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Cinderella retold in Mosaic Murals at the Magic Kingdom

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With the movie Cinderella in theaters, I thought it was a good time to take a look at the beautiful piece of art on display inside Cinderella castle at the Magic Kingdom. The main corridor between Fantasyland and the Plaza is home to an amazing tableau retelling of the classic fairy tale “Cinderella” in five massive mosaic murals.

Designed by Disney Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and assembled by artist Hanns-Joachim Scharff and his team of six craftsmen, each mosaic mural was hand cut and applied. There are over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass in more than 500 colors along with ‘gems’ and bits of gold and silver in the murals.

Some of the murals are as large as fifteen feet high and ten feet wide. The whole project took nearly two years to complete.

There’s also a bit of hidden Disney in the mural. In the scene after the ball where Cinderella is trying on the slipper, the footman was made to resemble Herb Ryman and the Arch Duke looks like John Hench. Both men started as animators and later were key to creating the look and feel of Walt’s prized theme parks.

A gallery with 18 more images and close ups from the murals are below the jump.

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Magic Kingdom Plaza Improvement – November 2014 Construction Update

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The Plaza (or Hub) at the Magic Kingdom is undergoing a major renovation in order to improve guest flow during the busy show and parade times. We’re back with another look at the progress made so far. We had two updates in September, but we actually skipped October. So there’s been quite a bit of progress since we last checked in.

The side closer to Crystal Palace is closer to completion. You can start to see where the viewing area/garden area will take shape as well a the new path that will lead from near Crystal Palace into the hub. The Tomorrowland Terrace side is a bit further behind, and there’s more work to be done as they also have to build a new seating area in front of the Plaza Restaurant.

The end result of this construction will be a wider area leading from Main Street to the Hub. There will be two garden areas that can be used for fireworks viewing parties, expanded outside seating for Casey’s Jr and some much needed seating for the Ice Cream Palace and Starbucks.

Continue the tour below:Read More »Magic Kingdom Plaza Improvement – November 2014 Construction Update

A Frozen Holiday Wish – New Cinderella Castle Lighting Show

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There’s a new Queen at the Magic Kingdom. Queen Elsa from Disney’s Frozen will get her due this holiday season. Not only will she be featured in the Christmas parade, she also gets the honor of lighting up Cinderella Castle each night as part of a new holiday stage show – A Frozen Holiday Wish.

In it, the cast of Frozen (Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and the first walk-around Olaf) join together and encourage Elsa to use her powers to cover Cinderella Castle in Ice and Snow. Then through the magic of Disney’s Digital Mapping Projection, Elsa turns Cinderella Castle into an ice palace.

If you can’t make it to the park yourself and still want to see the show, you can watch it live tonight on the Disney Parks Blog as they live stream the 6:15pm ET show. If you can’t watch the livestream, I have the complete show assembled from the first two showings on Wednesday night.

More photos below the jump:

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Christmas returns to Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom

The new look gives you a clear shot of Cinderella Castle from anywhere on Main Street

It’s that most wonderful time of the year again. Christmas has returned to the Magic Kingdom and with it, miles of beautiful holiday decorations, including something new this year.

2014 brought Festival of Fantasy, a new parade, to the Magic Kingdom, with new fantastic floats. A few floats are just too tall to fit underneath the old garland arches that use to drape Main Street every holiday season. So Disney devised a decorative wall-mounted arm as a new look for Main Street USA. It’s still very festive and it has the added bonus of providing a clear view of Cinderella Castle. If you look close you can even spot a hidden mickey.

More photos below the jump:

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Elsa and Anna have a Frozen Holiday Wish for the Magic Kingdom

Nightly beginning Nov. 5 in the Magic Kingdom, Anna and Elsa from “Frozen” will appear in a new show on the Forecourt Stage in front of Cinderella Castle in the heart of the park. Queen Elsa will use her incredible powers to transform Cinderella Castle… Read More »Elsa and Anna have a Frozen Holiday Wish for the Magic Kingdom

Instapic: Cinderella Castle

from Instagram The castle is always calling me to take its picture. It’s the most photographed building in the world. Even with the holiday lights installed, it still looks beautiful.

Celebrity Spotting: Singer Ariana Grande Celebrates 21st Birthday at Walt Disney World

Who doesn’t want to spend their birthday at the most magical place on earth? I know it’s my favorite way to celebrate. On June 24, 2014, singer Ariana Grande made Minnie Mouse jealous with a birthday kiss for Mickey Mouse in front of Cinderella Castle… Read More »Celebrity Spotting: Singer Ariana Grande Celebrates 21st Birthday at Walt Disney World

Major Changes Coming to Magic Kingdom’s Central Plaza (aka the Hub)

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Disney has just released a concept video showing a short fly-over of a completely re-designed central plaza in the Magic Kingdom. I’d heard the rumors this was coming, but had not heard exactly how extensive the change would be. It’s dramatic. The end result will change the character of the main hub of the park, transitioning from moat to garden, an idea first conceived for Shanghai Disneyland. But Orlando is getting a version of it first.

Watch the video then join us below as we dissect a few key visuals:

The newly remodeled hub will feature several new elements, including fountains, sculpted gardens, additional pathways, expanded restaurant seating and even a special viewing area for fireworks and other performances.

Read More »Major Changes Coming to Magic Kingdom’s Central Plaza (aka the Hub)