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October 2009

Princess Tiana now ruling over the Magic Kingdom

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Princess Tiana appears in a horse drawn carriage fit for an American Princess.

Yesterday marked the official opening of a 15 week run for Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. As I posted earlier, the show envelopes guests into being part of the show, a great experience for the guests involved, but how would it play for the rest of the park attendees? Turns out, pretty amazing.

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For the special ceremony New Orleans dancers led Princess Tiana to the castle.

The Princess and The Frog is an American story at its root and it features the first African American Princess. The park is really excited about promoting the first new princess in 12 years, so they rolled out some big guns for the press event. One of those was Bruce Smith, the lead animator on Dr. Facilier, the main villain of the movie.

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Characters representing current inhabitants of the Magic Kingdom welcome Princess Tiana to the fold.

There was also a wonderful display of merchandise that Disney spent the last two years creating. Some of it, like the theme park exclusive Princess Tiana dress, has been for sale in the park for two weeks and is already flying off the shelves.

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A royal proclamation is read.

But the focus of the day was the introduction of Princess Tiana to the park and the official debut of Tiana’s Showboat Jubilee. TSJ has three distinct parts, and while it’s possible to catch all three, if you can only pick one, make sure to choose the middle part performed on the Liberty Belle when it stops in front of Splash Mountain.

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The regular show will take place three times daily on the Liberty Belle with a procession leading to and from the boat before and after each performance.

The show is currently only scheduled to run through January 3rd, 2010 as a tie-in to the movie’s launch on December 11th. It’s my hope they extend this show at least through the summer. The show was already drawing huge crowds without the benefit of the movie even being in theaters, I imagine it will continue to grow once it’s seen by the public.

Lots more photos below the jump, so come on down

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Win a Guitar from Phineas and Ferb creators

To celebrate the recent release of the soundtrack for the hit show, Phineas and Ferb, Walt Disney Records is giving away a Fender Stratocaster (Squire) with custom hand illustration from the show artists. Phineas and Ferb is an example of one of the Disney XD… Read More »Win a Guitar from Phineas and Ferb creators

Werther’s Candy Ad filmed at EPCOT

As a kid, one of the joys of visiting my grandparents was knowing I would be offered a Werther’s butterscotch candy from the bowl beside my grandfather’s favorite chair. I’ve never lost that love of Werther’s and fully intend to have my own bowl to… Read More »Werther’s Candy Ad filmed at EPCOT

Around The Hub – Tuesday Times

Have a couple big posts I’m working on for later, so here’s another roundup of Disney news for today. The 180 day window for Dining reservations at Walt Disney World returns today. That means there are 80 free days of reservations to fill. Might be… Read More »Around The Hub – Tuesday Times

Dancing with the Stars: Week 6 Performances

After last week’s surprise elimination, Dancing with the Stars continues its reign of high-stakes terror:  it’s a double elimination week! With the first-ever dance marathon! And with this week’s dance styles being on completely different ends of the ballroom spectrum, it’s going to be a… Read More »Dancing with the Stars: Week 6 Performances

John Beal, composed early Disney World tunes, interviewed

Fans of the horror film genre know that the soundtrack is often the key component of the tension required to really put the scare on. It works the same at Disney’s parks, only it’s not tension that’s building, but atmosphere. It takes a lot of… Read More »John Beal, composed early Disney World tunes, interviewed

Around The Hub – Monday Kickoff

Let’s get a good start on another week and go Around The Hub for the latest Disney News and Information. Latino Review has an interview with the directors of The Princess and the Frog. It’s fairly extensive ranging from uses of technology in animation through… Read More »Around The Hub – Monday Kickoff

Tinker Bell And The Lost Treasure Soars into New Adventure

In her second direct-to-DVD animated movie, Tinker Bell, the world’s most famous pixie, sets off on an adventure that takes her away from Pixie Hollow, and toward a new friendship. Along the way she makes mistakes, learns some lessons, and, in the end, saves the… Read More »Tinker Bell And The Lost Treasure Soars into New Adventure