Archive for September, 2011

International Food & Wine Festival

International Food & Wine Festival

If you are visiting Epcot this fall, make sure you come hungry.

This year, the 16th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival begins on September 30th and runs through November 13th. The 45-day festival is a celebration of food and wine from around the world, including the eleven countries represented in Epcot’s World Showcase: Canada, Mexico, Norway, Morocco, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A view of Epcot's World Showcase, photograph by Valerie Champagne

When my husband and I visited Disney World for our honeymoon last fall, we were disappointed to discover that we missed the beginning of the Food & Wine Festival by less than a week. The food and wine tasting booths were already in place and the event flags were hanging, but alas, we were not able to eat.

If you plan to attend this year’s Festival, you can pick up a Marketplace Discovery Passport at the Festival Welcome Center, and whenever you eat at the international marketplace, you will receive a unique stamp on your passport. At the end of your stay, you can take your passport home as a fun keepsake and a memory of the exotic and delicious foods that you sampled.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=2091

September 25, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Theme Parks, Vacations - Read More

Newsies the Musical

Newsies the Musical

In 1992, Walt Disney Pictures released Newsies, a musical set in 1899 based on the true story of the Newsboys Strike of 1899 in New York City.

The young Christian Bale plays Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, a newsboy who sells papers for Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World. When Pulitzer and rival newsman William Randolph Hearst jointly raise the price of newspapers for distribution by one-tenth of a cent, Jack and his friends can no longer afford to buy the papers. A disgruntled Jack is inspired to organize the other newsboys in a strike to reverse the price hike, and of course the strike is a success, after all, this is a Disney film.

Promotional image for Newsies (1992), image copyright Disney

The original movie features a score by the very talented composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Enchanted, Tangled) and marked the directorial debut of choreographer Kenny Ortega (best known for directing and producing the High School Musical franchise). Now, almost 20 years later, Newsies has been adapted for the stage, following in the footsteps of Disney’s wildly successful Mary Poppins and The Lion King.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=2083

September 24, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Movies - Read More

Celebrate Halloween With Disney!

Celebrate Halloween With Disney!

Halloween is more than a month away, but you can get into the holiday spirit early by visiting your favorite Disney theme park. Every year, Halloween kicks off three months of fall and winter celebrations that run through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Below are some of the fantastic ways to experience this very special, spooooky holiday with Disney.

Princess Minnie Statue appears at the Magic Kingdom in time for Halloween, photograph by Valerie Champagne

Haunted Mansion Holiday – Every September, the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland gets a dramatic seasonal makeover courtesy of Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. In Haunted Mansion Holiday, two holidays collide when Jack Skellington, Sally, and Oogie Boogie take over the Haunted Mansion and decorate it for Christmas, Jack’s new favorite holiday. The Haunted Mansion will feature the seasonal overlay through the end of the year and is scheduled to return to normal again in January. See pictures of the transformation here!

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=2061

September 23, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Theme Parks, Vacations - Read More

Superheroes in the Kitchen

Superheroes in the Kitchen

If your ideal superhero is one who fights crime, protects the innocent and… bakes, well then you’re in luck. Disney’s Marvel has teamed with kitchenware retail company Williams-Sonoma for a line of kitchen and bakeware products featuring Marvel’s most popular superheroes including Spider-Man, The Hulk, Iron Man, and Captain America. The Marvel line is sold exclusively at Williams-Sonoma stores and online at williams-sonoma.com.

Marvel kitchen and bakeware products at Williams-Sonoma, image copyright Williams-Sonoma

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=2051

September 16, 2011 Post Under Latest News, Online - Read More

On Netflix, Disney’s “Just for Kids”

On Netflix, Disney’s “Just for Kids”

I have been a Netflix subscriber since 2005, long before most of the company’s 23 million+ subscribers opened their own accounts. When I first signed up, there was no “Watch Instantly” feature, and a 3-DVD plan cost $19/month. When Netflix first started offering digital streaming as an option, the meager selection of movies and disappointing streaming quality left a lot to be desired.

My, how times have changed.


Over the past year, Netflix has focused most of its energy on expanding and improving its digital streaming selection, and the efforts are really paying off. There are thousands of new movies and TV series available to Watch Instantly, and more are being added every week as Netflix works out distribution deals with production companies and distributors.

Read More: http://www.disney-blog.com/?p=2026

September 15, 2011 Post Under Disney Channel, Latest News, Movies, Online - Read More
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