Mousekingdom Blog

The Walt Disney Company has bought a 15 acre plot at Prince George’s County’s National Harbor. Disney plans to build a 500 room hotel resort on their newly acquired land. Although there is no indication in the news item, it could be a new Disney Vacation Club property to add to their list, including the Adventures by Disney offerings of guided tours. What you will not see is a theme park attached to the hotel resort, nor will one even be build.

“The National Harbor resort is a completely different kind of project,” Rasulo said. “It’s specifically zoned for hotel, residential and other commercial development. This project is a hotel resort. It is not by any stretch of the imagination a theme-park project and never will be. We have no intention of building a large-scale theme park in the Washington area.” (Washington Post)

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If you like some Walt Disney World history how about a quick visit over to the PicParade. Here you can see a collection of 1971 pre-opening pictures including one of Frontierland under construction. Other interesting pictures include some of Cinderella’s Castle, Mainstreet U.S.A. and the Haunted Mansion. There are also two pictures of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea construction, a very interesting sight of an attraction that is no more. You can also see a picture of the tipi’s near the Rivers of America.

Before the park opened Disney used two Keelboats as form of transportation on the 7 seas lagoon. There are two pictures of one of the boats that got stuck on a sandbank.

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I can’t explain why I feel like it was, but it felt that this trip was the best so far… I just loved every minute of it. Could have been the great weather (finally after this terrible and could winter), could have been the company (well, that’s a given as I was their with my family) or was their another reason. I might not know why I felt like that on this trip, all I now is that it was great.

It started out fantastic with a super deal we found on Expedia.com (sounds a bit like an advertisement now) for the Marriott. I never expected to ever stay their but the deal was to sweet to let it pass. Now I am happy we did. The accommodations are great, big spacious rooms, 2 bathrooms, big living room and a kitchen with everything you need (if you wanted to cook for yourself). We loved and if another deal like that would pop up we would go again. However, even if we thought it was a great place, it is advised to visit this only when you have your own form of transportation. There is a shuttle bus but on the low season day it was packed to full capacity and I have heard from people staying their you can sometimes wait for 1 hour before you can catch another one. It is said the shuttle only goes out every 40 minutes, but in high season that might just not be enough.

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Walt Disney World is more then 4 theme parks and 2 water parks (although some even forget about the amazing water parks). But there is so much more to do and explore. Just have a look at some of the awesome hotels and what they have to offer. You don’t have to stay at the hotel to enjoy their beauty or magic. All you need to do is take a bus or even a stroll and you can have some extra fun so many people don’t even know or forget about.

With the parks always busy, visiting some of the hotels during your Walt Disney World stay could be a nice and relaxing experience. Here are some tips on visiting some of the hotels and what you could do there.

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Disney presented their plans to the media regarding their Hawaii Theme resort. The resort was announced about 1 year ago and will start to greet their first guest somewhere in 2011. There will be 350 hotel rooms and 480 Disney Vacation Club timeshare units. The Honolulu Advertiser has a great news video where you can gaze upon a nice model of the hotel and the waterpark that flows between it.

Picture via The Honolulu Advertiser.

On the Hong Kong Disneyland website you can find a video about their upcoming Halloween event. The video is fun and even a little (for the smaller once) scary. It gives you a nice idea what to expect and is fun to watch. Even if you would not make it to that park (I guess I am not the only one living a little far away from Hong Kong to just go over there and pop in), make sure to watch the Hong Kong Disneyland site and watch this video.

Things that really caught my eye on the video (for me at least) is the “Adventure Haunted Trail” where zombies and pumpkin men will be waiting for you (I wonder how scary they are going to make this) and “Demon Jungle”. “Demon Jungle” is another scary looking theme where you’ll meet… well… demons. Sounds scary for a Disney park, but to me it sounds like great fun…

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The grand opening for the new Tokyo Disneyland Hotel is planned for tomorrow, the 8th July, but one photographer already posted some pictures of the exterior and interior of the awesome looking hotel. The hotel looks amazing and adds some more magic to the already fantastic Tokyo Disneyland Resort. “Well done Mickey”… or should we say, “Well done Oriental Land Company”

For a collection of awesomeness follow the link to the album filled with pictures of the new hotel.

(Via The Disney Blog and Bleu Sky Disney)

Wild rumors are going around that Disney might build a third resort in the US. The location would be Branson MO. This is big news and the rumor is backed up with some legal documents indicating that Disney might be involved.

An address listed on a document that the company filed with the Missouri secretary of state’s office is also the address listed for the corporate offices of Walt Disney Co. (The Joplin Globe)

But it isn’t the first time this rumor pops up. Disney was already linked to the location in 1990 when first rumors appeared of a possible new Disney park.

Rumors that a Disney attraction was coming to Branson were rampant in the mid-1990s. Now, Newton County Commissioners are investigating whether Disney could be linked to a theme park proposal made earlier this month. (News Leader)

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We arrived on the 11th April in the early evening and went to check in the Newport Bay Club Hotel. My wife asked to see if we can have a ground or lower floor room. (She has been in a fire when she was young and feels more comfortable and less fearful knowing she is close to the ground floor).

So when I asked the CM for a ground floor room he checked if something was available…

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A hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland is sending one of its staff members to Orlando for a “smile” course in the Disney Institute.

The first thing which springs to mind when you think about Disneyland is people smiling and, although Edinburgh is a long way from Florida, it would be great if we could be as cheerful…

(Notice the Disneyland and Florida in the same sentence It’s that “little” mistakes you see sometimes)

…The Americans have a reputation for service with a smile and The Disney Institute is renowned for its hospitality expertise. They have thousands of staff and motivating them all is a major task. I look after 20 to 30 staff but want them all to be happy and positive. (Edinburgh News Scotsman)

Jay Rasulo spoke about some concepts for future Disney parks and hotels that have attracted my interest. Let’s have a look at the Disney Parks eyes stand-alone hotels article and see what could well be a concept that could ad even more Disney magic around the globe…

The Walt Disney Co. is considering “blue sky concepts” of creating smaller theme parks and stand-alone hotels, retail, dining and entertainment centers, Jay Rasulo, chairman of Disney’s Parks and Resorts told analysts at a conference on Wednesday.

Building stand-alone hotels in urban areas where families already travel would give Disney the chance to reach out to parents who feel their children are still too young to appreciate a trip to a Disney theme park, Rasulo said.

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When you visit Disneyland Resort Paris (or any Disney Theme Park) don’t forget about all the little things you can see around the park. People ask me how I can go to a Disney Park again and again… and again without being bored of it. Well, Disney parks are not all about the rides alone.

There is a lot of small stuff or hidden stuff around the park many people forget about. While they run from one ride to another I enjoy all the little things that make this place so special.

My favorite place and often forgotten by many (and it isn’t even that small) is the Dragon underneath the Sleeping Beauty Castle. This animatronics is amazing, a must see for everyone.

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Take a look around the main living room of the Disneyland Hotel Suite via this quicktime page.

You can move around the room and find some real Disney gems like a Mickey Phone, Walt Disney Pictures, Disney art and a whole lot more.

Did you know that the Mickey light above the main area slowly changes color?

Link from Mickeynews via Inside The Magic

Any child’s dream (Year of a Million Dreams; Disneyland Hotel Suite – via OCregister.com)

Year of a Million Dreams; Disneyland Hotel Suite … and yes… there is a TV in the bathroom. With so much luxury one might forget about the parks… (via OCregister.com)