Another Look at Bay Lake Tower
WDWNT Reporter Jose Eber was able to get an up-close look at the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, including the lobby and pool area, and has video to share of his experience:
WDWCelebrations Hits The Road To Celebrate “Fifty-Five”
WDWCelebrations Heads West in 2010 to present “Fifty-Five”, a WDWCelebrations Commemorative Event Honoring the 55thAnniversary of Disneyland®
Orlando, FL, July 15, 2009 — WDWCelebrations is pleased to announce an exciting new Commemorative Event for 2010, celebrating the historic 55th anniversary of Disneyland® Park in Anaheim, California. Dubbed “Fifty-Five”, this Commemorative Event takes place Thursday through Saturday, July 15th to July 17th, 2010, and will be produced in association with our newest partner, WindowtotheMagic.
During the organization’s longest and largest Commemorative Event to date, guests will be able to enjoy favorite WDWCelebrations signature offerings such as history walks, scavenger hunts, group rides, group meals, and, of course, a few very special surprises. This event will encompass the entire Disneyland® Resort, offering fans a taste of the West Coast Disney with an East Coast twist.
WDWCelebrations warmly welcomes WindowtotheMagic to our family of treasured partners. Paul Barrie, Jr. and his team currently produce the internet’s preeminent Disney audio podcast “A WindowtotheMagic,” as well as numerous fan DVDs. Paul has been creating Disney-related content for the internet since 1996.
Jason Diffendal, Co-Founder of WDWCelebrations, remarks, “We are constantly looking at new opportunities to bring like-minded Disney fans together to celebrate. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to celebrate the fifty-five years since 1955 when Walt realized his dream. Disneyland® is Walt’s place and sets the stage for what is sure to be a spectacular event!”
Jackie Steele, Core Team Member of WDWCelebrations, adds, “Our past events have focused on the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida, but this is the perfect occasion to recognize Walt Disney’s first theme park masterpiece, the one that started it all. We are also very excited to be working with Paul Barrie Jr. and his talented team for this event. Paul does such a great job with his podcast, and it will be a pleasure to have him on our team.”
Registration for this event will open in December 2009. More information about the event will be released in the coming months via the WDWCelebrations.com website and newsletter as well as the WDWCelebrations official fan page on Facebook and the WDWCelebrations Twitter feed.
About WDWCelebrations, L. L. C.
WDWCelebrations, L. L. C. is a Florida-based organization created by Disney fans, dedicated to “celebrating the magic of the past, present, and future, together.” WDWCelebrations was founded by the organizers of Celebration 25, which commemorated the 25th anniversary of Epcot® in 2007. WDWCelebrations Commemorative Events are designed to celebrate milestones in Disney park history. More information about WDWCelebrations and its events can be found at http://www.wdwcelebrations.com.
About “A WindowtotheMagic”
WindowtotheMagic is owned and operated by Paul Barrie, Jr. Paul has been creating Disney-related content for the internet since 1996, and visits Disneyland® many times a year to record audio and video for his podcast, “A WindowtotheMagic.” More information can be found at http://www.windowtothemagic.com.
Disneyland® Park and Walt Disney World® Resort are registered trademarks of The Walt Disney Company.
Myrna Litt’s 7/13/09 El Capitan Photo Report
Our very own Myrna Litt paid a quick visit to the El Captain Theatre in Hollywood on Monday and shares with us a few photos:
“G-Force” will be the next movie to be featured at the El Capitan Theatre beginning July 24th
Some new merchandise inside the Soda Fountain and Studio Store
A new Reyn Spooner “Ratatouille” shirt
A not-so-real Jack Sparrow outside the El Capitan
Just if you thought Jack looked bad…
Thanks for the short but sweet report Myrna!
The Wonderful World of Cellar
From Brady MacDonald and the LA Times Travel Blog:
Disney’s California Adventure will unveil new concept art this week at the Blue Sky Cellar preview center for the World of Color water show debuting in 2010.
In the “Alice in Wonderland” sequence from World of Color, the Cheshire Cat’s face will be projected on a fan mist screen while water whips create his body and tail. In the foreground, a diminutive Alice falls into a bottle floating on a psychedelic sea of color amid rising and falling fountains.
World of Color, which blends the nighttime spectacle of Disneyland’s Fantasmic and the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, is the first major addition of a $1.1-billion makeover planned for Disney’s California Adventure through 2012.
The 18-minute World of Color will feature an array of dancing fountains, movie projections and lighting effects all tied to the original Sherman Brothers musical score from the 1960s television show.
Walls of water that take the shape of virtually every recognizable Disney character and skyrocketing fountains will shoot so high they’ll obscure the newly renovated 16-story Mickey Mouse Ferris Wheel.
The Blue Sky Cellar preview center is scheduled to reopen Thursday with new artwork of the planned California Adventure expansion.
Halloweentime 2009 Spans The Universe
Two new additions have been added to the Disneyland Resort’s Halloween Time line-up according to our good friends over at the LA Times Travel Blog:
Disneyland will add a “haunted” overlay to Space Mountain and a fireworks “spooktacular” for the Halloween season, theme park officials said.
The “Halloween Time” event, which runs from Sept. 25 through Nov. 1, is included in the price of admission to the Anaheim theme park.
The “Ghost Galaxy” Space Mountain overlay, which originally premiered at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007, features a new soundtrack and ghostly and ghoulish projections inside the darkened roller coaster building, according to Screamscape.
The Halloween-themed fireworks show, hosted by “Master of Scaremonies” Jack Skellington of “Nightmare Before Christmas” fame, will include nods to Disney villains.
Many of those villains — Cruella de Vil (”101 Dalmatians”), Captain Hook (”Peter Pan”) and Queen of Hearts (”Alice in Wonderland”) — will also be wandering the theme park, signing autographs and passing out treats.
Across the way at Disney’s California Adventure, “Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party” will run on Oct. 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23 and 28-31. The separate-admission event — which includes games, music and a Disney character parade — lets costumed children trick-or-treat throughout the park.
Time to Peel the Orange!
The Orange Stinger is now closed, and its makeover to Silly Symphony Swings will begin very soon. According to the OC Register’s Around Disney blog:
The spiral-peeled orange that marks the skyline of Disney’s California Adventure will soon be gone. The Orange Stinger swing ride closes for good beginning Tuesday.
It will be re-born as the Silly Symphonies Swings, featuring characters from the first colorized Mickey Mouse cartoon: “The Band Concert,” from 1935.
The attraction will remain a ride in which guests are suspended in swings that twirl around in circles.
The short features an orchestra made up of farm animals and conducted by Mickey Mouse, heckled by Donald Duck and his copious flute collection and finally swept up in a tornado – all the while playing variations of “William Tell Overture.”
Disney Spokesman John McClintock said that though the dismantling of the Stinger will start immediately, workers won’t start “peeling the orange” until sometime next week.
The newly themed swing ride will feature Mickey as the conductor on the top, and the cows, horses, dogs, pigs and other animals making up the band’s musicians will decorate the rest of the ride.
McClintock said Disney officials expect the Silly Symphonies Swings to open in spring of 2010, at around the same time the World of Color water and light show opens.
The refurbishment is part of Disney’s $1-billion expansion and re-theming of California Adventure.
Disney hopes to make the park more attractive after several years of lackluster attendance. Part of the strategy is to link the attractions there more closely with Disney and Pixar movie and character themes.
The World Famous Jungle Cruise Music Video
It looks like the very talented Weird Al Yankovic has produced yet another masterpiece, this time a song and video that I think all of us will enjoy. His latest single is titled “Skipper Dan” and revolves around Disneyland’s classic attraction, the Jungle Cruise. This song will eventually be released on his next album, believed to be on the way in 2010. Enjoy:
“Skipper Dan” by Weird Al
Animal Kingdom Vice President Moves To The Big Easy
According to Jason Garcia of The Orlando Sentinel:
One of Walt Disney World’s four theme parks is about to get a new head executive.
Val Bunting, the Walt Disney World vice president in charge of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, is changing jobs to become general manager at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. A Disney spokeswoman said the move is Bunting’s choice, as Bunting wants to move into the resort side of the business.
Bunting has been the Animal Kingdom vice president since October 2007. The move will take effect once Disney names her successor.
The World Famous Jungle Cruise Music Video
It looks like the very talented Weird Al Yankovic has produced yet another masterpiece, this time a song and video that I think all of us will enjoy. His latest single is titled “Skipper Dan” and revolves around the Magic Kingdom’s classic attraction, The Jungle Cruise. This song will eventually be released on his next album, believed to be on the way in 2010. Enjoy:
“Skipper Dan” by Weird Al
Celebrate the 54th Anniversary of Disneyland!
Disneyland will be celebrating its anniversary as always this July 17th with a small little show in Town Square. From D23:
On July 17 at 4:45 p.m., there will be a special 54th anniversary rededication moment on Main Street, U.S.A. at Disneyland, with the Disneyland Band, the Mayor of Main Street, Mickey and Minnie Mouse joining in on the festivities. The Dapper Dans will take part in a pre-show leading up to the rededication moment.