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Disney Season
New Name, More Magic Transform Disney World Theme Park
During ‘Year of a Million Dreams’ Celebration in 2008
As the hugely popular
‘Year of a Million Dreams’ celebration continues, 2008 at
Walt Disney World Resort dawns with the theme park famous for
all things Hollywood launching a year of new attractions, new
looks and new breakthrough experiences...with a brand-new name
in January.
It's Happy New Year and hello Disney's Hollywood Studios as
the former Disney-MGM Studios carries a new name that
"reflects how the park has grown from representing the
golden age of movies to a celebration of the new entertainment
that today's Hollywood has to offer -- in music, television,
movies and theater," said Meg Crofton, president of Walt
Disney World Resort. "As a park all about entertainment,
Disney's Hollywood Studios will deliver like never before. Now
we can say that Hollywood is literally our middle name."
Framed by the park's supporting cast of classic Hollywood
architecture are shows and attractions straight from
contemporary Hollywood, such as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
Starring Aerosmith, "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme
Stunt Show" and many more. Disney's Hollywood Studios is
also the place to meet favorite character stars of today
including Lightning McQueen and Mater from Disney-Pixar's
"Cars," Power Rangers and Little Einsteins.
And in addition to all that Hollywood-steeped fun, there
are also new and coming attractions on the marquee in 2008:
- With new songs and a rollicking new spirit, the fun of
the Disney Channel original movie "High School
Musical 2" comes to life on the streets of Disney's
Hollywood Studios in "High School Musical 2:
School's Out!" It is interactive fun as
high-energy performers on a traveling stage invite all
ages to catch Wildcat fever by singing and dancing.
- A whole new cast of friends from Playhouse Disney will
be appearing in the popular "Playhouse Disney-Live
on Stage!" Children will be on their feet
singing, clapping and dancing to performing stars from
"Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," "Little Einsteins,"
"Handy Manny" and more when the new version of
the show premiers in February.
- Newcomer Handy Manny joins JoJo and Goliath and
Little Einsteins for meet and greets with fans in the
Animation Courtyard next to "Playhouse Disney-Live on
Stage!"
- Guests will play, party and dance when the Disney-Pixar
Film Pals present "Block Party Bash," the
wildest, most interactive parade in Disney history. Coming
to Disney's Hollywood Studios in the spring, "Block
Party Bash" invites guests to rock to retro tunes, be
dazzled by high-flying acrobatics and join in the fun as
more than 20 partying Disney-Pixar Film Pals fill the
theme park streets. This immersive rolling spectacle
features favorite characters from "The Incredibles,"
"Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and
"A Bug's Life."
- And here's a "sneak preview" of a coming
attraction for summer 2008: Guests will get sporty in Toy
Story Mania! An interactive competition inspired by
Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story" films, Toy Story
Mania! will take the interactive ride-game experience to
infinity ... and beyond.
A new year filled with new ‘dreams come
true’
During “The Year of a Million Dreams,” a bi-coastal
event that began in late 2006, guests have discovered that
wishing upon a star isn’t the only way to make their
dreams come true. By being in the right place at the right
time at Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts, more
than one million guests have been selected through a
random process as winners in the Disney Dreams Giveaway.
Dreams also were awarded to mail-in participants.
When it was time to decide what to do for an encore in
2008, Disney Parks heard resoundingly from guests. They
asked for more dreams. Even bigger dreams. More dreams
money can’t buy. More dreams that only Disney can make
come true.
So Disney’s magic-makers went back to their dream
drawing board. They created over-the-top experiences for
the 2008 Disney Dreams Giveaway that will be awarded to
eligible lucky guests and mail-in participants, including:
- A chance for guests to stay inside Disneyland Park;
- A private day at Disney’s tropical island paradise,
Castaway Cay;
- A New Year’s Eve night stay inside Cinderella Castle
Suite at Walt Disney World Resort;
- A star-studded trip to the “High School Musical 3”
film premiere;
- A flight of fancy in a hot air balloon above a Disney
theme park.
These magical, money-can’t-buy Disney dreams and more
are featured in a first-ever online catalog known as the Disney
Dreams Catalog. Disney fans can flip through and
browse the catalog at www.disneyparks.com/dreamcatalog.
But that’s not all. In 2008, Disney also will award
hundreds of thousands of dreams in all shapes and sizes,
including Dream FASTPASS badges, gourmet dining packages,
special viewing for parades, Disney shopping sprees, an
additional hour – known as Dream Time – for chosen
guests to enjoy a Disney park, or special Dream Mouse Ears
or Pin and Lanyard sets.
It all adds up to over one million more dreams that
will be awarded in 2008.
New food adventures now available
Guests who travel to the land of Asia in Disney's
Animal Kingdom can now get a real taste of that exotic
part of the world with Yak &
Yeti Restaurant. Inspired by the western Himalayan
foothills in India and Nepal, this Asian-fusion
establishment offers table-service dining and a
full-service bar, as well as quick-service food and
beer-garden options, and retail offerings from Pan-Asia
ranging from silk purses, incense and saris to fine
teapots. It seats 250 inside for table-service dining and
350 in a quick-service courtyard.
Meanwhile, in the Japan pavilion at Epcot, Tempura Kiku and
Matsu No Ma Lounge have been replaced with a new spot, Tokyo
Dining, showcasing traditional cuisine and ingredients of
Japan with an emphasis on sushi and innovative presentation.
The popular Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki Dining Room has been
remodeled and renamed Teppan Edo.
Popular events return during
January-April
Early 2008 (January through April) also features the return
of five popular events to Walt Disney World Resort -- capped
by the Epcot
International Flower & Garden Festival.
Now in its 15th year, the festival bursts into bloom with
the theme Fun in the Sun on March 19 -- the earliest start
ever -- and keeps on blooming for a record 75 days -- through
June 1. Whimsical character topiaries, brilliant beds of
flowers, rose displays, water gardens and many more verdant
exhibits set the scene around Epcot's Future World and World
Showcase for a garden party like no other. Guests can learn
from the experts by participating in daily seminars focused on
making their own home and yard more beautiful and enjoyable
for outdoor living and entertaining. And to cap off the day,
there are evening music concerts featuring top acts from the
1960s and '70s.
For youthful "green thumbs," there are plenty of
activities, too -- plus a special children's garden and an
enclosed butterfly garden that includes a live exhibit showing
how caterpillars form a chrysalis and emerge as butterflies.
More information about the 15th annual Epcot International
Flower & Garden Festival is available by visiting disneyworld.com/flower
or by calling 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). The festival is
included in regular Epcot admission.
The festival puts the bloom on a season that earlier is
a showcase for a special entertainment party, a trio of
events for sports lovers and a first-time-ever Disney's
Dreamers Academy:
- Guests can become a pirate or a princess in the place
where dreams come true when Disney’s Pirate &
Princess Party returns to Magic Kingdom on 13
select nights in January, February and March. There are
treasure quests and special entertainment capped by
“Disney’s Enchanted Adventures Parade” and “Magic,
Music and Mayhem” fireworks – productions that can
only be experienced during party hours (7 p.m.-midnight
– after regular Magic Kingdom closing) on Jan. 21, 26
and 29, Feb. 2, 5, 9, 14, 22 and 26, and March 1, 6, 11
and 14. A special ticket is required. Information is
available by calling 407/WDW-AHOY (939-2469).
- Disney's Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey,
an enrichment event with a special appeal for African
American high-schoolers, brings 100 teens from across the
U.S. to Walt Disney World Resort Jan. 17-20 for
interactive workshops, motivational talks with sports and
entertainment celebrities, and discussions led by Disney
cast members and executives sharing their blueprint for
success. Workshop topics feature everything from business
to architecture/engineering, animation to set design, show
production to culinary arts, to learning the business
behind sports. Parents, teachers, school administrators,
church groups and even the students themselves nominated
more than 3,000 aspiring dreamers from across the nation
for the program. The participants were selected by a
distinguished panel of judges.
- The 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend
(Jan. 10-13) includes a pair of premier running
events -- the 13.1-mile half marathon on Saturday, Jan.
12, and the 26.2-mile full marathon on Sunday, Jan. 13.
The weekend also features Disney's Health & Fitness
Expo at The Milk House at Disney's Wide World of Sports
Complex Jan. 10-12, and the Family Fun Run 5K and Kids'
Races Jan. 11.
- The Atlanta Braves return for their 11th
full season of spring training at Disney's
Wide World of Sports Complex. Following the start of
workouts in February, the team settles into Champion
Stadium at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex to
prepare for the 2008 season with a schedule of
"Grapefruit League" games in March. Information
on spring training tickets will be available in January.
- ESPN and Walt Disney World Resort team up to offer fans
the opportunity to see and hear ESPN personalities and
star athletes during the fifth edition of ESPN The
Weekend presented by Dick's Sporting Goods, Feb.
29-March 2, at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The weekend
features on-site ESPN telecasts, star motorcades,
interactive sports activities, and Q&A sessions
involving athletes. The fun is included with regular
admission to the theme park.
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