New Events at Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party

If you’ve ever been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party — Walt Disney World’s tickets-only, after-hours, month-long Christmas bash — then you think you’ve seen it all. While that’s not entirely untrue – most of the major elements of the party don’t change from year to year – visitors in 2012 can expect to see something a little bit different this year. Disney Parks site Inside the Magic has, well, the insider’s details on the new things you can expect to see at this year’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Of course the biggest thing on everyone’s minds is the brand new Fantasyland … Continue reading →

New Disney World Attraction: The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow

The cycle is complete: “Pirates of the Caribbean” was a movie based on a classic Disney World ride. Now there’s a new Disney World attraction based on the movie that was based on the ride. The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow is a new immersive walk-through at Disney World that opened on December 6. The Disney Parks released a behind-the-scenes video with the Imagineers detailing the attraction, and the famous talent that helped bring it to life. The centerpiece of the attraction is the virtual image projected onto the deck of a pirate’s ship: that of Captain Jack Sparrow. But … Continue reading →

Escape into Nature at “Villages Natures”

We’ve been looking so much at the new construction at the domestic Disney parks, why don’t we take a look at an exciting new project at one of the international parks? Disneyland Paris announces plans to begin work on Villages Natures, an eco-tourism site built just under four miles outside of Disneyland Paris. Villages Natures is a lot more than a giant park along the lines of Disney World’s Wilderness Preserve. Eco-tourism means destinations designed to let guests commune with nature, where the focus of the vacation is being in and learning more about the natural world. The crowning center … Continue reading →

Disney Christmas Day Parade Filming Dates

Big news first: I know the filming dates for the 2012 Disney-ABC Christmas Day Parade. This is an elusive event where the tickets go on sale and sell out almost immediately. This year I have an inside line on the taping; the daughter of a friend of mine is going to dance in the parade. They’re taping the last week of November/the first weekend in December. The big day should be Saturday, December 1. I couldn’t verify this information online, because Disney hasn’t posted anything official about it yet. They probably won’t until November. But I can guarantee that the … Continue reading →

Disney Park Secrets: Disneyland’s Feral Cats

Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth for all beings, cats included. I’d heard rumors of this but I never thought it was true: Disneyland employs an “army” of feral cats to keep the park rodent-free. Alley Cat Allies, a national organization for the protection/understanding of feral cats, reports on the details. No one knows exactly when the feral cats moved into Disneyland; they weren’t put there intentionally. They’ve definitely been there for at least 25 years, and some think they’ve been there since the park opened in 1955. Perhaps it was built on land on which feral cats … Continue reading →

Limited Time Magic at the Disney Parks

2013 is a big year for the domestic Disney Parks. 2012 saw a lot of change for the both of them, between the reimagined California Adventure and the Fantasyland expansion (the largest in history for the Magic Kingdom). To celebrate, both parks are throwing a party for 2013, called “Limited Time Magic.” One-of-a-kind events will take place at the parks at certain times throughout the year next year. The official Disney Parks blog has a look at some of them. Two follow holidays: Valentine’s and Independence Day. For Valentine’s the Disney Parks are rolling out “True Love,” an event lasting … Continue reading →

Finding the New Fantasyland

As if it thinks it wasn’t getting enough buzz already, Disney World execs are trying to up the hype surrounding the Fantasyland expansion. They’ve launched a website – Finding Fantasyland – to increase both the expansion’s mystique and guests’ interactivity with the wait. The site contains a mysterious poem: “A fantastical land exists, a curse hides it from our view. A hero is needed to break the spell, that hero could be you.” The only other hint about what is going on is a colorful map of the upcoming Fantasyland. It gives blurbs about each of the new parts – … Continue reading →

Disney Park Apps for Smartphones

I got a smart phone for my birthday, when all I asked for is an mp3 player. Don’t get me wrong: it’s an awesome present, but sometimes I don’t know what to do with it. I disabled data, because I spend enough time online as it is. Although I downloaded one or two, I’m wary of most apps: I don’t want them cluttering up my phone. If you have smart phone, however, and you’re planning a Disney vacation, there are a few apps you should look into getting. Most of them are free, which is just icing on the cake. … Continue reading →

Special Shopping and Tours at the Animal Kingdom

Well, we’ve finally come to it. Today is the last in my series looking at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. As special events and other highlights happen at the park I’ll cover them, but today I’m finished my peek at what you can find on a normal basis at the Animal Kingdom. We’ll conclude with shopping and special tours. There’s not a lot of unique shopping at the Animal Kingdom. Most of the stores are of the typical shirts-and-stuffed-animals variety. However, there is the Mombasa Marketplace, in the Africa section of the Animal Kingdom, near the Tusker House. It’s divided into two … Continue reading →

Magic Kingdom to Serve Beer, Wine

A bar inside the Dolphin Resort at Disney World Last week the official Disney Parks blog revealed a detail about the Be Our Guest Restaurant in the new Fantasyland expansion, one that breaks a tradition held by the Magic Kingdom since its inception: Be Our Guest will serve alcohol. The decision came when Walt Disney World execs contemplated the theme of the restaurant. In keeping with the setting of “Beauty and the Beast,” the film on which the restaurant is based, execs wanted to offer the finest French cuisine. Part of the French dining experience is to serve alcohol, so … Continue reading →