be removed for it's magical transformation also on January 9th, while the Dreams of Romance 2 float will be taken out for it's refurb from January 16th. Both will return in their new forms in time for the 20th Anniversary launch, on 1st April 2012. As we already know from a while back, Mickey and Friends will be put on the finale float and fairies and Merlin will now appear at the beginning. The princes and princesses displaced by Mickey and Friends taking over their float will either move to the Dreams of Romance 1 or be in new horse drawn carriages. We have a thread going on our Forum here, and if you scroll down, user Dragy recently posted a piece of artwork showing the new changes. Over in California, Loren tells us that this weekend Disneyland will be celebrating Three Kings Day by featuring some cool characters in the park! Check out his Forum post about it here. Loren also tells me that Disneyland continued it's tradition this year of having a mass ensemble of characters appear at park closing at Main Street Station on Christmas Eve. Ones that he tells me appeared include Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Max, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Chip n' Dale in their pyjamas and then there was Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Mulan, Mushu, Pocahontas, Meeko, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy, Perla, Fairy Godmother, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Belle, Beast, Snow White, Dopey, Woody, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, Jane, Terk, Lilo and Stitch (in a Santa costume!), Alice, the Tweedles and the Queen of Hearts. Finally, Character Central celebrated it's second birthday on January 1st, but of course we were away in DLP, so we missed being able to make a post about it. We just want to thank every single one of the 120,769 unique people that visited last year on at least 222,000 occasions! We really appreciate all your support and feedback. In the next few months up until April we are going to be working to make some awesome new additions and changes to the site. So stay tuned for those! So, Happy New Year everyone, and Happy 2nd Birthday Character Central! Dan. |
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 | Character Central Advent Calendar - 19th December | |
| PeterPanFan
Monday, December 19, 2011 4:50:49 PM |
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Sorry for missing a couple days; however, we were enjoying various Christmas activities at Disneyland Paris and were unable to post... so today you will get three doors! Today is the 19th of December, and so it is time to open the nineteenth door on our Character Central Advent Calendar! Click to see who is behind today's door!... [ Read More... ] |
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