Vinylmation Madness at Disney Parks Online Stores

This is a pretty "mad" deal going on right now via the Disney Parks Online Store.

It's All About 'One More Disney Day' on Leap Day 2012

A Historic Occasion: Spending 24 Hours at Magic Kingdom Park

posted on February 28th, 2012 by Nate Rasmussen, Archivist, Marketing Resource Center

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A presidential election. The Summer Olympics. Leap Day. These three things are very different, but they all share one thing in common: they happen in the same calendar year. And this Leap Day is extra special at Disney Parks, as Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort will be open for 24 hours starting tomorrow, Feb. 29, at 6 a.m.

I’m known as the guy who brings you Vintage Walt Disney World every Thursday here on the Disney Parks Blog, but tomorrow I’ll be on special assignment. I will be attempting to make 24 memories in my 24 hours at the park while I film it to share with you here on the blog later this week. 

So while I head home and get a good night’s sleep, I have a question for you. What would you do first with 24 hours of fun inside Magic Kingdom Park? 

Commemorate One More Disney Day with Disney Parks Merchandise

posted on February 28th, 2012 by Steven Miller, Merchandise Communications Manager

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I’m looking forward to celebrating One More Disney Day on February 29. I plan to be in Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World Resort that morning for this unique celebration. My fellow Disney Parks Blog author Erin Glover recently told you about a special ear hat being distributed that day at Disneyland park. Disney Theme Park Merchandise has created a few additional retail items to commemorate Leap Day 2012. 

I think Disney ear hats are the quintessential souvenir from Disney Parks (everyone I know has one!). I still have my mouse ears from my first visit in July 1983. We are offering special embroidery on a classic black ear hat to celebrate One More Disney Day. These embroidered hats will be offered for sale at The Chapeau, Curtain Call Collectibles, and Sir Mickey’s at Magic Kingdom Park in Florida, and at the Mad Hatter shop in Disneyland park.

Artist Jeff Granito designed a playful logo that will be used on shirts for women, men and kids. The logo will also be found on a zipper fleece jacket created only for Disneyland Resort. The nice part is that these apparel items will also be sold via the Disney Parks Online Store from February 29 through March 1. Some of you may recall that we did a similar thing for the 40th Anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort last October.

The Leap Day logo will also be found on an artisan watch that will be offered at New Century Jewelry in Disneyland park and Uptown Jewelers at Magic Kingdom Park in Florida.

Lastly (and probably my favorite), there will be delicious cupcakes, caramel apples and cake pops with the Leap Day logo being offered at both parks. You know what I will be eating on February 29.

I hope to see you there!

Adding a Touch of Magic for One More Disney Day at Disneyland Park

posted on February 27th, 2012 by Erin Glover, Manager, Social Media and Print

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One More Disney Day is the chance for guests to enjoy an extra day of Disney fun, and at Disneyland park we’re adding in a few sprinkles of extra magic that day. In addition to commemorative ear hats for guests entering the park at 6 a.m. (limited to 2,000), special food items and regularly scheduled park entertainment that day, Disneyland park guests can look forward to:

• Dance party featuring KIIS DJs at Tomorrowland Terrace from 8:30 p.m. – 4 a.m.
• Second showing of Mickey’s Soundsational Parade at 10 p.m.
• Performances by Billy Hill & the Hillbillies at The Golden Horseshoe from 11:15 p.m. – 4:45 a.m.
• Special showing of “Fantasmic!” at 1 a.m.
• Character meet & greets throughout the night (subject to change):
• Mickey Mouse and friends in pajamas at Carnation Plaza Gardens
• Darth Vader and Stormtroopers in Tomorrowland
• Country Bears in Frontierland

Please remember that all show times and Disney character appearances are subject to change. Be sure to check the park Entertainment Guide for show times and character greeting times and availability.

One More Disney Day of Amazing Memories at Magic Kingdom Park

posted on February 27th, 2012 by Shawn Slater, Communications Manager, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Creative Entertainment

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The entertainment team at Magic Kingdom Park has a few tricks up their sleeves to create memories for guests during One More Disney Day. In addition to regularly scheduled park entertainment, Magic Kingdom Park guests on One More Disney Day will be treated to:

• Two performances of the Main Street Electrical Parade, at 10 p.m. and midnight
• Four showings of “The Magic, The Memories and You!” at 7:45 p.m., 9 p.m., 11 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. (March 1)
• The Frontierland Hoedown near Country Bear Jamboree, at 2:45 a.m., 3:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.
• Disney’s Dance the Night Away Party at Cinderella Castle, from 1 a.m. – 5:30 a.m.
• Character greetings throughout the night, including:
  • Phineas and Ferb in Tomorrowland
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Fantasyland
  • Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Town Square, wearing their pajamas for the party in Florida before heading out west to visit guests at Disneyland park

Please remember that all show times and Disney character appearances are subject to change. Be sure to check the park Times Guide on that day for show times and character availability.

Moms Panel Monday: More Time, More Walt Disney World Resort!

posted on February 27th, 2012 by Laura Spencer, Social Media Manager, Walt Disney World Resort

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As we gear up for a marathon of memory making during One More Disney Day on February 29, when Magic Kingdom Park and Disneyland park will stay open for 24 hours straight, I thought it would be fun to hear how master vacation planner and Walt Disney World Moms Panelist Erin Foster would make memories if she had a few more hours at Walt Disney World Resort. 

“I’m an avid Vinylmation collector – I lost count when I got to about 600 different ones – but I’ve never had the opportunity to meet the artists who design them. I would love to take my daughters and spend two hours meeting one of the artists at The Art of Disney at Downtown Disney while they make them come to life.

I really like how they have to think inside the box and continue to make creative designs with one little mouse figure. That process would be really cool to watch and learn about, and I think it would be something my family would remember each time we look to collect a new one. 

These collectibles have become small reminders of our different Disney trips, and it would be nice to let the artists know they’ve rocked my world!”

Late-Night and Early Morning Snacking at the Disneyland Resort During One More Disney Day

posted on February 24th, 2012 by Pam Brandon, Disney Parks Food Writer

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We know Disney fans are mapping out their 24 hours for the One More Disney Day fun at Disneyland park – when the park will be open a full 24 hours (starting Wednesday, Feb. 29 at 6 a.m.).

Of course, food is part of our equation, and the Disneyland Resort chefs have lots of goodies around the clock. To make it more fun to nosh, special items have been added especially for the celebration.

From 11 a.m. to midnight, French Market Restaurant will be offering shrimp pasta and red beans and rice. From midnight to 3:30 a.m., the menu changes to chicken gumbo, corn chowder, French dip sandwich with N’Orleans chips, shrimp salad sandwich with carrot-citrus slaw and bananas Foster cheesecake.

For a more serious dining adventure, at Blue Bayou from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. you can order a fancy roasted bourbon shrimp stuffed with Dungeness crab mousse served with angel hair pasta and spinach in a smoked tomato-habanero-artichoke sauce. Or prime eye of round with two quail eggs, roasted cauliflower and potatoes, Brussels sprouts and a cabernet sauce.

If you remember when Café Orleans used to serve breakfast (three-cheese Monte Cristo French toast, anyone?) you’ll want to be sure to head over any time between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. for specials from their former breakfast menu: scrambled eggs, Creole eggs benedict, three-cheese Monte Cristo French toast, lump crab quiche, bananas Foster French toast and fresh fruit with yogurt and granola.

Other spots to find late-night snacks from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.:

• Cherry pie at The Golden Horseshoe
• Chili cheese corn dog, fries and cherry pie at Stage Door Café
• Brownie and krispy skewers at Bengal Barbecue
• Green chili cheese blue corn tamales at Rancho del Zocalo Restaurante
• All-beef mac ‘n cheese hot dog with bacon bits at Refreshment Corner
• Creamy lobster bisque at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe
• Pot roast and chicken sampler at Plaza Inn
• Chorizo and egg breakfast pizza at Redd Rockett’s Pizza Port
• Spicy chipotle chile turkey burger and onion rings at Tomorrowland Terrace

You should also know about the chili cheeseburger with fries that will be available at Village Haus Restaurant – an homage to a longtime guest favorite known as “The Woodcarver,” which has been off the menu for many years.

Also, guests visiting Disneyland park in the wee hours of the mornings of February 29 and March 1 for One More Disney Day will be able to enjoy a cup of coffee or some breakfast at select Downtown Disney District locations which will be opening early on those special days. Click here for a list of Downtown Disney District restaurants that will be opening their doors early on February 29 and March 1.

Guests Celebrating One More Disney Day at Disneyland Park Could Receive Limited-Edition Commemorative Ear Hats

posted on February 17th, 2012 by Erin Glover, Manager, Social Media and Print

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Big news for those planning to spend One More Disney Day at Disneyland park on February 29! Guests entering the park when it opens at 6 a.m. will receive a limited-edition ear hat commemorating the event, while supplies last. Ear hats are limited to a supply of 2,000 for guests who enter through the designated turnstiles when Disneyland park opens at 6 a.m. on February 29.

I got a sneak peek at the One More Disney Day limited-edition ear hat myself today – check it out!

Here are some things you should know if you are planning to join us when Disneyland park opens at 6 a.m. on February 29:

• Guests may begin lining up no earlier than 10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28.
• Guests planning to line up before Disneyland park opens must park in the Pumbaa Parking Lot on Disney Way between 10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28 and 6 a.m. on February 29. Please note that the Pumbaa Lot will not begin to offer shuttle service to the East Esplanade until 6 a.m. on February 29. Click here for a map of Disneyland Resort parking areas.
• Restrooms will be available for guests who line up before Disneyland park opens.
• A special ticket booth will be available prior to Disneyland park opening for guests needing to purchase park admission for February 29. Valid park admission is required in order to enter Disneyland park and to receive the commemorative ear hat.
• Commemorative ear hats will be distributed, while supplies last, to guests who enter through the designated turnstiles beginning at 6 a.m. on February 29, when Disneyland park officially opens. Limit one ear hat per person, and you must be present at the time of distribution.
• Please remember that being in line and entering the park does not guarantee that you will receive a commemorative ear hat. Ear hats are limited to a supply of 2,000 for guests who enter through the designated turnstiles when Disneyland park opens at 6 a.m. on February 29.
• Be sure to check the list of items that are not permitted inside Disneyland park as you plan what you will bring with you that day. Admission to the park is subject to capacity restrictions.

See you at One More Disney Day – February 29!

D23 Members Save on Tickets to The Muppets at the El Capitan Theatre

See The Muppets at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood for $11 (an adult general admission ticket, $6.00 savings). 

 

 

Valid for any Monday through Thursday show date and time during the run of The Muppets (December 23, 2011 through January 8, 2012). Limited to four tickets per D23 Membership Card. Guest must show valid D23 Membership Card to receive the special-rate tickets.

“It’s funny, upbeat, and full of laughs for everyone… frogs, pigs, bears… even people,” says Kermit. “For new fans, it’s a chance to see the Muppets in action on the big screen. And for old fans it’s a chance to get together with old friends… and get a little crazy together.”

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter—the world’s biggest Muppet fan—his brother Gary (Jason Segel), and Gary’s girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), from Smalltown, U.S.A., discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze Muppet Studios and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the studio, Walter, Mary, and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

Making of Magic Kingdom Park Tilt-Shift Video

posted at the official Disney Parks blog on October 8th, 2009 by Thomas Smith, Social Media Director, Disney Parks

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When we posted last week’s Magic Kingdom tilt-shift video, the hope was that a few of you would enjoy the experiment. But oh my…were we surprised. Response was overwhelming.

Some Disney Parks Blog commenters said they were moved to tears. Others cheered and described it as a mini vacation. And yes, we heard those of you who asked for more. So, we immediately found the creative “eye” and champion of the project — David Roark, manager of creative photography for Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group. David sat down with us and shared how he did it.

Thomas Smith: This type of project has never been attempted at Disney Parks. How’d you make it work?
David Roark: It was a lot of trial and error. My first two or three trips out of the box I was like, ‘This is not going to work.’ It’s a combination of your height on the scene and in the Magic Kingdom Park there’s just not a lot of fixed platforms where you can lock a camera off for five minutes without it moving. But there’s also lightning and consistency of exposure. We started this in the middle of summer and if you start a sequence and a little cloud comes by, you need to start it over again because the clouds darken the scene so much. So, it was very trial and error. This was on the job training for me.

TS: Was it difficult to find the perfect shots?
DR: In the case of this one, nobody really knew what we were doing. (I said) “just trust me and work with me here, this will all make sense.”

 TS: What lenses did you use?
DR: Nikon makes three tilt-shift lenses, they’re basically architectural lenses and we’re using them in a diametrically opposed application than what they’re built for. They’re built to actually allow you to increase the focal plane in a scene and make everything in focus. For tilt-shift, we turn them the opposite way and back tilt the focal plane so that hardly anything is in focus. And that creates that miniaturation effect.

TS: What was on your mind while putting this together?
DR: For me, it became as much a transportation story – the story of getting to the park and all the things that happen because that activity of parking your car and coming through the toll plaza. I had to think about what scenes have that kind of repetitive motion. It was a lot of fun and it’s different. For me it became a little bit of an escape.

TS: Did you notice Guests wanted to see Wishes Nighttime Spectacular?
DR: Everyone wants Wishes, but Wishes is so bright and because we shoot one frame a second, there were just too many flash frames in it. But, Epcot and Illuminations, I’ll make work. We’ll get the fireworks.

How the ambient sound at Walt Disney World works

Noah sez, "An interview with the man who designed the ambient sound at Disney World, ensuring a constant experience rather than one that ends with the end of the ride. It was initially a little uneven, with sound changing volumes depending on where you stood, so they used algorithms to position 15,000 speakers around the park so that the levels would never change.

"I like the way there's often running water or waterfalls between different soundscapes to act as a white-noise buffer. It's subtle but incredibly effective. You almost never hear two contrasting soundscapes at once. In the mid 1990's, the park started researching the problem. It would eventually find no existing solution, so the engineers had to design and construct, on their own, one of the most complex and advanced audio systems ever built.

The work paid off: today, as you walk through Disney World, the volume of the ambient music does not change. Ever. More than 15,000 speakers have been positioned using complex algorithms to ensure that the sound plays within a range of just a couple decibels throughout the entire park. It is quite a technical feat acoustically, electrically, and mathematically. As we land, I ask Mr Q what he considers the highlight of his career. He describes how he wrote some software for "manufacturing emotion" with the thousands of new speakers in the park.

The system he built can slowly change the style of the music across a distance without the visitor noticing. As a person walks from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland, for example, each of the hundreds of speakers slowly fades in different melodies at different frequencies so that at any point you can stop and enjoy a fully accurate piece of music, but by the time you walk 400 feet, the entire song has changed and no one has noticed.

Mission: SPACE from the Disney Newsreel, October 17, 2003

04.02.11 - It took more than 650 Walt Disney Imagineers more than 350,000 hours (that equals about 40 years of time) to develop Mission: SPACE. And there were just as many decisions — some big, some bigger — to be made.

Imagineers mocked up nearly 100 shades of red before deciding on the color of the red planet that dominates the attraction's dramatic facade.

All systems are go. Mission: SPACE presented by HP officially blasted off October 9 at Epcot... and with the thundering roar of rockets and the gravity-defying exhilaration of liftoff, Walt Disney World guests are launching into an out-of-this-world adventure.

Decades "in the dreaming" and some five years "in the making," the new attraction, uses a first-of-its-kind, custom-designed ride system based on actual NASA astronaut training techniques to engage guests in a one-of-a-kind astronaut experience. So believable is the deep-space mission to Mars that some Epcot guests ponder whether they have left the building during the adventure. "Walt Disney Imagineers have combined our tradition of storytelling with the latest in technology to create an experience that our guests can get nowhere else in the world," says Al Weiss, president of Walt Disney World Resort. "As a technology company, HP is the perfect partner to present this attraction, and Epcot is the perfect setting, continuing the park's dedication to the explorer in all of us." The new attraction is, in fact, the most technologically advanced ever created by Disney. It also marks a continuation of the collaboration with HP that began with the sale of a specially modified version of Bill Hewlett's first invention to help fine tune theater acoustics for the motion picture Fantasia.

The International Space Training Center, several decades into the future, provides the setting for Mission: SPACE. As the crew selected for this ultimate space mission, guests head to the dispatch area and then move to the Ready Room, where they receive a history of astronaut training and are given the role they will assume during the mission. Invariably, post-mission guest chatter includes "wows" for the launch and the visual representations of space. Mission: SPACE taps existing principles of centrifuge technology to generate the true-to-life sensation of launching vertically. The integration of pitch and roll movement adds, by all accounts, an incredible realism. As for the visuals, the challenge of creating a believable "view out the window" resulted in Imagineers' development of a unique virtual imaging system that includes a state-of-the-art video flat screen using components not yet available in the marketplace.

"[It's] a good combination of reality and looking ahead to what things might be like," says former Shuttle astronaut Rhea Seddon. "I knew intellectually it was a centrifuge and that's how they were generating the feeling, but it doesn't feel like a centrifuge." And that's the point: It feels like the real thing. 

From the Disney Newsreel, October 17, 2003

Create Your Own Disney Halloween Pumpkins

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These are the steps to successfully carving your Halloween pumpkin using the Disney character templates:

These instructions work for both artificial and real pumpkins.

• Chose your Disney character template.
• Enlarge or shrink your template to fit the size of your pumpkin.
• Cut around the template, reducing the paper size to include only the features to be sculpted.
• Tape or pin the template on to your pumpkin.
• Draw over the template with a pencil, pen or store bought template tool.
• Remove template from pumpkin.
• You should see indentation lines on your pumpkin highlighting the features to be sculpted.
• Using a safe pumpkin sculpting tool, slowly begin to sculpt your Disney character face.
• As you sculpt, stop and look often to ensure eyes, nose and mouth are in proportion.
• Remember to sculpt a hole under your pumpkin to insert a LED candle.

Haunted Mansion - Holidays, Wallpaper, Gingerbread House and More

1. Celebrating Ten Years of Haunted Mansion Holidays at Disneyland Park – As this year marks the tenth anniversary of Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland park, see how every year some very different teams from across Disneyland Resort gather for a very special project: the Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread house.


2. Want an Early Halloween Treat from Disney Parks? Download Our Haunted Mansion Wallpaper – Earlier this month, we introduced the Haunted Mansion-inspired desktop wallpaper.


3. First Look at the Freaky Gingerbread House in Haunted Mansion Holiday – Check out a shot of the fabulous gingerbread confection that’s the centerpiece of the table in the ballroom in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland park. It may look fancy, but there’s a dark side to all that sweetness and 500 pounds of gingerbread.


4. Things You Might Not Know About Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland Park – As we were preparing to open Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland Park, we shared a few fun facts with our readers.


5. More Room For Haunted Mansion Event at Disney’s Contemporary Resort – This Fall marks the 40th anniversary of the attraction at Walt Disney World Resort, and to celebrate, we held a Haunted Mansion-inspired merchandise event called “Room for 1 More.”

My First Disneyland Resort Experience by Jennifer Fickley-Baker

Jennifer Fickley-Baker, Social Media Manager

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This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif. The trip was a great deal of fun – I heard updates on New Fantasyland, saw an amazing rendering of Shanghai Disneyland’s Enchanted Storybook Castle, and oh yeah, visited Disneyland park for the first time.

I grew up vacationing at the Walt Disney World Resort and have been lucky enough to visit Disneyland Paris twice, but I’d never been to the Disneyland Resort, so I jumped at the chance to attend this year’s D23 Expo.

I promised my team I’d share some of my first-trip highlights with all of you, so as we like to say at Disney Parks, “Let the Memories Begin!”

1. Visiting Disneyland Park – Each Disney park is uniquely wonderful in its own way, but in this case, there’s just something about being at the first park, the one that Walt Disney himself introduced to the world and forever changed the way many of us vacation, imagine and dream. I had the best time just strolling through the park, enjoying the attractions Walt would’ve seen, and trying to pick out buildings that looked familiar from park’s opening-day broadcast.

2. Experiencing the original Pirates of the Caribbean – I was lucky enough to try out several of the park’s classic attractions on this trip, including The Haunted Mansion, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, “it’s a small world” and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, but I just fell in love with this version of Pirates. It starts out a bit differently, with a gentle coast through the Blue Bayou, then a drop underground through caverns brimming with pirate treasure. A second plunge brings you to the scenes that Magic Kingdom Park fans would recognize – pirate ships, blasting canons, the bride auction, and of course, Captain Jack.

3. Hosting a live-chat from Club 33 – Last Thursday night, my fellow authors, Thomas Smith, Jim Ames, Erin Glover and I were very fortunate to do a live tweet from Disneyland park’s Club 33. While I was amazed with every aspect of this unforgettable dining experience, I was equally pleased to see our messages get retweeted in Chinese, Japanese and Spanish. (I think the photo above was the only time my hands weren’t on a computer).

4. Attending “World of Color” – On the last night of our trip, Thomas and I were able to break away from the D23 Expo for a viewing of “World of Color” at Disney California Adventure park. As you can see from the photo above, it was simply amazing! And Mickey’s Fun Wheel makes one heck of a background to the show.

5. Gaining at least five pounds – I have to admit I’m a quite a foodie, so when Disney Parks Blog Food Author Pam Brandon sent me a list of must-try restaurants for my first trip, I was up for the challenge – to hit all of them! Pam sent me on a true tour through culinary destinations big and small that ranged from Corndog Castle (best crispy corndogs ever, according to Pam), to Napa Rose (best wine selection), Blue Bayou (best New Orleans-style chow), and beyond.

Walt Disney at Café Orleans and Plaza Inn [1966]

Shortly after New Orleans Square opened in 1966, Walt posed for this photo with Cast Members at the Creole Café. Later renamed Café Orleans, you can still find delicious desserts, and of course, espresso there.

Nowadays, you can go to Café Orleans to see the very same espresso machine pictured with Walt after all these years.

These little connections to Walt Disney are always a special treat to discover at Disneyland park. Do you have a favorite place or item in the parks that especially reminds you of Walt?

And we have one more picture! This one was taken at the Plaza Inn, in 1966, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather share a cup of coffee with.