Josh Siegel’s 2/23/12 Magic Kingdom Photo Report

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

WDWNT Reporter Josh Siegel visited the Magic Kingdom yesterday and has some newsworthy photos to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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The Bakery is still behind tarps

A tarp came down in the bad weather

Some lighted effects added to another Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom window

A line building for some of the windows

A new poster inside the Fire Station

A decent amount of guests waiting

The Chapeau is still behind tarps

Some new, smaller trees planted in Town Square

Chamber of commerce (package pick-up) is also still behind tarps

A temporary wheelchair ramp installed while work is being done

Another look at the new trees everyone seems to hate

I don’t see what all of the commotion is about… they’re trees…

Another look at the Chapeau/Confectionary

They fixed the fallen tarp on Center Street

Some of the facades came out from behind the tarps and look great

The Bakery tarps in the daytime

Plaza Ice Cream is still closed

Work continues on the Main Street bridge

The Dumbo building is coming along nicely

Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid coming along nicely

One of the large tents has already been covered

Some kind of wall rising, possibly for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train

The new rock-work at the edge of the Mermaid facade taking shape

Belle’s Village

The crane! The crane!

The facade of Enchanted Tales with Belle is finally getting some detail

A better look at the new covered tent

Tigger’s Bounce Area is still closed…

This may be made into a Pooh meet and greet area in the not too distant future

Plenty of trees planted in Storybook Circus

A billboard for The Barnstormer is now up, you can spot it over the Dumbo queue

Another look at Enchanted Tales with Belle

Another look towards Dumbo and Barnstormer

The days are numbered for this store

And we all know this closes May 31st now

The unveiled portion of Castle Wall looks nice

Guests being prevented from going upstairs at Pinocchio’s Village Haus

A portion of walls near the restrooms remains

This piece of wall was already revealed

A new wheelchair ramp has been installed at Peter Pan’s Flight in preparation for the new interactive queue addition once the new restrooms open

I hope we can spare a few shields to decorate this…

Work continues on the former Skyway plot

The Haunted Mansion is clearly visible

What a mess

Work continues on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

One new roof looks pretty much finished

MAdame Leota’s cart out in Liberty Square

40th anniversary shirts

I haven’t seen this out in a while, but now it’s at the cart

Some new pavement along the parade route

Some new pavement that looks like wooden planks

Work continues by the Vacation Club booth

Work was completed on the Frontierland Trading Post facade

I assume that the missing part of the sign will return soon

This facade looks brand new

Some pieces still being worked on

Sunshine Tree Terrace still behind tarps

Some signage was recently installed at the Sorcerers station in Liberty Square

Good luck Sorcerers!

Episode 084 Big Teeth

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Ep. 084 Big Teeth

This week we give an extensive Preview of the Mickey’s Circus Vinylmation and Pin event along with some tips for first time trading event attendees. We also have a ton of news about the Star Wars 2 releases and discuss all the comments and questions you sent into the Mystery Mail Bag.

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Tim Alcoser’s 6/30/12 Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives Photo Report

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

DLNT Reporter Tim Alcoser went to a media preview of D23′s Treasures Of The Walt Disney Archives exhibit at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley and captured tons of photos of all the displays and exhibits to share. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, July 6, and is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.  The exhibit is scheduled to run through April 2013.

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These Haunted Mansion props are from Walt Disney World

Maleficent dragon head from Disneyland’s Fantasmic!

Mickey Mouse Revue!

Thanks for reading!

 

Disneyland Paris learns the Force

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Over at the rarely used vinylmation.fr, there’s now word that Disneyland Paris will be seeing the release of Star Wars 2 on August 31st, 2012.

According to the site they will be available at the Pueblo Trading Post in Frontierland. That means France only has to wait a week to get them. Awesome.

Storybook Circus Opens Late March, Snow White Closes Late May

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

From Jennifer Fickley-Baker on the Disney Parks Blog:

Who’s ready for an update on New Fantasyland? I just heard that the first elements of Storybook Circus will open by late March, marking the first in a series of progressive openings for the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom Park history.

Among the first experiences to open will be one carousel of Dumbo the Flying Elephant, a re-themed Barnstormer starring the Great Goofini and the Fantasyland Station of the Walt Disney World Railroad.

In designing Storybook Circus, Imagineers were inspired by Disney’s animated film, “Dumbo.” When complete later this year, the area will be filled with multicolored circus tents and other nods to the film. The section will also feature Casey Jr., the famous locomotive from the movie, who has rolled into town, bringing the circus with him.

Beyond Storybook Circus and as we mentioned in a previous post, the Disney Princesses will be getting a new home at the location where Snow White’s Scary Adventures is today. The last day of operation for this attraction will be Thursday, May 31.

We look forward to sharing more with you throughout the year as our work progresses.

A few interesting notes to be made:

-The Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station is not mentioned, so now will be opening sometime after March.

-Snow White’s Scary Adventures is not supposed to close until Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid is ready to open, so it is very possible that the new attraction will open sometime around May 31, 2012.

-Soft openings for Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Fantasyland Station can happen at any point now as the project nears completion, mid-March is just the official opening date

The Sorcerers Series – Battling Dr. Facilier

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

We are happy to continue our series of videos walking you through all of the adventures you can experience at Walt Disney World’s latest attraction, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. We go on down the bayou to Liberty Square and Frontierland to battle Dr. Facilier and his friends on the other side this time:

Let’s Talk

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Here’s the deal… we are light on news from Disney these days. Sure, we have plenty of topics we can come up with to talk about in the world of Vinylmation, but we really want to hear from you. This week we will be reviewing Park 10, but we have plenty of time to open up the floor to all of you. Every week, we invite your comments and questions in the Mystery Mail Bag section, but this week, we want you to star the conversations. Pick a topic and get us started. Pick our brains and tell us what’s on yours. New collector? Ask us questions and get answers from us and the rest of our readers and listeners. Now, there are many ways to contact us, but the absolute very best is to leave a voice mail. I promise I will not let MC pick up the phone and try to talk to you.

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Program it into your cell. Call us when you see some news break in the parks, at an event or on the web. Call us when you want to make a comment, start a conversation or as a question. The other ways are less interactive, but effective none the less. We would love to get the voice mail to give our voices a break from reading, but if you must, you can leave a comment here in the this post or email us:
So there you go. Whatever you want to talk about. From the latest releases to random collecting questions or just to get to know your DV podcast hosts better. The floor is yours. Let’s get talking.

Sellouts and Surprises Surround Mickey’s Circus RSP Results

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Those who registered and sent in a Random Selection Process (RSP) form for Vinylmation or Pins for September’s Mickey’s Circus event (Mickey’s Circus Explained) should have received a very important email today. In the email, you will find out what products you were randomly selected to purchase. You do not need to take any action with this email. Disney will automatically charge your credit card according to what you agreed to purchase beginning on August 23rd. You will find all the pricing and return details in that email as well. Early pick up for your items is on Thursday, September 6th. You can also pick up your Vinylmation on the day of the event on Sunday, September 9th.

We would like to hear from you what you were awarded and how many of each. In talking to a few fellow collectors, it seems that some people did not receive even two of the LE 500 3″ Bongo and Lulubelle combos. I know many people requested up to three and I also know some people did get up to two. This leads me to believe that the bears in fact sold out in the RSP process. Everyone I talked to received as many LE 1500 Ringmaster Mickeys as they put down for (up to the limit of 3). However, I’ve only seen people awarded as many as two LE 750 Goofy/Minnie combos even though they requested three. Again, a sellout. But the big surprise, at least to me, were the LE 100 9″ Lion and Seal that retailed for $150 each.

I predicted, from the moderate reception and high price tag, these would not even come close to selling out. However, I know one person who requested the 9″ Lion in the first RSP round and still was not awarded one. I also know someone who requested both the Lion and the Seal in the first round of RSP and was only awarded the Lion. This means, if I understand the RSP process correctly, that at least 101 people requested the Lion and Seal in the first RSP slot. So it appears both 9″ are sold out and Disney’s experiment worked; An extremely low edition size won out over an extremely high price tag. But it was not just Vinylmation that surprised me.

At last year’s Florida Project, I practically bought the entire pin catalog. They were exceptional designs from top to bottom that represented Disney history. I even bought two of a few to trade that are still in my possession today. My RSP for Mickey’s Circus pins was rather short. I requested less than 10 pins. I did however request 2 of the Roger Rabbit and Jessica pin… but was only awarded one. I only have a small sample to work with, but this was an LE 500 pin that sold out in the RSP. Florida Project pins were still at various pin stores around WDW as late as this summer. I held off on a few pins “knowing” there would be some left over and I could buy them later. This may not be the case.

I look forward to hearing about your RSP results.

Conner Purzycki’s 6/13/12 – 6/22/12 DLR Photo Report

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

Lost in the shuffle of everything else happening over the past few weeks, here is a photo report of some news not previously covered.

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New Churro Cart in Carthay Circle

November, 18th, 1928, The date that Steamboat Willie premiered

Taste Pilots Grill minus the rocket blasting out of the front is pretty plain

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Dancin With Disney is a cute experience in Hollywoodland.

Basically a giant dance party with a DJ and characters

Lots of strange characters in here

Clarabell cow

Clara Cluck and Clarice

The Disney Channel Rocks Sets are being used

The All American College Band is back this year and they are doing a set in DCA probably because they lost their usual once a day venue in Carnation Gardens.

Cars Land Bus

New Signage in the Bus Area

The ugly frozen drink cart was finally replaced with something themed

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Carnation Gardens reopened recently and here is a look at some of the new entrees. Here is the Chicken Fried Chicken which was absolutely Delicious.

The Meatloaf I was told is very delicious

Here is a PBJ soda…. Yup. I thought it was gross but some seem to like it.

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Earl of Sandwich is finally under construction

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Wrapping up this report is pictures of the Pixar Play Parade which just returned to DCA. Big thanks to Tim Alcoser for the photos.

Thank for reading

Marquee Installation Marks WDW Record at Art of Animation Resort

WDWNT on February 25, 2012

From Jennifer Fickley-Baker on the Disney Parks Blog:

I’m happy to start off the week by sharing a fun update on Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.

Last week, Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) put the finishing touches on the new resort’s marquee. Measuring in at 46 feet, six inches, the resort’s sign now holds the record as the largest freestanding marquee at Walt Disney World Resort. (Incidentally, it’s 18 inches taller than the famous “HOLLYWOOD” sign in Los Angeles, Calif.).

The photo, supplied by WDI, shows three layers of development the marquee went through in its creation – from digital design, to model, to full-scale installation.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, which will feature four wings dedicated to popular films Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, will open in phases beginning May 31.