Disney introduces RFID technology to is hotel rooms

The keys to the kingdom at Disney World are changing.

The opening of the first phase of Disney's Art of Animation Resort on May 31 unveiled a new feature to the hotel rooms, "radio-frequency identification" keys. Normally hotel guests insert card keys into slots to open doors. But the new system allows people to place the card near a reader to unlock the door.

                                                                                         © Disney

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, Disney expects to retrofit all of 26,000 hotel rooms on property by the end of the next year. Work should soon begin at Disney's Contemporary Resort starting this month.

According to the article, the new key system also is convenient because the cards can be reprogrammed by remote control so if there is a problem or you need to change rooms, there is no reason to walk back to the front desk.

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Smile of The Day: Stuffed Mickey Mouse

There's nothing like walking into a store at Disney World and seeing shelves lined with Mickey Mouse. It always brings a smile to my face.

                                                                                                                                                      © Steven Liebman

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Disney continues to dominate theme park business

Disney still dominates theme park attendance worldwide but it was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios that accounted for 45 percent of the attendance increase in North America, according to the 2011 Theme Index Global Attractions Attendance Report.

North American theme park attendance in 2011 grew by 2.9 percent, but 1.3 percentage points of that increase was due to the new Harry Potter land, according to the report, published by the Themed Entertainment Association and the Economics practice at AECOM.

Without Harry Potter, North America attendance grew by 1.6 percent. "That 1.6 percent figure points to continued, slow economic recovery from the recession and modest attendance growth for most parks, in a mature market. This is seen not just in park attendance figures but also in tourism numbers," the report states.

Even with the success of Harry Potter, Disney is still the gold standard when it comes to theme parks, filling the top eight spots on the list.

Disney World's Magic Kingdom remains the most visited park in the world with Disneyland behind it, followed by the two Tokyo Disney parks.

Here's how the parks stack up.

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Disney World increases ticket prices June 3

                                © Steven Liebman

Disney World is increasing ticket prices starting June 3 by 4.5 percent for a one-day one park base ticket up to 8.5 percent for a 10-day one park base ticket.

The increase follows prices increases at Disneyland on May 20.

In addition to the base tickets increasing the Park Hopper add-on portion is increasing for 2 or more days from $55 to $57. It remains the same for one-day Park Hopper at $35.

Annual pass holders will see a $55 increase to $574.

Because Disney World has a large amount of ticket combinations with Park Hopper, Water Park and No Expiration add-ons, the amounts of the increase will depend upon what you decide.

The specific price chart can be found here.

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A time lapse tour of Disneyland

What started out as a camera test by photographer Daniel Navarrete of Disneyland ended up a year later with a 30,000 plus photos turned into a 4 minute 42 second video time lapse tour of Disneyland and the California Adventure.

The video starts you out at the entrance to Disneyland, shows you around, takes you on a few rides, let's you experience a parade and even World of Color. It's a phenomenal accomplishment.

Thanks to Micechat.com for turning us on to this.

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To the Video: Disney World Monorail slowed down by a squirrel

Disney World employees are always caring for small animals. In this home made video, a squirrel runs on top of the monorail track slowing down one of the trains.

This may have been the most direct route for the squirrel to get to the Magic Kingdom from the Ticket and Transportation Center. The boat ride is not as fast. Or maybe the squirrel was doing the conductor a favor by leading the way. Either way, you think someone would have offered him a seat on the train.

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New season of 'My Yard Goes Disney' premieres June 1

The HGTV show "My Yard Goes Disney" returns Friday, June 1, for its second season transforming homeowners' backyards into virtual Disneylands or -- if the backyard is big enough -- Disney Worlds.

The season premiere, starting at 8 p.m. on both coasts, introduce the Morales family. Parents Geo and Gwen take their twin daughters to Disney World to meet the princesses. Gwen Morales, who grew up with the Disney fairytales, wants to keep the tradition alive for her children.

Enter HGTV and Disney Imagineers who turn the backyard into a fairytale village inspired by Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom and the topiaries of the Fantasia Gardens miniature golf course. 

Future episodes include designs inspired by Ariel's Undersea Adventure at Disneyland with a rock slide and an underground viewing window for the pool and an Animal Kingdom makeover with a pool-connected treehouse zip line and sandpit for digging dinosaur fossils.

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Disney Facts: How the Seven Dwarfs got their names

Drawings of the Seven Dwarfs from the press booklet
for the 1967 re-release of the movie.

Earlier this week we looked at all the rides at Disney World that have closed and how the names of the Seven Dwarfs have changed over time. Now (thanks to a suggestion from The Disney Freak) we are going to look at the origin of the Seven Dwarfs' names.

The original story from the Brothers Grimm did not name the dwarfs. But while Walt Disney was making the 1937 film, he realized the dwarfs would be the focal point of the movie. "Snow White was a charming but standard heroine; the prince appeared only briefly; and the witch was a fairy tale villainess. The dwarfs would have to provide most of the comedy and human interest," according to the 1967 press booklet created for the 30th anniversary re-release of the movie.

Walt wanted names that would reflect the personalities they were creating for the dwarfs. Some of the names proposed were Jump, Gabby, Wheezy, Nifty, Sniffy, Lazy, Puffy, Stubby, Shorty and Burby.

Snow White animator Woolie Reitherman said in the press booklet, “For the leader we wanted a special kind of personality, a self-appointed bumbler who tries to take command but gets all tangled up. We called him Doc. It was a good handle for a per­son in authority, and it suited his personality. The strongly identifying names were a beautifully simple way of establishing character.”

Many voices were tried to help spark character names. Actor Billy Gilbert had a terrific sneeze and inspired Sneezy. Other names came through the process of elimination. Happy and Grumpy provided a perfect bal­ance. Sleepy and Bashful came natu­rally.

“Dopey was the toughest of all,” re­members Ham Luske, another Snow White animator. “The boys tried to make him too much of an imbecile, which wasn’t what we really had in mind. We wanted to pattern him after Charlie Chaplin and tried many ap­propriate voices. The voice that came closest to what we wanted sounded too much like Doc.”

“Then somebody suggested that maybe he shouldn’t talk at all. That was the answer,” he said in the press booklet. “We decided that per­haps Dopey could talk but that he never really tried.”

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Disney donates CALIFORNIA letters from California Adventure

                                                                                      © Disney

The renovation of the California Adventure entrance at Disneyland Resort will help out the California State Fair.

Disney is donating the 11-foot-high California letters that have marked the entrance to the park since its opening, according to the Sacramento Bee.

"The letters were very popular with millions of guests over the past decade, and Cal Expo is a fitting destination to continue their legacy," Disneyland Resort President George A. Kalogridis told the Bee.

This year's California State Fair will be held July 12-29, and the Cal Expo in Sacramento.

re here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/30/4524219/disneys-california-letters-to.html#storylink=cpy

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Disney provides early look at Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Disney has provided a sneak peek to the upcoming 17th annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at Disney World, scheduled to run Sept. 28-Nov. 12.

More than 270 chefs from across the country, including renowned chefs like Robert Irvine and Rock Harper, will hold culinary demonstrations and tasting events as 25 ethnic and regional marketplaces feature food and wine from all over the world.

                                        Photo © Disney

Here are some of the highlights, according to a Disney news release:

• Two new marketplaces debut: TERRA Marketplace will offer vegan menu items, including Trick’n Chick’n Curry with Basmati Rice and Chili Colorado with House-Made Chips; and the FLORIDA Marketplace will have fresh twists on regional flavors.
• Each Wednesday, festival chefs will host a walking-and-tasting tour around World Showcase with stops at several marketplaces. Guests will taste five dishes and five beverage items to include beer, wine and cocktails while learning chefs’ culinary secrets.
• Special culinary programs showcase a lineup of renowned winemakers, guest chefs and speakers participating in elegant dinners, luncheons, seminars and wine schools.
• A complimentary Marketplace Discovery Passport can be stamped at each international marketplace.
• Grand tasting events will take place Oct. 6, 13, 20, 27 and Nov. 3, featuring not only food but more than 50 wines and beers and live entertainment.

In addition to the food, there will be a special concert series featuring:

Sept. 28-30: Night Ranger
Oct. 11-12: Smash Mouth
Oct. 13-14: Javier Colon
Nov. 5-6: Blues Traveler
Nov. 7-8: Dennis DeYoung, original member of STYX.

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Disney Facts: The changing names of the Seven Dwarfs

In honor of Snow White's Scary Adventures closing on May 31 in Disney World, we take a closer look at seven of the main characters in the story -- the famous dwarfs.

Here's a question: What were the original names of the Seven Dwarfs, before the 1937 Disney movie?

                                                                                                 © Steven Liebman
Topiaries of some of the Seven Dwarfs at Disney World.

The answer: None.

The original Brothers Grimm version of Snow White did not name the seven. It wasn't until the 1912 Broadway play "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" that they were given monikers. And the names were not what you think. They were called Blick, Flick, Glick, Pick, Quee, Snick and Whick.

Disney renamed the dwarfs for its movie to Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy.

The names have since been changed with each retelling of the tale, including the two Snow White movies released this year.

In "Mirror Mirror" with Julia Roberts the dwarfs are named Butcher, Chuckles, Grimm, Grub, Half Pint, Napoleon and Wolf.

In the upcoming "Snow White and the Huntsman," being released June 1, the names are Beith, Coll, Duir, Gort, Muir, Nion and Quert.

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A look back at Disney World rides that have closed

When "Snow White's Scary Adventures" closes at the Magic Kingdom in Disney World on May 31 to make way for the new Fantasyland expansion, it will join a growing number of attractions that have disappeared since the park opened in October 1971.

The landscape at the Magic Kingdom has seen swan boat rides, alien encounters and submarine voyages come and go. Here are some attractions that were once in the Magic Kingdom:

THE PLAZA SWAN BOATS

If you ever wondered why there is a boat landing on the hub in front of Tomrrowland it's because there was once a boat ride around the hub.  The Plaza Swan Boats was a seasonal ride that operated between May 1974 and August 1983 around the hub. Twelve different swan boats would make the trip around the hub.




DAVY CROCKETT EXPLORER CANOES


The canoe ride opened in Frontierland as a C ticket ride when the park opened. After boarding a 35-foot canoe, guests would paddle around the Rivers of America. The ride closed in 1994.



MICKEY MOUSE REVUE


This was an original E-ticket attraction in Fantasyland featuring audio-animatronic performers. The show closed Sept. 14, 1980.



MR. TOAD'S WILD RIDE

Another original attraction, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride allowed guests to board a jalopy and take one of two wild rides. On the first track, guests passed through the countryside into a town where a police officer orders Mr. Toad to court for speeding. In the courtroom, Mr. Toad is found guilty and heads to jail, but drives through the jail to the countryside onto a railroad track and gets hit by a train. The final scene brings the car to Hell.

If you rode the second track, you got to see Toad's trophy room and a camp. The car also does not go to court but instead heads to Winkie's Tavern.

The ride was closed in 1998 to make room for The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh.






THE SKYWAY

The famed gondola lift took passengers between Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. The ride was closed Nov. 10, 1999. The Fantasyland station, which is now used for stroller parking, will soon be demolished to make way for expanded restrooms. The Tomorrowland station was demolished in 2009.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

The ride opened Oct. 14, 1971, two weeks after Disney World opened because of problems with the lagoon. The attraction, which took up almost one-fourth of Fantasyland, took guests a ride with Captain Nemo on his submarine.

IF YOU HAD WINGS

This four-and-a-half-minute ride was more a promotion for Eastern Air Lines than anything else. The ride, which opened June 5, 1972, took people to various destinations throughout the Caribbean and closed on June 1, 1987.

DELTA DREAMFLIGHT

Two years after If You Could Fly closed, Delta Dreamflight opened on June 23, 1989. This attraction was sponsored by Delta Air Lines and took guests on a history of flight. It closed on June 4, 1996.

FLIGHT TO THE MOON/MISSION TO MARS/ExtraTERRORestrial ALIEN ENCOUNTER

The Flight To The Moon, sponsored by McDonnell-Douglas, opened Dec. 24, 1971, and took people on a trip to the Moon. It was revamped June 7, 1975, becoming a Mission to Mars.

On Oct. 4, 1993, Mission to Mars closed. The building was transformed and reopened June 20, 1995, as ExtraTERRORestrial. This ride was like no other Disney built; it was designed to scare you. While the opening segments were light, the main part of the show featured a carnivorous alien being teleported into a dark chamber. It kills a maintenance worker and then jumps around the guests, breathing on people's necks and dripping saliva on them. Many people thought this was a bit over the top. The ride closed on Oct. 12, 2003, and was replaced by Stitch's Great Escape!, which uses many of the same set-ups and technology.

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'Mad T Party' unveils June 15 at California Adventure

Photo by Walt Disney Company

The new “Mad T Party" show will start June 15 and run nightly through the summer in Hollywood Land at California Adventure in Disneyland.

The rest of the year, the show will be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

According to a Disney news release, the centerpiece of “Mad T Party” is a wildly themed, oversized tea table set under a canopy of fanciful lanterns. The tea table doubles as a state-of-the-art concert stage.

The “Mad T Party” band consists of stylized characters inspired by “Alice in Wonderland,” including the Mad Hatter as lead vocalist, Dormouse on lead guitar, March Hare on bass, Cheshire Cat on drums, Caterpillar on keys, and even a special appearance by Alice herself.

When the “Mad T Party” band is not performing, the White Rabbit DJ will keep the party going. Adjacent to the main stage is the House of Cards, a place for games, dancing, drinks, live entertainment and specialty acts.

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Highland Games for kids coming to Epcot in June

In honor of "Brave," the new Disney-Pixar movie being released in June, Epcot at Walt Disney World will host the The Highland Games Tournament from June 1 to July 8.

The kid-focused tourney will have games such as Mini Caber Toss, Cake Toss, Haggis Flip and archery, according to the Disney Parks Blog.

The events will be held on the Rose Walk, where Future World connects to World Showcase, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily There will also be a kids’ playground with free enhanced wireless – this is to allow people share photos on social media sites.

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New castle show debuts at Disney World tomorrow

Starting tomorrow (May 25), the newest version of "The Magic, The Memories, and You!” castle projection show at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World debuts.

                                                                                                    Image  © Disney

 Phineas and Ferb join other Disney characters in a 10-minute summer celebration that plays out on Cinderella Castle. Videos, animation and photographs are projected on the iconic castle. 

In addition to the Disney Channel stars, the show features a surfin’ Goofy,  Timon and Pumbaa singing Hakuna Matata, and Ariel, Sebastian and the hot crustacean band at the bottom of the ocean.

In addition to the Disney characters, the show features more than 500 photographs.

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Muppets team up with Band-Aids for a new app

The Muppets and Band-Aids have teamed up with a new app that will help entertain kids when they get hurt.

Apparently covering up the boo-boo with a bright colored Band-Aid is no longer enough to calm kids.

Now, the "BAND-AID® Magic Vision app featuring Disney's The Muppets uses AR (augmented reality) technology to merge a child's real-life surroundings with graphics displayed on the digital screen that unlock a special world where the Muppets characters appear on your device in stunning view," according to a news release.

So, kids can be entertained by a singing Kermit the Frog, strike a pose with Miss Piggy or help  The Great Gonzo. The free app is available for iOS devices (iPhone 4/s or iPad 2+) in the Apple App Store.

"For nearly 100 years, parents have relied on BAND-AID® Brand to help heal their kids' cuts and scrapes which means we have also become a part of those special, soothing and nurturing moments," Hugh Dineen, vice president, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc. said in the news release.

And what do you parents and kids think out there?

Head to band-aid.com/magicvision for some additional information about this new app.

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DVC to extend member service hours on July 1

Disney Vacation Club will extend its member service hours during the week starting July1.

Member services will be open from  9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.,  it was 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The weekend hours will remain the same at 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., according to an e-mail sent out to members.

DVC recently debuted a new vacation center at  DVCMember.com,. accessible almost 24 hours a day (minus 30 minutes of scheduled maintenance from 2-2:30 a.m. Eastern daily).

The Vacation Center includes the online-booking system, which "lets members book available Disney Vacation Club Resorts using vacation points, check available vacation points for any and all contracts, create and view wait lists, access records of past trips, add Disney Dining Plans and Magical Celebrations, and use the Disney Online Check-in Service. Members also may use the Vacation Center to purchase tickets and travel insurance, add Disney's Magical Express transportation and make dining reservations," according to the e-mail.

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Disney Facts: Disneyland 2012 edition

The opening of Cars Land at the California Adventure on June 15 will change the entire landscape of Disneyland Park. As the anticipation continues, Disney has released a new version of the its Disneyland Park fact sheet. 

Here's an updated look at some of Disneyland facts and some firsts.

                                                   Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort

• Disneyland resort employs 22,000 people.
• The Matterhorn Bobsleds, which reopen June 15 after a major refurbishment, was the first tubular steel roller coaster in the world when it opened in 1959.
• Disneyland created the first daily operating monorail in the western hemisphere.
• “World of Color” uses a submersible platform that’s bigger than a football field.
• More than 800 species of plants grow at Disneyland.
• The landscape surrounding the Jungle Cruise has evolved into its own ecosystem since the attraction opened in 1955. The trees have created a canopy that allows species of ground plants to grow that otherwise wouldn’t in Southern California.
• Buena Vista Street, the new road into Disney California Adventure, invites guests to step into Los Angeles of the 1920s and ’30s, experiencing the sights and sounds Walt Disney may have discovered when he stepped off the train in California in 1923.
• At 280,000 square feet and 125 feet tall at its peak, The Ornament Valley Mountain Range in Cars Land is the largest rock structure in any domestic Disney theme park.
• More than 30 different languages are spoken among Disneyland Resort cast members.
• Disneyland Resort costuming cast members maintain more than a thousand different costumes for use in the parks and hotels.
• About 50 certified scuba divers work on the Disneyland Resort Facilities team, which maintains such attractions as “World of Color,” “Fantasmic!” and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage.

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Disney Hunger Games: What part of Panem are your favorite Disney characters from?

For all the fans who love Disney and The Hunger Games artist Mae Uy has created one of the best pop-culture mashups I've seen - pairing Disney characters and the various districts of Panem.

Her artwork and the explanation of the pairings can be seen at blastedgoose.deviantart.com.

Artwork by Mae Uy blastedgoose.deviantart.com

Who do you think would win these Hunger Games? 

Here's a sampling of the lineup:

District 1 (Luxury) - Aladdin & Jasmine.

District 2 (Masonry) - Shang & Mulan.


District 3 (Technology) - Milo & Kida.


District 4 (Fishing) - Eric & Ariel.


District 5 (Power) - Hercules & Meg Power.


District 6 (Transportation) - Naveen & Tiana.


District 7 (Lumber) - Tarzan & Jane.


District 8 (Textile) - Charming & Cinderella.


District 9 (Grain) - Beast & Belle.


District 10 (Livestock) - Quasimodo & Esmeralda.


District 11 (Agriculture) - John Smith & Pocahontas.


District 12 (Mining) - "The Prince" & Snow White.

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Disney-Pixar special summer movie Memorial Day weekend

To kick off the summer season Disney-Pixar is re-releasing four films over the Memorial Day weekend.

From May 25-28 some AMC Theatres will be showing “Toy Story 3,” “Ratatouille,” “Up” and “WALL•E." Each movie will have a classic Pixar short film before it and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming movie, “Brave.”

The movies, according to a news release, are supposed to be priced at $6 each, but could change. Each movie is supposed to play once a day on a rotating schedule. Here's where you can find it playing in an area near you, amctheatres.com/pixar.

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