New Medals for Disneyland’s Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Medal

On your marks, get set, run! This year’s sponsor for the Tinkerbell half marathon is PANDORA Jewlery. David Brotherton, who is the Art Director at Disney Yellow Shoes, was the mastermind creator behind this new medal in collaboration with PANDORA jewelry. David has been designing runDisney medals for last 6 years, but he says making this Tinkerbell half marathon was indeed his most favorite. Graphic designers from PANDORA have said that Daivd truly is a genius when it comes to design and that his expertise and knowledge was immeasurable and sparked this amazing creative partnership.

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For the marathon weekend, they have medals for the runDisney kids races which feature Disney Captain Jake and the Neverland Pirates, as well as the adults race medals for the Neverland 5k and Tinkerbell 10k which feature some beloved characters from ‘Peter Pan’. They even have a medal for those brave enough to conquer the Pixie Dust Challenge, which combines the 13.1 mile Tinkerbell Half marathon PLUS the 6.2 mile Tinker Bell 10k.

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Pixie Dust Challenge Medal

Registration is still open for these races including the Pixie Dust Challenge. For registration and more info on these runs, please visit the official site for the Tinker Bell Marathon Weekend, here.

*All of these run events listed are all at the Disneyland Resort.

Off To Neverland! – California Attractions That Never Happened

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Neverland is a fictional place in Disney’s “Peter Pan,” where pirates rule the seas, mermaids lurk the waters, fairies are real, and you never grow up. It’s a place of “never.” For a moment, let’s pretend that it is the year 2078. In this time period, Disney has just announced plans for their 6th theme park which would be 500 acres – their biggest park yet. This park would be called Neverland. This park is filled with shows, rides, concepts, ideas and many other things that Disney had plans for, but never fully put into effect. Let me be your VIP tour guide and show you what would be in this fictional Disney park of things that have “never” happened.

We begin our tour in the first land called Failed California. This land has rides and ideas proposed for Disneyland in California but never came to be.

Failed California (Disneyland, California)


  • LILLIPUTIAN LAND- This land was actually proposed by Roy O. Disney. This land was supposed to be based on the book Gulliver’s Travels and in it would be a miniature Americana village populated by 9-inch-tall singing and dancing mechanical people. The main attraction for this land would be a 17-inch-tall locomotive.
  • EDISON SQUARE- This land was supposed to be a side land of Main Street USA and its theme would be 1920 suburbs. The centerpiece in the land would be a statue of Thomas Edison. The main attraction would have been called Harnessing the Lightning, which would consist of retelling the history of electricity and the effect it had on the American society. This idea was scrapped, but some themes were used for Walt’s Carousel of Progress at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
  • MYTHICA- This land would have a Greek/Roman theme and all the rides, shows and attractions would be based on Greek and Roman mythology. This was an idea by Disney Imagineers but never came into development.
  • ATLANTIS EXPEDITION- In this ride, you would be traveling in a submarine, similar to those in The 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea as well as The Finding Nemo Voyage. Riders would have been able to use a mechanical arm that was attached to the submarine, and grab gems and doubloons. The “area” or underwater part would have been based on Disney’s Atlantis film, but with the horrible box office ratings it had received, the idea was changed and thus The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage was created.
  • TOMORROWLAND 2055- Tomorrowland 2055 would have been an extraterrestrial-themed Tomorrowland, but the plans were abandoned because of budget cuts.
  • BIG CITY USA- A land that was supposed to be New York themed, featuring a giant Broadway theater that would hold live performances each day. This land was scrapped, however, the ideas for this land was inspiration for Tokyo Disney Sea’s American Waterfront.
  • HOLLYWOOD LAND- The theme for this land would have been the 1930’s/1940’s. Rides would have featured ideas and characters from “Dick Tracy” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”.
  • DISCOVERY BAY-  The land would have had elements and been a tribute to Jules Verne and H.G Wells. The idea never came into development, but elements from the plans were later used in Disneyland Paris and Disney Tokyo Sea.
  • LIBERTY STREET- This land was an idea that just never came to be. It was going to resemble Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1776, and even have its own small harbor.

We we will end our tour here for today. In the time to come, I will guide you on more deep into Neverland‘s secrets. Next time,we will be traveling to The Land of Forgotten Countries…

Get the 2018 Disney Parks Vacation Planning Video for Free Today!

It’s not very often you find Disney giving things away for free, so hurry – who knows how long this one will last! Disney Parks is sending out a free, customized video to help you plan your next Disney vacation. You have a couple of choices: first you can choose to get a Disney planning video for Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts, both options are available FREE of charge.

The official Disney video includes:

  • A complete tour of the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, Disney Springs and over 20 Resort hotels at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
  • A tour of the Disneyland Resort in California, including 2 theme parks, the Downtown Disney District and 3 hotels.
  • Affordable ways to play and stay during your Disney vacation, plus personalized tips and information on special events.

CLICK THE GRAPHIC BELOW TO GET YOURS FREE!


Note: Some mobile users may not see the graphic above. If this is the case, please visit this page on a desktop or laptop computer.

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California Food and Wine Festival Special Event Registration Now Open

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Starting today, reservations for select seminars and events for the Disney California Adventure Food and Wine Festival can be made by guests. The dates for the festival are March 10th through April 16th, 2017. There are many different options for this event, including:

  • The popular “In the Kitchen with…” series debuts for the 2017 Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival. See your favorite celebrity chefs Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine, Cat Cora, G. Garvin, Graham Elliot and Jet Tila demonstrate their skills in the kitchen, try a tasting menu created by the chef and even get an autograph! Cost is $99 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • The popular Sweet Sundays events are back! Join celebrity pastry chefs Duff Goldman, Emily Ellyn and Keegan Gerhard as they show how to make some of their delectable desserts. Cost is $79 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • Winemaker Dinners highlight wines from California vintners Duckhorn Vineyards and Flora Springs Winery, with a four-course meal carefully selected to enhance the flavor of the wine. While you dine, enjoy insights and inspiration behind the pairings by a knowledgeable winemaker. Cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • A special Winemaker Dinner featuring Disney Family of Wines includes Fess Parker Winery, GoGi Wines, Lasseter Family Winery and Silverado Vineyards. The wineries at this event each have a special connection to the Disney legacy. Cost is $200 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • New to this year’s festival, Brewmaster Beer Dinners feature prix fixe dinners where hand-selected beers from California-based breweries will be paired and served with a four-course specialty menu prepared by Disney chefs. Knowledgeable brewmasters present each beer and describe the chef’s inspiration for the pairing. Cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity.
  • There’s fun for the whole family! Kids ages 3-11 can partake in the return of a complimentary, hands-on experience called Jr. Chef, which will take place daily.

For more info, a list of all the seminars and classes, and pricing of the premium seminars, visit the reservation page at Disneyland.com/foodandwine. Reservations can be made 60 days in advance prior to each events date.

PHOTOS: Exclusive Merchandise for Return of the Main Street Electrical Parade

Celebrate the return of the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade to Disneyland park with an assortment of commemorative products. This encore performance of the parade will run nightly until June 18 – that’s 45 years after it first lit up Main Street, U.S.A., in 1972. Here’s a look at what products guests will find during this special, limited-time celebration.

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Adults and kids can relive favorite moments with graphic apparel that includes iconic images from the parade.

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Disney will also introduce an animated glow headband with images of Mickey Mouse in the light-up ears.

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There will be two pins celebrating the parade – a limited release logo pin, and a limited edition pin created especially for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders. The latter pin will have an edition size of 2,000 (a valid Disneyland Resort Annual Passport must be presented purchase).

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Finally, guests should look for a hand-painted Ink & Paint cel titled, “Mickey’s Dragon.” This new piece is limited to an edition size of 350 and will be available in a variety of formats including unframed, framed, framed with pin, and framed with postcard and pin. The specially designed limited edition pin (edition size 300) is only available with framed formats, while supplies last. You can see artwork for the pin in the upper left corner of the image shown above.

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Select items will be released in Emporium and Disney Showcase on Main Street, U.S.A., inside Disneyland park on Jan. 19 during the special, after-hours premiere ticketed event.

The Ink & Paint cel will be released at Disneyana shop also on Jan. 19. If you are unable to visit Disneyland Resort, a limited number of cels are available for purchase online here, while supplies last. Applicable tax and shipping fees apply; discounts are available on the framing only.

On Jan. 20, additional locations, such as World of Disney in Downtown Disney District, will carry select Main Street Electrical Parade products.

LIVE STREAM: Main Street Electrical Parade Returns to Disneyland for the First Time in Over 20 Years

Watch live as the Main Street Electrical Parade returns to Disneyland Park tonight during a special hard-ticket event. Be sure to join us at 9pm PT to see the epic return as it happens!

Due to tech issues with our live stream, we instead streamed the parade using Periscope. You can watch it at the link below:

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1ZkKzqARmYXxv

We will have an HD video of the parade’s return up as soon as possible, so stay tuned!

RUMOR: Paint the Night Electrical Parade Still A Possibility for The Magic Kingdom

I know Disney said there were no plans “at the time” for the highly acclaimed Paint the Night Parade to move to Florida, but a lot has changed since the Fall of 2016.

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Drooping attendance at Walt Disney World since last summer has had many an executive at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts examining the idea of moving the Diamond Celebration blockbuster out east to help bolster what they hope to be an explosive Summer 2017 in Orlando.

While Disney’s Animal Kingdom will debut Pandora: The World of AVATAR (and possibly, hopefully, Rivers of Light), the other 3 parks just don’t have a whole lot going on as far as new offerings for this year. Just in case AVATAR isn’t enough to convince someone to go to Orlando in 2017, Disney may want to bring Paint the Night to Walt Disney World. Rumors also persist that a new nighttime show for the Magic Kingdom is in development for a debut later this year.

Now, management at the Disneyland Resort is putting up quite the fight, but the decision will be made above them one way or the other in the next few weeks. I would assume that attendance for the returning Main Street Electrical Parade at Disneyland Park will play a role, but the possibility of the “limited” run for that event until June being extended indefinitely (or glowing away for a Star Wars fireworks show in California) and sending Paint the Night away to the Magic Kingdom seems to be fairly likely.

VIDEO: Take a Creepy Ride on Pirates of the Caribbean with All of the Audio-Animatronics Turned Off

I have seen a broken or immobile animatronics character from time to time on many a Disney attraction, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been on a ride where every single audio-animatronic was turned off. Well, that’s what happened to our Disneyland Reporter Conner Purzycki as he rode Pirates of the Caribbean on Thursday evening:

Pretty creepy, huh? At least he wasn’t riding “it’s a small world” when this happened…

We don’t know exactly what happened to the ride, but it appears it wasn’t anything too major as it reopened shortly after this happened.

RUMOR: Disney Junior – Live on Stage Removing Puppets to Become Screen-Based Show

The Disney Junior: Live on Stage show at Disney California Adventure will be closing for several weeks later this year to undergo a major overhaul that should be removing puppets from the show.

Disney Junior: Live on Stage at Disney California Adventure may be removing puppets

Disney Junior: Live on Stage at Disney California Adventure may be removing puppets

When the show returns later in 2017, it is rumored to be a screen-based show hosted by a single entertainer, utilizing clips from various Disney Junior programming. Not only will newer Disney Junior programs be incorporated, but the puppets that have been a staple of the show since it opened will be history as part of cost-cutting measures. The puppeteers in Disney Junior are union entertainers, and apparently this did not help their case (according to sources). 

No exact date for the closure of the show has been made yet, but it should be in April. There is no word if similar changes will be made to the Walt Disney World show in the future.

The show was last updated in 2013 to include Sophia the First and Doc McStuffins:

Vinylmation Park Starz 5 Coming 1/27; Alien Encounter, Tiki Room, Spaceship Earth, and More!

On January 27th, 2017, Vinylmation Park Star Series 5 will be released at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, and it features what is probably the most amazing character lineup to date:

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Figures in series 5 include:

  • Henry – Country Bear Jamboree
  • Pele – Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room
  • Mexican Child and French Poodle – “it’s a small world”
  • Computer Technician – Spaceship Earth
  • Goat chewing dynamite – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Waldo C. Graphic – MuppetVision 3-D
  • Phineas the Hitchhiking Host – The Haunted Mansion
  • Pirate with Map and Key – Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Skippy – Alien Encounter, Stitch’s Great Escape
  • Elephant – The Jungle Cruise
  • Trader Sam – The Jungle Cruise
  • Mystery Chaser