Dapper Dans Limited Time Magic Week at Disneyland and Disney World

Since 1959 the Dapper Dans have been serenading guests at Disneyland.

The barbershop quartet started at Walt Disney World in 1971 and now the group is getting its own Limited Time Magic week. From February 25 to March 3, the group will have special performances at  the Magic Kingdom in Disney World and in Disneyland.

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Disneyland holding back on special ticket deals to southern California residents

                                                                      © Steven Liebman
The California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort.

Southern California residents should not expect any 2-for-1 ticket deals at Disneyland this year, according to the Orange County Register.

For nearly a decade visitors have been offered the special deal from January through May, but with record attendance t the parks since June, when Cars Land opened in the California Adventure, that deal is no longer going to be available, Disney tells the newspaper.

"We regularly evaluate our offerings in the local market," said Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown tells the paper, "and make decisions based on our business needs."

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What's new this spring-summer at Disneyland and California Adventure

PRNewsFoto/Disneyland Resort

Disneyland soon will unveil a more fitting setting for an audience with Disney's princesses.  

The new Fantasy Faire will open March 12 near the forecourt of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland, the company announced yesterday. 

"Fantasy Faire creates an enchanting, immersive environment for guests who treasure magical fairy tales," Disney's release said of the 15,000-square-foot addition to Fantasyland. 

Part of Fantasy Faire is the meet-and-greet area -- the "royal hall." Three princesses will greet guests, according to the Orange County Register, but Disney isn't saying which princesses will be there. 

The Fantasyland expansion includes some of the usual Disney touches: Rapunzel's hair cascades out the window of the Tangled Tower; Geppetto's cat Figaro snoozes on a window sill; "Clopin's Music Box" recalls "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." 

Rapunzel and Belle both take center stage at the new Royal Theater as the tales of "Tangled" and "Beauty and the Beast" are told in 20-minutes shows by a pair of "Vaudeville-style Reinaissance storytellers," according to Disney's release. 

And coming this summer ...

There's more in store this summer at Disneyland and California Adventure:

• "Mickey and the Magical Map": a new live show at the Fantasyland theater stars Mickey Mouse as the sorcerer's apprentice. The show includes many more Disney characters, including Pocahontas, Mulan, King Louie from "The Jungle Book" and Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog." No opening date yet. 
• Sofia the First and Doc McStuffins join "Disney Junior -- Live on Stage!": Over at California Adventure, new characters join the Disney Junior show for preschoolers starting March 22. 

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Disneyland photographing guests to cut back on rented out tickets

Disneyland and the California Adventure are trying to crack down on people renting discounted tickets by taking their photo.

The parks are focusing on visitors using multi-day passes and putting them in their computers. That way, Disney employers can make sure people don't violate company policy, according to the Orange County Register.

Both children and adults are photographed. The photos are erased when the tickets expire.

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Become a Wilderness Explorer at Disney's Animal Kingdom

Four years after it hit theaters, Disney has found a way to work "Up" into its Florida theme parks as more than just Pixar Pals.

The answer? The Wilderness Explorers are coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom.

This spring, AK visitors will be able to earn badges, just like Russell did in the movie.

The Disney Parks blog isn't giving away many details except to say, "Soon, guests can become Wilderness Explorers and experience the entire park using their field guides, completing challenges and earning badges as they go. With more than 30 badges available, Wilderness Explorers is fun for the whole family and helps guests experience Disney’s Animal Kingdom and its themes in a new and exciting way."

It sounds a lot like the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail at Disney's California Adventure, where kids can explore forested paths, try rock climbing and swing on rope bridges.

The California Adventure trail resembles the The Boneyard, the play area dressed to look like a dig site near the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom -- which leads us to believe it will either be worked in to the Wilderness Explorers experience, or the Wilderness Explorers will range throughout the park, sort of an outdoorsy version of Agent P's World Showcase Adventure at Epcot.

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New water show at California Adventure in Disneyland Resort features Goofy

The California Adventure has added a new water show during the day featuring Goofy.

Dressed in a tuxedo, Maestro Goofy conducts the dancing fountains at Paradise Pier (normally used for the World of Color show at night) in a five-minute concert. The performance, which takes place six times a day, is very reminiscent of the old Goofy cartoons.

Here are some other recent Goody appearances:

• Tokyo Disneyland opening new attraction featuring Goofy
• Goofy visits your home straight from Disneyland Paris

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Disney shows how old-time radio broadcast is made for California Adventure

I love listening to old-time radio shows. There's nothing like sitting back and letting your imagination create the pictures in your head.

There is a vintage radio in Oswald's Gas & Oil, a new shop on Buena Vista Street at the California Adventure in Disneyland Resort. And if there is a vintage radio, it needs a radio show. Here the Walt Disney Imagineers show how a radio program is created.

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Update on Disney World Resort refurbishments for next few months

I always hate going on vacation to find out something where I am staying is closed. So, for everyone planning a trip soon, here are some of the attractions that will be closed for refurbishment during the next few months at various Walt Disney World resorts.

All-Star Sports 

The Surf Pool will be closed Aug. 6 to Sept. 7.

Beach Club Resort

Cape May Cafe is closed July 9 to Aug. 3.

A Disney public relations photo of Citricos

Grand Floridian

The courtyard pool will be closed Aug. 24 until sometime in December as the pool is rebuilt for a zero-entry style.


The Beach Pool Bar is currently closed through Aug. 24 for refurbishment.

Citricos will be closed from July 23 to Aug. 4 for refurbishment.
 
Gasparilla Grill will be closed Aug. 24 until sometime in  December.

Narcoossee's is closed until July 22 for refurbishment.

Sandy Cove will closed Aug. 21 until sometime in December for refurbishment. 

The Spa is closed and will reopen sometime in 2013.

Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Room refurbishment will continue until the Spring of 2013. Building painting, which is taking place now, should conclude in August.

Yacht Club Resort

Yachtsman Steakhouse will closed from Aug. 27 to Sept. 14 for refurbishnent.

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Disney unveils New Fantasyland updates, shows off new costumes

Disney invited the media yesterday on a hard hat tour of the ongoing construction of the New Fantasyland at Walt Disney World, with few new details and views of what people are going to see.

Disney rendering of Belle's Cottage

Here's a look at some of the highlights:

• A new area means new rides, means new story lines and means new costumes for workers. The Orlando Sentinel has photos of the new costumes that were placed on mannequins at the theme park. They had a villager "feel to them, with earth tones, blousy sleeves, tunics and knee-length pants. Some had more regal looks — this is princess territory, remember — with elaborate fabrics and hats," the newspaper reported.
• The new expansion will be good for the local economy as the expansion has "generated 700 temporary construction jobs and will create 800 permanent in-park jobs once it is fully-operational," according to the Orlando Business Journal.
• When the $80 million indoor ride "Under the Sea -- Voyage of the Little Mermaid" opens it will have a new interactive queue. "Guests waiting to board the ride will participate in a scavenger hunt of sorts with Scuttle, a seagull character from the movie," HispanicBusiness.com reports
• If you're looking for some of the behind the scenes video of work taking place WESH.com in Orlando has the entire B-roll video of the construction available to watch with workers building the various parts of the area.

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Smile of The Day: Paradise Pier at night

Night time at Disney parks is usually the right time for photos. Here's a view of Paradise Pier at night at the California Adventure in Disneyland.

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Disney giving everyone the grand opening experience for Cars Land with Live Webcast

The Disney Parks Blog is planning on giving everyone a look at Cars Land with a special grand opening Live Webcast.

After three years of construction at the California Adventure the 12-acre expansion takes guests through the town of Radiator Springs from the "Cars" movies.

                                                                                                                © Disney
Cars Land at the California Adventure in Disneyland.

The webcast will take place at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

The entire park will be closed on June 14 in preparation for the big June 15 public opening.

When the park reopens guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, a place that transports them to 1920s Los Angeles when Walt Disney arrived in California. Buena Vista Street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Carthay Circle Theatre will include a lounge and the Carthay Circle Restaurant, designed to be the premier dining location in Disney California Adventure.

In Cars Land, the Radiator Springs Racers ride is a twisting, turning, high-speed adventure through Ornament Valley and the town of Radiator Springs. On Luigi’s Flying Tires you'll be able glide on air aboard special tires, whirling around with their pals. At Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, you can whip around behind a baby tractor and enjoy tunes from a giant jukebox built from Mater’s most prized possessions.

In addition to the new sections of the park, a new Mad T Party in Hollywood Land is unveiled, is a dance party inspired by the wild and whimsical world of Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.”

If you want to get closer looks at what the new areas look like, here are some photo galleries from Disney:

• Buena Vista Street (overall)
• Cars Land (overall)
• Luigi’s Flying Tires
• Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree
• Radiator Springs Racers
• Disney California Adventure Park (overall)
• New Entertainment at Disney California Adventure Park
• Pixar Play Parade
• Mad T Party
• Dining at Disney California Adventure Park (overall)
• Carthay Circle Restaurant
• Cozy Cone Motel
• Flo’s V8 Café
• Disneyland Park
• Disneyland Resort Hotels

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Disney Facts: Cars Land and California Adventure By The Numbers

In about a week Disney will unveil the new Cars Land and Buena Vista Street areas. This ends a multi-million dollar five-year expansion of the California Adventure at Disneyland which also include new rides and new shows. Here's a fresh look at California Adventure:

280,000:  Square feet of rockwork in Cars Land, making Ornament Valley mountain range the largest rockwork created in a domestic Disney theme park.

36,000: Approximate number of miles per year each Radiator Springs Racers vehicle will travel.

                                                                                                                © Disney
A view of Radiator Springs Racers ride in Cars Land.

6,714: The number of air vets which keep t tires flying at Luigi’s Flying Tires attraction in Cars Land.

4,000:  The  tons of steel used to construct the Ornament Valley range and Radiator Springs Racers attraction in Cars Land.

1937: The year  “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” premiered at the original Carthay Circle Theatre, lending inspiration to the Carthay Circle Theatre icon now on Buena Vista Street.

1923: The year listed on embedded plaque at Storytellers statue at Disney California Adventure, reflecting the date when Walt Disney left Kansas City to embark on his new adventure in California and the year he founded his world-famous company.

779: The number of trees planted in Disney California Adventure during the five-year expansion.

715: The number of lighting fixtures illuminating Mad T Party.

525: The aapproximate length, in feet, of the Route 66 that runs through Cars Land.

200: The number of seats in the Carthay Circle Restaurant dining room, in addition to a 56-seat terrace and the 68-seat Carthay Circle Lounge.

125: The height in feet at the tallest peak of Ornament Valley range in Cars Land.

89.5: The height in feet of the Carthay Circle Theatre on Buena Vista Street, which is 12.5 feet taller than Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland.

45:  The steepest degree of banking on the track of the thrilling Radiator Springs Racers attraction in Cars Land.

16:  The number of neon signs in Cars Land, with the Flo’s V8 Café sign standing tallest at 27 feet.

6: The number of car tail fins represented in the Ornament Valley range, inspired by classic car models from 1957 to 1962; hood ornaments, wheel wells and radiator caps also represented in the rock work.

Source: Walt Disney Company

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