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Hello everyone,
Today sees the start of Disneyland's much anticipated Limited Time Magic event, Long Lost Friends Week.
As you may recall the Disney Parks Blog had previously held a vote, and these are the characters that officially won:
- Esmeralda, Frollo and Clopin from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Pocahontas, John Smith, Meeko and Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas
- Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, Prince John and Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood
- and Scrooge McDuck and Ludwig von Drake
User ssaamm on our Character Central Forum also informs us that they have also seen Lilo and Stitch, the Three Little pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, Peter and Wendy, and Tarzan and Jane appear so far at the Ranch! None of these won the vote.
It's definitely very cool that Disneyland have stepped up their game on this one. I am just immensely sad that we are not there for it!
If anyone else appears this week, I'll be sure to let you all know.
On Facebook, the Unofficial Disney Character Hunting Guide posted pictures of Princess Aurora sporting her new look at WDW, which debuted just the other day. Of the three Princesses that have been redesigned so far, I personally think that Aurora is the best one.
Also at WDW, although this is now old news, just as a reminder, Countdown to Fun and Disney Channel Rocks at Hollywood Studios ended permanently this past weekend. This now leaves the Studios without a parade until further notice.
Tokyo Disneyland have had a "soft opening" of their brand new parade for the 30th anniversary. Happiness is Here features some of our favourite characters, including some that are being let out in the parks for the very first time!
The Ugly Duckling, a Heffalump, and the King of Hearts are all welcomed additions! The King of Hearts was technically a character a very long time ago, but hasn't been seen in decades. |
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Hello everyone,
If you had been following our Twitter last week, you will know that we spent 5 days in WDW over the Easter period.
Of course, going to WDW is nothing new for us (!), and so I don't usually post a review or trip report these days, but, there were a lot of new things on this trip that we hadn't experienced before, so I thought I would cover them in a short photo report (as opposed to a full trip report), so that you can all see some of our adventures.
[ Read More... ] |
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 | Happy 70th Birthday Chip and Dale! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, April 2, 2013 6:48:31 AM |
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Hello everyone,
On this day in 1943 the loveable but ever mischievous chipmunks, Chip and Dale, made their debut in 'Private Pluto'.
Always getting into some sort of trouble, Chip and Dale like to harass the likes of poor Donald Duck, and Pluto.
Despite their naughty nature, they are fun loving, adventurous (Rescue Rangers!) and simply adorable.
Of course, no Character Central tribute would be complete without our usual photo cavalcade! So, here are some of my favourite pictures from our adventures with Chip and Dale over the years.
Happy 70th Birthday Chip and Dale!
Dan. |
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 | Have a "Hoppy" Chocolate Filled Day! | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, March 31, 2013 5:50:18 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Whether you are of a faith that celebrates Easter, or not, Jon and I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter, Chocolate Day, or whatever else you may want to call it!
Regardless of belief, today can be a day about being with your family, and enjoying some of the "sweeter" things in life!
Some very special VIPs have joined us to say... "Have a great day everyone!" It's the Easter Bunnies!
Dan. |
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 | Welcome Back Roger Rabbit! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, March 26, 2013 11:52:04 AM |
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Hello everyone,
For a while now there have been whispering amongst Disney Cast Members and some guests in-the-know that a certain rabbit, who has been absent for many years, would make his grand return this year... For the most part it's been a closely guarded secret, but here and there, information has been leaked...
Yesterday, in keeping with those rumours, finally after a long time away, the much loved Roger Rabbit made his first of several appearances this week at Disneyland, for their Limited Time Magic Easter "Bunny Hop" down Main Street USA!
I can honestly say I don't think that my friends and I could have been any more shocked that Disneyland actually have him out this week!
To see Roger Rabbit actually back in the park is amazing.
After years of legal wrangling about licensing for his appearances, Roger has finally been let out of Toontown and back to the Disney Parks! Up until now, fans have only been able to see Roger whilst taking a spin through Toontown in his attractions at both Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland.
For those of you, who for some reason don't know, Roger Rabbit is the adorable but über excitable bunny from Disney's 1988 movie "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Roger was framed for a terrible crime, and faced erasure! Or course, there was a happy outcome, and Roger was reunited with the love of his life, another toon named Jessica Rabbit.
Along with the rumours that he was coming to Disneyland, I have also heard from several sources that he will make further appearances at some of the other Disney Parks in the very near future! Although just rumour at this stage, he might appear in Tokyo Disneyland, in their new parade (not yet confirmed), and also later on this year at Disneyland Paris!
Of course, these are just rumours, but then again, so was the Disneyland one, and that came true this week!
Now that Disney have apparently overcome whatever issue they had with him visiting the parks, let's hope that even if the rumours aren't exactly true, that at some point we start seeing more and more of him - and soon!
Our good friend Loren Javier was in Disneyland yesterday, and has let us use these two pictures he took of Roger, for all your enjoyment!
Hopefully someday soon, here at Character Central, we will have our own pictures of him too!
Welcome back, Roger! We have missed you!
Dan.
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 | Happy 61st Birthday Clarice! | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, March 21, 2013 1:11:45 PM |
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Hello everyone,
Today is the 61st Birthday of the ever adorable and sassy Clarice.
Clarice is the object of Chip and Dale's desire - with the exception of acorns! She starred in just one short - "Two Chips and a Miss" (1952). Clarice works at the Acorn nightclub, and very quickly causes for poor Chip and Dale to fall out over her - the only time Chip and Dale have ever worked against each other! Somewhat an icon because of her brief starring role, Clarice is glamourous and talented, and keeps those troublesome chipmunks on their toes!
In our usual style, here's a photo cavalcade of our own adventures with Clarice over the years.
Happy 61st Birthday Clarice!
Dan. |
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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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