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Hello everyone,
Let's start with Walt Disney World, where this week the Disney Parks Blog confirmed that the immensely popular Frozen Summer events are being extended by a whole month, until 28th September. This is great news for fans who want to experience the winter wonderland that has taken over Disney's Hollywood Studios! You can sing along with Anna, Elsa and Kristoff at a special show at the park, or watch them in the magically frozen parade that happens daily.
The Disney Parks Blog also announced that Baymax and Hiro from Disney's brand new movie, Big Hero 6, will debut as characters at the Disney parks in Anaheim and Orlando this autumn. No other details about where in the parks and for how long they'll greet for has been released yet. Once Disney say more, I'll be sure to update here on the blog.
Bob Iger told investors earlier this week at a meeting that, “We’re also developing ideas and designs for a far greater Star Wars presence in our parks,” and, “We expect to provide details about this sometime next year.” Nobody knows any more than that right now, but it's an exciting prospect nonetheless!
Mickey's Halloween Party tickets for Disneyland in California went on sale, and have dates from Friday 26th September through to Halloween night itself. Prices start from $56 for annual passholders online advance purchase.
The Tokyo Disney Resort Blog released some details about this year's Christmas events at their parks. The Japanese, as always, is quite difficult to translate, but I have managed to pull some details from it. At Tokyo DisneySea we can expect to see the Color of Christmas show on Mediterranean Harbor, featuring Mickey and friends. Over at Lost River Delta you can celebrate the Spanish festival of light, although I don't think any characters are involved - it sounded like just decorations and lights. At American Waterfront there seems to be another show, called Snow Crystal Illumination. I'm inclined to think this one may be a character show since it says it'll be at Waterfront Park, an area they usually use for character shows. However, again, it's hard to translate. There is also mention of character greetings, but no further details provided. Based on past years, it'll most likely be Duffy and ShellieMay in special costumes, but others could appear also. At Tokyo Disneyland, Disney's Santa Village Parade returns. As always with Japan, there will be lots of cool decorations, merchandise and treats available throughout the season, which runs from 7th November through 25th December inclusive.
If you haven't already read it, you should check out part 1 of my Grand Circle Tour of the Magic Kingdoms of the world. Part 2 will be coming soon!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Yesterday the Disney Parks Blog announced some more details about the Villains Unleashed event to be held at Disney's Hollywood Studios on 23rd August. One of the most surprising details from the release was that Captain Gantu and Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel from the Lilo and Stitch series would be making appearances on the Streets of America for greetings during the party!
Some of the highlights of the event include:
- Hades Hangout - The party kicks off at 8pm at the main event stage, where hosts Hades, Megara, Pain and Panic are killing ‘em with comedy. They’re joined throughout the night by the Underworld Dancers, DJ Igg Nite, live music and other Villains, including the Queen of Hearts, Sheriff of Nottingham, the Big Bad Wolf and Captain Hook.
- Villains Dominion - The Streets of America will be swarming with baddies. Here you’ll have the opportunity to meet favourites like Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Dr. Facilier and Gaston, along with more rarely seen baddies such as Shan Yu from “Mulan,” Bowler Hat Guy from “Meet the Robinsons”, or Captain Gantu and Dr. Hämsterviel from “Lilo & Stitch: The Series”. In addition look for Judge Claude Frollo, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, Drizella, and more!
- The Dark Side - During “Villains Unleashed,” the area around 'Star Tours - The Adventures Continue' becomes a wretched hive of scum and villainy, the place to find nefarious bounty hunter Boba Fett, Sith apprentice Darth Maul, and the ultimate villain - Darth Vader! And that’s not all! Wandering the area, you’ll stumble upon more malcontents from that galaxy far, far away: Zam Wessel, Aurra Sing, Asajj Ventress, Jango Fett, Greedo, Jawas, and others.
- Villainous Encounters - Visit Stage 4 (where The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow attraction is seen during the day), and you can “Parlay” with the one and only Hector Barbossa. And just around the corner in the Animation Courtyard is where you’ll discover a bit of the Moors, where you can have an audience with the mistress of all evil, Maleficent!
- Oogie Boogie’s Freaky Funhouse Show - Over on Sunset Boulevard, Theater of the Stars presents a production of extreme performances, hosted by the original master of scare-monies, Oogie Boogie. It’s an all-new show that’s sure to thrill!
- Fantasmic! - Strolling up Sunset Boulevard, a gang of villainous henchmen, known as the Night Crawlers, tempt you to join them for a special pre-show to the evening’s performance of Fantasmic!, itself a celebration of the power and intrigue of some of the greatest Disney villains.
- “Villainy in the Sky” Fireworks - Hades summons Maleficent to the main event stage to close things out with a devilishly dazzling display of pyrotechnics!
It all sounds completely awesome, right?! Jon and I have actually already seen Captain Gantu and Dr. Hämsterviel a couple of times in the past. They featured several years ago in a popular Tokyo Disney Resort summertime show, titled "Midsummer Night's Panic". You can check out our dedicated Gantu page here, and dedicated Dr. Hämsterviel page here for lots more photos of both these galactic villains! I'm also putting a couple of photos below for your enjoyment!
Moving on now, and over at the Magic Kingdom the next couple of days will see a new system in place for the perpetually long line to meet Anna and Elsa from Disney's 'Frozen'. FastPass+ reservations can still be made (providing there is availability), however, now the stand-by line is being cut in favour of an alternate concept. If you aren't able to get a FP+ reservation (or are willing to wait in line anyway), you now receive a return time ticket for a half hour window later in the day. Disney are reportedly going to give out less of these per hour than the the equivalent amount of people who would have waited in line, meaning that in theory the line should now be a lot shorter when you return since the ticket system ensures only a limited number of people can be in line at any given moment. If the system is a success, then I expect that we can see it permanently implemented. Disneyland Paris already use virtually the same system for their popular Princess Pavilion, whereby tickets are distributed for a return time, and then you return later with a (supposedly) shorter wait. Of course these systems do have one major disadvantage in order to make lines shorter - less people now have the opportunity to experience these greetings, and there is a chance you might not get a ticket. It'll be interesting to see how it works out, and if Disney adopt this permanently.
Finally, yesterday Tokyo Disney Resort's official blog announced that the Mystic Rhythms show at Hangar Stage in Tokyo DisneySea's Lost River Delta area will be closing to make way for a new show in 2016. The new production will use projection mapping technology and follows a young girl through the world of shadows! No other information has been released at this stage, but once it does, I'll be sure to post it here.
You should also check out this neat tilt shift, time lapse video of Tokyo Disneyland that Tokyo Disney Resort released just recently. It features a bunch of characters, shows and parades, and is quite cute!
Ok, that's everything for now. If you play the Disney Tsum Tsum game on your iPhone or Android device, why not check out our brand new sister site, Tsum Tsum Central!
Have a great week everybody,
Dan. |
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Yesterday the Disney Parks Blog announced a summer full of fun at Disney's Hollywood Studios featuring the incredibly popular Frozen characters, Anna and Elsa.
The biggest news to come out of it is that it would seem Kristoff will be stepping out of Arendelle to make his Disney Parks debut in a special procession through the park! 'Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome' will happen at 11am each day.
There is mention of Olaf too, and although we don't know for sure yet, from the description it is likely he will appear on the big video screen only, and not as a character on stage. However, anything could happen, and we really hope he does appear!
Here's a roundup of everything you can expect from 5th July through to 1st September inclusive.
- Olaf on Summer Vacation – Olaf the snowman is having the time of his life on his very first summer vacation! He chimes in throughout the day to keep everyone updated on all his adventures. Plus, you can pick up your very own Take-Along Olaf from locations in the park, so he can join you on your summer vacation. And when you share your photos with Olaf on social media, be sure to tag them with #OlafSummerVacation. They may just get selected to appear in that day’s grand finale!
- Anna and Elsa’s Royal Welcome – At 11am each day, Elsa and Anna arrive in Hollywood as part of their goodwill tour of neighbouring kingdoms, making their way down Hollywood Boulevard in a horse-drawn sleigh. Kristoff is along for the fun, too, joined by a flurry of skaters, skiers, ice cutters and more! The entire procession culminates in a special moment at the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage to officially welcome the visiting royalty to this kingdom of Hollywoodland.
- For the First Time in Forever: A “Frozen” Sing-Along Celebration – Cool down inside the Premiere Theater, where Anna and Elsa join the Royal Historians of Arendelle for a fun and comedic retelling of the unique history of their Kingdom, filled with delightful, sing-along moments from “Frozen.”
- Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post and Frozen Funland – Inside Soundstage One, Oaken and his cousins have created a Frozen Funland filled with cold weather activities, unique photo opportunities, and more! There’s a frozen pond with ice skating demonstrations, wintertime fun for kids in the “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” play area, a “big summer blowout” with plenty of “Frozen” merchandise, and special “Frozen”-inspired food and beverage offerings.
- “Coolest Summer Ever” Dance Party – Starting at 5.30pm each day, a dance party takes over the area around the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage, with a DJ, live band, and more! The band plays a variety of classic and contemporary summer rock and roll hits, as well as a cool, rocking medley of “Frozen” favourites. It’s going to be hot!
- “Frozen” Fireworks Spectacular – Everything wraps up at 9.45pm when Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Olaf come together at the Sorcerer’s Hat Icon Stage for a grand finale to the day’s festivities, kicking off an awe-inspiring fireworks display set to the glorious music of “Frozen!”
Once more information becomes available, I'll be sure to post it here on the blog.
Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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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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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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Yesterday various Disney travel agency websites started reporting that from today (Wednesday 26th March) Disney would be accepting bookings for Star Wars themed character dining opportunities at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World. This morning guests have started calling the reservation line, and indeed Disney are now accepting reservations for these meals! Some people are reporting having to wait for an hour on hold, so if you want to stand a chance of experiencing them, then it's best to call as soon as possible!
Of course, in order to help you make your decision though, I have details of both meals, right here!
Both meals are being offered from 4th May through to 15th June inclusive, including weekdays, according to those who have already booked this morning. The meals are of course to coincide with the immensely popular Star Wars Weekends at the park, held Friday to Sunday from 16th May through 15th June inclusive this year.
Star Wars Galactic Dine-In Breakfast at the Sci-Fi Dine-In.
Held from 8am to 12 noon inclusive, you will get the opportunity to have breakfast with Stormtroopers, a Jawa, Greedo, Boba Fett and Darth Vader! Darth Vader will reportedly be at a set location when you enter. Included in the price is a digital download photo of your party meeting Darth Vader.
The restaurant's big screen will be playing Star Wars clips and trailers, and Star Wars music will fill the air.
Prices are $47.99 for adults, and $29.99 for children aged 3-9. Prices are not inclusive of taxes or tips.
Jedi Mickey's Star Wars Dine at Hollywood & Vine
Jedi Mickey, Princess Leia Minnie, Ewoks Chip and Dale, Stormtrooper Donald and Darth Goofy will be serving up dinner from 4.15pm until park closing (times vary depending on the day) every night at a special meal at the Hollywood & Dine Restaurant!
Chip and Dale will be at a photo-location at the start of the meal, and the photo will be available as a digital download for free (included in the price of the meal).
There is a Fantasmic! Package, which includes Fantasmic! priority seating: Prices are $59.99 for adults, and $36.99 for children aged 3-9. Prices are not inclusive of taxes or tips.
Regular package (no priority seating): Prices are $55.99 for adults, and $33.99 for children aged 3-9. Prices are not inclusive of taxes or tips.
As far as we are aware, the regular Play & Dine meals with the Disney Junior characters will still feature during breakfast and lunch at this restaurant.
Although these meals are a little expensive, they do have their benefits. The best thing about them is that you get to bypass the ridiculously long lines in the hot, Florida sun. The lines to meet Jedi Mickey, Ewok Chip and Dale, and Darth Vader can easily reach several hours (we've been there and done it!). Having them come to you, at your table, at an indoor, air conditioned location is definitely the best thing about these meals. $60 to meet 5 or 6 characters, have all your food and PhotoPass picture included without waiting for 3 hours in the sun is a huge selling point, and I can see that many people will want to do this.
Please be aware that all prices, availability and what is on offer at each meal can be changed or cancelled by Disney without prior notice, and is outside of our control.
Dan.
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 | New Year, New Updates! | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, January 5, 2014 12:34:32 PM |
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Hello everyone,
First off, I'd like to wish you all a Happy 2014! Last year was a turbulent, but exciting year for Jon and I, and we hope to have many more amazing adventures in the coming months, which we look forward to sharing with you all. In case you missed it, you can check out my blog post, '2013 - A Year in Review'. Be warned, there are literally hundreds of photos (nearly all character ones!), so it might take a while to load, and a while to look through!
Anyway, it's a new year, which means there is always news from the parks to report. We'll start at Walt Disney World in Florida, and work our way around the world.
Tomorrow, January 6th is the final day for Disney's Animal Kingdom's Camp Minnie-Mickey. The small, forested trails of this cute corner of the park will close permanently to make way for the controversial Avatar Land, currently being developed by Walt Disney Imagineering. This means that Timon and his pals at the long-running Festival of the Lion King will be relocated to a new theatre later in the year, elsewhere in the park. It also means of course that the Greetings Trails will close forever. The characters will be moved to new locations around the park. At the moment, what I've heard is that Baloo and King Louie will greet up on the trail between Africa and Asia (a place they have frequented in the past anyway), Chip and Dale (as well as Gi-Tar Dan) will move to Rafiki's Planet Watch, Pocahontas can be found in the Discovery Island Trails, and Donald Duck will move to Dinoland. Mickey and Minnie already moved early last year from the Greeting Trails to their new home on Discovery Island (at the Adventurer's Outpost).
At Disney's Hollywood Studios' character dining location, Disney Junior Play 'N Dine at Hollywood & Vine, June and Agent Oso are being replaced with Princess Sofia and Doc McStuffins. I have tried to find what date this will happen, but nobody knows for sure, although one friend did tell me perhaps the 26th January. This will mean that June and Agent Oso will no longer appear regularly at any Disney Park around the world. It does also mean that for the first time ever, Doc McStuffins will be available daily, for greetings, for all guests (albeit at a meal). Also for Hollywood Studios, dates for the mega popular Star Wars Weekends were released for 2014. This year they will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 16th May until 8th June inclusive.
At the Magic Kingdom, yesterday the epically long running Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade had its final curtain call. Running twice, the parade was given a neat final send-off, with a few old props returning, and fans lining the parade route with signs of support for the cast and characters. Many people have very fond memories of this parade, since its debut back in 2001 as Share a Dream Come True Parade, for Walt's 100th birthday. Although it was loved by many, I for one, and I know many others feel the same too, very much welcome a brand new day parade after 12 long years! The new parade, Festival of Fantasy is currently slated for a spring debut, and will feature a mixture of brand new floats and some that have been imported from Tokyo Disneyland's beautiful, and much missed, Jubilation parade. The new parade is confirmed to have floats representing Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, Tangled, Brave, and of course Mickey and Friends. Two of the floats brought from Tokyo used to be the Pinocchio float (it's Monstro) and the Princess one, and therefore fuels speculation they'll be used for the same purpose again, but official images of them/concept art are yet to be released.
As a reminder, today and tomorrow are the final days for the full Christmas season offerings at both the Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and catch their parades and shows again before they bid farewell for another 10 months! Brand new offerings this year included the Viva Navidad event and World of Color Winter Dreams at Disney California Adventure and Disney Dreams! of Christmas and the revamped Christmas Cavalcade at Disneyland Paris.
Speaking of Disneyland Paris, we were there for Christmas and New Year, which was amazing as usual! They always put a huge effort into their special entertainment offerings, and this year did not disappoint! The highlight was the "plussed" version of the Disney's Stars 'n' Cars parade at the Walt Disney Studios, which featured awesome characters just for New Year such as Darkwing Duck, Yzma and Kronk, the Cheshire Cat and many more!
It has been strongly rumoured across the internet that Disneyland Paris will also be bringing back a very old festival of theirs from some years back, called the Festival of Flowers. The Festival of Flowers was like a DLP version of EPCOT's Flower and Garden Festival. It is rumoured that the festival will return for a three month long spring event that will also incorporate a special happening (involving characters) as well as meet 'n' greets. There is nothing confirmed yet, but we all hope that this is true!
Finally, we have been aware that many of you have been searching the website for Princess Anna and Queen Elsa from Disney's Frozen. It took a while to get them up, but I have finally done it! (Click their names to go to their pages)
Ok, that's everything for today. Have a good week everyone,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Apologies for the long gap between blog posts again, but if you follow us on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter, you'll know that we were in Disneyland Paris last week for their Halloween Season.
You can check out my album of pictures I uploaded yesterday to Facebook, here. You can also go through our wall photos to see what we uploaded live while we were away!
The big news yesterday was that Mickey Mouse has now taken the bold step of talking live to guests who visit him at Town Square Theater in the Magic Kingdom! Up until now, Mickey has only ever spoken live during shows and parades, and has made rare appearances at his meet 'n' greet location, which have always been unannounced. But, now, you can meet him daily at the the Magic Kingdom in his dapper new magicians outfit, and talk directly to the Big cheese himself!
Our friends at the Unofficial Disney Character Hunting Guide have already met him, and uploaded this video (click link to view on their Facebook page).
Staying with Walt Disney World, and today Anna and Elsa, characters from Disney's brand new movie 'Frozen' began greeting guests at Hollywood Studios!
This is the very first time they have met guests publicly. You can check out a photo of them on the Where Magic Lives Facebook page.
Jumping across the county to California, and rather suddenly, the popular show Minnie's Fly Girls, at Disney California Adventure ended last week. As far as fans are aware, there was no real reason given, it just happened! It was a fun show, and certainly brought some energy to the Condor Flats area of the park.
I have been really busy lately, and haven't updated the website as much as I would have liked to, but I have ten days off from this Friday, so next week I hope to make a lot of updates, refresh a bunch of pages, and if all goes to plan, officially launch the third in our excellent Trip Planner series - this time for California! When it's launched I'll make an announcement on Facebook and Twitter, so watch out for that!
Ok, I think that's everything for this evening. Have a good week everyone.
Dan.
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| Hello everyone,
Once again I have to apologise for the long gap between updates here on the blog. Unfortunately we have just been incredibly busy with real life.
Anyway, there are some important new news pieces from around the world that I want to discuss this evening. We'll start with Disneyland Paris.
Disneyland Paris has been announcing a lot of new things recently for the upcoming Halloween and Christmas Seasons, which has been well received by the fans.
This Halloween Season there will be a brand new cavalcade (which we already knew), and it has now been officially confirmed that Clarabelle Cow will be part of that. This is the first time Clarabelle has ever been to Disneyland Paris in its 21 years! Huey, Dewey and Louie along with Scrooge McDuck were previously confirmed, and are still expected to appear in the cavalcade. Also making a welcome return to the park, albeit just for the cavalcade, are the Pumpkin Men! DLP fans will know that the Pumpkin Men (and women too) were a long-time staple of Halloween Season at DLP, often running around Main Street and Frontierland scaring guests half to death! They were a lot of fun! Minnie Mouse will be greeting at her new dedicated Halloween location at Casey's Corner on Main Street. Various fan sites have already posted pictures of that. Her outfit is yet to be seen, although artwork suggests it will be brand new. Bon Bon Goofy will return to Town Square, following his debut last year (it was a new outfit and new backdrop for him), as will the Villains in Fantasyland. It was suggested that one of the many Halloween themed bands that usually play throughout the park during the season will accompany the Villains this year, which would be a neat touch, to have Villainous music playing while meeting them! Duffy the Disney Bear is also to appear on Main Street in a Halloween outfit, for the first time in Paris. It is not yet confirmed what outfit he will greet guests in, but is expected to be similar to the US pumpkin version. Jack and Sally return to Thunder Mesa (outside Phantom Manor). Their location setup will be much the same, but with some new decorations that detail The Nightmare before Christmas more. The Halloween Soiree (Halloween Party on the 31st October) is also set to see some more new entertainment offerings. I did hear that Maleficent and Hook would be given their own shows. Maleficent is said to be at the Castle Stage, and Hook on his ship in Adventureland. All other details, including set up etc is not yet confirmed. If and when I can find out more, I will definitely post it here. Last years Soiree saw some awesome new entertainment, which injected some much needed life into the event, after a couple years of wavering. Whether any of last years shows will return is yet to be confirmed. It was also confirmed - in a round-about way - by a DLP official that ShellieMay would appear at the Soiree! I think his exact words were to the effect of "a good friend of Duffy is also going to make an appearance". Unless he was talking about Mickey Mouse, I think we can safely assume he meant ShellieMay! This will be the first time ever that ShellieMay has greeted regular park guests outside of Tokyo Disney Resort! Outside of the parks, at Disney Village, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show will see the return of the Halloween version. Dates and times are yet to be confirmed, I believe.
For Christmas Disneyland Paris have confirmed that the popular Christmas Cavalcade from last year will return, and will be expanded upon, including the addition of the Gingerbread Men, from the US parks! Certainly a much welcomed addition! Other new offerings include an updated Tree Lighting Ceremony in Town Square, narrated by Jiminy Cricket, and a special winter enchantment at Sleeping Beauty Castle using Disney's new movie, Frozen, and the Disney Dreams technology. Jack and Sally will return to Frontierland, and for the first time in Paris, and an all but one rare appearance some years ago at Disneyland in California, Jack will be in his Sandy Claws outfit! How awesome! I am really excited to see how he looks in that. I was also pleased to hear that the Jingle Bell Boys will return to the Videopolis in Discoveryland, where they will rock out some Christmas tunes accompanied by Mickey Mouse, who last year dazzled guests with his Big Band Beat style dance moves! (Tokyo fans will know what I mean by Big Band Beat.) The other big news for the season is that the Parade will debut characters from Disney's Frozen on the former Romance 1 float! Featuring in the daily parade, they will glide through Parc Disneyland on a magical Frozen themed float! I don't think it has yet been confirmed whether they will remain after Christmas Season, but seeing as this is an addition to the main parade, I would imagine they will, which would be great!
Finally for DLP, today Joe Schott (DLP Chief Operating Officer) said that the Tarzan Encounter would return to the park at some point, although they do not know when yet. Although I know many fans will think this is "cheap" move, since the show is rather old now, it is undeniably popular, and will be a welcome re-addition to a park that has seen a bit of a lack in entertainment of late. It's definitely better than nothing!
There have been many websites and fan pages posting about the new Christmas and Halloween offerings, so I haven't linked to any one in particular as I normally would do. If you want to find out more, just do a search online or check out some dedicated DLP Facebook pages.
Over in the US, and Halloween Season is well under way. Neither Resort seems to have changed much again this year, with the one exception that both have replaced one of their Halloween Party dance parties with a Monsters Inc themed one. Magic Kingdom's MNSSHP now also have Jack and Sally greeting in Town Square. Other than that, I don't think much else has altered. If you know any different, the please let me know!
At Disneyland you can meet Jack Sparrow on Tom Sawyer Island, and at the Magic Kingdom Hook, Jake and Pirate Goofy have been out and about.
Over at Disney's Hollywood Studios, rather suddenly, Minnie Mouse was given a brand new greeting location inside the Animation building. While we usually like these things (and indeed the location looks neat), she now wears her regular polkadot outfit (with some "sparkle", I was told). This is actually a step back, since she had been greeting around the Big Hat in her special pink DHS outfit.
Finally, yesterday the Disney Parks Blog revealed two more concept art images for the brand new Festival of Fantasy Parade coming to the Magic Kingdom in spring 2014. Ariel and Merida's float look pretty cool, and are a world apart from the now ancient Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, which I know fans will be glad to see the back of!
Ok, I think that is everything for today. Have a great weekend everyone,
Dan. |
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