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):

Video of “Magical”

WDWNT Author on June 6, 2009

Our newest staff member here at Disneyland News Today, Conner Purzycki, was at this past Wednesday’s preview performance of Disneyland’s new fireworks show “Magical”. Thanks to our fantastic new WDWNTube Disney Parks Video Site, he brings us a full high definition video of the show:

A Magical Preview

WDWNT Author on June 3, 2009

According to the OC Register’s Around Disney blog:

Guests at Disneyland on Thursday night will likely get a sneak peek at Disneyland’s new summer fireworks spectacular “Magical.”

The new fireworks show officially begins nightly on June 12, but Disney officials plan to test it out in a rehearsal around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday – depending upon weather and scheduling.

Disney characters Tinker Bell and Dumbo, the flying elephant, will take to the skies over Disneyland to lead the pyrotechnics, synchronize to popular Disney music that recalls “Pinocchio,” “Mary Poppins” and “Cinderella.”

It marks the first new summertime fireworks show at Disneyland since the park’s 50th anniversary in 2005. It’s also the first time Dumbo has appeared in a fireworks show, flying over Sleeping Beauty Castle.

After all the kinks are worked out and the show officially gets under way next week, it will run nightly through Sept. 7.

“We’re all looking forward to seeing what our entertainment team has come up with this time,” said John McClintock, a Disneyland spokesman.

Remember… Magical Only Runs For 2 Months!

WDWNT Author on May 2, 2009

Seems like Disneyland’s new fireworks show Magical will only be running in the summer, with Remember Dreams Come True returning this fall. According to D23:

We already revealed some of the exciting details about Disneyland’s new fireworks show, Magical, last week, but there’s more to this display than meets the eye!

As with every Disney spectacular, Magical integrates new effects and technologies, including floodlights, customized “Magical” fireworks shells (that will burst both pink and blue — during a delightful “battle” between Sleeping Beauty’s Flora and Merryweather), and, for the first time ever, a flying Dumbo!

First off, Magical has an exclusive run: June 12 through August 23. Disneyland’s Remember… Dreams Come True returns for the fall, so you have a limited amount of time to see the magic of Magical.

Along with soaring vocals from Broadway star Eden Espinosa and a lush score from Greg Smith, Magical features beloved Disney songs including (take a deep breath!): “The Second Star to the Right,” “An Actor’s Life for Me,” “Give a Little Whistle,” “I’ve Got No Strings,” “It’s a Jolly Holiday,” “Chim Chim Cher-ee,” “Step in Time,” “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” “Baby Mine,” “So This Is Love,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Once Upon a Dream.”

As with every Disney spectacular, Magical integrates new effects and technologies, including floodlights, customized “Magical” fireworks shells (that will burst both pink and blue — during a delightful “battle” between Sleeping Beauty’s Flora and Merryweather), and, for the first time ever, a flying Dumbo!

Dumbo’s soaring techniques are similar to those of Tinker Bell’s (who will still, of course, appear in the show). “But it is a whole new type of technology,” explains Disneyland Entertainment Productions Senior Show Director John Addis. “[Designer] Michael Curry’s eyes got really wide when we went to him and said, ‘We want to do Dumbo on a wire.’ But he’s risen to the occasion. I was just up there Monday and he said it was he best puppet he’s ever done to reflect a character.”

No doubt, the experience will be… Magical.

Buy Three Nights, Get Two Nights and a New Fireworks Show Free!

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

A press release for an excellent new vacation deal holds more to it than just that deal:

Get Two More Days & Nights FREE, When You Buy Three at the Disneyland Resort

It’s an offer as exciting as summer itself! You can get two extra hotel nights — plus two extra days of Theme Park admission — FREE with the purchase of a 3-night or longer Walt Disney Travel Company package to the Disneyland® Resort. That gives you extra time to enjoy all the classic shows and attractions in both Parks by day, then see the night in a whole new light with this summer’s electrifying lineup of after-dark entertainment:

  • A bigger, brighter and bolder Fantasmic! ignites the night
  • Disney’s Electrical Parade, where a twinkling Tinker Bell brings new sparkle to a dazzling classic
  • Magical, the new fireworks spectacular, illuminates the sky with Disney magic

This offer is valid for travel April 1 through Sept. 26, 2009, but must be booked by Aug. 11, 2009.

Plus, book before May 31, 2009, and kids fly free on Alaska Airlines from select cities through June 15, 2009.

Hopefully you picked up on the last of the 3 entertainment offerings described, which is supposedly Disneyland’s new fireworks show, simply called Magical. The title is all that is known at this time, but stay tuned to Disneyland News Today as we get more in on this breaking news story.

July 4th Trip Planner

WDWNT Author on January 1, 1970

To prepare everyone visiting the Disneyland Resort during this holiday weekend, I wanted to go over the entertainment schedule for July 4th, as well as the park hours, to make sure everyone can successfully see what they want to see:

  • Disneyland will be open from 8:00am to 12:00am all weekend.
  • “Celebrate! A Street Party” will be performed every day at 3:30pm and 6:30pm.
  • The special fourth of July holiday fireworks show, “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky”, will be performed at 9:25pm starting tonight and running through Sunday night. According to D23, the shows on July 2nd, 3rd, and 5th will be a condensed version, only 8 minutes long, compared to the full show on July 4th which is 13 minutes long and will have much more pyro. The regular fireworks show, Magical, will return on Monday.
  • Fantasmic will have three performances on July 4th, at 9:00pm, 10:30pm, and 11:30pm.
  • Suburban Legends will be performing through-out the night on July 4th at the TLT Dance Club, beginning at 7:00pm.
  • Disney’s California Adventure will be open from 10:00am to 10:00pm on July 4th.
  • The Pixar Play Parade will be performed as usual at 5:15pm.
  • Disney’s Electrical Parade will also be performed at its usual time of 8:45pm.

If you are planning to visit the Disneyland Resort this weekend, be aware crowds will be massive. Disneyland may even be closed in the afternoon due to the park reaching capacity, and you’ll be re-directed to DCA. Parking may also be an isssue, as I explained in this recent post. For the full entertainment schedule on July 4th, which includes smaller entertainment venues around the parks, click HERE.