WALT DISNEY WORLD

Wild Africa Trek Debuts

Animal Kingdom’s new Wild Africa Trek experience began yesterday. Taking guests on a private VIP tour of the Pangani Forest where they will have close encounters with exotic wildlife species including hippos and crocodiles. Learn more here.

DISNEYLAND

New Village Haus Menu

Disneyland’s Village Haus counter service restaurant is serving up a new menu. Along with the usual hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and pizzas, the following are now available-

Chicken Sausage -Topped with sauerkraut served in a pretzel roll
Angus ⅓ lb. Pastrami Cheeseburger – Angus chuck burger, pastrami, pickles, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese, lettuce and a creamy horseradish sauce
BLT Flat Bread Pizza – Thin flat bread crust, cherrywood-smoked bacon, provolone and mozzarella cheese, caramelized onions, marinated tomatoes and arugula-fennel salad.

Desserts include Black Forest Cupcake and Warm Apple Strudel, and kids can choose from a hamburger, pizza or macaroni and cheese, all served with sliced apples and a choice of a small low-fat milk, Minute-Maid juice or small Dasani water. Toddlers under age 3 aren’t forgotten and can choose “Yummy Cheesy Macaroni” served with smooth applesauce and a small low-fat milk.

Family Fun Weekends

Weekends at Disneyland from now through March 6 at Disneyland are “Family Fun Weekends.” Guests can look forward to themed events that invite them to enjoy music, dancing, and special food and merchandise, along with a chance to meet and take photos with some Disney characters in specially themed attire. Taking place on weekend days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the first four weekends will be held at Festival Arena (at the back of Frontierland), and the final three weekends will move to New Orleans Square.

Disney’s Kickin’ Country Weekend – Jan. 21-23: This weekend will feature live music – including band Forth Worth West – and a Disney hoedown with Cowboy Mickey and Cowgirl Minnie Mouse.

Character Fan Days – Jan. 28-30: This is your chance to meet and take photos with some rarely seen characters. Think of this as the ultimate Disney character reunion – featuring the characters that you told Disney you would most like to meet.

Lunar New Year Festival – Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 11-13: Two weekends will be devoted to Lunar New Year, when time-honored traditions and family celebrations are observed within the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures as the sun and moon begin their journeys for another year.

Mardi Gras – Feb. 18-20, Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6: Three weekends will be devoted to a lively, New Orleans-style Mardi Gras event, with vibrant excitement, jazzy music and sensational food of New Orleans. Where else? At New Orleans Square. Princess Tiana, along with a cavalcade of some Disney characters in their Mardi Gras finery, will appear at a photo location in the Court of Angels, staffed by Disney PhotoPass photographers.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Disney Dream Christening

The new Disney Dream ship will undergo her Christening Ceremony on Wednesday January 19, before setting sail on her Christening Cruise. To see live coverage of the cruise visit www.disneycruise.com/dream beginning January 19 at 10:00 AM EST. Friends of Magical Kingdoms will be onboard the cruise and we hope to be able to share some photos with you later in the week. We’ve started adding some of the restaurant menus to our cruise dining section, with the rest to follow very soon. Learn more about Disney Cruise Line here.

DISNEY ANIMATION

Toy Story 3 Wins Award

“Toy Story 3,” the top-grossing film released last year and the second sequel to 1995′s digital animation pioneer “Toy Story,” won the Golden Globe for animated films, making Disney’s Pixar Animation unit five-for-five in the category since it was added in 2006. Past Pixar winners are “Up,” “WALL-E,” “Ratatouille” and “Cars.”