Hi all,

This weekend was the next in California’s Family Fun Weekends line-up – the much anticipated Character Fan Days. Our good friend Loren was there on Friday and this is what he had to say:

“Well, it was another warm January day at the Disneyland Resort, making it a great time for another Family Fun Weekend! This weekend - Character Fan Days.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

It has been a fairly quite week on the news front, but I do have a few small pieces of information for you.

First off, our friends at Characters Photos Blog were in Disneyland Paris this week and have reported that Maleficent is finally back on the Dreams of Power float after nearly a year’s absence! Last spring she was removed from the float after the performer fell from it during a live parade. It is a welcome return for Disney’s most celebrated villain – especially since currently the parade is in an abridged format due to the Fantasyland repaving.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,
 
Two things this evening for you. First off, the news on MousePlanet about Disneyland scrapping all random character meet and happenings seems to have gathered quite a lot of attention, and now the same person is reporting that it has since been shot down in flames. All I can say is thank goodness! This would have probably been one of the most damaging decisions ever taken by Disneyland Resort management, and I’m sure no-one will be suggesting that one again in a hurry!  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Yesterday I reported on the random happenings in Tokyo Disneyland, including Donald’s Funny Harmony. Since then a cavalcade of videos have made it onto YouTube, and so I have chosen this one to show you. It looks a really cute little show, and I love Sorcerer Donald!  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,
 
It has come to our attention that there has been a random previously unannounced happening in Tokyo Disneyland that has been taking place the last couple of days in Fantasyland. It is called Donald’s Funny Harmony, and it involves the Fab 5 friends in some cute outfits – including a Sorcerer Donald! Although there is no other information on the website about this event, the fact it is in Fantasyland outside the new PhilharMagic attraction that is due to open tomorrow, and has Donald wearing Yensid’s hat, one can only assume that it is some sort of pre-grand-opening event. There is no word as to how long this will remain in the park, but appears to be on the schedules for the next few days at least.
We have heard reports that for some reason there have been a lot of other random character happenings in Tokyo this week, from Frontierland hoedowns with Woody, Bullseye and even Bo Peep (!), to the Alice characters and Ariel and Eric in Fantasyland. DisneySea also has had similar random happenings too, including one that was somewhat musical and involved characters and the park’s resident band. Sadly I do not currently have access to any pictures, but if I able to get any, I shall repost them here.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

As promised here is Loren’s report from last weekend at the Fiesta Disneyland Family Fun Days.

Loren also discovered the magic of characters at Universal Studios recently, and has been visiting there fairly frequently after deciding to purchase an annual pass. So, within this report he also gives us some of his thoughts on his experiences at Universal.

Over to Loren!  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Earlier this week the brand new Disney Cruise Line ship, the Disney Dream launched in spectacular Disney style, as I reported on earlier. Since then we have learned from the Orlando Sentinel that there is at least one new show on board title the Sail Away Party. There is also a new segment added to the Golden Mickeys show (also currently plays aboard one of the other ships) starring Rapunzel, Flynn Rider and none other than Mother Gothel! This is the first time the vain and self-obsessed step mother has appeared in character form, and we look forward to seeing her in the future! I don’t currently have any pictures of these things, but if I see any, I will be sure to post them here.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Disney Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Dream was Christened this morning at Port Canaveral in Florida, and although we were not there (sadly), I did watch the live video feed online, and have a special report for those of you who missed it. There is a video now up on the Disney Parks Blog, but it is slightly edited from the full version I saw live, so some of you might still find the following article interesting.  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Today’s big news is of course the press conference over at the Magic Kingdom regarding the Fantasyland expansion (amongst other things).

Besides a couple of new rides, and the new theming and areas all of which sound really awesome, the character news to come out of this is that the Snow White attraction will be closing in order to make way for a brand new Princess meet ‘n’ greet “attraction”, to replace the Hall of Fame, which closes in a couple of weeks’ time. Disney are compensating for the closure of the Snow White attraction by of course adding a brand new Snow White themed ride - the Mine Coaster, not to mention the new Ariel attraction! To put it simply, they are getting rid of the Hall of Fame and the Scary Adventures, but in their place getting an awesome new roller coaster and a new meet ‘n’ greet area!  [ Read More... ]

Hi all,

Today has seen more character news emerge, in what has been quite an eventful week so far!

The ever reliable drew81 on the wdwmagic forum posted saying that when SpectroMagic returns to the Magic Kingdom (still no idea as to when though), new characters will be added including possibly Oswald the Lucky Rabbit! Apparently the float will change colours from black to white, although how successful this will be for a night parade (black?) is yet to be seen! All the same, Oswald will be a fantastic addition, and one which the character fan community will welcome with open arms, I am sure! There is no other mention of the other new characters yet.  [ Read More... ]