Rapunzel is coming to Disneyland. She’ll be here before we know it. Disneyland is working to prepare her home for her arrival in Fantasyland. Knowing that work would begin shortly I stopped by Geppetto’s  Candy Shoppe last week for a brief look at what the area looked like before things began changing. Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no problems with this change. I just wanted to grab a few pictures of what was there before for posterity.

Last night I stopped by again to see the progress being made. Obviously I couldn’t see much because of all the scaffolding but I thought I’d stop by anyway. The Village Haus is also closed during this work and the wing closest to what will be Rapunzel’s cottage is blocked as well. It is kind of cool to see things in progress and I can’t wait to see what is unveiled when the scaffolding comes down.

 

Who is looking forward to Rapunzel coming to Disneyland? Are you looking forward to seeing Tangled? I think it will most likely be a visually stunning movie. I hope the rest of it can match up! I am definitely looking forward to it.

That’s all for now on this topic. Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

 

Rapunzel’s new home in Disneyland will be in Fantasyland! What a surprise. Ok, not really, but that is where it is going to be. Artwork released by the Disney Parks Blog this morning show exactly where she will be living upon her arrival at the original Magic Kingdom.  She will be joined by Flynn Rider. I think it is actually a really nice fit for her. I can’t wait to see how it turns out in real life as opposed to a photo overlayed with some digital art. As you can see, she will be inside what is currently Gepetto’s Sweet Shoppe. Her hair however will take up a lot more room as it drapes from her new home to her old home up in the tower above. I’m curious if that means that Rapunzel and her hair will be staying there 24/7 or if when she ends her meet n’greet sessions for the day they both will disappear.

It sounds like October 15th will be the magical day that she comes to Disneyland. Those of you visiting Walt Disney World will also get a similar chance to meet Rapunzel. She will be the heroine in the upcoming Disney Animated Feature, Tangled.

So here comes the question. What do you think? Good use of space? Is it creative? Are you excited to see this?  Post your comments below!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

 

Friday I found myself walking to the left of Sleeping Beauty Castle away from Carnation Plaza Gardens and towards the castle. There is a little white arched bridge there that I was crossing when I noticed a queue in the walkway that is closest to the moat. Seeing as the Fairy Godmother meets people there I didn’t really pay attention at first. Then I noticed that people weren’t getting their picture with the Fairy Godmother. Instead, the Little Mermaid herself was posing for pictures and signing autographs. I stopped on the white bridge where I had a fairly good vantage point without people in the way and started to snap a few pictures. I was a bit surprised as I can’t remember the last time I saw a princess around the castle, especially Ariel.

After this little adventure, I met up with my friend Brianna Garcia. We enjoyed chatting and as we wandered around I looked up and saw Peter Pan by Snow White’s Grotto to the right of Sleeping Beauty Castle. As we walked over to see him, we noticed that he was with Snow White herself. Bri, an accomplished artist and a photographer had also been drooling over my camera a little bit. So, after taking a picture or two, I relinquished the camera to her and let her have her fun. She got some beautiful pictures of Snow White, Peter Pan, and the two of them together.

Having taken our fill of pictures of Snow White and Peter Pan, we made our way towards Coke Corner to visit Ragtime Robert. As I enjoyed Ragtime Robert’s music and the mayhem that comes with Musical Chairs, Bri took some more wonderful pictures. After the game, I got to say hi to Alive in Wonderlandblogger Suzanne Broughton and meet her two kids. They look like a beautiful family. I believe they were off to search for Hidden Mickeys.

With the game over and our goodbyes said, we made our way towards the exit as we both had places to be. As we wandered into Town Square we saw that Mickey and Minnie were together so of course… more pictures! A cute moment was when Minnie gave Mickey a quick kiss. It looked like Mickey almost had a heart attack and had to bend over and catch his breath.

All in all, it made for a nice quick trip into the park on Friday. You can see all of the photos from the day here or go to Mr. DAPs’ Photos to find those pics and others!

Make it a GREAT day!

-Mr. DAPs

 

 

Ground has been broken in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida. This begins a process that should be finished in 2013 as part of a major expansion for Fantasyland (You can read and see artwork showing proposed ideas for the Fantasyland expansion here).

I’m personally looking forward to seeing what the final product ends up looking like and visiting once it is completed. I hope it doesn’t become something that is plagued by budget cuts, delays, or shortcuts. Stay tuned for further updates!

Last year, what appeared like blueprints of a proposed Fantasyland expansion leaked out on the internet. When initially looking at them, it seemed inconceivable that Disney had something this big in the works for Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. As time flew by, rumors started surfacing that perhaps these plans were a big surprise to be released at the D23 event in September. As it turned out, there was an announcement at the D23 and there is an expansion that should be beginning this year in Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. If things go as planned, most of it should be open by 2012. While most of this has been reported upon in other places, I thought I’d just share a few pictures that I never got to before and give you a brief tour of the new Fantasyland.

In the Fantasyland expansion, Disney is taking a whole new approach to Princess meets n’ greets. Let us hope that the descriptions are accurate and as interactive as they seem. It would be so much better than standing in a line for a quick autograph and a photo. I’m sure there will be some of that too, but what has been shown has the potential to allow the princesses to really be themselves and interact with guests instead of just being  a cardboard cutout that moves and signs autographs!

For Sleeping Beauty fans, guests will now be able to enter the cottage that she grew up in. There, they will throw a surprise birthday party for Aurora. First of course, cards must be made to help the three fairies prepare for the party.

 

 

Cinderella fans will be able to visit her chateaux and then practice dancing for the royal ball or learn to be a night.

Next let’s look at Beauty and the Beast. Enter Belle’s village and her father’s cottage to begin the experience. The magic mirror will then transport guests to Beast’s castle. There guests will have the opportunity to perform the story of Beauty and the Beast for Belle! Hungry afterwards? Then perhaps visit the Be Our Guest Restaurant which will accommodate 552 guests. If not that, then go see all the antlers decorating Gaston’s Tavern and get a bite there.

The Little Mermaid will be a bit different as Ariel will be receiving her own attraction. According to former Chairman of Parks and Resorts Jay Rasulo, this will be an E-Ticket attraction that will take guests through the story of The Little Mermaid in clam shells. It will be pretty much the same as the attraction that Disney’s California Adventure will receive on the inside. The outside will be themed like Eric’s castle to make it fit into the Fantasyland theme.

Moving away from princess meet n’ greets, there are a couple of other changes coming to Fantasyland in Walt Disney World. While some had hoped that there would be a return of a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride in some incarnation, that doesn’t seem to be in the cards. Dumbo however will be expanding his flight path over Fantasyland. With this expanded flight path will also come an interactive queue for one of Fantasyland’s most popular attractions.

Tinker Bell will be receiving a permanent home in Fantasyland at Pixie Hollow. For this, guests will shrink down to the size of pixies as they enter Pixie Hollow and be able to meet Tinker Bell and all her pixie friends. From the artwork, it looks like it should be larger than Pixie Hollow that is found at Disneyland. It is expected that this attraction won’t be finished until 2013.

Below is a 3D model that I have labeled for you to see what Fantasyland will look like upon the entire expansion’s completion.

Click on image to enlarge

What do you think?

 

 

 

It's raining in California...quite a bit. So what do we do? Go to Disneyland of course! Originally Disneyland was supposed to be open until 11:00 PM tonight however with the rain and lack of guests, that has changed and now Disneyland will end it's normal operating ours at 8:00. I thought it'd be fun to see how crazy it really was there so I made a quick jaunt into the park. I could describe the experience in two words: wet & empty. It was POURING and there weren't a whole lot of people there. I could tell you more about this but I'll just show some pictures I took instead. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant or Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris has a wonderful walkthrough called la Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant that I was lucky enough to experience in September of 2009. So much so that I wanted to record it and share upon my return. Now with the excitement and busyness of Christmas over, I am going to do just that. Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant Walkthrough (la Galerie de la Belle au Bois Dormant) has some beautiful tapestries and stained glass windows.

Disneyland Paris’ Sleeping Beauty Castle is quite a bit different than the one found at Disneyland in Anaheim. According to Tony Baxter, "Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland was inspired by the Neuschwanstein Castle in Southern Germany. This European influence was fine for building a castle in Anaheim, but the fact that castles exist just down the road from Disneyland Paris challenged us to think twice about our design." So instead Le Château de la Belle au Bois was fashioned after  illustrations from Book of Hours Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry and the Mont Saint Michel monastery in Normandy. It is also quite apparent that the original castle from the Walt Disney animated classic Sleeping Beauty and the surrounding grounds were used as inspiration as well. Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant stands 167 feet tall or 50.9 meters. It also is the home for an audio-animatronics dragon that is meters long. At the time of the opening of Disneyland Paris it was the largest audio-animatronics figure ever built.

Anyway, enough about Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant in Disneyland Paris. I hope you enjoy this video!

 
 What do you think?

 

 

Disneyland Paris is one of my absolute favorite places to visit. It is an absolutely gorgeous park and I love all of the detail work that Disney has put into it. It truly is a magical place to visit. I think it is even MORE magical now though as over the weekend it got quite a bit of snow. My good friend Scott shared some pictures with me that I now in turn will share to you. I would love to visit Disneyland Paris in the snow! What do you think? Thanks for the pictures Scott!

The Disneyland Hotel, above the entrance to Disneyland as it snows.

The entrance to Frontierland in Disneyland Paris covered with snow.

Looking across the Rivers of America at Big Thunder Mountain,
covered in snow, at Disneyland Paris.

Phantom Manor covered in snow in Frontierland, Disneyland Paris.

Frontierland covered in snow in Disneyland Paris.

Sleeping Beauty Castle covered with snow at Disneyland Paris.

Sleeping Beauty Castle covered with snow at Disneyland Paris.

The plow cleans up the snow at Disneyland Paris in front of
Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Hub.

 
Sleeping Beauty Castle in the snow at Disneyland Paris.

It snows in Adventureland at Disneyland Paris.

Adventureland and the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in the snow at
Disneyland Paris!

Captain Hook's pirate ship and Skull Rock in the snow in Adventureland
at Disneyland Paris.

Skull Rock and Captain Hook's Pirate Ship in the snow in Adventureland
at Disneyland Paris!

Pirates of the Caribbean covered in snow in Adventureland at Disneyland
Paris.

More of Adventureland in the snow at Disneyland Paris.

Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in the snow in Fantasyland at
Disneyland Paris.

Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in the snow in Fantasyland at
Disneyland Paris.

The White Rabbit covered in snow in Alice in
Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in Fantasyland
at Disneyland Paris!

Snow in Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in Fantasyland at
Disneyland Paris.

More snow in Alice in Wonderland's Labyrinth in
Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

The Cheshire Cat covered in snow in Alice in Wonderland's Curious
Labyrinth in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in snow in Fantasyland in
Disneyland Paris.

Snow in Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in Fantasyland at
Disneyland Paris.

Snow covers the Caterpillar in Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in
Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

Snow covers the Caucus Race in Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth
in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

Painting the roses red in Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in
Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

Exiting Alice in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in the snow in
Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

The Queen of Hearts' castle in the snow in Alice
in Wonderland's Curious Labyrinth in Fantasyland
at Disneyland Paris!

The King of Hearts in the snow in Alice in Wonderland's
Curious Labyrinth in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

The Old Mill covered in snow in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

Looking across Fantasyland in the snow at Disneyland Paris!

Another look at Adventureland in the snow at Disneyland Paris!

 

I hope you have enjoyed these wintery pictures as much as I have! Thank you Scott for sharing them! Merry Christmas everyone!

 

 

I may have not mentioned it but I am not a fan of recreating the world of Alice. The original is a classic and the characters found in the park from this movie are among the best to be found anywhere (in any Disney park as far as I’m concerned). While Alice in Wonderland has always been a bit weird, it also has been simple and innocent. I fear with this new movie that will no longer be the truth. I have no doubts this new Alice in Wonderland will be an artistic and hailed by all as amazing. However, I’m just not sure of the wisdom of re-imagining classic characters and tales. . . especially when people are already coming up to the Mad Hatter and Alice in the park and asking about the new movie. Will people be able to delineate the old from the new? I hope so. I don’t have a problem with Disney coming up with new ideas and enhancements to characters and attractions. I do wonder if it is always wise to replace them though in the minds and the hearts of the general public. When people come to Disneyland, are the kids going to go look for a man with a giant green hat accompanied by a 12 year old girl as they perform antics around Fantasyland and then lead the world famous game of musical chairs? Or are they going to look for a different man in a purple hat with a 17 year old girl who is a mix madness with being warriors? Who knows? I do know that they have released another trailer for this upcoming movie. I’m including it. Make your own conclusions. I just hope that when people think Alice in Wonderland they will continue to think of a little girl chasing a white rabbit and meeting a purple cat that can disappear in a colorful menagerie of music, innocence, and wackiness….not to mention a few good life lessons that are thrown in. 

 

 

Yesterday, members of DAPs Magic came together to walk in the 19^th annual CHOC Walk through the Disneyland Resort. For those of you who aren’t aware of what CHOC is, it is the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. It is a wonderful cause that we were very excited to be a part of raising support and walking for. Overall, CHOC Walk raised $1,171,061 as of yesterday afternoon. Yesterday morning found people in the early morning hours with tshirts, balloons, signs, and smiles…all for a wonderful cause. Many teams walked for a specific child or the memory of the child.

For this year’s CHOC Walk, rather than just being team DAPs Magic, we decided to focus on what we were there for and our shirts, sign, stickers, and buttons all proclaimed “DAPs for a difference.” It is our hope that in the future members of DAPs Magic will join together regularly to make a difference to help make the world a better place.  We doubled the number of people who walked with team DAPs this year and we hope in coming years we will continue to grow for these events! The more people that join the bigger difference we can make!

For team DAPs for a difference, the morning began with people meeting up around 5:30 AM (yes, that time really exists) and upon stepping off the escalator we were greeted by Green Army Men from the Toy Story movies. One of them stayed and talked with our team for quite some time and really helped get the morning off on the right foot. As people arrived, co-captain Steven Daley passed out team buttons and stickers and co-captain Tracy Balough supplied extra hats and wonderful breads for breakfast. By six o clock, we were making our way into Disneyland to watch the opening ceremonies. We were in the third block to be set loose through the resort and the announcer asked what DAPs stood for. After finding out that it stands for Disney Annual Passholders, he excitedly proclaimed that he was one of us too! As we waited to depart, the Orange County Register took a picture of Main Street and several members of DAPs for a difference can be seen in the picture as well as the sign which was held by Renata Bastos, affectionately known as Reynolds Wrap.

As we made our way through the two parks we met and took pictures with several characters. The three fairies from Sleeping Beauty were atop Sleeping Beauty Castle. The new Princess Tiana and her Prince Naveen were found near the Mark Twain with a small jazz ensemble. Several other princesses including Jasmine, Aurora, and Cinderella were found to be going around and around on the Carousel in Fantasyland. As we continued on we saw Mary Poppins and Bert dancing to the music of Celebrate: A Street Party. Mickey and Donald waved at us and the announcer explained to Mickey what DAPs stands for as we passed by the opening stand again on our way to Disney’s California Adventure (DCA). Once in DCA, we met Chip & Dale. In Hollywood Backlots we found Sully and Boo. Flick and Princess Atta were in Bug’s Land and cast members from High School Musical 3 could be found as walked towards Paradise Pier where we found Woody, Jessie and Buzz Lightyear. Our last characters to be found were another set of Green Army Men directing traffic through the construction side of the lagoon in DCA. We were greeted by the Disneyland Ambassadors and a whole host of activities and samples as we ended the walk in Downtown Disney.

While characters added the Disney touch to the CHOC Walk. What was even more exciting was walking to make a difference with a bunch of amazing people and amazing stories. On our team alone, one member was walking for children who had been a part of CHOC and who were no longer with us. Others walked because they recognize that CHOC really is a great cause and an excellent chance to make a difference in the world. Other teams had members walking for friends, family members, and people they had never met before. To sum it all up, CHOC Walk was an excellent example of what is good in our world and that a bunch of individuals can work together to make a fantastic difference in the world.

If you haven’t ever done the CHOC Walk before, I’d strongly encourage you to walk next year. Sure it is early, sure there is a $50 donation to register, but what really matters are the children you are going to help! Whether you walk with DAPs or another team, it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you step forward, lend a hand, spend some time, and help make the world a better place. Thank you to all who helped make CHOC Walk 2009 a success!

 

DAPs for a difference consisted of:

Captain: Mr. DAPs

Co-Captains: Stephen Daily, Tracy Balough

Members: Jan Balough, Rentata Bastos, Florentia Castillo, Travis Edwards, Renee Furois, Lauren Laird,Laurie Laird, Jennie McCammon, Ali Olaes, Allison Rodgers, Casey Siuniak, Cambria Ullom, Evan Whitaker, Monica Whitaker, Kristin Wyatt