This is the Lights! Camera! Happy New Year! Fireworks recorded 12/31/11 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney World!
Thanks Jeff Lange!
The One More Disney Day promotion is valid for Walt Disney World as well as Disneyland.
Enjoy one more day and night of free Disney magic when you purchase a 3-night, 3-day, non-discounted room and ticket package at select Disneyland resort hotels before January 31, 2012 for arrivals most nights February 26 to March 10, 2012*. Ask your Authorized Disney Travel Planner for the “One More Day” promotion*
Disneyland is also offering this bonus perk:
Plus 2 Free Disney FASTPASS Tickets***
Plus, stay between February 26 and February 29 and receive 2 Disney FASTPASS tickets for every registered hotel Guest in your travel party, ages 3 and older. These 2 Disney FASTPASS tickets can be used in addition to any available in the theme parks and at any FASTPASS attraction.***
*Number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Room charge based on average per night rate of applicable room during stay. One (1) consecutive night will be added to the hotel stay and one (1) day added to the tickets. Offer applied once per package/reservation and excludes suites. Disneyland® Resort multi-day tickets expire 13 days after first use or 3/23/12, whichever occurs first. Walt Disney World® tickets are for one theme park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. Each day of use of a ticket constitutes one full day of use. Advance reservations required. No group rates or other discounts apply. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Check for packages of other lengths of stay
**Select attractions, entertainment and services will be available. Theme park hours are 6:00 a.m. on February 29 to 6:00 a.m. on March 1, 2012; subject to capacity restrictions. Valid theme park admission required.
***Separate theme park admission is required. Each of these Disney FASTPASS tickets will allow a guest one (1) entrance to the Disney FASTPASS return line of any Disney FASTPASS attraction at the Disneyland Resort Theme Parks (except World of Color). Tickets expire seven (7) days from check-in or 3/7/2012, whichever occurs first. Disney FASTPASS attractions and return lines may not operate daily and Disney FASTPASS tickets are subject to attraction changes, closures and capacity. No cash value; no substitutions. Tickets may not be sold, copied or transferred for commercial purposes and will not be replaced if lost or stolen. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.
Book with Pixie Vacations and your Authorized Disney Travel Planner will take care of all the work so you can have all the fun. Chip and Co writer and travel agent, Michele is offering a custom made autograph book (for kids, or kids at heart!) and a monogrammed Mickey tote bag when you book with her and mention this article. [email protected] for your free quote!
Two Chinese men have been arrested on suspicion of attempting to exchange illegally obtained pre-admission tickets to Tokyo Disneyland for real tickets, police said on Dec. 25.
The two men — one of whom is a 24-year-old university student and a resident of Saitama Prefecture — were arrested on suspicion of attempted fraud after allegedly trying to exchange 10 Disneyland “e-tickets” at a ticket counter at the amusement park at around 7:10 a.m. on Dec. 23.
The online tickets — whose total value is 62,000 yen — had been bought with an unrelated man and woman’s credit cards in October and November this year, police say.
The man and the woman had previously notified authorities that their credit cards had been used for purchases — approximately 80 e-tickets — of which they had no recollection.
The Chinese men have apparently denied the allegations, telling police: “A middle-aged man told us that if we got the e-tickets exchanged, he would give us 500 yen for each.” The case has been sent to prosecutors.
AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi
Source
The Disneyland® Resort Scholarship Program awards $5,000 scholarships to ten high school seniors who have demonstrated excellence in volunteerism and leadership and who are committed to making a difference in our community. By granting scholarships to students who strive to improve our community, the Disneyland® Resort aims to make the dream of higher education a reality.
The Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program provides scholarships to students with great potential, financial need, strong academic demonstration and community/civic involvement. Scholarships are meant to bridge the financial gap that college-bound students face and assist students who excel academically and demonstrate leadership in the community to pursue higher education, with a scholarship of $5,000 to defray unmet needs such as: tuition, room and board, lab fees, and books.
Criteria
Resident of Orange County, California
Currently attending an Orange County public or private high school
Graduating high school senior pursuing higher education
Have volunteered 100 hours or more between January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2011 through one or more charitable nonprofit organizations*
Have initiated a significant service project in your hometown or school community that executes programs in one of the following categories:
– Creativity
– Compassion and Well-being
– Conservation
Please note, the nonprofit organization through which you initiated this service project will be the organization that you should use to register your application. In addition, this nonprofit organization will be contacted to verify your application information and should adhere to The Walt Disney Company Charitable Giving Guidelines listed below.
Have a minimum 3.0 Weighted GPA from 9th Grade to first semester of 12th Grade (most recent transcript required)
Provide verification from the predominant charitable nonprofit organization with which you volunteer
Click here to learn more.
The rumors about the “big announcement” have come to life and Disney has officially announced the “Celebrate One More Disney Day” in honor of leap year.
24 Hours of Magic:
In celebration for Leap Day, for the first time ever, both the Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland in California will be open for 24 hours straight* beginning at 6am on February 29, 2912 to enjoy select attractions, entertainment and services!
One More Day and Night of Disney Magic Free:
Enjoy one more day and night Disney magic FREE** when you purchase a 3-night, 3-day non-discounted Walt Disney Travel Co. room and ticket package at select Walt Disney World resort or Disneyland resort hotels before January 31, 2012 for arrivals most nights February 26 to March 19, 2012.
*Hours of operation are 6am on February 29, 2012 to 6am on March 1, 2012. Subject to capacity restrictions. Valid theme park admission required.
**Number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited. Room charge based on average per night rate of applicable room during stay. One (1) consecutive night will be added to the hotel stay and one (1) day added to the tickets. Offer applied once per package/reservation and excludes suites. Disneyland® Resort multi-day tickets expire 13 days after first use or 3/23/12, whichever occurs first. Walt Disney World® tickets are for one theme park per day and must be used within 14 days of first use. Each day of use of a ticket constitutes one full day of use. Advance reservations required. No group rates or other discounts apply. Subject to restrictions and change without notice. Check for packages of other lengths of stay.
Be sure to ask for code E60 when booking or tell your travel agent you’d like to use the One More Day promotion.
Book with Pixie Vacations and your Authorized Disney Travel Planner will take care of all the work so you can have all the fun. Chip and Co writer and travel agent, Michele is offering a custom made autograph book (for kids, or kids at heart!) and a monogrammed Mickey tote bag when you book with her and mention this article. [email protected] for your free quote!
One of the preferred locations for viewing the Wishes fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom is at the Plaza Landing near the Plaza Restaurant on Main Street USA. There are several tables with precious little umbrellas.
This photo of it depicts the perfect little quaint image of Disney. There is no better area at the Magic Kingdom to sit and enjoy my double scoop of Chocolate Mint in a cone which I just purchased at the Main Street Ice Cream parlor a few yards away. A quiet, comfy, secluded area, it is my place of choice except for one small thing: it is a designated smoking area at MK.
So, I have to ask the Disney powers that be, why is this treasured spot designated as a smoking area in the Magic Kingdom? With all of the other smoking areas inside the park, can’t we forego just this one?
I mean, I have nothing against people who smoke. In fact, 3 of the most precious men in my life were smokers: my daddy, my grandpa and Walt Disney himself. Unfortunately, they all died of lung cancer. Most families that I know don’t want to breathe second-hand smoke, and we especially don’t want our children breathing it. Come on Disney — rethink this smoking area – PLEASE!
What do you think of the smoking sections at Disney World? Let us know in the comment box below.
I was fortunate to be able to review the iPad app Muppet Mail for Chip and Company. This app is available at the iTunes App Store, and I have been enjoying playing with the app to learn the ins and outs of it.
In it’s most basic form, Muppet Mail is a way of sending Muppet e-cards to people via email or Facebook. However, there are so many more layers to this app, so let’s talk about the details in this app.
Muppet Mail lets you create e-cards starting with a character first, or starting with an occasion. Additionally, you can take a picture, and make your own Muppet! In this way, you can answer the age old question “Am I a man (or woman), or am I a Muppet?” I guess you could say that you are both with this app!
Here is just some of the things that you can do with Muppet Mail:
Here is a picture that I created in Muppet Mail to show a normal day in the life of the Chip & Company offices:
In addition, my whole family has been taking Muppet Mail for a test drive! My wife created Muppets of all of us! Take a look at these Muppets:
There are only a couple of things that I would change about the Muppet Mail app, and they are really quite minor changes. One thing I would change is that, when you are creating a Muppet, you can only choose one accessory to go with the Muppet. For example, I could choose a necklace, or I could choose a hat, but I couldn’t choose both. That is something I would change. Another thing that I would change is that there are a ton of fonts that you can choose from for text that you put into a card that you might be creating, but the one thing that isn’t in there is Walt Disney font. I would put that font into the app as a selection to choose from — it is a Disney app, after all!
I have had a great time reviewing this app, and I highly recommend it for anyone with an iPad. To purchase Muppet Mail, just click on the link to head to the iTunes Store!
Happy New Year!
The start of the new year always brings about change and on the heels of the “big news” that was announced on New Year’s Eve for Disney parks let’s not forget what Disney Cruise Line is up to in 2012!
So what’s going to be new in 2012?
New ports include New York, Seattle and Galveston and there will be continuing departures from Los Angeles (to the Mexican Riviera) and Port Canaveral (3 and 4-night cruises to the Bahamas).
The newest ship in the Disney fleet, the Disney Fantasy, will leave port for her maiden voyage on March 31. Although the Fantasy is the sister ship to the Dream, there will be all new experiences on board. including “Wishes”, the Muppets Adventure Game, Aqua Lab, Europa, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and Animation Magic.
New destinations are also on the horizon for Disney Cruise Line, some old favorites are back as well as new destinations that are bound to become fan favorites.
For the first time ever, The Disney Wonder will set sail on 14 and 15-Night cruises to Hawaii with stops at Hilo, Maui, and Oahu and Kauai.
The Disney Wonder will also embark from Seattle to Alaska with stops at Tracy Arm, Skagway, Junea and Ketchicikan, you can also add Adventures by Disney excursions to your Alaskan cruise to make the most of your time in this beautiful territory.
The Disney Magic will reposition in September and head to Texas for departures from Galveston. The Magic will cruise the Western Caribbean itineraries to Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Costa Maya.
There are 5-night cruises from New York up the New England coast to Canada with stops in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Saint John and New Brunswick. Also departing from New York are 8-night Bahamas cruises-perfect for a land and sea vacation with a visit to Walt Disney World! There are also 2-night weekend getaway cruises from New York for those pressed for time but in need of a vacation.
7-Night Pacific Coast cruises stop in San Francisco and San Diego and offer excursions to famous California landmarks and regions like Sonoma Wine Country.
As previously announced, Disney Cruise Line has cancelled four of it’s December 2012 sailings to the Mexican Riviera and Disney Cruise Line has yet to tell us why. As soon as we have official information from DCL you’ll be the first to know!
Walt Disney World Resort sure had a memorable year – from celebrating major anniversaries to marking continued progress on new attractions, the Disney Parks Blog team really had a lot of exciting news to cover in 2011.
That said, here are their picks for the top-five Walt Disney World Resort stories of the year.
What would you add to the list?
Great News Disney has updated the Disney Dining Plan for 2012! They have added more restaurants giving you even more dining options. Be sure to check out this post for more information on the 2012 Dining Plan Changes.
Here are the additions to the 2012 Disney Dining Plan:
New Table Service Dining Locations Include:
New Quick-Service Dining Locations Include:
As always don’t be afraid to call Disney or ask a specific restaurant if they are covered under the Disney Dining Plan. Most times even if they are not on the list they will take you. For example last January San Angel Inn was not on the list but just out of curiosity I went there at lunch time and asked and they said sure come on in. So you never know till you ask.
On February 29, 2012, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney World Resort’s Magic Kingdom Park will be open for 24 hours. What will your memories be?
This event begins at 6am on February 29, 2012 and runs through 6am on March 1, 2012. Select attractions, entertainment and services will be available. The event is subject to capacity restrictions. Valid Theme Park admission required.
Thank you guys for another great year on Chip and Company.! None of this would be possible without great fans as you!
Thank you for making Chip and Co your home for the best in Disney Park News, Planning Tips, Giveaways and More!!
A special thank you to all of my writers too! you guys rock!
As a special thank you we have a video of Disney New Year’s Eve Fireworks.
Continuing a grand Disney tradition from past years (file video), New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2011) is one of the biggest fireworks evenings of the year at Walt Disney World Resort, a place where fireworks are both spectacular and an every-night event. Magic Kingdom presents “Holiday Wishes” at 8:30 p.m. and the classic “Fantasy in the Sky” fireworks display at 11:51 p.m. Epcot’s “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” salutes the approaching 2012 at 7:00 and 11:42 p.m. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the 25-minute spectacular “Fantasmic!” will be presented at 6:30 and 8 p.m., with the popular “Lights! Camera! Happy New Year!” fireworks display at midnight.
