 | And we're off! Again! |
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| DisneyDan
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 1:09:52 PM |
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Hi all,
Just to let you know that we are off on our travels again this evening!
We'll be at Disneyland in California for 5 days starting tomorrow (Wednesday), so be sure to follow our live updates from the Parks on our Facebook and Twitter pages!
There will of course be full updates here on the blog, when we return next week.
All the best,
Dan. |
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Hi all!
Sorry that it has been a few days since a proper update.
I have been very busy with getting ready to move house, preparing for our trip to Disneyland this week, and a whole lot of other things that basically get in the way!
We do actually try to keep up to date on our forums, and our members there often post news before I get chance to blog about it; so be sure to join our friendly forum to get the most out of Character Central!
Ok so to the news!
Tokyo Disneyland have finally added Rapunzel and Flynn as meet 'n' greet characters, which means that Rapunzel can now be met at all five resorts worldwide!
Disneyland celebrated it's 57th birthday last week, and there was a small ceremony in Town Square. Here's a link to a video of the occasion.
Hong Kong Disneyland's newest land opened last week. Grizzly Gulch features a new take on the Frontierland concept, with a new attraction that is a unique take on Big Thunder.
Of course characters now meet there, and guests can meet Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale in brand new Western outfits. Koda and Kenai also meet there.
Over in Disneyland Paris they released their press information for Halloween Season this year.
I had already said previously here on the blog that people should expect the Mickey's Trick or Treat in the Street to return, and I was right!
Goofy will have a new Halloween location in Town Square, and will be themed around the Goody Candy Co concept which they have in the US.
The Villains will of course be back, but in Fantasyland, and Jack and Sally will return as usual, this year near Phantom Manor.
The Soirée sadly will not be getting a replacement show because of the loss of Central Plaza Stage, but Disney Dreams! will be run instead (which can of course be seen any night of the year).
I haven't heard of any more changes to the Soirée, so hopefully all the other weird French entertainment, performers and characters will return as usual.
There is one last thing for Halloween, but it is linked with a recent event too.
We all know that Duffy the Disney Bear has never been popular at any park except Tokyo, despite the fact that he continues to be pushed everywhere. Well, despite the US pushing him ever forward, Paris actually decided last week (unofficially I guess) to drop him!
Now, instead of Duffy at the Boarding House in Town Square, any other main character (usually a Big 8 or Pooh pals) appears if they decide to do that, at any given point (Duffy might still appear, but it is less likely now).
What we have heard though is that Duffy will be back full time for the Halloween Season in a Halloween outfit. I wonder if it will be the same as the US Parks outfit?
I think that's everything for the news today!
A couple of things here at Character Central before I go.
First off, and I hate to write this sort of thing but needs must, I have seen on a number of occasions again recently people copying our work. Whether that be pictures and even my blog posts. Please do not do this. We work hard - and unpaid! - at this to bring you the best character website on the Internet, and it is so disappointing that people can't even be bothered to link back to us or credit us. Groan over!
Second, we have been working really hard to get some great new content up on the site ready for our relaunch, and we are really pleased with how it is all going! I know some of you have asked us on the forums when you can expect to see the new version of the site, and at the moment all I can say is, just be patient and it'll come soon enough!
Thirdly, we are off to Disneyland in California on Wednesday, and as always - where possible - we will be updating throughout our trip with pictures and more on our Facebook page and Twitter. So be sure to follow us there!
Finally, we are still trying to reach our goal of 2000 Likes on our Facebook page, and when we do, we'll be running another great prize giveaway! So get sharing our page with all your friends!
All the best,
Dan. |
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 | Happy 57th Birthday Disneyland! | |
| DisneyDan
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 9:22:16 AM |
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Hi all,
On this day in 1955, Walt Disney's original Magic Kingdom of Disneyland opened its doors to the world!
Let's celebrate with some pictures from our own trips to the park. Here's to another 57 years of Disney magic in California!
Happy 57th Birthday Disneyland!
Dan. |
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Hi all!
First off, yes I know we have been quiet on here for a while, but to be honest there hasn't been TOO much going on in the Character world as late (except a few small things which I'll mention below), and we have also been very busy ourselves.
I myself am in the process of moving house, and on top of that we are went to DLP again, are preparing for our AMAZING summer of round the world craziness (!), AND we have been desperately trying to catch up on all our pictures from previous trips. That is on top of maintaining this site and making sure everything runs smoothly. LOL!
So yes, you could say we have been busy!
As I mentioned, we have been working on pictures, and across the site there are many new photos showing up on location and character pages. When you're on a page be sure to scroll down to the "Recent" tab to see the latest images.
I have also updated the calendar to reflect some changes to our plans this year, for those of you who like to keep track of us around the globe!
If we're nearby, be sure to drop us a line!
We have now run two competitions with great success, one was exclusively on Facebook just last week, which one of our regular fans won just for "Liking" and "Sharing" a post on there! We do plan to run more competitions, and have some fun ideas planned for how you can interact with us to win prizes! At the moment we are looking to reach the magic number of 2000 Likes/Fans on our Facebook page, and if we achieve that, we will run another amazing prize giveaway at the end of this month! So head over to our Facebook page and get sharing with your friends so we can get to 2000 and run the competition!
Ok, so to the Character news...
Disneyland last week announced the dates for it's popular Mickey's Halloween Party, which can be found here.
We were able to attend last year twice, and we had a LOT of fun! This year we'll be in BOTH Asian Resorts for Halloween, AND the Halloween Soiree in Paris!
Disney On Ice also launched a new show, titled Rockin' Ever After, which will be a musical revue of some of the newest and classic Disney Fairytales - including Princess Merida from Disney-PIXAR's Brave! We have already booked our tickets for January, and look forward to seeing it! Speaking of Disney On Ice, sadly we had to cancel our trip to see Passport to Adventure, as it conflicted with dates for something else. This is an old show now - which we still haven't seen - I just hope we get chance to FINALLY see it sometime before it gets retied.
Finally, we have heard strong rumours that SpectroMagic will return next spring (most likely March) to the Magic Kingdom after its long hiatus! Of course they are still ONLY rumours, but everything we have heard so far seems to confirm this will happen. As always, when we know more, we'll post it here.
Ok, I think that's it for now. Remember to look out for great new content across the site, and check out our Facebook page for exclusive updates, as well as all the latest information regarding our competition - remember to share our page with your friends so that we can run the BIG giveaway at the end of July!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Overall not too much going on in the character world this week, but there were a few interesting points to note.
Over in California, Buena Vista Street got it's previews, and some of the brand new Citizens of Buena Vista Street were out greeting for the first time, as well as Mickey and Friends in their brand new 1920's style Hollywood outfits!
I don't have any pictures to post here (all from my contacts, sadly), but if you find any, hit the Discuss button below and reply on our Forum! We'll also be there at the end of July for ourselves, and will meet them all, of course! We're really excited to be able to go to DCA so soon after the new things open!
Along with the Buena Vista Street preview, Cars Land also had a preview, and Mater, McQueen and the brand new Red character were there. Mater and McQueen have been park regulars for a long time now, and will continue to meet once DCA re-opens. Red will star in his own new show in Cars Land once the land opens this week! [ Read More... ] |
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 | Happy 1st Anniversary Soundsational! | |
| DisneyDan
Sunday, May 27, 2012 2:31:18 AM |
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Hi all,
Today marks the 1st anniversary of the day that a brand new - and long anticipated - parade hit the streets of Disneyland Park at the Disneyland Resort in California.
Soundsational was a much welcomed, brand new parade, following 2 years of the anti-parade, Celebrate! A Street Party, which had run for 2 years since the departure of the much loved Parade of Dreams.
So, let's celebrate now with some of our favourite shots from our trips to Disneyland last year.
Happy 1st Anniversary Soundsational!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Sorry it has been a while again, but we have been ever busy, and to be honest, there hasn't been too much character news out there!
But, nonetheless I thought I'd just mention a few things that have happened in recent days.
At Disneyland Paris, the new Meet Mickey opened in Fantasyland at the former Fantasy Festival Stage location.
We don't have any of our own pictures to share right now, but from what I have seen of the inside, it is really neat! I think that they did a much better job of it than Town Square Theatre in the Magic Kingdom, that's for sure!
Disneyland Paris also released the new Winter brochure for this year, and it provides some small (very small) details about what to expect this Halloween and Christmas seasons.
Characters in themed outfits seem to be returning to both celebrations, and at Halloween the Villains too.
As we already knew, but now confirmed, the MNSSHPs are not returning (sadly), but the Soiree will.
At Christmas, Mickey's Winter Wonderland will return, and the description uses a plural - shows - so we expect that the Tree Lighting will return, and a new, reworked Castle Lighting (seeing that Central Plaza Stage has now gone).
Find a out a few more details, including dates, on our forum here (Christmas) and here (Halloween).
Over in Walt Disney World, Star Wars weekend began last week, and have, as always, been featuring all the best loved characters from the movies. I haven't heard of anything exceptional this year, or anyone new, but if I do I'll of course post it here.
Staying with the US Parks, both WDW and Disneyland launched Princess Merida from PIXAR's Brave last week.
Merida now meets at the Fairytale Garden in the Magic Kingdom, and near "it's a small world" in Disneyland.
Finally, last week I had posted a Happy Birthday Goofy post... I had done this because, according to numerous sources - including the Disney Parks Blog itself! - that it was indeed Goofy's Birthday. Now, according to Disney, it is Goofy's Birthday today!
I have double checked against various different sources, and most places seem to agree it is today, but some places still record it as the 12th of May!
Well, anyway, what ever the actual date (and my suspicion it is indeed today), we'll wish Goofy Happy Birthday again! Check out last week's post for a photo filled tribute to our favourite goof in action at the Parks and Resorts!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all!
Wow it has been a crazy few weeks for us, but things are finally settling down, and I can catch up on all the character news in the world! Ok, so we might be a little late on some of this, but it's good to have it all in one place, and who knows - you may have missed something!
So, first up California.
The Disney Parks Blog revealed a few things about the new Cars Land, and some coming entertainment offerings.
Big Red and DJ, both characters from the popular movie series will debut on June 15th - Cars Land official opening date - in two new unique shows.
All the details can be found here on the Parks Blog. We can't wait to see these this summer!
Across the Esplanade, Disneyland surprised us all by announcing that they will be adding a new weekend entertainment to the Ranch area of Frontierland. It sounds like there could be some really awesome things going on there, with some rarer characters too, such as the Country Bears, Clara Cluck, Clarabelle and Horace - as well as Mickey and the gang in special themed outfits!
We're not sure that this will still be there when we go in the late summer, but we hope it is, as it sounds really neat!
MiceAge king, Al Lutz reported that the new Fantasy Faire, which replaces the Carnation Gardens (which closed this past week), will feature a daytime show which will rotate between the different princesses, and a special new meet 'n' greet area. Apparently the new meet 'n' greet rooms will be better than the new WDW versions which are going in to the Snow White attraction's space, which doesn't surprise me to be honest!
Over in Tokyo, they are gearing up for a summer of fun, and the Disney Parks Blog (in an unusual move) released some details about some of their character filled events.
There are a few different festivals and celebrations going on, which includes all your favourite pals in some neat outfits. Sadly I think we'll probably miss these when we go, but if you are able to get there we'd love to see your pics on the Forums!
The Parks Blog ALSO announced information regarding Tokyo's 30th Anniversary, which is coming up next April. The new parade will be titled Happiness is Here, and will replace the current day time parade, Jubilation (which incidentally is just four years old right now!). Tokyo sure do like to get through new parades! You can find a link to the official OLC Press Release on the Forum here.
Over in Walt Disney World, Princess Merida has been making surprise appearances ahead of her grand debut. She has been spotted by fans in EPCOT this week. Our fans here at Character Central have posted some awesome pictures to this thread here on our Forum, so be sure to check those out!
Finally, WDW have announced their dates for this years Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween and Very Merry Christmas Parties.
Check out all the dates and prices here for Halloween, and here for Christmas!
We attended Halloween last year and were really happy to see some great additions such as Gaston to the line-up. We can't attend this year due to other plans (how about Tokyo and Hong Kong for Halloween instead?! ;) ), but we look forward to hearing which villains might show up this year!
If you posted to our forums in the last month, be sure to check out the results of our competition that was held for our forum users!
Ok, that's all for now!
Dan. |
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Hi all,
This week has seen a few small bits of new character information emerge.
The Disney Parks Blog has been surprisingly forthcoming with information about some new character experiences at the US Parks.
First off, Princess Merida, from the new Disney-PIXAR movie 'Brave' will come to both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland by the summer. She will be the first PIXAR character to be represented in the parks as a face character!
At the Magic Kingdom, she will host her own Highland Games (ok, maybe not quite!) at the Fairytale Garden. It will be an interactive experience, complete with archery, according to the Parks Blog! It will be interesting to see how that one works out!
Rapunzel, who currently occupies the spot will be moving to Adventureland, and will be rejoined by Flynn Rider! It is rumoured that they will take Ariel's place at the Veranda, and Ariel could move to near the Swiss Family Treehouse. Nothing is certain at this stage, but that's what I've heard.
At Disneyland Merida will appear at a new location near "it's a small world".
At both locations she is going to be joined by her three bear cub friends in puppet form (so we hear, also subject to change). It will be interesting to see how that works out!
We really look forward to meeting Princess Merida in the summer.
At Disney California Adventure it has been confirmed that there will be a new cast of characters to bring the new Buena Vista Street to life.
Much like how Disney's Hollywood Studios features the Citizens of Hollywood, the Citizens of Buena Vista Street should prove to be a lot of fun. If the Hollywood folk are anything to go by, then expect a lot of random fun and a lot of laughs at every turn!
Just a few other smaller updates. Megara was seen at EPCOT yesterday, and rumour has it that Miss Bunny and Thumper will be leaving Animal Kingdom in the near future (sadly).
Also after a brief absence from the new parade, Tinker Bell has reappeared on the last float in Disneyland Paris, much to the fans delight!
Now, for something special!
As you all are quite aware by now, it is Disneyland Paris's 20th birthday. We will of course be there from Friday this week, and covering all the 20th anniversary happenings as they unfold on the day (next Thursday).
For the FIRST TIME EVER, we will be holding a special competition here at Character Central to win a special DLP 20th anniversary prize pack!
I won't give too much away right now, as we are still working on it, but to be in with a better chance, I might suggest you create an account on our Forums here at Character Central and start getting involved in some of our discussions! Membership is of course free, and quick and easy to do.
That's the only clue I'll give right now!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan. |
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Hi all,
Sorry it has been a few days since our last update, but we have been very busy preparing for WDW and the Disney Cruise in just a couple of days time! Very exciting!
Anyway, here's what we have from the last few days...
In California, Loren has been busy keeping us updated with all the latest happenings.
Be sure to check out his updates from the Blue Bayou Bash and Valentine's Day here, the launch of the brand new DCA show 'Minnie's Fly Girls' here (which features talking Minnie!), and some cool news about atmosphere characters to appear on the new Buena Vista Street when it opens (think Citizens of Hollywood and Main Street at WDW!).
Loren also reported that there is a chance of some rare characters at DL's Leap Day event. I have to admit that I have been so busy I haven't had chance to check properly, but as far as I know, nothing else has been announced yet for DL, and everything so far is just rumour.
On the other hand, over in Florida, WDW announced the schedule for their Leap Day event. As was expected, there is nothing special about the announced programme. Extra character entertainment includes the Main Street Electrical Parade, extended times for the the regular character meet 'n' greets and the Frontierland Hoedown in the middle if the night.
We have heard form a few different sources across the Internet that some other random characters may appear. So far nothing seems to be confirmed but a few different websites are reporting everything from Jack Sparrow, the Seven Dwarfs and Mickey and Minnie in their PJs. Of course there is no official word on any of this, and anything can change last minute. Nobody will know for sure until they are in the park sadly!
We'd love to hear from you if you are going to be there. Let us know what characters you got to meet. Just hit the Discuss button at the bottom of this article (if you're on the article page)!
Disneyland Paris held their annual meeting, and they had a sneak preview of the brand new outfits for the VIPs during the 20th anniversary. You can check out the video here, which also includes the Three Good Fairies, the Blue Fairy and Merlin all dancing along to the brand new Parade song!
Finally, this video was released for DLP's 20th anniversary, and is a "brief history" of the Resort's 20 magical years. It includes of course some very interesting character moments!
Ok, that's all for now,
Dan.
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