Laughing Place attended the media event in the Disneyland Opera House announcing the return of the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. Be sure to check out their latest LP Lotion for interviews with Tony Baxter & his fellow Imagineers, as well as pictures of models & concept art from the new & old version of this attraction.
There is now a new ODV cart selling Boudin Bakery bread (obviously from the Bakery Tour in Pacific Wharf) under the Golden Gate Bridge in DCA. This is something I noticed on my last visit, but I forgot to take a picture of it. MouseTimes however did:
Be sure to check out the latest DLR Pictorial on MouseTimes for more coverage from through-out the Disneyland Resort, including the festivities for the 53rd anniversary!
Let’s take a look at some various things going on through-out the Disneyland Resort from this week’s Dateline Disneyland on MiceAge:
A peek behind the construction walls outside the old Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough
For about a couple of weeks now, Power City in Innovention’s Project Tomorrow hasn’t been operating
And the Future Choice Stations seem to be “coming soon” again
The vintage ticket display in Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years has returned
I would like to advise everyone to check this article to see some of the lovely merchandise released for the 45th anniversary of the Enchanted Tiki Room (the link is at the top of the post).
MousePlanet has received a little more information on the soon to re-open Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough that was announced earlier today, as well as a picture of a model of the attraction (pictured bellow). Be sure to check it out!
It seems there may actually be an event that is exclusive to Walt Disney World Passholders coming this September:
Saturday and Sunday, September 27 & 28, you’re (Walt Disney World Passholders) invited to an exclusive Magic Kingdom screening of the eagerly anticipated new animated feature, Tinker Bell. You’ll be seeing it more than three weeks before the general public does on DVD and Blu-ray October 28!
From the storytellers at Walt Disney Picturescomes a spectacular, full-length CG animated featurefilled with magic and asventure starring Tinker Bell. It takes you into the secret world of Pixie Hollow, where you’ll hear Tinker Bell speak for the very first time.
This imaginative new film also introduces you to delightful new friends in Pixie Hollo-a place coming soon to Magic Kingdom park, where you’ll be able to meet Tinker Bell, Fawn, Iridessa, Rosetta and Silvernist in person!
Passholder Screening Fun Facts:
Saturday and Sunday, September 27 & 28
Magic Kingdom Park
For show times & to sign up,
visit disneyworld.com/passholder
(note: registration is not yet available)
Not only does this article in the August issue of the Mickey Monitor release the event information, it is the first actual confirmation of the addition of a Pixie Hollow meet and greet area to the Magic Kingdom. Stay tuned to WDW News Today to find out when registration for this special event will open.
“It is fitting that we are announcing the return of a classic on the 53rd anniversary of Disneyland,” said Tony Baxter, Senior Vice President of Creative Development for Walt Disney Imagineering, who unveiled a model of the castle on July 17, the birthday of Disneyland park.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty,” and the excitement generated by the anniversary of the motion picture spurred interest in the return of the Disneyland attraction.
Also celebrating the milestone 50th Anniversary of “Sleeping Beauty” is Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, which will release a two-disc Platinum Blu-ray™ Hi-Def disc, making “Sleeping Beauty” the first Walt Disney animated classic title to be released in high definition, as well as on two-disc Platinum DVD. A bonus feature on the new release will be “The Original Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through Attraction With Walt Disney Imagineering,” an immersive experience recreating the original castle walkthrough.
On April 29, 1957, nearly two years before the premiere of Walt Disney’s animated feature “Sleeping Beauty,” the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough opened with an in-park ceremony featuring Walt Disney and actress Shirley Temple who, some 20 years earlier, had presented Disney with his special Academy Award – one Oscar and seven little ones – for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
The crafting of the 1957 walkthrough show fell to Walt Disney Imagineer Ken Anderson and animation art director and color stylist Eyvind Earle, credited with giving the motion picture “Sleeping Beauty” the distinctive and colorful look of storybook illustrations in medieval style. An entirely new look appeared in 1977 when the attraction’s redesign featured miniature dioramas, including moving figurines similar to the window displays in the shops on Main Street, U.S.A.
When the attraction is unveiled later this year, the “show” will differ from the dioramas of the 1980s and ‘90s, returning to the unique style of the original 1957 show and motion picture. Enhanced with new scenes and special effects magic, the re-Imagineered attraction will employ technology not available in the 1950s to represent scenes from the story of Sleeping Beauty, including the magic of good fairies Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, and the more sinister spells of the evil Maleficent.
For the first time, guests who are unable to climb stairs or navigate the passageways of the Castle will be able to experience the walkthrough “virtually” in a special room on the ground floor of the Castle.
Today is one of those special days in the Disney fan community, for today is Disneyland’s 53rd anniversary! While the 53rd anniversary isn’t a landmark anniversary, Disneyland are still celebrating it with a small ceremony today at 4:45PM, which will basically be a replaying of Walt’s Dedication of Disneyland, along with the Mayor of Main Street & some characters.
So Happy 53rd Birthday Disneyland, & Roll on the 55th!
Remember the old Leave a Legacy kiosk over at Epcot? If you do, then you probably know it was shutdown last summer and has been a dead-zone pretty much since that time. However, as you can see by the picture below, work has already begun on fixing up the area:
If the rumors I’m hearing are true, we should see some representatives from the food and beverage division of the Walt Disney World Resort setting up shop here in the near future. The reason: this spot is set to become a taste-testing area, where different food and beverage ideas and concepts can be tested with the general public. While we’re not sure if this means guests can line-up to taste what’s next for the World, I’m thinking that they will just be pulling random guests out of the crowds to do all the testing (much like they do for all of the other different “experiments” they perform around the resort). While none of this is confirmed as of this moment, It is highly likely to happen in some way, shape, or form. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available on this Epcot location.
Our good friend EpcotServo has posted yet another fantastic photo update from Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, here are a few of the pics from the report:
Dino-sue is getting repainted over in Hester and Chester’s Dino-Rama
New Hollywood Studios merchandise featuring the park’s skyline, the fab five, the Genie, and a number of Pixar characters
The Hanes sponsorship has finally begun at Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster
Three new Toy Story Mania mugs are now available for purchase
They actually say Midway Mania
I’ll be sure to pick up all three of these my next visit to the studios
New kids shirt
Note: you can’t ring children in Toy Story Midway Mania, only Little Green Men
Pixar Animation Studios merchandise is now also being sold here
The smaller spring-action-shooters are now for sale, still no sign of the bigger ones. Notice that there are still plenty of opening day pins and shirts available at the shop.
For the remainder of EpcotServo’s great photo report, head HERE
Singing superstar Mariah Carey and award-winning actor Nick Cannon are pictured with another famous show business couple — Mickey and Minnie Mouse — July 15, 2008 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Carey and Cannon spent several days at Walt Disney World Resort, enjoying attractions in all four theme parks, fireworks shows and Disney cuisine. Among their favorite attractions — The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Mariah’s favorite) and Space Mountain (Nick’s favorite). (Diana Zalucky, photographer)
Actress Kristen Alderson (right), star of the ABC Daytime drama “One Life to Live,” takes a spin in a giant teacup with her cousin, Colleen Kingston (left), July 10, 2008 on the Mad Tea Party attraction at the Magic Kingdom theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Alderson, who has portrayed the role of “Starr Manning” on the ABC soap opera for 10 years, is vacationing at the Walt Disney World Resort with family this week. (Garth Vaughan, photographer)
Grammy Award-winning musician Dave Matthews (left) shares a laugh with six-year-old daughter Grace (right), July 8, 2008 at the Magic Kingdom theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Matthews, a solo artist and lead singer and guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling rock group “Dave Matthews Band,” spent the day at the Walt Disney World Resort with family and friends. Dave Matthews Band’s 41-city summer concert tour continues in Tampa, Fla. on July 9. (Garth Vaughan, photographer)
