Celebrate New Year 2012 With Brand New Disney Merchandise
2011 has gone extremley quickly for me this year and with two visits to Disney (one in Paris, one to Walt Disney World) I am certainly not one for complaining. If you are looking to celebrate the New Year in Disney style then you might want to look at some of the 2012 merchandise that Disney have just released in stores across the parks.
2012 Disney Pins
Those of you that know my spending habits in the park will already know that I spend the majority of my money on pins and have a fair number of them already. With a brand new year coming Disney have decided to go for 2012 New Year themed pins that will be around just for a short time (the generic 2012 pins will be available for most of the year) and as you can see below, there are a number of different pins to choose from. The Chip & Dale one looks like the best of the bunch to me and is nice to see Disney using these underused characters!
Image Source: The Disney Parks Blog
Disney Ears
Although I have personally never gone for any of the ear designs in the past (I was tempted by the limited edition Tron Ears) I can see why people enjoy wearing them and this limited edition design to celebrate a brand new year is well worth look at.
Generic 2012 Merchandise
Of course with 2012 now almost here Disney have also started to release all of the merchandise with 2012 plastered on it and this included t-shirts, cups, pins and vinylmations.
If you aren’t fortunate enough to be heading to Disney before the start of the new year (I am with you on that) then keep an eye out in all the normal Ebay places and I am sure you will start to see all of this appear soon!
Disney To Announce Something Big On News Years Eve
As the year for memories comes to a close it looks like Disney are gearing up for a big announcement on New Years Eve. In order to find out exactly what Disney are going to be saying you will need to tune into Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. Although the show is hosted in the Disneyland park, Disney have promised that the annuncement will cover the parks across the world, exaclty what do Disney have planned?
A New Year, A New Theme
The thing that Disney are most likely to announce has to be a new theme for the new year across the parks, this year was memories and next year could be something similar (although judging by what Disney ar saying it is going to be bigger) or it could be something huge.
Although not impossible, don’t get your hopes up for a brand new ride that will be opening across every park in the world, it just isn’t fessible for Disney to do something like this, each park has a different audience.
So what will Disney be announcing on New Years Eve? Only 5 days to wait!!
90 Disney Ice Sculptures To Celebrate Disneyland Paris Hitting 20!
Over 90 Disney ice sculptures have been created by over 29 artists from around the world for the snow and ice festival in Belgium. These have been created in order to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Disneyland Paris!
The video below just begins to show how much work has to go into each individual ice sculpture. All the favourites have been recreated in ice and they include Mickey, Stitch and the Seven Dwarves!
Disney Bring Disney World Magic To New York
This is a great example of what Disney are best at, making ordinary people smile! This clever bit of technology shown in Time Square is just one of the ways that Disney can get people to interact with their favorite characters when guests are outside of the park.
The best bit is at the end when Sorcerer Mickey appears outside Cinderella’s Castle!
Talking Mickey Mouse Finally Debuts At The Magic Kingdom (There Is A Catch)
You may remember that D23 this year featured two different talking Mickeys, one that had pre-recorded sayings (and was a bit out of time) and one that was speaking there and then. Well it looks like the imagineers are taking this even further and the other day the talking Mickey was seen in the Magic Kingdom within his normal Town Theatre location!
There Is A Catch
Although this all sounds great, they are still only testing him at this stage and he was only there in limited capacity on that night. However, everyone that got the chance to meet him said that the talking was exactly how it should be with the mouth and actions going at the same time. If you are to watch the video below you will also see that Mickey can instantly answer questions that guests ask him too!
This kind of experience is one that separates Disney from the rest of the theme parks across the world.
When Will Talking Mickey Come Into The Parks?
Due to the fact that Disney have said that they are still testing at the moment, I wouldn’t expect to see a talking Mickey appear full time until at least early 2012. On the other hand, he looks pretty finished and guests could see him in time for Christmas if Disney feel he is ready enough.
What Does This Mean For The Future?
Once Mickey has been perfected, you can almost bet money on Disney moving onto the other members of the gang. Minnie, Donald and Goofy are likely to be the next on the list but it could mean a big change in terms of character dining experiences in the next few years!
Take a look at the below video to see how cool this talking Mickey really is!
Happy Halloween 2011 From Top Florida Guide!
In order to celebrate the fact that it is Halloween today, here is a great collection of Halloween videos, not just from Disney World but from the various Disney parks all over the world!
Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade
Disney have done it again and this years parade looks fantastic. Featuring all of your favorite characters dressed up in various Halloween costumes, and of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without an appearance from the Disney Villains and the cast from the Haunted Mansion!
Mickey’s Happy Hallowishes Fireworks Show
Again this show looks fantastic and with it starting with one of my favorite songs from WDW, Grim Grinning Ghosts, I am really annoyed that I couldn’t be there to see it this year!
Disney’s Villain Dance Mix & Mingle
This comes straight from the success of the fantastic dance off every year from the Star Wars characters, and this show looks like it was great fun to watch. It is great to see that Disney know a lot fans love the villains and giving them their own show at Halloween was a very good move indeed.
Disneyland Commercial
This fantastic commercial for Halloween in Disneyland California is a great way of showing fans that once again, Halloween is a time for the Villains to come out and enjoy themselves. They have even changed Space Mountain to reflect Halloween!
Disneyland Paris Pumpkin Growth
This video goes into detail on how a British Pumpkin farmer creates the pumpkins that end up looking like Mickey Mouse! Those of you that have been on Living in the Land in Epcot at the right time of the year may also have seen how this works. Of course the video also features a couple of special appearances from two very special mice!
So there you have it, Happy Halloween everyone!
Disney CEO Bob Iger Is Going To Step Down In 2015
Sourced Directly From ABC News:
“The Walt Disney Company directors announced today that CEO Robert A. Iger’s contract will be extended through June 2016 and he will take on the added role of chairman as part of a succession plan that will include a new chief executive in 2015. “
“Under the new agreement, effective Oct. 1, Iger will assume the role of chairman in addition to chief executive officer following Chairman John E. Pepper’s retirement from the board at Disney’s 2012 annual shareholder meeting in March. Until then, Iger will remain president and chief executive officer,” Disney said in a statement.
“Iger will hold the positions of chairman and chief executive officer through March 31, 2015, at which time a new CEO would be named; Iger will thereafter serve as executive chairman for 15 months through June 30, 2016. Iger’s current contract was set to expire on Jan. 31, 2013.”
For me this is a great shame as Bob has done a lot for the company since his time at the company, especially in what he did to secure the relationship between Pixar and Disney. You could say that without Iger the company would even be struggling to push the animation to the standards of Tangled and Bolt.
Disney know what they are doing and we will have to wait until 2015 to see what the plans are!
Anyone I have ever heard of who has been to Disney has summed it up in one word. Magical. However, the question is, is this because they have been going since they were toddlers so they can properly appreciate every aspect of Disney; or do half of them have such an open mind that for two or three weeks out of their year they can become little kids again?
In all honesty, I think it really depends on who you are. If you have been going for every couple of years since you were small you are bound to love it, as every time you think of it you remember the excitement and joy of every day in Disney.
If the first time you go is when you are 18 or older (like myself) it is slightly harder to get in the mindset of a child and really enjoy it. This is why when I first went to Florida I preferred Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure because it was more appropriate for adults. However, when I went for the second time, obviously looking forward to being at Universal I managed to relax a lot more and suddenly saw Disneyworld in a different way. I could really appreciate it and how amazing it really was just by relaxing and being able to become a child again. (Mind you it helps that my Partner is a complete kid anyway!)
The amazing thing is no-one cares how childish you really are. Nobody stares at you like you have completely lost your mind because they are acting in the same way, and the staff are all wishing they were in your position and being a child again. Plus you can get away with having a picture with all of the characters, no matter how old you are! When you realise this you start to relax even further. Since then Disneyworld has become like a second home to me, my favourite place by far, with Universal coming a good second.
On the other hand, I have heard of people who will never go back! I cannot speak for those people but my theory is they couldn’t relax enough to really enjoy it for fear of looking too stupid. Thereofre it makes it harder to enjoy.
So to answer the question, the magic of Disney can catch you whether you are young or old, you just need to know how to relax and appreciate it.
I will say this for Disney though, whether you’re young/old, hate it/love it, the firework shows are the most spectacular things you will ever see and no-one can say otherwise.
Are You Ever Too Old For Meeting Disney Characters?
You will find that there are a lot of couples out there that go to Disney World and do not bother with paying a visit to the many different Disney characters whilst there are others that will queue and visit each and every one, even if they aren’t even their favourties! So with this in mind, is there a time where you have to put the pen, signature book and camera down to just experience the attractions at Disney World?
You Are Never Too Old For Disney
I am a strong believer in that everyone who goes to Disney is never too old to do anything there and this includes meeting all of the Disney characters. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t the biggest fan of Stitch or one of the Disney Princesses it is still worth queuing up to gain an autograph and a photograph just because everyone else is doing it and having a fantastic time! All of the characters will act in the same way they do in the movies and will make sure that each and every guest that approaches them goes away with a smile (even if they are a villain).
The truth is, you are never too old to meet all of the Disney characters, especially Mickey Mouse!
The Top Things Your Kids Are Going To Want To Do In Disney World
When it comes to going to Disney World it is safe to say that a lot of the time people think that all of the parks are just for kids. This is not the case at all which is why you need to make sure that the kids are actually going to be doing things that they like. This means that days spent at Downtown Disney and EPCOT might not actually be best for everyone in the family and you might have to hang out at The Magic Kingdom and ride it’s a small world a bit more than you would have to without the kids. So here are just some of the things you can do with your kids in Disney World.
Go To Fantasyland
This is the place where all of the younger kids are going to want to spend all of their time and this is simply because the younger kids love it here. All of the favourites from Disney Princesses to Peter Pan and Dumbo are all located within this area of the park. Don’t put off going to this section of the park just because you think you won’t like it. I am in my twenties now and I still love this area of the park, it is only going to get better when the new and improve Fantasyland starts to open in 2012!
Spend Your Money
If you thought that saving up to travel to Disney World was expensive then you are going to get a shock when your kids want everything they see in all of the Disney stores. The worst part about it is that although some of the stores contain the same stock there are different things in nearly every Disney store in Disney World, this means you are going to have very empty pockets by the end of the vacation! In all seriousness, you will want to watch what you spend on yourself too, I really have to hold myself back when I am Disney, and being such a fan I love everything!
Meet And Greet ALL of the characters
It might sound really boring to you right now but trust me, you are going to want to meet all of the Disney chracters too, they are great fun to meet and get photos and autographs with as every single one of them acts just like the real character from the movies. For example, Tigger is always bouncing all over the place and messing about whereas the Villains will snatch your books from you and sometimes even through them to the floor! Be warned, you are going to have to wait in line to meet the more popular ones!
Mickey Mouse even has his very own Fast Pass system now at the Magic Kingdom!
So no matter what the kids want when they are in Disney World you will find it to be the vacation of a lifetime!
