Reunited In Disney!

The time has finally come…Woody and I are FINALLY back in Walt Disney World together!!

We have already explored Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Downtown Disney.  Tomorrow we are hitting up Magic Kingdom…from park open to park close! Neither of us have ever been to MK for park opening (we like to sleep) so this is going to be exciting.

Follow us on Twitter (@disney_beyond) all day tomorrow for pictures, live tweets from MK, and all sorts of Disney magic.  It’s going to be an extremely fun day and we are going to attempt to complete everything in the park.  Hope you join us on the challenge.

Have a magical night! °o°

From WDW,

-Buzz

Magic Kingdom Parade Takes One Final Run Down Magical Route

Yesterday,  marked the last time Disney’s “Celebrate a Dream Come True” Parade made
its way through the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.  This parade was vibrantly colored, with upbeat music, and all of your favorite characters.  Also known as the “3:00 Parade,” the parade had a fun run, bringing more Disney magic to guests from all over the world on a daily basis.

This parade was actually the third version of the Dream Come True Parade that began in October 2001.  The original parade was known as “Share a Dream Come True” Parade and featured floats that were, essentially, giant snow globes with the characters inside.  Like all Disney parades, it featured original music.

In August 2010, the parade was changed, becoming  the “Disney Dreams Come True” Parade.  The snow globes were taken out for this version.  On top of this change, some of the floats were newly constructed and another original soundtrack was created.

Then, in  2009, the third installment was made.  “Celebrate a Dream Come True” made its first run down the magical parade route on January 23, 2009.  The floats did not change from the previous parade, but costumes of dancers and, of course, the music did.  This parade incorporated the campaign theme from “What Will You Celebrate?”.  This parade was led by a colorful new float with Mickey and Minnie aboard  and featured characters, such as, Belle and the Beast, Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, Peter Pan, and many, many more beloved characters.

The parade will be replaced with an all-new parade this spring (rumor has it, in March).  This new parade, the “Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade,” will feature brand new floats, music, and characters.  Featured characters and floats will be from fan favorite Disney films like Brave, Tangled, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and Dumbo.  

Until the premiere of this new parade, there will not be a daytime parade in the Magic Kingdom of WDW.  Guests can still enjoy the  “Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Street Party” throughout the day and the “Main Street Electrical Parade” at night.

“T.T.F.N. Ta Ta For Now!”

-Buzz

An Exciting End to 2013

This has been a crazy year for the Disney Company! Beta testing for My Magic+ has been occurring in Walt Disney World for the last several months. The first anniversary of New Fantasyland was celebrated just a few short weeks ago. Avatar Land concept art and plans have been announced; however brief they are. Princess Fairytale Hall opened in the Magic Kingdom. The movie Frozen brought back classic Disney animation storytelling. The Disney Magic from the Disney Cruise Line was refurbished and reintroduced into the fleet. Saving Mr. Banks introduced the story of Walt Disney receiving the rights to the beloved Mary Poppins from P.L Travers. Tokyo Disney celebrated their 30th anniversary. Limited Time Magic kept some spontaneity within the parks from week to week.

2013 has definitely been a crazy year for the Disney Company, and we all can look forward to what is coming next in 2014! Hopefully, you all are ready to show your disney side, ride the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train, and the film regarding the villainous Maleficent will debut. What else are y’all looking forward to? Any predictions on what 2014 holds for the Disney Company? Any personal plans to visit the parks in the new year? One things for sure, 2014 will be a Disney year!

Whoa! They’re Talented: Spell Block Tango

Okay so we want to try something a little different this week.  We have noticed that there are many very talented musicians, artists, etc. out in our world who share some Disney magic over websites, such as YouTube.

We have found some whom we really enjoy the work they have done and so we feel like sharing them with you.  A lot of these will be Disney related but others, we find just amazing, in general.

This week, it only makes sense to share with you the hot and trending video, “Spell Block Tango” with some Disney Villains, by Toderick Hall that has been blowing up social media the past couple of days.  We both watched it for the first time yesterday and thought it was just perfect.  He put a Disney spin on the famous “Cell Block Tango” from Broadway musical Chicago.

So, if you have not seen this video yet, you need to.  If you have seen it, well, watch it again.

Have a magical day!! °o°

-Buzz

Park Tips Tuesday: My Disney Experience

Have an upcoming trip to the Walt Disney World Resort? Then I have three words for you: My Disney Experience.

This app is a must for upcoming visits to the parks.  It puts everything right at your finger tips.  All you need is a smart phone, iPad, or other mobile device.  And the best part? IT’S FREE!! That’s right, I said it, it’s free.  (Plus, you’ll have a little Mickey icon on your home screen.)

This app has everything you need to make your Disney vacation the very best.  You can keep all of your vacation plans, reservations, tickets, reminders, and wish lists right with you at all times.  Have more than one guest in your party with a device, no problem.  You can all download the app and link your vacation to each one by adding them to your Friends and Family list.

One of the many features this app has is a character locator for every park.  Want to see if your favorite character is out for a meet and greet?  Get out your phone, go to this app, and click “Characters Today.”  Then click on the location you wish to search and a list of the characters meeting that day will be shown.  Along with the list, are the times that you will be able to meet the characters and where to find them.

You can also view show, parade, and firework times on here.  Just click the “Entertainment” button.  It will bring you every possible form of entertainment that could be happening in the park and tell you when and where.  My Disney Experience will also give you the wait times for each attraction, as well as a description of the attraction, height requirements, and ages that the ride is enjoyable for.  You can see what time the FASTPASS Return is at too.

This app is definitely makes more time in your stay, in my opinion.  Woody can back me up on this when I say that this app became my best friend.  I was constantly on the app, planning our next move in a park.  I would even look at it from our apartment to see wait times in certain parks to figure out how busy it was that day.  Through Disney magic (a.k.a. GPS) the app knows which park you are in to make it that much easier to get the most out of your stay at Disney.  The app is connected to the new My Magic+ bands but you do NOT need one to use the app.  You don’t even need to program all of your vacation plans and reservations in if you don’t want to.  You can use the app strictly for character hunting, park hours, wait times, and show times like I did.

Hope this is helpful and let us know if you have any questions or concerns! We will gladly answer any for you! °o°

-Buzz