Complete Details on Magic Kingdom 40th Anniversary Artist Celebration

WDWNT on September 16, 2011

If you have been following the updates we have been making on wdwnewstoday.com/wdw40, you already know that October 1st at the Magic Kingdom will bring a ton of artist signing events to the park for the 40th anniversary and the release of new merchandise to mark the special occasion. Well, Disney has released details on a few more pieces that will be available on that day:

Celebrate 40 Years of Walt Disney World Magic on Saturday, October 1st!

Walt Disney World® Resort 40th Anniversary
Artist Signing Events at Magic Kingdom® Park!

Have you marked your calendars for the 40th Anniversary Celebration at Walt Disney World?

Join us on Saturday, October 1 for an anniversary celebration at Magic Kingdom Park commemorating 40 years of Disney magic.

Throughout the celebration, renowned Disney Artists will appear throughout Magic Kingdom Park for meet & greets and artist signings at Diamond Horseshoe and Uptown Jewelers.

40th Anniversary Kooky Pen Signing
Special Guests: Kooky Pen Creator, Brent Reese and
Disney Design Group Artist, Costa Alavezos
Signing Location and Time:
Diamond Horseshoe, 9:00am-11:00am

Disney Traditions Haunted Mansion
Organ Player Sculpture Signing
Special Guest: Disney Traditions Artist, Jim Shore
Signing Location and Time:
Uptown Jewelers, 11:00am-2:00pm

Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary Collection
by Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily
Special Guests: Disney Artists, Kevin Kidney and Jody Daily
Signing Location and Time:
Diamond Horseshoe, 1:00pm-3:00pm & 4:00pm-5:00pm

Original Artwork and Custom 40th Anniversary Vinylmation created by NOAH
Special Guest: Artist, Noah
Signing Location and Time:
Diamond Horseshoe, 11:30am-1:30pm & 4:00pm-5:00pm

40th Anniversary Celebration Artwork
Special Guest: Artist, Greg McCullough
Signing Location and Time:
Diamond Horseshoe, 11:30am-1:30pm & 4:00pm-5:00pm

Miniature Replica Magic Kingdom Toll Plaza and Haunted Mansion by Robert Olszewski
Special Guest: Miniaturist, Robert Olszewski
Signing Location and Time:
Uptown Jewelers, 12:00pm-2:00pm & 4:00pm-5:00pm

Magic Kingdom and Haunted Mansion Limited Edition Mixed Media Sculptures Signing
Special Guest: Artist, Dave Avanzino
Signing Location and Time:
Diamond Horseshoe, 1:00 pm-3:00pm & 4pm-5pm

40th Anniversary Limited Edition Artisan Watch Collection
Special Guest, Disney Artisan Watch Artist, Gene Gonda
Signing Location and Time:
Uptown Jewelers, 1:00pm-3:00pm

Blue Sky Cellar Updates On The Way

WDWNT on September 15, 2011

From Erin Glover on the Disney Parks Blog:

Throughout the Disney California Adventure park transformation, Walt Disney Imagineering has kept guests updated on the expansion at Blue Sky Cellar – a space dedicated to special sneak peeks of the new experiences coming to the park. Beginning Monday, September 19, Blue Sky Cellar will close in order to be updated once again. When it reopens on September 23, guests will find new videos, models and renderings of the latest additions coming to Buena Vista Street, Cars Land and more.

Last week, we showed you the topping off of the Carthay Circle Theatre with the arrival of its 17-foot, 5,000-pound cupola. I know that many of you have commented on how much you enjoy the time lapse construction videos we show from time to time on the Disney Parks Blog. Below is a peek at one of the items to be featured in the updated Blue Sky Cellar – a time lapse video of Carthay Circle Theatre construction through last week.

 

 

Imagineers Turn Cement Into Scenery for “Under the Sea”

WDWNT on September 15, 2011

From Jennifer Fickley-Baker on the Disney Parks Blog:

One of the highly anticipated attractions coming to New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park is Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid.

The attraction, a seaside grotto beneath the castle of Prince Eric, is where guests enter the world of Ariel and her friends for an adventure filled with songs from the classic film. But you don’t have to wait until it opens to take a look inside. Walt Disney Imagineering just shared this video with us, in which Imagineer Eric Miller explains how the team is creating a realistic underwater environment for Ariel that’s inspired by the film.

This amazing and detailed process involves sketches, models, computer technology, construction and artistry. See for yourself!

Four Seasons Resort On Track for 2014 Opening

WDWNT on September 14, 2011

From Thomas Smith on the Disney Parks Blog:

Take a look at what’s coming to our Golden Oak community at the Walt Disney World Resort. It’s a new Four Seasons resort that’ll have a rooftop restaurant with Magic Kingdom Park views and a few other special touches Disney Parks Blog readers will want to check out.

The 444-room hotel will have three pools, a “lazy river” and of course, a spa with 18 treatment rooms. There will be several sport facilities, including tennis courts, a climbing wall and more when construction is completed.

Work begins in a few months with a target opening date of 2014. And we’ll have more to share on this in the future so keep checking the blog for updates.

Parks & Resorts Shows “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” at Carousel of Projects

WDWNT on September 12, 2011

Our post D23 Expo 2011 coverage continues with a comprehensive video of the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Carousel of Projects pavilion. Inside the Carousel of Progress inspired pavilion, guests were given an inside look at some of the largest projects in Walt Disne Imagineering history: Cars Land, New Fantasyland, Buena Vista Street, the Disney Fantasy, the Shanghai Disney Resort, and much more. Enjoy your spin around the future of Disney Parks and Resorts around the world:

The Carthay Circle Theater Gets Topped Off

WDWNT on September 9, 2011

From Erin Glover on the Disney Parks Blog:

Late Wednesday night, Walt Disney Imagineering topped the new Carthay Circle Theatre at Disney California Adventure park with its crowning feature – a cupola modeled after the one which sat atop the historic theatre which was the site of the 1937 world premiere of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” The Disney Parks Blog video team was on hand to catch some great footage of the cupola as it was raised into position on top of the theatre – take a look!

 

 

 

We’ll have more details on the Carthay Circle Theatre and Buena Vista Street as the area continues to take shape at Disney California Adventure park, so keep checking back!

Sneak Peak At This Years Haunted Mansion Gingerbread House

WDWNT on September 9, 2011

From Pam Brandon on the Disney Parks Blog:

We caught up with “Pumpkin King” Brian D. Sandahl, Senior Designer for Disney Entertainment Creative Development, and the whiz behind the annual Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread house.

This is the tenth year a “freaky gingerbread house” has been the centerpiece on the table in the Haunted Mansion ballroom, says Brian.

Disneyland Park Haunted Mansion Gingerbread House Sketch

Brian shared with us a quick color sketch that was used to inspire pastry chef Jean-Marc Viallet to create the edible overlays.

The foundation is wood and wired for animation, then the house goes to the Disneyland Resort Central Bakery for a 3-week layover to apply more than 500 lbs of gingerbread, ten yards of fondant and miles of frosting and oversized candies. Because the six-foot house stays on display through Christmas, the design is a blend of the holidays, inspired by Jack Skellington and the animated film, “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“Imagine if Jack Skellington had landed on the Haunted Mansion and decorated it with his vision of Halloween and Christmas,” says Brian. “The two holidays collide with pumpkins, freaky presents, a dead Christmas tree and more.”

This year’s house is more pastel, done with light orange and purple. But the cuteness gives way to a “freaky twist” when the house opens to reveal evil teeth, red eyes that light up, a “happy cookie” that revolves to a “mean cookie.”

There is so much to see in the ballroom scene, says Brian, including that dead, 25-foot-tall Christmas tree. It takes several trips through the attraction to take it all in.

Work on the gingerbread house started at the end of 2010, with construction beginning in spring 2011. Opening day is September 16!

The World is a Carousel of Projects

WDWNT on September 8, 2011

Take a walk through this years Park and Resorts Pavilion at the 2011 D23 Expo as we look at all the new projects coming to the Disney Parks in the next few years. Video include interviews with Imagineers about the New Fantasyland in Florida, Cars Land and Buena Vista Street Coverage, and much more.

 

Halloween Time Starts Sept. 16 At The Disneyland Resort

WDWNT on September 8, 2011

NAHEIM, Calif. (Sept. 7, 2011) – The spirit of Halloween Time will invade Disneyland Resort this fall with Disney villains, Mickey Mouse and his friends in Halloween costumes, along with  the seasonal transformations of Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday and Space Mountain into Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort begins Friday, Sept. 16, and will continue through Halloween, Monday, Oct. 31.

The after-hours Mickey’s Halloween Party, a separate-ticket event* which has become an annual highlight of Halloween Time for trick-or-treating families, will take place in Disneyland park on 10 special Monday, Tuesday and Friday nights: Sept. 30 and Oct. 3,7,11,14,18,21, 25, 28 and 31. Tickets are available at Disneyland.com/halloween.

Mickey’s Halloween Party invites adults and children to dress up in costume and trick-or-treat at the resort. These party participants can also “mix in” with regular Disneyland guests for three hours prior to the start of Mickey’s private bash. Highlights of Mickey’s Halloween Party include:

  • Newly themed dance party: Guests can mix, mingle and dance with some of their favorite Disney characters at the new “Piratepalooza” at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante. The popular “Buzz Lightyear’s Intergalactic Space Jam” returns to the Tomorrowland Terrace for more dancing fun.
  • New character photo locations: Guests will meet Stormtroopers at Tomorrowland, Phineas & Ferb at Plaza Gardens Stage, and Duffy the Bear in his pumpkin attire at Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.  Eight additional photo locations feature princesses, Disney villains and more Disney and Pixar pals.
  • The special opportunity to play in Disneyland for three hours before the party starts
  • Trick or Treating – candy and healthy treats ­- in the ultimate Disney neighborhood
  • The “Halloween Screams” fireworks spectacular, hosted by “Master of Scare-omonies” Jack Skellington (presented exclusively for guests of  Mickey’s Halloween Party)
  • “Mickey’s Costume Party” cavalcade, performed twice nightly
  • An opportunity for everyone in the family to attend the park in costumes
  • Nearly all the favorite Disneyland rides and attractions

Tickets purchased in advance for Mickey’s Halloween Party are $49 most days, while tickets purchased on the event days are $59.  All tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party on Friday, Oct. 28, and Halloween Night, Monday, Oct. 31, are $64.

Favorite Disney characters, including Mickey himself, will dress up in fun, fall costumes.  It’s the ideal environment to eat special holiday treats, play interactive games, listen to “spirited” music and watch a nightly character cavalcade that celebrates the season.

For Halloween fun at Disneyland, guests will enjoy Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy in Tomorrowland.  The experience begins as a typical Space Mountain adventure, but suddenly launches voyagers into a haunted section of the universe.  Ghosts appear out of the starry darkness and swirling galaxies of Space Mountain, reaching out as if to grab guests as they speed through space.  The exhilarating drops and curves of the journey are punctuated by piercing screams, creepy sound effects and haunting music.

Jack Skellington also returns to take over the Haunted Mansion and bring back Haunted Mansion Holiday to New Orleans Square in Disneyland.  Transformed to a mix of Halloween spookiness and Christmas tradition, Haunted Mansion Holiday is inspired by the classic animated film “Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas.” Jack’s return to the Haunted Mansion includes the traditional Halloween/Christmas gingerbread house in the Mansion Ballroom, with some special spooky surprises in this year’s design.

Halloween Time offers frightfully delightful fun for children and adults.

  • For spine-tingling fun, drop in at The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure park, where a “supernatural” event happened on Halloween evening, 1939, forever haunting the building.
  • Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland is transformed for the Pumpkin Festival. More than 300 pumpkins will be on display and none of them are the same!
  • Visitors to Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland will find ranch animals, pumpkin carvers, Halloween décor and activities for youngsters.
  • Meeting Disney characters will be easier than ever as Disney villains gather to plot Halloween mischief at “it’s a small world” Mall in Disneyland, while other characters in spooky attire greet guests in Town Square, Main Street, U.S.A.
  • Rancho del Zocalo in Frontierland will honor Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead with traditional skeleton figures on display Sept. 16 through Nov. 2.
  • Special Halloween treats will be available in Disneyland, including menu items such as Zero’s Ghostly Ghoulash, served in a dog dish in honor of Zero.