WALT DISNEY WORLD

Wide World of Sports Renamed

The rebranding of Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex is now complete with Disney-owned ESPN lending its name to the facility.  The changeover to its new title ‘ESPN Wide World of Sports’ will become official February 25th, co-inciding with the ‘ESPN – The Weekend’ festivities. Other than new signage,  changes include upgrades to scoreboards, HD television system upgrades, a new Sports innovation lab and coming soon, a 100 lane ten-pin bowling centre.

New Stores Coming to Downtown Disney

Disney have just announced some changes for Downtown Disney, including two new stores and new 3-D technology coming to AMC Theaters. Full details can be found here.

Summer Nightastic!

Summer Nightastic dates have been confirmed. The summer eveny begins on June 6 and runs through August 14.

Tinker Bell shop coses

Fantasyland’s Tinker Bell’s Fairy Treasures store has now closed and will reopen later this month as a portrait location for Bibbidi-Bobbidi Boutique.

DISNEYLAND

Captain EO

Captain EO has returned to the big screen in Tomorrowland’s Magic Eye Theatre. To Celebrate, all new Captain EO  merchandise will be on sale for a limited time only at select park locations.  See link Here
The show, which previously ran from ’86 thru to ’97 at Disneyland was brought back by popular demand following the death of Micahel Jackson last year. It replaces the ‘Honey, I Shrunk The Audience’ 3-D show, but its unknown how long it will continue for.
There are no plans at this time for Captain EO to return at other Disney Parks, although it would seem a permanent replacement for ‘HISTA’ is being sought in the long run.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Dream Updates

The official Disney Parks blog has posted an update on the construction of the new Disney Dream ship, along with some photos.

D23

D23 celebrates its 1st birthday on March 10th. The community for Disney fans is throwing a party to celebrate.  D23 members who purchase one of a limited number of tickets can enter Fantasyland at Disneyland, where they will be able to ride all of the attractions and mingle with some very special guests. Read more here.
There will be no D23 Expo this year. The popular Disney event, which had its inaugural convention in 2009 will return in 2011 and will be held on a biennial basis.

DISNEY ANIMATION

New Toy Story 3 Character Unveiled

Yet another Toy Story 3 character has been unveiled. Twitch is an “insectaloid warrior, where MAN + INSECT = AWESOME! This sturdy action figure stands over five inches tall, with more than 15 points of articulation, including ferocious chomping mandibles.” See a picture of Twitch and the other new already unveiled characters in this article.