VIDEO: Kristoff from Frozen Makes Meet and Greet Debut at Disney California Adventure

WDWNT on March 27, 2017

Guests at Disney California Adventure got a big surprise today when Kristoff from Frozen made his meet and greet debut at the Character Close-Up inside the Animation Building.

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Kristoff now joins Olaf in the first meet and greet room before guests head to meet Anna and Elsa in the following. The meet and greet was not announced in advance, but is reportedly now going to be a daily offering at Character Close-Up, located inside of the Animation Building in Hollywood Land.

What do you think? Will you head over to meet Kristoff the next time you are at Disney California Adventure?

Tom Corless’ 9/30/14 WDW Photo Report (Big Hero 6 Art, Backlot Tour, Rivers of Light, New Frozen Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

It was quite the busy weekend at Walt Disney World, so I managed to visit all 4 parks to see what was new and have a ton of newsworthy photos to share with you in today’s report:

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The Studio Backlot Tour closed forever on Saturday

A Big Hero 6 exhibit can now be found at the Magic of Disney Animation

Moving over to Epcot, menu changes have been made a the Electric Umbrella

I decided to try the French Dip burger

It was surprisingly good!

I also tried the Pumpkin Macaroon from the France ice cream parlor and it was amazing.

Over at the Magic Kingdom, this low clearance was added in the bus stop to ensure busses go the right way through the loop

The awning on the boat dock at the entrance was replaced, it’s now red instead of green

The latest progress on the hub at the Magic Kingdom

The Astro Orbiter reopened this weekend, but you can read more about that here

The leave-your-phone charging stations in Tomorrowland have all been closed, the test period came to an end and we’ll now have to wait to see if it was a success and is brought back

New Space Mountain ladies’ shirt

New men’s “I conquered Space Mountain” shirt

This artwork was previously on a black t-shirt and slightly different

Dumbo character sketches are now being sold at Big Top Souvenirs

New Beast plush for sale at Bonjour Village Gifts

Instead of selling generic items, there is a now a Beauty and the Beast shield toy

If you don’t have a FastPass for it, prepare to arrive at Be Our Guest at park opening to get a return time to eat lunch there or you’ll be turned away

Even more of Sir Mickey’s has been taken over by Frozen merchandise, even Ariel merchandise got pushed out

Some new Frozen artwork for sale

A two-sided Olaf ceramic ornament was just released

Queue work continues at Peter Pan’s Flight

We thought it would only be at Disneyland, but the Zero popcorn bucket was released at the Magic Kingdom! It costs over $13 but has a light-up nose feature

Strange new t-shirts…

LOVE this new sweatshirt!

Odd new Magic Kingdom shirt

Simple, but nice

Halloween 2014 Duffy

Some of the Haunted Mansion 45th anniversary lithographs have made it to Florida

An awesome new print by Alex Maher

In preparation for “Move It! Shake It! Dance and Play It!”, video screens are being installed on the floats

Moving over to animal Kingdom, it’s still a mess

At least all of the construction walls are decorated now

The UP meet and greet has seen better days

“it’s tough to be a bug” re-opened this weekend

Most of the nets installed to protect guests from falling particles have finally been removed from the queue

There are still nets by the base of the tree, not sure if these will stay here

work is picking up on the new nighttime show, Rivers of Light

The Everest shrine is behind walls and probably will be until the construction is done in late 2015/early 2016

Since one of the Wilderness Explorers’ answers is behind walls, they made a copy and placed it on the walls

The walls wrap around most of the river

We can peek through and see that the construction vehicles are already in place, ready to start working on the show and viewing area

Some sort of new structure is going up by Flame Tree Barbecue

An Oswald Christmas ornament was released

Frozen Meet and Greet with Anna and Elsa Moving to Magic Kingdom April 20

WDWNT on March 31, 2014

It’s no secret that the meant-to-be-temporary Frozen meet and greet in the Norway pavilion at Epcot ended up a huge success with lines ranging anywhere up to 4 or 5 hours in length sometimes, so with the hotter months in central Florida coming up fast and the lengthy queue being outdoors, Disney seems to have decided a move to the Magic Kingdom is the best solution to the problem…

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Starting April 20th, Walt Disney World’s website has listed that you can meet Anna and Elsa as well as a visiting princess at Magic Kingdom’s Princess Fairytale Hall.

Screen Shot 2014-03-12 at 8.57.17 PMIt appears Rapunzel and Cinderella will be paired off in the second meet and greet inside the hall. Obviously, Disney has not entered any more information on the meet and greet as there are not even pictures or a description of the attraction on the site yet, but it seems they are getting ready by adding it to the entertainment schedule.

Now, whether or not this is a permanent addition remains to be seen. Rumors indicate further modifications could be on the way to Norway to make room for a larger Frozen meet and greet with an indoor queue (as well as a Frozen attraction somewhere down the line). So, for just how long Anna and Elsa take over a room at Fairytale Hall remains to be seen.

It’s also worth noting that Princess Fairytale Hall features nods to all 11 Disney princesses that existed prior to its opening in 2013. There are currently no references to Frozen’s 2 princesses anywhere in the building. I’m curious to see if some decorative shields or portraits of the sisters end up there sometime soon…

Until any announcement from Disney, this meet and greet is purely speculation, but this slip by the official site makes it highly likely.

UPDATE: Disney has confirmed these changes will be taking place starting April 20th, 2014. The Norway meet and greet will be discontinued at that time, but it is unclear what will come of the shop space that was converted for the meet and greet.

A Quick Review of Disney Frozen – In Theaters Tomorrow

WDWNT on December 4, 2013

While many criticized Frozen after the initial release of the first trailer the film is quickly gaining praise from Disney, fans and critics alike with recent pre-screenings of the movie. Disney’s Frozen hasn’t even hit theaters yet and it has already been dubbed, “Disney Animation’s best feature since The Lion King.”  The question is will Frozen hold up to all the hype when it hits theaters nationwide on November 27th?

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The movie, based off the Hans Christian Anderson tale Snow Queen, starts off in the quite town of Arendelle where we meet Disney’s TWO newest princesses, Elsa voiced by Idina Menzel and Anna voiced by Kristen Bell. Elsa is gifted with the power to control ice and sky, a gift that makes the film one to watch in 3-D. The snow and ice form into incredible shapes, sculptures and even a lovable snowman. The added depth of 3D makes all of Elsa’s creations a stunning sight to behold. Anna on the other hand is almost the complete opposite of her sister, care-free and a bit clumsy. After an childhood accident that nearly kills Anna, Elsa shuts herself away from everyone out of guilt.

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The movie then flash forwards to years later when the King and Queen both die leaving Elsa to be crowned the next Queen of Arendelle. The coronation ceremony is where the storyline really starts to pick up, the castle doors are open again and suitors come to vie for the hand of Elsa and Anna. While Elsa tries to hide the powers she has been keeping a secret since childhood, Anna meets  Prince Hans voiced by Santino Fontana, the love of her life, and promptly gets engaged, after a musical number of course. The quick engagement does not go over well and the two sisters have a fight causing Elsa to reveal her powers and put the the town of Arendelle in a permanent state of winter. In horror of what she has done, Elsa runs away from the kingdom to the show stealing power ballad, “Let it Go.” From there the adventure begins as Anna sets off to find her sister and bring summer back.

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Frozen is filled with catchy musical numbers that help move along the storyline and even provide a great deal of comic relief. However, no one provides comic relief and steals the show quite like Olaf, the lovable snowman of Elsa’s imagination. Voiced by Josh Gad, Olaf wins over the hearts of viewers with his big heart and innocence. Olaf is a snowman who dreams of finally enjoying the warm sunshine as told in his comedic song, “In Summer,” —  “Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle
But put me in summer and I’ll be a — happy snowman!”

If the movie isn’t enough to convince you, the Oscar destined short film Get a Horse preceding the film is stunning enough to make the ticket worth it! The short features none other than Mickey Mouse and is voiced by his creator, Walt Disney. I don’t want to say too much but the short is probably Disney’s best to date and absolutely has to be viewed in 3D.

There are a flurry of reasons to go see Frozen so be sure to head to the theaters when it opens November 27th!

*Tip: Stay through the end of the credits there will be a Marshmallow surprise for you!

PHOTOS – Disney Infinity Girl Power Pack and Frozen Disc Sets

WDWNT on September 13, 2013

Note: The Frozen Disc Set are not actual figures but just 2 disks. Disney will be making individual figures for Anna and Elsa but will not be including them in a playset.

Below are photos of 2 new sets coming in Series 2 of Disney Infinity figures which includes the Girl Power Pack and Frozen Disc Set. The Girl Power Pack features Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph, Violet from The Incredibles, and Rapunzel from Tangled. The Frozen Disc Set will feature Anna and Elsa from the upcoming Disney Animated movie.

Girl Power Pack featuring Vanellope, Violet, and Rapunzel

Girl Power Pack featuring Vanellope, Violet, and Rapunzel

Frozen Play Set containing Anna and Elsa

Frozen Disc Set containing Anna and Elsa

 

There is currently no release date for Series 2 but you don’t have to wait to long to get a hold of a new figure. GameStop has just announced pre-orders for the Jack Skellington figure from The Nightmare Before Christmas slated to be released on October 5th exclusively at GameStop. You can be one of the first to own it by pre-ordering right here.

Walmart has also put up an exclusive figure, Woody from Toy Story can be yours starting on October 1st by pre-ordering it on the Walmart website by going right here.

Source: A Wild Podcast Appears