Custodial Art! at the Magic Kingdom.

New Cavalcade Coming to Mickey’s Halloween Party

Mickey’s Costume Party has been added as a fun, new exclusive experience at Mickey’s Halloween Party, the special, nighttime event at Disneyland park on Halloween night and Tuesdays and Fridays in October.

Mickey’s Costume Party is a new cavalcade featuring Disney characters and floats parading down Main Street, U.S.A. Today we’re giving you a first look at artwork for the opening of the cavalcade.

There are lots of treats in this cavalcade you won’t want to miss. Here are some highlights:

• Disney Characters will be dressed in their favorite Halloween costumes.
• There’s a purple Haunted Castle Float decorated by Mickey with bats, ghosts, spider webs, pumpkins and skulls.
• The Costume Shop Float celebrates the fun of dressing up for Halloween.

Tickets for Mickey’s Halloween Party are now available and can be purchased at Disneyland.com/Halloween. Here’s an insider’s tip: if you purchase tickets in advance, you’ll get a great discount on select nights. There’s also a discount for annual passholders on select nights.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Scheduled to Open in 2012.

Of course Disney plans to open the Art of Animation Resort at Walt Disney World – then take a look at this. It’s a new artist rendering showing an image of the new resort. The image is part of a new web page that has just launched on the WaltDisneyWorld.com site.

More details will be coming and booking dates haven’t been announced but the resort is still scheduled to open Summer of 2012.

Pirates in the Park

The film may not open until next May, but during a break from filming recently, new ‘Pirates’ cast members Stephen Graham and Paul Bazely made a special trip to where it all began when they rode the original Disney attraction that inspired the hit film franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Stephen and Paul will join the international all-star cast led by Johnny Depp in his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in this action-packed tale of truth, betrayal, youth and demise.

After a four-year absence, it will be great to see Pirates on the big screen again – this time in Disney Digital 3D!

Its Nearly Halloween at Disneyland Park.

As summer winds down and kids head back to school, it won’t be long before they start thinking about trick-or-treating, Halloween parties and costumes. The Halloween Time celebration kicks off at Disneyland Resort September 17, with more tricks, treats and family fun.

If you’re not quite sure how to celebrate this year, there are two great ways to join in the fun.

Halloween Time: The spooky fun runs from September 17 to October 31. Lots of fun surprises and extras await you and your family with a regularly priced theme park ticket. Highlights include Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, Haunted Mansion Holiday, Meet-and-Greet opportunities with Characters and Disney Villains, a Halloween Roundup and lots of Halloween décor throughout the Resort. Check Disneyland.com for details and ticket prices.

Mickey’s Halloween Party: Big news this year! The trick-or-treat party at Disney California Adventure park has moved to Disneyland park and is now called Mickey’s Halloween Party. Along with the move comes some big advantages. This special-ticket soiree, Tuesdays and Fridays in October, as well as Halloween night (Sunday, October 31), brings to life all of the tricks and treats of the season. As with every special-ticket event, Mickey’s Halloween Party offers exclusive opportunities for ghouls and goblins of every age. Highlights include exclusive access to the Halloween Screams fireworks show, access to nearly all the attractions at Disneyland park, more tricks and treats, and early access to Disneyland park.

• Exclusive Access to Halloween Screams – If you loved this fireworks spectacular last year, the show will be exclusive to guests who purchase tickets to Mickey’s Halloween Party. Last year, guests told us Main Street, U.S.A. was so filled with fans that they couldn’t fully experience the after-dark party in the sky. So, this year, you can catch every snap, crackle and pop of Halloween Screams with more wiggle room during Mickey’s Halloween Party! Check out video of Halloween Screams below.
• More Tricks and Treats – Jump into your costume and head to the greatest Halloween neighborhood on Earth. Disneyland plays host to Mickey’s Halloween Party and offers more treats, more fun and more excitement, Tuesdays, Fridays and Halloween night during Halloween Time at Disneyland Resort.
• Early Access to Disneyland Park – If exclusive viewing of Halloween Screams and more treats aren’t enough, how about another bonus to add to your revelry? Mickey’s Halloween Party officially kicks off at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, and 7 p.m. on Fridays and Halloween night. If you’re going to the party, you’ll get early access to Disneyland. Tuesday night party-goers can enter the park at 3 p.m., while Friday and Halloween night guests will be greeted at the gate starting at 4 p.m.

Tickets for Mickey’s Halloween Party are now available and can be purchased at Disneyland.com. Here’s an insider’s tip: if you purchase tickets in advance, you’ll get a great discount.

In the coming weeks, we’ll share some behind-the-scenes Halloween video and give you a first look at a new cavalcade and new dance parties planned for Mickey’s Halloween Party at Disneyland park.

Running a Marathon just got easier at Disney.

Runners who have experienced Disney’s marathon and half marathon events know how the whimsy and friendliness of the parks appeal to first-timers, but now there’s an added incentive to get up and go.

Jeff Galloway, one of the leading marathon trainers in the country, has just signed on as the official training consultant to the new “runDisney’’ series of endurance events. Galloway, who is renowned for helping runners complete their first marathons, will be offering his unique training tips and programs at all runDisney events as well as at rundisney.com and facebook.com/rundisney.

The “runDisney’’ series is the new name for the collection of Disney endurance events that now all live under the runDisney brand. The series includes the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA, Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend presented by Lady Foot Locker, the inaugural Wine & Dine Half Marathon and, of course, the upcoming Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend.

So, let’s get off the sofa, lace up those sneakers and get going. With Galloway’s help, you can take on any runDisney event and make it all the way to the finish line.

Designer Hot Dogs....

Designer hot dogs are the ultimate indulgence. Vacation food. The Lunching Pad in Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom has added three to the menu – on-the-go eating (and, yes, the calories still count). The taco hot dog is topped with ground beef, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. There are two versions of the reuben hot dog: one with beef, onions, peppers and melted cheese, another with more traditional corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing. We’ve heard that screaming on Space Mountain burns calories …

Trail’s End Restaurant at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground this week changes lunch from a buffet to ordering off the menu. We like this idea – the chili and fried chicken stay, but they’ve added sautéed catfish, grilled pork chop, and spicy grilled shrimp and Andouille sausage to the menu. And how about a warm sticky bun sundae? (With a no-sugar-added dessert option too.)

Breakfast and dinner still are buffet style. Lunch will be 1 point on the Disney Dining Plan.

Fun Foodie factoids Worth Sharing:

• More than 20 tons of fresh fruits and veggies are consumed annually at Walt Disney World Resort.
• Every table-service restaurant has at least one vegetarian option, and at least one low-fat or no-sugar-added dessert.
• The top-selling kids’ drink? The 5-calorie lemonade-pomegranate punch.
• All smoothies are now made with non-fat yogurt and fresh fruit purees (knocking them down from 420 calories to just 120 calories).
• Seventy percent of trans fat items have been eliminated in merchandise locations.