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Hello everyone,
While we were in Japan last week, Jon and I got to see the premiere of Tokyo Disneyland's brand new nighttime castle projection show, Once Upon a Time.
The show uses the same technology as Disney Dreams! at Disneyland Paris, and follows Mrs Potts and Chip through some classic Disney stories. Unlike Disney Dreams! there are no fountains or water screens. There are also nowhere near as many pyrotechnic effects as Dreams.
The show is currently being presented twice per night, which at time of writing is 8.50pm and 9.40pm. The show is visible from many places around Central Plaza and at the end of World Bazaar, however, there is a random lottery system in place for the best seats in the Central Viewing Area (that's its official name!).
For anyone who hasn't been to Tokyo, the parks operate a ticketed system for their most popular shows, including One Man's Dream and Big Band Beat. The idea is that it prevents people from camping out all day in Central Plaza to get the best view. It means that those who are selected can wait until right before the show and take their seats with an excellent view.
This does of course present its own problems, with people waiting all day anyway in other areas to get the next best, non ticketed spots, often causing lots of crowding and congestion, which in Tokyo Disneyland is something that is a huge problem at the best of times.
For the first night we actually did win the lottery for the second showing, and so we decided to wait for the first show up at the end of World Bazaar, then head down to the entrance to the Central Viewing Area after, ready for the second show.
I can say with absolutely no doubt that it was the most insane scene I had ever seen. The number of people was mind boggling. The entire of Central Plaza and all the way down World Bazaar to the end of the street was wall to wall people. After the first show it took us around fifteen minutes to get from Refreshment Corner to just in front of the castle!
If you stand further away, you actually get a fairly good view. The music is played throughout World Bazaar, and even with the glass canopy the Castle is clearly visible. The only problem we found with standing at Refreshment Corner (and I know it would be just the same further back) is that the projections at the bottom of the Castle are lost, which actually, is a lot of them. For some reason much of the show takes place on the bottom half of the Castle, and while you can see the whole Castle from further back, the doorway is obstructed by the Partners statue and if you have anyone tall or holding up a camera, it can further obscure it.
The following nights were no better with the crowds, and although we braved it one last time on our final night, in some ways I'm not sure it was worth the hassle.
Once Upon a Time is a good show, don't get me wrong, and I did like it, but having seen Disney Dreams! (on many, many occasions), Once Upon a Time does not compare. Disney outdid themselves with Dreams, and I don't think they'll be able to match it any time soon.
I did enjoy it - I love the music - but I felt that there wasn't enough emotional attachment to it, and it simply didn't have the same impact. They tried to copy Dreams' finale, even down to using the Catherine wheels and flame throwers, but without Dreams' powerful score, projections right up until the last moment and the fountains, it loses something.
I want to point out though, that as well as loving the music the projections were really high quality. They were crystal clear, which is amazing given the uneven surface of the Castle. Disney did a really good job of the utilising the latest projection mapping technology.
Although it is an enjoyable show, it's not worth the time commitment to get a good view, especially since people were waiting everyday for at least three hours for it! Having said all that, if you get the chance to go to Tokyo Disneyland and you win the lottery or crowds are light for some reason (unlikely), then definitely see it, as it is a good show - it's just that I couldn't help but compare it to Dreams, which will always be number one.
If you do want to stand and watch it, I would suggest skipping the first showing and holding back in the park somewhere, then heading to Central Plaza as people filter out, as many leave after the first show. There are still thousands of people in Central Plaza, but nowhere near as many as there are for the first. We did this on our last night and were surprised how much closer we could get than the first night (on Central Plaza itself, as opposed to squashed next to Refreshment Corner).
I'll leave you with some more photos I took of those first two shows (I videoed the third one we watched).
Dan.
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Hello everyone,
As many of you are aware, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit made his grand debut at Tokyo DisneySea last month - the first time he has ever greeted fans at a Disney park.
We were there this past week and managed to meet him three times! His greeting area is behind the Cape Cod Cook-Off restaurant in American Waterfront, and has a nice little set up with the idea being that he's on a farm selling eggs.
Oswald looks absolutely amazing, and is a real pleasure to see and meet. He has some really funny movements and gestures that hark back to the early days of hand drawn animation which really gives him a distinctive personality and appeal.
Oswald does sign autographs, in case you were wondering.
It should be noted that Tokyo Disney Resort strictly enforce a "one photo per family" rule for all set greeting locations. This means that you will only be able to get one photo of Oswald with your own camera, whether that be you taking a photo of them, or you being in the photo.
However, there is a slight quirk to this rule. If you purchase their PhotoPass photo then you can take your own photo (still only one), and they will take your photo, which then you can purchase later.
So, if you want a picture of Oswald and with him too, then take your own and ask to be in theirs. Their PhotoPass pictures are actually very good. They aren't as expensive as you'd imagine, and come in excellent commemorative folders complete with stickers.
While we were there the wait time for Oswald was very short. Early morning it was always less than twenty minutes, and later in the day I never saw the line surpass seventy minutes, with sixty being the most often time.
Oswald is cute, fun and an honour to finally meet, having waited for so long for him to be brought into the magical worlds of the Disney parks.
I'll leave you with a few more photos of our greetings with Oswald.
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
First of all, apologies for being absent recently, we have had a lot going on here (real life) and so I haven't had chance to keep as up to date as I would like. Anyway, there are some cool new things I want to talk about today.
First of all the big event of the week will be the 24 hour event, "Rock Your Disney Side", coming to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and both Disneyland Resort theme parks on Friday this week (23rd).
Details are a bit sketchy right now though, sadly, as Disney seem to want to keep tight-lipped about which characters will appear, when and where. Of course, this doesn't make planning easy, especially since it is likely to be exceptionally busy like the previous events!
I have highlighted below some of the key moments (mainly character experiences) for Disneyland Resort, as per the Disney Parks Blog:
Event operating hours: 6 a.m May 23rd until 6 a.m May 24th.
At Disneyland Park:
In terms of characters, that's pretty much all that has been announced for DLR, sadly. Of course everyone anticipates that there will be a lot of characters out and about, and there is speculation floating around that some characters - villains in particular - may replace the princesses at Royal Hall, but that has not been confirmed publicly by Disney yet.
Over in Walt Disney World, the Disney Parks Blog reported the following (again, I've only highlighted the important moments and character experiences):
Event operating hours: 6 a.m May 23rd until 6 am May 24th.- Everything kicks off with a special edition of the Welcome Show, as heroes and villains make their way to Magic Kingdom Park.
- The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party will feature Disney heroes at 10 a.m and Disney villains at 1:30 p.m. When it comes to the 5:45 p.m. performance, though, exactly who makes an appearance will be determined by your votes throughout the day! (More information on how you can vote will be posted on Friday morning on the Disney Parks Blog).
- Magic Kingdom Park parades will each have two performances. “Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade” will be at 12 p.m and 3:30 p.m, and Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade at 11 p.m and 1 a.m.
- Wishes Nighttime Spectacular fireworks at 9 p.m
- Prior to each presentation of Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade, the Disney villains roll through Magic Kingdom Park in a pre-parade, celebrating how “It’s Good to Be Bad!”
- Starting at 11 p.m half of Princess Fairytale Hall becomes Scary Tale Hall, where you can meet Maleficent and the Queen. The other side of the hall will still feature favourite royals Anna and Elsa.
- Around 1:45 a.m, the villains will take over the rest of the park’s character greeting locations. Where Aladdin and Jasmine appear in Adventureland during the day, expect to find Jafar. Dr. Facilier takes the place of Princess Tiana in Liberty Square, Captain Hook replaces Peter Pan in Fantasyland, and more!
- In Tomorrowland, the INCREDIBLES Super Dance Party rocks the Rockettower Plaza Stage from 4:30 p.m – 10 p.m, and is expected to feature characters from 'The Incredibles'.
- Disney’s “Up All Night” Dance Party at Cinderella Castle and the Frontierland Dance Party will run from 2 a.m – 5:45 a.m, and may (or may not...) feature Disney characters (no official confirmation, yet)
- The event concludes with a special “Kiss Goodnight” at 5:50 a.m at the Railroad Station in Town Square on Main Street, U.S.A.
The Move It Shake It heroes line up is likely to include Hercules, who has been seen out and about at EPCOT the past few weeks in preparation for his starring role in this event!
It should be noted that for both WDW and DLR there were more things announced such as bands, food and merchandise, which you can find out about if you search the Disney Parks Blog. Here at Character Central our main focus is of course characters!
Staying with Walt Disney World, and this year's Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Welcome and Motorcade saw the debut of three new characters to the Disney Parks! Sabine, Ezra and a grumpy droid named Chopper have all landed on Earth for the special weekends this year, from their new Star Wars TV show, 'Star Wars Rebels'.
Check out this video below from Attractions Magazine, which features the new characters in the Motorcade!
At the Magic Kingdom, Tinker Bell and her fairy friends have left the Nook in Adventureland, and sadly all the fairies have now left Florida and are heading back to Pixie Hollow. Tinker Bell has found a new home at Town Square Theatre on Main Street USA, filling the empty space left by the princesses when they moved into the new Fairytale Hall.
Other recent character changes in Walt Disney World include the Pooh characters leaving Animal Kingdom, and Donald and Daisy replacing them - just in regular outfits, sadly (I wonder what happened to their special DAK costumes from when they met in Camp Minnie-Mickey?).
Taking the heat off the summer at Disneyland Park in California, the Disney Parks Blog announced the other day that Anna and Elsa from the ever-popular Frozen will feature in a brand new pre-parade addition to Soundsational. At the moment no other details are known except they will feature from "mid-June".
Keeping with Frozen, and the big news this week was that there will be a brand new Disney On Ice show this autumn featuring the characters from Frozen! You may recall that I actually reported about this way back in January, when I even suggested that characters such as Olaf and Sven would appear, and now it has come true! The video below was posted by Disney On Ice and shows some great concept art for the new show.
The description on the Disney On Ice website also specifically mentions Olaf, Kristoff, Sven and the magical trolls, leading us to believe they will all feature in the new show!
Finally for news, and Hong Kong Disneyland finally announced today that their new nighttime parade will debut in October, ending long running speculation that it would start in the autumn. The brand new electric light parade will use innovative new technology and will be interactive, too, whereby guests can use a mobile app to control the colour changes on the floats!
Don't forget that Disney's Swing into Spring season continues at Disneyland Paris until the 22nd June, and features a fabulous new show-parade, characters and other offerings. You can read my review of it here, and visit our dedicated guidebook page to it here.
You can also continue to meet Spider-man at Disneyland Paris until the 10th July. The Walt Disney Studios is the only place in the world you can currently meet the webbed hero! You can read my review of our meeting with him here, and visit our dedicated location page here for more photos and information.
Finally, don't forget that the Halloween and Christmas party dates for WDW were released less than two weeks ago. You can check all the dates on my previous blog post, here.
Ok, that's everything for today,
Dan.
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Sunday, May 11, 2014 11:34:13 AM |
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Today in the US, Canada and some other countries it is Mother's Day. Let's celebrate the occasion with some photos of some of our favourite Disney mums!
Some are not actual mothers, but take on the role in one way or another, like Wendy Darling for example.
Happy Mother's Day to all the mums out there, have a great day!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Today Walt Disney World released the dates for their popular Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Parties and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties at the Magic Kingdom.
Dates are as follows.
MNSSHP:
September 1, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 21, 23, 26 and 28
October 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 30 and 31
MVMCP:
November 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21 and 30
December 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 19
Today, 5th May, is also the day that Doc McStuffins finally comes to Disney California Adventure, having already been at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Florida for quite some time now.
If you're planning a trip to Disneyland Paris in the coming weeks, remember that they have lots of exciting things going on right now, such as their brand new Swing into Spring season and Meet Spider-Man at the Walt Disney Studios!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Note: Some of you may wonder why I am posting this on the Character Central blog. Well, actually we pride ourselves in being the definitive source for all theme park characters around the world. Our database here at Character Central includes characters from the Universal theme parks, Hershey Park and Alton Towers, amongst others. It just so happens that most of our travels take us to the Disney Parks, and that tends to be where most of the characters we meet appear. Our name isn't Disney Character Central, it is Character Central. So with that taken care of let's get down to the subject at hand!
As you may be aware by now, my most favourite characters of all time and my childhood heroes are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. First appearing in their comic book debut in May 1984 (they were previewed at comic book convention in New Hampshire on 5th May, to be precise!), the TMNT have gone on to become one of the most successful brands of all time. As well as the original, long running comic, they have spanned three separate animated TV series (1987-1996, 2003-2009 and 2012-present), a live action series (1997-1998), four live action films (1990, 1991, 1993 and 2014), two animated films (2007 and 2009), endless merchandise and further comic book series taking the TMNT to new and exciting heights.
In the early 1990's the Disney-MGM Studios (now Disney's Hollywood Studios - which celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday) featured a show starring the TMNT and their friend April O'Neil (see, there was a Disney link here!), something which I would have given a limb to see as a kid! A while ago I found a book at work which had some photos of the old show, which I took some photos of on my old phone. Sadly, I no longer have access to the book, and the images aren't the greatest quality, but I thought I would share anyway.
When Nickelodeon bought the TMNT in 2009 they revitalised the brand and in 2012 launched the third incarnation of the Turtles in the new and current series seen on their network. One of the best things that Nickelodeon did was to launch the TMNT as characters at their Nickelodeon Suites Resort in Orlando, Florida. Jon and I have been there and attended the special meal held by the TMNT, and it was one of the most exciting moments of my life - coming face to face with my heroes! You can read all about our wonderful experience at the Nick Suites, here. Some of my most favourite photos from that trip are below.
Last year the TMNT started appearing at other locations around the world, including a theme park in Germany, the Mall of America in Minnesota, and various theme park locations across the UK. In November last year they made an appearance at a local toy store, and I of course just had to be there!
This year the Nickelodeon series will enter its third season, and with no sign of slowing down - especially with a new movie on the way - we have a lot to look forward to with the TMNT.
Happy 30th Anniversary to the Heroes in a Half Shell, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Dan.
Why not visit our dedicated pages for each individual Turtles here at Character Central!
Donatello
Michelangelo
Leonardo
Raphael
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Today is the 25th anniversary of the grand opening of Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Originally named the Disney-MGM Studios, the park has seen many new additions over the years, including characters!
So let's take a character filled tour of the Studios as we wish it a very Happy 25th Birthday!
Happy 25th Birthday Disney's Hollywood Studios!
A Belated Happy 16th Bitthday to Disney's Animal Kingdom
Last week saw the 16th anniversary of the opening of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. Sadly Jon and I were not available to post anything, but, better late than never, right?! So, here's a few pictures from our fun times at Animal Kingdom in celebration of its 16 years.
Dan.
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Hello everyone,
This past weekend Jon and I were fortunate enough to be at Disneyland Paris for Spider-Man's official Disney Parks debut!
We were up bright and early Saturday morning, and were first in line to meet him on his big day!
His photo location is at the Backlot area of the park, next to the Blockbuster Cafe (which recently received an Iron Man overlay). Throughout the Studios all the way down to the location there are new signs advertising the experience. Once you arrive at the area there is an outdoor queue area with a wait time board.
Once you get through the outdoor queue you proceed to enter the main building which has a short indoor queue featuring oversized pages from the Daily Bugle (the newspaper Peter Parker works for).
Then finally it's your turn! You are made to enter behind a set piece which serves as a frame for your photo. Spider-Man is there waiting for you! The Cast Member will ask for your camera, or you can just get a PhotoPass one. Strike your best pose, you're about to be headline news!
And voila... You just made the front page of the Daily Bugle! Neat, huh?
This is a great new addition to the park, and one I am sure will be popular with the boys (as well as girls of course, but more so with boys I would imagine). Disney did a good job of the photo location, and Spider-Man himself looks great.
We have had a lot of questions on our Facebook and Twitter about whether Spider-Man can speak, and I can confirm that he does.
Officially Spider-Man will be at Disneyland Paris until the 10th July, but given how popular he is already, I would anticipate he would stay longer. I guess we shall have to wait and see!
Dan.
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Hello everyone,
This year for the first time, Disneyland Paris have introduced a brand new spring celebration, which started on 5th April and will run until 22nd June.
Titled Swing into Spring, it comes with two brand new entertainment offerings, character greetings, decorations and more!
Jon and I of course had to pay a visit, and I have put together the following comprehensive round-up, as a guide for those planning a trip, and something to make you want to plan a trip if you aren't already!
Disney's Spring Promenade
The key event during Swing into Spring is Disney's Spring Promenade, a dazzling show-parade centred around Central Plaza and the Royal Castle Stage.
Let's take a look at some photos from the Promenade, then I'll give a brief guide to how it works, as it has multiple viewing areas which offer different experiences.
The Promenade runs up to five times daily, from mid-morning to around 2 or 3pm, and as I said above, has multiple vantage points. The best place, in our opinion, to watch the performance is in front of the Castle Stage. From here you get to see Clarabelle and the band playing, as well as the cavalcade pass by twice (once out to Central Plaza, and once back again). Not only that, you of course get the view of the gorgeous Sleeping Beauty Castle behind.
Other good places to watch include on the south side of Central Plaza at the top of Main Street, facing the Castle, and at the intersection of where the cavalcade section leaves the Castle Stage area and enters Central Plaza (from here you get two viewings of the cavalcade, too).
We absolutely love the Spring Promenade. The music is very catchy, and embodies the true Main Street spirit, the costumes are bright and colourful for both characters and performers, and the entire thing has an energy to it that really brings the park to life with the celebration of spring.
Note that there are certain days that the show does not take place. Check the park schedule for details.
Welcome to Spring
Welcome to Spring is a small show that takes place at the Town Square Gazebo at the entrance to Main Street USA. It features the Citizens of Main Street who sing and dance along to a selection of classic Main Street tunes, including the wonderful 'Walking Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA'. As with the Promenade, the show brings a really good energy to Main Street and adds music and movement to Town Square that is colourful and fun. Although it doesn't feature characters, it is well worth stopping by to watch it.
Performances take place up to about five times daily. However, as with the Promenade, there are certain days that the show does not take place. Check the park schedule for details.
After the show, the Citizens of Main Street walk around Town Square greeting guests for a short while.
The best place to see the show is on the street between the Emporium and the former photography store (soon to be Flora's), facing the gazebo. There are usually coloured mats on the ground marking the line where you can stand.
Character Greetings
No seasonal event at Disneyland Paris would be complete without character greetings! During Swing into Spring you can find Minnie Mouse and Duffy at the Boarding House on Main Street USA wearing very special, particularly cute, spring outfits! Sometimes they meet together, sometimes separately. The schedule can change daily, so be sure to ask an attending Cast Member who is appearing at the location on the day of your visit.
When Minnie and Duffy aren't at the Boarding House, Russell from Disney-PIXAR's 'UP' greets his fans.
Of course, there are other regular meet 'n' greets throughout the park, as there usually are, but because of the spring season, some may have moved, or are appearing more often than they usually do.
On the days when the Promenade doesn't run, Mary Poppins and Bert greet guests in Town Square. Sometimes Mr Penguin comes with them, but not always. Unfortunately he did not when we were there, hence why he isn't in the photo below.
Rabbit has also been out and about a lot more than usual, since he is in the Promenade show, and can randomly appear in Fantasyland or other areas of the park - we even found him in Discoveryland one afternoon with Pooh!
Rapunzel has been given her own special location for the season, which features a large heart topiary with the word 'Spring' across it, and a small Pascal statue in the details. Be warned that she is ridiculously popular, and lines can be two hours long before her greeting time starts! (Literally!)
Decorations and Topiaries
For the brand new season, Disneyland Paris have worked exceptionally hard in a short amount of time to bring some stunning new decorations and topiaries to the park, starting at Main Street Station, working up through Town Square, and culminating in the spectacular topiaries found on Central Plaza.
Spring Magical Moments at the Disneyland Hotel
The Disneyland Hotel's Thursday through Sunday 'Magical Moment' has had several spring themed versions since the start of the season, and while it is not easy to predict when they will have a particular theme, just be aware that they can happen on any given day (of the days it runs). When it does happen the music will be different, and the characters will wear cute spring outfits.
And Finally...
There are other small things that all add to the experience that unfortunately we didn't get pictures of, such as the horses who pull the horse-drawn streetcars wearing cute spring bonnets and special spring cupcakes at the Cable Car Bake Shop.
Throughout the park you can also pick up a special "Junior Explorer's Guide" to the park, which tells young guests about horticulture and nature at Disneyland Paris. It's a cute idea, and makes for a nice free souvenir from the season!
On top of all that, over at Disney Village, you can celebrate spring with special kiosks selling baked goods and merchandise, and topiaries and decorations scattered throughout.
If you're considering a trip to Disneyland Paris for the spring season, you can check prices and availability on the official Disneyland Paris website, hereg(214505)a(1961589)) . They have some great offers right now, including up to 25% off hotel and and park tickets, and free half board meal plans!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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