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Hello everyone,
Earlier I showcased Disney's Easter at Tokyo Disneyland, which you can view here. Along similar lines, until the 23rd June this year you can experience Mickey and Duffy's Spring Voyage at Tokyo DisneySea, the second theme park at Tokyo Disney Resort, Japan.
Here is a roundup of what you can expect to find at the park during this time. All photos here were taken just last week (end of May 2014).
Lido Isle Welcome to Spring
Mickey and friends have arrived in the Mediterranean to a wonderful celebration of spring. Presented several times per day at the Lido Isle area, it fills up quickly and people will wait all day for the show, so be prepared!
Springtime Surprise
Mickey and friends have arrived in the Middle East to an enchanting, magical celebration of spring. There are some neat tricks in this show! Presented several times per day at the Arabian Coast courtyard, it fills up quickly and people will wait all day for the show, so be prepared!
Easter in New York
Mickey and the gang visit New York and discover the more contemporary music and dance styles of America. Although it's unlike any New York I've ever seen, it's definitely a lovely show! Presented several times per day at the square in front of the Tower of Terror, and as with the other shows, it fills up quickly and people will wait all day for the show, so be prepared!
Village Greeting Place - Duffy and ShellieMay
During Mickey and Duffy's Spring Voyage at Tokyo DisneySea you can meet Duffy and ShellieMay in really cute spring outfits. This year they got new outfits.
ShellieMay is there for the first half of the day (usually from park opening until around 3pm), and Duffy arrives after ShellieMay finishes, and stays until park closing.
They do not greet together, sadly (because if they did the line would be five hours long all day).
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 the character 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 the character and with the character, take your own and ask to be in theirs.
Spring Decorations
The park is decorated with colourful spring decorations, including many plants and flowers.
Spring Merchandise
The Japanese just love all things cute and spring brings the perfect opportunity to sell a wide variety of colourful merchandise.
Spring Treats
Just like the merchandise, the Japanese love to eat food that is "kawaii". The Japanese love little themed tins filled with chocolates and sweets, so you'll find tons of Spring Voyage ones everywhere!
Ok, that's everything! If you have any questions please go to the forum discussion for this entry and ask there.
Dan. |
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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,
Today we are pleased to announce the exciting news that Oswald the Lucky Rabbit finally made his official Disney Parks debut at Tokyo DisneySea in Japan! Greeting fans at a special location in American Waterfront at the park, he has been received with instant love from the entire Disney community, and a sense of completeness now that he has taken his rightful place in the Disney family.
Although we personally could not be there at his debut, many fan pages and accounts are posting pictures across the internet, and it's almost impossible not to find good photos of him! The Disney Parks Blog even posted about his debut, and shared this photo, which I have inserted below.
Image (C) The Walt Disney Company
Jon and I will be at Tokyo Disney Resort in less than 8 weeks time, and intend to be at park opening to meet him on our first day at the resort!
Over at Disneyland in California, another very rare rabbit appeared this week for the Springtime Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch - Roger Rabbit! Having been part of the Bunny Hop on Main Street last year, Roger now joins the new festivities at the Ranch, greeting guests for some Easter fun. We understand that he is expected to appear daily until the Springtime Roundup ends on April 20th, but of course that is subject to change at any time. Character Central forum member Dan-Tasmic! posted some photos of Roger greeting just yesterday, in our Springtime Roundup topic, here on the forum.
Ok, that's all for now.
Dan. |
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No trip to a Disney Park would be complete without meeting everybody's favourite star, and the world's most famous mouse, Mickey! I've compiled a list of our top places to meet him at each of the 11 Disney Parks around the world. Some of them are not as obvious as you would initially anticipate, as I have tried to offer suggestions of places where you find him wearing different outfits, or where lines are shorter.
So, let's take a look! I've organised the locations purely by destination, and not in any kind of rank order.
1. Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in California
Disneyland is the gateway to the whimsical world of Toontown, and where better to meet Mickey than in his house there? Depending on your time of visiting, Mickey could be wearing a variety of outfits which include his classic suit, his bandleader outfit, Steamboat Willie outfit or Sorcerer's Apprentice hat and gown. You never know which one he'll be wearing, and while you wait you get to explore the magical home of the world's most beloved mouse!
2. Disney California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort in California
When Mickey visits DCA, he greets is fans on the historical Buena Vista Street, wearing his 1920's Los Angeles clothes. It's a cute outfit and a fitting location indeed.
3. Magic Kingdom Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
Mickey's home at the Magic Kingdom is in Town Square Theater on Main Street USA. Here Mickey feels most comfortable, and actually talks to guests whilst wearing his special magicians costume! What sort of conversation will you have with him?
Sadly we haven't yet visited Mickey at Town Square Theater since he started talking to guests. The photo above is from a previous visit. The picture below is one taken by our good friend Lori, who has been lucky enough to meet him since he started talking!
4. EPCOT at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
While visiting EPCOT, Mickey greets guests at the Character Spot. Although he doesn't wear a special outfit here, it is the only place you can meet him regularly in the park.
Note that the backdrop has changed since we last saw Mickey here, but remains largely similar.
5. Disney Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Mickey wears his Sorcerer's Apprentice inside the Magic of Disney Animation building. Which spells will you help him conjure up?
6. Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
Join Mickey before he sets off on his next expedition, at the Adventurers Outpost on Discovery Island! Minnie is nearly always there too, also wearing her explorers costume.
7. Disneyland Park at Disneyland Paris
This one is a bit more obscure (you might have expected I had chose 'Meet Mickey Mouse' in Fantasyland), but I have chosen Discoveryland because when Mickey visits the retro-future he dons his special space suit. Although he doesn't come out daily in Discoveryland, unlike the rest of the locations listed above, it is fairly regular, and it is the only place in the world you will find Mickey wearing a space suit!
8. Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris
When he's filming on location at the Studios, Mickey greets fans wearing his classic outfit at Toon Plaza, in Toon Studios. The backdrop is nearly always that of his house back in Toontown.
9. Tokyo Disneyland at Tokyo Disney Resort
Again, you might have expected me to chose Mickey's permanent location in Toontown, but that can often get lines of 4 hours or more, and so I have picked somewhere a bit more "relaxed". Although he doesn't come out daily in Westernland, when he does, Mickey wears his special Western outfit. The Japanese call this a "free" character set, meaning he will walk around greeting guests, instead of having a multi-hour wait! Be warned though, when he appears, there will nearly always be hoards of Japanese fans screaming for the attention of their idol! The experience of watching them do that is alone worth meeting Mickey here over any structured location!
10. Tokyo DisneySea at Tokyo Disney Resort
Deep in the heart of the Lost River Delta, Mickey is on an excavation trip. When he's taking a break from digging up ancient ruins, he greets his fans in his tent, wearing his cute archaeologist outfit. This is one of the few places at Tokyo Disney Resort where a structured meet 'n' greet location has relatively "short" lines, too, making it a great place to visit Mickey and friends!
11. Hong Kong Disneyland at the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Bears and gold are the main attraction in the little town of Grizzly Gulch. It's also where Mickey likes to hang out when visiting Hong Kong Disneyland, and he does it in style, wearing his excellent gold rush costume! Minnie nearly always appears alongside him, too.
Of course, these locations aren't the only places at the parks where you can meet the Big Cheese, but are the ones that I felt were different or unique in some way.
Dan. |
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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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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,
The Disney Parks Blog announced this week that Disney California Adventure would play host to Disneyland Resort's Lunar New Year Celebrations this year, which will feature Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Chip and Dale, Mulan and Mushu over at Paradise Gardens. There will be crafting, Chinese dragon and lion dances, as well as Vietnamese and Korean dance groups. The event will run from 31st January until 2nd February inclusive, from 11am until 5pm.
The Disney Parks Blog also announced that the Disneyland Resort is playing host to another round of rare character weekends from now until May, yes May! Every Friday through Sunday you can head over to the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree to see who is appearing. Our good friend Loren was there last weekend, and you can check out his report on who he met, here.
The Tokyo Disney Resort Blog made a post revealing some information (albeit all in Japanese) about this year's spring events at the resort. From the 2nd April through 23rd June inclusive, the resort will play host to various shows and parades at both parks.
At Tokyo Disneyland, after a hiatus last year, the park sees a spring parade back on its streets, titled Hippiti-Hoppiti Spring Time. The parade will feature seven new floats, starring Mickey and his friends in their spring finest, as well as Marie. The blog also mentions Easter Bunnies, but it's hard to make out whether it means that the Easter Bunny himself will feature, or if he's just a statue on a float.
At Tokyo DisneySea, Lido Isle Welcome to Spring, Easter in New York and Springtime Surprise all return for another year, at the various ports around the park.
In addition to the shows and parade featuring the characters, there will be special menus, merchandise and decorations.
Jon and I will be there in May, and cannot wait to see the new parade!
I want to also point you to my previous news posts from the last week or so, in case you missed them, because there were some interesting things that are still relevant.
To find out about news for Captain America, Marie, and a brand new Disney On Ice show featuring the Frozen characters, click here.
To find out about Disneyland Paris Spring events, queue lines, Aurora and Camp Minnie-Mickey, click here.
To find out about Doc McStuffins and other news, click here.
For my tribute to the recently retired Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, click here.
For my tribute to the recently closed Camp Minnie-Mickey, click here.
For my massive photo-filled year in review for 2013, click here.
For my most recent dining review for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, click here.
Finally, I have been adding more and more content to the site, including locations and characters! As well as that, new photos show up across the site on many pages almost daily, as we continue to work through our massive backlog! Whenever you visit a page on the site, you never know what you might see that's new or different! So be sure to check back regularly.
Ok, I think that's everything for this evening,
Dan. |
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 | 2013 - A Character Filled Year in Review | |
| DisneyDan
Friday, January 3, 2014 10:27:12 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Last year, 2013, was an incredible year for us here at Character Central, filled with some awesome moments.
For the past couple of years I have done my 'Year in Review' here on the blog, but I don't think any of them will compare to this one!
Let's start at the beginning of the year of course, at the Disneyland Resort in California, where we finished up a wonderful Christmas trip on New Year's Day meeting some characters around Disneyland Park.
Warning! This is a very long, photo-heavy post! If you're on the Blog home, then click to continue! [ Read More... ] |
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Hello everyone,
Today's news is all about some great events coming to Tokyo Disney Resort in 2014!
A couple of weeks ago, Oriental Land Company released a press statement announcing the Easter and Spring events for 2014.
The complete press release can be read in English on the official TDR website, here.
A summary of everything regardning Easter/Spring is as follows:
- The event will run from April 2nd through to June 23rd inclusive.
- At Tokyo Disneyland there will be a brand new theme for Easter, titled "Easter Garden", complete with a new parade, and interactive activities such as Easter Egg hunts.
- Mickey and Duffy's Spring Voyage will return at Tokyo DisneySea, apparently the same as - or at least very similar to - this year (2013).
The actual press release has more information about further events throughout 2014, right up until Christmas, but for the most part they seem the same as this year, and of course, anything can change between now and next Christmas!
It's really great to see the return of the Easter parade to Tokyo Disneyland, as, as the press release points out, it was missing this year, and was always a staple of the Spring events in the park.
The next thing is Sweet Duffy, but that was announced in Japanese only, on the official Tokyo Disney Resort Blog, which can be found here.
Using Chrome's in-built translator, here's everything I could figure out!
- The event will run from January 6th until March 20th inclusive.
- The incredibly popular 'My Friend Duffy' at American Waterfront will present a brand new version. As far as I could work out, the current My Friend Duffy will end on January 5th to make way for the new version. The new version, although being launched as part of Sweet Duffy, will remain permanently.
- Everything else on the list looked like it was either smaller activities or photo-op based things, merchandise or sweet treats to me. As far as I could tell, there were no special greetings, parades or other shows, besides the new version of My Friend Duffy. There was, for example, mention of a new limited time show-stop for the day parade at TDL, but it sounded like it would just be a lot of clapping! (really, that's what it says!)
So, that's everything up until the start of summer, at least. Like I said above, there were some details about later in the year, but we can discuss those at a later date, once more information becomes available.
Ok, I think that's all for this evening!
Dan. |
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