DCA’s old parade, Block Party Bash, debuted today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. If any of the parade’s fans would like to see what has become of it, I advise you check this post on our sister site, WDW News Today. Also be sure to check out these pictures from EpcotServo, covering pretty much everything in the parade at DHS!
For complete coverage of the first public showing of the new Block Party Bash parade/show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, head on over to Epcot Servo’s coverage HERE. The parade runs the opposite route of the now defunct Stars and Motorcars Parade, as it starts on Hollywood Blvd. and makes its way to the Star Tours area, making two lengthy stops along the way. We will have our review and explanation of the parade in the news and rumors section of episode 34 of the WDW News Today podcast.
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 me, Tom Corless, and a cast including John Corigliano, Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman, Jose Castillo and Patrick Hurd for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between you and the World. Sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the Walt Disney World news, information, and fun we have to offer on this episode of WDWNT.
To kick off episode 33 Jason Diffendal, Jose Castillo and Justin Heyman join me in discussing the Walt Disney World news and rumors. This week, we discuss an upcoming Primeval Whirl refurbishment, the end of a long running parade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the possibility of a revamped Hall of Presidents coming to the Magic Kingdom.
Our Walt Disney World history segment, Back To The Future, returns, as we talk about the history of Magic Kingdom attractions inside what is often referred to as the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center . Joining me in our time travels this week are Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman and John Corigliano as we take a interstellar journey through the Flight to the Moon, Mission to Mars, Alien Encounter, and Stitch’s Great Escape attractions.
To end this weeks show, I have an interview with Disney Dream Job CMO finalist Patrick Hurd to discuss his entry video, how he created it, and his love for all things Disneyland. While this interview is very lengthy, I think it provides us with a great story you can not learn in a one minute long video.
This episode is also available 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 both on Itunes and in our podcast directory.
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
While we have no pictures yet, we can confirm that the Goat in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has returned to the tracks!
Welcome Back Mr. Goat!
We’ve got a few interesting videos & pictures from MintCrocodile of MouseInfo. This first video shows testing of the new Mark VII monorails in the esplanade. The second is of the new pyro being used in the finale of Fantasmic. We also have some pictures of an after hours rehearsal for the PIXAR Play Parade. Do note that they put up a lattice wall, so the floats aren’t very clear.
Disney is planning on launching a new mobile phone service that will bring the fun of any of the Walt Disney World water parks to you before, during, and after your trip to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon. Here is the official news from DisneyWorld.com:
Dive Into A Thrilling Splash On…Your Cell Phone? Introducing the awesome new Disney WAP Site
You and your kids can access Disney Water Park fun before, during and after you actually visit them-with one of today’s hottest Disney stars appearing along the way.
“At the heart of the Disney Water Parks mobile program is a website optimized for the mobile phone,” explained Tom Aronson of Disney Parks Global New Media and Technologies. “It’s filled with exclusive wallpapers, insider tips and an interactive personality quiz.”
Get your head in the phone
The feature Tom told us about that will really have your kids squealing with joy is the one that features “High School Musical” and “Jump In” star Corbin Bleu. He had such a blast when he recently visited both Disney Water Parks, he was happy to help us send messages to express this enthusiasm to his legions of fans.
It starts with a special video message from Corbin to Disney Resort hotel Guests on their in-room televisions. “He will ask our Guests to text H2O to 775274, which spells SPLASH,” said Tom. “Within seconds the phone rings with a message from Corbin.”
Features galore at the touch of a few buttons
“We created a number of interactive features Guests can access by texting H2O to 775274 (SPLASH),” said Tom. “One of the features offers lots of great tips about how to ‘surf’ at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and ‘ski’ at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park. It’ll let Guests know the best way to enjoy all the attractions for maximum thrills.
“Another section is all about the dos and don’ts of using ‘Surfology’ and ‘Skiology’ lingo. And we even asked artist Jesse LeDoux to create four exclusive wallpapers that can be easily downloaded onto your phone. We’re planning all kinds of other ideas like these all the time.”
Following the huge success of the weekly Disney pin trading segments on the WDW News Today podcast, we are proud to welcome the only weekly podcast to ever be dedicated to Disney pins to our News Today family, the Disney Pincast. While the first episode will not be released until March 12th, we invite you to go to the official website for the show at www.wdwnewstoday.com/pincast. While there, you can click the Itunes button in the right column to subscribe to the show on Itunes. While you will be able to also download and listen to shows on the Pincast site, we will also be posting news, show notes, and interesting information throughout the week on that very same page. So whether you are a shark or new to trading, check out The Disney Pincast site and podcast today!!!
The Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride refurbishment in April, that was originally planned to go from April 14th to the 18th, has now been pushed back to April 21st through the 24th.
As always, you can keep up with the latest refurbishments on our Attractions Refurbishments page!
A common practice at Disneyland is a pre-parade to whatever parade is showing, which right now is of course Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams. Currently an Enchanted pre-parade shows about 10 minutes before the parade. But Enchanted has run it’s course, & it’s time for a new pre-parade. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian pre-parade will start performances at 3:20pm on Friday April 25th, 2008.
A new window is coming to Main Street! Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who was responsible for such attractions as the PeopleMover & the Monorail, will be getting his own Main Street shop window in a ceremony tomorrow morning at 8am (which is before park opening).
