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Today, 12th March 2014, is the 12th anniversary of the grand opening of Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris.
A lot has changed over the last 12 years, and the park has continued to grow into its own identity; a park filled with great shows, thrilling attractions and of course our favourite Disney character friends.
The park is not without its flaws though, and while many often claim that is lacks the attraction count of the other parks it does have 14 permanent attractions, 2 long running "permanent" shows, a parade, character greetings, and of course shops and restaurants. Of those 14 attractions and 2 shows, 5 are completely unique to Walt Disney Studios, and many of the others have a definite Parisian twist or alterations to them to make them "distinctly Disneyland Paris".
Later this year the park will be opening a brand new attraction, again that will be completely unique, which will utilise new technologies. "Ratatouille: L'Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy" will whisk guests into the world of Remy and Emile from Disney-PIXAR's Ratatouille, shrinking them down to size in a magnificent Parisian adventure! As well as the attraction, the park will gain a brand new restaurant and a new store, too.
We very much look forward to the next 12 years as the Walt Disney Studios continues to grow. It'll bring more depth and more storytelling to its lands, binding together the magical worlds of Disney and the wonders of movie world.
For this photo tribute, I have deliberately left out many character photos, as we nearly always post characters shots to the blog anyway. I thought the park deserved some attention for its 12th birthday, and so nearly everything you see below are non-character photos, but of course, I have thrown a few character ones in for good measure!
Happy 12th Anniversary Walt Disney Studios Park!
Here's to the future!
Dan.
If you're considering a trip to Disneyland Paris, you can check prices and availability on the official Disneyland Paris website. They have some great offers right now, including up to 30% off hotel and and park tickets, and half board meal plan!
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Hello everyone,
Today we finally have official confirmation from Tokyo Disney Resort that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who had been rumoured to start appearing for some time, will appear from the 2nd April at Tokyo DisneySea's Cape Cod area! This will be the first time ever that Walt Disney's original cartoon star will appear at a Disney Park, and hopefully paves the way for him to make future appearances around the world!
It is not known if he will remain after their spring festivities end, as at the moment he is only listed under the spring pages of the Japanese language website. We can only hope he will remain!
Other offerings this spring at Tokyo Disney Resort include a brand new Easter parade at Tokyo Disneyland, Mickey and Duffy's Spring Voyage at DisneySea which features three separate shows around the park's ports, and greetings with Duffy who will be wearing a special outfit.
Over in WDW, the Disney Parks Blog today announced that Anna and Elsa would be leaving Norway at EPCOT and moving to the Princess Fairytale Hall at the Magic Kingdom from 20th April. FastPass+ is expected to be available. Cinderella and Rapunzel should still be available in one room, but Anna and Elsa will be replacing Aurora and Snow White in the other. The Parks Blog have said that Anna and Elsa would only be greeting during the day, and in the evening other princesses shall visit, meaning that hopefully Snow White and Aurora will still be greeting at some point during any given day.
Finally, Disneyland Paris last week celebrated their annual Welsh St. David's Day festival, and this coming Monday (17th) will be celebrating the Irish St. Patrick's Day. The schedule of events will include character greetings with Mickey and Minnie in special Irish costumes, lucky (and rather mischievous!) Leprechauns roaming around Frontierland, a small dance show featuring Chip 'n' Dale in their Irish finest, and a pre-parade featuring the Disney characters in their special Irish clothes. The day will be topped off with special St. Patrick's Day fireworks over Disneyland Park.
Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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 | Time to Spring Forward! | |
| DisneyDan
Saturday, March 8, 2014 4:36:14 PM |
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To all our friends and fans in many parts of the world, tonight it's time to Spring Forward! Countries affected this evening include the USA, Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Bermuda, Greenland and Cuba!
Here to remind you are the perpetually late White Rabbit and the master of timekeeping, Cogsworth!
Dan. |
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 | Cafe Mickey at Disneyland Paris, A Review | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, March 2, 2014 7:27:39 AM |
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This week's dining review is of Disneyland Paris' character dining venue, Cafe Mickey.
Cafe Mickey is situated at the Lake Disney end of Disney Village, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We used to dine fairly regularly at Cafe Mickey when we were in Disneyland Paris, but since we discovered the wonders of the Inventions Sunday Brunch (click for my detailed review), we stopped going to Cafe Mickey. However, this past trip (February 2014), we decided that we should visit once again and see if anything had changed, improved or even gone down hill. With that, we made reservations for dinner at 9pm, once the park had closed one evening.
We did not have to wait long, and requested to sit upstairs, which they had no problem accommodating.
Having recently decided that we were going to be vegetarian, Jon and I found it a little difficult to chose from their menu, as there was unclear guidance on which dishes were suitable. We used our common sense though when choosing, and asked our server for confirmation of ingredients/vegetarian suitability before we ordered, and we ended up being ok with what we got. Our friends ordered meat dishes, and were equally satisfied with the regular menu for non-vegetarians, and soon we had ordered our staters and mains.
For our starters we were tempted to get one item each, but decided that we would share the garlic bread. When it came up we were very glad we did decide to share, as it was virtually a full sized pizza base with garlic butter on! The other members of our party ordered various different items, of which they had no complaints. I should also mention that you get fresh bread rolls on the table, and a decanter of water. Every item we tried or saw tasted and looked good. We had no complaints.
After our huge starters the main meals came up, and once again, I was pleasantly surprised. The meals were hot and fresh, and of a good size. Again, no member of our party had any problem. I ordered the four cheese pizza, and Jon had a tofu and pasta dish. Admittedly I enjoyed the pizza more, as I am not a tofu person, but it was good nonetheless.
Finally it was time for dessert, which by this point seemed like a real challenge! We each ordered something different, and I have to say they all were completely amazing. I had the tiramisu, and Jon had the Mickey cupcake. Our friends ordered different items, and all of us were happy with our choices.
Of course this would not be a character dining venue without the Disney Characters! During our meal we were greeted at our table by Mickey, Pluto, Goofy, Eeyore and Tigger. I understand that Minnie also makes appearances too, but she did not make around on this evening. I also know from our friends who have dined here more regularly, that the line-up on this evening is now standard, and rarely waivers from the ones we saw (plus Minnie).
I have to say that although the character variety has severely dropped since we used to come often (back in the day we would regularly see the likes of Frollo, Smee, Hook, Robin Hood and more), the character interactions were fantastic, and they did not at all seem tired from already having greeted guests all day in the park! Mickey and his friends sure had some stamina this evening! They all made it around more than once, and they were super friendly and gave lots of hugs. The interactions and experience we had more than made up for the drop in variety, and I am more than happy to have paid what we did to have those kinds of experiences.
We came away from Cafe Mickey positively buzzing, having had excellent food and great character interactions. We now have no problem in dining here again if the Brunch theme is not one we wish to do, or if we find ourselves wanting an extra character meal per trip. I think what helped was going later, after park closing, because a lot of people with younger children would have dined earlier. Going in at 9pm probably allowed us to have more quality time with the characters and food that was prepared with more care. By the time 10pm came around we were virtually the only ones still there, and we had the characters more or less to ourselves! I of course cannot guarantee that fact for everyone's visits, but I imagine that had we been downstairs in the main part right at 6pm when everyone wanted to dine, service would have been longer and the characters would have been more pressed for time. If you're a party of adults like we were, and you don't mind dining a bit later, I would highly recommend doing it the way we did.
Cafe Mickey does also offer lunch, and is the same menu as dinner. Breakfast is also served in two sittings, but is only available to Disney Hotel guests and Disneyland Paris partner hotel guests. Breakfast is advertised as being "American style" and consists of the standard DLP Hotel offerings such as croissants, plus hot food such as eggs, sausages, bacon and potatoes. It should also be noted that during breakfast you are likely to also get Chip and Dale greeting you. For some reason they only show up at breakfast at Cafe Mickey these days, and not at dinner.
Prices for lunch dinner can vary depending on what you order, but are upwards of around €20 per person for lunch and dinner main dishes. The drinks available for purchase are varied, and include wine, fruit juices and soft drinks. Birthday cakes can be arranged, and come at a significant extra cost (at least €25 for a cake that serves up to 8 people).
Breakfast is one set price for on site Disney Hotels guests, which I believe is around €14. The Davy Crockett Ranch and partner hotel guests pay a little more that that. You would have to check with Disney for confirmation.
Reservations are highly recommended at Cafe Mickey as it can be very popular. You can make reservations with any Disney Hotel concierge, any guest relations location at the theme parks, directly at the restaurant itself, or 60 days in advance over the telephone by calling +33 1 60 30 40 50. There is a stand and wait line, and in the past we haven't had a problem getting a table without a reservation by waiting, but just be aware you might have to wait a long time.
Annual Passholders get a maximum of 10% discount (as it's table service), and Shareholder Club members get 15% with a valid Club Card and ID.
You can leave your comments by clicking here, where you will be magically transported to our forum.
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Hot on the heels of the Marvel/Spider-Man news the last few days from Disneyland Paris, which I talked about yesterday, today the Disney Parks Blog announced that the Disneyland Resort would be hosting an Avengers half marathon from 14th - 16th November this year! The promotional video clearly states that Avengers characters and entertainment would be at the event, with the picture showing a cartoon of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, who have all previously featured as characters, but also now the Hulk! If the image is accurate then as far as we know right now, this will be the first time the Hulk will be featured as a character at the Disney Parks! There is of course the chance he may appear before then anyway, or he may not show up at all, but I am guessing they are going to be fairly accurate with their concept portrayal and who actually shows up. Very exciting news indeed!
EDIT: I just checked the official runDisney site, and it states "Join the Avengers team of Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Tony Stark for the Inaugural Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend." Could this mean that Black Widow and Hawkeye will come to Disneyland, too? It would be amazing if true!
Also, the blog site Disney and More posted yesterday that the new Hong Kong Disneyland nighttime parade, Paint the Night, that I had previously mentioned could be on its way to Disneyland for their 60th anniversary next year also! This would mean that, sadly, it would only be a Hong Kong exclusive for a few months before Disneyland get their own version. Although it is awesome that Disneyland could get a new night parade again, it is sad that they have to degrade the uniqueness of Hong Kong's efforts by copying it. Nonetheless, I'm sure it will be a welcomed addition to both resorts.
There has been a ton of news the last few days, so why not check out my previous blog posts for all the latest information. Links below.
Read here the news about Spider-Man at Disneyland Paris, Festival of Fantasy at WDW and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Read here the news about Star Wars Weekends at WDW, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Spring season at Disneyland Paris and parade changes at Hong Kong Disneyland.
That's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
This morning the Disney Parks Blog announced the official start date of their much anticipated brand new day parade, Festival of Fantasy. Sunday 9th March will be the first day of the new parade at the Magic Kingdom, which has replaced the former Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, which ran for many years in various forms. It is a huge relief to finally have a new parade and we look forward to seeing the full performance, and what surprises Disney haven't yet revealed once it steps out for the first time!
Over at Disneyland Paris the rumour mill was working overtime again today, and it has been posted across many French fan communities that Spider-Man is set to become the first Marvel character to appear at the resort, by the end of March! Spider-Man's location will apparently be at the former annual passport office next to the Blockbuster Cafe (which itself recently got a new Iron Man theme). It would be a really exciting addition to the park, and a great opportunity to break the Marvel universe into Disneyland Paris. I did some asking around, and was told that it is true, but of course anything can change, so I really hope it is, and that we see Spider-Man there by the end of March. If he is a success, then it could pave the way for more Marvel heroes to show up there.
Lots more rumours have been going around today about the appearance of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit at Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort, which I talked about in my news post yesterday. As with Spider-Man, I hope this isn't just a rumour that has gone wild, but instead based on some truth, and that Disneyland Paris and Tokyo get Oswald - we've been waiting a long time to finally welcome him to the Disney Character family!
Ok, that's everything for now. Have a great Monday everyone.
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
This week the Disney Parks Blog announced that the insanely popular Star Wars Weekend at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios would be extended to a fifth weekend, up from its normal four. In addition, there would be brand new nightly fireworks (during the weekends), similar to those seen last year at the May the Fourth event. Other Disney news sites are also reporting that there will be a new "experience" to replace the long running and very popular Hyperspace Hoopla. There is no word yet as to why they are doing this and what exactly Hoopla will be replaced with, but we can only hope it's as energetic and fun as Hoopla has been in the past few years. We'll be sad to see Hoopla go, but look forward to having some new entertainment, hopefully!
Across the Twitterverse and beyond, many people have now been talking about the strong possibility that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit will finally be allowed to step out of Toontown and join the Disney Characters at the Disney Parks, for the first time ever this spring! It has been suggested by many that he will start appearing during Disneyland Paris' and Tokyo Disney Resort's spring events. Of course, it could be a rumour that has just spiralled and grown, or there could be something in it, but I have a feeling, and talking to some people I know, that it could very well be true! I guess we shall see at the end of next month! Let's hope it is true!
Speaking of the new spring season at Disneyland Paris, although I had talked about this before, and other sites have also all been talking about it, I wanted to just mention here what we know so far, to give a roundup of what we can expect.
There will be a brand new cavalcade at Disneyland Park, featuring around thirty characters, some of them I'm told are "uncommon". It's strongly hinted that Thumper and Miss Bunny will come to Disneyland Paris for the first time (as well as Oswald, who I mentioned above). The cavalcade will utilise the former Casey Jr train from years gone by, along with three of the cars from Stars 'n' Cars (Walt Disney Studios Park's parade). The cars being taken out of Stars 'n' Cars are Mary Poppins and Bert, Snow White and Dopey and Sulley. The loss of three cars and five characters means that the parade will no longer be able to operate in its current capacity, and therefore plans are in the works to use the remaining cars for a special meet 'n' greet cavalcade. Details are sketchy right now, so we will have to wait until next month to see how it all works out.
As well as the parade changes for both parks, Disneyland Park is also expected to get some awesome decorations, musicians, street artists and there has even been talk of a small show on Main Street, but, that's still as yet unconfirmed.
As you would expect, there will also be some special meet 'n' greets at Disneyland Park, with our favourite characters in special outfits.
Of course, as I said, much as all this is currently unconfirmed. Admittedly, a lot has come from usually very reliable sources, and the odd thing about DLP is that rumours more often than not tend to turn out true! So let's hope all of this works out that way, too!
Staying with DLP, I want to draw you attention my extensive report I posted the other day that covered the new changes at the Disney Hotels and character greetings around the park. It's a sort of hybrid trip report and news report, but if you're planning a trip to DLP soon, it's well worth reading.
Finally we skip over to Hong Kong Disneyland, where the popular blog Disney and More revealed that the long running Glow in the Park Halloween Parade will sadly not return this year. Jon and I saw it several times in 2012 and really liked it. However, the park will be gaining a brand new nighttime parade, titled 'Disney Paint the Night' which will be a permanent addition. This of course is awesome, but I'm sure the Hong Kong fan community will miss not having a dedicated Halloween parade during the season.
Ok, I think that's everything for today,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
If you had been following our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or Tumblr this past weekend, you'll know that Jon and I were at Disneyland Paris (yes, again!) for the Valentine's weekend. While I do not make "trip reports" per se any more, I thought that this trip to DLP warranted some kind of round-up, especially since there have been some real positive changes there recently - as well as some not so positive ones! So, I'll be incorporating some recent news into my report as we go along.
First things first, hotels!
Disney's Hotel Cheyenne
We spent 5 days at the resort, staying on site at Disney's Hotel Cheyenne. Here's some photos I took of the Cheyenne during our stay.
Hotel Characters
For those of you who are not aware, the Disney Hotels at Disneyland Paris have always featured morning meet 'n' greets with the Disney Characters. Each of the seven Disney properties feature a mixture of the Mickey and Friends VIPs and other characters that fit the hotel theme. For example, the Sequoia Lodge, which is forest themed and along similar lines to Wilderness Lodge at WDW, features Minnie and Goofy in cute ranger outfits, as well as the Pooh characters (since they are from the 100 Acre Wood).
Last week, much to the absolute horror of the Disneyland Paris fan community, Disneyland Paris decided that from November (3rd I believe, but it is subject to change) that the hotel characters would be cut! There has since been a massive outcry, but Disney have responded by saying that they want to alleviate the (apparent) impact that the crowding in the hotel lobbies creates, and instead want to offer something new to guests at the theme parks in the morning. Instead, from November, hotel guests will be able to have some brand new interactions with the Disney Characters in Town Square at Disneyland Park during Extra Magic Hours (EMH). We have heard all sorts of rumours, including one that the characters will be wearing PJ's, and another that it'll be a unique experience where guests will be able to join the characters as they "prepare the park for opening". Of course, all these things are subject to change and/or cancellation. I guess we shall see come November. The other thing that came out of this is the uncertainty surrounding the availability of EMH to Annual Pass Dream holders. Up until now, Dream passholders have always been able to access EMH without having to stay at a Disney Hotel, but come November, this could potentially change. We have heard that this will not be the case and that AP holders will not lose this benefit, and I sincerely hope not, but I guess you never know.
I am incredibly sad that we will be losing hotel characters, regardless of what we get in exchange. The character meet 'n' greets at the hotels have been a big staple of an on site stay since, well, forever, and along with the cute, unique outfits they wear, it'll be a heavy loss indeed. Having said that, as of the moment, we have heard that guests staying in the Castle Club, Manhattan Club or Golden Forest Club at the Disneyland Hotel, Disney's Hotel New York and Disney's Sequoia Lodge will still have characters at their breakfasts, but again, this is subject to change, and is course limited to the guests who pay the premium of staying in those rooms.
Anyway, back on track and to this past trip, we made a point of ensuring that each morning we did the "hotel rounds" (as us and our character hunting friends like to call it) to ensure we got all the hotel characters before they disappear forever. We'll be doing the same in April and August when we are back in DLP, too.
This trip started on Valentine's Day itself, and true to DLP's form, they had some special character opportunities for the most romantic day of the year. At Disney's Hotel New York, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy were greeting guests in special outfits, and Pluto made an appearance in his normal collar, too.
At Disney's Hotel Cheyenne, Mickey and Minnie were greeting guests in special costumes also, but sadly we only got to see Mickey. There was also heart balloons and heart shaped chocolates being given out for free.
Throughout the rest of the trip we visited the hotels in the mornings, and tried to grab whatever pictures we could. Here are just some of the characters we saw, including one that I am incredibly happy to have finally got - Mickey wearing his Indian headdress! I am especially happy that he was wearing this during our trip, as we had tried so many times before, and now the hotel characters are leaving, was worried I would never get to see it!
Valentine's Day at the Disneyland Hotel
Valentine's festivities continued later in the day at the Disneyland Hotel, when Mickey and Minnie appeared in special Valentine's costumes alongside a very smart looking Goofy and Pluto at the hotel's afternoon Magical Moment, which was specially themed for the occasion (balloons and decorations accompanied a special soundtrack).
I want to point out that the Magical Moment has been another staple of the hotel character opportunities for a long time, and has often been a way of getting some really cool characters and characters wearing some very unique outfits. This will also be lost when the characters leave the hotels in November.
Later that evening there was a special meal at the hotel's California Grill restaurant, which featured the same characters as the Magical Moment.
I noticed that Goofy was also giving out special heart chocolates upstairs at the Castle Lounge, and had to get a picture...
Magical Moments
The Magical Moments for the rest of the trip weren't quite so exciting as the Valentine's Day one, but it's always nice to see who appears anyway. I was happy to see the White Rabbit and Mr. Penguin appear on two separate days, as I love them! On Sunday, Peter and Wendy also appeared, since they were at the Brunch (which we'll talk about shortly), and the Magical Moment is just downstairs in the lobby an hour later.
Queue Lines and Character Greetings at Disneyland Park
One thing that we have always loved about Disneyland Paris is the variety of different characters that can pop up in random locations across the parks. Sometimes, admittedly, they don't always fit the theme of the area, but generally speaking, in the past there has been an excellent number of characters. Sadly, more recently, that trend has been in decline. For as long as anyone can remember, DLP have also been notoriously bad at organisation when it comes to character greetings. There has never really been a queueing system, or any real enforcement of control or order when characters come out. It often makes what should be an enjoyable experience quite infuriating, and is something that all character fans have frequently complained about. That is all until recently, when randomly at the start of this new year, DLP started enforcing queue lines at most character locations across the parks! At once a huge sigh of relief swept through the fan community as our wishes were finally granted! No pushing or shoving, no more random people in your photos, and nice orderly lines where you be guaranteed to meet the characters!
All this of course comes at a price. The recent decline in more random characters seems to have been exemplified by the now orderly way of doing things. "Set locations" with set greeting times are now the normal thing, with the same characters appearing at those locations daily. Sound familiar? Sounds like how the US have done things for a long time, right? There are still some random characters, but no where near as many as there used to be.
I think it's very sad indeed that the cool characters that used to appear randomly have had to be sacrificed because guests at the parks cannot behave themselves! Perhaps if people had been more polite to start with, we'd still get a lot more random pop up characters?
Nonetheless, it was wonderful (and I mean, really wonderful) to finally be able to meet some of our favourite characters at the parks knowing that we can stand in a line, have a nice clear shot with no other heads, elbows or small children in the shot, and have a proper interaction without being shoved out of the way by other guests. As you know, Jon and I adore DLP - it's our favourite place in the world - and to finally be able to have decent interactions and get good pictures of the characters was a huge relief. It made the trip go from being another good Disney trip, to being an amazing Disney trip.
So, here's a cavalcade of photos of all the fun we had at Disneyland Park with the characters this trip!
We were really happy to see Timon. He had been back in Africa for quite some time, and so it was great to see him back at DLP!
Besides all of those characters, we also saw Alice and Pooh out, but didn't get to meet them, and of course Meet Mickey and the Princess Pavilion were open as usual, but we didn't stop by.
Disney Magic on Parade
Of course we watched the parade while we were there. Some floats are currently being refurbished, including the Mickey and Friends finale float, which meant those characters were walking along the ground, and Tinker Bell was missing. Please bear this in mind if you're planning a trip to the park soon.
Disney Dreams!
No trip to DLP would be complete without several viewings of their spectacular nighttime show, Disney Dreams! The first couple of days we were there Second Star was under refurbishment, and I was surprised how little its absence actually impacted on the overall show. Having said that, it did return on our last night, and it really does add something to the show. I was happy we got to see it on our last night.
Queue Lines and Character Greetings at Walt Disney Studios Park
We did of course visit the Walt Disney Studios while we were at DLP, and although it can easily be ranked as the poorest of the Disney Parks around the world, we still enjoy visiting, and meeting all the cool characters they have over there.
We were really happy to see that the new queue line system was also being enforced there, too, and managed to meet some of our favourite stars this trip, who previously we may have not bothered trying to meet simply because it would have been sheer chaos! Long live queue lines!
Here's some of the characters we met or saw walking around from the lunchtime "Stars 'n' Cars" sets:
Woody and Aladdin were also out, but we kept missing them!
At Disney Junior Live we stopped by to see Princess Sofia and Jake in their pre-show dance party.
Over at Toon Plaza, Mickey and Buzz were there as usual.
The Neverland Brunch
During our trip, we attended one of our favourite meals - the Brunch at Inventions inside the Disneyland Hotel. For those who don't know, Inventions is the fabulous character dining location that constantly has different themes for its meals. This trip we were lucky to catch the Neverland Brunch, which is one of the more regular rotating themes.
As always, the food was excellent, and the characters were amazing!
You can check out more photos of the Neverland Brunch on its dedicated page, here.
For my recent in depth review of Inventions from breakfast to dinner and other brunch themes, you should check out my dedicated report, here.
For the dedicated Inventions page here at Character Central, click here.
For our popular, "official" forum topic about Inventions, click here.
Cafe Mickey
Cafe Mickey is a character dining location in Disney Village, and while we used to go quite frequently, it had been a long time since we had dined here. Our main reasons for the drop in visits to Cafe Mickey are that, one, we discovered the wonder of the Sunday Brunches at Inventions, and two, the characters at Cafe Mickey had gone from being very random to very static. In the past we had seen everyone from Scrooge McDuck, Robin Hood, Frollo and the Genie at Cafe Mickey, but for at least a year now it has nearly always been Mickey and Friends and one or two Pooh friends. While I don't have a problem with this, and it's great for young families, for Jon and I we always want more (especially when compared to the Brunch)!
Anyway, we thought it was about time that we dined here again, to see what had changed, what had improved, etc. I have to say that we were not disappointed. Despite the standard nature of the characters and their outfits, they were all very interactive and did not in the least seem tired having already greeted guests all day in the park! Tigger was especially awesome, and made us feel really special! The food was really good too, which I was pleased about, having recently heard some negative things. We enjoyed everything we ordered (and we ate a lot!), and have no complaints about our experience what so ever.
Here's some photos from the great time we had!
For more photos of Cafe Mickey, you can check out our dedicated Cafe Mickey page here at Character Central. It should be noted that the Cafe Mickey page needs updating to reflect our recent experience there, but I thought it was good to at least link to, so you can see it.
Everything Else
Of course, we spent a lot of time wandering around, taking photos like we usually do, and so I thought I'd finish up this report with some photos with other things we did, and some general shots I took around the resort this trip.
If you have any questions or comments about anything in this report, be sure to post it on our forum topic, here.
If you're considering a trip to Disneyland Paris, you can check prices and availability on the official Disneyland Paris website, here. They have some great offers right now, including up to 30% off hotel and and park tickets, and kids under 12 go free!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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 | Character of the Week - Princess Aurora | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, February 20, 2014 9:32:57 AM |
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Princess Aurora is the beautiful daughter of King Stefan and his Queen, from Walt Disney's 1959 masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty.
She was betrothed since her birth to King Hubert's son, Phillip. At the celebration of her birth, Aurora was blessed by two of the three good fairies with the gifts of beauty and song, but as the third gift was being given, the evil fairy Maleficent arrived. Disgusted not to have been invited to the celebrations Maleficent curses Aurora with death by the pricking of her finger, by the time the sun sets on her 16th birthday.
The three good fairies could not dispel the curse, only lessen it's power. Merryweather makes it so that in the event Aurora did prick her finger, she would fall into a timeless slumber, until her true love came to wake her.
Despite the fairies best efforts to protect Aurora as she grows up in exile, hiding from Maleficent's all-seeing gaze, ultimately nothing could stop the Mistress of all Evil. Tricked into pricking herself, Aurora is laid in state at King Stefan's castle. Prince Phillip came to her rescue though, defeating Maleficent and breaking the spell.
At the Parks and Resorts
At the Disneyland Resort in California, you can visit the original Sleeping Beauty Castle, which opened with Disneyland in 1955 - four years before the film was released! The Castle features a walkthrough experience that tells the story of Sleeping Beauty in beautiful detail.
When Hong Kong Disneyland opened in 2005, it came complete with a copy of Disneyland's Castle, but sadly minus the walkthrough experience.
Disneyland Paris also has a Sleeping Beauty Castle, but instead of being a copy of the Californian one, it is much more majestic. It features 16 dreamy spires (Aurora's age when she touched the spinning wheel), a dragon's lair and an absolutely beautiful gallery on the upper level that retells the story of Sleeping Beauty through stained glass and tapestries.
There is a lot of merchandise available, including plushes, accessories, toys, dolls and clothes, at most, if not all, the Disney Parks and Resorts (the Asian parks might not have quite so much).
Princess Aurora can also be seen in many parades and shows around the world, from Soundsational at Disneyland, Dream Along with Mickey in Walt Disney World, Disney Magic on Parade at Disneyland Paris, One Man's Dream at Tokyo Disneyland, and the Flights of Fantasy Parade at Hong Kong Disneyland.
Meeting Princess Aurora
Aurora is fairly regular at the Disney Parks.
At Walt Disney World she can sometimes be found in France at EPCOT, and the Akershus Restaurant. In the Magic Kingdom she is normally at the Princess Fairytale Hall. She may also usually be found at Cinderella's Royal Table.
In Disneyland California Aurora can sometimes be found at the Princess meet 'n' greet in Fantasyland, and Ariel's Grotto at DCA.
In Disneyland Paris she is often at the Princess Pavilion and in Auberge de Cendrillon in Fantasyland.
In Tokyo Disneyland she is out in Fantasyland and World Bazaar almost daily.
In Hong Kong she sometimes appears near the Wishing Well.
Aurora meets guests aboard select Disney Cruise Line sailings. You should check your Personal Navigator for details.
I should point out that, for the foreseeable future at least, Princess Aurora greets guests in her blue dress at Disneyland Paris; the only place she does so regularly.
More information
For more information about Princess Aurora, where to find her at the Disney Parks and Resorts, and lots more photos, you can check out her dedicated page here at Character Central.
And finally…
Through the power of true love, Prince Phillip and Princess Aurora bring together their kingdoms and live happily ever after.
The vote is now open for the next Character of the Week!
Voting is conducted by polling on the forum topic for this article. Click here to cast your vote and leave your thoughts about this article and Princess Aurora!
The options are:
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Goofy
- Wendy
- Christopher Robin
The next Character of the Week is likely to be about 8 days from now – which gives you all plenty of time to vote!
Dan.
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 | Happy 61st Anniversary Peter Pan! | |
| DisneyDan
Wednesday, February 5, 2014 11:13:07 AM |
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Today, 5th February, is the 61st anniversary of the premiere of Walt Disney's classic, Peter Pan. Debuting at the Roxy Theatre in New York City in 1953, it is the studio's 14th animated feature film.
Peter Pan, his Lost Boys, the Darling children and the pirates have gone on to become some of the most iconic characters ever produced by Walt Disney. They feature in many parades, shows and attractions round the world, as well as still greeting their fans.
Just as time stands still in Neverland, time has been good to Peter Pan and friends, allowing them to continue to have adventures for the past six decades, bringing joy and happiness to millions across the world, with their two simple beliefs that you should never grow up and if you think of all the joy you'll find when you leave your worries behind, you really can fly.
Youthful and timeless, and not looking a day older than their debut in 1953, Peter Pan, Wendy and all their friends will continue to bring adventure to those who believe for many more years to come.
Happy 61st Anniversary Peter Pan and friends!
Here's a selection of pictures from our travels through Neverland with Peter and the gang over the years.
Dan. |
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