Disney Announces "Limited Time Magic" for 2013.....

The Walt Disney Company announced its theme for next year at an impressive media event that included Mickey and Minnie revealing a fairytale castle made of 45,000 pounds of ice, right in the middle of Times Square.  The castle will be on view as long as the warm autumn temperatures in New York allow it to exist.

 Fairytale in ice

The real news lies in the press event itself...2013 will see a long list of limited time events coming to both Walt Disney World and Disneyland.  Think of these events as special parties that will run for short durations in the parks.  Disney has just started to make its list, but with what they are already showing on the official Disney blog, it is going to be a VERY busy year at Disney.

The following is a partial listed compiled from the Disney blog, and remember this is just a few of the events already planned and more are on the way....so 2013 (like every year) is a great time to plan on a Disney visit!!

Which one are you most excited about?

From the official blog:

True Love: Celebrate romance and enchantment throughout Valentine’s Week with special moments and entertainment geared to lovebirds. Disney Princes join their Princesses to meet park guests in special settings, prix fixe menus turn up at select restaurants and Valentine’s collectibles will be offered for the week. 

Independence Week: It’s red, white and blue as Disney Parks salutes America with a 4th of July Fireworks Party — for an entire week, with patriotic lighting bathing the Disney castles on both coasts. Mickey Mouse appears in his patriotic finest and guests will find special USA shirts, Ear Hats and other limited-edition souvenirs. 

Long Lost Friends Week: Lesser-known Disney characters will move from the shadows to the spotlight meet-and-greets on both coasts. Photo opps with characters that could include Flik, Clarabelle Cow, Remy, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will surprise and delight guests. And Disney guests even have the chance to vote online for which characters they want to see. 

Pirate Week: Why talk like a pirate one day when you could celebrate these scalawags all week long? The adventures of Jack Sparrow come to life like never before during a bicoastal buccaneer bash in which Disneyland and Walt Disney World become pirate-palooza: pirate bands, pirate meet-and-greets and more. 

Dapper Dans Sing Boy Bands: The Dapper Dans, the iconic quartet from Main Street, U.S.A., will add a special finale to their show, claiming the title of the “Original Boy Band” and delivering a medley of hits from One Direction, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys. 

Unleash the Villains: Friday the 13th in September 2013 is a special day, so Disneyland park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are staying open until the 13th hour (1 a.m.). Maleficent, Captain Hook, Jafar and other Disney Villains host a dance party, complete with limited-edition collectibles and other nighttime mischief. 

Golden Horseshoe Revue: The fabled Frontierland show returns to Disney for one month only, bringing back the corny jokes and enduring songs that were often enjoyed by Walt Disney himself.

Orlando Dragon Boat Festival this weekend....

The Orlando Dragon Boat Festival returns to Downtown Disney this weekend, from October 19 to October 20 2012.

Guest viewing is available from the promenade along the Village Lake throughout the West Side.  Events take place between 6pm and 10:30pm on Friday, and 8am to 5:30pm on Saturday. Due to the races, there will be no guest boat transportation on Friday between 3pm to 7:30pm, and Saturday 8am to 5:30pm.

Be Our Guest Restaurant Menu....

Below you will find the official menu for the Be Our Guest Restaurant in the new Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom. Once again after seeing it this is going to be a fantastic dining experience for the whole family.

Reservations should be made well in advance and from what I understand the earliest reservations available at this time are in late February!!

Bon Appetit!!!!

Cover

Menu

NEW FANTASYLAND SOFT OPENS!!!!

Good news for all the Disney fans out there that are eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Fantasyland area at the Magic Kingdom!!  As of Friday (10.12.12) afternoon the new area is now open to the public.

Keep in mind that this is a "soft opening" which is traditionally used to allow the new area and Disney execs a chance to see how things work when the public is added to the mix. Rides and shops are subject to be closed at any time so plan accordingly and do not get upset if you do not get to see the new attractions from the inside.

The opening includes Gaston's Tavern, Be Our Guest Restaurant (No food service at this time), The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Bonjour Village Gifts. Enchanted Tales with Belle was already in a soft opening but is open many more hours now.

The new expansion area is very detailed and has an almost Epcot World Showcase feel to it.  The scenery is beautiful, the architechture breathtaking and the overall experience is just truly wonderful. Sometimes you will just want to set back and listen to the rushing rivers, waterfalls, and eye candy that is at every turn.  Disney will still need to tweak a few aspects but for the most part the new area is flawless in its presentation.

I will tell you that entering the castle for the Be Our Guest Restaurant had some people tear up and it is honestly breathtaking in its scope and detail. I have posted a few pics below and many more are to come now that I am back from vacation!  Enjoy!

Welcome....

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Another angle...

Stunning details...

Gaston's Tavern

The "brute" himself..

"I use antlers in all of my decorating..."

Nice touch....

On the way to the Beast's castle

Main entrance 

Check out the details here...amazing.

Above the doors.

Main Hall

The Ballroom dinning area..yes it is snowing outside the windows in the back.

Aspects of the story are everywhere.

Bonjour Gifts

Inside

Be Our Guest collection...nice quality also.

Test Track 2.0 to open December 6th...

The Disney Company just announced that Test Track will be re-opening on December the 6th, 2012!!

Test Track closed in April for a major refurbishment and it is rumored the new Test Track will be a "virtual reality" sim based experience.  The ride system itself has not been altered but all ride effects have been changed and Disney is placing a great deal of never before used technology in the ride.

December the 6th is going to be a very busy day for Disney geeks as this is also the day that the new Fantasyland Forest opens at the Magic Kingdom.

Splitsville Gearing up...

Splitsville, the new trendy bowling complex, at Downtown Disney is in high gear!

A truckload of Brunswick Pin Setters were delivered yesterday which indicates the work inside the building is moving along very fast...they have even started hiring for certain positions.

The opening date has not been set but all printed materials point toward a mid fall opening!

Disney Delays Passholder Fantasyland Preview Sign up...

Good morning everyone and happy Monday!!  I am still on vacation this week but will start making little posts and will be back to my regular schedule Friday of this week.  Lets start off with some disappointing news from the Disney side of the world this morning....

The new Fantasyland area of the Magic Kingdom sign up was on the minds of many passholders this morning who are eagerly awaiting a first sneak peek of the new area.

Annual passholder sign up's were originally scheduled for 8am EST this morning, Disney then last week postponed it till 12pm EST.... then this morning at 8 AM when I went to the passholder site Disney had posted the following message:

Event Registration
We are experiencing technical difficulties with the Annual Passholder New Fantasyland preview sign-ups that have made it necessary to delay the sign-up date one week. The Walt Disney World Annual Passholder New Fantasyland preview sign-ups will now begin on Monday, October 15 at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.

Things happen I know, but not a great start to the first official public exposure to the new Fantasyland area. To compound matters I hear that the delay is not due to "technical" difficulties as much as they are looking at a possible delay to the dates themselves as the new areas still need some finishing touches that are cramping the Disney timeline....only time will tell.