PIXAR Play Parade Will Bring Interactive Fun to DCA!

ANAHEIM, Calif. – March 14, 2008 – All the exciting and colorful worlds of the Disney•Pixar pals – from “Toy Story,” “a bug’s life,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles,” “Cars” and “Ratatouille” – will come to life in the all-new “Pixar Play Parade,” debuting March 14, 2008, in Disney’s California Adventure as part of the Year of a Million Dreams celebration at Disneyland Resort.

Characters from every Disney•Pixar motion picture will appear in the magical immersive parade, which will invite guests of all ages to take part in the playfulness of a whirling, spinning, fun-for-all animated playground. The parade features acrobatics, bungees, high-energy choreography, interactive surprises and lively bubble and water effects.

“Pixar Play Parade” features a dozen parade floats up to two stories tall, themed to Disney•Pixar movies and equipped with fun and surprising movement and effects. The cast and crew number more than 100, and behind the scenes is a creative team of top entertainment professionals including Emmy-nominated director Fred Tallaksen (a choreographer for Madonna and numerous television and stage productions), puppet designer Michael Curry (of “The Lion King” on Broadway), costume designer Mirena Rada (“Avenue Q”) and composers Matthew Girard and Robbie Nevil (“High School Musical”).

Girard and Nevil composed brand new tunes for Pixar Play Parade, including the “Countdown To Fun!” theme, which brings the show to life as it travels through Disney’s California Adventure.

Encouraging everyone to dance, play and clap along, Mike, Sulley and their monster buddies from “Monsters, Inc.” will lead the procession. Even sourpuss Roz will put in an appearance – and what an appearance! She’ll be the drum major, slithering her way down the parade route.

Next up is a flowerbed of hopping, swinging bugs: the colony from “a bug’s life.” Then “The Incredibles” will zoom into view, superhero style, aboard amazing hovercrafts. But watch out! The sinister Omnidroid is on the loose and baby Jack-Jack could burst into flames at any moment!

From there it’s into the bubbling world of Dory, Marlin, Crush, Bloat and the colorful underwater friends from “Finding Nemo,” who invite everyone to “play in schools” (schools of fish, that is). “Ratatouille’s” Remy and Emile are serving up fun, too, turning their kitchen into a super soapy pool of creativity with kids and families as the main ingredients.

Woody and the “Toy Story” gang arrive next to encourage guests to kick up their heels, while Buzz Lightyear and the Little Green Aliens celebrate just how “universal” play can be, in any galaxy. Finally, after the parade has been revving up guests throughout the route, lovable Mater and his flashy buddy Lightning McQueen from “Cars” will bring up the rear.

Refurb Update

We’ve got one addition to & one removal off of the Attraction Refurbishments list. The Corn Dog Castle restaurant in Disney’s California Adventure will be closed for 2 days on May 5th & 6th. And the planned Gadget’s Go-Coaster refurbishment that was to of lasted from April 28th to May 22nd has been completely removed off the list.

As always, you can keep up with the latest refurbishments on our Attractions Refurbishments page!

The PIXAR Pals WILL Play Every Day This Week

This information is confirmed by former Disney artist Kevin Kidney, who works very closely with PIXAR Play Parade designer, Jody Daily, on various projects:

“Soft opening” for the parade is TODAY, MARCH 10, although the official advertised debut is this Friday. The parade will run at 5:15 every day this week at Disney’s California Adventure Theme Park.

Walt Disney World Update

Our good friend Denise over at Mousesteps.com has a new photo update from Walt Disney World featuring pictures of the newly remodeled Wolfgang Puck Express at Downtown Disney, Animal Kingdom Lodge construction, and much more. To see the full update, go HERE.

Happy Meal, “Hard-Ticket”

Coming to McDonald’s Happy Meals this Friday, March 15, are toys themed to Disney’s Pirate and Princess Party at the Magic Kingdom. There are going to be 16 toys to collect in all, with 8 Pirates inspired toys and 8 belonging to Disney Princess brand. Each toy will also come with one of eight collectible cards and a chance to win a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort during the Year of a Million Dreams. To check out all the toys being released, go HERE. Click on the Pirate or Princess side of the image to see the corresponding kids meal inserts.

Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage Soft Opening Tomorrow?

If you’re going to be in Disney’s California Adventure tomorrow, note that there may be a soft opening or 2 or even 3 for the new Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage show. Also at 11am, there will be a media preview for the PIXAR Play Parade as well!

Block Party Bash Coverage

For complete coverage of the first public showing of the new Block Party Bash parade/show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, head on over to Epcot Servo’s coverage HERE. The parade runs the opposite route of the now defunct Stars and Motorcars Parade, as it starts on Hollywood Blvd. and makes its way to the Star Tours area, making two lengthy stops along the way. We will have our review and explanation of the parade in the news and rumors section of episode 34 of the WDW News Today podcast.

Podcast Episode 33 Now Available for Download

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

Join me, Tom Corless, and a cast including John Corigliano, Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman, Jose Castillo and Patrick Hurd for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between you and the World. Sit back, relax, and enjoy all of the Walt Disney World news, information, and fun we have to offer on this episode of WDWNT.

To kick off episode 33 Jason Diffendal, Jose Castillo and Justin Heyman join me in discussing the Walt Disney World news and rumors. This week, we discuss an upcoming Primeval Whirl refurbishment, the end of a long running parade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and the possibility of a revamped Hall of Presidents coming to the Magic Kingdom.

Our Walt Disney World history segment, Back To The Future, returns, as we talk about the history of Magic Kingdom attractions inside what is often referred to as the Tomorrowland Interplanetary Convention Center . Joining me in our time travels this week are Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman and John Corigliano as we take a interstellar journey through the Flight to the Moon, Mission to Mars, Alien Encounter, and Stitch’s Great Escape attractions.

To end this weeks show, I have an interview with Disney Dream Job CMO finalist Patrick Hurd to discuss his entry video, how he created it, and his love for all things Disneyland. While this interview is very lengthy, I think it provides us with a great story you can not learn in a one minute long video.

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.

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