Just hours before it premiered, Disney announced that there would be a Super Bowl Pre-Parade before the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade at the Magic Kingdom starting on Friday. The special processional is being held February 1st-3rd and will also appear with the Super Bowl MVP on Monday afternoon. Thanks to our own Patty Granger, we have pictures and video of the parade to share with you:
Artist Javier Soto will have a 9″ Custom for sale at the 2013 Epcot Flower and Garden Festival:
No word on the date of release or price yet.
Following in the footsteps of Cinderella a few months back, Belle will also soon have a new look when you visit her in the Disney Parks:
Madame Wardrobe has pulled out an all-new formal ball gown for Belle, made with luxurious fabrics and detailing.
After much anticipation and hard work on behalf of the Creative Costuming team, Belle will begin making appearances in her new look this Sunday, Feb. 3, at the Disneyland Resort. She is sure to dazzle our Guests with a complete makeover from head to toe, wearing her elegant attire at Ariel’s Grotto Princess Celebration in Disney California Adventure park. Belle will also wear her new gown when participating in shows and character greetings at Fantasy Faire, opening in Disneyland Park March 12.
Walt Disney World Resort Guests will experience the grandeur of the new ball gown starting Feb. 10, when Belle visits Princess Storybook Dining at Epcot and participates in Enchanted Tales with Belle in New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park.
What do you think of Belle’s new look?
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Ep. 113 Lava Lamp This week we go in depth about Urban Redux. What is is, what it can be and what it means for the hobby. We also talk about Flower and Garden, Easter Egg Hunt and some random tangents about mollusks and portals. There is of course a full release and events calendar as well. |
WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and has some fantastic pictures of new progress on the Big Thunder Mountain interactive queue, A Pirate’s Life: Treasures of the Seven Seas, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and more, so let’s take a look:
While the Main Street Bakery is closed, guests can head to the Tomorrowland Terrace
Plenty of options at Tomorrowland Terrace, including beignets!
The flowers in the hub have gone to Valentine’s Day colors and the ducks love it…
Valentine’s Day cupcakes available at Big Top Treats
I’ve heard of panning for gold…
More props and interactive elements have been installed in the queue at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The “exploding” crates are no longer under tarps
These huge machines popped up in the second-half of the queue over the weekend
It looks like guests will play some sort of game where they turn a lever
Spinning handles on the back of another machine
The refurbishment of Splash Mountain continues
Lots of painting going on
Golden Oak Outpost is closed again
Work continues on the Adventureland Veranda building
Another area of the building is also walled-off
The Crow’s Nest is out from behind tarps and it looks quite different… we expect it to play a role in “A Pirate’s Adventure”
More props for “A Pirate’s Adventure” have been installed throughout Adventureland
Jack Sparrow’s compass
This was the first prop installed a few months ago
A cannon
Ball and chains
Some props by the Jungle Cruise
Nearby, a pirate skeleton lies under the water near a treasure chest
It appears these skulls near the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance will talk
Another strange set of props
Gun powder
Sleepy Hollow Refreshments is open while the exterior is refurbished
Walls up outside of the Haunted Mansion and Yankee Trader
Tarps still up on Columbia Harbour House
The latest progress on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day lanyards are out
As is the new Test Track logo pin
Over at The Villas at the Grand Floridian, we can start to make out windows
NRB Relic emailed us this cool custom and we thought you guys should know a little more about it.
NRB: HE IS HERE..!!! NRB Relics newest 3″ custom Vinylmation inspired by Remy from Ratatouille “Lets Get Cooking”.
This custom Vinylmation is part of The Custom Artist Project Series 2 PIXAR.
DV: WE’re excited too. Pixar is a great choice for a series. One question about your vinyl though. What is the spoon made of?
NRB: Remy’s Spoon is made with an apoxie clay that I use on most of my pieces.
DV: Is Ratatouille your favorite Pixar movie?
NRB: Ratatouille is one of my favorites….there are so many wonderful ones
to choose from….Remy gave me a chance to add a lot of detail…..! He
was truly a blast…..!
DV: Where can we find out more about this figure and the Custom Artist’s Project?
NRB: To find out more about this series visit facebook.com/groups/ArtistProject/. To see more artwork from NRB Relic visit facebook.com/NRBRelic or nrbrelic.com.
DV: Thanks for the info!
So, a few months ago, I took a lengthy survey about the 2012 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. All of a sudden, I received a follow-up survey from Disney about the festival just last week…
Now, it has been rumored for years that Disney might develop some pre-pay option for the Food and Wine Festival to improve sales and perhaps even shorten the wait times at some of the booths. What makes this survey most interesting is the one scenario they asked me to respond to…
Needless to say, I responded with a 10 that the idea is extremely appealing. Not only could a book like this help cut down on lines around World Showcase, but you can also save a few bucks in the process. I say sign me up.
Hopefully this concept will test well enough with those being surveyed and become a reality at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival 2013. What do you think of this concept? Would you buy a coupon book?
Star Wars Series 3
Release Date: (varies, see below)
Disney is spreading out the SW vinyl releases over the four Star Wars Weekends:
Release Date at Darth’s Mall DHS: June 7, 2013
Release Date at D-Street Disneyland: June 10, 2013
Update 04/30/13 Star Wars 3 Variant and Chaser revealed.
Update 04/01/13 Steven Miller released some product info for the Star Wars 3 series. The highlights include a $13 price point for blind boxes as opposed to the $15 of SW2. Also, the 2000 LE size for the Han Solo. His price point is a whopping $33 and he will be available at Disneyland as well.
The Disney Park Blog has released a photo of 11 of the figures for the upcoming Return of the Jedi themed Star Wars Series 3 Vinylmation set plus 2 Limited Edition figures. These will all debut, along with the Vinylmation Series 9 Jr. Droids, at Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios beginning on May 17th. (then presumably later at Disneyland)
A few of the highlights: 2 Ewoks. We knew there had to be at least one. Another Luke… this time in black Jedi robes. Another Lando… this time in disguise and it seems to use the same helmet shaped head Vader had in Series 2. A continued use of ears to show back grounds, such as the stars in space and the trees on Endor. I think it is an well chosen lineup out of the film.
I am very impressed with the Disney Merchandise Blog. As we talked about in the last DV Podcast episode, the Merchandise Blog is taking the lead in being THE source for news on Disney theme parks merchandise releases. The official Vinylmation blog and now the official Pin blog, both redirect to the merchandise blog. I do think the consolidation and dedicated authors is a great thing… now that they are setting this precedent, let’s hope they keep it up. Now, onto the BIG news.
There are a total of 24 one-of-a-kind Super Mystery Chasers inserted into Urban Redux Series 1. Above, you can see just 6 of them. There are 4 from each artist. At least in this group, they appear to be spin offs from the original set designs. Caley drew an ant from her ant farm. Monty drew the Pig in full form from his Pig, Bunny, Turtle figure. And Maria drew a Cat Ninja to go with her human ninja in the set. I keep loving the idea of this series more and more! I know there will be debate on this, but I enjoy the fact that the Super Mystery Chasers have something to do with the figures from the base set. They almost tell a mini story. Challenge: If you come to own all four Redux customs from a single artist, you get to co-host an episode of the Destination Vinylmation podcast with us!
We wondered if we would ever see these. It is good to know that we will eventually see all the designs via the Disney Merchandise Blog. They promise peeks at the remaining figures. They also link to a Disney Parks Blog article about Redux and point guests to the online store for purchase. And, in another post, they reveal the chaser to the upcoming Cutesters en Vogue and promise to show us the variants next week. Now, we have already seen them all, from photos they already hid online, plus the series is already out in Paris… but this could mark a shift in philosophy for the blogs. Stay tuned. So far, a wonderful start to this much needed Disney blog.
Cast Members and Guests traveling on roadways at the Walt Disney World Resort may notice a new bus in town.
The new bus design scheme makes its debut on a Nova bus model in our bus fleet this week. The colors and design elements were developed with safety in mind and feature reflective vinyl, which improves visibility.
The silver and red color scheme also complements the bus drivers’ costume.
