Fun Tidbits From The Xmas Day Parade

I’m back from England! Upon arriving home from my flight, I finally got the chance to sit down & watch the Walt Disney World Christmas Day, & I managed to grab a few screen shots of the Disneyland side of the parade:

Ryan Seacrest, the host from Disneyland, went over some of the latest additions at & coming to the resort. Among the additions mentioned were the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Celebration Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch.

Pixie Hollow.

And the thing I was most looking forward to seeing, concept art of the new Tinker Bell float in Disney’s Electrical Parade!

There was a recap of the kick-off for What Will You Celebrate?- Miley Cyrus’ Sweet 16 birthday bash.

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Celebrate New Adventures at the Disneyland Resort!

Disneyland’s latest official podcast is quite a treat. It features a look at all of the new & upcoming attractions to the Disneyland Resort in this last leg of 2008. Covered are the Blue Sky Cellar, High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now!, Pixie Hollow, the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, & Holidays at the Disneyland Resort.

My favorite part of this video was the portion on the “re-awakened” Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough, that actually shows some of the Imagineers working on some of the show scenes for the walkthrough. The Holidays at the Disneyland Resort portion has a look at the new lighting for this year on Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle & the Main Street Christmas Tree.

You can watch the video bellow:

Press Release Mania

Here are 3 press releases that have recently been released by Disney. The first is on the opening of Pixie Hollow:

To celebrate the animated film “Tinker Bell,” Disney’s most famous fairy and four of her best friends are featured in an all-new meet-and-greet experience at Disneyland Park.

To meet Tinker Bell and her fairy friends, guests enter a magical forest called “Pixie Hollow,” a special place deep in the heart of Never Land.

Tinker Bell, made famous in the 1953 Disney animated classic “Peter Pan,” for her “hostess” role in Disney television specials and for “flying” above the Disney theme parks, is joined inside Pixie Hollow by four fairy friends: Fawn, an animal fairy; Iridessa, a light fairy; Rosetta, a garden fairy; and Silvermist, a water fairy.

In addition to meeting the Fairies guests can learn more about the Disney Fairies at disneyfairies.com.

PIXIE HOLLOW — The magical realm of Pixie Hollow has been revealed at Disneyland. Guests will get the strange feeling that they are shrinking to fairy size as they make their way to Tinker Bell’s home where they they will meet Tink and her pixie pals.


TINKER BELL IN PIXIE HOLLOW — Disneyland guests can now meet one of the most beloved Disney characters of all time at the all-new “Pixie Hollow.”


FAWN IN PIXIE HOLLOW — Fawn, the animal fairy, is just one of Tinker Bell’s pixie pals Disneyland guests will encounter at the all-new “Pixie Hollow.”

SILVERMIST IN PIXIE HOLLOW — Silvermist, the water fairy, is just one of Tinker Bell’s pixie pals Disneyland guests will encounter at the all-new “Pixie Hollow.”

IRIDESSA IN PIXIE HOLLOW — Iridessa, the light fairy, is just one of Tinker Bell’s pixie pals Disneyland guests will encounter at the all-new “Pixie Hollow.”


ROSETTA IN PIXIE HOLLOW — Rosetta, the garden fairy, is just one of Tinker Bell’s pixie pals Disneyland guests will encounter at the all-new “Pixie Hollow.”

The second is on the new High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now! show at Disney’s California Adventure:

Fans of the “High School Musical” can join the fun as “High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now!” is rockin’ at Disney’s California Adventure.




The new, interactive street show invites Guests to dance, sing along and celebrate the music of the new theatrical motion picture “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.”

Featuring a cast of 14 dynamic singers and dancers, the Disney show takes place on a traveling stage that creates a live-concert experience, complete with stacks of speakers and rows of lights. Entertainment featuring six new songs from the movie will draw guests into the streets of Disney’s California Adventure for an exciting, high-energy dance party.

Three shows will be perfomred daily at Sun Plaza, near the main entrance, and the Golden State Stage.

Teens and tweens who are big fans of the “High School Musical” score will sing along with two of the movie’s hottest numbers, “A Night to Remember” and the theme song, “High School Musical.”

And the final press release is on the new personalized merchandise that is available, & will be available as part of the upcoming What Will You Celebrate? campaign:

It’s Time To Celebrate “You!”
Celebrate “you” every day. Stand out in the crowd with our personalized t-shirts commemorating special celebrations in your life (i.e Happy Birthday, Just Married, Family Reunion), or maybe we can lend you a hand or even better an “ear” with our Create-Your-Own ear hat program. But if its pins that are your “trade” then be sure to find that special character pin and personalize yours today.

Personalized T-shirts
Beginning November 14, 2008, be sure to stop by our newest personalization location on Main Street, U.S.A., Celebration Custom Printers – Specializing in Wearable Memories. Here you can have your name imprinted on specially designed commemorative t-shirts. So, whether you are celebrating your birthday, commemorating your recent nuptials or identifying your family members with our special “Family Reunion” tees, you’re sure to come away with a special memory that will last a lifetime. And for our younger Jedi Knights in Training or Disney Princesses to be, now you can choose to personalize your own t-shirt with our special kids only imprinted tees.

An Ear-Ful of Fun!
You’ll be grinning from “ear” to “ear” with our Create-Your-Own Ear Hat program. It’s just FOUR (4) easy steps: Find An Ear Hat Base, Select Your Desired “Ears”, Accessorize, and last but not least, remember the signature of any ear hat, to have your name embroidered on the back. To learn more or to create-your-own ear hat, visit The Gag Factory located in Mickey’s ToonTown at Disneyland® park.

Personalize Your Pin
Celebrate friends, family or even yourself with a variety of Disney character pins, names and phrases, including Happy Birthday, Feliz Cumpleanos, #1 Mom and more. Base pins will retail between $6.95 to $8.95 (plus tax). The PVC Nameplates will retail at $2.00 each (plus tax). Personalize your own pin is available at select locations at the Disneyland® Resort, including Little Green Men Store Command and Disney’s Pin Traders. Here’s How it Works!

1. Start by choosing a base pin
2. Next select a PVC name or phrase plate
3. Attach the magnetic base plate to the base of the pin
4. Congratulations! Your pin is complete

For more information on personalized pins, please click here.

Old Enemies and New Friends

Brady MacDonald over at the LA Times Travel Blog has posted exclusive sneak peeks at High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now! & Pixie Hollow, which are both scheduled to debut tomorrow:

The new “High School Musical 3” parade debuting at Disney’s California Adventure on Friday features six new songs from the movie, including a pair of step-by-step reproductions of elaborate dance numbers.

A cast of 60 performers has been preparing three weeks for the new show — officially called “High School Musical 3: Senior Year: Right Here, Right Now” — enduring six-day-a-week, eight-hour-a-day rehearsals that start at 4 a.m. before the Anaheim theme park opens to the public, show director Randy Wojcik said.

Disney doesn’t call the show a “parade,” even though it travels along the Anaheim theme park’s parade route. A self-described “Wildcat geek,” Wojcik dubs the latest incarnation a “traveling rock concert” and a “street party.”

Just like the similarly themed “High School Musical 2″ show it replaces, the new “HSM3″ production will make stops at the Sun Plaza near the main entrance and the Golden State Stage near the former Golden Dreams attraction. A 14-person cast will perform three shows daily from the late morning to early afternoon.

The live show replicates two iconic production numbers from the upcoming movie — “A Night to Remember” and the “High School Musical” theme song.

Audience members are encouraged to participate during two songs — busting out their own signature dance moves during “A Night to Remember” and donning top hats, canes and feather boas during “I Want It All.”

The songs performed in the California Adventure “HSM3″ show include:

  • “Now or Never” (opening drum cadence)
  • “I Want It All” (Broadway show tune)
  • “A Night to Remember” (upbeat prom dance number)
  • “The Boys Are Back” (urban R&B)
  • “Just Wanna Be With You” (pop anthem)
  • “High School Musical” (finale theme song)

Personally, I can’t get “I Want It All” out of my head. My 8-year-old daughter, Hannah, has been listening to the song nonstop since she got the CD earlier this week.

“High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” starring Zac Effron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Ashley Tisdale opens in theaters on Friday.

How do you sit down for a photo with Tinker Bell without actually sitting on the palm-size pixie? We’ll soon find out when Peter Pan’s fairy friend gets her own meet-and-greet area at Disneyland.

Pixie Hollow, which takes the place of Ariel’s Grotto near the Matterhorn Bobsleds, is expected to soft open on Friday, Oct. 24, 2008 in advance of an official opening next week.

Visitors walking past an “enchanted” pond will feel as though they are shrinking to the size of a fairy through a series of visual and audio cues. Bronze statues of the five Disney fairies — Iradessa, Rosetta, Fawn, Silvermist and, of course, Tinker Bell — line the pathway. Along the way, whispers and echoes emanate from the fantasy fairy world. Tinker Bell, played by a 5-foot-tall face character, poses for photos in front of her home, an upside-down tea pot.

Most folks won’t think twice about posing for a picture next to a pixie that can fit through a keyhole. After all, Disneyland is a place where dogs walk on their hind legs, pants-less ducks swear like sailors and squeaky-voiced mice run the place.

Life-size Tinks already appear in Disneyland’s Parade of Dreams and high above Sleeping Beauty Castle in the nighttime fireworks show.

The evicted Little Mermaid will be shedding her tailfin and donning a dress over in the Princess Fantasy Faire at the Fantasyland Theater.

Dateline Disneyland Construction Update

The latest Dateline Disneyland article on MiceAge has a fine update on construction through-out the Disneyland Resort. Let’s take a look at some of the latest happenings:

The King Triton & Ariel statues have been removed, as well as most of the current theming in Ariel’s Grotto.

This is what has become of the turntable where Ariel entered to meet ‘n greet guests. No word on if the turntable structure will remain for Pixie Hollow.

A construction wall has popped up near the old Fantasyland Skyway Station. Don’t get your hopes up though, because there’s no way the Skyway is ever returning.

Let’s take a quick tour of the new Wishing Star Crystals store, which opened August 30th.

A window display.

In the store, you can buy personalized “magic crystals”.

The Conestoga Wagon near Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is still 100% in tact.

This sign is in place at Harbour Galley.

Some of the exterior Haunted Mansion Holiday decorations have already arrived, & are waiting to be installed in the queue area.

Many of the Halloween displays in the shop windows on Main Street USA have already been installed.

Finally, over at Department 56 in Downtown Disney, the new wall sectioning off the store looks to be mostly complete.

Beluga Sevruga Indeed

Though unconfirmed, it is highly likely that today was the last day of operation for the Ariel’s Grotto meet ‘n greet. In honor of this closing, I’d like to link you over to a video tour of Ariel’s Grotto that I put up last week on WDWNTube.

Again, we’re not 100% certain that it closed today, but we will certainly let you know on its fate tomorrow. As previously reported, Ariel will move over to the Princess Fantasy Faire in her human form for 2-3 years, until a new meet ‘n greet for her mermaid form is built as part of the upcoming Little Mermaid attraction over at Disney’s California Adventure. Ariel’s Grotto’s replacement, Pixie Hollow, reportedly will open up on October 28th.

Pixie Hollow Opens October 28th

We have received confirmation that the Pixie Hollow meet ‘n greet that is replacing the Ariel’s Grotto meet ‘n greet will officially open on October 28th, 2008. As previously reported, the latest set of auditions for the Fairies takes place this Sunday. Ariel’s Grotto closes this Sunday as well.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for the latest on Pixie Hollow!

You Could Be Tinker Bell!

The Disney Auditions website is listing an audition for the 5 Disney Fairies characters, to be held this Sunday (August 17th), which ironically is the same day that Ariel’s Grotto is supposed to close.

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”

What is interesting, is that this audition isn’t just for meet ‘n greets, but also for shows & parades, which while adding extra strength to the ever gaining rumor that Tinker Bell will get the role of the opening float in Disney’s Electrical Parade, which perhaps may feature the other 4 Fairies as well, it could also mean a pre-parade float to Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams tied into the movie, much like was done with Ratatouille, Enchanted, & The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Hat tip goes to the OC Register

Fun Wheel, Silly Swings, & Pixie Hollow All Official!

Disney officials have confirmed 3 new “attractions” for the Disneyland Resort, according to the OC Register. Mickey’s Fun Wheel (the re-theme of the Sun Wheel), Silly Symphony Swings (the re-theme of the Orange Stinger), & Pixie Hollow (replacing the Ariel’s Grotto meet ‘n greet) are all now officially coming to the Resort!

MICKEY’S FUN WHEEL: A Disney Imagineering official confirmed tonight that the Sun Wheel will join the attractions being changed in the Paradise Pier area of Disney’s California Adventure. The main change expected will be removing the current sun face in the middle of the wheel and replacing it with a Mickey Mouse face. The Mickey Mouse face is planned to be a classic wide-eyed Mickey Mouse.

SILLY SYMPHONIES: The Orange Stinger will join in planned changes for the pier-area — expected to change from the current Orange Stinger theme to a Silly Symphonies theme. Currently, the attraction is a swing ride inside a giant orange sitting lakeside and plans show that the building’s foundation will remain the same, while the orange and even round building are planned to change. The attraction will be based on the classic “Silly Symphonies” animations done by Walt Disney’s animation studio in the 1930s. The band leader, Mickey Mouse, is expected to be part of the ride.

TINKERBELL: A change is also planned for Disneyland, the Imagineering official said tonight. The current Little Mermaid meet and greet next to the Tomorrowland entrance is planned to be replaced by a fairy and Tinkerbell meet and greet. The area, as currently planned, will make guests feel like they’ve shrunk down to fairy-size and the path will be filled with pixie dust.

Disney did not give any official dates on when these refurbishments/additions are planned to take place. However rumors going around show that the Sun Wheel will close on September 11th, to be re-opened by the end of the year as Mickey’s Fun Wheel. Ariel’s Grotto should also close in September, & be re-opened as Pixie Hollow by mid-October, in time for the Tinker Bell DVD release. No strong rumors have surfaced yet on when the Orange Stinger re-theme will take place, but it should be sometime next year.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for the latest up-to-the-minute information on these & all new refurbishments & attractions!

Walk-Around Disney Fairies

Jim Hill Media has an interesting article today talking a little in depth on the Disney Fairies promotion that is coming up later on this year. Info on the meet ‘n greet at Disneyland, the promotion itself, & more is in there.

Bellow are pictures of the prototype costumes for the 5 walk-around Fairies: