Duffy’s artsy cat friend Gelatoni has arrived at Shanghai Disney Resort, and Disney is celebrating by launching a new line of Gelatoni merchandise, as well as food items.
All the new merchandise can be found at the Whistle Stop Shop located on Mickey Avenue. Everything from plush toys, to pins, shirts, home décor, and more are now available for all your Gelatoni shopping needs.
As for food, new Duffy, Shellie May, and Gelatoni panna cottas and cupcakes are available, as well as ice cream cones at Mickey and Pals’ Market Café, Remy’s Patisserie, and Il Paperino.
Gelatoni is Duffy’s cat friend that uses his tail to paint intricate paintings. When he first met Duffy, the Disney bear had dropped his ice cream, and Gelatoni used the spilled treat to paint a picture for Duffy. I’m not making this up. That’s honestly how they became friends. I don’t understand the logistics of substituting paint with ice cream, but that story is so cute.
In an innovative move, Disney Research has created a new technology to allow blind guests to “feel” fireworks. A short video can be viewed below, but to read more on this technology, click here.
Using multiple waterjets, guests will be able to experience the same show that is happening in the skies, but with touch instead. Whilst fireworks are being used as an example, this has a multitude of different uses, possibly allowing guests to have new experiences at the parks that aren’t just visual.
Our latest photo report brings u back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as it prepares for a transitional Holiday season, offering up a new lineup that Disney hopes will fill the void left by the Osborne Lights over the last two years.
Christmas Shopping
Plenty of blown-glass ornaments for sale at Celebrity 5 & 10, including a new Monorail ornament.
They’re a little pricey at $19.99 each, but they are pretty cool.
Some new holiday apparel for sale.
A few new Beauty and the Beast ornaments have joined the existing collection this year, including this light up rose ornament.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse have both received their own action figures of sorts, exclusive to the Disney Parks. They retail for $14.99 each.
The new Mickey Mouse ear baseball cap is already out.
Sunset Seasons Greetings
As the park prepares for the new Sunset Seasons Greetings offering, a whole lot of new infrastructure is going into place on Sunset Boulevard. The old, white lights for the palm trees have been replaced with these beauties, capable of color changing for show elements.
Some extra hardware was also installed on the star lights, likely to be used to integrate them into the show.
The Fantasmic billboard is likely gone for good as a new billboard that can be projected onto will go in its place. Maybe it will return in some form down the road.
Behind the billboard hides the infrastructure for the projectors that will turn the Hollywood Tower Hotel into a number of holiday items during the shows.
The projectors sit on the stands you can see behind these windows.
People seem confused about a new Paradise Pier billboard that appeared recently at the Studios. I don’t see the confusion as both lands exist in roughly the same time period. Sadly, Paradise Pier will become PIXAR Pier, but this will be a nice nod to the past.
Dirt Street U.S.A.
Construction continues on Two Story Land, opening Summer 2018.
The remnants of the catwalk above the soundstage waits to be sealed in.
On the other side, we still have no idea what this weird, tall section of building is supposed to be.
A dirt wall now seals PIXAR Place, which eventually will be no more once Toy Story Land opens and the entrance to Toy Story Midway Mania moves there.
Just before this dirt wall will lie a cast access road, with PIXAR Place then becoming a backstage area.
The construction walls behind Muppet Vision 3-D expanded outward, now coming into the attraction’s exit.
Here we see the building for the “Battle Escape” attraction in Star War’s Galaxy’s Edge.
This and That
Sunset Showcase courtyard was open, being used for extended queue for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, as well as some character meet and greets.
The show building for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster was recently repainted blue to blend into Toy Story Land better. It’s too bad it now doesn’t blend with anything on this side of the park. Why is every “soundstage” building a different color?
Work on Echo Lake continues, with the “logs” under the water now repainted.
With the Coco preview coming soon, the final room of Walt Disney Presents is pretty barren at the moment. The stickers on the walls were taken down and only on display case remains in use.
Today, Disney shared a look at a new area planned for Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Woody’s Lunch Box.
When Toy Story Land opens in Summer 2018 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, guests will shrink to the size of a toy and explore Andy’s backyard. This story continues at Woody’s Lunch Box, where Andy has used his lunch box and thermos to create a walk-up quick-service window that will serve up tasty meals and old-fashioned soda floats. In the rendering above, you can see that Woody’s Lunch Box – like the rest of Toy Story Land – has been adorably strewn about with some of Andy’s favorite toys and items from his lunch. You can even spot a green army man on a nearby lookout tower, keeping watch for Andy’s return.
The Walt Disney World Resort will partner with Mini Babybel to bring this location to life.
Despite currently being closed through November 16th, 2017, Splash Mountain at the Magic Kingdom will be closing again for refurbishment in early 2018.
The second refurbishment will take place January 8th through February 1st, 2018. The reasoning for this second closure is unknown, but may be related to some leftover work that can’t be completed during this ongoing refurbishment. The Magic Kingdom would want the attraction open again for the busy holiday season, thus why it will still reopening in November but going down once more in January.
This information was distributed today to Disney travel agents.
Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! has been transforming nightly into Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark during Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, but never during the day. Well, until now…
Disney is now giving guests the chance to experience this limited-time transformation all day long, at least for one day. On Halloween, October 31st, Guardians of the Galaxy – Monsters After Dark will take over The Collector’s Fortress throughout the entire Disney California Adventure park operating day.
As we previously reported, Disney announced it would revamp the Hotel New York in Disneyland Paris with a Marvel theme and rename the new property Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel.
AT D23 EXPO 2017, DISNEY PARKS CHAIRMAN BOB CHAPEK UNVEILS MARVEL-THEMED HOTEL COMING TO DISNEYLAND PARIS — Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel at Disneyland Paris will transport guests to the action-packed world of Super Heroes, including Iron Man, The Avengers, Spider-Man and more.
Hotel New York will close for about two years for the renovation, beginning in October 2018. According to Disney’s site for the hotel, “We’re always adding a little more shine and magic to our hotels for your future enjoyment. From October 2018, we’ll be busy at work, totally re-imagining the Disney’s Hotel New York into an inspiring world of Marvel Super Heroes. Opening planned within 2020.”
The move is part of an expected massive overhaul to take place at Disneyland Paris since the Walt Disney Company took full ownership of the park in June.
Despite the height, the highest points will only be visible in the park from the back of Frontierland and Toontown, both of which surprisingly blend nicely with the mountain’s tallest peaks.
This is probably our last look inside “Battle Escape” at the Disneyland Resort before the whole building is enclosed.
Looking past “Battle Escape” towards the Millennium Falcon attraction.
You Can Always Go… Downtown
Tarps are on on Tortilla Joe’s facing the Disneyland Monorail station.
Work continues on Splitsville, set to open before the end of 2017.
I guess January 5th is technically still a day before the traditional holiday season ends…
Not to be outdone by Orlando, Downtown Disney Anaheim now has the Disney Dress Shop, selling all of the very popular Disney Parks dresses released this year.
Ridemakerz is operating with adjusted hours right now, for some reason.
One of the former Disney information booths just outside of the esplanade is now a Haagen-Dazs location, because money.
Welcome to Disneyland
A construction crane looms behind the Sailing Ship Columbia and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
River Belle Terrace is being converted into a full-fledged table service restaurant, removing all of the leftover setup from when it was a quick service eatery.
Livin’ on the Edge
We now journey to the back of Frontierland and Critter Country to check out Galaxy’s Edge from the other side.
Some of the rock-work will peek over, but none of it will look out of place, which is nice.
The real question is where will Disneyland set up the queue to enter the land? Will it be here, or towards the center entrance behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? They have less than two years to figure it out.
A peek through the walls gives us a great look at that newly installed mountain range.
We of course reviewed Fairfax Fare on Sunset Boulevard at Disney’s Hollywood Studios when the menu went tex-mex almost one year ago. Well, now a new option has joined the menu, a 7(Yeah, 7)-Layer Rice Bowl.
The rice bowl replaces the Loaded Baked Potato, which has been a staple here for the last few years.
The Coco Dulce de Leche Cupcake is also here, but is available at several locations throughout the park.
7-Layer Rice Bowl – ($11.29)
The rice bowl comes in three varieties: pulled pork, grilled chicken, or vegan chili. We went with the pork and the vegan chili versions.
Without diving into them, it is really hard to tell which one is which thanks to the plethora of other ingredients in the dish. That being said, there is plenty of the main course underneath all of that in both versions. Above is the vegan chili, below is the pulled pork, neither in an actual bowl.
The menu describes the items as “Pulled Pork served over Cilantro Rice, Black Beans, Roasted Corn Medley, Pico de Gallo and Sour Cream topped with Cheddar served with warm Tortillas” and “Vegan Chili served over Cilantro Rice, Black Beans, Roasted Corn Medley, Pico de Gallo and Sour Cream topped with Cheddar served with warm Tortillas”. You can also add “guacamole” for $1.00…
Here is the “Wholly Guacamole” you get for your dollar. It is not very good.
Overall, the rice bowls are pretty good and you likely get a lot more of everything than you would with the fajita dish from here, so the question really is do you want to eat with your hands or a fork. Personally, I think you can do a lot worse with counter service at Hollywood Studios, so Fairfax is still number 1-2 on my list. These aren’t terrible, but they aren’t life changing either, but in terms of size, they are a pretty decent value comparably with other quick serve items at the Studios.
Coco Dulce de Leche Cupcake ($5.99)
The Coco cupcake is one of the better ones in recent memory, featuring a vanilla cake, colorful icing, and a center filled with sweet dulce de leche.
It’s deftly worth a try if it’s there on your next visit.
For the Fall season, Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs if offering up a number of special treats…
Pumpkin Creme Brûlée ($6.00)
Pumpkin custard with brûléed sugar chantilly cream and chocolate garnish.
My enjoyment of pumpkin desserts usually begins and ends with pumpkin pie, but I think I loved this more than any pumpkin pie I have ever had in my life. First of all, it is made when you order it and not “brûléed” until you do. I feel like this makes a big difference and it’s a nice touch to make the dessert feel special to a guest. Whether you like pumpkin or not, I feel like this is worth a shot, so hurry and get it while it is here.
Mickey Mousse ($8.00)
Chocolate Chiffon Cake, Dark Chocolate Mousse and White Chocolate Mousse
While it is only decorated specially for the season and not any different in flavor from the usual, the Mickey Mousse is quite enjoyable still. Again, my number one choice would be the creme brûlée, but this isn’t a bad option either, especially if you are looking for chocolate. The mousse is light and airy and the cake isn’t super dense, but is rich in flavor.
