Fantasyland in Walt Disney World with Audio Guide Lou Mongello

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February 17, 2010

Lou Mongello’s Audio Guide to Walt Disney World – Fantasyland video preview. It is a guided walking tour of the history, trivia, hidden treasures and overlooked details of Walt Disney World. In this series of audio guides, author and award-wining podcaster Lou Mongello will take you on a tour of the Walt Disney World Resort.

Along the way, you will learn about the incredible details, secrets and history of Fantasyland and discover fascinating bits of trivia, enhanced by the ambient, three-dimensional sounds of Walt Disney World in the background.

My Magical Disney Vacation

By

Chip

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February 17, 2010

Visit www.mymagicaldisneyvacation.com and upload an image of your face and the faces of your favorite traveling companions. Answer a few quick questions to customize your vacation video and then your online journey begins through the best of Walt Disney World Resort. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Here’s the link again – www.mymagicaldisneyvacation.com.

‘Thor’ star Anthony Hopkins explains the ruthless charm of Odin

By

Chip

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February 17, 2010

Work is underway for Marvel’s Studios foruth movie. Chris Hemsworth will be talking the lead as Thor while Anthony Hopkins plays the mighty Odin.

Anthony Hopkins is ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard. “For ‘Thor,'” he pointed out, “I don’t just play a father, I play the god-father.”

Work is underway on the fourth Marvel Studios film, and Hopkins said he is enthused about working with the cast that is led by Chris Hemsworth (who played the doomed father of James T. Kirk in “Star Trek“) as the Thunder God and Natalie Portman as his mortal love, Jane Foster.

Hopkins is taking on the role of Odin, ruler of Asgard and father of both the noble Thor and the nefarious Loki. The 72-year-old actor said it’s a meaty role for him and, like his role in “The Wolfman,” it allows him to test the tricky physics of paternal relationships.

“I’m very interested in that relationship between fathers and sons,” Hopkins said. “My father’s relationship with me was cold. He was a hot-blood character but to me, cold. When I was young, he expressed his disappointment because I was bad in school and all of that. He didn’t mean any harm, but I felt I could never meet up to his expectations.”

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Photo from fusedfilm.com

Disney Deal of the Day

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Chip and Co Past Writers and Friends

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February 17, 2010

Over at DisneyStore.com the deal of the day is $6 Kid’s T-Shirts! Good time to stock up on t-shirts for all your children’s favorite characters. As always, read the fine print.

Deal of the Day

* Image Credit: http://www.disneystore.com

UpdatedCinderella’s Royal Table Dinner Review – Disney Food Blog Exclusive

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Chip

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February 17, 2010

The Disney Food Blog will be premiering an article this week written by yours truly. There is no denying I love Disney Food. Our entire vacations are planned around our meals. I have the planning worksheet to prove it.

While on our vacation we decided to take our little one to Cinderella’s Royal Table. We have never been before and have always wanted to eat in Cinderella’s Castle.

Was it worth the 2 meal credits? How was the food?

To find out how our meal went you are going to have to check out the Disney Food Blog and see.

I will provide a link here once the article has been posted. In the mean time AJ has a lot of great articles from her recent trip to the Give a Day Get a day Event, along with an article about one of my favorite Food Network Shows: Dinner Impossible

Click here to read the review

Disney ‘Alice in Wonderland’ May Be Boycotted by U.K. Cinemas

By

Chip

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February 17, 2010

I dont quite understand the thought process here. I think its a great idea to release the movie on DVD 13 weeks after its release. The movie is fresh and on your mind still and the desire to see it again is there. I constantly find myself going to one of the local dollar theaters to see the movie again after it has been pulled from main circulation. How great is that instead I can just go and buy or rent the DVD. What do you think?

Here is the article from Business Week:

Some Dutch and U.K. cinema owners plan to boycott director Tim Burton’s latest film, “Alice in Wonderland,” after Walt Disney Co. proposed speeding up the movie’s DVD release.

The film, starring Johnny Depp, is scheduled to open March 5 in theaters. Cinemas in the Netherlands may not show the movie because of “stranded talks” with Disney, the Dutch cinema operators association said today in a statement on its Web site. “Alice” may be pulled from Vue Entertainment Ltd.’s U.K. cinemas, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Disney said this month it is planning to release the DVD 13 weeks after the movie’s debut in cinemas, sooner than the usual 17 weeks. Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger is seeking to boost DVD sales, which are falling industry wide, by releasing movies sooner on home video. That risks alienating exhibitors, who are concerned it may blunt ticket sales.

Moving more quickly to DVD leaves movie theaters with less income from the film, according to the person, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The issue is sensitive as many cinema operators have spent money investing in digital projectors, the person said.

Studios aren’t planning a “wholesale” change in the length of time movies are in theaters, Amy Miles, chief executive officer of Knoxville, Tennessee-based Regal Entertainment Group, the largest U.S. chain, said today on a conference call. The company has had discussions on the matter recently with the major studios, she said.

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Disney Cleared Of Safety Violations In Stuntman’s Death

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

Walt Disney World has been cleared of any workplace safety violations related the death last summer of a stunt performer who was rehearsing for a show.

A U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration spokesman said Tuesday that the agency found no safety violations following a six-month investigation.The performer, 30-year-old Anislav Varbanov, was killed in August while rehearsing for the “Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.” A witness said Varbanov, who had just recently joined the cast of the show, was practicing a relatively routine tumble roll when he landed awkwardly on his neck.

A Disney spokesman says the park cooperated fully with OSHA and was aware of the agency’s findings.

Source

Photo from shnock.com

Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival Celebrates the ‘Art of Flavor’ at Disneyland Resort

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

Disney‘s California Food & Wine Festival will create a kaleidoscope of culinary experiences for guests of every palate April 16-May 31 at Disney‘s California Adventure park and select locations across the Disneyland Resort.

Chefs, winemakers and brewmasters will celebrate The Art of Flavor at this year’s tantalizing festival, which features entertaining culinary demonstrations, outstanding wine and spirits seminars, and delicious food, wine and beer. General sales for Festival events began Feb. 16.

Look for chefs Guy Fieri and Cat Cora of Food Network, along with Disney culinary masters and special guests as they present their gastronomic talents in a full menu of complimentary demonstrations and signature paid events. The signature events include winemaker dinners, Sweet Sundays,Napa Rose Cooking School and Taste Food-Wine-Life, a night that celebrates the essence of the festival with a mosaic of food, wine and live entertainment.

Opening weekend features celebrity chef Guy Fieri, the popular television personality and “food dude” who appears on shows such as “Guy’s Big Bite” on the Food Network. Fieri will conduct complimentary food demonstrations on the Festival’s main stage.

“Disney‘s California Food & Wine Festival is a great time,” Fieri said. “Of course the kids love Disneyland, but now this is something extra for the adults. It’s incredible chefs, great wines from around the world and Disney. You’re gonna dig it. See you there!”

Some events, including culinary demonstrations, are included with admission to Disney‘s California Adventure park. Signature events are separately ticketed and require reservations. For details, visit www.disneyland.com/foodandwine.

Source

Disney’s ‘Starstruck’ Movie Attracts 6 Million Viewers

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

I have this on the DVR but have not had the chance to watch it yet. Looks like it was quite popular so that is a good sign it was a decent movie. Buddy TV is reporting on the number of viewers who also checked it out:

The ratings are in! Starstruck, Disney Channel’s 78th original movie, premiered Sunday with 6 million total viewers, doubling NBC’s Olympic Coverage in the kids demographics. This marks the highest number ever generated by the network in the time period in Tweens 9-14 (2.3 million), and second-highest on record in Total Viewers (6.0 million) and Kids 6-11 (2.4 million).

Click here to keep reading.

Did you watch it? What did you think? Let us know in the comment section below.

Disney hunger strike moves to company headquarters

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

The Disney hotel union plans to continue its hunger strike at the Walt Disney Co. headquarters in Burbank, starting Tuesday night, to keep attention on a two-year contract dispute.

Two new Disney employees began fasting this week at the Disneyland Resort and plan to start camping outside of the Burbank offices after a week-long hunger strike by other union members concludes Tuesday.

It is unknown how long the hunger strikers will stay posted at the Burbank headquarters.

Eight union members are in their seventh day of consuming only water as they stay in tents on the sidewalk outside the Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim. Two others stopped fasting because of medical problems.

Both Disney and officials from the union, Unite Here Local 11, have said they will meet with a federal mediator, but a date has yet to be set.

Click here to keep reading

Photo from OC Register

The quest for the perfect Disney breakfast

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

The quest for the perfect breakfast at Walt Disney World continues..

Paul from the WDW Prince website gives a great review of Fresh Mediterranean Market. The Fresh Mediterranean Market serves up an all you can eat breakfast in the Dolphin Resort. What separates their buffet from the rest are the fresh ingredients.

Here is little info from the Swan & Dolphin website:

With the food and beverages inspired by various regions of the Mediterranean, such as Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Morocco, you will feel as though you are in a true Mediterranean Market at Fresh.

Enjoy selections made with the best possible ingredients, insuring a breakfast and lunch experience that is simple, fresh and alive with flavor.

Sit back and relax in “the Market” where you can enjoy “fresh from the garden” or “right off the burner” menu items.
Fresh Mediterranean Market strives to provide a variety of foods inspired by the rich farmlands of the Mediterranean, using recipes which have been handed down from generation to generation. The menu includes ever changing seasonal ingredients from Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Morocco with a domestic flair.

True to form they do offer Fresh Ingredients per the WDW Prince’s review. He even has the yummy pictures to prove it:

Fresh Mediterranean Market being true to its name, serves fresh Mediterranean style breakfast daily in a bright, airy space. Fresh is my favorite breakfast destination at Walt Disney World.

Having never been there I can’t say if it is the perfect breakfast. If you missed the article I wrote a few weeks ago about the 6 Disney World Must Eats I would say Kona Cafe is a tough restaurant to beat. Where is your perfect breakfast?

Check out the review here.

Let us know if you have ever eaten there and what you though in the comment section below.

Photo from disneyworld.disney.go.com

Writer Hired for Disney’s ‘Lone Ranger’

By

Chip

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February 16, 2010

Article from News In Film:

Justin Haythe has been hired to write Disney’s adaptation of The Lone Ranger. Johnny Depp remains attached as Tonto.

According to the Heat Vision Blog Haythe, who wrote Revolutionary Road, is helping propel the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie forward as the live-action story becomes a priority for the Mouse House.

Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio were originally on board to pen the script and director Mike Newell was rumored to be taking the helm. It seems all three are off the project, as the latest report makes no mention of any of them. Is Haythe polishing the draft or doing a complete re-write?

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