Ring in 2008 With A Bang

Reported by WDWmagic:

This years Magic Kingdom new Year’s Eve show is set to be one of the biggest and loudest ever at the Magic Kingdom. It features all new firework design by Walt Disney World’s Brad Cicotti, who has designed Magic, Music, and Mayhem, the Peace on Earth tag to Reflections of Earth, Epcot’s 25th birthday tag, and the 4th and New Year’s Eve shows at Epcot. This years show will feature a full 360 degree perimeter firework display, including fireworks launched from the island in the Seven seas lagoon. Each perimeter location around the park will be firing 50 shells – the largest ever for a Magic Kingdom show! Enjoy the show!

Dining Changes for Christmas Week

The following information was given out to cast members this week regarding additional dining choices during the busy holiday season at the Magic Kingdom:

Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe will serve breakfast from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily, December 23- 31.

The Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station will be open for lunch and dinner as follows:
December 22 -28: 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
December 29-31: 11:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
January 1-5: 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.

The Diamond Horseshoe will be serving quick service lunch December 23 – January 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In addition, a full service traditional turkey dinner will be offered from December 24 – 31. Dinner will be served between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on those dates.

El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante will open daily for lunch December 22 – January 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. December 28 – 31, El Pirata will offer extended operating hours until 8:00 p.m.

Sleepy Hollow will open for waffles daily at 7:00 a.m., offering another great breakfast option for Guests!

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor will open at 7:00 a.m. daily for “Coffee Express,” offering coffee, hot cocoa and pastries.

New carts and kiosks will be open in several locations:

A Tomorrowland Kiosk will serve burgers, sandwiches and a salad.
Another cart in Tomorrowland will serve hot wings and chili.
In Fantasyland, a cart will serve a turkey wrap and Caesar salad.
The Center Street Hog Dog cart will return on December 25.

Let’s Party!!!

The dates for the 2008 Pirate and Princess Party at the Magic Kingdom are as follows:

January: 21, 26, 29
February: 2, 5, 9, 14, 22, 26
March: 1, 6, 11, 14
April: 1, 4, 6, 11, 16, 23, 29
May: 2, 6, 9, 13, 16, 21, 26, 31
June: 4

It’s hard to believe, but there will be almost 6 months of these parties this year. It looks like there will be some kind of after hours hard ticket event at the Magic Kingdom through almost all of 2008.

New Refurbishments

The following refurbishment was just announced on DisneyWorld.com:

Liberty Square Riverboat Closed 2/24/08-3/1/08

For more upcoming refurbishments, check out our Attraction Closures page.

Still a Masterpiece After 36 Years

The Thomas Kinkade Company announced today that Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light, has unveiled A New Day at the Cinderella Castle, a depiction of the Walt Disney World’s Cinderella Castle as a new morning dawns, the Thomas Kinkade Company announced today.

Kinkade exhibited A New Day at the Cinderella Castle for the first time at an October 20, 2007 event at Walt Disney World. The piece, which offers the discovery of a dawn every bit as festive and delightful as the castle itself, was inspired by the Kinkade family’s annual visits to the Magic Kingdom. “This year, I went in my imagination to explore a vision of the regal castle gently kissed by the golden light of a perfect day,” Kinkade said. “Two of the dream-memories we take from childhood on our life’s journey, if we are fortunate, are the wonder and excitement of Walt Disney World and the soaring majesty of castles,” Kinkade later added.

A New Day at the Cinderella Castle is the second artwork that the Disney organization has commissioned from Kinkade. The first commissioned piece, Disneyland 50th Anniversary, commemorated Disneyland’s half-century birthday.

Kinkade takes a unique and decidedly whimsical approach in this piece. He captures a perfect morning in exquisite detail, from the arc of a double rainbow over the towering castle to the fluffy clouds dappling the castle’s many towers to the lavish, rainbow-hued trees and shrubs framing the building and quaint gas lamps dancing along the walkway.

The piece also offers a host of surprises to curious ones willing to look a little closer. Is that Bambi on the lawn? Tinker Bell above the castle spires? The Ugly Duckling in the pond? Kinkade leaves those answers up to individual interpretation.

America’s Most Beloved Artist called the Cinderella Castle “an enchanting inspiration to young and old.”

A New Day at the Cinderella Castle can be found at Thomas Kinkade Galleries Nationwide or on the web at www.thomaskinkade.com.

Parade Rumblings

It is being rumored that both the Disney Dreams Come True and Spectromagic Parades at the Magic Kingdom could be replaced in 2009. It is believed that the daytime parade will be replaced by Disneyland’s Parade of Dreams, while Spectromagic will be replaced with Tokyo Disneyland’s Version of the Main Street Electrical Parade, Dreamlights. It is also rumored that Spectromagic would be refurbished and shipped off to Disney’s California Adventure park in 2010.

Mad Tea Party Refurbishment

It has just been announced that the Mad Tea Party attraction at the Magic Kingdom will be closed for a minor refurbishment from December 15 to December 21, 2007.

Mad Tea Party Refurbishment

It has just been announced that the Mad Tea Party attraction at the Magic Kingdom will be closed for a minor refurbishment from December 15 to December 21, 2007.