DLR Pictorial – Part 1: 6/23

WDWNT on June 27, 2008

I’m back from a wonderful 4 day trip to the Disneyland Resort, which included checking out the Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries, & of course Toy Story Midway Mania. Let’s start this pictorial off with my pictures from Monday:

Sign for Toy Story “Midway” Mania in the Esplanade


The Adventure Roadmap was handed out at both Mickey & Friends as well as Timon (more on this tomorrow)


The latest DCA maps


Now on to my first ever ride on Toy Story Midway Mania!


The amazing Mr. Potato Head


He can remove his ear (if you didn’t already know)!


A few of the posters in the queue for TSMM, giving tips on game-play & the individual games


Here’s where you pick up your 3D glasses


The start of the ride


The ride vehicles


The back of Mr. Potato Head’s toy box


My score on my first ride… Contrary to what Tom Corless says, I don’t think it’s that bad of a score!


Top scores from Monday & the month


A lovely little display thingy at the exit of the attraction


The new seating for Award Wieners


The Honda Pilot display outside of the entrance to DCA


Over to Disneyland with the new Disneyland Park map cover


Still not much visible progress at Small World


Donald’s Boat has returned from its refurbishment


As of today (Thursday 6/26) the Innoventions Dream Home is still closed


The walls are down however, so I managed to snap a few pictures


Club Penguin has joined Toontown & Pirates of the Caribbean Online in Innoventions


The bungee rats are back in the Ratatouille float in the Pixar Play Parade


Also back is the back end of the a Bug’s Life float


Also worthy to note is that the Ratatouille & a Bug’s Life floats have switched around with each other


And the acrobats are back on the Toy Story float


The new, & amazingly themed Churro cart across from Toy Story Midway Mania


A look at the queue for Toy Story Midway Mania


The new Hot Dog Hut (also quite nicely themed)


Clever


Banners advertising Toy Story “Midway” Mania in Downtown Disney


And to end off Part 1 of my pictorial, me with Cinderella

Stay tuned tomorrow for the rest of my DLR Pictorial, covering Tuesday through Thursday. Also tomorrow, we’ll have bigger versions of the pictures from this post in the Image Galleries!

American Idol Experienced

WDWNT on June 27, 2008

I’M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!: Singer David Cook, who was recently crowned “American Idol” champion on the popular television show, poses during a break in shooting June 26, 2008 in a Los Angeles recording studio. A crew from Walt Disney World in Florida taped video segments with Cook to utilize in “The American Idol Experience” attraction, scheduled to open in January 2009 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Currently under construction, “The American Idol Experience” is the first theme park attraction to be based on the television series, through an agreement with FremantleMedia Enterprises and 19 Entertainment. This summer, Cook and other finalists from the 2008 season of “American Idol” will begin a nationwide concert tour. The “American Idol Live Tour 2008” will be presented in 50+ cities across the United States.

Disney-Pixar’s Wall-E

WDWNT on June 26, 2008

Besides loving the Disney Parks, most of the staff here at WDW News Today are big fans of all the Disney and Pixar animated films. As most of you know, Disney and Pixar’s newest film, Wall-E, opens in theaters everywhere June 27. In honor of this release, we have assembled a number of videos to watch for those of you who can’t wait to see the film this weekend. Remember, whether or not your looking forward to this film, it will most likely play a huge role in the future of the Disney parks. There is also a video here of the Wall-E interactive character is already slated to debut at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s California Adventure this week. Enjoy the videos, and go see Wall-E!!!

 

It’s Opening Again!!!

WDWNT on June 26, 2008

From disneypins.com, some news on the release of the long-awaited Toy Story Mania opening day pin:

Walt Disney World® Resort released their Opening Day 2008 pin today at Disney’s Hollywood Studios™. Alex Maher also created the artwork for this pin. Below is an image of the new merchandise location near the attraction which opened this past Monday. The first item sold at the new location – a Slinky Dog!

Notice that the paragraph above does not reveal the name of the store across the street from Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, even Disney doesn’t know what it is!!!

Hollywood Studios and Epcot Update

WDWNT on June 25, 2008

Our good friend EpcotServo has finally returned with a new photo update featuring some of the new happenings around Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When you head over to his update, be sure to take a look at the now completed Pixar Place meet-and-greet, the Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian exhibit, and the new quick service food location outside of the now-closed Nine Dragons restaurant at Epcot. You can see the entire photo report HERE.

Pixie’s Anyone? Or How About an Arabian Adventure?

WDWNT on June 25, 2008

After speculation on the net arose stating that Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular would not be returning after the 3 month Hyperion refurb starting in Sept, I found auditions for the show on the Disney Auditions website.

There are 3 listed.

One for singers, actors and puppeteers on July 21, 2008 at 10am at the Screenland Studios in N. Hollywood.

One for dancers on July 23, 2008 at 2pm at Screenland Studios

And one for Singers and Actors on July 29, 2008 at 10am at the Chelsea Studios-New York, NY

Now we all know about the new Tinker Bell Meet N’ Greet that will be taking over and replacing Ariels Grotto at Disneyland Park, but I have found an audition for Disney Fairies listed on the same site.

Face Character Look-alikes – Disney Fairies
For: Disneyland Resort
Audition Location: Disneyland Resort – Anaheim, CA
Looking For: Face Characters		 August 17, 2008
09:00 AM
Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Seeking females with engaging personalities to portray Disney Fairies, the newest members of our character family. Face Character Look-alikes perform before thousands of guests each day in “meet and greets”, parades and stage shows across the Disneyland® Resort. We are actively seeking performers of all ethnicities!

Roles:

Tinker Bell: 4’11”–5’2”
Iridessa, Rosetta, Silvermist, Fawn: 5’2”–5’5”

Requirements:

  • Must be at least 17 years of age and a graduating senior
  • Wear non-restrictive clothing; tennis or dance shoes are required
  • Current Disneyland® Resort Cast Members should bring a completed and approved transfer application
  • New applicants are encouraged to complete a job application prior to the audition date by visiting the Casting Center at Team Disney Anaheim
  • This audition may last a full day; bring snacks or money for vending

Location:

Disneyland Resort – Team Disney Anaheim
700 W. Ball Rd.
Anaheim, CA 92802

Park in the Team Disney parking structure off Ball Road and Cast Place, and proceed to the Security area. Bring a picture ID to be admitted backstage.

Journey Into Narnia….Finally

WDWNT on June 24, 2008

The Journey Into Narnia: Prince Caspian exhibit at Disney’s Hollywood Studios has finally opened for some previews before it opens officially this Friday. Studios Central picked up some great photos of what can now be considered the park’s newest attraction, and you can see them all HERE.

Pixar Place Opens Wide For Food (And Guest Flow)

WDWNT on June 23, 2008

Studios Central has some great pictures of a finally wall-less Pixar Place area of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The small shop and Hey-Howdy-Hey Take Away locations are now both open, even though the store hasn’t received all the new Toy Story Mania merchandise yet (still missing some planned merchandise, should be for sale by this fall). However, the street is still is not complete, as the new Toy Story characters meet-and-greet location still is yet to opened. To see what is open on Pixar Place, head on over to Studios Central to see the photos HERE.

Details on The American Idol Experience

WDWNT on June 23, 2008

Our good friend Jim Hill over at jimhilllmedia.com has put up a great article today giving away some of the details on how the new American Idol Experience attraction will run once it opens officially at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in January 2009. Jim goes through most of he details for this attraction in the article, giving us a good idea of just how many Disney Cast Members it will take to operate this “huge” attraction everyday. While Jim spills most of the beans on this long-awaited replacement to Superstar Television and Doug Live, there are still many details that Disney has still not even straightened out yet. While we wait for details direct from Disney, you can read through and enjoy Jim’s report HERE.

TSMM Single Rider Line

WDWNT on June 22, 2008

It seems that the Single Rider line for Toy Story Midway Mania has been set up earlier than we original thought. We’re not sure if it’s being used yet, but it’s definitely there.


Picture by BCC