Our very own Chuck Canzoneri attended a very special Pinocchio panel discussion at the El Capitan Theatre on January 22nd, & he has sent in these pictures & a couple of videos to us (with captions written by himself):
I went to the El Capitan to catch the premiere screening of the newly restored Pinocchio.
Outside window display.
Read More about Chuck Canzoneri’s Pinocchio Panel Discussion Photo Report
According to the OC Register:
Disney fans snapped up several hundred hotel-and-park packages — for as much as $475 each — within minutes of their going on sale to celebrate Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion’s 40th anniversary.
“I think this just speaks to the legacy of the Haunted Mansion and the appeal it has to our guests,” said Mary Murray, director of merchandise for Disneyland.
Four packages for Sept. 9 went on sale earlier this week, some of which included exclusive seminars discussing the Mansion’s history with top Imagineers like Tony Baxter and Kim Irvine, hotel stays, food and merchandise.
The first two tour packages – titled “Grinning Ghosts” and “Foolish Mortals” — cost $475 and $430, respectively. They sold out within five minutes of going on sale online Tuesday morning, Murray said.
The Dearly Departed and Hitchhikers packages were $250 and $85, respectively, and sold out within two hours after going on sale Wednesday morning, Murray said.
She said that Disney wouldn’t comment on exactly how many tickets were available for the packages, but said several hundred had been up for sale.
The packages follow the Haunted Mansion’s back story of the Black Widow Bride — “Has she found her soul mate or will another groom meet his doom?” reads the Haunted Mansion anniversary site.
Below is a synopsis of what each package includes, or you can find out by clicking here:
Grinning Ghosts, $475: A dinner, a seminar with top Imagineers Tony Baxter and Kim Irvine, a night in the Grand Californian Hotel, a meal and desert, admission in the evening to both Disneyland and California Adventure, photo opportunities, rides and merchandise.
Foolish Mortals, $430: The same benefits as the Grinning Ghosts, but includes a night at the Disneyland Hotel instead of the Grand Californian.
Dearly Departed, $250: Same as the above, but includes fewer parting gifts and no hotel stay.
Hitchhikers, $85: This includes admission to Disneyland, but not California Adventure, no dinner or hotel stay, and only one gift.
Avid WDWNT Network follower Jon Pleszewski has provided us with a fantastic photo update from around the Magic Kingdom park, so let’s take a look at some news items:
The “Celebrate Today!” banner covers the famous train station plaque that the Year of a Million Dreams banner covered for many months
The castle forecourt stage has been returned to it’s usual look, slightly freshened and ready for Dream Along with Mickey
The walls are finally down around the Golden Oak Outpost in Frontierland, which is ready to open any day now
The new seating area which will shrink the designated smoking area adjacent to it
Construction of Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration continues in Tomorrowland
Is it just me, or does it look like this isn’t going to make a February opening?
We end this great report with the arrival of more “Celebrate Today!” banners outside the Magic Kingdom. A special thanks to Jon for this update!
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Walt Disney Co. said today it is offering buyouts to 600 executives in its domestic theme parks and resorts, including 313 managers at Disney World in Orlando, to reduce costs in the face of the ongoing nationwide recession.
The 600 executives, all above the level of director, have until Feb. 6 to decide if they want to take the offered buyout. At that point, the company may consider layoffs as well.
Disney did not say how many jobs it planned to eliminate.
“Given the continued uncertainty of the economic environment, we must manage our business even more productively,” Leslie Goodman, executive vice president of worldwide public affairs in Disney’s parks and resorts division, said in a written statement released this afternoon.
She also noted that “the parks and resorts division is in the process of implementing a number of initiatives to contain costs and maximize efficiency.”
Many see this as a word of warning to these employees that they should walk away while they can or Disney will probably just fire them along with many lower-level cast members in the coming weeks. Pretty amazing how attendance worries and a bad economy have the company running for it’s life. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more on this breaking story as it becomes available.
According to the LA Times Travel Blog:
Although Disneyland isn’t calling it a parade, the new “interactive street party” debuting March 27 will travel along the parade route, replace the outgoing parade and essentially serve as the daily parade.
In typical punctuation-challenged Disney fashion, Celebrate! A Street Party will feature seven floats and 90 performers in a “celebratory song and dance party.”
Banners and ribbons will connect the floats as if in a long chain, according to Screamscape, with periodic high points punctuated by confetti-cannon fodder. Cue the street sweepers.
The anti-parade will make at least two show stops — on Main Street U.S.A. and in front of It’s a Small World — where singers, dancers, stilt-walkers and Disney characters will shake and shimmy to party songs.
Similar in scale to the Parade of Dreams, which the new whatever-you-do-don’t-call-it-a-parade replaces, Celebrate! A Street Party will typically run twice on busy days and once on slower days.
From the Orlando Sentinel:
Walt Disney Co. said today it is offering buyouts to 600 executives in its domestic theme parks and resorts, including 313 managers at Disney World in Orlando, to reduce costs in the face of the ongoing nationwide recession.
The 600 executives, all above the level of director, have until Feb. 6 to decide if they want to take the offered buyout. At that point, the company may consider layoffs as well.
Disney did not say how many jobs it planned to eliminate.
“Given the continued uncertainty of the economic environment, we must manage our business even more productively,” Leslie Goodman, executive vice president of worldwide public affairs in Disney’s parks and resorts division, said in a written statement released this afternoon.
She also noted that “the parks and resorts division is in the process of implementing a number of initiatives to contain costs and maximize efficiency.”
Many see this as a word of warning to these employees that they should walk away while they can or Disney will probably just fire them along with many lower-level cast members in the coming weeks. Pretty amazing how attendance worries & a bad economy have the company running for it’s life. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for more on this breaking story as it becomes available.
Join me, Tom Corless, and a cast including Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman, Kyle Duffield and Luke Manning for a variety show that celebrates the Walt Disney World Resort and it’s many fans. So what are you waiting for? Let’s celebrate another week of Walt Disney World information and fun on the WDW News Today Podcast!!!
To kick off episode 77, we have your Walt Disney World Resort News and Rumor (and trip) Report. In this week’s report, we’ll be talking about a variety of topics that have come up in the last two weeks, as well as my most recent trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. I’ll also be giving some in-depth first-hand reports on the two newest attractions at the parks, the Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure at Epcot and the American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Town Square Talk is also back this week, highlighting the hottest topics around our WDWNT Network of websites. On this trip down Main Street WDWNT, we’ll be releasing some details on the new WDWNTube “Disney Parks” video site that will be opening soon, as well as what segments you may hear on the upcoming 50th episode of The Disneyland News Today Podcast.
Finally, to end this weeks program, we continue our countdown of the 20 Biggest Moments in Disney’s Hollywood Studios History as voted by you with a look at what took the #17 spot. We’ll also be examining just how important this moment is in the 20 year history of the park.
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.
As we draw closer to it’s debut next month, more details on the new “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” show in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom. Here is what can be found on disneyworld.com:
Stitch’s SuperSonic Celebration is a musical Tomorrowland street party celebrating “Galaxy Day” and features a live video version of Stitch interacting with Guests and a high-energy dance troupe. Come join the fun!
My apologies for the very small concept art image, but it is all that is available at this time. This blurb confirms the rumor we reported a few weeks ago that the Stitch character will be part of the Living Character Initiative program and will have an interactive character on a screen talking to guests very much like the Stitch Live! attraction at the Walt Disney Studios Paris park. The fact that the official description calls this a “live video version” of Stitch is a bit disturbing from a company that has always been about creating solid stories and illusions, considering that is not in the descriptions for the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor or Turtle Talk with Crush.
Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today as more details on “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” and other new offerings for “Celebrate Everyday!” become available.
It appears that the new/updated parade debuting at the Magic Kingdom park on January 23, 2009 has had a name change from what we have previously reported. According to upcoming entertainment schedules for the month of February, the parade will be titled the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” Parade. This slightly different name is shorter than the previously reported “Celebrate Disney Dreams Come True” moniker and actually sounds a whole lot better. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this updated Magic Kingdom parade as it becomes available.
Disney has posted pictures of a majority of the merchandise being released for The Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary event this summer, most of which will only be released at the event. Here are a few of the more interesting ones (you can find the rest HERE):
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A figurine of the griffin statues that adorn the staircase at the start of the attraction. The price is to be determined.
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The event T-Shirt, on sale for $29.
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A shirt featuring the original opening poster used for promotion. The color of the shirt & the price are to be determined.
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The event pin for $12.95.
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5 pins like this with Constance’s 5 husbands will be on sale for $14.95.
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Each of the 4 stretching portraits will be released for $95.
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Robert Olszewski’s latest Gallery of Light item on The Haunted Mansion will on sale for $85. This is one of the few items that will be available outside of the event.
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Robert Olszewski’s great Pokitpal series continues with this Haunted Mansion themed item, to be on sale for $20.
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The last item I wanted to showcase here is this $75 Jim Shore Disney Traditions piece.
