Magical Kingdoms Disney Blog

WALT DISNEY WORLD

Pixie Hollow

Pixie Hollow in Magic Kingdom’s Mickey’s Toontown Fair is now open, and is home to Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. In addition to meeting this famous fairy, guests can also meet her friends Fawn, an animal fairy; Iridessa, a light fairy; Rosetta, a garden fairy; and Silvermist, a water fairy.  

A new President installed

Following Tuesday’s election, The Hall of Presidents is now closed through July 1, 2009. An audio-animatronic Barack Obama will be installed, and it’s hope he will record a speech for the update, just as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have done previously. The show’s light, sound, projection and show systems will also get an upgrade during the rehab.

Book 4 nights and get 3 free

Disney’s latest offer to entice guests to book a stay at Disney Resorts is hard to resist. Guests booking a stay at any Walt Disney World Resort hotel between January 4 - June 27, 2009 can get 3 nights free when they book a 4 night stay. This offer must be booked by December 20, 2008. PLUS, those who book a stay between January 4 - March 29, 2009 get an added bonus of a free $200 Disney gift card. Visit Small World Vacations to get a free quote or make a booking.

DISNEYLAND

Customized T-Shirts

Starting November 14, guests will be able to buy personalized t-shirts from Celebration Custom Printers on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland Park. Available designs include Happy Birthday, Just Married, and Family Reunion. Prices start at $17.95, plus personalization at $4 per line.

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WALT DISNEY WORLD

Dining system delayed again 

The new dining & recreation reservation system is now expected to go live in early December this year. Until then the latest date guests can book dining reservations for is March 22, 2009.

Halloween Activities

Guests at Disney’s Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Saratoga Springs, Contemporary and Grand Floridian Resorts can take part in a selection of Halloween activities on October 31, including trick-or-treating, crafts, pumpkin painting and carving, parties and costume parades. The Grand Floridian will play host to a campfire on the beach at 7:30pm, with a special showing of Haunted Mansion at 9:45pm.

Visitors to Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom on October 31 can enjoy trick-or-treating and other Halloween activities.

Port Orleans Riverside Campfire

Go down to Ol’ Man Island on Sundays and Thursdays and enjoy a campfire and sing-along starting at 6:30pm. Running seasonally from October 31, 2008 - March 31, 2009.

High School Musical

“High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now!” debuts at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on October 24. Featuring 6 songs from the new movie, performed by 14 singers and dancers, it can be seen several times a day in front of the Sorcerer’s Hat.

T-Rex

T-Rex: A Prehistoric Family Adventure, A Place to Eat, Shop, Explore and Discover is now open at Downtown Disney. Guests seated in the 30,000-square-foot, 600-seat restaurant, surrounded by life-size animatronic dinosaurs, cascading waterfalls, and bubbling geysers can dine on delicacies such as Caesarsaurus (Caesar salad), Raptor Ribs (Asian BBQ ribs), and Pterodactyl Wings (Buffalo chicken wings). View the menu here.

Bay Lake Tower

Want a sneak peek at Disney’s newest Resort, Bay Lake Tower? Visit this site for a sneak preview and 360-degree tour of one of the suites.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Special Pirate Cruise

There’ll be a special pirate event aboard the Disney Wonder from March 8-12, 2009, featuring special events and meet-and-greets. More details are here.

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More Muppets?

The New York Times reports that Disney are considering adding more Muppet-themed attractions to their theme parks. The Disney Company own the classic Muppets and are trying to revive their popularity, with Disney Channel specials, and a new feature film in the works. Whether they’ll wait and see if the revival is a success before pressing ahead with any new attractions, or whether they already have one in the pipeline, we’ll have to wait and see.

T-Rex Cafe

The new T-Rex Cafe at Downtown Disney is set to open October 14. Featuring several life-size dinosaurs including a 15 ft tall T-Rex, the new restaurant is brought to you by the same restaurant group as Rainforest Cafe. If you’re planning to eat there in the next couple of weeks, we’d love to hear from you!

Petrifies to go

The small fast food stand in DinoLand U.S.A. at Animal Kingdom is due to close on November 2, and will reopen on November 21 with a new name and new menu. Still expected to serve McDonald’s fare it will be called Trilobites.

Honey I Shrunk the Queues

FASTPASS is no longer available at Honey I Shrunk the Audience at Epcot.

Sailing to Europe

Disney Cruise Line announced yesterday that they are to sail to Europe in summer 2010. The Disney Magic will spend 5 months sailing to Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, adding new ports and sailing from the United Kingdom for the first time on certain itineraries. We hear that the cruises are already extremely popular and expected to book up quickly when reservations begin on October 14, in particular the transatlantic voyages. Contact Small World Vacations today and get on the wait list for these not-to-be-missed cruises.

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WALT DISNEY WORLD

Candlelight Processional
Angela Bassett & Courtney Vance have been added to the schedule of celebrity narrators for the upcoming Candlelight Processional at Epcot. Bassett is to provide the voice of Eudora in Disney’s upcoming animation “The Princess and the Frog” due for release in December 2009.
See the updated schedule here.

Dining Reservation System Delay
It looks like there are some teething problems with the new dining reservation system that Disney is implementing. While the system was being set up, guests were supposedly only able to book ADRs up to January 25, 2009. However, we now hear that Disney is allowing guests to book ADRs through February 22, 2009. That date may change again, unless they fix the problems and launch the new system during October as previously expected.

Toy Story Mania singles
There will apparently no longer be a single rider line for Toy Story Mania, so all you single riders will have to join the queue with the rest of them!

Predicted Pirate and Princess Party dates
Disney are yet to release dates for next year’s Pirate and Princess Parties, but I’ve taken a look into my crystal ball and predict the following dates:
January - none
February - 20, 27
March - 8, 12, 20, 27
Remember, these aren’t official by any means, I could be right, I could be totally wrong!

Le Cellier Steakhouse trial
Le Cellier Steakhouse in Epcot are trialing a new option for those on the Disney Dining Plan. Instead of the usual entree & dessert, diners can opt for an appetizer, entree and dessert from a set, limited-choice menu.

DISNEY CRUISE LINE

Cruisin’ to the Baltics?
Rumour has it that Disney Cruise Line plan to sail to the Baltics in 2010. Strengthened by the appearance of the Disney Magic’s name being listed on the Copenhagen port schedule for June 2010 (later removed after being made public). Along with Copenhagen, Oslo has also been touted as a possible port of call.
So where else might the ship stop off at? Other cruise lines’ ports of call include St. Petersburg in Russia, Gothenburg & Stockholm in Sweden, and Helsinki in Finland.
2010 itineraries are said to be released on October 7, so watch this space!

Magic in dry dock
The Disney Magic is now in dry dock until September 24, where she will undergo a series of upgrades. These include upgrades to Quiet Cove, the adults only area, with cascading waterfalls coming from the two hot tubs; “Mickey’s Splash Zone,” a new toddler water playground inspired by Fantasia’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice; and new 22-inch flat-screen LCD television sets installed in each stateroom. Full story here.

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Walt Disney World 

**Tropical Storm Fay & WDW** 

After a quiet 2007 for Floridians, the hurricane season once again comes into focus with the arrival of Tropical Storm Fay on its southern shores. At time of typing, the storm is tracking across the Florida Keys and is expected to continue north and east, with Orlando and the WDW area being quite close to its predicted path.  Guests are being advised about any precautions they need to take and of changes to park and transportation schedules. With the worst of the Storm likely to hit later today and into tomorrow, all parks will open earlier than usual at 8am, with a closing time of around 5pm (subject to conditions) Disneyquest will also open early (9am), as will AMC theatres (10am). Both Spirit of Aloha dinner shows at the Polynesian have been cancelled today, with further cancellations possible tomorrow. The good news is that TS Fay is not expected to strengthen much as it moves inland, and damage is hoped to be minimal. 
Check out www.weather.com for the latest ’Fay’ updates.

 This years annual water park refurbishment dates have been announced. Blizzard Beach will close Sept 28th thru Oct 26th 2008, Typhoon Lagoon then picks up the baton and will close for an extended rehab from Oct 26th thru March 22nd 2009, although the end date could be a bit of a moving target. Its assumed the reason for such a lengthy rehab at TL is because of the recent problems to the wave pool, as we reported HERE. 

A new quick service venue is set to open within the Contemporary resort, named “The Contempo Cafe”. It replaces the Concourse Steakhouse as part of the ongoing dining changes at the resort. An opening date has yet to be announced, although fare is likely to fall into line with similar deluxe quick service menus.

“Cook off” to open 2008 Food & Wine Festival

Eight culinary experts will compete in an elaborate ‘cook-off’ style contest to win the honour of representing tha USA at the prestigious Bocuse D’or World Cuisine Contest during the opening weekend of Epcot’s 13th annual ‘Food & Wine Festival’
Taking place on the 26th & 27th of September, the eight two-man teams will lock spatulas in a battle of their culinary skills, before a prominent panel of tof chefs who will judge each of the dishes and ultimately decide who will progress and represent the US at the gold standard event, held in Lyon, France. There, 24 Teams from countries around the globe will contest for the honour of being crowned Bocuse D’or world champions. Walt Disney World guests can attend the event and observe the chefs in action, as well as sample some of their delicious creations.
Further details and ticket information can be found HERE.

Disneyland Paris

Eat Express at DLP

Want to sample the ambiance and menus of the table service restaurants but dont want to waste precious time that could be better spent doing the attractions? Well now you can, with select dining locations now offering a 40-minute express option during lunchtimes. The express menu’s are set at €19.90 and include your choice of entree, followed by a ‘gourmet’ coffee. Currently, the offer is available at the Silver Spur Steakhouseand Blue Lagoon Restaurant within the Disneyland Park, but may be extended to other venues if it proves popular.

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