Disney Junior to Become A Channel

On March 23 Disney will debut a brand new channel: Disney Junior. The announcement, in this case pulled from Disney fan magazine website DisZine, doesn’t come as that much of a surprise. In some of its marketing for new shows Disney has mentioned Disney Junior, though before this notice on the new channel I’m sure many, like me, just assumed that any relevant shows would air during Disney Junior (formerly known as Playhouse Disney) hours on its parent channel. Up until this point, Disney Junior has just existed as a scheduling block on the Disney Channel, one meant to indicate … Continue reading

Disney Jr. – Live on Stage!

It’s certainly a time of change at Disney, and last week the latest took place: the switch from Playhouse Disney to Disney Jr. Thanks to Michele for pointing it out to me; I wasn’t sure if Disney Jr. was indeed the replacement for Playhouse Disney, or just an additional feature. Despite discussing it, we’re not really sure of the motivation for the name change. The most likely candidate is that Disney’s trying to compete with Nick Jr., but having names so similar seems like it will just cause more confusion than competition. I also thought that perhaps execs thought kids … Continue reading

5 Great Disney World Shows for Kids

Planning a vacation to Disney World this summer? My neighbor is and with their three kids, she wanted some advice on what shows were critical because they have a limited schedule. So I thought to answer her question and maybe yours, I’d compile a list of the 5 great Disney World shows for kids. These are the ones you don’t want to miss and that your kids will adore. I’ve done my best to list ages where I think appropriate. Playhouse Disney – Live on Stage For your youngsters, especially in the 3 to 6 year old range, Playhouse Disney … Continue reading

Disney’s Tarzan Is Closing

The head of Disney Theatrical Productions announced that the Broadway production of Tarzan will be closing after just 486 performances. The show hasn’t received the best of reviews since it opened at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre. Although Disney has not disclosed the actual amounts, the show will be closing at a loss. The decision to close the show was a purely business one. If the show’s projected advances are going to keep them at a loss, then they have to close the show. There are many other productions of Tarzan expected to launch overseas such as the one that just … Continue reading

The Disney Blog Week in Review May 6 – May 12

We’re planning our next vacation to Disney World and as we ramp up our plans, I’ll be exploring more touring options, hotel stays and restaurant planning for your next stay at Disney World. But let’s take a quick look at our week in review in case you missed any articles for this second week in May. Sunday, May 6 Tokyo Disneyland Attractions (What’s Unique to the Japanese Park?) Disney offers a wonderful repertoire of attractions, but Tokyo has three specific attractions that you can’t find at the other Disney parks. Monday, May 7 New Jersey Comcast viewers were upset when … Continue reading

Playhouse Disney Live

When we went to Disney World a couple of years ago, we had the pleasure of seeing Playhouse Disney Live at Disney-MGM Studios. My daughter, then 4 years old, thrilled to seeing Bear in the Big Blue House live on the stage along with Stanley and more. Beginning this September, you won’t have to travel to Disney World to enjoy Playhouse Disney Live as it begins the first U.S. live tour of 70 cities. Playhouse Disney Live The live stage production features four shows worth of characters from Disney Channel’s popular programming block. The featured shows will include characters from … Continue reading

Mickey’s Magic Show

I’ve written about one of Disney’s most popular live shows, Disney on Ice, but now I’m going to put a spotlight on their newest production, Mickey’s Magic Show. The live performance, currently on tour, takes all the talk about Disney’s magic literally. While Mickey is obviously the master of ceremonies and grand magician for the show, several other Disney characters and their friends participate as well. First guests fall down the rabbit hole to Wonderland. The Mad Hatter uses his own silly type of magic to play with the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts brings out her cards … Continue reading

Charlie’s Got More than Luck

Most Disney Channel original series focus on the lives of their intended audience. Shows on Playhouse Disney often feature young protagonists learning to interact with the world. The plethora of Disney Channel’s tween and teen shows, the channel’s bread and butter, again usually focus on the lives and problems of its protagonists, whose ages usually match that of the channel’s target audience. Refreshing, then, is the Disney’s Channel recent hit series “Good Luck Charlie.” Although the series’ main character is arguably Teddy Duncan, a 15-year-old girl, the show really revolves around the entire family. The premise of the show is … Continue reading

New Imagination Movers Album Out Tomorrow

All fans, or parents of fans, of Playhouse Disney’s bouncy Imagination Movers music quartet have reason for excitement this week, as a new CD from the band hits shelves tomorrow. Meanwhile, The Imagination Movers themselves resume filming their hit series in New Orleans this month. Stitch Kingdom reports that the band’s new CD, released on June 8, features 18 original songs from the second season of Imagination Movers. It also has some details of the third season of the show, which sees the Movers explore beyond the Idea Warehouse and meet up with even more surprise guest stars. I didn’t … Continue reading

Get Your Wiggle on at Six Flags

My preschool daughter has never been a huge Wiggles fan. What’s more, she screams like a banchee every time I try to put her on an amusement park ride. And I’m not talking about those baby roller coasters that travel on a flat track, or those crazy toddler swings that spin around with modified reckless abandon. For the past three years my child has unleashed glass shattering, ear splitting, high-pitched shrieks each time I’ve tried to place her on merry-go-round horses (the paralyzed ones that don’t move up and down), baby boats (that barely move in a pool no bigger … Continue reading