WDWNT Fan Meets – August 1st and 2nd at the Disneyland Resort

WDWNT Author on July 22, 2009

I’d like to remind everyone about our upcoming fan meets at the Disneyland Resort on Saturday August 1st and Sunday August 2nd. First up on Saturday:

Come enjoy an evening of fun on Saturday, August 1st, with the WDWNT Network and Disneyland News Today staff at Disney’s California Adventure park at the Disneyland Resort. Among the fun and surprises, here is a schedule of group gatherings that will be a part of the unofficial fan meet:

4:00 PM – Meet outside the Blue Sky Cellar for distribution of “free gift” Group walk through the Blue Sky Cellar
4:30 PM – Meet directly in front of the Blue Sky Cellar to watch the Pixar Play Parade
5:30 PM – Group meet n’ mingle (and possibly some eating) at Bountiful Valley Farmer’s Market
6:30 PM – Meet for group photo and showing of MuppetVision 3-D in the Hollywood Pictures Backlot
7:15 PM – Meet for group ride on Mickey’s Fun Wheel in Paradise Pier
8:00 PM – Meet in front the former Orange Stinger attraction (Silly Symphony Swings construction walls) to watch Disney’s Electrical Parade

Then on Sunday:

Come enjoy an afternoon of fun on Sunday, 8/2/09 with the WDWNT Network and Disneyland News Today staff at Disneyland Park. Among the fun and surprises, here is a schedule of group gatherings that will be a part of the fan meet:

3:00 PM – Meet n’ mingle and group photo at Carnation Gardens on Main Street U.S.A.
3:30 PM – Meet for group showing of Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room in Adventureland
4:15 PM – Meet for group ride on the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland
5:00 PM – Meet for group ride on Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square
5:45 PM – Meet for group ride through the Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square
6:30 PM – Group meet n’ mingle (and possibly some eating) at the Hungry Bear Restaurant
7:30 PM – Meet for group ride on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh in Critter Country
8:00 PM – Meet in the hub on Main Street U.S.A. to view “Magical – Disney’s New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations In the Stars”

You can R.S.V.P. (although not necessary to attend) and get more information on Facebook about the Saturday meet at this link or our forums at this link and the Sunday meet at this link or our forums at this link. These will be the first fan meets the WDWNT Network has done at the Disneyland Resort, and we hope you come by and enjoy the fun with us!

Summer Nightastic is Here!

WDWNT Author on June 12, 2009

Summer Nightastic begins tonight at the Disneyland Resort, and in honor of that, here’s a new Disney press video with footage from all three main offerings, as well as interviews with Carla Carlile (show director for Fantasmic), Denny Newell (senior show director for Disney’s Electrical Parade), and John Addis (senior show director for Magical):

Some Modern Pixie Dust Brings A Classic Up To Date

WDWNT Author on June 11, 2009

Disney has released a short video and fact sheet about the return of Disney’s Electrical Parade tomorrow night as part of the already flailing Summer Nightastic promotion. The updates to the parade were much needed and the parade appears sparkling and new thanks to LED light technology and a recreated soundtrack:

Tinker Bell leads the procession on an all-new float and her trail of pixie dust enchants all the parade floats with new beauty along the way. The popular pixie waves from the basket of a balloon floating gracefully above a magical garden shimmering with fairy light.

In addition, enhanced versions of two classic favorites will return to the lineup after a 13-year hiatus – the shimmering diamond mine of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and the Pleasure Island haunts of Pinocchio.

WHAT: The parade twinkles with approximately half a million lights.  Of those, nearly 10,000 are new “pixie dust” lights spread over the 17 floats. The new LED lights use one-quarter of the power of incandescent lights. The “Tinker Bell” float alone has more than 25,000 points of light and 75 percent are powered by an LED source.

WHEN: Nightly at 8:45 p.m., beginning Friday, June 12, and continuing through Sunday, Aug. 23, at Disney’s California Adventure.

LIGHTS ON DEMAND: A new control system makes it possible, for the first time, for each light to be programmed individually. One example is the new Tinker Bell float, which has 160 dimmers, by far the most of any parade float, to control the lighting. Programming for this parade took approximately two months.

AN EVEN BETTER HOEDOWN: The unforgettable musical theme of the “Electrical Parade,” which has inspired several generations of Disneyland Resort guests to clap along, was adapted from a synthesizer piece known as “Baroque Hoedown,” written in 1967 by Gershon Kingsley and Jean-Jaques Perrey. Disney themes are superimposed over the original piece. For Summer Nightastic!, the distinctive “electro-sytho-magnetic” “Baroque Hoedown” has new audio technology that gives it a richer, fuller sound.

FUN FACTS

  • More than 80 performers appear in each presentation of “Disney’s Electrical Parade.”
  • There are 11,000 lights on the dancers’ costumes alone. Thanks to the energy-efficient LED lights, some of the dancers’ costumes now carry only one battery pack instead of two.
  • All the floats are battery-powered. More than 500 batteries supply power for lighting, propulsion, audio and special effects.
  • Approximately five miles of wire is used throughout the floats.
  • The tallest float in the parade is the Cinderella clock tower, at 18.5 feet tall.
  • The “Fireworks Finale” float, the longest in the parade, has seven cars that span 118 feet.

HISTORY

  • Summer Nightastic! 2009 will mark the 30th summer of the “Electrical Parade” performances at Disneyland Resort.
  • The original “Main Street Electrical Parade” premiered at Disneyland on June 17, 1972.
  • The parade has been performed more than 5,000 times at Disneyland Resort.
  • It has been presented nearly every summer, with the following exceptions: a 1975-76 hiatus for the Bicentennial “America on Parade”; the 1983-84 break for “Flights of Fantasy” parade; and the “Electrical Parade” retirement from Disneyland following the summer of 1996. Renamed “Disney’s Electrical Parade,” it premiered at Disney’s California Adventure in July 2001.
  • The original “Main Street Electrical Parade” floats were “flatter” and less three-dimensional than the current floats. New floats have been added through the years and some – “it’s a small world” float, “Briny Deep” float, and special anniversary floats for Disneyland’s 25th Anniversary (1980) and Mickey Mouse’s 60th Birthday (1988) – have been retired.
  • One of the original floats, the “Title Drum Unit” near the beginning of the parade, was created using an actual bass drum, one of the world’s largest in 1972. This drum had been used in Disneyland parades in the 1960s, when Mickey Mouse used to beat it using large drumsticks.
  • Versions of the parade have been presented at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida (premiering 1977), Tokyo Disneyland (premiering 1985) and Disneyland Paris (premiering 1992).

The Night Is Getting a Little Brighter

WDWNT Author on May 28, 2009

hurricanefreak101 on YouTube has posted a very neat video of an after-hours test of Disney’s Electrical Parade. The notable changes here include new effects (including the pixie dust trails) on all the floats, the new Snow White Dwarf Mine, and a partially lit new Pinocchio float:

Disneyland Resort News & Rumor Report

WDWNT Author on January 8, 2009

Here’s a round-up of some of the latest rumors that our sources here at Disneyland News Today have been hearing:

  • Due to construction on the World of Color Amphitheater, which is right by where the second High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now! show stop is, only one show stop will be made per show, in the location at Sunshine Plaza. However this will mean the show will now be rolled out 5 times a day, instead of the usual 3. Also, instead of going all the way up to the Paradise Pier gates, it will now exit at the gates next to the Mission Tortilla Factory (aka, the future entrance to Cars Land). Don’t forget, the show will be dark Mondays-Thursdays for the foreseeable future due to budget cuts.
  • In news from backstage, the majority of the floats from Disney’s Electrical Parade (excluding the Alice in Wonderland whirly bugs, Dumbo section, & the Cinderella section) have been temporarily moved off Resort property. While we have no exact reason for the disappearance of these floats, it is quite likely that they’re probably getting newer GE 35 motors. For the time being, the Pixar Play Parade has temporarily moved into the parade storage building usually used for Disney’s Electrical Parade. In other news from Disney’s Electrical Parade, it seems some of the floats may be getting added LED effects, which will definitely be an extra boost in bringing the parade into the 21st century. There’s also the possibility that with the addition of the Snow White Dwarf Mine, Pinocchio section, & Tinker Bell section, that the Blue Fairy & Dumbo section may be removed from the parade, however I personally highly doubt that is true (at least the latter).
  • Construction, & just some basic changes, are really starting to beef up over in Paradise Pier. Apparently sometime this week, Mickey’s ears on California Screamin’ will be removed just leaving his “face”, which will eventually be changed over to a sunburst. As we mentioned in Myrna Litt’s latest photo report, the lenticular panel on the Paradise Pier bridge advertising World of Color has for some strange reason been removed. Speaking of removals, all of the old support structures for LuminAria (the holiday fireworks at DCA back only in 2001) have been removed. And lastly, the Orange Stinger is expected to close sometime in April (most likely after Mickey’s Fun Wheel opens up) for it’s conversion over to the Silly Symphony Swings.
  • An interesting development that was first brought up on MiceAge’s latest Al Lutz update is that this year, New Years Eve at Disneyland Park may become a hard ticketed event, the reasoning for this to be done would to keep crowds down slightly in Disneyland, & hopefully get more people to visit DCA. More information on this is available in the link to MiceAge.

Fun Tidbits From The Xmas Day Parade

WDWNT Author on December 31, 2008

I’m back from England! Upon arriving home from my flight, I finally got the chance to sit down & watch the Walt Disney World Christmas Day, & I managed to grab a few screen shots of the Disneyland side of the parade:

Ryan Seacrest, the host from Disneyland, went over some of the latest additions at & coming to the resort. Among the additions mentioned were the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough.

Celebration Roundup at Big Thunder Ranch.

Pixie Hollow.

And the thing I was most looking forward to seeing, concept art of the new Tinker Bell float in Disney’s Electrical Parade!

There was a recap of the kick-off for What Will You Celebrate?- Miley Cyrus’ Sweet 16 birthday bash.

Read More about Fun Tidbits From The Xmas Day Parade

Humbug Made Official

WDWNT Author on December 30, 2008

Disneyland has now officially announced the entertainment cutbacks for 2009:

As The Year of a Million Dreams celebration comes to a close and the Disneyland® Resort heads into 2009, entertainment offerings and show times are being updated for the kick-off of “What will you celebrate?” 

Disneyland Park 

  • A Christmas Fantasy Parade and “Believe In Holiday Magic” Fireworks Spectacular will run through Sunday, Jan. 4 to close out the holiday season.
  • Disney’s Princess Fantasy Faire will have its last showings of the Royal Coronation Ceremony and Disney Princess Storytelling on Sunday, Jan. 4. Disney Princess Meet & Greet will continue to remain at the Fantasyland Theatre.
  • “Remember Dreams Come True” Fireworks Spectacular will return to the skies above Disneyland® on Jan. 17-19 (Martin Luther King Jr. weekend) and Feb. 13-16 (President’s Day weekend). The show is scheduled to make a full return in March 2009. 
  • Fantasmic! will continue to run daily through most of January and February. 
  • Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams will not return to Disneyland® Park after the holidays. There will be no parades at Disneyland® Park after the holidays due to track work being done on Main Street, U.S.A. 
  • Celebrate! A Street Party will make its debut down Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland® Park on March 27. 

Disney’s California Adventure Park 

  • Disney’s Electrical Parade will have its final run on Sunday, Jan. 4 at Disney’s California Adventure® Park and will not return until June 12 for the summer season. 

Beginning Monday January 5th:

  • Pixar Play Parade at Disney’s California Adventure® Park will be dark on Mondays and Tuesdays. 
  • High School Musical 3: Right Here! Right Now! will be dark on Mondays through Thursdays. 
  • Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular will be dark on Wednesdays and Thursdays. 

All entertainment offerings are subject to change without notice.

News & Rumor Round-up

WDWNT Author on December 20, 2008

I have been informed of some very interesting news & rumors of what could be happening (or is going to happen) at the Disneyland Resort in the very near future:

  • Construction should be beginning on World of Color sometime during the upcoming week, weather permitting of course. The first signs of work will be near the California Screamin’ launch area. Along with that, the change-over from the Orange Stinger to Silly Symphony Swings should start in January 2009, & construction on the The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure will finally begin in April 2009. Also, the Maliboomer will now be removed next year, with nothing replacing it at the moment, except for a nicely designed seating area on the current tower platforms. The “refurbishment” of Burger Invasion seems to be of been pushed along a whole another year, with it supposedly lasting through May 26th, 2011. The building will sit dormant for a while, until work begins on the Beer Garden.
  • Originally the plans for a new parade route in DCA called for it to go through Cars Land, & then up onto the parade route as it is today. Well now the plan is for parades to start at the gate right by the Tower of Terror, go through the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, through Buena Vista Street, & up along the rest of the regular parade route, which would make it the longest parade route in Disney history! This would prompt the removal of the Hollywood Pictures Backlot arch, however the two giant elephants would stay.
  • New restrooms will be installed opposite the current ones next to Golden Dreams in the San Francisco style buildings, with work beginning on January 5th 2009, to allow for the current ones to be removed for extra space needed for The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Adventure. The supposed completion day is March 30th 2009, which makes sense if Little Mermaid construction is expected to begin in April.
  • It’s rumored that a fruit cart will be installed in the former home of the Conestoga Wagon McDonalds fry cart in Frontierland. The only concrete details we have is that it should be opened by late May 2009.
  • In a rather interesting turn of events, it seems the Royal Coronation Ceremony & Disney Princess Storytelling Shows at the Princess Fantasy Faire will no longer be performed after January 4th 2009. This is yet another sign of how bad the New Year could end up being for Disney. Of course, the Princess Meet ‘n Greets, Princess merchandise area, & Enchanted Cottage food stand will remain open.
  • Finally, rumors keep persisting that Disney’s Electrical Parade will be returning to Disneyland. But now it seems that a return would cause for quite a few changes. The parade is going to have to get an entirely new name for it to be able to move back to Disneyland, due to the marketing campaign they had in 1996, legally saying that the Main Street Electrical Parade would never return to Disneyland. We however have no idea on what the new name could be just yet. A new version of the Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade: Dreamlights soundtrack could be replacing the classic Electrical Parade soundtrack we know & love. And as we’ve said before, the Pinocchio & Snow White Dwarf Mine floats will be returning to the parade. In fact, we have proof…

The black sort of curtain like structure is the Snow White Dwarf Mine. The Pinocchio Cigar Factory is in the blue draped crate next to the parade storage warehouse. The Pleasure Island float has reportedly already been pieced together.

Well that wraps up this interesting news & rumor report. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for the latest developments on these, & all other news & rumors.

PS) Posts may be a little sporadic over the week week, as I’ll be in England from tomorrow through the 29th. I will try to get some stuff to you guys though. Definitely don’t forget to tune into the Christmas Podcast Parade, being released Christmas Day on all WDWNT Podcast feeds!

More End Dates

WDWNT Author on September 1, 2008

We once again have some updates to the attraction refurbishment list for you. First up, as previously reported, today is the last day for the Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries, which includes the Secret of the Stone Tiger & Random Acts of Indy shows. Various reports have been saying that the Oasis theater (home to Secret of the Stone Tiger) will not have any shows performing in it until next summer. Yet another classic example of cost-cutting!

We finally have dates for when 2 of the 3 former McDonalds locations at the Resort will open without McDonalds. Harbor Galley is planned to re-open on December 16th. Burger Invasion will re-open sometime in May 2009! But we do not yet have a date on when the Conostoga Wagon will re-open. All 3 close tomorrow.

Disney’s Electrical Parade will return on December 19th, & Disney’s Aladdin – A Musical Spectacular will now return on December 12th, as opposed to December 19th, with a partial new cast.

Finally, a short refurbishment for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will be conducted from December 1st to the 5th.

Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for updates on all attraction refurbishments. And for up-to-the-minute information on the various refurbishments, be sure to check our Attraction Refurbishments page!

DLR Entertainment Rumors

WDWNT Author on August 23, 2008

Here are a few juicy rumors on some possible entertainment changes & upgrades that could be happening starting at the end of the year through-out both parks:

  • First up, the Pixar Play Parade may be receiving a holiday overlay of sorts, that would give the parade some Christmas music, holiday decorations on all of the floats, & possible a different name.
  • We reported last week that the planned new Show Stop music for Walt Disney’s Parade of Dreams had been canceled, along with new elements to the beginning of the parade. Well, it actually, it seems that only the new elements to the beginning of the parade have been canceled, as the parade should be getting new Show Stop music when the parade returns in Spring 2009.
  • A Christmas Fantasy will be getting a completely new Toy Factory float when the parade returns this Christmas. Apparently the float has already arrived backstage at the Resort.
  • In addition to the new Tinker Bell float, & the return of the Seven Dwarfs Mine & Pinocchio floats, Disney’s Electrical Parade may also see the return of the classic It’s a Small World float, that could replace the To Honor America section of the parade, although that is less likely than the other planned changes. Also, the parade may receive the soundtrack from Tokyo Disneyland’s Electrical Parade: Dreamlights, which features similar electronic sounds, mixed in with orchestral music.
  • Finally, Drawn to the Magic, the stage show in the little outside theater by Muppet Vision 3D, may be leaving DCA very soon. There’s no planned date, but the performers have been told that the show will be going away soon, with no planned replacement.

Don’t forget that everything we reported in this post are rumors, & plans could easily be modified, or completely scrapped at any time. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today for the latest on all rumors.