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Hello everyone,
Today is the Spring Equinox, which means that it is officially the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere!
Today is also the first ever United Nations declared "International Day of Happiness", which celebrates the need to be happy as "a fundamental human goal", and I think we can definitely all agree with that.
To celebrate these two occasions, some of our favourite Disney pals are here, as always in a photo cavalcade!
Spring time always reminds me of bunnies and flowers, so there are no prizes for guessing correctly the theme I've gone for!
Mickey and the gang have also donned their special spring time outfits that they have at Disneyland Paris, which have some cute accessories and details, all to do with the garden and spring! So be sure to look at those carefully.
Happy first day of spring, and remember, stay happy everyone!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
A few small pieces of news today.
First up, Disneyland in California has abruptly ended the Plaza Inn's "My Disneyland Birthday" which used to take place at the restaurant. The special gathering which saw the debut of a brand new park-exclusive character "Pat E Cake", ran for over 10 years, before ending this past Sunday. It was a neat little happening that also featured Mickey and Minnie meeting the invited guests together for pictures.
You may recall last year WDW similarly cut its Tony's Town Square Gathering, which featured the Lady and the Tramp's chef Tony exclusively at the Tony's Town Square Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom.
It's sad to see that these unique events are gradually disappearing from the parks, as it is often these little details and happenings that really add that extra sparkle to a guest's day.
The Disney Parks Blog finally announced details of Disneyland's version of Long Lost Friends Week. Although no date is set yet, they have released on the blog a list of characters which can be voted on, and the top ones will be the ones that appear in the park that week (whenever that may be).
The list has been met with some mixed reaction from the fan community overall, simply because it isn't as diverse as we were all hoping for. Sure, it does have the Three Good Fairies, Merlin and Ludwig Von Drake, amongst others, but it also has Alice, the Mad Hatter, Peter Pan, Chip 'n Dale, and many more who are all in the park regularly.
Some have pointed out that it's the opportunity to get these groups of characters together that is also the draw, but to be honest, when I think "long lost", meeting Alice with the Tweedles doesn't exactly inspire me. The fear is also of course that people will vote for those characters, and the event will end up being nothing more than a big gathering of current friends, rather than the return of anyone truly "lost".
I guess we shall see soon enough what happens!
Over at WDW, although Disney themselves haven't made a public announcement, Cast Members there are reporting that Hollywood Studios' Countdown to Fun parade and Disney Channel Rocks will both be ending permanently on April 6th this year.
There is no word on any replacement yet for either offering, sadly.
In Disneyland Paris, our friends at Dedicated to DLP reported that they have heard whispers of a runDisney event being held there late next year. For anyone who doesn't know, usually these events have lots of random and cool characters featured along the course! I guess we should all start training now!
This past weekend DLP also held its annual St. Patrick's Day event, which featured characters in their Irish finest, and Leprechauns! It's one of the very few things that we still haven't been to, here at Character Central. Every year we say we will, and we always fail! Maybe next year?...
Lots of the main DLP Facebook and Twitter pages had some good updates throughout the weekend of the characters, shows, special fireworks and the pre-parade, so be sure to check them out!
Remember that just a few days ago I made another News post, which contains details of lots more cool things coming to the parks this year, including a Greek event at DLR! So be sure to read that.
Although its birthday has passed now, two days ago it was Walt Disney Studios Park's 11th anniversary. I made a special tribute post with lots of really great photos in it, so if you're curious at all, then have a look.
Finally, I want to mention our brand new Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planner that was launched last week. If you are planning to visit Tokyo, and haven't yet seen our special Trip Planner, I would suggest you do not miss it!
For those who have asked, or are curious, more Trip Planners are on their way, for the other Disney Parks and Resorts - they just take a lot of time to create! We'll let you know here on the blog when we do launch them.
Ok, I think that's all for today.
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Today is the 11th birthday of Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris.
Over the years the park has undergone a massive transformation from the grey open concourse that is once was, and now has some really interesting and unique features. Although it often gets criticised for its size and lack of real depth and detail, it is an interesting park that will only get more and more exciting with time. Already under construction is the much anticipated Ratatouille attraction, which will be accompanied by a store, restaurant and new restrooms, as well as a dedicated FastPass area, all along its own special "Parisian style" street.
Here at Character Central, we love Walt Disney Studios, and look forward to many more years of fun and excitement at the park, and welcoming more and more additions that will give the park the edge that it needs.
Happy 11th Birthday Walt Disney Studios Park! Here's to the next 11 years!
Below are some my favourite pictures from Character Central's adventures at the park over the years. In a slightly different take on how I normally do these things, I've avoided posting too many character shots in here for once, because I really want to highlight the details and offerings that Walt Disney Studios already has, despite the criticisms it receives. [ Read More... ] |
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| Hello everyone,
This week has actually been quite a news filled week for a change!
Disneyland Resort in California has been at the forefront of most of the news, so let's start there. On the 12th March, the brand new Fantasy Faire area officially opened to all guests. We have all talked about this a lot recently, but now it's officially open, and it seems to be really popular. Disneyland did an excellent job of it, and we can't wait to see it it in May!
The Disney Parks Blog also announced that the new Mickey and the Magical Map show at the Fantasyland Theatre will debut on May 25th. We will miss this by a few days, sadly, but plan to be back in DL in the summer, so we cannot wait to see it! Much to my happiness, it sounds like it will have Stitch in it too!
Apparently it will feature entertainment at both parks at the Resort, including one in DL that will feature Hercules! Hercules is a very rare character indeed, and it will be the first time outside of Tokyo DisneySea that he has met guests in a very long time.
Over in WDW, not strictly character related, but worth a mention; the design for this year's Star Wars Weekends logo has been released, which features Chip and Dale as Ewoks - my favourite Star Wars characters! We hope to be able to attend SWW this year, and so we look forward to seeing which characters will be out... Maybe even Ewok Chip and Dale? Of course that's my own speculation, but that would be very cool indeed!
There will also be a new "nighttime" parade, although details were sketchy, we can hope that it'll be an electrical parade? Again, that'll bring more characters to the park, even if it is just for a parade. Whilst I mention Mystic Point, HKDL are pretty good with their themed characters, and having characters in special outfits in the different lands, which makes me wonder who might appear once Mystic Point opens in May? I guess we'll find out soon enough!
At Disneyland Paris, we have heard from various contacts that for the 20th Anniversary Extension (which runs past the end of April, through to the end of September this year), will include some minor day parade changes. Tiana and Naveen are likely to be replaced with Belle and Prince Adam, and Pluto will finally return to the day parade, having been absent since last year. He will now walk in front of the Mickey and Friends finale float, with Goofy who is being demoted down from the float to the ground. I have also heard that the music will be altered slightly, but from September (not April), but I have yet to get proper confirmation of this. I'll let you all know when I hear for sure.
Finally, here at Character Central we launched the first of our brand new Trip Planners. Covering pretty much anything you could possibly imagine about planning a trip, and tips and advice for while you're on your trip (complete with tons of useful links), the new Planners are an EXCELLENT resource, and we are proud to say that they are the first of their kind anywhere! The first one is for Tokyo Disney Resort, and we will gradually be adding the other Disney Parks, with Hong Kong being the next one, hopefully in the next week to ten days. So check it out and let us know what you think!
Ok, I think that's everything for now,
Dan. |
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| Hello everyone,
It is with great pride that I now present to you for the first time, our BRAND NEW excellent in-depth Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planner! It is the first in a series of brand new pages that will cover all five Disney Resorts around the world. Everything from booking flights, hotels, dining recommendations and even where to get free wifi is covered! A MUST for anyone planning a trip to Tokyo Disney Resort!
The page includes MANY links which can be accessed under each section, as well as a wealth of information relating to pretty much anything you could imagine!
We really have out everything we had into this new chapter of the website, and I hope that you really find it very useful.
We are in the process of creating the next Trip Planner, which will be for Hong Kong Disneyland, and hope to have that up in the next 2 weeks.
If you have any comments, suggestions or questions, you can hit the blue title bar above, then click the 'Discuss' button that will appear under this article.
Dan. |
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 | Time to spring forward! | |
| PeterPanFan
Saturday, March 9, 2013 7:50:13 PM |
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| Hello everyone!
The White Rabbit is here to remind our US and Canadian friends that clocks spring forward tonight. So make sure you change your clocks so you aren't late for any important dates!
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 | Happy World Book Day! | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, March 7, 2013 11:59:07 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Today is World Book Day, which celebrates the magic of reading, stories, authors and of course books themselves.
Stories have been told and passed down through millennia, from the time of the cavemen who drew pictures on the walls, right to the modern day gadgets such as Kindles that can store thousands of books.
Without these stories, our imaginations would never be stimulated, and we would never dream of far off lands, castles with magical inhabitants, heroes and villains battling across space and time, and fairytales that offer escapism and fantasy.
Virtually every Disney story finds its inspiration in an old tale or ancient fable. The Disney Parks are built upon the stories told by Walt Disney and his successors, through film, television, theatre and other art forms, which are translated into the fantastical realms we can discover at the Disney Parks.
Remember on this World Book Day to pick up and read. Feed your imagination, and never lose the curiosity of what a real book might hold within its covers. You never know what you may discover!
Here to celebrate are some of Character Central's favourite storybook characters!
Pinocchio and friends, as brought to life by Carlo Collodi
The Jungle Book gang, as brought to life by Rudyard Kipling
Ariel and Eric, as brought to life by Hans Christian Andersen
Alice and the Wonderland friends, as brought to life by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym "Lewis Carroll"
Peter Pan, Wendy and John, as brought to life by Sir James Barrie
Dan. |
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 | Happy 30th Birthday Dreamfinder and Figment!! | |
| PeterPanFan
Tuesday, March 5, 2013 7:40:33 PM |
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| 30 Years ago today Journey Into Imagination opened at EPCOT Center introducing two great characters: Dreamfinder and Figment! Sadly their amazing original attraction was later replaced and they no longer meet in the park; however, Figment still lives on in the current "Journey Into Imagination with Figment" attraction. Many Disney fans, myself included, hold out hope that someday Dreamfinder will return too (and that they both will meet their many fans in the parks). Unfortunately the only pictures of Dreamfinder and the original attraction I have are on film and haven't been scanned in but we do have more recent pictures so here is a Character Central picture tribute to both Figment and Dreamfinder!
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 | Tokyo Disney Resort Trip Planning - Part Three | |
| DisneyDan
Saturday, March 2, 2013 11:35:24 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Earlier this week I published my two part trip planning guide to Tokyo Disney Resort.
Since then, I have had some questions, and thought of some additional things I think might be useful for you to know.
So, here we have a part three, albeit much smaller than the previous two parts.
[ Read More... ] |
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 | Happy St David's Day! | |
| DisneyDan
Friday, March 1, 2013 1:51:59 PM |
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Today is St. David's Day in the United Kingdom constituent country of Wales.
There aren't really any Welsh Disney Characters, but there is one who is thought to be originally from Wales, and that is Merlin.
So, let's celebrate with Merlin now, and take a look at some of his adventures at the Disney Parks!
Happy St. David's Day everyone!
Dan. |
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