WDWNT Reporter John Corigliano shot and edited a fantastic in-depth look at Dumbo the Flying Elephant in the Storybook Circus of New Fantasyland. This video is a must watch if you have yet to experience the new addition:
Posted by Erin Glover from Disney Parks Blog:
It’s officially Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, and there are so many spooky experiences in store, such as:
- The Halloween Carnival at Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree in Frontierland
- Disney’s Happiest Haunts Guided Tour
- “The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibition”
- The Pirates League
- And, of course, Halloween Time favorites like Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy
And fans of Haunted Mansion Holiday and the upcoming film “Frankenweenie” should keep an eye out for a new, special surprise in the Haunted Mansion pet cemetery. “It’s fun to add little unexpected details like this where we can bring the magic of the film right to the park for our guests to experience,” Kim Irvine, Walt Disney Imagineering Art Director for Disneyland park, told us. What is this surprise? Here’s a hint:
Will you be scaring up some fun at the Disneyland Resort during Halloween Time?
Read more about Halloween at Disney Parks in the posts below:
As announced on the Disney Parks Blog earlier today, Merida from Disney-PIXAR’s Brave is going to be taking over Rapunzel’s current home in Fairytale Gardens in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom.
Merida’s Fairytale Garden meet and greet will be a a setting inspired by her Scottish Highlands home, where young guests will be invited to engage in archery lessons and other activities until it’s their turn to meet her. Joining Merida will be the three bear cubs from the film, who will no doubt be up to plenty of mischief.
To prepare for Merida’s arrival, Rapunzel will be moving from Fairytale Garden April 15, to a new spot at the outskirts of Adventureland where she will continue to do meet and greets, possibly along with Flynn Rider once again.
With the Tangled characters remaining so popular, it is apparent that the move to Adventureland won’t be permanent and that the rumors we reported a few months back of the Fantasyland Skyway replacement including a new meet and greet experience are true. When work is done, we expect to see a new Tangled meet and greet, complete with Rapunzel’s tower from the movie, open in Fantasyland later this year.
Stay tuned for more information on this story as it becomes available.
Courtesy of Scott Keating and scottkeating.net, we once again have some fantastic aerial photos of Fantasyland to share with you:
The base of the old Dumbo is still lingering, guess it isn’t that easy to completely remove…
A lot going on here: The bridge that will serve as the entrance to the Be Our Guest Restaurant is nearing completion, the Mermaid queue entrance is out from behind scaffolding and appears mostly complete with the exception of pavement, and we can now make out a distinguishable footprint for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train
Another angle shows that Gaston’s Tavern is far behind the other buildings in the village
We can now see where the Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station is going in Storybook Circus, but what lies beyond it in the tents is mostly a mystery…
Getting away from Fantasyland, the Big Thunder Mountain refurbishment rolls on with most of the queue being rebuilt, all track being replaced, and a visible fresh coat of paint being applied to the entire mountain
Work continues on the DVC wing of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
From Erin Glover of Disney Parks Blog:
Halloween Time is here at the Disneyland Resort and spooky spectres have been spotted all around! This is a favorite time of year for many Disneyland park regulars but whether this is your first Halloween visit or your fifteenth, there may be a few things you don’t know about Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort, such as:
- There are more than 300 sculpted pumpkins on Main Street, U.S.A., and no two are alike.
- Props and set décor used in window displays along Main Street, U.S.A., are reproductions of original turn-of-the-century Halloween décor.
- This year’s Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread confection, “Jack’s House,” stands 9 feet tall – making it the tallest gingerbread house ever presented in the attraction.
- Sandy Claws covers the Haunted Mansion Holiday graveyard scene with more tha 7,500 square feet of ghostly white snow.
- In the attic of Haunted Mansion Holiday, a snake devours a holiday list featuring the names of many of the cast members who helped create the attraction.
Will you be celebrating Halloween Time with us at the Disneyland Resort?
From Shawn Slater on the Disney Parks Blog:
I’m excited to tell you Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz, two of the main characters from Disney’s newest animated adventure comedy “Wreck-It Ralph,” will soon be making their debut at Disney Parks.
My family and I can’t wait to see “Wreck-It Ralph.” In the movie, video game “bad guy” Ralph is tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix, the “good guy” star of their game who always gets to save the day. Ralph takes matters into his own massive hands and sets off on an adventure across the arcade, with potentially disastrous results! Along the way, he runs into feisty misfit Vanellope VonSchweetz from the candy-coated cart racing game, “Sugar Rush,” and the unlikely duo must team up to try and save the day. “Wreck-It Ralph” is going to be great, and meeting Ralph and Vanellope in the parks will be just as fun. At The Magic of Disney Animation attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you’ll step through Game Central Station, catching glimpses of the various game worlds from the film on your way to “Sugar Rush,” where Vanellope and Ralph are waiting to meet you at the finish line. At Disneyland park, the arcade world of “Wreck-It Ralph” comes to life within the Tomorrowland Starcade. When Ralph and Vanellope are there, you’ll have an opportunity to meet them at the portal to “Sugar Rush” and can even play a round on the classic arcade game “Fix-It Felix, Jr.” Look for each of these experiences to open this November, and be sure to catch “Wreck-It Ralph” in theaters November 2 in 3D!
We welcome Jeff Lukas to the WDWNT team with his first photo report, taking us to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot:
Work continues on the Bakery facade
Dapper Dans
Fantasyland Woodwind Society
The roof on Prince Eric’s Castle is almost complete
More scaffolding came down at Be Our Guest Restaurant
The Fantasyland Skyway station is completely gone
The queue building at Big Thunder Mountain has been rebuilt for the most part
Work continues on the track
Site looks completely cleared for the Grand Floridian DVC
On to Epcot
Story Time is still occupying the former Velcro exhibit in Innoventions
Still closed…
Work continues on the VISION House
Welcome to the Wonders of Flower and Garden Festival Stages and Shopping
Kind of cute…
Still cool
Welcome aboard Jeff!
Tim gives us a detailed look at the Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Roundup, the Halloween decorations in Disneyland, plus a look at the changed windows down Buena Vista Street.
Earl of Sandwich construction
Halloween Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch
Ghost Galaxy is back for the holiday
Pumpkins are everywhere to decorate Main Street
The iconic & popular photo spot during Halloween
City Hall still under wraps
Half Staff for Ambassador Stevens over @ DCA
Entrance to Turtle Talk with Crush next to the restrooms in between Off the Page and Disney JR on Stage.
The merchandise which has been added to the Buena Vista Street’s artistically designed windows. It’s disappointing to see Imagineer’s hard work covered up by generic merchandise.
Thanks for reading!
From Jennifer Fickley-Baker on the Disney Parks Blog:
Hi everyone, we have exciting news to share today – our partners at Marvel Studios are bringing Marvel’s “The Avengers” to Walt Disney World Resort this spring!
In Marvel’s “The Avengers,” super heroes team up to pull the world back from the brink of disaster when an unexpected enemy threatens global security.
Similar to the “Tron”-themed wrap, one of our Magic Kingdom Park Monorails is currently undergoing a Marvel’s “The Avengers”-themed changeover to celebrate the May 4 opening of the film, which stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
Here’s a sneak peek, with more details to come.
At the exit of the Magic of Disney Animation attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the Animation Gallery. This area has been home to a Snow White exhibit for the last several year until recently a new exhibit was unveiled showcasing the artistry of backgrounds in Disney animated films. WDWNT reporter John Corigliano takes a comprehensive look at the new exhibit in a video:
