There’s Disney Holiday Magic All Around the Globe

December 20, 2017January 8, 2018

By D23 Team

It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year, as Disney fans experience that special blend of pixie dust that can be found only during the holiday season. There’s added magic on all of our favorite series and holiday specials, in Disney parks and resorts, and all around the world. Here are just some of the ways that The Walt Disney Company is making the season brighter for fans.

Arendelle Comes to Life at the “Frozen Carnival” in Taipei, Taiwan

On November 29, The Walt Disney Company in Taiwan brought Arendelle to life at the world’s first “Frozen Carnival,” in the city of Taipei. The event kicked off with the lighting of the Taipei 101 building in Frozen-themed blue and white colors.

A unique and immersive experience, the “Frozen Carnival,” runs from now through January 14, 2018, and features a 12-meter-tall Crystal Christmas Tree and a Frozen character meet and greet.

A Christmas Wonderland in Tokyo, Japan

Disney Japan has teamed up with Tokyu Group for the Christmas promotion “Tokyu Christmas Wonderland 2017—Disney Dream Moments.” Based in Shibuya, Tokyo, Tokyu Group is a business conglomerate which engages in a diverse range of businesses including transportation, real estate, retail, etc. The promotion, which launched on November 1 and continues through December 25, takes places at various Tokyu Group locations around Tokyo.

Christmas trees and decorations at each location feature Disney beloved characters—including Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, Ana, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen. Throughout the day, fans are surprised and delighted by a festive show of light and the sounds of the season.

Tsum-thing Special in Buenos Aires, Argentina

All aboard Disney’s Tsum Tsum Christmas Express in Alto Avellaneda, a major shopping center in Buenos Aires’ South Zone. The special offering re-creates a train station with different elements that represent the festive spirit of the Tsum Tsum. The train features Disney characters (as Tsum Tsums), along with a special coach where letters to Santa may be left. Mickey, Minnie and other favorite characters “stack up” to form a Christmas tree that is tsum-thing to behold.

A Holiday Visit from Mickey and Minnie in Lima, Peru

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse couldn’t help but join in on the holiday shopping fun at La Rambla, a shopping area located in Lima, Peru, in November. Mickey and his best girl posed for photos with shoppers of all ages in front of a stunning Christmas tree adorned with scores of not-so-hidden Mickeys—including a tree topper that shines as bright as any star.

Celebrating 80 years of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Melbourne, Australia

Emporium Melbourne, in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company (TWDC) Australia, has launched an enchanting new exhibition never before seen in Australia, Mirror-Mirror, in celebration of the 80th anniversary of Walt Disney’s first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The one-of-a-kind, Snow White-inspired exhibition was unveiled by stylist/blogger Nadia Bartel, plus special guests Kate Rooney, Emporium Centre Manager; Andrea McMillan, Head of Brand, Franchise and Partnerships of TWDC Australia; and Paul Vasileff, Director of Paolo Sebastian.

The exhibition also showcases the mesmerizing work of designer Paul Vasileff of Paolo Sebastian, including five of his original couture creations inspired by Snow White.

Emporium Melbourne Centre Manager Kate Rooney said: ‘‘It is a great pleasure and honor for Emporium Melbourne to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. We are delighted to offer our customers and visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in the iconic fairy tale through the Mirror-Mirror experience.”

Disney Magical Moments in Buenos Aires

Disney Momentos Mágicos took place in the days just before Christmas, and people were invited to attend the show after purchasing their gifts in the most important shopping malls in Buenos Aires.

The most iconic Disney characters performed live on stage in a show that took the families on a magical musical journey to the Wonderful World of Disney.

The show boasted colorful costumes, original choreographies, and captivating special effects. With fantastic scenery, magnificent musical pictures, and moving stories, Disney Momentos Mágicos made for an unforgettable experience that undoubtedly touched the hearts of all who attended.

6 Imagineers Share the Disney Experiences that Led Them to Their Dream Jobs

December 20, 2017December 22, 2017

By Nicole Nalty

Walt Disney Imagineering celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, and with it, 65 years of unbelievable experiences, unparalleled storytelling, and unforgettable memories for Disney fans across the globe. To celebrate the occasion, we asked a few of the men and women behind the magic to share which Disney experiences inspired them to pursue a career with Walt Disney Imagineering… It should come as no surprise these magic makers are Disney fans, just like you!

See what they had to say below––some of their favorites might just be yours, too!

Joe Rohde—Portfolio Creative Executive
“I grew up in Hawaii, so I had only the faintest idea what Disneyland even was, and never really got to experience it until I was 11. But Pirates of the Caribbean was always my gold-standard attraction, from the first time I ever rode it. The quality of the illusions; the integration of music, sets, and action; the sense that the environment goes on and on—all of these were profoundly affective upon me when I was young, and all of them have remained design issues that I strive to express.”

Kathy Mangum—Regional Executive, WDI Atlantic
“I grew up in Orange, California, just about 5 or 6 miles from Disneyland. When we were little kids, we’d get up on our roof and watch the fireworks every night during the summer. Living so close to Disneyland was a point of pride for us and it’s where I knew I wanted to work as the perfect part-time job when I was in school. I didn’t know what an Imagineer was back then, but I had the opportunity to do some work at WED (now called Imagineering) when Epcot was being built, and I was introduced to the smartest, most creative group of people I’d ever met. That’s when I decided I wanted to be part of the Imagineering team, and I’ve never looked back!”

Dave Minichiello—Executive Creative Director, Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
“My first experience of a Disney theme park was going to Walt Disney World in 1971 while I was growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida. Visiting the Magic Kingdom for the first time, I remember being incredibly inspired and amazed by the scale and level of storytelling that I was experiencing. I had never seen anything like it before! I was immediately captivated by the amazing lands, attractions, and environments that the Disney Imagineers had created. For me, it was at that moment at 12 years old I began to explore everything I could to understand how Walt and the Imagineers created these incredible environments that my family and I were experiencing. So many of the classic attractions such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean influenced me to want to become an Imagineer. I could not wait to return to the Magic Kingdom as often as possible to ride all of the attractions again and again and to enjoy and study them. Each attraction told a story in a different way, and I have been challenged and intrigued by how to do this ever since. Now, having had the great honor to be an Imagineer for over 38 years and having contributed to attractions all over the world, I still enjoy this challenge of telling our stories in new ways to excite and inspire our guests when they visit our parks and resorts.”

Derek Howard—Lead Creative Ride Designer
“Having grown up in Southern California, Disneyland was definitely my park and one of the most memorable places we visited during my childhood. The one attraction that had the largest impact was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I had an enormous interest in trains from early on and was (and still am) a bit of a thrill-seeker, and here was this amazingly themed ride that offered both! This was undoubtedly the catalyst for things to come and the immediate realization that THIS is what I wanted to design when I grow up, though not knowing at the time that there was an actual place that designed and built these things. This is why, out of all the amazing attractions I have a hand in designing, roller coasters are still my favorite to work on.”

Brian Loo—Assistant Producer, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
“Ever since I was small I had a love for trains and transportation and it was the Disneyland Monorail that inspired me to dream big on becoming an Imagineer. At a young age, I looked at the Monorail truly as the future of transportation from its sleek design to the joy of ‘flying’ in the sky above the roadways.

“As I grew up, it continued to be my inspiration on how to combine technology with innovation and storytelling to create something awe-inspiring. My curiosity led me to learn about Walt Disney Imagineering, which opened doors for me to develop creative story-driven experiences that could be inspiring, fun, and, most importantly, put smiles on people’s faces—while at the same time hiding all the technology to not take away from the story. Even after seven years with Walt Disney Imagineering, I can’t believe my childhood dream became a reality.”

Estefania Harbuck—Producer, Marvel Portfolio
“As a child growing up in Georgia, I visited Walt Disney World twice and was always charmed by the beauty, quaintness, and magic that was Fantasyland. Moving through spaces that felt like they only existed within imagination was like walking through a dream. I could’ve wandered those spaces and flown with Peter Pan endlessly. Back home, as the daughter of a travel agent, I would take my mother’s Walt Disney World park and resort catalogue and spend time flipping through glossy photographs of real, fantastical, varied places I’d never been to but could imagine visiting in my mind.

“Returning to Walt Disney World as a junior in high school for a cross country competition, I experienced the parks as an almost-adult and was amazed by how much I fell in love with Epcot—this park I hadn’t thought of much as a kid, but was now enamored with as a teenager. Again, the beauty, the harmony of space and architecture, the sprinkling of story and history and technological amazement, and the tranquility of moving through magical faraway places that I was hungry to visit helped me to fall in love with that place and remember it fondly into adulthood.

“While the singular attractions at the park were definitely climactic moments that cinched the day, it was the whole of what these lands could become when so carefully, deftly executed into real environments that I could enter and engage with and be surprised by and move through was what truly inspired me to become an Imagineer.”

Baymax, Scrooge McDuck and More Disney XD Characters Share the Joy This Holiday Season

December 20, 2017

By D23 Team

The Walt Disney Company is sharing the joy this holiday season with kids and families who need it most. You can learn more about Disney’s efforts at Citizenship.Disney.com.

To inspire fans of all ages to use their power to make a difference, Disney XD is sharing a series of stop-motion interstitials this holiday season. Starring everyone’s favorite family of ducks, Baymax, Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz, these adorable spots will fill you with joy… and inspire you to pass it along.

Pork Medallions with Cranberries and Beurre Rouge from The Chew

December 20, 2017November 19, 2018

Try this delicious holiday recipe from Chef Michael Symon.

Servings: 4–6
15 to 30 min

Ingredients
Pork Medallions:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds pork tenderloin (trimmed of excess fat, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick medallions)
1 large sweet potato (cut into 1/4-inch-thick half moons)
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs sage leaves
1 clove garlic (peeled, smashed)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Endive, Cranberry and Biscuit Salad:
1/2 biscuit recipe – http://abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/biscuits-michael-symon (or 6 store-bought biscuits)
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 cups rosé wine
2 oranges (1 juiced, 1 segmented)
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (divided)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
2 heads endive (cored, thinly sliced)
2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
Kosher salt and freshly groun

Beurre Rouge:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Step-by-step Directions

For the Pork Medallions: Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and warm the olive oil. Season the pork medallions with salt and pepper to taste. Add the pork medallions and the sweet potato slices to the pan in one even layer, searing on both sides until a deep golden brown.
Add the thyme, sage, garlic, and butter to the pan and, using a spoon, baste the pork and sweet potatoes until pork is medium rare, reaching an internal temperature of 145ºF, about 6–8 minutes. Remove the pork, herbs, and garlic to a plate and set aside.
Add the chicken stock to the sweet potatoes, cover and cook until tender, about 5–7 minutes. Add the pork back to the pan to warm through before serving.
For the Endive, Cranberry and Biscuit Salad: Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Tear the biscuits into bite size pieces and place on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven until golden brown and toasted, about 8–10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.
In a large shallow sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the cranberries, rosé, orange juice, 1 tablespoon of sherry vinegar and bring to a boil. Cook until rosé reduces by half, about 5–7 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together remaining tablespoon of sherry vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. To the bowl, add sliced endive, orange segments, tarragon leaves, and toasted biscuit pieces, and 1/2 of the cranberries from the sauté pan, tossing to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
For the Beurre Rouge: Whisk the butter and chicken stock into the remaining cranberries and cook until reduced to a loose glaze, about 2–3 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
To Serve: Place the sweet potatoes on the platter and top each one with a pork medallion. Drizzle the beurre rouge on top. Finish platter by topping with endive salad and serve.

Tips

If your local market doesn’t carry fresh cranberries, frozen cranberries will make an excellent substitute!

Click here to see our entire recipe collection.

Did You Know? 8 Adventurous Facts About Walt Disney’s In Search of the Castaways

December 19, 2017January 29, 2018

By Jim Fanning

Action, adventure, fantasy, Sherman Brothers songs, spectacular special effects—all this and Hayley Mills, too! It’s Walt Disney’s In Search of the Castaways, released on December 19, 1962 as Disney’s big Christmas release. Directed by Disney Legend Robert Stevenson with his usual flair for characterization, humor, and convincing fantasy, this action-adventure epic spins the yarn of Mary Grant, played by Disney Legend Hayley Mills. This fearless teenage adventurer and her younger brother team up with an eccentric professor of geology, a stuffy shipping magnate, and his charismatic son to travel across the globe in search of the Grant children’s missing sea-captain father. To celebrate the 55th anniversary of In Search of the Castaways, here are eight amazing facts encompassing all the high adventure, charming romance, and non-stop adventure of what Disney publicity described as “Walt Disney’s greatest adventure classic!”

1. Castaways Marked Disney’s Return to Jules Verne
Billed in the film’s opening titles as “Jules Verne’s Fantasy-Adventure,” In Search of the Castaways is exactly that. Based on the 1867 novel Captain Grant’s Children, the film marked Walt’s return to the works of Jules Verne after he so famously brought the author’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to the screen in 1954. According to Walt, Verne “imagined some pretty weird and wonderful things.” The great showman knew that Verne’s fantastical Victorian adventure would make an ideal subject for a Disney live-action film—especially since Walt and his team were the acclaimed masters of special effects ever since their Oscar^® win for the 20,000 Leagues special effects. To start on this new Verne project, Walt gave a copy of Captain Grant’s Children to his special photographic effects expert, Disney Legend Peter Ellenshaw, requesting that he produce conceptual art envisioning the film-to-be. “There were quite a number of passages [that gave me a] chance to paint some interesting pictures,” recalled Ellenshaw. “Finally I had a storyboard filled with sketches. Walt brought in a writer [Lowell S. Hawley and] described the way he wanted the story to follow the scenes depicted in my sketches.”

2. Hayley Mills Does Action-Adventure
The talents of Disney mega-star Hayley Mills had already been showcased in the period dramedy Pollyanna (1960) and the contemporary comedy The Parent Trap (1961). Walt had always been impressed with the expressive young actress’s versatility so he decided on something completely different for Hayley’s next starring vehicle: In Search of the Castaways. As with all of Mills’ Disney films, the project was shaped to fit her distinctive persona while still giving her new acting challenges. “Going around the world on all those marvelous adventures, even in make-believe, has been one of the most thrilling times of my whole life,” the Disney superstar said of Castaways.

3. The Kids Are All Right
“One of the nicest things about making movies for Walt Disney is that I get to play a girl my own age who enjoys life as much as I do,” noted Hayley Mills. In Search of the Castaways featured her first onscreen romance, with Michael Anderson, Jr. aboard as her leading man. The youthful thespians’ chemistry had already been proven when Anderson, the young actor who had made such an impression in The Sundowners (1960), appeared with Mills in her screen debut, Tiger Bay (1959), the movie in which Walt had first seen her while casting Pollyanna. For the role of Mills’ younger brother, Keith Hamshere was cast fresh from originating the role of Oliver Twist in the premiere production of the musical Oliver! on the London stage. Disney publicity photos portray Hamshere photographing his Castaways co-stars with his own camera, prefiguring his adult career as a still photographer on the sets of such movies as the Star Wars and James Bond films.

4. Enjoying Maurice Chevalier
Hayley Mills shared her Castaways adventures with another Disney Legend: Maurice Chevalier. Already an established star when he hit it big in 1930s Hollywood, the Paris-born entertainer had made a late-career splash with his supporting role in Gigi (1958), the classic musical that brought him an honorary Academy Award^® for “his contributions to the world of entertainment for more than half a century.” Walt cast, as he said, “the always effervescent Maurice Chevalier” as Professor Jacques Paganel, described as “his most excitingly different role” in the movie’s original theatrical trailer. “It was a great opportunity for a man of my years to work with Walt Disney,” said Chevalier. “I think I brought a lot of humor to the part.” Chevalier’s lighthearted approach is especially evident in his performance of the song “Enjoy It.” “That simple ditty, written by two young and talented songwriters, Bob and Dick Sherman, is a wonderful philosophy of life,” said Chevalier. “It has also been my philosophy.” In 1970, Chevalier sang the Sherman brothers’ title song for The Aristocats (1970) specifically in tribute to Walt. “I have always admired this great man. He captured the hearts of all the world’s peoples with his wholesome, refreshing entertainment.” Chevalier also had a wonderful chemistry with Mills. “She has warmth and humor without being sticky sweet. She never overacts.” The duo teamed up again for a delightful concept album, Maurice Chevalier and Hayley Mills Take You to…Teen Street, released on Disney’s prestige Vista label in 1962, the same year as In Search of the Castaways.

5. Shere Khan Shows Up
An Academy Award winner for his supporting role as the malevolent theater critic Addison DeWitt in the film classic All About Eve (1950), George Sanders plays gunrunner Thomas Ayerton, the villain behind Captain Grant’s disappearance. A few years later, Walt undoubtedly recalled Sanders’ distinctively sophisticated but sinister voice in Castaways and cast the suavely cynical actor as the voice of the contemptuous tiger Shere Khan in The Jungle Book (1967). Among many other things, In Search of the Castaways presents Disney fans the opportunity to see the voice actor behind Shere Khan in action (in live-action) on screen.

6. Peter Ellenshaw Creates an Earthquake, a Flood, an Avalanche—and More
“Watch for sights and sounds such as you’ve never seen before in a motion picture!” proclaimed the Castaways trailer, heralding the eye-popping visual effects created by Disney’s movie magician Peter Ellenshaw. “Castaways was a movie full of miniatures and mattes,” Peter later recalled of his efforts to get his incredible visions onto the screen. “We would spend all day setting up [just one] complex special effects scene… We seemed to have all kinds of effects on Castaways, from earthquakes and volcanoes to floods and tornados… and through it all, the support of a great crew.” Castaways principal photography extended from August 8 to November 10, 1961, and the entire production took eight months.

7. Exotic Locales, Enormous Sets
This epic adventure was shot entirely on four sound stages at Pinewood Studios, 20 miles west of London. Later home to famous film series from James Bond to Harry Potter, Pinewood was Walt’s British movie studio of choice for his European-set films. Portions of the story’s exotic locales, such as Glasgow, Scotland, and Melbourne, Australia; a New Zealand Maori settlement and stockade; and a simulated volcano complete with lava, were constructed on the sound stages. The Disney artisans worked two months building parts of an Andes mountain range, then destroyed it in one minute for the film’s shattering earthquake scene. One of the most elaborate sets was built in a tank to simulate a flood. It featured a re-creation of a 150-foot-tall South American Ombu tree, incorporating 600 Ombu branches flown in from the Argentina Pampas at Walt’s request. The many constructed environments were some of the largest and most elaborate interior sets ever created for one of Walt’s live-action movies.

8. Sherman Songs and Native Dances
One of the first assignments Disney Legends Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman received from Walt Disney was to write songs for The Parent Trap (1961), and “Let’s Get Together” was a hit for Hayley Mills. For In Search of the Castaways, the Shermans composed the ballad “Castaways” (aka “The Castaways Theme”) for the personable star to sing. “We had such an enjoyable experience on The Parent Trap, we were happy to be working again with the adorable, super-talented Hayley Mills again,” the brothers later wrote. But they were even more elated when Walt had the inspiration to pair young Hayley with old pro Maurice Chevalier. Richard and Robert’s father, songwriter Al Sherman, had composed one of his signature songs, “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight,” especially for the entertainer, so they were thrilled to write new songs for Chevalier to croon in Castaways.

A unique addition to the musical side of this adventure film figures into the film’s explosive climax as New Zealand warriors perform the fierce “Maori Haka” dance. Led and trained by a traveling group of native singers from New Zealand called the Maori Hi-Five, real Maoris performed the fierce “Maori Haka,” a dance used for centuries as a pre-battle dance. According to Disney publicity, “Eye-witnesses interviewed during the research that went into In Search of the Castaways described the awe-inspiring sight of Maoris, by the hundreds, performing the ancient ‘Haka’ ritual.”

The Chew’s Holiday Cake

December 19, 2017December 20, 2017

Get ready to try the best holiday cake you’ve ever had! Thanks to our friends at ABC’s The Chew for this tasty recipe.

For more recipes and crafts, visit TheChew.com and tune in weekdays, 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT on ABC.

Servings: 10–12
1 to 2 hours

Ingredients
Holiday Cake:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter (room temperature, for greasing)
1 cup red wine
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots (finely chopped)
1/2 cup dried figs (finely chopped)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 cups carrots (peeled, finely grated)
1/2 cup walnuts (roughly chopped, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish)
1/2 cup pistachios (roughly chopped, plus 2 tablespoons for garnish)

Glaze:
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange (zested)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Step-by-step Directions

For the Holiday Cake: Preheat oven to 300ºF. Grease a tube pan with butter and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add red wine, raisins, apricots, and figs and allow to soak while preparing the batter.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together, all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, light brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, vanilla extract, apple sauce, and grated carrots.
Strain the re-hydrated fruits, reserving 2 tablespoons of red wine. Stir the reserved red wine into the sugar mixture. Whisk the flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the re-hydrated fruits, 1/2 cup of walnuts, and 1/2 cup of pistachios.
Remove batter into prepared pan and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, about 50–55 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove from tube pan and allow to cool completely.
For the Glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract, orange zest, and salt. Pour over the cooled cake and top with remaining walnuts and pistachios.

Tips

Make it your own! Use any combination of dried fruits and nuts to give your holiday cake your own personal touch!

Click here to see our entire recipe collection.

14 New Experiences Coming to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts

December 19, 2017

By D23 Team

Who doesn’t love a good gift? Our friends at the Disney Parks Blog gave Disney fans several last week with their first-ever 12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas event. In case you missed it, here’s what you can look forward to at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts around the world!

Pixar Play Parade is making its way to Disneyland park in 2018, with three new story elements! Expect to see Up’s Russell, Dug, and Carl, Inside Out’s Joy, Sadness, and Bing Bong, and the dynamic (and iconic!) duo, the Pixar ball and Pixar lamp, when the parade makes its debut in April.
New enhancements are coming to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort at Walt Disney World Resort, including a new restaurant, outdoor bar, and lounge.
Disney California Adventure Food & Wine Festival is back! The festival returns on March 2, 2018, and will expand to six weeks this year, continuing through April 12, 2018.
We recently gave you a closer look at Disney Toy Story Land but the Disney Parks Blog shared that the seventh themed land at Shanghai Disneyland will open on April 26!
Get ready to take to the sky in Disney Skyliner transportation system at Walt Disney World Resort!
Hong Kong Disneyland’s castle will reach new heights with its upcoming transformation, with features inspired by many of the Disney princesses, including special finial decorations on the spires such as Snow White’s apple, Cinderella’s coach, and Belle’s rose.
The spirit of Moana continues at Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa during Kakamora Choas with Moana, an interactive experience for young guests.
The Epcot International Festival of the Arts returns to Epcot from January 12–February 19 for its second year with festivities that include the popular Disney on Broadway series and, of course, some adorable eats.
Adventure is out there at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where a new show featuring Russell and Dug from Disney•Pixar’s Up debuts this spring.
The Force is extra strong on the Disney Fantasy. Click here to learn about the out-of-this-galaxy experiences coming to Star Wars Day at Sea.
A new restaurant is coming to Disney Springs in 2018! Terralina Crafted Italian will feature stunning views of Lake Buena Vista and Northern Italian fare from James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Mantuano.
Ready for Pixar Pier? Take a closer look with a working model of the transformed land, coming to Disney California Adventure in summer 2018.
Speaking of Pixar Pier, The Incredicoaster is coming to Disney California Adventure next summer! Watch the video above to see Disney Imagineers discuss how they’ve crafted the story for this high-speed attraction.
Following a Star Wars: Galactic Nights panel at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Executive Scott Trowbridge shared an update from Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge—including a glimpse inside the Millennium Falcon and a look at a toy stall that will open in the new land. Overseen by a Toydarian, the outpost will offer can’t-miss toys that are straight out of the Star Wars galaxy and look handcrafted by local artisans.

What are you most excited to experience? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter, and stay tuned for more updates from Disney Parks!

Deck Your Halls with this Original Disney Holiday Artwork

December 15, 2017January 8, 2018

By D23 Team

To celebrate D23 Days of Christmas, artists from throughout The Walt Disney Company have created original artwork, just for D23 Members! Click the links below to download this exclusive art for a little merry magic on your device.

Happy Holidays!

Alex Wright — Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering

Standalone Artwork: here.
Desktop: 1920×1080 • 1680×1050 • 1600×1200 • 1440×900 • 1400×1050 • 1280×800 • 1024×768
Mobile: 1180×1920
Tablet: 2048×2732
Social: Facebook • Twitter

Anthony Whitfield — Lead Character Artist, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Standalone Artwork: here.
Desktop: 1920×1080 • • 1600×1200 • 1440×900 • 1400×1050 • 1280×800 • 1024×768
Mobile: 1180×1920
Tablet: 2048×2732
Social: Facebook • Twitter

Casey Jones — Sr. Character Artist, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

David Pacheco — Director, Character Art, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Jason Grandt — Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering

Jeff Shelly — Director, Character Art, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

John Quinn — Director, Character Art, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Leo Oliveto — 3D Modeler, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Mi Ran Kim — Lead Character Artist, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Ricardo De Los Angeles — Character Artist, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media Creative Group

Star Wars Heroines Wallpapers for Your Desktop, Tablet or Phone

December 15, 2017

The women of Star Wars are truly out-of-this-world! You may recognize this artwork from the latest issue of Disney twenty-three and now you can use it as your desktop, tablet, or phone wallpaper by downloading below.

Click here to download: 1920×1080 • 1600×900 • 1440×900

How Josh Gad and Olaf’s Frozen Adventure Filmmakers Celebrate the Season

December 14, 2017March 26, 2018

By Courtney Potter

“Love and joy and peace on Earth and tidings of good cheer; do you have tradition things for that time of year?” In Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest featurette, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, holly-jolly snowman Olaf (voice of Josh Gad) has tasked himself with finding the perfect holiday tradition to pass along to his best friends, Anna (voice of Kristin Bell) and Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel), and, as evidenced by the quote above (from “That Time of Year,” one of the featurette’s four brand-new songs), he traverses the kingdom of Arendelle—with help from reindeer Sven—to ask its citizens how they celebrate.

So we here at D23 decided to ask the featurette’s filmmakers—directors Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (Prep & Landing); producer Roy Conli (Oscar® winner for Big Hero 6); songwriters Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson; and Olaf himself, Josh Gad—for their own favorite ways to “Ring in the Season.” After reading their answers, you’ll be in the holiday spirit in no time!

Stevie Wermers-Skelton loves putting up her Christmas tree… and dressing up her dogs too!
“I really enjoy putting up the tree,” admits Wermer-Skelton. “That’s kind of my job, with my husband and me. He gets the boxes down—or in this case, up from the basement. And I find all of the ornaments and string the tree together, put all the lights on. He’s responsible for the outside cause he’s crawling up on ladders and whatnot. And then, yeah—making my dogs wear Prep and Landing costumes and taking pictures of them!”

Olaf's Frozen Adventure filmmakers — Kevin Deters

An ornamental coincidence—and some chocolatey treats—bring back memories for Kevin Deters.
As Deters explains, “My wife and I discovered [something] when we first got together and had our own tree at Christmas. The very first ornament that my parents got for me when I was a baby is a little teddy bear holding a trumpet. [Then] my wife pulled out the ornament that her parents had first gotten her when she was a baby—and it’s exactly the same bear! Without the trumpet, but it was still astounding to us. So we always put those up on the tree first, which is pretty special for me.

“Also, I come from a large family in the Midwest, [and] we’re out here in California raising our sons… Growing up, my mother always made a certain kind of cookie at Christmas. They’re called Chocolate Krinkles. They’re essentially extremely sugar-filled bag brownies that you roll in powdered sugar and bake. They’re amazing. And I only ever got them at Christmas—so it’s really fun for me to make them and for my wife to make them with our sons every year. We still do that every year. I eat them until I get sick, I can’t help myself.”

Speaking of delicious eats, Kate Anderson and her family enjoy lots of Christmas baking.
“Every year my family makes this cookie recipe that we found on the Internet years ago,” Anderson says. “We turn on a Bing Crosby holiday album and spend a morning baking together. For some reason, the recipe makes like 20 dozen cookies, so we end up with every surface of the kitchen and living room covered in chocolate chip cookies for a full day! Then we box them up and give them to neighbors and friends—and watch our own waistlines grow several inches, because once you have one, you just can’t stop. It doesn’t help that the house smells like cookies for a week, so the cravings never cease!”

Memories of Christmas live all year ’round at Roy Conli’s house…
“My favorite holiday tradition now [is], my wife and I go out and we buy a living Christmas tree,” says Conli. “And we plant it on our property at the end of Christmas. Fortunately, we have like a half-acre of property, so I have room to put in a couple of trees once a year. That’s our big thing. We always go to the same place [near Los Angeles]. We buy a tree, bring it home, decorate it, keep it watered. It then sits on our patio for about a month and a half, two months. Then we dig a hole and put it in the ground. I’ve now got several trees out there that we’ve planted.”

Elyssa Samsel and her father have a movie-watching tradition each holiday season.
“It doesn’t feel like Christmas until my dad and I watch both the 1970 film version of Scrooge and Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life,” Samsel explains. “There’s something embedded in those movies that just always wakes up my holiday spirit! It’s all the nostalgia from childhood, when my whole family would watch them together.”

…And for Josh Gad, it’s all about experiencing the merry magic through the eyes of his daughters.
Each year, the actor looks forward to seeing his daughters’ reactions on Christmas morning as they discover a personal letter from Santa, as well as a trail of cookie crumbs that serve as indisputable evidence that a visit was paid by St. Nick himself. “That tradition is something that I hope they don’t tire of any time soon, because the second I see that moment in their eyes when they walk down the stairs, it’s more rewarding than any present that they could possibly open—or any other moment during the course of that day. Because it’s so pure, so innocent, like Olaf himself! There’s something just so wonderful about the sky being the limit. The possibilities being endless… it’s something that I truly love.”

Whether you missed Olaf’s Frozen Adventure—which opened ahead of Disney•Pixar’s Coco for a limited time, in theaters around the country—or you’re simply melting to see it again, tune in for its broadcast debut tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC!