Archive for August, 2011

Disney’s Aulani Resort Opens

Disney’s Aulani Resort Opens

With limited (if any!) paid vacation days, most families can’t afford to take more than one vacation a year, and one of the toughest decisions to make is where to go. How do you choose between a tropical paradise and a Disney adventure? What if you don’t have to?

Aulani Resort & Spa, image from resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/

Yesterday, Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa celebrated its grand opening in Ko Olina, Hawaii, welcoming its first guests with a special sunrise ceremony and visits from popular Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Stitch. Aulani is Disney’s eleventh Vacation Club Resort and the first Disney property located on the beautiful Hawaiian Islands.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1839

August 30, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Vacations - Read More

Tinker Bell and Disney Fairies Magazine

Tinker Bell and Disney Fairies Magazine

When I was in high school, I loved to collect Tinker Bell merchandise (mugs, snowglobes, stickers, etc.), but Tinker Bell wasn’t nearly as popular as the Disney Princesses at the time, and it was hard to come by quality products.

The Fairies of Pixie Hollow, image copyright Disney

Now ten years later, thanks in part to a series of direct-to-DVD movies that focus on Tinker Bell’s adventures in Pixie Hollow with her fairy friends (Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games), Tinker Bell is more popular than ever.

The first direct-to-DVD release, Tinker Bell, came out in 2008, followed by three sequels released over the next three years, and a fourth sequel, Tinker Bell and the Mysterious Winter Woods, due in 2012. The Tinker Bell series is the first of the Disney films to feature Tinker Bell as a computer animated character who speaks, as Disney’s traditionally animated Peter Pan (1953) and Return to Neverland (2002) had the fairy communicate entirely with churlish expressions and pouty body language.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1826

August 29, 2011 Post Under Games, Latest News, Movies, Online - Read More

Bad Weather in Disney Movies

Bad Weather in Disney Movies

Hurricane Irene has been battering the East Coast of the United States all weekend, and on Sunday morning when the eye of the hurricane passes over, Irene will be the first hurricane to hit New York City since 1985’s Hurricane Gloria. As a city resident in a non-evacuation zone, I am hunkered down in my apartment with my flashlight and fully-charged laptop, ready to weather the storm.

2011's Hurricane Irene, image from earthobservatory.nasa.gov

To commemorate this historical event in true Disney-fashion, I present some of the memorable storms from Disney’s past. Good luck to everyone in Hurricane Irene’s path! I wish you, your family, and your property the best!

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1804

August 28, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Movies - Read More

Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Ahoy!

Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Ahoy!

Promotional image for Jake and the Never Land Pirates, image copyright Disney

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides may have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, but Jack Sparrow is not the only Disney pirate making waves this year. The fearsome Captain Hook from 1953’s Peter Pan has returned in a gentler form in Jake and the Never Land Pirates, a preschool-friendly animated hit on the recently launched Disney Junior (formerly Playhouse Disney).

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1794

August 27, 2011 Post Under Disney Channel, Latest News, Online - Read More

The D23 Expo Returns!

The D23 Expo Returns!

San Diego’s Comic-Con may be the preeminent event for comic book fans eager for sneak peeks of new properties, but for Disney fans, the can’t miss event is the D23 Expo.

The D23 Expo is hosted by D23, the Official Disney Fan Club. For $34.99/year (Silver Membership) or $74.99/year (Gold Membership), D23 members enjoy special member events, a subscription to the D23 FanFare e-newsletter, promotional offers and discounts, and four issues of the Disney twenty-three collectible magazine (Gold members only).

In 2009, the first D23 Expo was held in Anaheim, California and featured pavilions from Walt Disney Imagineering and Disney Consumer Products which showcased models for future attractions and Disney-exclusive products. There were also sneak peeks of upcoming Disney films and appearances by celebrities such as John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Johnny Depp, and Nicholas Cage. The Expo’s most anticipated announcement confirmed the planned expansion of the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland in 2012-2013. These expansion plans were later revised, scrapping Cinderella’s chateau and Sleeping Beauty’s cottage in favor of a Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and the Princess Fairytale Hall.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=1778

August 15, 2011 Post Under Disney Channel, Latest News, Movies, Theme Parks - Read More