Social media will be a big component of a new program announced by Disney Wednesday in which the company’s parks in California and Florida will feature weekly surprise themes and events.
The “Limited Time Magic” program will include impromptu concerts, dance parties, colored lighting, character meet-and-greets, new menu and merchandise items and other events at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., near Orlando.
Disney will use Twitter, blogs, websites and other online activity to let park visitors know what’s happening. Guests might also be asked to vote on which characters they’d like to see or be sent on scavenger hunts with hints to figure out what’s new or different.
“It’s a fun, lighthearted, new way to get people engaged,” Leslie Ferraro, executive vice president of global marketing and sales for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said at a news conference in Manhattan.
Disney erected a 25-foot-tall castle made of ice in Times Square to symbolize the fleeting nature of the weekly surprises, and water ran down the turrets as the ice melted Wednesday morning. Blase New Yorkers hurried past without giving it a second glance but some fans and tourists donned mouse ears and took pictures.
Each “Limited Time Magic” theme will last a week. Plans include celebrations of July Fourth, “Pirate Week,” 3-D chalk art, “Long Lost Friends Week” featuring lesser-known Disney characters. A Valentine’s Day celebration will feature pink and red lighting on Disney castles and romantic candlelit dinners in park restaurants.
Other Disney park news this year includes the June opening of Cars Land at California Adventure at Disneyland, and the continuing expansion of Fantasyland at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The Fantasyland project, which is the largest expansion in the park’s 41-year history, began in March with the first of two Dumbo rides taking flight and is expected to be completed in 2014. Click on the ice castle to read more about this announcement!!
English: Logo for New Fantasyland — the expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thank you Disney World – for paying attention. Today there is yet another reason that I think the new Fantasyland will be worth the wait! It looks like the folks at Walt Disney Imagineering have read our minds and maybe monitored our tweets and facebook requests. So far we have seen the indoor air-conditioned Dumbo queue, FASTPASS for most attractions, shade trees, wider walkways, and lots of wall-seating throughout Storybook Circus.
That’s all great but what am I MOST excited about?
It seems though that Disney is not quite done yet, and have another trick up their sleeve. The third Big Top in Storybook Circus (the yellow one), along with the new restroom area being built in the former skyway station area, (remember those??) is expected to feature something known as a ‘D-Zone’. These areas are designed to allow people to relax, take a seat, and to have access to things like ECV charging stations….and a place to -wait for it – CHARGE OUR CELL PHONES.Thank you Imagineers…thank you!!
No longer will I have to be the crazy lady in the park looking everywhere for outlets. My legs going to sleep from sitting on the ground will be just a memory. October 23rd I get to go to Fantasyland for a sneak preview, and I am so excited I may explode. Blogging and sending you photos from the park will be a breeze if the new D-Zones are ready. Stay tuned to Disneyways!
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, seen from the monorail station at the Magic Kingdom. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
New offerings at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
It’s really hard to pick – but the Grand Floridian may just be my favorite resort. Sure I may look ridiculous, red-faced and sweaty…wearing Mickey ears over my wild blonde hair that’s been frizzed out by the humidity. It really doesn’t matter. When I walk in to the Grand Floridian – I am welcomed by the waft of refreshing A/C, and maybe my friend Christine the harpist playing a beautiful tune. All of a sudden I become a classy, refined, lovely lady from the Victorian Era…well…in my own mind that is.
Could they really make this place any better?
Walt used to say he wanted to “plus” things. He loved taking his work just a step further to really delight Disney guests. I think it may be in that tradition that the Grand Floridian has added some enhancements recently.
The new Beaches Pool Bar and Grill is an outdoor quick-service location with style. After you place your order at the window, a Cast Member will deliver your made-to-order meal to you. This added convenience allows you to lounge by the pool or watch your children splash in the new water activity play area instead of waiting in line for food. Take THAT Tomorrowland Terrace.
Not just your average pool bar, everything at Beaches is made fresh, completed after you place your order. Looking for an adult beverage? Let’s go visit the pool bar, equipped with a TV, signature drink selections and the option to order food from the grill. Soon, the bar also will offer local and micro brews. Beaches Pool Bar and Grill is open 7 a.m.-11 p.m., offering breakfast, lunch and dinner. Times and offerings are subject to change.
Nearby, our kids (48 inches or less) can splash in the new “Alice in Wonderland”–themed water activity play area. This zone, with lifeguards, features a metallic green dump bucket fashioned after the Mad Hatter’s top hat; it pours gallons of water over the jungle-gym structure and children playing on and around it. Two slides, three pull-string sprayers and a shallow pool complete the water wonderland. This area is open 10 a.m.-8 p.m., with operation times changing seasonally.
Perhaps Alice and Wonderland with all her fanciness and Tea over in the Garden View Tea Room (also located in the Grand Floridian) is the one that inspired things to continue to get “curiouser and curiouser” all through the fall and winter seasons. Soon we will see additional refurbishment of Sandy Cove Gifts & Sundries merchandise location, Gasparilla Grill & Games quick service spot, and the Courtyard Pool.
Pinkies up ladies!! Now if you’ll excuse me – I’ve got to take my refined self to the ladies room and straighten my Mickey ears.
Food and Wine is here and if you’re like me, you want to make the most of every precious minute you have to spend in Epcot!
To help you with your Food and Wine plans here is a link to the Disney Food Blog’s page. This will show you where each World Showcase tasting station is located, the menu items from each one, prices, and some even with pictures and reviews of the food and libations! Click HERE to check out all of their guides.
Before you head to World Showcase, I want to recommend that you find the top 5 items that you really have your heart set on trying. Sometimes the lines are long and people are blocking the menu boards – so just knowing where you want to go and what you want to get when you get there can save you a ton of time!
Another time saver is to get a Disney gift card before you go. You don’t even have to wait until you get here, you can get themonline! It’s fun just to check out all the different designs there are! This will help you stick to your budget and there’s no fumbling with cash or change at the kiosks. They do have special gift cards at the festival that you can attach to your wrist with a rubber band – but other then that – they don’t do anything that a regular old Disney gift card can’t do. You can reload them as many times as you want. Below is a video showing the gift cards that attach to your wrist – only these were at the Flower and Garden Festival.
If you do have extra time (and money) however, you will want to read up on the special events and possibly make a reservation or two for those. There are wonderful low cost seminars and food demos too!
One other tip. If you can spare the time, take a minute to find the festival welcome center and grab a free passport. It’s a wonderful (FREE!) souvenir and you can get each country stamped by a cast member when you visit the kiosks! These have menus but not pricing, so doing your homework if your on a budget is still a good idea. If you take just a few minutes to check out the festival welcome center while you’re there – you could meet a TV star from HGTV, get a free chocolate or wine sample, do some shopping, and definitely enjoy the air-conditioning.
Do a little planning before you go and you will find there is so much more to the festival that you may not have gotten a chance to experience otherwise. If you have any questions or maybe your own tips for saving time at food and wine please post them in the comments section.
Even though I was born and raised in Orlando, I didn’t know about 3D Disney’s Dessert Discovery Party until I actually took a job booking Disney dining for guests. Most of us that are born here have heard of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival but really don’t know much about it, we only think we do. When I excitedly tell my friends and family that the Epcot food and wine festival is coming – I usually get a raised eyebrow and the same question, “Isn’t that the thing where you get to try food and wine from all the countries?”
Well… yes… but it’s also the chance to book some wonderful experiences, demos, and tastings – the way only Disney could do them. You just might even meet some TV stars, and you’ll definitely get a chance to rock out to some tunes courtesy of some of the best bands of the 80’s, 90’s, and 2000’s. But these are just the Food and Wine Festival opportunities that Disney tends to focus their advertising on. There is so much more to enjoy!
You may want to book early for the Dessert Party, although there still seem to be seats available for this year. If you are planning ahead – and you enjoy this sort of thing – you will want to start studying up on what’s new, what’s popular and what’s changed…beginning in early August, and even July 2013.
Events like this one are VERY popular and sometimes sell out on the first day we can book them.
I had been reading about Epcot’s “3D” Dessert Discovery Party for years. It sounded like a wonderful experience – and being the dessert lover that I am, I thought, how could I go wrong?
“Join us for a dessert lover’s dream at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival 2012! Indulge in decadent desserts and cordials, then enjoy a V.I.P. viewing of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth.
Where: World ShowPlace Events Pavilion, located between the Canada Pavilion and the United Kingdom Pavilion in World Showcase.
When: Fridays, October 5, 12 and 26 and November 2 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Cost: $55 per person, plus tax. Gratuity included. Epcot Theme Park admission required.
For General Admission reservations, please book online or call (407) WDW-FEST or (407) 939-3378. Space is limited, so be sure to book in advance.:”
You read that right — FIFTY FIVE DOLLARS plus tax. Whew!! Pretty steep for me. I justified it as a “research” expense for my readers and busted out my credit card on the very first day of bookings. After months of waiting, the occasion finally arrived. October 5th fell on a Friday this year. All this time I thought I would be going by myself, but I was pleasantly surprised to have my neighbor Tristan express interest in coming along. Luckily she was able to book a seat just in time – and we were off on our quest to discover wonderful Disney desserts.
We were headed to The World Showplace Events Pavilion. It is located between the Canada and UK pavilions in World Showcase at Epcot. This is where they hold many of these type of special events. I think it looks so pretty at night. This photo belongs to http://www.disneytravelbabble.com – the rest are from Disneyways.
The party didn’t start until 8PM, so Tristan and I decided to sample some of the best and most popular eats that the Food and Wine Festival had to offer. Before taking off though, I double checked with a cast member who told us we would be given a wrist band upon entrance – and they can usually just look up the reservation by last name. People were already lining up by 7pm – but Tristan and I were hungry – and we are not much for lines. At $55 a seat we figured it wasn’t a big rush, Epcot could afford to save 2 seats and some desserts for us. This proved to be a smart decision. There were a lot of people – but the pavilion is BIG, and the dessert stations are plentiful – so there was no shortage of food or seats when we got in.
After our snacks from the kiosks of the “world” we checked in at the podium and were handed some pretty cool 3D glasses. There is just no way to describe what you see through these things unless you look at these chandeliers and imagine Mickey icons being all around them.
From here we were treated to the sounds of a live band singing all your typical “sweet” and “candy” themed songs…Sugar Sugar…Lollipop…Candy…you get the idea.
I loved the music and thought the band was great. But that’s no surprise – I’m pretty cheesy like that.
The very end of this blog contains a link where you can learn more about the details, dates, and how to book the 3D Disney’s Dessert Discovery Party.
Today I wanted to take you on pictorial and video tour of my personal experience – but first – here’s a few Disneyways tips:
Don’t sweat the long line -unless you really want to be one of the first ones inside! There are plenty of food and seats for everyone – and you won’t have to be in the serving lines nearly as long if everyone else has gotten their desserts already.
Have a snack before you go – something substantial. I recommend the Coq Au Vin from the French Kiosk! There is a “Savory” station but of course that is the longest line during the first hour of the party. This is really a time where you can eat dessert first! Pace yourself and go back for the savory stuff later – you’ll be glad you did!!
Do NOT miss the donuts flambé! They are bathed in sugar are cooked in a pan of rum – right in front of you!
4. I am not much for alcohol but even I had to try the flavored vodka!
5. I mixed it with some of the blue lemon-aid and Tristan suggested I call it the Krista Cocktail. Feel free to try it OR you could mix some flavored vodka with the Chocolate or Cranberry Water they had available and create your own signature drink!
Overall, the event was fabulous, and more than I expected. One of the best parts of the party however, is the special fireworks viewing area.
We were literally right on by the water – and I got some cool video.
Watching the fireworks through the special 3D glasses they had given us earlier was pretty much the coolest thing I had ever seen. There was no way to film it through the glasses – but believe me I tried! In fact, much to my embarrassment, you can hear my reaction and see how I turned the video camera sideways – without even realizing it. Listen closely before that… and you’ll hear the Dad behind me telling his son “I SEE MICKEYS!” Awesome.
SO – if you are big on sweets, booze, fireworks, and feeling like you are getting VIP treatment – you may want to look in to the “3D Dessert Discovery Party” as I like to call it! In closing, here are some pictures of the food stations, atmosphere, and fun!
To learn more about booking your own 3D Party – including Sweet Seats click here.
October 1, 2012 we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the opening day at Epcot! It was HOT, humid, and somewhat crowded but I am chalking it up to one of my favorite Disney days in history.
The IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth fireworks show at Epcot at Walt Disney World. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Please enjoy this video that my wonderful, tall husband took of the special Epcot 30 Illuminations “tag”. Illuminations is always awesome but the tag really added something amazing, and to me, the show was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I almost cried about 5 times while watching it.
Feel free to play it over and over just to enjoy the sounds while you work. That’s what I have been doing.
One other thing…there was soot literally raining down after the show from the multiple pyrotechnics! INCREDIBLE!
Back in May 2011, Disney announced that the likeness of Blackbeard, played by Ian McShane in the upcoming film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, would appear in both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World versions of the ride that inspired the blockbuster film franchise. May 20, 2011 would be the date we could expect the change because that was the release date for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 “On Stranger Tides.”
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According to Disney, Blackbeard’s image would replace that of Davy Jones on the “ghostly waterfall in the grotto scenes” starting on May 20th. Disney said the image of Davy Jones would return to both attractions “later this year.” The last few times I rode the attraction, there was no image on the waterfall at all. I’d say if we want to see Blackbeard before he’s gone…maybe we should get there soon. I would post a picture of Davy for you – but frankly – he scares me a little.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a one-of-a-kind Halloween party where guests can trick-or-treat immersed in the fantasy of the Magic Kingdom® Park.
Event Highlights:
The ever popular Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade.
Trick-or-treating throughout the Magic Kingdom® Park at numerous treat locations.
Happy HalloWishes fireworks spectacular – watch as the Disney Villains go trick-or-treating in the sky!
Characters decked out in their favorite costumes – so wear yours too.
Use of the most popular Magic Kingdom® Park attractions. *** Disney’s FASTPASS will not be offered during this event ***
The following attractions will be open for guests during Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party:
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Pirates of the Caribbean
Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Peter Pan’s Flight
Mickey’s PhilharMagic
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Mad Tea Party
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
The Barnstormer
Tomorrowland Speedway
Space Mountain
Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
Stitch’s Great Escape!
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
I was lucky enough to be in the park to see some of the costumed guests pouring in for the first night of the party! People REALLY get into this! It’s almost worth the cost of the extra ticket just to see some of the elaborate costumes! Are you going to the party this year?
Disneyways 