Today, Disney blogs has announced that it is allowing a new character for its upcoming edition of the game to be chosen by the masses. There are 20 options available as to who the next character should be and after you vote, you’ll get to see the current results. At the time of writing Mabel from Gravity Falls was in the lead with 57% of the 1.2 million votes followed by Darkwing Duck with 22%. As great as Gravity Falls is, I have to admit, my inner 90’s self is holding out hope for good ole D.W.!
Month: July 2015
Billboards fit for an Ant-man (or woman)
Although this is apparently old news (I’ve found articles going back to April on this), I had to chuckle when I ran across a particular type of ad campaign for the newest Marvel big picture, Ant-man. All across Downtown Disney (and according to Reddit, random places across Australia) tiny billboards advertising the new movie have popped up. There are pictures of the tiny ads next to benches, on trashcans and even in a garden patch outside Planet Hollywood. I don’t know if it’s enough to make me want to see the movie, but its piqued my interest!
Happy 60th Birthday Disneyland!
(photo courtesy http://disneyland.disney.go.com)
As you may have noticed all over social media (or at the very least, from the title of this post!) that today marks the 60th birthday of Disneyland. Dreaming of a place that both children and adults could enjoy together, Walt created Disneyland to be the culmination of that vision. Over the years, the park has expanded to now being two parks in addition to spawning multiple other theme parks across the globe. And while many Disney fans may argue over what is the best of these theme parks, any die hard fan would agree that Disneyland truly holds the heart of Walt. It is the only park he personally over saw from start to finish and there is definitely a sort of magic when you enter it. So today, I’ll keep the post short and sweet by simply saying, Happy Birthday Disneyland and Congratulations Walt and to everyone who helps keeps the magic alive!
5 Free things at Disney Parks
As you probably already know, going to Disney can be expensive. Between travel arrangements, tickets and hotels, it can sometimes seem that there’s no end to the items required just to get there. However, did you know there are actually some things you can get for free? Yep, that’s right! Disney and free can go together, but you just have to know where to look. And, that’s why I’m here today to help out with 5 things you can get at Disney…for free!
- Personal hand drawn character keepsake: Located at the soon to close Magic of Disney Animation in Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World (closing July 12th), the bottom level in DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney Orlando and Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure Park in Disneyland, is an experience called Animation Academy. Here guests will get to learn from a Disney artist how to draw various Disney characters and get to keep their drawing as a personal keepsake for years to come!
- Special Occasion Buttons: Wandering around the park you will be sure to see guests sporting buttons announcing birthdays, family reunions, anniversaries and nuptials. Often times these buttons allow cast members to hone in and be able to share in your celebrations wishing you a congratulations, to sometimes a free dessert for the birthday guest. I’ve even gotten a free piece of decadent chocolate cake from Germany once for merely sporting an anniversary button and looking particularly ravenous at all the treats before me. You aren’t guaranteed to get anything free for wearing the button, but the buttons themselves are! You can find them at Guest Services in the front of the parks.
- Free 5×7 photo with Disney Characters for guests with Disney Chase Visa cards: Okay, so this item requires you to have taken your love of Disney so far that it travels with you in your wallet even when you aren’t on vacation. If that’s you, it means you are entitled to a free 5×7 photo during your visit to Walt Disney World or Disneyland. And if you are so inclined, you’re even allowed to get one every day of your visit… you just have to make it to the booth location. At WDW this one on one photo experience is located in Innovations West in Epocot and at DL it is in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure.
- Disney family decals: So this one is super cute and worth doing even if you aren’t going to a Disney park. All you have to do is go to Build Your Disney side and from there you’ll get to create your family in decal form. You’ll get to choose what your Disney persona wears and even if they’ll be enjoying a nice Mickey shaped treat to tempt you! If you do it before your trip, put it on your car to look at as you travel or on your luggage if so inclined. I’ve been itching to place mine on a mirror in our Disney section at our house. Whatever you use them for, they’re totally worth the time!
- Disney Planning DVD: Okay, so this tends to be a take it or leave it type offering. For many people, if they are going online order this DVD, they’re probably also going online to already plan their trip. But! If you want to get pumped for the big trip or maybe just want an overview of what there is to expect, this is a great and actually fun to collect. It’s amazing seeing how much information on the DVD’s (and VHS’s if you’re my age) have evolved over the years.
Closing time for DisneyQuest
Back in the beginning of June, the Disney Parks Blog revealed that the NBA Experience would be arriving to the up and coming Disney Springs at the Walt Disney World Resort. It touted the new venture as being a “one-of-a-kind destination” that would include interactive experiences, a restaurant and a store. However, details as to when and where this location would be were left out, until yesterday.
All over the internet the latest news is that apparently after 17 long years, DisneyQuest will be closing its doors forever and the NBA Experience will be taking its place. What we know right now is that DisneyQuest will remain open until 2016 and that sometime after that, it will house the NBA Experience. The fact that this five story building is going to be replaced by a singular experience (rather than by multiple stores or whatnot) actually somewhat astounds and intrigues me at the same time.
It’ll be interesting to see how the building is transformed on the inside though a small part of me laments its closing. Either way, the changes that are coming as Downtown Disney transforms into Disney Springs has me very excited indeed!
Take me to Main Street! 