Mousekingdom Blog

Disney has announced what so many US Disney fans have asked for many years, an annual pass for all US Disney parks.

The Premium pass will cost $700 and will give guess the opportunity to visit all 4 Disney theme parks in Orlando, the two water parks and both Disney parks in Anaheim.

If you own annual passes for both parks you will automatically get the new premium pass.

Next step; an annual pass for all Disney theme parks globally. Too much? I know I would get one…

Via Orlando Sentinel

It looks like comics are a good investment. Imagine if you would have owned a Action Comics 1 (first Superman) or a Detective Comics 27 ( first Batman). They both have been sold in a high grade (grade 8.0 CGC for those interested) for $1.000.000 and more. Not to bad, especially if you would have been the owner. Imagine how many trips this could pay to Walt Disney World or another Disney park. Talking about comics, anybody still thinking the Marvel Disney deal was a bad thing? (although I think it’s a great deal for whole other reasons)

Disney  already had its share of comics and although non of them might bring in a million anytime soon, some of them are very collectible and if found in the right grade already come with a “nice” price tag. The first daily comic strip staring Mickey Mouse began on January 13 in 1930, but the first comic books appeared in 1940. They where published by Western Publishing through the Dell Comics Four Color label. The very first Walt Disney Comics and Stories from Dell would be a very nice item in any Disney addict collection. Even if you wouldn’t want to keep it it, valued at $30.000 (Comic Price Guide at the moment this article was written) it could pay for your next trip(s). Of course this when you have a high graded issue. Damaged issues are less valuable but could still be worth $2.000.

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It isn’t easy to get a good shot of the Kali River Rapids at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Even from the lift hill, as it’s best to get that camera away and protected from the high splashes that are going to come down on you. Still, I love the atmosphere of the lift hill and just want to try to get a good shot just before entering the attraction. I would love to get a picture while on the lift hill as it will make a great shot when going up and through the mist.

Personally I think this is one of the nicest wild water rivers I have been one. It’s a little short, something a lot of people comment on, but there is no other one as nice as this one out there.

Orlando locals and visitors might disagree with me and would pick the Islands of Adventure Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges as the better (and even wetter) ride, but even if this one is great, it still can’t beat Disney’s Kali River Rapids wonderful atmosphere.

Well, for now these are the best shot I could get. If you got one or know of one let me know about it so I can stare at it and dream away.

Don’t forget about the animals in Animal Kingdom. They are great, fun to watch and when you talk with one of the cast members you can learn a thing or two. Most of the cast members apointed with an animal have some very good knowledge of them. I find it a shame to see how guests run from one attratction to another but just don’t want to take the time to visit the animals. Me, I could go to the Tigers and stay there for hours. But those are not the only once I will visit. I’ll go on the Maharajah Jungle Trek every time I visit the park to see the tigers, but I also love the Pagani Forest Exploration Trail To see all the other exotic wildlife. Plus visiting the animals is a perfect photo opportunity. Those Meerkats are very photogenic. A visit to the Conservation Station is also an absolute must, but unfortunately not visited by all those guests entering the park. There are some really nice encounters with animals over there. If your lucky they’ll have a snake out that you can touch. Kilimanjaro Safaris seems more accepted by the general public, maybe that’s because this animal encounter is considered more of a ride and attraction.

I love Animal Kingdom! I think it’s an Imagineering Masterpiece with even more amazing animal encounters. I never been e real fun of a zoo, but this is so different. So next time you visit Animal Kingdom, don’t forget to see the animals. Pick up your camera and make some great photos. There is enough time to do this between two Expedition Everest visits.

Disney has a great Walt Disney World Interactive maps page where you can visit the parks but also Downtown Disney and the Wide World of Sports complex. A fun interactive page to visit when you’re planning your next trip.

Disney released some exiting news for all Main Street Electrical Parade fan that ill be in Walt Disney World during the summer period. The long time fan favorite will once again light up the summer nights in the Magic Kingdom.

The parade will be part of this summer special celebration they’ll call Summer Nightastic! The parade will also feature the new floats used in Disneyland; the new Pinocchio and the new Tinker Bell float.

Read on for Disney’s Press release: (more…)

Tokyo DisneySea will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a new show ”Fantasmic”. This is now confirmed by the Oriental Land Co., Ltd. The new show will premiere in April 2011 to kick of the celebration of DisneySea’s anniversary, which is on September 4th.

The picture already promises that the show will be spectacular. Looking at the brooms walking up the mountain, one can already start dreaming on how Disney will make this work. Knowing Disney, I am very confident it will look amazing. The show will take place at night in Mediterranean Harbor and will feature Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The show will have scenes from Aladdin, Cinderella and Finding Nemo incorporated. A big battle between Mickey and a gigantic dragon will be the highlight of the show.

The new “Fantasmic” show will replace the BraviSEAmo show that is currently running.

The official announcement can be found here.

Picture copyrights Disney

Since the Chinese government and The Walt Disney Company announced that the Shanghai Disneyland project has received green light to move ahead the topic has virtually disappeared. Certainly it is mentioned together with other future projects of TWDC and is also thrown into discussions concerning the performance of Hong Kong Disneyland. But lacking any new detailed revelations about the actual design of the new theme park or visible construction on-site the various blogs and websites covering Disney had nothing to report about. After all the first-phase is only expected to finish construction in five to six years. However, thanks to China Daily (“China’s Global Newspaper”) we now have a first progress report about what is happening at the future site of the resort! (more…)

Analyzing the number of guests visiting the Disney theme parks around the globe and comparing it to guest numbers of competitors as well as closely scrutinizing the occupancy rates of the Disney hotels at its various resorts is already standard procedures for those interested in the performance of the Disney theme park business. In the past year Walt Disney World in Orlando has been of special interest considering the international performances of the economies, measures taken by the Americans to curtail their spending and the fact that the resort and its parks are first of all tourist driven and can’t rely on the local market to the extent Disneyland Anaheim can. (more…)

Click on the small picture to see a full size version of the Fantasyland 3D model. (via Stitch Kingdom). Work on this monster project should start soon and a first phase is planned to open somewhere in 2012 with 2013 being the target date for the expansion to be ready.

Created by BanksLeeProductions comes this fun video from Walt Disney World: Boom De Ya Da 2 – Walt Disney World 2010

You can see more of their videos on youtube.

ROE POEReflections of Earth HD + POE tag from Martins Videos on Vimeo.

As a big Illuminations fan I look at lots of pictures and online videos of the show. The one I’ve just seen today is the best one I ever found on the web. This High Definition video is shot from dozens of different angles and shows illuminations in all its glory. Never easy to get a show to work on video, mostly the feeling is lost. While nothing beats being there seeing it live, this video will make your eyes water for sure… Wonderful piece of work. So what are you waiting for, check it out now. (Includes the Peace on Earth tag.)

Video might not work in all browsers. Use latest IE browser.

If you think Lost should be a Disney attraction you could sign a petition online. Die hard fans of the show started the petition and want the Lost attraction to appear in one of the Disney Theme Parks. ABC network, who brought us Lost, is a parent company of Disney making this wish a possibility. The petition has also some ideas added of what they want to see immortalized; The Frozen Donkey Wheel behind the Orchid Station testing chamber, The Swan station and Hatch ride, A submarine ride to Palu Ferry, Dharmaville Barracks, the Smoke monster, the Ruins, Jacob’s Cabin  and The Egyptian Statue and Jacob’s Lair.

Would you like to see this come alive too? If so you can sign the petition. So far 1500 fans signed it already.

However, personally, I don’t think Disney will make this one happen. There is no big appeal for the younger Disney fans and might not be as family friendly as Disney likes their rides. Also, even with the show being brilliant and setting a new bar for future TV show, with the show ending and no related projects being in the works it might get outdated very soon and would not be able to compete with other Disney classics in the parks.

Jay Rasulo has been the big man for Disney’s park and resort business for the last seven years and can look back on a successful run. He has been leading the park devision into boosting sales with the new Magic you Way tickets and the Magical Express, expanding the Cruise Line with two more ships and can end his span in a high note with the Shanghai park deal. Not everything when as smooth as he might have hoped for, Hong Kong Disneyland for instance could not get the guests in Disney wanted, but overall Rasulo can look back and pass the torch to his successor with pride.

Rasulo said his approach was “based on making our existing destinations the strong ambassadors of the parks-and-resorts brand that they could be, whether through investment, pricing strategy, marketing strategy.” (Orlando Sentinel, the Daily Disney)

After Alaska Airlines retired “Spirit of Disneyland” a couple of weeks ago, they introduced to the new “Spirit of Disneyland II” Airplane the public. The first flight took place from Portland to Los Angeles on December 18th 2009  where it was welcomed by three Make a Wish foundation children who traveled to Disneyland to have their wish granted.

Spirit I had Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald pictured on it, the new Spirit II is bigger (a Boeing 737-900) and had room for one more character joining the gang, namely Pluto.

Follow the link to see pictures of the plain getting painted.

Picture copyrights Alaska Airlines / Trademark copyrights Disney.