Disney News Reviews The World, The Land, The Cruise!

The new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World, is progressing quickly, and one section has me really jazzed! The Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid attraction is going to be so cool!! Disney news released a couple of pictures of Prince Eric’s Castle, which is where the attraction will be. This picture was taken at ground level. It is so cool to see how true to form the imagineers make things. Look how the mortar looks all worn; so realistic. The mural you will see at this level depicts the story of Prince Eric’s experience at sea.

The 17 Annual International Food and Wine Festival will take place at Epcot, and will run for 46 days. The dates are September 28 through November 1, 12, 2012. There are two new kiosks and a new chef experience for guests this year. Check out this Disney news.

Two new festival marketplaces: TERRA Marketplace offers vegan menu items, including Trick’n Chick’n Curry with Basmati Rice and Chili Colorado with House-Made Chips and Cashew Cheese. The FLORIDA Marketplace introduces fresh twists on regional flavors. There are more than 25 ethnic and regional marketplaces in all.
Feel like a VIP with Marketplace Chef Tours. Each Wednesday, festival chefs host a walking-and-tasting tour around World Showcase with stops at several international marketplaces. You get to taste five marketplace dishes and five beverage items, like beer, wine and cocktails – and learn a few culinary secrets.

Walt Disney World was full of celebrations last week with big Disney news! The long awaited opening of the newest Disney Value Resort happened on May 31, 2012. The Disney Art of Animation Resort is now open! Only part of the resort is open now, with the rest following soon,. By the end of September, the entire resort will be open. It sure looks like a fun and colorful resort to visit. The store there is called The Ink and Paint Shop, and I could enjoy browsing there. The US Post Office joined in the fun, releasing new Pixar stamps to commemorate the opening of this fun resort.

There is Disney News from Disneyland this week, of course! Disney has been re-working their dining options in Disneyland and with that in mind the La Brea Bakery was remodeled and is reopened. This restaurant now offers a take out and a small, cute little seating area. They have thought of everything here, with trees for shade in the summer and free standing heaters to keep guests warm when there is a chill in the air.

Disney released lots of new merchandise recently at California Adventure. To celebrate the opening of Cars Land they released these really cool looking die cast cars based on Radiator Springs. They are fun and collectable. Cars Land opens June 15.

With all the construction being done on the California Adventure Theme Park, one thing that was taken down was the CALIFORNIA sign. The letters were actually donated by Disney to the Friends of the California State Fair, a nonprofit organization that benefits California Exposition & State Fair (Cal Expo) in Sacramento, California. The letters are going to be used for a new entrance to the Cal Expo, and it promises to look quite nice.

Disney news from Disney Cruise Line who celebrated two firsts last week; one on each USA coast. The Disney Magic sailed into the port of New York City and the Disney Wonder docked in Seattle! The Disney Magic will be offering itineraries for the summer months out of New York City; you can sail to Canada, the Bahamas, or take a 2 night trip to nowhere cruise. I am excited to hear about the Canada itinerary, because Disney has some excellent shore excursion options available. The Disney Wonder is offering seven-night Alaska Disney cruises which sail to Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan, Alaska; and Victoria, British Columbia, out of Seattle. Disney’s track record with Alaska is already well known.