My Disney Blog

Downtown Disney Gets Ready for a Big Change

2012-02-06T18:00:00-06:00

DisneyApprentice here again to share with you the new look for multiple shops in Downtown Disney. I had a hunch that Disney would try to rejuvenate the entire resort before the re-opening of California Adventure, well it seems that I was right

Disney has now announced two new overhauls for some of Downtown Disney's tenants. The Lego store will be remodeled to having bigger Lego statues grace the front of the store.

The store will feature a statue from Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story, and Beauty and the Beast. The store will also feature a brand-new interactive outdoor play area, all-new play areas inside the store, and of course, new large-scale LEGO models located both inside and outside the re-imagined LEGO Store.

Continue reading about Downtown Disney developements.

California Adventure Attraction Posters Finally Released

2012-02-04T17:59:08-06:00

DisneyApprentice here again to share with you the great new attraction posters for California Adventure. Normally I wouldn’t write about Merchandise coming soon to the parks, but today a special announcement was made. California Adventure attraction posters were finally announced for Luigi’s Flying Tires, Radiator Springs Racers, and the Red Car.

The attraction poster designs will be available on tees, art on demand from the parks, deluxe prints and metal signs. I don’t usually buy Disneyland shirts because you can’t really wear them anywhere except for the parks, but these I might make an exception for. Read more about these posters.

Disney Receives 13 Oscars Overall but Doesn't have a Wonderful Run

2012-01-26T17:50:27-06:00

: Walt Disney received a special Oscar for Snow White.

Once again this is the DisneyApprentice, I am here with some great news. We recently switched URL's and names and are now officially called Disney Dose, the reason for the change was to allow for other writers to join, and not have it under a name that I had as a writer. I will sitll be keeping the name DisneyApprentice, but that will just be the name under which I write.

Yesterday the Academy released the Oscar nominations, giving Disney only two nominations for their own productions, but thirteen total including their distributed films.

Disney's only real nomination this year was for the incredible song from the Muppets Bret McKenzie’s “Man or Muppet.” The song features Jason Segel, his Muppet persona, his Muppet brother Walter, and a human version of Walter, played in a cameo appearance by Jim Parsons, made famous by his leading role in "Big Bang Theory". This year their is only one other song in the category “Real in Rio” from “Rio.” Everyone on the web, Disney, and the creators behind the Muppet movie are all hoping for a surprise performance by the Muppets during the Oscars.

The reason I said that the only true nomination for Disney was for the song was because

Minnie's Fly Girls Charter Airline

2012-01-12T21:57:10-06:00

DisneyApprentice here again, to share with you the latest Disney park news.

Back in August 2011, we shared the possible news that a brand new show was coming to California Adventure Minnie’s Fly Girls Charter Airlines. Now Disney has officially announced the new show, dropping the “s” off the end and simply calling it Minnie’s Fly Girls Charter Airline.

The brand new show will debut February 17 in Condor Flats near the Soarin’ Over California attraction and will feature Minnie Mouse along with songs, dance numbers and “interactive moments.” Minnie will be joined by a four-member crew performing songs from the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s.

Click here to see the full logo released for the new show

Picture by Lauren Javier

Test Track Changes Name and Ride Experience

2012-01-09T19:04:35-06:00

DisneyApprentice here again! Catching you up on the latest Disney World News!

After the previous redesign of a few vehicles on Test Tack, Walt Disney World has annonced that the attraction will be getting an overhaul this year, confirming the previous rumors.

Starting this fall Test Track won’t have you testing out safety features rather it will have you test out design elements. The queue will be themed around Chevrolet Design Center. Test Track is scheduled to close in April 2012 to make way for the new experience, which will gives theme park guests the active role of “becoming” automotive designers.

Even though the name “Test Track” is likely to stick around, the experience is changing. The new version of the attraction will have“upbeat music, engaging media, dramatic lighting and a collection of Chevrolet concept cars and model vehicles.” Guests will use interactive design and styling workstations to create custom concept vehicles, after which they will hop aboard a 6-person “SimCar” ride vehicle and test out the design through the twists, turns, and bumps of the Test Track course.

The Matterhorn at Disneyland Closes til' Summer

2012-01-09T18:47:46-06:00

Hi, I'm the DisneyApprentice, and I run a blog named the same thing. I strive to bring the latest Disney news to the web, and this writing position at mydisneyblog.com will allow me to do just that. Please come and check out my website for the latest news.

Back in August I, the DisneyApprentice displayed photos of the new 3-seat Matterhorn Bobsleds ride vehicles that were being tested on the roller coaster, replacing the old lap seating configuration. Disney made it official yesterday when they announced that the Mountain would be closing on Jan. 9th until June. Sadly this means that I won’t be able to ride the Matterhorn when I am visiting the resort next weekend, but if you will be in Disneyland or live nearby then I suggest you head to the park today to ride the Matterhorn for the last time before summer.

Come check out my blog for more news, and daily updates.

Lemonade Mouth, China Anne McClain and My Kids!

2011-11-20T16:57:56-06:00

What a weekend for my kids! Their mom's bf won an all expense paid trip to Chicago to see the Disney parade on Michigan Avenue. They were able to visit the Radio Disney studios, meet A.N.T. Farm's China Anne McClain and her two awesome sisters, AND be ON the float WITH Lemonade Mouth in the Magnificent Mile Lighting Ceremony parade down Michigan Avenue! Included in this blog post are some pics of my kids with Lemonade Mouth, China Anne McClain, Radio Disney Chicago and Mickey and Minnie! They wish to thank Lemonade Mouth and China for being so nice to them and they had the time of their lives! What's even more special is that we have seen Lemonade Mouth MANY times, we listen to the CD when driving to their grandparents, and we truly LOVE watching A.N.T. Farm and think China is the best. They also wish to thank the staff of the Best Western River North in Chicago for all they did to make their weekend special. One funny story was that I tweeted a thank you to the staff of the @BestWestern River North, and my family happened to be in the lobby at the time. They heard the manager say that they got a tweet from @DisneyDean and they yelled "That's my dad!". We had a good chuckle out of it. I wasn't there but it was fun to see the kids having such a great time.

The kids with China Anne McClain and the McClain Sisters:

My daughter is at the front of the float. She's the tall one.

My daughter is the one in the middle. They danced while Lemonade Mouth sang "Determinate":

My amazing daughter on the Best Western float - getting ready for the big event:

My daughter getting ready to ham it up! :)

Lemonade Mouth getting ready to roll!

AWESOME picture of Lemonade Mouth with my daughter:

INCREDIBLE picture of Lemonade Mouth with my son:

Radio Disney Office! Woot!

OK, so I'm drooling and WAY jealous by now!

Inside the Radio Disney studio in Chicago:

And let's close this incredibly long blog post with a really awesome photo :)

Oh, and if you'd like to watch a video of the Lemonade Mouth performance, with my son in the grey truck, and my daughter on the platform in front of Lemonade Mouth, here it is!

Thanks again to Lemonade Mouth, China Anne McClain, the McClain Sisters, Radio Disney and of course, the Best Western River North and Best Western of Illinois. Wish I could have been there, but so glad the kids had a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

--- DisneyDean

Winter months and the Disney Waterparks

2011-11-07T10:27:25-06:00

Many people believe that it is too cold to go to Disney water parks in November, but this is not entirely true. Some guest are of the mindset that most Disney World hotels offer heated swimming pools why would you want to spend the extra money go to the Water Parks. This coupled with the fact that it usually gets dark around 5:30 pm in November that your time is limited if you do decided to got to the water parks.
One of the most important things to check if you do decide to visit the Disney water parks in November is the status of the parks. A lot of the water parks close during this period for maintenance and refurbishments. You can contact the parks you are interested in staying with directly and this way you can plan your trip around what is open and operational.
Disney can actually be very mild during the November months and many people say that they have visited the water parks and been swimming during this time. You will need to keep a close eye on the weather though as it can be unpredictable and you may get a lot of rain or it may turn and become a lot colder.
If you do decide to visit the Disney water parks during November then aiming for the beginning or first half of November is your best bet, towards the end of the month the weather can become much cooler quite quickly. A lot of whether it is too cold or not will also depend on what climate you come from, for people living in far cooler climates, a trip to the water park in November will doubtfully feel cold. Whereas for others that live in much hotter environments, the park would most likely be too cold for them.
The water at all the Disney water parks is heated though which will make you feel much warmer and make provide you with a good time, whatever the weather. And you must remember that the parks wouldn’t remain open all year if they felt it was too cold for people to enjoy.
The two Disney water parks are Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Typhoon Lagoon is open from 10am to 5pm each day, this water park is packed with things to do and is all centered on a tropical island vibe. With action packed water slides to snorkeling in the reefs with real sharks, you won’t be disappointed.
Blizzard Beach is also just as fun. At Blizzard Beach it is winter all year round, so it is a great park to choose if you are visiting in November and it also is beautiful in those upcoming weeks to Christmas.

If you are visiting Disney World in late November or December we suggest only ordering the base tickets in your Disney World vacation packages, this way if the weather is too cold you will not have lost any money by springing for the water park fun and more options.

Mickey Mouse Band Aid Collector's Tin

2011-11-02T20:20:43-05:00

Every once in a while, I get a really cool product sent to me for review. A few days ago, I received an awesome Mickey Mouse Band-Aid tin, and it's collectible too. I was really tempted not to open it, cuz it was a collector's tin, but as I promised that I would consider a review, I just had to check them out. PLUS, I am really way too nosy, and would have opened it anyway! haha. Having two young children, I've been through PLENTY of Band-Aid's in my life! These are very cool because they have Disney characters on them, PLUS, the ouch faces are totally priceless. There are several different characters and a few sizes. This is a Limited Edition, so get yours while you have a chance. I will proudly keep my collector's tin...even after the Band-Aid's are gone! You can order them at Amazon.com. Also, you can “Like” the brand's Facebook page and submit your best (worst) fashion malfunction story for a chance to win amazing prizes by Cynthia Rowley www.facebook.com/band-aid :)

--- DisneyDean

New Disney Digital Painter App...and CONTEST!

2011-10-24T17:06:35-05:00

Disney.com/Create brings the mischief and mayhem of Disney’s upcoming video game, Disney Universe, to life with its newest app, the Disney Universe Digital Painter. To prepare for the launch of the video game on October 25, Disney.com/Create guests can suit up as their favorite Disney and Disney·Pixar characters from Disney Universe, such as Simba, Aladdin, Mike Wazowski and many others, to create their own masterpiece using game-inspired characters, pens, stamps and backgrounds. And from now until November 6, guests can suit up and enter to win one of 25 copies of Disney Universe for the Wii™ system from Nintendo just by creating and sharing their own creation on the Disney Universe Digital Painter.

Disney Universe lets gamers suit up as their favorite Disney and Disney·Pixar characters, and team up and battle friends in a mix up of iconic Disney and Disney·Pixar worlds. Disney Universe will be available October 25 for Wii, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. Please visit www.disneyuniverse.com for more information.

--- DisneyDean

Tasty Treats of Walt Disney World

2011-10-24T05:24:07-05:00

OK, so the past year has been a little crazy. It sure feels like I've been in the midst of a wild hurricane, but fortunately things are beginning to calm down. I was going through old emails the other day and I realized that I had blown some really nice people off! One email was from a really nice man named Olan Suddeth, and he wanted to let me know about an article he had posted. He asked me to look it over and if I thought it was interesting - to pass it on. Well, three months later, I finally got back to Olan and he was so understanding. Not to mention, he had a great article! I think there is a lot of great and fun information in his post, and wanted to share it with you.

So, without further adieau, why don't you head on over to read "Tasty Treats - the Very Best Snacks in All of Disney World", by Olan Suddeth. Thanks Olan, for letting me know!

--- DisneyDean

Disney Mobile Launches Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas

2011-10-24T04:56:18-05:00

Timed with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Disney Blu-ray™ and DVD Combo Pack, Disney Mobile has launched its newest app, Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas.

Free for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas is Disney’s first app to combine deep storytelling and brilliant graphics with compelling social gameplay. In the game, players step into the swashbuckling shoes of a pirate to create their own ship, build a crew and embark on quests steeped in the lore from the Pirates of Caribbean universe.

Features of the app include:

· Invite friends to join your crew, the bigger your crew, the stronger you are

· Battle other pirates to gain rewards and increase your standing

· Buy cannons, weapons, amulets, and equipment to upgrade your ship

· Explore exotic islands, buy properties, and compete quests to earn gold and experience

Pirates of the Caribbean: Master of the Seas is available for free for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad or at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pirates-caribbean-master-seas/id431102938?mt=8.

--- DisneyDean

Getting around Disney World

2011-10-20T14:38:04-05:00

Getting around Disney World is easy, accessible… and best of all, it’s free! There are a number of options to keep you going on your Disney adventure. In fact, this micro-transport system is comparable to some of the best public transport networks in the world, covering almost the entire Disney World area of over 30,000 acres.
The benefits of the Disney World transportation system
·    It saves you money
·    You won’t have to worry about driving and parking your car
·    The vehicles are clean
·    The loading an unloading al of passengers is simple and effective
·    The wait is usually minimal
·    The system is efficient and convenient
Disney Buses
Rather than looking for parking for your own car, use the Disney Transportation System to take you to your Disney destination. The buses run every 20 minutes, and even visitors who are not staying in Walt Disney World hotels are able to use the buses to get from park to park.
Monorail
This is a fast way to travel between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The monorail also takes passengers between Disney's Polynesian Resort, Disney's Contemporary Resort, and the Grand Floridian resort & Spa. You can also get to the Magic Kingdom on an express train that runs from the main ticketing area (where you will park your car if you have driven to Disney Land).
Boat rides
Perhaps the most fun way to travel in Disney Land is to travel from place to place by water. You can arrive at the Magic Kingdom by boast if you are staying at the Wilderness Resort, the Fort Wilderness Campground and Resort, the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian resorts, or the Contemporary. You can also reach Epcot Theme park and Disney's Hollywood Studios by boat from a number of these resorts. A ferry also takes visitors between three resorts and Downtown Disney.
Trams
If you drive to the Epcot Theme Park or to Disney studios, you may need to use a tram to get to the actual parks as the parking areas can be situated quite a distance away if the parking area is full, although using a tram is not always necessary for these parks. You will likely need to use a tram if you park at the main ticket and Transportation Center.

Using the Walt Disney World transport system is just another way of making your holiday more relaxing and stress-free.

More DisneyFitness.com planning

2011-05-23T11:04:04-05:00

One of the things I love most about twitter is that you can get instant responses to random everyday questions. One time I posted that I was trying to figure out what to do to dress up "turkey burgers". I counted and could not believe that I had 87 responses! Where else could you go to get that many testimonials and opinions on what to do and such an instant response.

SO, it has been instrumental in helping us to plan DisneyFitness.com. I asked the question the other day about "what we should call the groups on DisneyFitness.com with a Disney theme". Wow, I received 23 responses, and those came during a low traffic period on twitter. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, here are the responses I received. If you have any other ideas of suggestions, just put them in the comments section, send me a tweet or a DM, or email mickeysites@gmail.com (my email address). Thanks again to all that responded and to those that may yet respond.

1. The Tinkerbells (as in weights)
2. Mousekegroups, or Mouseketroops
3. Dole whipped into shape, It's a Fit World, The Slinky Slinky Room
4. Name them after lands in the parks or rides
5. Clubs
6. Kingdoms
7. Prides
8. Name after rides
9. Name after resorts
10. Mulan's Army, Simba's Pride, The Lost Boys, Mount Wannahockaloogie Camp, The Incredibles, Hercule's Gym, 100 Acre Wood Hikers
11. PeopleMovers
12. Mouseketeams
13. Donald's Fighters
14. Jungle Lose, Ill-lose-minations, Thintasmic
15. Main Street Runners
16. Goofy's Workout Group, Pixie Hollow Flyers, Ariel's Swim Team
17. Tarzan Jungle Rumblers, Tigger's Bouncers
18. Aladdin's Parkour Team
19. Tigger's Pouncers
20. Robin Hood's Flying Arrows, Thumper's Eating Greens (a special treat group)
21. Chip and Dale's Weight Loss Rangers
22. Buzz Lightyear's to Infinity and Beyond Weight Loss Space Rangers
23. Mouse-erciser's

UPDATE: I will add any future contributions here:
1. Mission: Weight Loss

As you can see, this is a pretty awesome list. If you have MORE ideas, PLEASE let me know! Since we are in the planning stage, we need all the ideas we can get.

Thanks everyone,
DisneyDean

Planning DisneyFitness.com

2011-05-02T22:20:52-05:00

Wow, over the past week, my plans for a new site - DisneyFitness.com have kind of went from zero to 60 in just a few seconds! I have been astonished by the outpouring of support and volunteers from twitter and through this blog. I really hit it off with one of my friends on twitter, and he is going to help me make this site a reality. On twitter he is @zholmquist and he's just a great guy. This doesn't mean that we have no plans to make DisneyDean a reality - it's just that DisneyFitness.com can probably come to fruition fairly quickly. Seeing this site take shape will be a blast, and we have already been brainstorming like CRAZY on this site. What's fun is that people have been sending me suggestions for the past several days and it turns out a lot of people would like a site dedicated to Disney and Fitness. We've even had professional editors offer to help - colloboration with the amazing Disney Food Blog for healthy meals and tips, and more.

Well, this evening, Zach sent me a quick, very rough draft sketch of one possibility for a home page. I thought I would share it with you, so you can watch it take shape and maybe give suggestions and input into it.

Here it is:

Will keep you posted as we go along!

Check out this site for Disney holidays 2012

--- Disney Dean

Chasing My Next Disney Dream

2011-04-17T16:41:50-05:00

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I last posted, so I thought I would check in and see how everyone is. It has definitely been a TOUGH winter, but Spring and Summer are on the way, and the days are getting longer and brighter. A big thanks to all of my Disney friends that have been here to support me. Walt Disney would have been proud of the entire Disney community, and the HUGE family of Disney fans.

So, I've been trying to determine what I would truly love to do in and for the Disney community. I have thought long and hard about this, and I do know that I don't want to do anything for money. The Disney community has given me so much, and I truly want to see if I can come up with some nice additions to the online community that are just for fun and not for the money. I have come up with not one, but TWO websites that I would like to create. The websites that I would like to create are:

DisneyDean.com: I have been tossing this around ever since I started on twitter. I created the persona of DisneyDean long before twitter, as a fun way to sign my blog posts. A good friend of mine heard of my desire to create a fun, online community for Disney fans and offered to do the branding for the site. SO, I DO have the completed branding for the site (it would blow you away if you could see it!), but put it on hold when my wife left earlier this year. Now I would like to take up this project once again. I really, really DO want to do this. The next thing we have to do is find a graphic artist that specializes in web illustrations, especially retro design. It is my promise that if we can get this site off the ground, I would try to make it the most useful web community alive. If I could tell you the ideas for the site, I know you would instantly fall in love with it. So, this is what I need next:

1) Branding is COMPLETED
2) Need to find a very good graphic artist that specializes in web illustration
3) Then, we need to find a very good programmer that can code the site
4) Possible LONG TERM advertisers that could buy into the site to pay for the above

While I would like to have this a not-for-profit site, in order to get #2 and #3 completed and the site up and running, I would consider taking on long term advertisers to underwrite the site. The site will not have standard ads - instead - the advertiser's would be drawn into the graphic illustration in a way that would make it part of the community. Pretty cool if you ask me!

What we would need is someone that could send me examples of their work. We would then choose from the samples and hopefully find someone that can help us with #2 and #3 above. We want this to be professionally designed and programmed to the best of our ability to find someone.

DisneyFitness.com: This is another passion of mine. Boy, when you look around on the web, you see ALL KINDS of fitness programs tailored to many different passions. I don't particularly care for exercise programs, but I thought WHAT IF those exercise programs were combined with my main passion - DISNEY! I checked with a few folks that I know at Disney and they said "go for it". The people I know at Disney fell in love with the idea and thought it would definitely fill a niche. Here are my thoughts for DisneyFitness.com. First of all, I have registered the site, and secured twitter.com/DisneyFitness. I was going to use DisneyLoser.com and twitter.com/DisneyLoser but some folks told me they were offended by the sound of the site name. SO, DisneyFitness.com it is!

I would LOVE to have a site where people come to for support, information and to chat with others about fitness. I thought it would be SO awesome if I could work with a fitness expert to come up with a formal plan as well! Can you imagine how cool that would be? We've all heard about P90X, but how about having a Disney fitness plan that people could use as a starting point. We could have "Tigger Jumping Jacks" or "Pinochio Push Ups". :) SO, this is what I need to get this started:

1) Branding Ideas
2) Fitness Expert that can help to develop a plan
3) Someone that can help me develop a website - a professionally-designed website - not from an amateur designer
4) Potential LONG TERM advertisers that could buy into the concept and help to pay for the above.

Anyway, that's about it. I don't know when the above sites will be launched. I do know that it is possible, and because I am dreaming it - it can happen! I want to make Walt Disney proud. If people can find a happy, safe community to share with others, I would be happy. Also, if people could lose a bit of weight by combining exercise with Disney - what could be better than that?

Thanks for listening and reading all of this everyone!

--- Disney Dean

Hooray for Disney friends

2011-03-25T05:47:46-05:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged since January 4, 2011. If you read that post, you saw that it was just a couple days after my wife of 16 years moved out. She left the house to the kids and me, and she has still been actively involved in the kids lives. It's definitely not what I pictured for my life at this point, but after trying so hard to hold on for a long time, I came to accept it. I guess the main thing is that we all have our health, and we are still friends. The kids have been great - still straight A students and they get a LOT of love and attention.

I really feel bad that I have not been keeping up on my Disney blogging, but as kind of a single dad (with help), I'm finding that I haven't had as much time due to work, housework, meal planning and with the kids and their needs. My friends have been simply amazing. I can't tell you how many emails, twitter direct messages, text messages, phone calls and FaceTime chats I've had with you all. It has really helped me to get through this rough time. It was kind of crazy, because it was around the time of my wife leaving that I met my best friend, Dewaun. He and his fiance have helped me through this life change so much and I know we will be best friends for life. My kids adore them and it totally proves that it takes a village to raise a child.

I am so proud of the friends I have met through this blog, and through twitter. You all mean the world to me and I'm so happy that you are all in my life. You make me smile and laugh each day I'm hanging around on twitter, and you have shown me so much love. I apologize for not being as good at replying to tweets and messages as I had been, but I promise I will get better. So, I just wanted to say HOORAY for my Disney friends. You are much more than "Disney" friends, you are life friends. :)

I have literally fallen off the Weight Watcher's wagon through all of this, gaining much of the weight I had lost back. If you have any advice to get back on board, I would love to hear it. I've tried everything and just can't seem to get back in the groove and start losing weight again.

--- Disney Dean

A new beginning

2011-01-04T08:39:01-06:00

Wow, 2010 was quite a year. There were so many wonderful memories and great moments in 2010, but I can honestly say I was so happy to see it end. The end of 2010 brought a close to my marriage of 16 years, and it was pretty much one of the worst times of my life. My wife, er, soon to be ex-wife is moving out this week, leaving the house to the kids and me. She will continue to be a big part of our lives, but she felt she needed to move on. It reminds me of the old saying "If you love something, set it free", after trying so hard to hold on for many years. The kids and I will be fine, and they are doing great. I can honestly say that my online Disney friends have made this so much easier to go through. I love you all so much, and you truly are more than friends - you have become part of my family. I can't tell you how many emails, text messages, twitter direct messages and twitter replies I received checking on me daily. You all gave me constant encouragement that everything would be OK, and that you all loved me and cared for me. I just wanted to say THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I have had the pleasure of meeting a BUNCH of you at the Epic October celebration at Walt Disney World in early October, and I can't wait to meet more of you. I know we've all heard people say "oh, well, they can't be real friends because they're online". Well, I beg to differ. The friends I have made are the same kind of people that would bring food over after a funeral, be there to hug you when you are feeling down, and who would just stop by to say hi and to see you. It's been such a huge part of my life for the last couple years, and my feelings for my new friends/family grow stronger each day. I've always prided myself on answering every email, replying to every tweet or direct message, but somehow during the last 6 months, I've failed to live up to that on some bad days. Even though I sometimes didn't get to reply, or was horribly negligent in doing blog posts, my friends would not give up on me. Pretty awesome if you ask me. :)

So, I look forward to 2011 being a year of new beginnings. Because our house is the "Sunny D" house, where all the neighbor kids like to hang out, we've decided to make our family room into a pre-teen/teen hang out. It's going to be awesome and the kids and his friends are helping to plan it. It's a place they can feel comfortable, have plenty of room to grow and where I know where they are! :) It's a great new focus and it's going to be awesome. Some of the ideas so far include a popcorn stand, foosball table, movie and video game posters, bringing the xBox 360 and Kinect down, and comfortable seating and lots of room to chill. Of course, I'll have to find a way to sneak in a few Disney items without them knowing it! Well, they DO love Epic Mickey! :)

Anyway, thank you...to all of you for being there for me! I hope I can be there for you when you need me as well. I think the world of you and hope to meet more of you this year. I hope your 2011 is absolutely fantastic!

--- DisneyDean

Disney Store Times Square Digital Sign Unveil!

2010-10-21T21:27:47-05:00

Mickey Mouse unveils Disney Store’s new state-of-the-art digital billboard in the heart of New York City’s Times Square, as the countdown begins to the highly anticipated grand store opening celebration on November 9. The 2-story store will be Disney’s largest in North America and will feature exclusive merchandise plus N.Y.-themed products, and will boast Disney’s new concept design bringing the magic of Disney to Manhattan filled with interactive and immersive experiences.

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

Retro Disney Project Update 10/8/10

2010-10-08T13:07:01-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I updated everyone as to the progress of the Retro Disney Channel Project. I'm still waiting to set up a meeting with someone at Disney, but I will continue to push for this until we can get something to happen.

The GOOD NEWS is that we have been successful in one regard! Because of you, we were able to have many of the Disney classic movies added to the Disney.com/MoviesOnline portal. I spoke with Disney and they did confirm that it was because of all of your suggestions that they included the classic movies in the portal. Movies such as "The Adventures of Huck Finn", "True Life Adventures", "Treasure Island", "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates", etc. TO REPEAT - IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS THAT THEY DID THIS! Isn't that awesome? We spoke, and they listened!

Anyway, I will update you on the progress with Disney, but until then - I'm SO happy that our outreach has yielded some great results on the moviesonline portal!

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

Tinker Bell's and the Great Fairy Rescue

2010-09-27T15:38:15-05:00

Do you believe in fairies? You just might after watching Disney’s newest title available at redbox, Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue! In this brand new tale, featuring revamped 3D animation, viewers join fan-favorite Tinker Bell as she meets a human for the first time. And the fun doesn’t stop when the credits roll--after watching the movie you can visit redbox.com to vote on your favorite fairy! With over 24,000 redbox locations nationwide and a rent and return anywhere policy, there’s no need to wait to rent this popular family title! For added convenience, your readers can reserve titles online at www.redbox.com or via the iPhone app from redbox.

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is a great reason to gather together and escape into the magic kingdom. Make it a movie night with redbox for only $1 a night! In celebration of 1 billion movies rented, redbox is giving everyone that rents a movie in September a free rental! For more details visit www.redbox.com/thanks.

Here is the trailer for Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue:

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

DisneyDean.com Taking Its First Step to Becoming Reality

2010-09-22T11:22:53-05:00

Wow - a few months ago, I posted a few blog posts concerning the possibility of a new site called DisneyDean.com. I could not decide whether I wanted it to be called DisneyDean.com or DisneyTweeps.com, but a vast majority of people wanted it to be DisneyDean. I had struggled with this a LOT, as some folks know. I am a person that is REALLY modest - I get embarrassed easily and I did not want the site to be about me in any way. Some friends of mine suggested by calling it that - it was a way to tie in what we had done on twitter with an actual, physical site, and to carry over the theme of caring and friendship that we had cultivated on twitter. So, if we can use the DisneyDean name for that purpose, I'm totally cool with it. It's not about me (which I like!) and it serves a purpose. In essence, we hope the site will be an extension of what we can do on twitter, but expanded upon.

SO, today, I received the BRANDING from my friends that own an AMAZING design firm - Zwally Design. For those of you who don't know, Zwally Design is owned by Scott Nadeau (along with his awesome wife Peggi). Scott is one of the co-hosts of InnerMouse.com and owner of the the wildly popular CollectTheMouse.com. You can find Scott on twitter at @CollecTM. In general, it was the official birth of DisneyDean.com. I loved EVERYTHING about the branding, and they totally "got" what I was hoping to achieve with the site. We now have to make a few more decisions to narrow down some of the options, but as of today, 9/22/10 - it is on it's way to becoming reality. My dream of starting this site is actually more than an idea in my head as of today and I feel like shouting from the rooftops (although if I go up to the rooftop, I will probably have to clear some leaves from gutters and stuff, so I'll just do this blog post!).

Next stop: Finding a digital illustrator that fits with the style of the site, after we narrow down our branding a little more. If you know a digital illustrator, we'd love to hear about them! Will keep ya posted along the way! Hope you have fun following along on the growth of this site, which I hope will be a place where you can go to smile, laugh, share, and feel like you belong.

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

Epic October 2010

2010-09-17T17:54:52-05:00

A few days ago, I casually brought up that there was going to be a huge Disney fan meet at the end of September in Walt Disney World to my wife. I had thought about going about a BILLION times, but didn't think it would be possible while saving up for our trip to Disneyland in February. Well, I no more than got the words out of my mouth, and she said "You HAVE to go!". I about fell over! I thought there would be no way to get the time off from work at this late stage, but that worked out great. Then, I figured flights would probably be crazy expensive. Nope. So, everything fell into place. Not only that, a dear friend of mine (@WDCCDuckman on twitter) offered to let me stay in extra space that they had at Old Key West. See how amazing Disney friends are? I couldn't have attended with peace of mind if all of this hadn't fallen into place!

The Disney online community is vast and growing by the day. Word is quickly getting out that twitter is a GREAT place to find Disney friends. I have come to think of so many of my friends on twitter as my extended family. We are there to support each other in hard times, cheer them on during the good times, and just bring a smile at entirely random times. It never fails to cheer me up, when I go on twitter to talk to my friends. If you haven't tried it yet - you really should. If you need help getting started, please let me know! Just email me (mickeysites@gmail.com), post a comment below, or find me on twitter at @DisneyDean. I try to reply to every single tweet that is directed my way and I would LOVE to help you find some amazing new friends.

Anyway, before I got off on that random subject...SO, I am going to Walt Disney World in TWO weeks! I will be there September 30th, through October 4th, and will be attending as many of the festivities on Amanda Tinney's website posting as I can. I plan on partying til I drop! I'm even signed up for the 5K race that weekend, which is something I never imagined doing.

My friend at the Walt Disney Company in California is even trying to arrange a visit to network with us social media folks.

I can't wait to hug all the friends that I have made over the past few years, either through my blog, twitter, facebook or any other place.

There's still time to get into some of the festivities! Hope to see you there!

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

Disney Online Launches Two New Original Web Series

2010-09-16T14:17:50-05:00

DISNEY ONLINE LAUNCHES TWO NEW ORIGINAL WEB SERIES FEATURING THE MUPPETS AND CELEBRITY CHEF CAT CORA

“Muppets Kitchen” and “Hasty Tasty” Help Families Rediscover Together Time through Cooking

All-New Honda Odyssey and the National Milk Mustache "got milk?”^® Campaign Tapped as Exclusive Sponsors

BURBANK, Calif. – September 14, 2010 – Disney Online, part of the Disney Interactive Media Group, launched two new original video series today featuring The Muppets and celebrity chef Cat Cora. “The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora” on Disney.com (www.Disney.com/MuppetsKitchen) inspires and entertains families through cooking and classic Muppet comedy, while “Hasty Tasty Cooking Tips with Cat Cora and the Muppets” on Disney Family.com (www.Family.com/HastyTasty) was created specifically for moms, offering recipes, step-by-step cooking tips and fun family-time ideas. “Muppets Kitchen” and “Hasty Tasty” are exclusively sponsored by the all-new Honda Odyssey and the National Milk Mustache "got milk?”^®Campaign.

Joining Cat Cora in the kitchen is her new Muppet cooking partner, Angelo. A chef with style, panache and a quirky habit of cooking up chaos, Angelo can spice up any meal. And with Muppet favorites like Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo dropping by, one thing is certain: everything is funnier in Muppets Kitchen.

“This has been a great partnership between Disney Online, the Muppets and Cat Cora, and the end result is a fantastic line-up of original content that will entertain families, while offering moms great tips and ideas for ways to create magical meals and spend more time together,” stated Paul Yanover, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online.

“As a chef and a mother of four boys, meal time is family time at our house,” said Chef Cat Cora. “I hope the delicious and easy to make recipes featured on ‘Muppets Kitchen’ and ‘Hasty Tasty’ inspire more families to get creative and get cooking in their own kitchens!”

“Muppets Kitchen” episodes will offer a variety of entertaining themes including “Game Day,” “Movie Night,” “Slumber Party,” “World’s Biggest Sandwich,” “Breakfast Isn’t Just Breakfast Anymore” and “Birthday Cat-astrophe.”

“Hasty Tasty” will feature short episodes that focus on giving moms access to step-by-step cooking instructions, specific culinary information, helpful tips, nutritional guidance and advice on how to get kids excited about cooking. Episodes include "Dough-Re-Mi," “Egg-straordinary Wraps," "The Really Cheesey Episode," "Chicken: the Dredge Report," "Chicken Ins and Outs," "Herb - The 'H' is Silent" and "Frozen Fruit Fun." Additionally, the “Hasty Tasty” site will offer complete recipes and other helpful culinary content designed specifically for moms. “Hasty Tasty” also has a mobile web site giving moms access to all online videos and recipe ingredient lists on the go, as well as a mix the ingredients recipe game. Text HASTY to DISNEY (347639)* or visit Disney.com/HastyTasty.

About Cat Cora
On and off-screen, Chef Cat Cora (www.catcoracooks.com) continues to make a lasting impression on the culinary community. Her food aspirations began at an early age, and by 15, she developed a business plan for her own restaurant. In 2005, she made television history on Food Network's Iron Chef America as the first and only female Iron Chef, and in 2006 Bon Appetit Magazine named her Executive Chef and bestowed her with their Teacher of the Year Award. Cat has also authored three must-have cookbooks including Cat Cora’s Classics With A Twist (June 2010, Houghton Mifflin). From partnering with Macy’s for a new restaurant concept called CCQ (Cat Cora’s Que) that premiered in December 2008 to her first stand alone restaurant, Kouzzina that opened at Walt Disney World BoardWalk Resort in September 2009, Cat’s bringing a taste of her culinary influence to both coasts.

About Disney Online
Disney Online (www.Disney.com or text MOBILE to DISNEY or 347639*) a unit of Disney Interactive Media Group, produces the No. 1 ranked community-family and parenting destination on the World Wide Web. Launched in 1996, Disney.com is the online and now mobile web gateway to all of the company's Disney-branded entertainment initiatives, providing comprehensive access to, and information about Disney movies, travel, television, games, music, shopping and live events.

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)

Retro Disney Project highlighted on DAP's Magic!

2010-09-11T05:51:41-05:00

I was so excited to see that the Retro Disney Project was written about on the totally awesome website DAP's Magic - one of the most awesome Disney websites. I've been a lurker on Mr. Dap's website for a few years now, so it's pretty awesome to have the project highlighted on his site.

For those of you not familiar with the Retro Disney Project - our goal is to have classic/retro Disney content available in some fashion, either online, through a television station, or BOTH! Word is definitely spreading, thanks to Mr. Dap's and all the other folks out there in the blogs and on twitter! We are proving that Disney fans and friends can band together to do nearly ANYTHING, and Disney is definitely listening!This project is not about me - it is OUR project and we can do anything we set our mind to do (think Walt Disney :)

Thanks so much. If you've never been to DAP's Magic (I'm sure most of you have) - you should really spend some time checking it out - there is a WEALTH of content and photos on this great site.

--- DisneyDean (@DisneyDean on twitter)