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Hi all!
Wow it has been a crazy few weeks for us, but things are finally settling down, and I can catch up on all the character news in the world! Ok, so we might be a little late on some of this, but it's good to have it all in one place, and who knows - you may have missed something!
So, first up California.
The Disney Parks Blog revealed a few things about the new Cars Land, and some coming entertainment offerings.
Big Red and DJ, both characters from the popular movie series will debut on June 15th - Cars Land official opening date - in two new unique shows.
All the details can be found here on the Parks Blog. We can't wait to see these this summer!
Across the Esplanade, Disneyland surprised us all by announcing that they will be adding a new weekend entertainment to the Ranch area of Frontierland. It sounds like there could be some really awesome things going on there, with some rarer characters too, such as the Country Bears, Clara Cluck, Clarabelle and Horace - as well as Mickey and the gang in special themed outfits!
We're not sure that this will still be there when we go in the late summer, but we hope it is, as it sounds really neat!
MiceAge king, Al Lutz reported that the new Fantasy Faire, which replaces the Carnation Gardens (which closed this past week), will feature a daytime show which will rotate between the different princesses, and a special new meet 'n' greet area. Apparently the new meet 'n' greet rooms will be better than the new WDW versions which are going in to the Snow White attraction's space, which doesn't surprise me to be honest!
Over in Tokyo, they are gearing up for a summer of fun, and the Disney Parks Blog (in an unusual move) released some details about some of their character filled events.
There are a few different festivals and celebrations going on, which includes all your favourite pals in some neat outfits. Sadly I think we'll probably miss these when we go, but if you are able to get there we'd love to see your pics on the Forums!
The Parks Blog ALSO announced information regarding Tokyo's 30th Anniversary, which is coming up next April. The new parade will be titled Happiness is Here, and will replace the current day time parade, Jubilation (which incidentally is just four years old right now!). Tokyo sure do like to get through new parades! You can find a link to the official OLC Press Release on the Forum here.
Over in Walt Disney World, Princess Merida has been making surprise appearances ahead of her grand debut. She has been spotted by fans in EPCOT this week. Our fans here at Character Central have posted some awesome pictures to this thread here on our Forum, so be sure to check those out!
Finally, WDW have announced their dates for this years Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween and Very Merry Christmas Parties.
Check out all the dates and prices here for Halloween, and here for Christmas!
We attended Halloween last year and were really happy to see some great additions such as Gaston to the line-up. We can't attend this year due to other plans (how about Tokyo and Hong Kong for Halloween instead?! ;) ), but we look forward to hearing which villains might show up this year!
If you posted to our forums in the last month, be sure to check out the results of our competition that was held for our forum users!
Ok, that's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
This week has seen a few small bits of new character information emerge.
The Disney Parks Blog has been surprisingly forthcoming with information about some new character experiences at the US Parks.
First off, Princess Merida, from the new Disney-PIXAR movie 'Brave' will come to both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland by the summer. She will be the first PIXAR character to be represented in the parks as a face character!
At the Magic Kingdom, she will host her own Highland Games (ok, maybe not quite!) at the Fairytale Garden. It will be an interactive experience, complete with archery, according to the Parks Blog! It will be interesting to see how that one works out!
Rapunzel, who currently occupies the spot will be moving to Adventureland, and will be rejoined by Flynn Rider! It is rumoured that they will take Ariel's place at the Veranda, and Ariel could move to near the Swiss Family Treehouse. Nothing is certain at this stage, but that's what I've heard.
At Disneyland Merida will appear at a new location near "it's a small world".
At both locations she is going to be joined by her three bear cub friends in puppet form (so we hear, also subject to change). It will be interesting to see how that works out!
We really look forward to meeting Princess Merida in the summer.
At Disney California Adventure it has been confirmed that there will be a new cast of characters to bring the new Buena Vista Street to life.
Much like how Disney's Hollywood Studios features the Citizens of Hollywood, the Citizens of Buena Vista Street should prove to be a lot of fun. If the Hollywood folk are anything to go by, then expect a lot of random fun and a lot of laughs at every turn!
Just a few other smaller updates. Megara was seen at EPCOT yesterday, and rumour has it that Miss Bunny and Thumper will be leaving Animal Kingdom in the near future (sadly).
Also after a brief absence from the new parade, Tinker Bell has reappeared on the last float in Disneyland Paris, much to the fans delight!
Now, for something special!
As you all are quite aware by now, it is Disneyland Paris's 20th birthday. We will of course be there from Friday this week, and covering all the 20th anniversary happenings as they unfold on the day (next Thursday).
For the FIRST TIME EVER, we will be holding a special competition here at Character Central to win a special DLP 20th anniversary prize pack!
I won't give too much away right now, as we are still working on it, but to be in with a better chance, I might suggest you create an account on our Forums here at Character Central and start getting involved in some of our discussions! Membership is of course free, and quick and easy to do.
That's the only clue I'll give right now!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Sorry it has been a few days since our last update, but we have been very busy preparing for WDW and the Disney Cruise in just a couple of days time! Very exciting!
Anyway, here's what we have from the last few days...
In California, Loren has been busy keeping us updated with all the latest happenings.
Be sure to check out his updates from the Blue Bayou Bash and Valentine's Day here, the launch of the brand new DCA show 'Minnie's Fly Girls' here (which features talking Minnie!), and some cool news about atmosphere characters to appear on the new Buena Vista Street when it opens (think Citizens of Hollywood and Main Street at WDW!).
Loren also reported that there is a chance of some rare characters at DL's Leap Day event. I have to admit that I have been so busy I haven't had chance to check properly, but as far as I know, nothing else has been announced yet for DL, and everything so far is just rumour.
On the other hand, over in Florida, WDW announced the schedule for their Leap Day event. As was expected, there is nothing special about the announced programme. Extra character entertainment includes the Main Street Electrical Parade, extended times for the the regular character meet 'n' greets and the Frontierland Hoedown in the middle if the night.
We have heard form a few different sources across the Internet that some other random characters may appear. So far nothing seems to be confirmed but a few different websites are reporting everything from Jack Sparrow, the Seven Dwarfs and Mickey and Minnie in their PJs. Of course there is no official word on any of this, and anything can change last minute. Nobody will know for sure until they are in the park sadly!
We'd love to hear from you if you are going to be there. Let us know what characters you got to meet. Just hit the Discuss button at the bottom of this article (if you're on the article page)!
Disneyland Paris held their annual meeting, and they had a sneak preview of the brand new outfits for the VIPs during the 20th anniversary. You can check out the video here, which also includes the Three Good Fairies, the Blue Fairy and Merlin all dancing along to the brand new Parade song!
Finally, this video was released for DLP's 20th anniversary, and is a "brief history" of the Resort's 20 magical years. It includes of course some very interesting character moments!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan.
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Welcome to this third edition in a special series of articles looking at the top 10 best places for meeting the Disney Characters at the Disney Parks and Resorts. Our first edition looked at Walt Disney World in Florida. In the second, we visited Disneyland Paris.
In this third edition we look at Disneyland California's top ten. Throughout the article you can click the links to the specific places mentioned to find more detailed information about meeting characters there. At the end of the top ten, be sure to check our links to other hints and tips pages on this site!
Ok, here we go! First up, Disneyland Park!
1. Main Street USA - We begin our character hunting on Main Street. In Town Square you can frequently find any number of the VIPs (Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale etc) greeting their fans. Alice, the Mad Hatter and Cruella de Vil also makes appearances regularly.
Further up the street at the Refreshment Corner you may find any combination of Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, Bert, Alice, the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts.
At the Carnation Plaza area you can randomly find Princesses or Mary Poppins. This is a great place to meet them as there are rarely people even in this area, let alone lines!
It should be noted though that the Carnation Plaza area will soon be closed to become the new Fantasy Faire in Fantasyland.
2. Princess Fantasy Faire - Over in Fantasyland why not stop by Fantasy Faire to meet the Princesses? Although any three of the Big 5 are the usual suspects here, you may be lucky and get Pocahontas or Mulan (we have in the past!). If the line is long, instead of waiting in the heat for an hour, standing up, why not check back when the Royal Coronation Ceremony is taking place? You can have a nice seat, enjoy the show, AND get to meet the Princesses afterwards with relatively no line! (and I bet you're in and out before you would have even gotten to the front of the regular meet 'n' greet line!)
3. Fantasyland - Aside from Fantasy Faire, Fantasyland itself is worth a separate mention on our Top 10 list. Here you can often find Peter Pan, Alice, the Mad Hatter or the Queen of Hearts all roaming.
Fantasyland also hosts Pixie Hollow, home to Tinker Bell and her Fairy friends. As well as Tink herself you could meet any other one or two Fairies who may be visiting from Neverland, such as Terence, Vidia or Silvermist to name a few!
Over by the Wishing Well you can often find The Fairy Godmother, The Queen or Snow White.
In the Castle Courtyard, Rapunzel has her own private indoor meet 'n' greet area, and sometimes around the Castle you find some random Princesses too, such as Aurora or Cinderella.
4. Critter Country - Critter Country regularly features the Pooh friends. These are usually Pooh himself, Tigger and Eeyore, but Rabbit has been known to make appearances from time to time also.
Brer Fox and Brer Bear randomly roam about Critter Country, so watch out for that villainous pair while down by the bayou!
5. Minnie's Breakfast in the Park at the Plaza Inn - Back on Main Street you should get reservations for breakfast at Minnie's Breakfast in the Park at the Plaza Inn. The food is quite good, and is buffet style. There are always a bunch of random characters (as well as Minnie herself of course, donning her cooking apron!). In the past we have met Captain Hook, Max Goof, Eeyore, Rafiki and the Fairy Godmother here, to name but a few unusual ones!
6. Toontown - Toontown is a good place to meet all your favourite pals such as
Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale. They can often be found wandering about.
Minnie Mouse meets her fans at her house.
Mickey also meets his fans at his house, in the Movie Barn. The experience of waiting in line is interesting in itself, as you get to go through some neat areas. I won't spoil the surprise! When you finally get to Mickey himself, depending on which cartoon he is working on that day you could find him in his Steamboat Mickey outfit, his Sorcerer's Apprentice robes, Band Leader costume or just in his regular attire.
7. Holidays and Seasons - One of the best times to visit Disneyland is during some sort of holiday, festival or celebration. Christmas and Halloween seasons both see the VIPs greeting their fans on Main Street (or sometimes other areas of the park) in appropriate attire. You may find Count Mickey at Halloween for example, or Chip 'n' Dale in their winter knit wear.
As well as the VIPs in costumes, you can also meet some neat characters that aren't normally out. Halloween is a lot of fun, as the Villains come out to play regularly in Fantasyland. Last year Dr. Facilier, the Tremaines and Foulfellow all appeared, to name a few.
Also, at Halloween Time, be sure to attend the special Halloween Parties (ticketed events), where some really cool characters come out to play! Last year (2011) for example none other than Perry the Platypus was there!
At Christmas you can meet Santa and Mrs Claus in Frontierland.
Now let's hop over to Disney California Adventure...
8. Hollywood Pictures Backlot - Hollywood Pictures Backlot (soon to be renamed Hollywoodland - a nod to the original sign up on the hill!) features a number of good character opportunities. Sulley, Mr and Mrs Incredible, and Jake from the Neverland Pirates all meet here regularly. In the past Handy Manny, Goofy and Max have also hung out here, but I'm not sure of their fate more recently to be honest.
If you hang around after the Disney Dance Crew show at the Backlot Stage, you can have the chance to meet Mickey in his hip hop outfit! He only comes down for a brief set though, so be waiting near the front as soon as the show ends!
If you have a Disney Visa credit card, you can also take advantage of the free, private, meet 'n' greet which is open at select times only. You can meet Chip and Dale in cute, unique, Hollywood agent outfits. They do switch with Pluto (who doesn't have a special outfit sadly), so you may want to sneakily try to grab a glimpse around the corner if you really want the twins!
9. Paradise Pier - Although there aren't too many character appearances in Paradise Pier, there are a couple worth mentioning. You can meet Mickey and Duffy (separately) in their sailor outfits near Ariel's Grotto.
Woody, Jessie and Green Army Men sometimes appear down near the Midway Mania attraction, and Goofy has recently been greeting fans in his pilot's outfit or California vacation wear, near the Little Mermaid attraction.
I'll also give a passing mention to Ariel's Grotto Princess Dining where you can eat with Ariel and her Princess friends. To be honest, the food here is pretty dire, and I have utter contempt for the restaurant itself - it's a completely miserable looking place. So unless you are sure beyond doubt you want to meet the Princesses here, then my advice would be to try meet them at any of the other places I listed above!
Finally we travel to the Hotels of the Disneyland Resort...
10. Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel - Goofy's Kitchen is a great place to either start the day with a buffet breakfast, or end the day with a buffet meal! You will get the chance to meet Goofy, Pluto, Minnie, Chip and Dale in their special chef outfits, as well as a number of other random characters. In the past we have seen everyone from the Mad Hatter, Prince Phillip and Princesses such as Cinderella and Jasmine. It's a good restaurant, with a good number of random characters, so be sure to dine here!
I hope you all found that useful!
You might also want to check out our special Hints and Tips Blog Post here, and join our members discussion about hints and tips for meeting characters here on our Forum. Other users have posted some great tips, so be sure to check those out and maybe make your own contributions!
Stay tuned over the next few days for my next article in this series, which will be Tokyo Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland's Top 10!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
There isn't much to report today, but thought I'd update nonetheless!
Over in Disneyland, it was announced that Mardi Gras would once again return to New Orleans Square in the form of the New Orleans Bayou Bash. It sounds as though it has been lifted right from last year's similar events during the Character Fan Weekends, but has a more extended run dedicated solely to this theme.
According to the Parks Blog there will be "special entertainment will include performances by Princess Tiana, Louis and Naveen and meet & greet opportunities with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Chip ‘n’ Dale – all dressed up in their Mardi Gras finest!"
You can find out more information, including dates on our Forum post about it here.
Loren has posted his most recent weekly character update from Disneyland, and that can also be found here on our Forum.
At Walt Disney World this afternoon, there was a special mini-parade to celebrate the Big Game that happened this weekend. Although I don't have pictures to share, I know that Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale were there on the parade route dressed in their special sports outfits, along with cheerleaders and balloon vendors selling special football shaped balloons!
In Tokyo last week they announced that Easter Wonderland would be returning. This high energy event has a long run through the Spring period, and is very popular, as with all seasonal events at the Japanese parks. You can find out more information about this here in Jon's post on our Forum.
Be sure to check out my first in a series of special articles for character hunting at the Disney Parks and Resorts, which includes our top 10 places. The first Resort is Walt Disney World, which can be found here. Check back in the next few days to find similar articles for Disneyland and Disneyland Paris!
We celebrated Peter Pan's birthday yesterday with a special tribute blog post, which you can see here.
Finally, we know there have been some issues with being able to access the site since Sunday, and we are working with our host to resolve these issues. Please be patient, but be assured we will be fully back on line as soon as possible!
As always we thank you all for your continued support. We really appreciate it.
Dan. |
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Hi all,
There hasn't been much in the way of news recently, but I do have just a couple of things to share.
We have been hearing for a while that Princess Merida will appear at WDW later this year, once the new PIXAR movie 'Brave' is released.
We now hear from several different sources that Merida will be appearing with her brothers, but with a twist! We hear that they are going to be moving into Caspian's old location in Hollywood Studios, and Merida will be a face character (PIXAR's first!) and her three brothers will be puppets! We're not sure how this will work as yet, but will keep you posted as always when we hear more.
Over at Disneyland, Loren took part in another marathon, this time the brand new Never Land 5K. He got to meet some awesome characters, so why not check out his character picture filled post about here on our Forum!
We have been working hard as always to add more and more content to the site. Many, many pages have a lot of new photos showing in their "Most Recent" sections, so next time you visit a location or character page be sure to scroll down to see if there is anything new.
We have also added a new section to our Forum - Collector's Corner, where you can discuss all things collectible! From Vinylmations to Pin Trading, we have it covered!
Ok, that's about it for now. I have some special new articles coming later this week so be sure to check back for those!
Dan. |
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 | Toontown Celebrates 19 years! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 9:19:38 AM |
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On this day 19 years ago, Disneyland was allowed to open up the magical portal to the world of Toontown - the place where all Disney's most cherished animated Characters live, work, and play!
So let's celebrate the occasion with some of our Character filled memories of Toontown over the years!
Why not start your day in the big city with an introductory ceremony for all new visitors. You'll become an honorary citizen of the most colourful place on Earth!
You never know who you might find wandering around Toontown...
Finally, why not take the time to visit Mickey Mouse at home. You might be lucky enough to find him wearing an outfit from one of his most famous starring roles...
Here's to another 19 years of magic at Toontown!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
This week the Disney Parks Blog announced that there would again be Chinese Lunar New Year Celebrations at Disneyland in California. Moving this year from the Festival Arena though, to near "it's a small world", the event will run from the 20th through to the 29th of January. It will feature Mulan, Mushu and other Disney Characters. We hope that it means there will be some neat costumes for the Characters. Loren will be there, and we look forward to his updates as usual! You can discuss this topic on our topic about it here on our forum.
Staying with Disneyland, the Parks Blog also announced a special "meet-up" event at California Adventure involving Jake and his pirate band from the hit show, Jake and the Neverland Pirates. RSVPs are opening next week apparently, so keep checking their blog for more information. Loren hopes he can attend - we hope he can too! Discuss this event on our forum topic about it here!
Be sure to check out Loren's weekly Character updates from Disneyland - the latest instalment is here.
Finally for California, I thought this was a cool picture from the Disney Parks Blog - the Tick Tock Croc in a tea cup! Now if only he would come out of hiding to meet his fans once again...
Jumping over to Paris now, and DLRP Today posted some more detailed concept art from the new version of the parade. I have to say it looks really neat, and we really look forward to seeing all the cool changes to it in April. From new characters (Fairies and Merlin to name some!), some brand new mini-floats (carriages for the Princesses), new costumes, new music and newly redesigned old floats (that look simply stunning!), the new version of the parade really looks set to be the fantastic boost that the day parade needed (despite our LOVE of Once Upon a Dream Parade!).
Finally, we have heard confirmation from numerous sources across the Internet that the Tarzan show will be returning for another season this year at Parc Disneyland.
Ok, that's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
A few small pieces of information for this week, but nothing major.
Christmas Season ended at the Parks and Resorts, and at Disneyland Paris, unusually, Mickey's Winter Wonderland - which previously was a winter show running through February - ended also.
This now makes Winter Wonderland more a Christmas show than a Winter one, which is a little sad since it added some nice seasonal entertainment through the boring months of January and February!
Along with that, Central Plaza Stage has begun being decommissioned, hence ending the Mickey's Magical Celebration show. Disney Dance Express also had it's last performance.
The Once Upon a Dream Parade lost the Imagination unit so it can be converted to the new Fairies unit, and the Romance 2 unit is soon to follow.
All these changes are in preparation for the 20th Anniversary celebration, which will begin on 1st April.
We can't wait to see everything they have planned once it is all up and running!
Staying with Paris, and of course with the end of Christmas Season the Characters revert back to regular outfits. Duffy had made his début in Paris during the Christmas period, and so now makes his official regular début on Main Street in his regular sailor outfit on a permanent basis, alongside Mickey Mouse. Incidentally, the new Mickey meet 'n' greet is taking shape apparently, with some fresh new colours being painted onto the former Fantasy Festival Stage building. Again, we look forward to seeing it completed!
Over in Florida, much to my sadness, Dug and Russell from UP have stopped meeting guests just a month after they were added at Animal Kingdom.
This week saw the half marathon and the full marathon in WDW, and there were some truly amazing characters there. We really want to do a marathon some year (when we eventually get time!), and if any year has spurred us on to want to do it, it was this year. We have so far seen pictures of Darkwing Duck, Ludwig Von Drake, the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, amongst others. There were many more of course, but they are the most amazing ones I have seen posted online so far. Oh what we wouldn't do to meet Darkwing and Ludwig!!
In California, Disneyland held their Three Kings Day celebration, and of course Loren was there to get all the best pictures for us! Check out his picture filled Forum post here.
Finally, I posted some photo filled entries that I thought I would just highlight, as they are worth a look.
You can check out Part One and Part Two of my Disneyland Paris Christmas and New Year Photo Trips Reports here and here respectively.
I also posted a great over view of all the fantastic Character related things we have done this year, in my Year in Review post which can be seen here.
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone! May I take this opportunity to formally wish everyone a Happy New Year. We were in Disneyland Paris (I mean, where else WOULD we be?!), and so we could only Tweet and Facebook our New Year's greeting to everyone, so this is the first chance I have had on the Blog. We had an amazing time as always in DLP, and those of you who follow our Facebook page may have seen our various updates about all the cool things they were doing for New Year. Our pictures will be coming in due course; in fact later tonight I might just upload a select few to begin with and make an additional blog post here so that you can all see a selection of some of the neat things we did this trip. We are now back of course though, and counting down, as always, to our next crazy adventure, which will be to WDW and our first Disney Cruise next month! Following the WDW trip we are also seeing the Phineas and Ferb Disney Live show. February will be quite the amazing month!
Following a pretty quiet December, there are a few small bits of news for this new year, so let's take a quick look. In WDW, we have heard whispers that Princess Merida and Sophia the First will make appearances once the new Disney/PIXAR film 'Brave' has been released. To make way for the removal of the gargantuan Central Plaza Stage at Disneyland Paris, the final performance of this years main Hub show, Mickey's Magical Celebration, will be on January 9th. Also ending earlier than the official Magical Moments end date, are the Green Army Men Meet 'n' Play and the Disney Dance Express. Both of these will also end on January 9th. Also ending early, but not until March 4th will be the parade's show stops, the Following the Leader with Peter Pan show and Rapunzel's meet 'n' greet location in Fantasyland. It is expected that Rapunzel will simply move into the new Princess Pavilion on a rotational basis, just like the rest of the princesses. Character locations that will be staying that were added in 2011 will be the Alice and Mad Hatter area in Fantasyland, the Jungle Rhythms gazebo in Adventureland, and Aladdin's Magic Lamp (also in Adventureland). As far as we know the characters will still appear at these locations. Now as for the parade itself, the Dreams of Imagination float (Mickey and Friends) will be removed for it's magical transformation also on January 9th, while the Dreams of Romance 2 float will be taken out for it's refurb from January 16th. Both will return in their new forms in time for the 20th Anniversary launch, on 1st April 2012. As we already know from a while back, Mickey and Friends will be put on the finale float and fairies and Merlin will now appear at the beginning. The princes and princesses displaced by Mickey and Friends taking over their float will either move to the Dreams of Romance 1 or be in new horse drawn carriages. We have a thread going on our Forum here, and if you scroll down, user Dragy recently posted a piece of artwork showing the new changes. Over in California, Loren tells us that this weekend Disneyland will be celebrating Three Kings Day by featuring some cool characters in the park! Check out his Forum post about it here. Loren also tells me that Disneyland continued it's tradition this year of having a mass ensemble of characters appear at park closing at Main Street Station on Christmas Eve. Ones that he tells me appeared include Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Max, Donald Duck, Pluto, and Chip n' Dale in their pyjamas and then there was Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Mulan, Mushu, Pocahontas, Meeko, Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy, Perla, Fairy Godmother, Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, Belle, Beast, Snow White, Dopey, Woody, Jessie, Buzz Lightyear, Jane, Terk, Lilo and Stitch (in a Santa costume!), Alice, the Tweedles and the Queen of Hearts. Finally, Character Central celebrated it's second birthday on January 1st, but of course we were away in DLP, so we missed being able to make a post about it. We just want to thank every single one of the 120,769 unique people that visited last year on at least 222,000 occasions! We really appreciate all your support and feedback. In the next few months up until April we are going to be working to make some awesome new additions and changes to the site. So stay tuned for those! So, Happy New Year everyone, and Happy 2nd Birthday Character Central! Dan. |
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