Welcome to Disneyland News Today!

WDWNT on February 8, 2008

Let me welcome everyone to DL News Today! DL News Today is the offspring of WDW News Today, dedicated to the place where the magic began, the Disneyland Resort. This daily updated news and information website will be dedicated to covering all the happenings at Disneyland Park, Disney’s California Adventure Park, the Downtown Disney shopping district, and the three resort hotels that make up the Anaheim, California vacation destination. Stay tuned for daily news, rumors, articles, and podcasts as we present “Ideals, Dreams, and Hard Facts”.

All Pirate and Princess Tickets On Sale

WDWNT on February 7, 2008

The remaining dates for the after-hours Pirate and Princess Party at the Magic Kingdom are now on sale if you call 407-WDW-AHOY. Those new dates that have just gone on sale are:

April 1, 4, 6, 11, 16, 23

May 2, 9, 16, 21, 26, 31

June 2

Jose Eber Update 2/6/08

WDWNT on February 7, 2008

Staff member Jose Eber has provided us with some live updates from the Walt Disney World Resort:

-Monorail Black returned from its refurbishment today. The monorail now has the four central handrails much like the other ten monorails which have already received the renovations. Monorail Red headed in for refurbishment today and is the last to recieve the modifications.

-The Earful Tower at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has received a glossy black finish on its ears and should receive its finishing touches any day now. The Animation Archway at the studios should receive new signage around the same time.

-The new marble tile at the Grand Floridian should be installed in the next 1-2 weeks.

-In what has become a frequent occurence, Space Mountain broke down and went out of commission at about 11:45 today. One wonders how much longer the big refurbishment for the Magic Kingdom attraction can be put off.

Innovating at Innoventions

WDWNT on February 6, 2008

A press release on an exciting new weather safety exhibit coming this summer to Epcot’s Innoventions can be seen at this link. This is yet another part of the complete overhaul of Innoventions exhibits that we mentioned a few months ago here on WDW News Today. We will have more information on this upcoming exhibit as it becomes available.

CMO For WDW

WDWNT on February 6, 2008

BY DONNA BALANCIA of FLORIDA TODAY

A national search for the first-ever Chief Magic Officer has drawn 1,300 video resumes from around the United States, a Walt Disney World spokesman said Monday. The search for the on-park, part-time promotions job will be narrowed to the top 10 video resumes, which will be up and available for viewing and voting on March 2 at www.dreamcmo.com.

The three applicants with the most hits by viewers of the Web site will be brought to Walt Disney World in mid-April to compete in a variety of “reality show-type” challenges. The competition will be podcast live and viewers again will pick their favorite applicant. The application process closed Jan. 27. Applicants sent videos in response to a national search from Disney Parks and CareerBuilder.com. It is a part-time, hourly position open from May 2008 to May 2009. The position is offered concurrently with the “Year Of A Million Dreams.”

Stars and Motorcars Changes

WDWNT on February 6, 2008

In order to accommodate work on the upcoming Block Party Bash parade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, some changes have been made to the Stars and Motorcars Parade route. Staff member Sparky LD is reporting:

As of February 1, the Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade now starts at the gate near Sid Cahuenga’s One of a Kind shop near the front of the park. It then progresses down Hollywood Boulevard and turns left in front of the Sorcerer’s Hat, following the regular parade route. It passes in front of Star Tours and continues down the hill past Tatooine Traders. It then turns left and exits the park at the gate near MuppetVision 3D.

The WDW News Today Podcast Gets Enhanced

WDWNT on February 4, 2008

Bronx, New York, February 4, 2008- Since its inception in July of 2007, WDW News Today has searched for the fastest, most accurate, and most technologically advanced ways to provide you with news and information on the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The latest step in our many advancements has finally arrived in the way of a new an improved way to enjoy the WDW News Today Podcast. As of Sunday, February 3, WDW News Today has unveiled the all new enhanced version of it’s podcast. This new version of the popular podcast, which debuted this weekend, allows listeners to skip chapters to different segments that interest them, see pleasing graphics that add a new level of professionalism to the weekly production, and follow links to sites related to topics discussed on the podcast. However, this is not all that the enhanced podcast will be able to do.

Beginning with episode 29 on February 9, WDW News Today plans on pushing the technology to its limit. During our Walt Disney World News and Rumors segment, we will provide pictures relating to stories as we report them. Imagine hearing news about the opening of a new attraction and seeing pictures of it as you hear the corresponding story reported. During our weekly pin trading segments, as we mention an upcoming pin to be released, we will be providing a picture of that pin to viewers. These features are only a sample of what will be heard and, for the first time, seen on the WDW News Today Podcast every week.

Enhanced podcasts do have one negative feature, you can not play them on most MP3 players. The file format for this is a .m4a which can play on Apple’s iPod, Microsoft’s Zune, or Apple’s Itunes. If you do not have any of these devices or applications, you can still listen to and watch our enhanced show on our Podcast Download Directory. If you need or would like the regular standard edition of the WDW News Today Podcast, they will still be available for download listed below the enhanced files on both Itunes and in our podcast directory. We hope you enjoy the WDWNT Enhanced podcast and hope to bring you many more in the coming months.

To subscribe to the WDW News Today podcast on Itunes, go to this link. If you do not have Itunes, visit our Podcast Download Directory to download or listen to all of our shows

Movies and a Makeover

WDWNT on February 4, 2008

Our friend Jim Hill over at JimHillMedia.com is reportingtoday that a new revamped concept of The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique currently operating at both the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney will be making its way over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the near future. The new version of the boutique will still offer makeovers to both little girls and boys, however, these makeovers will be themed to the Disney Channel favorites High School Musical and Hannah Montana. You can read Jim’s entire report on this developement at this link.

WDWNT Podcast Episode 28 Now Available for Download

WDWNT on February 4, 2008

To subscribe to the WDW News Today podcast on Itunes, go to this link. If you do not have Itunes, visit our Podcast Download Directory to download or listen to all of our shows

Join host Tom Corless and a cast including Jason Diffendal, John Corigliano, Nick McLamb, Luke Manning, Jose Castillo and John Rick for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between you and the World. Sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the Walt Disney World content we have to offer this week.

Steve Swanson, John Corigliano and Jason Diffendal join me this week for the Walt Disney World news and rumors as we discuss Spaceship Earth in Different Languages, new Pixar attractions coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the possibility of big changes coming to the Imagination pavilion at Epcot.

Next up, It’s the third edition of our weekly Disney Pin Trading segment with John Rick of the Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders (www.cjdpt.com). This segment features news about upcoming Epcot retro attraction pins, pin trading opportunities around the country, and more of the PINformation you’ve come to expect every show!  

To close the show, we have our first ever game of Disney Don’t Forget The Lyrics. On this special test edition, we bring some regular guest of the show in to give you a good idea of how to play the game. If you would like to play for a fabulous Disney prize package on an upcoming show, simply send us an email at wdwnewstoday@gmail.com with the subject line saying “Disney Don’t Forget The Lyrics”. We will then email you back information on how you can participate.

All this and more is waiting here for your enjoyment on episode 28 of the WDW News Today Podcast.

This week’s show is also offered for the first time in an enhanced version. An enhanced podcast is a podcast with added features that standard podcasts don’t have. Enhanced podcasts include many features like Chapter listings, this lets you skip through chapters or see what is in store for this weeks show. Enhanced podcasts also have images to let you differ the chapters by. Enhanced podcasts have one negative feature, you can not play them on most MP3 players. The file format for this is a .m4a which can play on Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. You will also need iTunes or Windows Media Player to be able to skip through chapters. If you need or would like the standard edition, download the normal edition listed below this file on both Itunes and in our podcast directory. We hope you enjoy this first ever WDWNT Enhanced podcast and hope to bring you many more in the coming months.

To subscribe to the WDW News Today podcast on Itunes, go to this link. If you do not have Itunes, visit our Podcast Download Directory to download or listen to all of our shows

Toy Story Mania Update

WDWNT on February 3, 2008

News has been slow about the upcoming Toy Story Mania attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but here are some small bits of information we have been able to pick up on:

-The new Pixar Place area is expected to be open sometime between March 20 and April 1, 2008.

-Soft Openings for Toy Story Mania are expected to begin between April 15 and May 1, 2008.

-The official opening of the attraction should be during the second week of June at both Disney’s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World and Disney’s California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.

We will try to provide more on the attraction as we get closer to opening day. None of the notes above have been officially confirmed, but are highly likely.