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Star Wars Weekends, Merida, Mickey, Goofy and more!
DisneyDan  Friday, May 25, 2012 1:11:19 PM
Hi all,
Sorry it has been a while again, but we have been ever busy, and to be honest, there hasn't been too much character news out there!

But, nonetheless I thought I'd just mention a few things that have happened in recent days.

At Disneyland Paris, the new Meet Mickey opened in Fantasyland at the former Fantasy Festival Stage location.
We don't have any of our own pictures to share right now, but from what I have seen of the inside, it is really neat! I think that they did a much better job of it than Town Square Theatre in the Magic Kingdom, that's for sure!

Disneyland Paris also released the new Winter brochure for this year, and it provides some small (very small) details about what to expect this Halloween and Christmas seasons.
Characters in themed outfits seem to be returning to both celebrations, and at Halloween the Villains too.
As we already knew, but now confirmed, the MNSSHPs are not returning (sadly), but the Soiree will.
At Christmas, Mickey's Winter Wonderland will return, and the description uses a plural - shows - so we expect that the Tree Lighting will return, and a new, reworked Castle Lighting (seeing that Central Plaza Stage has now gone).
Find a out a few more details, including dates, on our forum here (Christmas) and here (Halloween).

Over in Walt Disney World, Star Wars weekend began last week, and have, as always, been featuring all the best loved characters from the movies. I haven't heard of anything exceptional this year, or anyone new, but if I do I'll of course post it here.

Staying with the US Parks, both WDW and Disneyland launched Princess Merida from PIXAR's Brave last week.
Merida now meets at the Fairytale Garden in the Magic Kingdom, and near "it's a small world" in Disneyland.

Finally, last week I had posted a Happy Birthday Goofy post... I had done this because, according to numerous sources - including the Disney Parks Blog itself! - that it was indeed Goofy's Birthday. Now, according to Disney, it is Goofy's Birthday today!
I have double checked against various different sources, and most places seem to agree it is today, but some places still record it as the 12th of May!
Well, anyway, what ever the actual date (and my suspicion it is indeed today), we'll wish Goofy Happy Birthday again! Check out last week's post for a photo filled tribute to our favourite goof in action at the Parks and Resorts!

Ok, that's all for now,

Dan.
Happy Birthday Carl, Russel and Dug!
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:05:20 PM
Today is the 3rd anniversary of the world premiere of Disney/PIXAR's feature, UP!

So, in true Character Central style, let's celebrate with a photo filled tribute of the characters - Carl, Russell and Dug - at the parks!

Meeting Carl, Dug and Russell

Meeting Russell after the Wilderness Explorer Ceremony

Dug comes out to play

Wilderness Explorer Ceremony

Meeting Russell

Meeting Russell and Carl

Happy Birthday Carl, Russell and Dug!

Dan.
Happy Belated Birthday Fantasmic!
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:00:17 PM
Hi all,
I have been a little behind this week, but May 15th was the 20th Anniversary of Fantasmic! at the Disneyland Resort.
A special event was held for selected AP holders. They had an exclusive showing, which featured some really neat characters on the Mark Twain t the finale - including Roger Rabbit! yes, Roger Rabbit!!

The characters then went to the Train Station on Main Street to wave goodnight to fans as they exited.

So, here's our photo filled tribute to the awesome character filled show that is Fantasmic!

Disneyland Aug 2009 - Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Disneyland Aug 2009 - Fantasmic!

Happy 20th birthday Fantasmic!

Dan.
Happy Belated Birthday Goofy!
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 16, 2012 11:41:21 AM
Hi all! I have been very busy this last week, and so have missed some key dates, including Goofy's Birthday!
Goofy first made his starring debut in the Mickey Mouse short, Mickey's Revue on the 12th May 1932.
So here is a belated photo tribute to that loveable but clumsy dog!

Meeting Goofy and Max

Meeting Cowboy Goofy

Meeting Goofy

Meeting Sports Goofy

Scarecrow Goofy and his CM

Meeting Goofy

Meeting Goofy

Meeting Goofy

Happy Belated birthday Goofy!

Dan.
Happy Birthday J. M. Barrie!
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 9, 2012 11:26:39 AM
Hi all,

Today would have been James Barrie's 152nd Birthday. JM Barrie is best known for creating Never Never Land, and it's most famous inhabitant, the Boy Who Never Grew Up, Peter Pan!

It was nearly a hundred years after Barrie's birth that it was made into a motion picture by Walt Disney, but it was worth the wait.
Walt Disney's masterpiece, Peter Pan, is one of Disney's most treasured films and has given the world of Disney much to play with over the years, from attractions, shows, characters and more.
Of course, this is a character website, so let's take a look at some of the characters that have featured in the Parks, inspired by the original plays written over a hundred years ago by J. M. Barrie.

WDW April 2008

WDW 2008 June - Enchanted Adventures Parade

DLP Feb 2009 - Disney's Once Upon a Dream Parade

Tokyo Aug 2010 - One Man's Dream II - The Magic Lives On

WDW Sept 2008 - Meeting Peter, Wendy, and the Lost Boys :D

Tokyo Aug 2010 - One Man's Dream II - The Magic Lives On

DCL Feb 2012 - Meeting Captain Hook and Mr. Smee

DLP April 2012 - Meeting some very special characters

Happy 152nd Birthday James Barrie!

Dan.
Auberge de Cendrillon - A Review (plus some site updates)
DisneyDan  Monday, May 7, 2012 11:55:11 AM
Hi all,

On our recent trip to Disneyland Paris we had the opportunity to eat at Auberge de Cendrillon at Parc Disneyland (DLP).
Auberge is the most expensive restaurant in the park, and probably the Resort, after Inventions at the Disneyland Hotel.

Auberge de Cendrillon

Auberge is located in Fantasyland, in the Courtyard, and offers fine dining, French style.
Named for Cinderella, the meal is "hosted" by Cinderella's mice friends, Suzy and Perla.
The restaurant reminds me of a mix of the Akershus at EPCOT, and Cinderella's Royal Table at the Magic Kingdom.
The main restaurant has murals on the walls depicting the story of Cinderella, and high ceilings. There is also a smaller additional room that features booths separated by engraved glass (pumpkins, of course!).
Overall the restaurant itself is nice, but given DLP's extravagant theming of everything else, for the top end dining in the park, it could be a bit more immersive.

Auberge de Cendrillon

Now we come to the food...
I have never been a fan if French food much anyway, and if anything confirmed that, it was the food here!
The starter choice was extremely French, with options such as liver pate and grilled vegetables - served cold - and they weren't even "normal" vegetables!
The main course was better. I had the veal, and it was ok. It came with some bizarre mushroom stuffing and something I think was mash potato.
The dessert was by far the best part of the meal, and was a set item, which consisted of three different items.
Served with your meal you get a selection of bread, and a non-alcoholic cocktail.
Overall the food was not my sort of thing at all. The dessert was by far the best part of the meal.
Of course this wouldn't be a character site if I didn't mention the characters we had that day!
Of course Suzy and Perla are always present, and Cinderella too.
I know for a fact that other princesses and princes frequent the restaurant. I know for example that Snow White and Aurora are nearly always there, sometimes with their princes, sometimes not.
Our visit was a bit different.
Prince Charming joined Cinderella, as well as the Fairy Godmother!
The Fairy Godmother doesn't normally make appearances in Paris, so this was a rare treat!
Tiana was also in attendance that day.
Overall we had a pleasant experience at Auberge, but I do warn you that for the price, the food isn't the best, and the characters are readily available elsewhere. It isn't somewhere I'm going to go back to any time soon.

Cinderella's Coach at Auberge de Cendrillon

I know this hasn't been the most comprehensive review of our experience, but I hadn't reviewed it before and felt that being it's a character dining venue, it needed a mention.

I don't have any pictures from our experience there up yet on the site, which is why there was none in this review (the three I posted were all outside, and from previous trips), but you can check back on our Auberge page at a later date to see our most recent updates (probably won't be for a little while) - or click onto the page anyway to see past pictures.

Before I sign off, just a note to say that we have been working hard to add lots more content to the site! The keen eyed among you may have noticed some new locations, a new character, new character descriptions, some new autographs on character pages, a new Disney Cruise Line Forum, and many hundreds of new photos across the site.
Plus we have added an extra 15 new Blog banners too - so be sure to refresh this page to see them all (we have 26 in total now I think)! ;)

Dan.
May the 4th be with you!
DisneyDan  Friday, May 4, 2012 11:29:16 AM
May the Forth be with you!!

Disneyland Aug 2010 - Jedi Training Academy

WDW 2008 June - The Star Wars Motorcade

DLP June 2011 - Meeting Chewbacca and Darth Vader

DL Oct 2011 - Meeting Stormtroopers

WDW 2008 June - Meeting Disney Star Wars Characters!

Happy 4th of May! ;)

Dan.
Lots of Character News and Updates from around the World!
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 2, 2012 12:11:35 PM
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.
And the WINNER is!...
DisneyDan  Wednesday, May 2, 2012 10:43:07 AM
Hi all!

I can now reveal the winner of our first ever competition, and the runners up who will also get a little surprise!
Just click here to head over to the forum to find out who the lucky ones are!

Dan.
Happy 23rd Birthday Disney's Hollywood Studios!
DisneyDan  Tuesday, May 1, 2012 11:11:10 AM
Today is the 23rd 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 Happy 23rd Birthday!   [ Read More... ]
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