WDWNT Toys For Tots Holiday Drive

WDWNT on December 3, 2008

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!!!

SHAG Does The Haunted Mansion

WDWNT on December 3, 2008

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.

Special Shopping Event for Disney Vacation Club Members and Annual Passholders

WDWNT on December 2, 2008

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!**

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  • 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.

A Christmas Fantasy Kicks Off For The Holidays

WDWNT on December 2, 2008

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.

Backlot Budget-Cuts

WDWNT on December 2, 2008

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.

WDWNT Podcast Episode 70 Now Available for Download

WDWNT on December 1, 2008

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.

“Commercial” Appeal

WDWNT on November 30, 2008

Just thought we would take a moment to look at some recent commercials the Walt Disney World Resort has put together for a variety of topics:

  

Holidays at WDW

  

A more recent “What Will You Celebrate?” commercial

  

3-D Theaters on the Disney Cruise Line

Celebrate the Holidays at the Disneyland Resort

WDWNT on November 30, 2008

While there isn’t a lot news going on at the moment, I thought I would post the new Holidays at the Disneyland Resort commercial, that features snow on Main Street, Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle, the Main Street Christmas tree, & It’s a Small World Holiday: