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Cupcakes, carts spice up Downtown Disney

December 11th, 2009, 3:00 am by Sarah Tully

downtown-disney-kiosksDowntown Disney has limited space. So when managers want to sell trendy cupcakes or Christmas ornaments, they are turning to outdoor carts and kiosks more often to test new concepts.

The Disneyland Resort’s shopping-dining district is adding two custom locations and has already swapped out four outdoor vendors for the holiday season.

Downtown Disney opened in 2001 with just a few carts, but will have 19 outdoor spots — making up nearly half of the district’s merchants.

“We’re trying to make every bit of our real estate count,” said Janet Knox, general manager of Downtown Disney. “Now, we’re just going big on kiosks.”

Downtown Disney encompasses just 300,000 square feet, about one third the size of The Block at Orange. After a few shops closed recently, Downtown Disney has now filled up its last permanent building spot: The D Street store is set to open Tuesday.

Temporary pop-up tents are featuring items from current Downtown Disney vendors — including Legos, pastries and jewelry — during the next few weeks.

Unlike most traditional malls, Downtown Disney is more a place to hang out than shop at a particular store, Knox said. About half of the customers are locals.

So managers are constantly looking for ways to “activate” the area and offer new experiences and products.

See a list of new vendors below.

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Posted in: Disneyland Resort • Downtown Disney • Food • • • • | 8 Comments »

How to survive Thanksgiving week at Disney

November 20th, 2009, 3:00 am by Sarah Tully
2_61_112007_bush_turkey

Then President George W. Bush pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey, who was moved to Disneyland, at a ceremony last year.

Thanksgiving week draws large crowds to the Disneyland Resort, including on turkey day, believe it or not. In fact, it’s believed to be the biggest dining day of the year at Disney restaurants.

Parks will be less packed earlier in the week, but will fill up more once the four-day weekend hits.

So, we are providing you with some tips and ideas of how to navigate the resort next week.

Where to eat

Reserved tables: Most of the reservations for sit-down dinners and buffets on Thanksgiving Day were already booked as of Thursday morning, according to a reservation agent. Here are places where you could still make reservations for a family of four:

Call Disney Dining to make reservations: 714-781-3463.

Other restaurants:Guests also can find traditional Thanksgiving foods at other non-reservation locations, such as Plaza Inn in Disneyland, said John McClintock, a Disneyland Resort spokesman.

Finger food:You can always gnaw on a turkey leg, instead. Pick one up at carts at Disneyland’s central plaza in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, in Disneyland’s Frontierland near the river dock, at the Edelweiss stand near the Matterhorn and in Paradise Pier in Disney’s California Adventure.  Legs cost about $7 each.

What to see

National Turkey: The National Thanksgiving Turkey is set to move into Disneyland next week after being pardoned by President Barack Obama in a traditional White House ceremony. The turkey will be in a special Give a Day, Get a Disney Day parade set for 10 a.m. Thursday (The parade’s name is tied a 2010 program: Those who volunteer for a day to a qualified charity can get a pass to a Disney park). Read about last year’s pardoning ceremony HERE. Check back next week for more news about this year’s national turkey.

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Posted in: Christmas/Holidays • Disneyland • Disneyland Resort • Downtown Disney • Food • Hotels • Uncategorized • Your Tips • • • | 2 Comments »

Sports Guy to sign books at Downtown Disney

November 12th, 2009, 3:00 pm by Sarah Tully

Bill Simmons, an ESPN.com columnist known as the Sports Guy, is set to sign copies of his new book at Downtown Disney on Friday, Nov. 13.

Simmons’ second book is “The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy,” which gives a look at the past, present and future of pro basketball.

The book signing is set for 4 p.m. at the ESPN Zone, 1500 S Disneyland Drive in Anaheim.

Read Simmons’ column about his book tour HERE.

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‘Wipeout’ tryouts scheduled at Downtown Disney

September 25th, 2009, 9:00 am by Sarah Tully

“Wipeout,” a competition T.V. show with obstacle courses, is holding an open casting call Saturday in Downtown Disney.

The interviews are set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at ESPN Zone, 1545 Disneyland Drive in Anaheim.

The ABC show brings in 24 new competitors each week to go through an extreme obstacle course, trying out stunts. Competitors try for the chance of being named champion and earning $50,000.

Potential cast members will only be interviewed Saturday. No obstacle course will be set up, said Grant Marek, spokesman for ESPN Zone.

For more information, go to ESPN Zone’s Web site.

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Your tips: Cheap date at Downtown Disney

August 17th, 2009, 3:00 pm by Sally French

buttontipsYour tips is a feature where you can read and share your Disney tips with fellow Around Disney readers.  Got a tip? Email it to us at stully@ocregister.com with “Your tips” in the subject line, or leave a comment below.

This tip was sent in by a reader to the Register’s OC Deals blog, offering a suggestion for a cheap date at Downtown Disney:

low_resolution_downtown-disney-2lw“I have taken my wife and kids to Downtown Disney and spent less than $25 many times, and we enjoy it so much!

I would arrive there around 8 p.m. You should have eaten dinner at home already, so for a light snack we pick up some Beignets at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen.

These little squares of fried dough are lightly dusted with powdered sugar. A small bag runs you about $5.

As you walk up and down the path, you’ll run into all the various musical acts. I like the group in front of La Brea Bakery. There is also a guy in front of the Anne Geddes store, who plays the drums. Not just any drums, it’s this giant drum-o-rama like machine. Usually there’s some happening band over in front of ESPNZone which is enjoyable too.”

Click here to read the rest of this entry on the OC Deals blog.

Photo courtesy of Disney.

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Posted in: Downtown Disney • Your Tips • | Post a Comment »

ESPN Zone gets new screens, toilet TVs

July 8th, 2009, 3:40 pm by Adam Townsend, Staff Writer

The ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney today started the early stages of upgrading more than 100 of their 150 television screens to high definition — including the tubes in the bathrooms.

The sports bar, restaurant and video arcade will undergo renovations for the next few months, including upgrades to the video system in the roughly 25,00-square-foot facility.

“Right now, they’re doing a lot of wiring — behind the scenes stuff,” said David Nakashima, the Zone’s marketing manager. “The plans have been in the works now for quite a while. Now is the perfect opportunity — we’re at the time right before football season.”

He said the upgrades will include replacing the screens above the urinals in the men’s room and on the ceilings above the stalls in the women’s room.

The restaurant and bar close at midnight or 1 a.m., depending on the night. Nakashima said the work would commence after the restaurant closes and will finish up before it opened.

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Posted in: Downtown Disney | 14 Comments »

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