The 20-minute show is tied to Disney’s upcoming animated movie “The Princess and the Frog” and will play four times daily at the park through Jan. 3.

The show combines three types of entertainment found at the theme park – street entertainment, a small parade and a musical review.

Carla Carlile, the show’s director, said Randy Newman, who composed the music for the film, developed some of the original concepts for the live show then Carlile’s team took over.

The show starts with nearly two-dozen performers, including the characters of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen, parading through the streets of New Orleans Square. The troupe winds its way to the shoreline of the Rivers of America and onto the riverboat dock where they board the Mark Twain Steamboat.

Once all are on-board, the paddle wheeler leaves the dock and floats out in front of New Orleans Square while the performers sing and dance to four new songs from the film. Guests can be aboard the Mark Twain with them.

“We try to bring it (the movie) to life here in the park,” Carlile said.

After the finale, the river boat continues around the Rivers of America. When it docks, the troupe parades back through New Orleans Square, ending up in a courtyard where park guests can meet and have their photos taken with Princess Tiana.

“The Princess and the Frog” premieres with a limited release in the Los Angeles area on Nov. 25, with a wide release Dec. 11.

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From the Orlando Sentinel:

The top executive at the Walt Disney Co.’s worldwide theme-parks division said this afternoon (Oct. 29) that Disney has begun to see rising traffic on its travel Web sites.

“We recently have seen a lot more lookers on the Internet,” said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, who characterized the Web visits as “inquiries.”

Rasulo said it is unclear whether the growing number of visits online might be an early indicator of a turnaround at Disney’s theme parks and other vacation operations, which have struggled amid the worst recession since the Great Depression. “I don’t know whether that means things are going to improve,” he said.

Read the rest of the Disney travel story HERE.

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Characters from two of Disney’s films are making their way into Disneyland as meet-and-greet characters.

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from “The Princess and the Frog,” which is due out next month, are set to start greeting guests starting today.

Terence, a character from “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” that was released on DVD, recently began appearing in the Pixie Hollow area.

We’ve compiled some tips for meeting Disney characters so you can make the most of meeting the latest additions to Disneyland’s cast.

• To allow yourself more time to spend interacting with the characters, have your autograph books, cameras, and pens ready to go before you get to the front of the line.
• When entering the park, grab an entertainment schedule at the turnstiles to see when characters will be out to sign autographs.
• Plan on spending time in line to meet the characters, especially new additions like Princess Tiana.
• Eat at a character meal. Characters will come up to your table for photos and autographs, eliminating the hassle of waiting in line at the parks.
• “When approaching a theme character, please make sure you stand in front of them, they have extremely poor visibility in most cases and will not see you if you are out of there direct line of site. They do not mean to seem rude to anyone and are more than polite in all cases. It’s just really hard to see what is not right in front of you,” wrote Around Disney reader OC Mommy.
• Book a trip through the Walt Disney Travel Company and you will receive a voucher to Mickey’s Toontown Morning Madness, an event which allows you to enter Toontown an hour before it officially opens to watch a parade, become an honorary Toontown citizen and meet Mickey Mouse.
• Other opportunities to see characters are in parades and shows.
• Use Disney’s PhotoPass to get photos with the characters. Hand your PhotoPass card to photographers stationed around the resort and your photos will be stored so they can be viewed and purchased after the trip. Click here to read PhotoPass tips.

Photos courtesy of Disneyland.

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The IMAX version is open to all ages.  But the Sky Lobby Lounge also offers a screening of the film that is open only to adults ages 21 and over. That’s right, no loud teenagers or kids kicking the back of your seat.

The Sky Lobby Lounge opened at CinemaFusion inside Anaheim’s GardenWalk — just east of Disneyland – in fall 2008, offering adult movie-goers the chance to sip beer and wine in a roped-off section of the theater. (To see more on that story, click here.)

It’s proved a popular hangout for fans of cinema looking for a more grownup experience. The six adults-only screening rooms offer a custom sound system and over-sized leather seats that have room for snacks and drinks.

And at the right time, the 1960s-style lounge  even offers a pretty spectactular view of Disneyland’s fireworks through a two-story-tall glass wall that looks out to the theme park. 

It’s not the first time CinemaFusion, at 321 Katella Ave., has shown animated features in the lounge. “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” attracted big crowds recently, theater officials said.

Just because the theater is open only to adults doesn’t mean those movie fans aren’t kids at heart, said Jim Woodin, a spokesman for the theater. “It seems to be what they want.”

The screening of “A Christmas Carol,” starring Jim Carey, is set to run through Dec. 17 at CinemaFusion. (The first showing is at 3 p.m.)  The movie opens Friday (Nov.6) throughout the county and is available at other IMAX theaters, too, including the Edwards 21 Theater in the Irvine Spectrum.  (Just don’t try to bring a beer in there.)

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From the Associated Press:

SAVANNAH, Ga. - A 53-year-old man pleaded guilty Friday to resisting police outside the set of a Miley Cyrus movie on the Georgia coast after prosecutors agreed to drop charges that he tried to stalk the teen pop star.

Mark McLeod, who told police he was engaged to marry the 16-year-old “Hannah Montana” star, was sentenced by a State Court judge to two years probation and was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. He was also ordered to stay away from Cyrus and her family.

Read the rest of the Miley Cyrus story HERE.

Read more Miley Cyrus news HERE.

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Did you know that you can get free refills on coffee at Disneyland?

Since 1955, Main Street’s Market House has given free refills on coffee.  Purchase a cup of coffee (regular, decaf, vanilla or hazelnut) for $2.59 and save your receipt.

There’s no need to keep the cup. Just bring back the receipt and enjoy free refills all day.

At other food venues, visitors can get free refills only as long as they are continuing to dine at the location, said David Gill, a Disneyland Resort spokesman. They can’t come back later for free refills. That’s a unique deal at Market House only.

Market House sells mostly standard coffee.

If you want a fancier treat (but no free refills), you can find sweet drinks, such as flavored lattes and mochas, at the Blue Ribbon Bakery across Main Street. An employee said that guests can expect holiday-related drinks, like eggnog lattes and peppermint mochas, for the upcoming season.

The prices are pretty much on par with Starbucks and Coffee Bean.

Speaking of Starbucks, Disney officials deny that Starbucks is coming to the park, as the MiceAge.com Web site reported as a rumor recently. Instead, Disney got another new coffee supplier — Joffrey’s. The new coffee began in mid-October, said Suzi Brown, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman.

Around Disney reporters Sally French and Sarah Tully wrote this report. Photo by Joshua Sudock of The Orange County Register.

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Major League Gaming is holding an event Friday through Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., which is near Disneyland.

The event will include competitions among pro games, “play-a-pro” matches, amateurs trying to get into the pro circuit, viewings by spectators and autograph signings. About 2,000 people are scheduled to compete, while the rest will be spectators, said Amy Janzen, a spokeswoman for Major League Gaming, in an e-mail message.

Admission is $20 for all three days.

For more information, go to the mlgpro.com.

Read a press release on the MLG event HERE.

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From the Los Angeles Times:

China, finally, is ready to build a house for Mickey Mouse.

Beijing has approved plans to build a Disney theme park in Shanghai, a major milestone in the more than decade-long effort by Walt Disney Co. to dramatically expand its reach into China.

Disney and the Shanghai municipal government jointly submitted plans in January to build a $3.59-billion park to open as early as 2014. It would be the entertainment giant’s fourth theme park outside the U.S., after Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong — and the first in mainland China, the fastest-growing mass market in the world.

Read the rest of the Shanghai Disney story HERE.

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Jonas Brothers in 2008. Photo taken by Disney. From the Insider.com

Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers have performed in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, Ryan Seacrest has served as host and local dancers have joined parades at Disneyland for previous tapings of Christmas TV specials.

But Disneyland officials won’t tell guests about the filming ahead of time.

In fact, they won’t confirm when the taping is scheduled, only saying it will happen over the next few weeks, to avoid “guest dissatisfaction,” said George Savvas, a Disneyland Resort spokesman.

One unofficial Web site — MousePlanet — is reporting that the taping of the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade special is expected to happen Saturday, Sunday and Monday, said Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, a MousePlanet columnist.

The way Disney sees it, the taping is an annoyance for visitors. Views are obstructed. Crowds form. The schedule constantly changes. And there’s no guarantee of a celebrity sighting.

Disney won’t say which stars — if any — will participate in this year’s event.

“We don’t want to disappoint our Disneyland guests,” Savvas said. “We do not encourage people to show up for (those days) specifically to see that taping occur.”

The ABC special, which airs on Christmas Day, is filmed both in Disneyland and at Walt Disney World in Florida.

At Disneyland, family members of performers and others are asked to be part of the small, studio-like audience. Disneyland guests are allowed to watch only if they can, but the filming is not something every visitor can see, Savvas said.

At Disney World, it’s another story. Starting last month, Disney World guests could pre-register to participate in the audience for the filming, scheduled for Dec. 3-5. Tickets already ran out.

Vincent-Phoenix said Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A. is usually crowded as family members of dancers line up to see a shorter version of the holiday parade, which officially starts Nov. 13. Host Ryan Seacrest stands up in the plaza in front of the railroad station.

Musical performances often are held in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Employees usually don’t find out who the celebrity guest is until that day, Vincent-Phoenix said.

Check back later. We’ll post official photos from the event when Disney releases pictures.

Who do you think will perform at Disneyland for the holiday special? Write your comments below. Also, tell us what you see — or don’t see. If you take pictures, please share them on our Around Disney Flickr group.

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On Tuesday, Cedar Fair reported attendance had dropped at its theme parks–and revenue along with them–for the first nine months of 2009, compared with the same period last year.

A company release notes attendance was down by 1.2 million, despite many of the parks adding operating days to their seasons this year. Besides Knott’s, Cedar Fair owns 10 other amusement parks, seven water parks, and five hotels across the United States and Canada. Only Knott’s and the indoor water park Castaway Bay in Ohio remain open year-round.

Net revenue company-wide was $810.5 million, down by $66.5 million from the same time last year.

 “As anticipated, 2009 has been a challenging year for us,” said Dick Kinzel, Cedar Fair chairman,
president and chief executive officer.

Specific results for Knott’s were not made available. The third quarter’s numbers would have included only a small portion of the attendance and revenues for Halloween Haunt, which started in late September and ended Nov. 1. The report released on Tuesday did say Knott’s gets most of its visitors during the last half of the year.

Knott’s does not release specific attenance figures, but officials there have said the number of visitors for Haunt this year was “flat” compared with last year.

Kinzel blamed the lower attendance numbers on a steep drop in group sales, due to the slow economy and spending cuts by businesses and schools. Poor weather was also a factor at some of the parks, he added.

More Knott’s Berry Farm news:

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