Woman says she was grabbed on Disneyland ride

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February 2, 2010

Anaheim police are looking for a man who groped a woman on a Disneyland ride.

Sgt. Rick Martinez said Monday that the victim was on the Tower of Terror ride with her daughter Friday night when someone grabbed her breast when the lights dimmed. The dimming of the lights is a normal part of the ride.

He says the woman believes someone sitting to her left grabbed her, but it could have been someone else.

Security staff gave investigators a photo taken of the victim on the ride before the lights went out. Police say they’re trying to identify the person to her left in the photo.

Disneyland officials say they do not tolerate such behavior.

Source

Photo from interactive.usc.edu

California Adventure construction, Captain EO progress, and much more

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

I visit Micechat about every other day to keep an eye out on all the construction going on at the Disneyland Resort. Here is the continuing Dateline Disneyland article talking about all the refurbishments going on out in California.

The brief off-season continues at the Disneyland Resort, allowing on-going refurbishments and construction projects to press on before the Spring Break crowds descend on the theme parks. Last week saw the rapid progression of the Silly Symphony Swings project as the wave swinger attraction got all decked out with its new Mickey’s Band Concert motif. Nearby, work continued on Disney’s World of Color and Paradise Park. Over at Disneyland, work continues on the return of Captain EO and the major Rivers of America refurbishment.

Click here to see all the construction photos and to keep reading.

Disney World Space Mountain Post Show with the New Ending

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

Space Mountain has unveiled the end of the post-show, which is a similar TV set-up to what they had before. This is the full post-show with the ending screens.

Enter the Alice in Wonderland “6 Impossible Things” Sweepstakes!

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

Enter the Six Impossible Things Sweepstakes for a chance to win any one of six incredible, fantastical prizes, including genuine Alice in Wonderland props and once-in-a-lifetime experiences only Disney can provide. Enter now and visit Disney.com/Wonderland or Text DRINKME to DISNEY (347639) for more chances to win something impossible.

Click here to enter!

Princess Tiana at Disneyland Princess Fantasy Faire

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

The Princess Tiana character from The Princess and the Frog is taking on new roles at Disneyland starting this week.

Beginning today, Princess Tiana will greet visitors at the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire in Disneyland an area where visitors can learn about being a princess and meeting the characters.

Before, Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen met guests at the Court of Angels in New Orleans Square. That meet-and-greet area closed Sunday, said John McClintock, a Disneyland Resort spokesman.

A new atmospher show featuring Princess Tiana is scheduled to start Friday in New Orleans Square. The show, called Princess Tianas Mardi Gras Celebration, is set to include jazz musicians and five parade performers doing music and songs from the movie.

The show will go on between five and seven days a week, depending on the season.

Source

Photo of â€œTianaâ€™s Showboat Jubileeâ€ is by Around Disney Flickr member Loren Javier.

eTicket Walt Disney World and Disneyland iPhone Application Now Available

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

With nearly 3,000 Points of Interest covering all of the Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks, resorts, and venues, eTicket has the information you need to plan and enjoy your visit available right at your fingertips.

Whether a users destination is Walt Disney World or Disneyland, eTicket offers its users many different opportunities to improve their trips, starting with the planning stage and continuing all the way through their vacations.

Notable eTicket functions include:

Create Your Own Itinerary: In preparation for a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland, users can input their travel dates and add restaurants, attractions, and custom items to their daily schedule before they even set foot in a theme park. eTicket owners can also view theme park hours up to 30 days in advance to assist in their planning. In addition, Disneyland passholders can view blackout dates to be certain their planned visit comes at an appropriate time.

2,700+ Points of Interest (POI): The map within eTicket is the most detailed of its kind. Every theme park, resort, and waterpark has been mapped. With smart GPS capability, eTicket owners will be located anywhere on Walt Disney World or Disneyland property and will be able to view full descriptions and user ratings of attractions, restaurants, and shows near their current location.

Descriptions: Access full descriptions (with photos) of attractions, restaurants, shows, and merchandise locations. Restaurant descriptions come complete with full menus, prices, and hours of operation.

Reviews: Users gain the ability to access the opinions of other Disney fans when using the review database. The application not only provides the ability to read full reviews, but also allows guests to submit a â€œliveâ€ review with pros and cons from their experiences.
Showtimes: View daily showtimes and add a specific performance to a custom itinerary.
Search: Search for POI by keywords and add them to the itinerary which can then be e-mailed directly from mobile device. Filter the search by POI type, rating and area.

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Calculator: DVC owners can enter their point allotment, desired dates of visit, and resort of choice to receive a calculation displaying how many points the stay will cost and how many points are remaining.

Mobile DISboards access: eTicket is the exclusive method of viewing and posting via the IPhone on DISBoards.com, the internets largest Disney fan community.

eTicket is available in the iTunes App Store and requires the free upgraded iPhone 3.1+ software, GPS, and 3G or WIFI. Once the application is downloaded, it will automatically update itself daily in order to contain the most accurate showtimes, park hours, and closures. For more information, visit http://www.eticketapp.com.

Source

Valentines Goodies at Walt Disney World – Picture Collection

By

Chip

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February 2, 2010

While walking around Disneyworld last week I was keeping an eye out for some of the Valentines Day goodies Disney would be creating. Not many places had items out for Valentines Day yet which made me kinda sad. They did have a few displays of different items. I am sure in the next week or so they will be displaying much more but for now here are a few photos of some of the items I was able to locate.

Here was a cool display of Rice Crispy treat hearts.

Who doesn’t love Chocolate covered apples in the shape of Mickey & Minnie?

Those cupcakes looked so good. Notice the cookie hearts in the top left corner. I hope you enjoy the rest of the photos below.

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2010 Disneys California Food & Wine Festival

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Chip

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February 2, 2010

Disneys California Food & Wine Festival dates are here! April 16 to May 31, 2010, will provide a magical six weeks of delicious dining and drinking around Disneys California Adventure park and Disneylands Resort Hotels. The festival includes delicious culinary demonstrations, wine seminars, celebrity chefs and more.

For 46 days, Disneys California Adventure Park and select locations at the Disneyland Resort will hostThe Art of Flavor, one of the most anticipated events of spring! Enjoy cooking demonstrations, seminars and recipes that reflect the Golden States regional and culinary diversity. It presented by Vanity Fair Premium Napkins and Plates.

Many Festival favorites are returning, in addition to new events and activities including the all-new Festival Showplace!

NOTE: For events that require advanced reservations: Online registration for Signature Events starts February 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

Click here for more information from the Disney Food Blog.

Disney Is Said to Be Seeking a Buyer for Its Miramax Unit

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Chip

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February 1, 2010

Disney Is Said to Be Seeking a Buyer for Its Miramax Unit

The Walt Disney Company has been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and has attracted seven to 10 interested bidders, according to a mergers and acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.

The initial discussions indicate a price of over $700 million for the Miramax name and its 700-film library, including films like â€œPulp Fictionâ€ and â€œShakespeare in Love,â€ which is essentially all that remains of the once-mighty art house label, according to the person, who declined to be identified because of the confidential nature of the negotiations.

Interest is sharply higher than a year ago, when Disney briefly floated a Miramax sale before reconsidering because of the recession, and has been helped by a loosening of the credit markets.

Click here to keep reading

Photo Andrew Cooper/Miramax Films; Laurie Sparham/ Miramax Films; Laurie Sparham/Miramax Films; David James/ Miramax Films

Playhouse Disney sails with Jake and the Never Land Pirates

By

Chip

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February 1, 2010

Disney TV Animation has begun production on 26 episodes of CG animated series “Jake and the Never Land Pirates,” for air on Playhouse Disney.

With the goal of emphasizing problem-solving and teamwork to its young aud, “Jake” will take the title character and his kid pirate fans to Never Land, where they will try to outsmart Captain Hook and his sidekick Smee. Each episode will contain two segments, with original, pirate-themed music.

Colin Ford (“Sweet Home Alabama”), who will voice Jake, is joined in the cast by Disney Channel vet Madison Pettis and Jonathan Morgan Heit (“Bedtime Stories”) as Cubby.

Rob LaDuca (“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”) will exec produce and Howy Parkins (“Emperor’s New School”) will direct.

Source

Island Enhancements are underway at Castaway Cay!

By

Chip

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February 1, 2010

Walt Disney Imagineer, David Smith, gives viewers a tour of the exciting enhancements underway at Disney Cruise Line’s Private Island, Castaway Cay.

Disney’s The Princess and The Frog pendants recall

By

Chip

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February 1, 2010

Federal consumer safety regulators on Friday announced the recall of “The Princess and The Frog” pendants sold at Walmart stores because of high levels of the toxic metal cadmium, an unprecedented action that reflects concerns of an emerging threat in children’s jewelry.

The recall affects two products, about 55,000 items in total, sold exclusively by the world’s biggest retailer for $5 each. The action was taken voluntarily by Rhode Island-based jewelry company FAF Inc., which did not respond to requests for comment.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which disclosed the recall, had been testing for cadmium in children’s metal jewelry for several weeks in response to an Associated Press investigation that reported high levels of the known carcinogen in the Disney movie-themed pendants and other children’s metal jewelry imported from China.

The Walt Disney Co. released a letter Friday it sent its vendors and licensees that sets a zero-tolerance policy for cadmium in any children’s jewelry bearing its brand. That is far stricter than federal regulations, which not only don’t require testing for cadmium in children’s jewelry but also set no upper limit for how much a product can contain.

Disney is now requiring that all products be tested for cadmium, and that a detection means production and distribution of the product should be stopped.

Click here to keep reading