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Hello everyone,
As the Halloween Season draws to a close this week, I can't help but think about Christmas!
This year Jon and I will be at Disneyland Paris just after Christmas itself, for the Christmas Season and New Year's celebrations at the Resort.
We are both really excited to be going back to Disneyland Paris this year for Christmas, as there will be many new things, which only Disneyland Paris offer.
I have been to Disneyland Paris for Christmas Season at least five other years of the past ten, so let's take a look back at some of what has been offered over the year, before we come back to the new offerings this year.
This is a very photo heavy post, so be warned that it may take a while to load all the images below.
For the longest time Disneyland Park had a Christmas addition to its regular day parade, usually just tacked on at the end. This happened during the old Wonderful World of Disney Parade, and the Once Upon a Dream Parade. There was never a Christmas parade, per se. There was a Santa's Sleigh, Toy Soldiers, and more recently Duffy.
Other long running entertainment included the enchanting Mickey's Winter Wonderland show at the Chaparral Theater in Frontierland, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony in Town Square.
Mickey's Winter Wonderland remained unchanged for many, many years, but was a firm fan favourite every holiday season.
The Tree Lighting Ceremony was also incredibly popular, and always starred Mickey and Friends lighting the big Christmas Tree in Town Square. Some aspects of the show changed slightly over the years, but it basically remained the same.
Disneyland Paris also pioneered the beautiful Christmas lights that now adorn the other Disney Castles of the world. Disneyland Park would present a special Castle Lighting show. As with the Tree Lighting, the way in which this was done changed slightly from year to year, but overall the concept remained the same.
Character greetings have included Santa Claus, Elves, and of course Mickey and Friends in seasonal costumes at both parks. Other characters in Christmas costumes have included the Winnie the Pooh friends, and Duffy the Disney Bear. Some years back, Belle also used to meet in a pretty red jacket.
For 21 years, the Christmas Tree in Town Square was the same. Last year they added some 20th Anniversary ornaments to it, but it remained identical otherwise.
Some years ago, the park used to also feature the stunning Lights of Winter (which EPCOT also used to have) along Main Street USA, but these were sadly retired nearly 10 years ago now.
After the lights of winter the Princess Crowns graced the street for a couple of years, but were quite unpopular by all accounts.
Like the other parks, snowfall on Main Street is a regular occurrence, although in Paris, as we have personally experienced, it isn't always just the magical Disney snow that can fall across the park!
In Fantasyland guests used to be able to discover a Christmas market, straight from the world of Beauty and the Beast, 'Belle's Christmas Village'.
Finally, a staple of the holiday season for some years has been the "it's a small world" overlay, becoming "it's a small world" Celebration during Christmas Season.
Now we fast forward from our trip through the past, to 2012. Last year Disneyland Paris took a giant leap away from previous Christmas offerings.
Mickey's Winter Wonderland did not return, the Princess Crowns were ditched, brand new garlands graced Main Street, there was a new live entertainment offering starring Mickey, and a fantastic new Christmas Cavalcade was launched.
Unfortunately we were unable to attend last year (although we were in California for their Christmas Season, so that was a great substitute!).
That means that this year will be our first year seeing the new offerings, and what's more, there is set to be even more this year than last year!
Of course, some old favourites will still be there too.
This year the park has got a brand new Christmas Tree, which is really exciting for me, as I love Christmas Trees! As well as the new Tree, last years there were brand new garlands all along Main Street and giant character snowmen in Central Plaza. This is as well as all the beautiful decorations that find their way throughout the resort, with nearly every restaurant, store being decorated inside and out. The Disneyland Hotel also has a yearly traditional giant gingerbread house.
The Cavalcade is said to be receiving some extra characters, making it better than last year, and the Tree Lighting Ceremony has been changed again, this time being narrated by Jiminy Cricket and Pinocchio.
Santa and his Elves will still be at the Ranch, snow will still fall on Main Street USA, and "it's a small world" Celebration has been reinstalled.
The Jingle Bell Boys are set to return too. That's a live band that also stars Mickey Mouse showing off his dance moves at the Videopolis in Discoveryland.
I have also heard that Jack Skellington is sticking around after Halloween Season ends, but will be putting on his Sandy Claws outfit! Now that would be really awesome!
One of the biggest things that the park is doing this year is a brand new version of Dreams especially for Christmas!
Disney Dreams! is the most spectacular nighttime show ever created by Disney Imagineering, and for the holidays it'll switch to featuring scenes from the new Disney movie Frozen, a Toy Story Nutcracker tale, and much more!
If all that wasn't enough, there are a few more things that are continuing some Disneyland Paris traditions.
For many years, the Disney Hotels have offered special meals during the holidays, some of which are character ones.
On the 29th December we are planning to attend the Christmas Brunch with the Disney Characters at Inventions, in the Disneyland Hotel, and on New Year's Eve there is a special character dinner at the Hotel New York, which we are also attending.
Usually on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the Disneyland Hotel puts on special entertainment too. We really hope that this returns this year also, as we've really enjoyed this in the past. And speaking of New Year, both parks and Lake Disney all will continue their annual New Year's Fireworks. Two years ago we saw them in Disneyland Park, this year we plan to see them on Lake Disney due to our meal at the Hotel New York. |
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Hello everyone,
I have decided that I am going to try and write more for the Blog, on a regular basis, covering all topics from dining and attraction reviews, as well as other important news.
Of course, we will still be a Disney Character based website - that will never change! Our love for the Disney Characters is infinite, and they remain our top priority! But, both Jon and I have felt recently the site has grown so much, and now has such a big fan base now, that we would like to start encompassing more and more of the world of Disney.
Anyway, as my first review, I want to talk about a new dining experience we had at Disneyland Paris recently.
On our most recent trip to Disneyland Paris in October 2013, one evening we chose to eat at Park Side Diner at Disney's Hotel New York, for the first time.
The restaurant is a buffet restaurant, located on the ground level, to the right of the hotel's main lobby if you're entering from the Lake Disney entrance (I guess you could say from the park side entrance, which is true, and perhaps why the restaurant has its name!).
It was actually pretty late when we arrived, and there were literally only a handful of people inside.
My first impressions were that the "diner" felt a bit dated and bland. It was nonetheless clean and well kept, and the service staff were efficient enough, but I don't think the place has been updated since it opened nearly 22 years ago. The theme of course is meant to be a New York diner, and I can see it to some extent, but I have to say, I think it fails a bit. There are giant paintings on the walls of "American" foods, and the cold metal tables and chairs (albeit padded) make the place too sterile.
The food itself was ok, but not anything you couldn't find anywhere else, and actually could have been more varied and better presented. I don't know if it was just because we got there late, but the food looked and tasted as though it had been there for a while, and the desserts were looking a bit of a mess!
Dishes included rice, chicken, pasta, salad, potatoes, pizza, pork, beef and vegetables.
They also had some strange "make your own sandwich" area. Various breads and rolls were laid out, along with cold meats and other toppings, for you to create your own sandwich.
I didn't really think this was a substantial option for dinner, and felt that they could have used the space to have more hot food out.
Overall I was left a little disappointed with Park Side Diner, especially given the price, and that it is located inside a 4-star hotel. Jon and I won't be rushing back any time soon!
The price is €29.99 per adult, and €15.59 for children aged 3 to 11. Drinks are not included for adults, but children get a small drink included in theirs.
Drinks available for purchase include wines, beer, mineral water, coffee, and sodas. Discounts on the buffet and on non-alcoholic drinks are allowed for Annual Passholders and members of the Shareholder's Club on presentation of a valid AP/membership card. AP is to a maximum of 10% and can vary depending on your level of pass, Shareholders get 15%.
Restaurant hours are limited to dinner time only, and are 6pm-10.30pm.
Reservations can be made by calling the Disneyland Paris Dining Reservations line on +33 1 60 30 40 50 up to 30 days in advance.
You can leave your comments by clicking here, where you will be magically transported to our forum.
Dan.
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 | Time to Fall Back in Europe! | |
| DisneyDan
Saturday, October 26, 2013 12:41:19 PM |
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| Hello everyone,
Just a reminder for all our European fans that the clock go back tonight!
Here's the White Rabbit with his pocket watch, and a few pictures of some Disney clocks, to help remind you!
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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,
Starting from an as-of-yet unspecified date in November, the new stars will greet fans at Disneyland Park in California, and at Norway in Epcot at Walt Disney World. Over in Disneyland Paris, Anna and Elsa will debut aboard the newly redesigned Dreams of Romance float, alongside Rapunzel and Flynn. Rapunzel remains on the swing, as with the previous version of the float - it's the front half that's changed to accommodate Anna and Elsa, meaning the loss of Ariel and Eric. I have heard that there was a picture of the new float posted in the latest annual passholder magazine, Envie+, but I as of yet have not received my copy (DLP are notoriously bad about sending them out!). Disneyland Paris have not yet confirmed whether Anna and Elsa will also be greeting fans, but rumour has it that they might appear randomly. If I find out more, I'll be sure to post it here.
The Parks Blog also announced that coming in 'late 2016' Hong Kong Disneyland would get an Iron Man themed e-ticket attraction in Tomorrowland, along with a meet 'n' greet for Tony Stark's alter ego himself. It is the first time that Disney have confirmed that a Marvel attraction will be built inside a theme park, and the second time they have announced a Marvel meet 'n' greet for a theme park - the first being Thor for Disneyland (CA) this winter.
Ok, that's all for this evening. Jon and I will be at Disneyland Paris to celebrate Halloween Season this weekend, so be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages for all the latest live updates from the parks!
Dan. |
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 | Happy 42nd Birthday Walt Disney World Resort! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 11:27:53 AM |
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Today is the 42nd anniversary of the grand opening of the Magic Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
Since the opening of Disneyland, in Anaheim, CA, Walt Disney's dreams had grown even bigger. The limit of space in the Southern California park had meant that Walt's ultimate dreams had to be confined to a relatively small area.
In the early 1960's Walt Disney set about bringing to life his beloved Disneyland on a much larger scale, this time somewhere where there was all the land he could ever imagine - Florida.
Sadly, Walt passed away before his dream had became a reality, but his brother, Roy, ensured that the park kept on track, and finally on the 1st October 1971, the Magic Kingdom opened, at Walt Disney World - renamed by Roy from just Disney World in honour of his brother.
Since then, more and more of Walt's dreams have come true, including the opening of EPCOT, also on October 1st, in 1982.
EPCOT was Walt's vision of the future, where people worked and played together in a utopian community.
Although some may say this dream has never fully been realised, since EPCOT isn't quite how Walt envisaged it, I think that actually, it has, and more.
The Walt Disney World Resort brings together people from all over the world, not just to visit, but to live and work, too. With its hugely diverse Cast Members, international cuisines, celebrations of different cultures, and world class entertainment, shopping, dining and indeed living (Celebration, Golden Oaks, Cast Member housing etc), Walt's ultimate dream truly has become a reality.
Since 1971, millions upon millions of dreams have come true, simply because one man believed that if you could dream it, you could do it.
Happy 42nd birthday Walt Disney World, here's to many, many more!
In our usual style, here's a cavalcade of photos of our magical experiences at Walt Disney World over the years. I have deliberately left out character images for today, since I really wanted to celebrate the beauty of the parks, and the work of the dreamers who believed they could build this magical place.
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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 | Happy 26th Birthday DuckTales! | |
| DisneyDan
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 3:22:00 PM |
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Today is the 26th anniversary of the premier of the Disney Afternoon show, DuckTales.
Starring Scrooge McDuck and his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, the show also introduced us to aviator, Launchpad McQuack!
So, in our usual Character Central style, here's a photo cavalcade of some of our adventures throughout the years with the DuckTales gang!
Happy 26th Birthday DuckTales!
Dan. |
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 | Happy 8th Birthday Hong Kong Disneyland! | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, September 12, 2013 12:24:09 PM |
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On this day 8 years ago, Disney's first theme park and resort in China opened its gates for the first time, in the city of Hong Kong!
Since opening day, Hong Kong Disneyland has had many new additions, from "it's a small world", Autopia, to three entire new lands - Grizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land and Mystic point. The resort also features two stunning hotels; Disney's Hollywood hotel and the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.
The amazingly friendly and thoughtful Cast Members, fabulous entertainment, unique merchandise, beautiful landscape, and its setting at the foot of stunning mountains next to the sea, make Hong Kong Disneyland practically perfect in every way.
So, let's celebrate in our usual style, with a cavalcade of pictures from our adventures at Hong Kong Disneyland over the years!
Happy 8th Birthday Hong Kong Disneyland Resort!
If anyone is planning a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, why not check out our awesome, dedicated Hong Kong Disneyland Trip Planner!
Dan. |
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 | Happy 83rd Birthday Pluto! | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, September 5, 2013 9:15:08 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Today is Pluto's 83rd birthday! On this day in 1930, Pluto first made an appearance in the Mickey Mouse cartoon 'The Chain Gang'. Although in this cartoon he was chasing Mickey (who had escaped from prison!), by his third appearance in 1931's 'The Moose Hunt', he had been officially named Pluto, and now resided with Mickey (his second role had been shortly after 'The Chain Gang', where he was Minnie's pet, instead of Mickey's).
Pluto is lovable and loyal, often seen by Mickey's side on many adventures. Often tormented by the ever mischievous Chip and Dale, causing him to lose his temper, Pluto finds himself in trouble from time to time!
After 83 years, Pluto is still as popular as ever, and continues to bring laughter to millions world over.
Happy 83rd Birthday Pluto!
In our usual Character Central style, here's a photo cavalcade of just some of our fun times we've had with Pluto at the Disney Parks and Resorts over the years!
Dan. |
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