The biggest theme park news lately has been all about Harry Potter, but there’s something else pretty interesting ready to reappear at Disneyland. Captain EO, the snazzy laser-filled 3D movie starring Michael Jackson, is set to return to Tomorrowland sometime this month. We knew it was coming since late last year, but it seems that sneak peeks of the retro attraction might begin any day now.

Apparently testing is already underway as Disneyland employees were invited to check out the attraction last week. An email was sent out to Disney cast members—that’s Mickey Mouse language for employees—describing the testing involved with the movie’s return. Of course they requested that all the secrets of the attraction remain hush-hush, but it looks like someone immediately leaked the email. We’re all for sharing a few secrets among friends, because that’s pretty much why the Internet was invented. ]]> kjb 2010-02-17T08:35:18-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/2/8/85614/60595

We learned something during this year's Super Bowl, after the win of the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts. We learned that if we ever actually get to attend the Super Bowl in the future and it's back in Florida, that we should book a side-trip to Orlando's Disney World for the next day, because of the tradition for the Super Bowl MVP to go on a ticker tape parade through the park.

Saint's QB Drew Brees isn't going to mess up the tradition by turning down the offer to ride around with Mickey Mouse either; last night, at the end of the game, he was asked the traditional question—one dating back to 1987—that goes a little something like this: "You've just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?" And of course he answered: "I'm going to Disney World."

The official @DisneyParks twitter confirms this, saying that Brees and a few teammates are scheduled to do the Magic Kingdom parade at 11:55am today. That gives you three hours—you Orlando-area football fans—to get to the park, but we'd hope that you had today off work first. And since a New Orleans ticker tape parade is inevitable, stay tuned to us here at Jaunted for news on that once the city has the official news out.

Related Stories:
· @DisneyParks [Twitter]
· Drew Brees: 'I'm Going to Disney World' [Disney Parks Blog]
· Football travel [Jaunted]

[Steelers 2009 parade photo: lifthill]]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-08T09:00:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/1/11/82053/1111

The sixth and final season of Lost is less than a month away, but even if the television show is on its way out, we might be able to relive the series for years to come. If the rumors are true, the suits at Disney might be kicking around an idea to bring the show to one of their theme parks. Fans of the show—and there’s lots of them—have already started an online petition to get the attention of Mickey and friends.

One of the show’s producers recently sent out a tweet suggesting that he’d enjoy seeing Disney make an attraction about the show, and while nothing is confirmed at this point, it appears it could be in the pipeline. Over at Movieline they are reporting that a little birdie has whispered in their ear regarding Walt Disney Imagineers and a potential Lost themed ride. It would be a motion-based ride using some new theme park technology—some of the same behind-the-scenes magic that will bring Harry Potter to life at Universal Studios in Orlando. ]]> kjb 2010-01-11T09:03:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/23/16188/401

Cruise lines and cruise goers long ago figured out two things about inside cabins. One, they suck. Two, installing web cams to stream outside views into the room TV makes them suck only very slightly less. But trust Disney to figure out a way to take the idea of outside web cams, create something unique, and then add a flair of animation magic for good measure.

Disney engineers started by creating rounded digital "virtual portals" on their new Disney Dream cruise ship, which bring high-def images of the horizon into people's cabins. Of course those will still looks kitschy and a little artificial, and there's really no way around that even with current technology.]]> Omri 2009-11-23T17:06:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/10/8178/7359

The holidays are a big time for Walt Disney World. The parks are transformed into a winter wonderland—well, a fake one as they are in Florida after all—and the guests pour in through the turnstiles. Some days the park has to limit guest access because there are just too many tourists dreaming of a holiday photo with Mickey and friends. All these people are starting to worry some, especially if these people are coughing, sneezing, and leaving their germs all over Space Mountain.

Thankfully, Disney is ready to combat the spread of germs, and is hoping that their efforts will be enough to convince people that their park is safe. After all, the threat of catching that pesky H1N1 flu is kind of a downer and not the stuff dreams are made of. Thus, Disney World has ordered about 200,000 hand sanitizers—although we're wondering why they haven’t always had some. ]]> kjb 2009-11-10T08:59:25-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/11/4/105230/203

Here's to unholy matrimony: Disney announced yesterday that China has allowed them to move forward with construction of a new park in Shanghai, its first new resort since 2005's Hong Kong Disneyland and its third in Asia. You thought the fight over EuroDisney was good? Wait till you see the Chinese version of "It's A Small World."

According to the New York Times, the park has been in the works since the 1990s when a mayor of Shanghai visited Disneyland in Anaheim and could take up to 6 years to build. At 1,700 acres, the planned park, in the city's Pudong district, will be slightly bigger than Original Flavor Disneyland but resemble the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World. ]]> egw 2009-11-04T11:41:15-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/10/13/72822/511

You know Disney has some deep pockets when it comes to their theme parks, so visitors looking to celebrate Halloween have nothing to worry about if they make Walt Disney World their spooky holiday headquarters. For many years the Magic Kingdom has been shutting things down early and welcoming families to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.

It’s a Halloween bash that encourages both parents and their kids to dress up; however, some of the adults get a little carried away and that’s always slightly frightened us. As you take in all the seasonal decorations be sure to stop and fill your bags with candy. There’s plenty of trick or treat spots throughout the park and they are usually pretty generous. The best part of the party is that the crowds are manageable. Disney only sells a certain amount of tickets to the shindig, so it’s a great chance to ride Space Mountain like five times in a row without waiting. ]]> kjb 2009-10-13T09:38:36-05:00 28.3829163 -81.567704 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/