The latest edition of the Mickey Monitor annual passholder publication is now available for viewing and offers a number of newsworthy announcements on some upcoming Walt Disney World attractions and special events. Here are some highlights:
-Passholders are being informed that Space Mountain will be closed for a “Space-Lift” beginning in April 2009. The article confirms that the track layout and the exterior look of the Mountain will not be touched during the refurbishment. While no reopening date is given, an opportunity to own a piece of the classic Magic Kingdom attraction is. For all the details on how to win a piece of Space Mountain, consult the Mickey Monitor and WDW Annual Passholder website.
-The article with top billing in this issue has a lot of information on the 2009 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival, including a complete list of performers for the Flower Power concert series.
-Another article has more details on the upcoming “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party”. The parade/show will feature contemporary Radio Disney music, as well as some classic Disney tunes as characters emerge from large party boxes around the hub to party with guests in front of Cinderella Castle. The parade/show will perform multiple times daily at the Magic Kingdom beginning February 12th.
-Star Wars Weekends 2009 will be held at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 22 and June 14, 2009.
More information on all of these special events and attractions, plus much more, can be found in this month’s issue of the Mickey Monitor which can be found HERE.
With the launch of our new WDWNTube video site just a few days ago, we are still testing a variety of features, including the ability to embed videos from that site right here on WDW News Today. While our amazing technical department is working on that, we will direct you over to that site to watch our newest video in high quality (scratch that, we got it to work, look below). Without any further delay, here is the debut video of the “Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade” at the Magic Kingdom taken by Robert Ashburn:
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It appears that the new/updated parade debuting at the Magic Kingdom park on January 23, 2009 has had a name change from what we have previously reported. According to upcoming entertainment schedules for the month of February, the parade will be titled the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” Parade. This slightly different name is shorter than the previously reported “Celebrate Disney Dreams Come True” moniker and actually sounds a whole lot better. Stay tuned to WDW News Today for more information on this updated Magic Kingdom parade as it becomes available.
Even though we are a few days removed from it, here are some interesting pictures taken from the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade of some new attractions on the way to WDW:
Concept art of the “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party”, debuting in February 2009
The stage inside the Superstar Television Theater at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
A few interesting developments from the last few days to note in this mixed-bag report:
-Matt Paul is reporting that the Mickey Mouse float in the Disney Dreams Come True Parade at the Magic Kingdom has been removed from the parade to be converted to the opening float for the latest version of the parade that will debut around January. The rumored name of the new parade will be the Celebrate Disney Dreams Come True Parade and it will most likely welcome in a slightly altered soundtrack for the parade using the “Celebrate You” theme song of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign. In the meantime, Mickey is appearing in a familiar spot on the castle finale float, where he once stood in his sorcerer’s apprentice costume during the Remember the Magic Parade. Matt will provide us with some pictures of this change once he returns home. Stay tuned for more information on this change as it becomes available.
-Disney has put up a number of new YouTube videos for the holiday season that you can view below:
-WDWNT Podcast Episode 72 is now available for download. Here’s a short synopsis:
Join me, Tom Corless, and a cast including Jason Diffendal, Justin Heyman, Matt Paul , Jose Castillo, Adam Roth, and Luke Manning for a show that Bridges the Gaps Between You and the Walt Disney World Resort. I hope you enjoy all of the Walt Disney World information and fun we have to offer on this “missing mountain” edition of the WDW News Today Podcast.
To kick off episode 72, we have all the recent happenings from the last week to discuss in our Walt Disney World Resort News and Rumor Report. This time around, we’ll be talking about some early changes to the “What Will You Celebrate?” entertainment line-up for 2009, a major Magic Kingdom E-Ticket attraction that may go missing next year, and just what attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios may not be operating next time you visit the park.
Following that, we’ll have the third edition of “What were they thinking?”, where we will try to examine why certain decisions are made by Walt Disney World management. This time around, we’ll be discussing the presence of famous celebrities in Disney attractions and if it is a good or bad thing for the parks.
Finally, Town Square Talk is back this week, highlighting the hottest topics around our WDWNT Network of websites. First up, Matt Paul is here to highlight some new Disney Park videos you can download from the WDWNTube (wdwntube.com). I’m also making some Town Square Talk this week, with news on some upcoming segments for the podcast that you can vote for as part of WDWNT Interactive. Jason Diffendal also drops in and informs us about the next WDWCelebrations event coming up in May 2009 that has a lot to do with the segment that follows this one.
Finally, to end this weeks program, we kick start our countdown of the 20 Biggest Moments in Disney’s Hollywood Studios History as voted by you with a look at what took the #20 spot. We’ll also be examining just how important this moment is in the 20 year history of the park. We hope to see this segment improve as it continues with a larger group of participants, we were a little short on staff this week because the holidays are quickly approaching.
To subscribe to the WDW News Today podcast on Itunes, go to this link. If you do not have Itunes, visit our Podcast Download Directory to download or listen to all of our shows
This episode is also available in an enhanced version. An enhanced podcast is a podcast with added features that standard podcasts don’t have. Enhanced podcasts include many features like Chapter listings, this lets you skip through chapters or see what is in store for this weeks show. Enhanced podcasts also have images to let you differ the chapters by. Enhanced podcasts have one negative feature, you can not play them on most MP3 players. The file format for this is a .m4a which can play on Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. You will also need iTunes or Windows Media Player to be able to skip through chapters. If you need or would like the standard edition, download the normal edition listed below this file both on Itunes and in our podcast directory.
Even though we are just about three weeks away from the beginning of the “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign at the Walt Disney World Resort, we have already had a major change in plans. Now don’t panic just yet, it’s actually quite a positive one. Instead of taking the same exact concept that Disneyland park is going to use for what they are calling “Celebrate! A Street Party” on Main Street U.S.A. like was originally planned, the Magic Kingdom will be receiving a larger and more extensive version of this mini-parade/show beginning Spring 2009. Here is a release on the new offering:
At the Walt Disney World® Resort, the “Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party” will come to life in early spring 2009 at the Magic Kingdom® Park. It will feature multiple floats (in this case, “party boxes”) each hosted by a Disney Character with fantastic upbeat music that will have you dancing and celebrating in front of Cinderella Castle. Hosts include Genie (from Aladdin), Lumiere (from Beauty and the Beast), Timon (The Lion King), Sebastian (The Little Mermaid) and the Mad Hatter (Alice in Wonderland ).
The concept sounds much stronger than the Disneyland version, as you can see here:
Beginning in spring 2009, the heart of Disneyland® Park will rock to the beat of some of the best party tunes of all time during “Celebrate! A Street Party.” Balloons and streamers fill the air on Main Street, U.S.A.®, while crazy conga lines, swing dancers and Disney Characters take to the street to celebrate with you!
It should be interesting to see how this “Main Street Family Fun Day Parade” replacement does when it debuts next year at the Magic Kingdom. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information on this new entertainment offering becomes available.
While there are still 3 months remaining in the long running Year of a Million Dreams at the Disney Parks, the marketing campaign for “What Will You Celebrate?” is already in full swing. If you head over to the official Walt Disney World website, you can plainly see that the mouse-ear balloons have already taken over the place. More interestingly, there is now a Walt Disney World Resort specific page for the 2009 celebration that focuses only on what guests of the Orlando Vacation Kingdom will be able to see or do when they are invited to “Celebrate Everyday!” beginning January 1st. You can see the new website by going HERE.
Did I mention that we now have an entire section for information on 2009’s “What Will You Celebrate?” campaign? If not, then be sure to follow the link in either the category section or by clicking the celebration logo located in the right sidebar of WDW News Today. We hope this will make it easier for you to follow all of the happenings for this upcoming celebration.
According to MiceAge, the opening of the DCA Preview Center has been pushed back 1 month. There are a couple of factors as to why the date was pushed back. Firstly, Jay Rasulo should be announcing Magical Celebrations, the follow-up promotion to the Year of a Million Dreams on September 18th in New York. Secondly, the Miley Cyrus Sweet 16 event that is happening on October 5th. Basically, Disney don’t want the “DCA message” to be lost in-between these 2 events.
So if everything goes according to plan, Cast Member & Annual Passholder previews should be held around the second week of October, with a grand opening planned to happen on October 20th. The good news in this however, is that the exhibits, as well as the 7 minute video that will play on the screen that used to play the Seasons of the Vine movie are both ready. Marketing however isn’t…
In case you didn’t hear our last report on Magical Celebrations a few weeks ago, It is set to be the event that replaces the Year of a Million Dreams Celebration at the Walt Disney World Resort in January 2009. However, don’t expect free giveaways and new entertainment to be the focus of the next year-long marketing campaign.
Much like the celebration of Magical Gatherings back in 2004, Magical Celebrations is set to be the starting point for a line-up of new add-on vacation offerings that will be offered to guests looking to celebrate lifetime milestones during their vacation. As Jim Hill reported in his latest article on Jim Hill Media, Disney has just purchased some new Internet domain names that will be just a small part of the 2009 event.
Better yet, let’s talk about the new Disney Weddings packages that the company will soon be offering. Which will cover everything from elaborate on-property proposals …
DISNEYPROPOSALS.COM
… to honeymoons that will now allow newly blended families to bring the kids along with their post-wedding trip to the Resort.
DISNEYFAMILYMOONS.COM
Or — better yet — how about a honeymoon package for stressed over-achievers who don’t really have the time to vacation at WDW.
DISNEYMINIMOONS.COM
While Married Couples will find a number of new offerings during this celebration, those looking to mark birthdays, anniversaries, and just about anything-else will find a variety of new ways to celebrate good times around the resort.
Be sure to stay tuned to WDW News Today for more details on this new celebration as we get closer to January 2009 and the beginning of Magical Celebrations.
