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Hello everyone,
Today the Disney Parks Blog made two announcements regarding character offerings coming to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort.
In the first, it was announced that Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from the latest animated movie, 'Zootopia', would be coming to both Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. At Disneyland guests will be able to meet the pair on Hollywood Boulevard, at Disney California Adventure. At Walt Disney World, unfortunately, you will only be able to wave to them - and maybe dance, depending on how they use them - from the sidelines, as they appear in Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It! Street Party at the Magic Kingdom.
While I generally try to remain neutral here on the blog in most cases, I have to say that it is immensely disappointing that, once again, Walt Disney World are getting the bad deal out of new characters. For example, Olaf has been greeting in Disneyland and Hong Kong Disneyland for what seems like forever now, yet he is nowhere to be seen at Walt Disney World. It is very frustrating that guests to Walt Disney World are going to have to suffer watching the street party in order just to see the characters, when guests in California can meet them. In addition, while the movie comes out this week, we will have to wait until "later this spring" to even see them, whenever that may be!
The second announcement is just about as frustrating as the first. It was revealed that during the "summer" (again, with no definitive time frame given), guests will be able to see Kristoff and Olaf at Disney's Blizzard Beach Water Park, hosting "Frozen Games".
To quote the Parks Blog:
"Guests visiting the waterpark can to join "Team Kristoff" or "Team Olaf" and participate in a variety of activities, including Ice Pail Relays, a Snowball Toss to Ski Pole Limbo and Slide Races.
Olaf and Kristoff will join the Winter Games Committee members in the games’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies, and will give updates throughout the games to report on their team’s achievements."
Clearly Disney understand that these characters are popular, so why aren't they out greeting? As I said above, meanwhile at the other parks, guests can meet Olaf.
I have created a poll for this blog post, which you can participate in by logging onto our forum and clicking on this thread, here.
Have a great week everyone,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
We have had an exceptionally busy weekend and so I didn't get chance to post these sadly, but here we are now!
Let's see who was behind doors eleven and twelve!
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Hello everyone,
We were travelling yesterday and so I couldn't post an advent calendar blog, so today I'll share two photos instead of the usual one.
Let's see who is behind the doors today!
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Hello everyone,
The other day the Disney Parks Blog announced that Spider-Man would be making his US Disney Parks debut on November 16th at the new Super Hero HQ, in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. In the comments section, Communications Manager, Shawn Slater, confirms that Captain America would be leaving Disneyland for the time being, but didn't rule out his return in the future. Spider-Man made his grand Disney Parks debut eighteen months ago, in April 2014, at Disneyland Paris. We were the first guests in his line, and have met him numerous times since. The meet 'n' greet there is well set up, and we have no doubt that Disneyland will do an equally good job when the Super Hero HQ opens next month.
Before we move onto the other news for this week, let's take a moment to [ Read More... ] |
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 | Throwback Thursday - Celebrate! A Street Party | |
| DisneyDan
Thursday, August 13, 2015 8:58:07 AM |
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Hello everyone,
Today's Throwback Thursday is to Disneyland's "Celebrate! A Street Party".
Celebrate! A Street Party replaced the much loved Parade of Dreams, opening on 27th March 2009, during the "What Will You Celebrate?" campaign at the US Disney Parks. Unfortunately, Celebrate! A Street Party was no comparable replacement for the Parade of Dreams, and was widely unpopular with regular Disneyland guests.
Celebrate! A Street Party featured twenty-three characters, ranging from Mickey and friends, Winnie the Pooh, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan and Woody, as well as many talented performers. The performance was not so much a parade, but more what the name suggests, a street party. In general, there was nothing wrong with this concept, but when you take into account the fact that this replaced a much loved day parade, which featured beautiful floats and great music, this was not going to cut it. It would be like the Magic Kingdom ending its day parade and advertising Move It! Shake It! as the main parade for the day - and we all know how awful that is.
To its credit, the street party did include new costumes for Mickey, Minnie and Clarabelle Cow. Chip 'n' Dale's sweet heart, Clarice, was also featured in the party; fans will know that, sadly, Clarice doesn't get out much in the US parks, so it was good to see her.
Celebrate! A Street Party featured the (actually not-so-bad) Disney created campaign song "Celebrate You", along with a remix of King Louie's "I Wanna Be Like You", and even Ricky Martin's "Ole Ole Ole". Overall, the idea of having a street party with popular characters is not a bad one, but when you look at the characters they included, and then listen to the soundtrack, you can see why it didn't work! Mary Poppins, Bert, Geppetto and Winnie the Pooh, all dancing along to "Ole Ole Ole" is not really within those characters' genre. Combined with the fact that this was the replacement for a wildly popular parade, it simply didn't work.
Celebrate! A Street Party ran for a year and a half, and ended at the start of the 2010 Christmas season. It did not return in spring 2011, and was replaced with the much more appropriate, and much better received, Mickey's Soundsational Parade, which still runs today.
Let's take a look back at some photos from both August 2009 and August 2010, when we watched Celebrate! A Street Party.
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 | Happy 60th Anniversary Disneyland! | |
| DisneyDan
Friday, July 17, 2015 9:31:13 AM |
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Today is the 60th anniversary of the grand opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
We have had many character filled adventures at Disneyland over the years, and so I am going to share with you some of our favourite moments.
For my non-character related tribute post, head over to our new Two Lost boys blog.
Happy 60th anniversary Disneyland!
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Yesterday the Disney Parks Blog made two announcements regarding upcoming events at the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort.
At Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, summer is being dubbed the "Coolest Summer Ever", and will feature events based upon the wildly popular movie, Frozen. Kicking off the "Coolest Summer Ever" is the now-traditional 24 hour event over Memorial Day weekend in late May. Although few details have been given about it, the Parks Blog did say the event would launch the summer summer season, and given the name, and the fact they claim Olaf is the "host" of the summer events, it wouldn't be too surprising if the 24 hour event ended up being Frozen themed, at least to a degree. As with previous 24 hour events, you can expect characters, entertainment, food and merchandise offerings. After that event ends, you then have to wait until June 17th for the start of the next summer happening, "Frozen Summer Fun LIVE", which will run until September 7th. Anna, Elsa and Kristoff are returning to the parade route at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and this year will be joined by Olaf (as per the description on this new page on the WDW website). Nighttime at Hollywood Studios will be topped off with the special Frozen fireworks.
In addition to all these "cool" offerings, Hollywood Studios' awesome Star Wars Weekends are of course retuning from May 15th through June 14th.
At the Disneyland Resort in California, the Diamond Anniversary celebrations, which were previously announced to begin on May 22nd, will also begin with a 24 hour event. As with Walt Disney World, very few details have been released, except we can expect to see special characters and entertainment.
Disneyland Paris today officially sent out their press release for information regarding their summer events, and unsurprisingly, they are also Frozen over. They actually provided quite a lot of detail, so I will copy the information below.
"Let it go" this summer with Frozen at Disneyland® Paris
It's official: Disneyland® Paris will celebrate the 5th highest-grossing film ever this summer. Frozen, which has racked up more than 5 million ticket sales in France, will take centre stage from 1 June to 13 September 2015. The famous sisters, Anna and Elsa, will appear on stage with Olaf, their adorable snowman, in a spectacular event that will give guests chills!
New show: "Frozen Sing-along"
After catching a sneak peak of them in the famous Disneyland® Park Parade and meeting them to pose for pictures last Christmas, Disneyland Paris guests will be able to sing along with the stars of Frozen this summer! Enjoy this unique live experience with the heroes of the greatest Disney hit of all time.
Starting June 1st, the world of Frozen will appear in Frontierland in Disneyland Park, with a brand new show. An ice-themed musical production combining singing and dancing with guest participation. The famous sisters, Anna and Elsa, along with their faithful companions, Kristoff and Olaf the funny snowman, will take to the stage to bring the show to life and expand the unique experience of Frozen live. They'll be surrounded by dancers straight out of the Kingdom of Arendelle.
As the show begins, the villagers are preparing to celebrate the Arendelle winter festival. The intrepid Princess Anna appears and welcomes guests to the snowy universe of the Kingdom of Arendelle. She invites them to help her create a surprise for her sister, Elsa, asking them to join together as a choir. The show is a wonderful occasion to experience, relive and participate in the most beautiful musical moments of the greatest Disney success story of all time.
Olaf, renowned as the only snowman in the world capable of dreaming of heat and sunshine, will also join the party live on stage. To celebrate his longed-for summer, guests are encouraged to sing along, while he dreams innocently of sun tans and beaches!
Among the highlights is an emotionally charged performance of the unforgettable song "Let it go" by Elsa. [The French version of "Let it go" ("Libérée, Délivrée", sung by Anaïs Delva) has over 45 million hits on YouTube].
Playlist:
- Do you wanna build a snowman?
- In Summer
- Love is an open door
- Let it go
The show will take place several times a day, with live performances in French and English, with French and English subtitles on screen.
Venue: Chaparral Theater, Frontierland, Disneyland Park.
June and September: 7 days a week (6 shows a day from Monday until Friday – 12 shows a day at weekends)
July and August: 7 days a week - 12 shows a day
Limited number of seats
A Market Place decked in the colours of Frozen
At Cottonwood Creek Ranch, guests are invited to visit the Market Place, inspired by the universe of the kingdom of Arendelle, and enjoy all the delights that recall one of the greatest Disney hits of all time.
Venue: Cottonwood Creek Ranch, Frontierland, Disneyland Park
Two other magical appearances showcasing Frozen at Disneyland Park
The two heroines of Frozen will appear at Disneyland Park every day, for two special events. On their frosty float, Princess Anna and Queen Elsa will star in "Disney Magic on Parade!" with Olaf. They will also cross the Park several times a day for a special carriage ride, "Frozen: A Royal Welcome", waving to the crowd from their royal carriage.
"Disney Magic on Parade!" Once a day, 7 days a week, Disneyland Park
Frozen: A Royal Welcome, 3 times a day, 7 days a week, Disneyland Park
A special Frozen feature in Disney Dreams®!
Frozen is now part of the traditional version of Disney Dreams®!. A breath-taking night-time show with fountains and pyrotechnics, where famous Characters from the world of Disney come to life through projections onto Sleeping Beauty Castle.
"Disney Dreams®!" tells a magical and moving story. Guided by Peter Pan, guests discover, or re-discover, the greatest Disney stories, from Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin, not forgetting Rapunzel and many others.
Frozen is now part of this amazing night-time show, taking its place among Disney classics such as The Lion King and Peter Pan, as well as the unforgettable Parisian hits Ratatouille and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This feature is vibrant and full of emotion, thanks to a specially re-orchestrated version of Let it go and the special effects expertise of Disneyland Paris.
Venue: Sleeping Beauty Castle, 7 days a week, Disneyland Park
Come to Disneyland Paris between 1 June and 13 September 2015 and celebrate a superbly snowy summer with Frozen at Disneyland Paris.
What is interesting is that their sing-along sounds completely different from either of the US versions. Although Florida and California both have slight variations from one another, the Parisian one sounds like a whole new concept, with villagers, dancers and even Olaf live on stage! We will be there in August, and look forward to seeing it.
Anna and Elsa featuring in Disney Dreams! is a new addition, and the cavalcade through the park I anticipate will be very similar to what they had at Christmas (perhaps with the addition of Kristoff and Olaf since they will be in the sing-along?). Anna and Elsa featuring in the main day parade however, is not new (just like how the Disney Parks Blog uses existing attractions such as Splash Mountain to advertise the "Coolest Summer Ever").
That's all for new items for today, but I just wanted to point you all towards some other highlights from the past couple of weeks that you may have missed, that are definitely worth reading.
Disney recently announced the dates for their popular Halloween and Christmas parties at the Magic Kingdom. Click here to find out the dates. Tickets will be available April.
The next part of my in-depth Grand Circle Tour of the World's Magic Kingdom's was posted, and covers Fantasyland. You can catch that here.
This past weekend we were in Walt Disney World for Flower and Garden, and of course other Disney fun. I wrote a trip report yesterday, which can be found here.
Ok, that's everything for today. Have a great day everyone,
Dan. |
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Hello everyone,
Welcome to part four of my grand circle tour of the Magic Kingdoms of the world. In this part we will take an in-depth look at Fantasyland. In case you missed the previous three parts of this tour, you can find them here:
This article features many
photos, so be prepared if you are on a slower internet connection. This is going to be the longest of any of the parts in this tour, since Fantasyland at all the parks contains the highest number of attractions and other experiences, compared to any other land.
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Hello everyone,
Last weekend we were in Disneyland to see the end of their holiday offerings and the start of Frozen Fun.
This post is photo heavy so be warned if you have a slow connection speed!
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 | Advent Calendar - 4th December 2014 | |
| DisneyDan
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 10:32:59 PM |
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Hello everyone,
It's the 4th December, which means it's time to open the fourth door of our very special Character Central Advent Calendar!
Here we go!...
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