DVC Member Previews for American Idol Experience and Kim Possible
Jason Diffendal
Disney Vacation Club Member Previews for The American Idol Experience and Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure have been announced. DVC Members must register in advance at this link for The American Idol Experience previews. The Kim Possible Challenge is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Disney Vacation Club Members have a special opportunity to …
Ratatouille Float Cut From the Pixar Play Parade
Anthony Yacullo
In some late breaking news, it seems the Ratatouille float in the Pixar Play Parade has been removed from the parade due to budget cuts, as it is the float that has the most performers. The float will most likely return for the peak seasons such as spring break & the summer. Stay tuned to …
Myrna Litt’s 1/8/09 Soda Fountain & Studio Store Photo Report
Anthony Yacullo
Myrna Litt popped into the Soda Fountain & Studio Store today & grabbed a few pictures for us: Pinocchio is coming to the El Capitan on January 23rd. They are setting up a new 2 month promotion featuring a candy shop. Not really sure what it is at the moment. Anthony Yacullo
Jose Castillo’s 1/7/09 Hollywood Studios Photo Report
Tom Corless
Our technical director Jose Castillo is currently at the Walt Disney World Resort and has provided us with these photos from his first day at the Resort yesterday, which took him to Disney’s Hollywood Studios: It was a very wet day yesterday. More photos including American Idol Experience and Toy Story Midway Mania after the …
Live Report from the WDW Resort
Jason Diffendal
Tom Corless, our man on the ground, called in with this report today about Dinoland at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and the American Idol Experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As part of the tech rehearsals that have been going on for the American Idol Experience, the preshow in the queue area is operating and can be …
Chuck Canzoneri’s 1/7/09 Photo Report
Anthony Yacullo
Chuck Canzoneri is here with his latest photo report (and as will usually be the case with Chuck, he provides his own captions): Celebrate Today! merchandise in the Emporium. I’m not sure if this popcorn bucket is new or not? New Celebrate Today! popcorn containers. Took this at the Carnation Cafe where if you were …
Shanghai Disneyland Announcement, but not from Disney
Jason Diffendal
While the Walt Disney Company continues to deny it has agreed to build a park in Shanghai, reports are surfacing that the official state-run Shanghai Securities News has announced that the talks have been completed and the project will be announced soon. Stay tuned to WDWNewsToday as more information on this new development in the …
Architect of Disney Lodges Passes Away
Jason Diffendal
Peter H. Dominick Jr., the genius behind Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and Grand Californian Hotel, passed away last Thursday. The Denver-based architect always said a turning point in his illustrious career came in the early 1990s, when he presented his design for the Wilderness Lodge to Michael Eisner, then chairman of Disney: “During …
Disneyland Resort News & Rumor Report
Anthony Yacullo
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, …
Myrna Litt’s 1/6/09 Photo Report
Anthony Yacullo
It’s once again time for a photo report from our very own Myrna Litt. Let’s take a look around the Disneyland Resort as the Christmas decorations start to come down: The Year of a Million Dreams themed Mickey floral is being removed for a new What Will You Celebrate? themed floral. Here you can see …
Disney Design A Tee Grand Opening on Friday, January 9
Tom Corless
Disney Design a Tee Presented by Hanes Only in the Downtown Disney® Marketplace Event: Disney Design a Tee Presented by Hanes Grand Opening Grand Opening Date: Friday, January 9 Grand Opening Time: 11:30am The first 100 guests at the Grand Opening of Disney Design A Tee presented by Hanes will receive: A Complimentary Lanyard, …
Disney Parks Celebrate U.S. Military With Free, Multi-day Admission to Theme Parks in 2009
Anthony Yacullo
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. / ANAHEIM, Calif. (Jan. 5, 2009) — As Disney Parks ask “What Will You Celebrate?” and invite guests to turn their personal milestones into magical family vacations in 2009, America’s military personnel will have one more reason to celebrate: Free multi-day admission to Disney’s U.S. theme parks. With the “Disney’s Armed …
Breaking News: Space Mountain Refurb Finally Announced!
Tom Corless
The staff here at WDW News Today will be keeping you up to date on the latest news through-out the Walt Disney World Resort while Tom Corless is down at the resort for one of his many, many trips. This update is to let everyone know that it has been made official that Space Mountain …
The Haunted Mansion Just Got Scarier
Anthony Yacullo
Both Haunted Mansion Holiday & It’s a Small World Holiday close tomorrow to have their respective holiday overlays removed. In honor of this, I felt it right to post this little bit of interesting Haunted Mansion Holiday related news: Quirky filmmaker Tim Burton gets a first glimpse of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion Holiday attraction, which is based on …
Jose Eber’s 1/2/09 WDW Update
Tom Corless
WDWNT Photographer Jose Eber has some interesting updates from outside the parks to share with us today, so let’s take a look: Some work going on at the Monorail platform of the Transportation and Ticket Center A closer look The Bay Lake Tower addition to Disney’s Contemporary Resort continues to take shape A close-up shot later in …
Celebrate Little Princesses in April
Anthony Yacullo
2 new, small additions are coming to Disneyland Park this April. Firstly, Big Thunder Ranch will close for removal of Santa’s Reindeer Round-up this Monday, & will be closed all the way through April, when on the 2nd it will re-open as the Celebration Round-up and Barbecue at Big Thunder Ranch. The good news about …
“Take Flight” in 2009
Tom Corless
WDWNT cast member Jose Eber has provided us with construction photos of the upcoming Characters in Flight balloon at Downtown Disney, which will take guest high above the ground for a small price beginning in the Spring: Signs showing what the area will look like upon completion. As you an see, the balloon will be decorated with …
DLR Photo Report – New Years Day 2009
Anthony Yacullo
*** WE HAVE 3 NEW PHOTO REPORTS FOR YOU TODAY. SCROLL DOWN FOR CHUCK’S & MYRNA’S PHOTO REPORTS FROM NEW YEARS EVE. *** And here is our last photo report for the day, mine from yesterday, New Years Day: New banners for What Will You Celebrate? along the Mickey & Friends Tram Route. There are …
Chuck Canzoneri’s New Years Eve Photo Report
Anthony Yacullo
And now for our second photo report, also from New Years Eve, from Chuck Canzoneri. For this photo report, I’ll leave the captions to Chuck: The park hours sign at Mickey & Friends. We got there at 8AM. 8:34am & the tickets windows are as full as I’ve ever seen them. A look through the …
Myrna Litt’s New Years Eve Photo Report
Anthony Yacullo
Happy New Year everyone! The first of today’s three photo reports is from Myrna Litt on New Years Eve: New Years Eve guide-map. And a New Year 2009 button that Cast Members wore. For Myrna, the day started out very early. At 7:30am in fact! Waiting for the rope to drop. The rope dropped, & we …
Stitch’s Supersonic Construction Update
Tom Corless
Matt Paul has provided us with some photos (which are the first to make use of our larger site width) and a video of the ongoing stage construction for “Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration” taken yesterday at the Magic Kingdom in Tomorrowland: This construction is taking place directly in front of the old Skyway building in Tomorrowland …
Time to Celebrate!!!
Tom Corless
It’s finally here!!! The Year of a Million Dreams has just ended after over 2 years and now Disney Parks wants to know “What Will You Celebrate?” in 2009. Here’s some of what we have to look forward to (even though WDWNT has reported most of this already): New immersive fun in theme parks Disney Parks’ initiative …
New Year’s Eve Begins with a Bang
Tom Corless
-While it comes as no surprise that the Magic Kingdom closed it’s gates to all but Annual Passholders and Disney Resort guests at 12:00 PM today, another more interesting closure took place. It seems a pipe of some kind burst in the Frontierland area of the park earlier today, closing the entire area off to guests. …
On the Spot at Paradise Pier
Anthony Yacullo
One of our spy reporters was at Disney’s California Adventure yesterday & noticed 2 very interesting developments in Paradise Pier: It’s kind of to make out, but the eyes & mouth of the sun face have been removed. We’ll have a closer up picture of this for you on Friday. Secondly, this lenticular panel has …
El Capitan Photo Report – 12/31/08
Anthony Yacullo
A very happy New Years Eve to all our readers out there! Today I had the chance to visit the Disney Soda Fountain & Studio Store at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood for the very first time, & I managed to get a few neat pictures: Quite a cool window display. Decor in the …
Coming Attractions
Tom Corless
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 …
Fun Tidbits From The Xmas Day Parade
Anthony Yacullo
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 …
12/30 DVC Construction Updates
Tom Corless
Everyone’s favorite photographer, Jose Eber, has returned with some photos of construction of the two latest DVC Resorts at Walt Disney World: Construction continues on the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort Tom Corless
Humbug Made Official
Anthony Yacullo
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 …
Registration for American Idol Experience AP Previews Now Open!
Tom Corless
You can now register for the Walt Disney World Annual Passholder previews of the new American Idol Experience attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios by going to this link. You must have a valid Annual Pass to register and attend the event anytime from February 5-8, 2009. Space is limited, so be sure to register as …
Two New Endurance Events in 2009
Tom Corless
Just a few weeks away from the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon, Disney has released information on two new events coming next year: LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Road-running enthusiasts will have new opportunities to run for fun at Walt Disney World Resort this spring as Disney’s Endurance Series introduces ESPN The Weekend 5K Feb. …
New Years Eve!
Iain
A quick update on New Years Eve at the Disneyland Resort while Luke is still overseas on vacation: Disneyland will stay open until 2:00am with entertainment including live bands through-out the night, A Christmas Fantasy Parade at 3:30pm & 6:30pm, the Believe in Holiday Magic fireworks spectacular at 9:25pm, Fantasmic! at 9:00pm & 10:30pm, & …
Weekend News Round-Up
Tom Corless
Here are a few news items that have come up over the weekend: -In case you haven’t heard yet, the window for making Advance Dining Reservations for Walt Disney World table service locations has been set back to 90 days. It appears the days of calling up for reservations 6 months in advance are over …
New Year’s Eve 2009 Line-Up
Tom Corless
Here is the current line-up for New Year’s Eve entertainment at the Walt Disney World Resort: LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — A kaleidoscope of colors and elaborate light displays will decorate the skies on the final night of 2008 at Walt Disney World Resort. Dazzling fireworks showers, live entertainment and extended park hours throughout the …
Matt Paul’s 12/27 Mini-Report
Tom Corless
Matt Paul was at Epcot yesterday for a very special reason and captured a few shots to share with us all along the way: The large sign outside the Epcot 25th exhibit is now gone, but the timeline remains Tom Corless
Disney Design-a-Tee Shop Photo Report
Tom Corless
Robert Ashburn of Figment’s Media.Net and FTN has provided us with some photos of the updated Wonderful World of Memories store in the Downtown Disney Marketplace, including the new Disney Design-a-Tee shop: The exterior has been updated with signs for the “Build Your Own Ear Hat” feature Tom Corless
The Other Parade From Yesterday
Tom Corless
It seems that the WDWNT Christmas Podcast Parade was not the only parade taking place yesterday :), there was of course the 25th annual Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade on ABC. Disey has put a number of clips from the parade and the holiday season on Youtube, so I thought I would share them …
2008 Christmas Podcast Parade Now Available for Download
Tom Corless
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.- If last year wasn’t enough to shake-up your holidays, the latest Walt Disney World holiday tradition will return Christmas Day 2008. While the 25th annual Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade taped in early December airs on ABC this Christmas morning, another parade will be making its way down Main Street …
UPDATED: Humbug Entertainment Cuts
Anthony Yacullo
Merry Christmas everyone from the weather appropriate England! Unfortunately, the news I have for you today isn’t all that warming, especially if you’re a fan of entertainment at Disneyland. Yes, quite a lot of Disneyland’s entertainment offerings will be getting either reduced showings, or will be going on hiatus. Over at Disneyland Park, as previously …
Robert Ashburn’s 12/21 Magic Kingdom Update
Tom Corless
Robert Ashburn of Figment’s Media.Net and FTN has provided us with some his trip to the Magic Kingdom on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some newsworthy items using this new gallery option: Space in Tomorrowland being prepared for Stitch’s Supersonic Dance Celebration that will debut in the Spring The old Skyway building is also …