Chuck Canzoneri managed to sneak in another trip to Disneyland before his vacation to Walt Disney World next week, so let’s get to his pictures:
Set-up for the Candlelight Processional stage in front of the Main Street Train Station.
Since there was no news today, I wanted to bring up two items. First, something cool, and then something far more meaningful:
-Voting for the 20 Biggest Moments in Disney’s Hollywood Studios is going to close this Friday at Midnight and I just wanted to make sure you have all been able to vote. If you had problems voting before, you will want to try again, we have fixed the problems and everyone should now be able to choose what they think are the 20 biggest moments in the park’s history. After voting closes, we will tally the votes and air your choices on the WDW News Today Podcast in special segments as we count down to the 20th anniversary of the Studios on May 1, 2009. You can vote HERE, make sure you select 20 options!!!
-We have begun our annual fundraising efforts for “Toys for Tots”, who of course provides Toys during the holiday season to children of families who can not afford them. I’ve personally been giving to this charity all of my life and hope you will join me in supporting this cause. Of course, Toys for Tots was one of Walt Disney’s favorite causes and it was Disney artists who created the first “toy train” logo for the organization. That being said, I know it’s a tough time for many financially, but I hope that you will donate what you can to this great charity by going HERE or by using the widget in our right sidebar.
From the OC Register’s Around Disney blog:
No job is all fun, even when you work at a place called the “Candy Palace.”
When you’re in the business of making candy canes at Disneyland, you’d better be prepared for 100-degree heat, exacting craftsmanship and the scrutiny of crowds.
“I’ve been making candy canes at Christmas here for 19 years,” said Chris Thompson, a veteran candy maker for Disneyland. “I didn’t really feel comfortable with it until 10 or 15 years in.”
It’s all worth all the hard work though. It feels like Christmas when the kids press their noses against the glass to watch confectioners knead hot sugar and the biting smell of peppermint fills the air.
Thompson and his colleagues make the candy canes only four times every Christmas season. The five-ounce confections — about as long as a man’s forearm – retail for $9.95, but they sell out almost immediately. This year, the Candy Palace on Disneyland’s Main Street is issuing tickets so park guests can reserve candy canes ahead of time, avoiding the massive lines that mark candy cane day at the Palace every Christmas.
The crowds watching the candy makers through the store’s front window are always five or six deep.
Maybe people are fascinated by the sheer force of will and precision that is organized to create something so superfluous as a piece of candy.
The three-man candy-making operation starts by heating the small kitchen in the Candy Palace to 100 degrees inside — the hot sugar sets fast, so candy makers need the heat to keep it from hardening too soon.
Because the candy is cooked at such a high temperature, it has to be kept soft,” Thompson said.
Gas jets keep a big copper kettle of sugar and corn syrup hot as Thompson, candymaker Brian O’Dell and “hooker” Chris Henderson prepare to handle the sugar.
We here at the WDWNT Network family of websites have teamed up with Toys for Tots to raise our goal of $500 to help spread a little holiday joy to kids around the world who don’t have anything for Christmas, get a little christmas joy under there tree. We are of course not forcing anyone to donate, & if you do, it doesn’t even need to be a big sum of money. You can donate as much or as little as you want.
To donate, either follow this link or find the badge on the right of the website & click “Donate”, type the amount you want to donate & be sure to leave a comment of some kind. We hope you have the heart to help kids all around the world this holiday season. Happy Holidays!!!
A lot more of SHAG’s art pieces for the Haunted Mansion 40th anniversary next year have been unveiled. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
You can find many more of SHAG’s upcoming Haunted Mansion pieces by following this link.
Walt Disney World has just announced a very special sale that will be taking place on Saturday, December 13th at the World of Disney Store in the Downtown Disney Marketplace just for annual passholders and Disney Vacation Club members:
Shop unbelievable savings of up to 50% off select merchandise at the World of Disney® Store in the Downtown Disney® Marketplace for Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members.
Discounted merchandise includes selected pins, apparel, toys, plush, holiday trimmings and so much more! In addition, Passholders will receive their 10% discount, subject to existing Passholder discount restrictions.
Hourly Door Busters Deals:
6:30am: Select plush and other items $3.00 each*
7:30am: Select jumbo mugs, 2008 dated merchandise and other items $5.00 each*
8:30am: Select adult and children apparel $7.00 each*
- The first 450 Guests at the World of Disney® Store on December 13, 2008 will receive a complimentary, limited edition pin!**
- In addition, the first 1000 Guests at the World of Disney® Store on December 13, 2008 will receive a complimentary silver or red Disney coil ornament.**
- PLUS, enjoy complimentary tastings of coffees, hot cocoa and delicious treats between 6:30am-7:30am.
* Door Buster Hourly Deals will last one (1) hour only.
Merchandise available while supplies last.
Items subject to change without notice.
**No purchase necessary.Disney Transportation from Resorts will not be available for early morning shopping hours. Offer available December 13, 2008 only at the World of Disney® Store in the Downtown Disney® Marketplace at the Walt Disney World® Resort.Please Note – All information is subject to change including but not limited to artwork, release dates, edition sizes and retail prices.
I’d like to welcome back Chuck Canzoneri to Disneyland News Today, now in a new role of site photographer! Let’s get to his first photo report for us from Thanksgiving Day:
Pictures of the pardoned turkey parade.
From the OC Register:
ANAHEIM – The awe on children’s faces was apparent as they lined Main Street, Disneyland, to watch the first day of the Disneyland Christmas parade, which runs everyday until early January.
That’s when Denny Newell, the park’s senior show director, will start planning for next year.
With 17 custom-crafted floats and 120 performers and musicians, the parade is a massive undertaking. Newell starts taking auditions in September and parade cast members practice from 8 p.m. until midnight leading up to the parade’s kickoff around Thanksgiving.
For the parade, float drivers ensconce themselves in the hidden cabs of the steel-frame-and-fiberglass floats, which include some shaped like giant toy blocks with “Toy Story’s” Woody on top, ornate gazebos with dancers inside, or life-sized music boxes complete with a live ballerina.
The Toy Factory float is one that changes every year.
This year, it has elves marching beside it, pumping raw materials into one end.
A series of conveyor belts, pumps and hydraulics create the illusion of finished toys dumping into Santa’s bag as the float tools down the street. It features toy blocks as well.
“Last year, it didn’t really feel like a factory,” Newell said. “Through Disney Imagineering and some North Pole pixie dust, the new blocks match up with the ‘Toy Story’ float.”
As far as Santa’s own float, the right jolly old elf’s sleigh hovers above ornate fiberglass pine trees as he hollers good wishes to the children below.
It takes six men to wheel the bright-yellow, 12-foot steel staircase over to Santa’s float back stage so he can climb up to his perch in the sleigh.
Dancing and frolicking among the floats are roller-skating snowflakes, elves and actors portraying princesses from Disney movies – all rouged to a cartoonish glow.
Newell spends his days as the general to an army of toy soldiers with trumpets as Prince Caspian clops by on a Clydesdale and Buzz Lightyear does stretches like an athlete ready to sprint.
Is it surreal?
“It’s definitely interesting,” he said.
It was made official on the Walt Disney World website that the Studio Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be closed for a refurbishment from January 4th through February 28th, 2009. It is rumored that during this time they will be testing and installing an automated spiel to replace the Cast Members who actually narrate the attraction for guests and have been doing so since the tour opened back in 1989. This would not be a far cry from the changes that took place sometime ago over at Living with the Land, where the Cast Member guides were also replaced with an automated spiel. This would certainly mean a much smaller number of cast members would be staffing the attraction, and can certainly be looked at as a cost-cutting measure. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as we get more information on these changes over at the Studio Backlot Tour.
On much smaller note, the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show will not be performing from January 27th to the 29th, 2009. For an up-to-date list of refurbishments and such, be sure to check out our “Attraction Updates” page regularly.
Join me, Tom Corless, and a cast including Jason Diffendal, Kyle Duffield, Matt Paul, Kelly Russo, Chris Lastrapes, Jose Castillo and Luke Manning for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between You and the World. I hope you enjoy all of the Walt Disney World information and fun we have to offer on this “Fiesta” edition of the WDW News Today Podcast.
To kick off episode 70, we have all the recent happenings from the last week to discuss in our Walt Disney World Resort News and Rumor Report. This time around, we’ll be talking about the future of Mickey’s Pirate and Princess Parties at the Magic Kingdom, some upcoming changes to Epcot’s usual hours of operation, and a new offering that may make your next next Disney resort check-in much more pleasant.
Following that, “It’s Time to Go Back” as our Walt Disney World history segment, Back To The Future, returns this week on the WDW News Today Podcast. On this week’s journey, we’ll be looking at the story of the Mexico pavilion at Epcot. It’s a fun trip through time as we discuss the classic El Rio Del Tiempo boat ride and it’s very recent replacement. As you would expect, the talk of characters and their place in Epcot is discussed, and we hope you’ll enjoy the entertaining trip through the Rivers of Time.
Finally, Town Square Talk is back this week, highlighting the hottest topics around our WDWNT Network of websites. First up, Matt Paul is here to highlight some new Disney Park videos you can download from the WDWNTube (wdwntube.com) and Your Ear to the World (eartotheworld.net). Luke Manning and Jose Castillo also drop in with some news on Disneyland News Today and the WDW News Today Community Forums. I’m also making some Town Square Talk this week, with news on how you can determine upcoming segments for this show, including our countdown of the 20 biggest moments in Disney’s Hollywood Studios history.
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
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.
