Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Disney with Autism

Was helping out a friend with some questions about taking a child on the Autism Spectrum to Walt Disney World and ran across a great little article on AllEars.  So just linking to it here...Disney always goes above and beyond with any special needs you may have in the parks.  Biggest point is to make sure you ask.  Be it dietary or access needs, they've got it covered and have dealt with it in the past I'm sure.

New banner

Disney Geek Thanx and mad-props goes out to fellow Mouseketeer Chris for the new Haunted Mansion banner graphics...That's Swell!

Monday, July 26, 2010

Audition Calendar

Doh...just in case I come across some hidden talent I knew nothing about.  Here's a link of some open WDW Auditions:

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Dinner on the Great Movie Ride

There's a great story over on AllEars from someone who recently attended the Tables of Wonderland Great Movie Ride event.  Price tag was a wee bit steep but sounds like they had fun:

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to be actually
walking through this scene from one of my favorite films of all time. As we entered Munchkinland, we found small tables strewn around the path, with buffet tables covered with Munchkin-sized desserts in all the brilliant colors of the movie set surrounding us -- with a special emphasis on bright green as we were so close to the Emerald City!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Last Tour to Endor August 14th

The Last Tour is fast approaching.  Tickets ar $75 advance and $89 at the gate if any still available.  More information can be found at http://www.starwarscelebration.com/

Got your tickets? If not, better get a move on – the largest private party ever held during a Star Wars Celebration is right around the corner and you’ll want to see what’s now planned for the night. “Last Tour to Endor” will still feature a special Star Wars-themed fireworks show, a “Death Star Disco,” live entertainment and Disney Characters. But we’ve learned more about a special edition of Hyperspace Hoopla.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tower of Terror event for passholders

Anyone going?
Disney World annual passholders can start registering Friday, July 23, for a special Tower of Terror event that will be held on Friday, August 13. Yep, Friday the 13th. (Cue lightning sounds!)

The after-hours event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will showcase the new drop sequence that has been in use during Disney’s Summer Nightastic promotion, which ends Aug. 14.

Guillermo Del Toro Directing Haunted Mansion 3D

Having made it thru the first Haunted Mansion film...we can only hope:
Guillermo del Toro stopped by the Tron: Legacy panel today at Comic-Con and made the surprise announcement that he'll be directing a 3D reboot of Disney's The Haunted Mansion.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Priscillano Romanillos dies at 47

Way to young...Pres Romanillos was one of the Florida animators when the Studio was really a studio:

"I first met Pres during production on 'The Little Mermaid,' when he was an animation trainee, straight out of art school," said Disney supervising animator Ruben Aquino. "From the very beginning, I was impressed by his beautiful draftsmanship, but even more by his incredible passion for animation."
At Disney's Florida studio, Romanillos created his most memorable character, Shan-Yu, the brutal leader of the Hun army. Richard Corliss wrote in Time magazine: "The villain, a crazed, WWF-style hulkster named Shan-Yu, has no comic irony softening his brute trapezoidal lines. He's just an evil machine with vampire teeth. The Wall, the vast plains and hills, the Forbidden City itself, all cringe at his shadow."

WDW Limiting onboard computers

Over at The Daily Disney:


Over the last 18 months or so while Disney World has been getting all sorts of bad press for incidents related to the transportation system, the one constant complaint I have heard is that bus drivers don’t like the Magic In Motion computer dispatch system. They say it often doesn’t work, is distracting to drivers, and makes drivers work irregular routes.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Food & Wine Event Phone Lines Open

From the Disney Parks Blog:
Update – July 20: Yes, phone lines are now open. Just call 407-WDW-FEST to book for the 15th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.


Make sure to check out http://www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine for more details on this year's event...we love it!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Current & Upcoming WDW Refurbs/Closures


Current
  • Lake Buena Vista Golf Course closed Mondays only through 7/26/10 for refurbishment.
  • Palm Golf Course closed Tuesdays only through 7/27/10 for refurbishment.
  • Magnolia Golf Course closed Wednesdays only through 7/28/10 for refurbishment.
  • Osprey Ridge Golf Course closed Thursdays only through 7/29/10 for refurbishment.
  • Cantina de San Angel (Epcot) closed through 9/23/10.
Upcoming
  • "it's a small world" (Magic Kingdom) closed 8/1/10-10/22/10 for refurbishment.
  • Palm Golf Course closed 8/2/10-8/8/10 for refurbishment.
  • Magnolia Golf Course closed 8/9/10-8/15/10 for refurbishment.
  • Flame Tree Barbeque (Animal Kingdom) closed 8/9/10-9/19/10 for refurbishment.
  • Lake Buena Vista Golf Course closed 8/16/10-8/22/10 for refurbishment.
  • Liberty Square Riverboat (Magic Kingdom) closed 8/16/10-8/25/10 for refurbishment.
  • Toy Story Midway Mania! (Hollywood Studios) closed 8/16/10-8/28/10 for refurbishment.
  • Walt Disney: One Man's Dream (Hollywood Studios) closed 8/16/10-11/2/10 for refurbishment.
  • Osprey Ridge Golf Course closed 8/23/10-8/29/10 for refurbishment.
  • Oak Trail Golf Course closed 8/30/10-9/3/10 for refurbishment.
  • Star Tours (Hollywood Studios) closed 9/8/10-5/16/11 for refurbishment.
  • Typhoon Lagoon closed 10/31/10-1/8/10 for refurbishment.
  • Blizzard Beach closed 1/9/11-3/19/11 for refurbishment.

Friday, July 16, 2010

The greatest bathroom and lounge on earth

Found a story over on Zannaland about a chance she had to visit VIP Lounge at the now extinct Wonders of Life at Epcot...some great pictures on her site:

I know it’s no secret that Wonders of Life has been used for festival events both during the Epcot Flower and Garden and Food & Wine Festivals, but I actually had not been inside the building since around 2003. I recently attended a preview event held in the pavilion and as sad as it was to see no Cranium Command marquee, Wonder Cycles with video screens, or Body Wars, my sadness was quelled by a trip upstairs to the VIP lounge. I wish I’d taken pictures of the elevator because it really was beautiful; dark wood, mirrors on all sides, you could watch yourself watching yourself watching yourself riding the elevator.
Once upstairs, you are greeted with an instant circus theme. I know in the past for Food & Wine Festival dinners, the reception area had a full-on red and white striped tent treatment going on. I was able to find some pictures on a Disney fan message board of how the space is used for wedding receptions:

Walt Disney World Kids Stay and Play FREE Package for General Public

Anyone can take advantage of an exclusive offer for stays most nights now through October 2, 2010. When you purchase a 4-night/5-day Magic Your Way vacation package that includes room and theme park tickets, a child (ages 3-9) can stay in the same room and get 5-day theme park tickets for FREE!
You must book this offer by 8/14/10. For more details and the necessary booking code, visithttp://www.mousesavers.com/packages.html#stayplay

Thursday, July 15, 2010

FREE Dining is Extended Through December at Walt Disney World Resorts


You can get FREE dining when you book a full price Walt Disney World vacation package for check-ins most nights 8/15/10-10/7/10, 10/22/10-10/28/10, 11/12/10-11/18/10, 11/27/10-12/2/10 and 12/10/10-12/21/10. To qualify, you must purchase a vacation package that includes at least 3 consecutive hotel nights at an official Walt Disney World resort, plus at least a 2-day theme park ticket.
With this offer:
  • Stay in a Disney Value Resort and and get the Magic Your Way Plus Quick Service Dining package for the price of a regular Magic Your Way package.
  • Stay in a Disney Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe Villas Resort and get the Magic Your Way Plus Dining package for the price of a regular Magic Your Way package.
Offer must be booked by 8/14/10. For full details and the necessary booking codes, visithttp://www.mousesavers.com/packages.html#freedine

Disney 1st to use twitter @earlybird

2-for-1 Sorcer's Apprentice movie tickets:

Last week, Twitter announced its first Twitter account that will promote deals from select advertisers, Earlybird. On Wednesday, the site launched its first deal with Disney.

According to the Twitter Blog:

quotemarksright.jpg Today, we're excited to launch the first @earlybird Exclusive Offer, in partnership with The Walt Disney Studios," the site said. "For a limited time, @earlybird followers in the U.S. can get a special deal on tickets for "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," a new feature film from Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films that opens in theaters today.quotesmarksleft.jpg

New digs for Donald in Mexico

Epcot, that is.
New photo backdrop for Donald Duck at Epcot’s Mexico pavilion 

All-Star Vacation Homes sweepstakes

Hey, don't forget to enter the All-Star Vacation Homes sweepstakes and mention you heard it from Gary Hasty on the form.

August 1st increase?

The rumor again this year is that Walt Disney World and Disneyland ticket prices are expected to increase August 1st.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Some new additions to Disney's Animal Kingdom

From over at the Disney parks Blog:
Baby Warthogs and Oryx Join Disney's Animal Kingdom Family
Remember Pumbaa from “The Lion King?” Three real-life Pumbaas – baby warthogs, all males – were born July 1. This is the first litter for their mom, who is doing an excellent job raising her offspring. The births are a result of a recommendation of the warthog Population Management Plan program coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
In the wild, warthogs face challenges related to habitat destruction. Counting the new piglets, we now have four male and two female warthogs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Disney’s Animal Programs animal care experts expect the baby warthogs, which are currently in their backstage home, to be out on the Kilimanjaro Safarissavannah with their mom in several weeks.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Mickey teaching english in China

Ran across this story about Disney teaching English in China...as well as gaining a new generation of Disney-geeks:
Mickey Mouse isn't the most obvious choice as a language teacher, but he and Donald Duck are being put to work in China by Walt Disney as part of an expanding program that aims to teach English to 150,000 children a year by 2015.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Friday, July 9, 2010

Captain EO is back

Can't wait to catch it on my next trip.  Never got to see the original (I hadn't mutated into a Disney geek back then):
It’s here — the classic 3-D film experience “Captain EO” has officially returned to the Walt Disney World Resortand you can already hear people humming the tunes around Epcot. Jaymes Gabourel and Andrea Smith, (pictured, above) were part of a group of early risers who got to see the first shows at the park this morning.


Thursday, July 8, 2010

Some amazing photos of WDW

Ran across this site with some amazing photos of Walt Disney World.  One of my favorites is below:

Disneyland popcorn & paper cup replicas

WOW! Check out these two great replicas of some old skool Disneyland memories that will soon be available at Disneyland (limited to 1955 of them...get it?)




Friday, July 2, 2010

Tink's nighttime flight at WDW turns 25 today

One of our favorite events each night at the Magic Kingdom is watching Tink fly over to Tomorrowland.  Video is over on DisneyParks.com:


After Magic Kingdom Park opened in 1971, many guests asked when and where they could see Tinker Bell take flight. At the time, Tinker Bell had been flying over Disneyland Park in California since the summer of 1961, coasting through the skies from the top of the Matterhorn and over Sleeping Beauty Castle, preceding the park’s Fantasy in the Sky fireworks show. But, she had yet to make an appearance in Florida.
It wasn’t until 1985 that guests at the Walt Disney World Resort finally got their wish and it was announced that Tinker Bell would perform her first flight at Magic Kingdom Park. The guest response was immediate and a crowd of more than 60,000 showed up to watch the fairy’s inaugural flight July 3, 1985.

Thursday, July 1, 2010