Enjoy this article? You may also be interested in these related items from our partners
 Disney Parks The Muppets Beaker & Bunsen "I Love Nerds" Trading Pin - Disney Parks Exclusive & Limited Availability + Cars Pencil Included |  Swarovski Disney - Piglet |  Swarovski Disney - Tigger |
BE SURE TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON ‘ONE MORE DISNEY DAY’ AND OTHER EXCITING DISNEY NEWS
@stitchkingdom
Admittedly I don’t make it a habit to check out every over-the-fence type shot of the work being done on the New Fantasyland Expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, but when I came across this photo as it was posted on Tumblr, I knew it was something worth sharing.
The photo of Beast’s Castle was taken earlier this month by Matthew Cooper and shared on his Flickr account which shares additional images from Walt Disney World and other locations worth taking a look at.
The Walt Disney World official website has recently added a couple of entries to its operation calendar for early 2012.
The first of the new closures announced is that of the ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure’ which is slated to join the previously announced Backlot Studios Tour closure beginning on January 13 and re-opening on March 11.
Also re-opening on March 11, but closing on February 26, 2012 is the ‘Magic Carpets of Aladdin’ attraction in Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland.
The official Walt Disney World website is now reporting a temporary closure for Kali River Rapids at Disney’s Animal Kingdom beginning January 23, 2012 and re-opening on February 10.
In addition, we have learned of additional counter service and dining location closures which include the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor in the Magic Kingdom (closed January 9 through February 17) and an extension of Tutto Italia Ristorante in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot. The restaurant is now scheduled to close a day earlier and re-open a month later.
Walt Disney Parks began taping its portion of the 28th Annual ‘Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade’ special today at the Magic Kingdom theme park. Performances were provided by Cee Lo Green, Jennifer Hudson and ‘American Idol’ winner Scotty McCreery, with some additional appearances by the Buddies (promoting their new film, Treasure Buddies and Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets.
The tapings continue tomorrow with expected performances by Bella Thorne and Zendaya Coleman of Disney Channel’s ‘Shake It Up’ and a rumored performance by Justin Bieber.
The Disneyland Resort performed its portion of the parade in early November.
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) today named its recipients of its 18th annual Thea Awards, for which Disney Parks and Resorts received a number of accolades for its contributions ot the industry over the past year. According to TEA president (and former Walt Disney Imagineer) Rick Rothschild, the award sets out to ‘recognize and honor excellence in the creation of extraordinary visitor experiences, attractions, exhibits and places. As this year we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the founding of TEA, we can reflect on how much has changed: the tools and techniques our industry employs, the use of digital media and interactivity, the sophistication of themed environments and the international expansion of the business, especially into Asia. At the same time, storytelling and teamwork remain the bedrock of the Experience Design Industry and its projects.’ He adds, ‘the Thea Awards honor teamwork at its very best — the creative handshake between the visionary project owner and the multidisciplinary collective of designers, artisans and technicians who realize the vision. TEA’s Thea Awards celebrate storytelling across the globe — educational and entertaining stories of heritage, history, fiction, fantasy, magic and even hard science — delivered with artistry and the appropriate use of technology at museums, theme parks, world expos, special events and other settings. TEA looks forward to the next 20 years of leading the visitor attractions industry.’
Earlier today, the official Disney Parks Blog held an informal live chat with Chris Beatty, Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering, to discuss with online guests the ongoing development of the New Fantasyland Expansion at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, the largest single expansion in the park’s history.
Unfortunately the end result wasn’t as promising as one might have hoped, with questions often answered in ways that conflict with previous announcements or seemingly dodged altogether.
Disney’s legacy of innovation and creativity continues today as Cast Members have begun to test a new interactive experience called Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom at the Magic Kingdom theme park located in Walt Disney World.
Featuring unprecedented interaction with animated characters, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom transforms Adventureland into an immersive game enabling fans to cast spells. In this role-playing, trading card game, players try to defeat the Disney Villains who are working to take over the Magic Kingdom. Armed with magic spells in the form of special cards, players must search for the magic symbols that lead them to the animated villains’ hiding places.
Those who have had the privilege of witnessing the technical marvel that is ‘The Magic, The Memories and You’ at either the Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts know what a spectacular it truly is. Thus it must have been a daunting thought to some when someone suggested bringing some of that magic online to everyone in a way that’s spectacular in its own right. Somebody thought of that and someone believed it and DisneyMemoriesShow.com is the end result.
Known to be closing permanently in order to make way for the Princess Fairytale Hall where guests will be able to meet and greet with their favorite Disney princesses, we now have a potential timeline for the closure of Snow White’s Scary Adventures. According to the following tweet from Crushinat0r, notice has been posted for Fantasyland Operations that the attraction will be closing permanently in February (exact date unknown). If this turns out to be the case, it’s more likely to be towards the end of the month, after the relocated Dumbo re-opens at its new location, though the two attractions are polar opposites when it comes to ridership.
