My Favorite Season

WDWNT on April 14, 2008

Beginning last Friday, the Travel Channel began what will be a weekly series of new programs showcasing the Disney parks. They are referring to the series as their “Season of Disney”. Here is the schedule, including last week’s show which is now running regularly on the network:

4/11 Samantha Brown’s Disney Favorites
4/18 Disney Splurge
4/25 Disney: On a Dime
5/2 The Disney Royal Treatment
5/9 Disney Cruise Line

These shows have been airing at 9pm EST on Fridays, but you still may want to check you local listings just to be sure of when you can check them out.

Dave Smith on It’s a Small World Changes

WDWNT on April 13, 2008

Laughing Place spoke with Dave Smith of the Disney Archives on the planned It’s a Small World changes:

[…] from Dave Smith, Chief Archivist for the Walt Disney Co.

With regard to the current controversy about changes being made in It’s a Small World at Disneyland, allow me, as the Chief Archivist at the Disney company for the past 38 years, to remind those who are complaining that Walt Disney never intended Disneyland to be static. To a reporter when Disneyland opened he said, “Disneyland will never be completed; it will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world.” He continued those thoughts to Pete Martin who was working on his biography, saying that Disneyland is “something that will never be finished. Something I can keep developing, keep plussing and adding to. It’s alive. It will be a live, breathing thing that will need change. A picture is a thing, once you wrap it up and turn it over to Technicolor you’re through. The one I wrapped up a few weeks ago, it’s gone, I can’t touch it. I wanted something alive, something that could grow, something I could keep plussing with ideas; the Park is that. Not only can I add things, but even the trees will keep growing. The things will get more beautiful each year.” Walt Disney was constantly changing his park, just as he said he would. And those changes did not end with Walt’s death over 40 years ago. The Disney Imagineers have continued to follow his dream, frequently adding and changing things in the park to give today’s guests the best possible experience. The public expects more from Disney than they do from most companies, and we try to live up to that trust by continually improving a guest’s visit to our park. And, sure enough, those trees have kept growing and getting more beautiful every year.

As a follow-up we asked him this question:

I’ve read many people who have said they’re not opposed to change in Small World – or anywhere at Disneyland for that matter – but they are opposed to this specific change. While obviousy none of them know exactly what will be done, the addition of characters to what has up until now been a character free attraction is itself a change they are opposed to. Many feel it changes the focus away from “children of the world” to “Disney characters” and that’s not what Small World is supposed to be about. Is that something you might be able to speak to?

Dave Smith answered the following:

It is difficult for me to speak to that, since I do not know what characters are being put in the attraction, or what they will look like. But, we have added characters to previous character-free attractions: witness Pirates of the Caribbean (Jack Sparrow), Tiki Room (Iago, at the Magic Kingdom in FL), Treehouse (Tarzan), Big Thunder Ranch (Little Patch of Heaven), Tom Sawyer Island (Pirates Lair), Main Street Cinema (Disney cartoons), Haunted Mansion (Haunted Mansion Holiday), Submarine Voyage (Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage), El Rio del Tiempo (Gran Fiesta Tour, at Epcot), The Living Seas (starring Nemo and Friends, Epcot). Because of the great number of Audio-Animatronics children in Small World, I cannot imagine that the addition of a few characters like Alice in Wonderland will affect the theme.

Catching Up With The World

WDWNT on April 13, 2008

After enjoying a fantastic weekend at The Central Jersey Disney Pin Traders’ “Trade Till You Fade” event along with staff members John Rick of The Disney Pincast, Jason Diffendal of WDWCelebrations, and Justin Heyman, we’re back with some news updates from around the Walt Disney World Resort:

-Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, construction of the American Idol show has forced the new Block Party Bash parade to make it’s two show stops on Hollywood Blvd. and at the Sorcerer’s Hat and then go straight back down the street again into the gates through which it arrived. We expect this to be the parade’s route until construction of the attraction is completed this Fall.

-Construction of the new north wing at Disney’s Contemporary Resort is picking up, as glass panels are actually being added to the building already.

DLR Picture Update

WDWNT on April 12, 2008

I just got back from 2 wonderful days at the Disneyland Resort! Let’s get straight to the pictures:


A new Kodak sign up on the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience entrance marque


The new Tinkertoy in the Pixar Play Parade


A wall up by Grizzly River Run. As reported earlier this week, the attraction is still open


The new emergency bridge from DCA to the Grand Californian


The Toontown room in the World of Disney store


A construction wall up by the Tomorrowland Terrace


The new Disneyland map front, that debuted today…


… And the DCA one


Today was the first day in this year’s California Food & Wine Festival


The Festival Welcome Center


Let’s take a look at the Festival Guide Booklet…


This year is the 3rd annual California Food & Wine Festival


A special restaurant has been set up in Pacific Wharf just for the Food & Wine Festival, in place of the old Lucky Fortune Cookery


The place to get Food & Wine merchandise. I got the pin!


The menu for this special restaurant, The Taste of California Marketplace


Construction on the ODV structures outside Toy Story Mania


The fountain outside of King Triton’s Carousel is working for once!


The sign for Seasons of the Vine has finally been removed. Weird how the attraction closed just as the Food & Wine Festival started


A new sign for the Year of a Million Dreams on the security tents


This could be DCA’s temporary entrance


Just to give you an idea where it actually is

Stay tuned tomorrow for bigger versions of these pictures & many more pictures in our Image Galleries!

A New Blue Arrival!

WDWNT on April 12, 2008

Sometime during the course of this week, the Disneyland Resort was welcomed with a new arrival. Monorail Blue was delivered this week. When the pics below were taken it was parked on flatbeds in the KCML (Katella Cast Member Lot) adjacent to the Buzz Lightyear lot used for overflow parking.

Pictures courtesy of Dateline Disneyland on MiceChat.

“A Long Time Ago, In a Studio of a Previous Name….”

WDWNT on April 11, 2008

Yesterland.com is offering up a great look and analysis at an opening day map from the Disney MGM Studios in 1989. Be sure to look at a current day map as you take this trip into the past, you will be surprised at how unbelievably different the park looks today from its very humble beginnings almost 20 years ago. To see the full article, go HERE.

Disney

WDWNT on April 10, 2008

I found a rather funny press release put out by Disney earlier this week and felt I should share it with our readers. This is probably the first time Disney has acknowledged that they have a huge number of attractions based on Pixar films:

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — It’s a Pixar palooza at Disney Parks! In family-friendly attractions and immersive experiences on both coasts of the United States, guests can do it all — find Nemo, zap Zurg and meddle with Monsters.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Coming this summer to Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calif., is a whole new interactive adventure: Toy Story Mania!

Celebrating Disney-Pixar classics “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” this new ride-game experience combines delightful film characters with personality-matching games guests can play. Donning 3-D glasses, guests shrink to the size of a toy and hop fanciful ride vehicles following a midway-themed route. At each game booth, they aim for animated targets using special on-board spring-action shooters. And since games adapt to the skill level of each player, beginners and gamers alike have plenty of reasons to ride — and play — again and again.

Toy Story Mania! debuts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida in late May and at Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim in late June. It joins these other experiences inspired by favorite Disney-Pixar characters and films.

At Walt Disney World Resort:

  • Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor — Guests find the power of laughter in an engaging and interactive adventure inspired by “Monsters, Inc.” as they match wits with the one-eyed hero Mike Wazowski and his friends. As Monster-of-Ceremonies, Mike recruits comedian wanna-bes whose humor delights audiences at a 400-seat theater in Magic Kingdom.
  • Finding Nemo-The Musical — The undersea world that charmed audiences in “Finding Nemo” comes to life in a musical stage show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The 30-minute Broadway-style production immerses guests in the story of Marlin and Nemo, an overprotective clownfish father and his curious son, with imaginative puppetry, dazzling special effects and an original musical score.
  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends — This whimsical and visually stunning attraction at Epcot picks up where the film “Finding Nemo” left off. Riding aboard “clamobiles” in a colorful coral reef setting, guests meet Mr. Ray and learn that Nemo has wandered off. The journey continues as Dory, Bruce, Marlin, Squirt and Crush help with the search. These deep-sea friends inhabit a variety of vibrant vignettes, including a huge aquarium that contains more than 65 species of marine life.
  • Block Party Bash — This high-energy extravaganza at Disney’s Hollywood Studios cranks the music and excitement to the max, putting guests in the middle of the wildest Disney spectacle ever — a non-stop musical block party that doubles as a fun-filled interactive street spectacular. Featuring characters from “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monster’s, Inc.” and “The Incredibles,” “Block Party Bash” combines dancers, acrobats, stilt performers and a caravan of electric scooters to fill the performance area with awe-inspiring visual and sound sensations.

    •           At Disneyland Resort:

  • Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage — Guests embark on an underwater expedition where they discover Nemo and his finned friends from “Finding Nemo.” Thanks to cutting-edge imaging technology, characters such as Dory, Marlin, Crush, Bruce and, of course, Nemo, come to life before guests’ eyes in a brilliantly colored lagoon at Disneyland Park. 
  • a bug’s land — Designed especially for kids, this land at Disney’s California Adventure features Flik’s Fun Fair, which is full of attractions inspired by the film “A Bug’s Life.” Children can experience the world from a bug’s point of view by visiting Flik’s Flyers, Francis’ Ladybug Boogie, Heimlich’s Chew Chew Train, Princess Dot Puddle Park, and Tuck and Roll Drive’Em Buggies. Families can then cap off their adventures with a screening of the 3-D spectacular “It’s Tough to be a Bug.”
  • Monster’s Inc., Mike and Sulley to the Rescue — Disney’s California Adventure guests are in for a ride of “monstrous” proportion as they climb aboard taxis and hit the streets of Monstropolis with Mike, Sulley and Boo. Along the way they’ll encounter the super-sneaky Randall Boggs, the yellow-suited agents of the Child Detection Agency and other characters from the film.
  • Pixar Play Parade — Characters from Disney-Pixar films “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars” and “Ratatouille” dance onto the parade route and invite guests of all ages to join in a whirling, spinning, fun-for-all animated playground. This daily spectacle at Disney’s California Adventure is brought to life in giant parade floats, puppetry, acrobatics and interactive surprises including bubble, fire and water effects.

    •           At both Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort:

  • Turtle Talk With Crush — Crush from “Finding Nemo” has made a different kind of screen debut at Epcot and Disneyland Park — as a chatting, joking quipster who engages guests in conversation from his movie-screen undersea environment. The interactive show is a breakthrough experience in real-time animation using digital projection and sophisticated, voice-activated animation.
  • It’s Tough to be a Bug — Inside the massive trunk of Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life, and at the heart of Disney’s California Adventure’s “a bug’s land,” is “It’s Tough to be a Bug,” a humorous 3-D film and special effects show starring Earth’s least-known wild creatures — and a few familiar faces from “A Bug’s Life.” Guests will recognize friendly Flik and the villainous Hopper, but the rest of the show promises some “stingingly” surprising antics.
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (WDW) / Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters (DLR) — Armed with infrared lasers, guests join forces with Buzz Lightyear to defend Earth’s supply of batteries from the evil Emperor Zurg in a spinning, brought-to-life spin-off of the movie “Toy Story.” The shoot-’em-up fun at both Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park triggers sight and sound gags, while a lighted display inside toy-spaceship vehicles allows guests to keep score.

    • For more information about Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort visit disneyworld.com and www.disneyland.com.

    Jingles II!

    WDWNT on April 10, 2008

    ANAHEIM, Calif., April 8, 2008 — In beloved recognition and gratitude for her service as Honorary Ambassador of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration, Disneyland Resort Cast Members today presented legendary star Julie Andrews with a unique dedication that will forever ensure her place in Disneyland’s storied history.

    This dedication shines in a most appropriate place, on King Arthur’s Carrousel in Fantasyland. The Carrousel was one of the 15 Disneyland attractions that were “goldenized” in 2005, in honor of the “Happiest Homecoming on Earth” celebration for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary. Jingles, the lead and most popular horse on the attraction, was painted gold for Disneyland’s special milestone and Julie was photographed with the horse during the festivities.  To acknowledge Julie’s role as an honorary cast member, Disneyland Resort has given Jingles a magical makeover and is dedicating the cherished horse in her honor.

    Carrousels have a special meaning at Disneyland as Walt Disney had a fond appreciation for them and included carrousels in many of his biggest and most notable endeavors.  As a father, he took his young daughters to ride merry-go-rounds on many weekends and those happy and memorable times were the seed of his dream called Disneyland.  Julie Andrews’ association with carrousel horses dates back to the classic 1964 film, “Mary Poppins,” and her lead role as the magical nanny.   During one escapade, Mary Poppins embarks on a “horse race” with the two young children and her friend Bert. With a little bit of luck – and stunning visual effects – their carrousel ponies break free and gallop through the countryside.  The movie won five Academy Awards – including one for Julie Andrews – spawned the cheerful song “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!,” and left a sentimental spot forever in the hearts of movie-lovers worldwide.

    Since Jingles’ 2005 golden transformation, the popular carrousel horse now dons a new and hand-painted, colorful jewel-tone palette.  Special features have been added to honor the screen legend, including embellishments of gold leaf horseshoes, flowers representing Julie’s love of gardening and Mary Poppins’ themeing on Jingles’ enhanced golden saddle. Hand-painted features on the saddle include Julie’s initials, the number “50” representing Disneyland’s 50th anniversary, Mary Poppins’ boots and a flying silhouette of the beloved Mary Poppins character.  Golden, wooden jingle bells also adorn the horse’s body.

    Disneyland Cast Members also presented a miniature, one-of-kind replica of Jingles for Julie.  The commissioned, hand-carved wood piece stands nearly 2 ½ feet tall and wears a special broach that is a replica of the custom-made Disneyland Ambassador pin that Julie received for being an Ambassador for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary.

    While at Disneyland for the unveiling ceremony of Jingles, Julie signed copies of her new autobiography “Home: A Memoir of My Early Years” for Cast Members and Guests.  In her new book, the critically-acclaimed writer shares numerous personal photos and anecdotes of her time on Broadway, including stories of performing in “My Fair Lady” with Rex Harrison and in “Camelot” with Richard Burton; her first marriage to famed set and costume designer Tony Walton, with whom Julie gave birth to daughter Emma; her meeting with Walt Disney, and her departure for Hollywood.

    WASH. RESIDENT FIRST IN THE NATION TO REDEEM HIS FREE DISNEY PAR

    WDWNT on April 9, 2008

    (JANUARY 1, 2009): Using an oversized park ticket created for the occasion, Seattle, Wash. resident Andrew DaCosta enters the Magic Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. on Jan. 1, 2009. DaCosta was honored this morning as the first person in the nation to receive free admission to a Disney theme park on his birthday as part of Disney’s “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign. DaCosta, who is celebrating his 49th birthday today, redeemed his “Free On Your Birthday” registration at the Magic Kingdom Guest Relations window at 7:31 a.m. Jan. 1 is the first day of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign at both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California. In addition to offering everyone who visits a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park on their birthday in 2009 free admission, the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign features new theme park entertainment, added celebration experiences and new ways for guests to customize their own “celebration vacation” at both vacation resorts. (Preston Mack, photographer)