Disney Christmas Day Parade Filming Dates

Big news first: I know the filming dates for the 2012 Disney-ABC Christmas Day Parade. This is an elusive event where the tickets go on sale and sell out almost immediately. This year I have an inside line on the taping; the daughter of a friend of mine is going to dance in the parade. They’re taping the last week of November/the first weekend in December. The big day should be Saturday, December 1. I couldn’t verify this information online, because Disney hasn’t posted anything official about it yet. They probably won’t until November. But I can guarantee that the … Continue reading

Disney Park Secrets: Working the Front Gate

Any Disney fan has wondered this at some point in his or her life: what would it be like to work at Disney? Be it for the movie division, at the parks, as an Imagineer, or even just in a Disney store, surrounded by the characters we grew up with, we’ve probably all thought about it at some point. So it’s fun to hear about what it could be like to work at the Happiest Place on Earth (or its East Coast sibling). Internet news/interest site Reddit has a feature called “Ask Me Anything,” wherein people, anyone from “Avengers” director … Continue reading

Another Santa Reprimanded at Disney World

An official Disney Santa at Epcot We’ve learned that adults are banned from wearing Disney costumes to a Disney park. We also know that any kids old enough (the cutoff is 9 or 10) also can’t do so, at least not if their costumes are too realistic. Now we have another look to add to the list of things not allowed at Disney: Santa Claus. Official Disney-sanctioned Santa Claus’s still make seasonal appearances at Disney World. What’s going to get you kicked out, or at least reprimanded, is if you too closely resemble Kris Kringle. The Huffington Post reports. Atlantan … Continue reading

Magic Kingdom to Serve Beer, Wine

A bar inside the Dolphin Resort at Disney World Last week the official Disney Parks blog revealed a detail about the Be Our Guest Restaurant in the new Fantasyland expansion, one that breaks a tradition held by the Magic Kingdom since its inception: Be Our Guest will serve alcohol. The decision came when Walt Disney World execs contemplated the theme of the restaurant. In keeping with the setting of “Beauty and the Beast,” the film on which the restaurant is based, execs wanted to offer the finest French cuisine. Part of the French dining experience is to serve alcohol, so … Continue reading

Joss Whedon to Direct “Avengers” Sequel

Beyond reviewing the movies, I try not to report on too much Marvel news around here. I’m a big comics geek, so I could easily talk for ages about the company. Marvel’s only owned by Disney; the news isn’t directly related to the House of Mouse, even if it is technically a member now. Yet, I just can’t resist this latest piece of news about the Marvel movie franchise. “Avengers” director/co-writer Joss Whedon is back to take up both of the same mantels for the sequel, due in 2015. For the average movie or Disney fan, this might not seem … Continue reading