Limited Time Magic

[Hockeyman55]

Some new stuff happening at Disney next year posted on the Disney Blog

We have 52 weeks of magical surprises planned for you at Disney Parks in 2013.
Regular Blog readers already know that next year is a momentous year – with New Fantasyland, the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom Park history at Walt Disney World Resort and the first full year of a re-imagined Disney California Adventure park. And now, we’re adding “Limited Time Magic,” featuring unexpected experiences with an extra sprinkle of Pixie Dust at Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort that’ll appear, and then disappear when the next debuts.

As part of this morning’s “Limited Time Magic” announcement, Mickey and pals helped unveil a three-story castle in the heart of Times Square in New York City. The fairytale castle is made of 45,000 pounds of ice and will be visible for a limited time thanks to the warm Autumn weather.

So, what can you expect with “Limited Time Magic” at Disney Parks when it begins in January? Here’s an idea:

True Love: Celebrate romance and enchantment throughout Valentine’s Week with special moments and entertainment geared to lovebirds. Disney Princes join their Princesses to meet park guests in special settings, prix fixe menus turn up at select restaurants and Valentine’s collectibles will be offered for the week.

Independence Week: It’s red, white and blue as Disney Parks salutes America with a 4th of July Fireworks Party — for an entire week, with patriotic lighting bathing the Disney castles on both coasts. Mickey Mouse appears in his patriotic finest and guests will find special USA shirts, Ear Hats and other limited-edition souvenirs.

Long Lost Friends Week: Lesser-known Disney characters will move from the shadows to the spotlight meet-and-greets on both coasts. Photo opps with characters that could include Flik, Clarabelle Cow, Remy, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will surprise and delight guests. And Disney guests even have the chance to vote online for which characters they want to see.

Pirate Week: Why talk like a pirate one day when you could celebrate these scalawags all week long? The adventures of Jack Sparrow come to life like never before during a bicoastal buccaneer bash in which Disneyland and Walt Disney World become pirate-palooza: pirate bands, pirate meet-and-greets and more.
Dapper Dans Sing Boy Bands: The Dapper Dans, the iconic quartet from Main Street, U.S.A., will add a special finale to their show, claiming the title of the “Original Boy Band” and delivering a medley of hits from One Direction, *NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

Unleash the Villains: Friday the 13th in September 2013 is a special day, so Disneyland park and Disney’s Hollywood Studios are staying open until the 13th hour (1 a.m.). Maleficent, Captain Hook, Jafar and other Disney Villains host a dance party, complete with limited-edition collectibles and other nighttime mischief.
Golden Horseshoe Revue: The fabled Frontierland show returns to Disneyland park for one month only, bringing back the corny jokes and enduring songs that were often enjoyed by Walt Disney himself.

We’ll be rolling out new experiences to begin the new year, so be sure and check the Disney Parks Blog in upcoming months to learn what’s happening. Also, you can learn more and follow along on Twitter by following @DisneyParks and using the hashtag [HASHTAG]#LimitedTimeMagic[/HASHTAG].

 

[JungleSkip]

Stupid name, but sounds like this could be a very cool promotion IF they do a few things correctly.

First of all, plenty of notice needs to be given for what is happening what week. We need a calendar of all the events before the beginning of the year, IMO. I don't want another EPCOT 30 where they announce events the week or two before.

Also, there needs to be special events at ALL the parks. Not just MK, which the examples they gave is almost all of, save for the villains.

 

[UNIrd]

I like this idea. Sounds like they're expanding on the One More Disney Day promo which was extremely popular.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I like the idea and if they are crafty and creative could put out some pretty cool and different celebrations.

 

[Thor]

The idea, if done right, is cool, but the name. Really? Really? Really?

 

[Captain Tragedy]

The name sucks on toast. Stahp with the fluffy buzzwords already! (Sane) People do not talk like this! The idea itself, as others have noted, is pretty clever to perhaps jump start an impromptu vacation. If the modern American family can actually do that is another thing entirely.

 

[maxairmike]

My only beef with any of the announced offerings...the Dapper Dans singing boy band stuff. :bang: :doh: :furious:

Why? Why? Why!?

Otherwise, sounds pretty good.

 

[Hockeyman55]

Why? Why? Why!?

Dont you really mean "bye bye bye"

 

[Bryan]

hehe

 

[jtsalien]

This is the stuff they need to do to make people excited about coming back. Good move. Hope to see some really unique events announced.

Hey Disney, if you do something for National Engineers Week with cool tours I'll book a week at the Grand Floridian. :ears:

 

[ChristopherSE]

This is pretty clever. It can really get people to keep coming back and some of the events sound great. I love the idea for long-lost friends week. Maybe they can use this to introduce an Oswald walk around! :hail:

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. :mean:

 

[BJCool]

More seasonal events to get people back to the parks for special holiday type stuff is a good idea.

 

[ShiftyPig]

They announced some TV commercials a few weeks back that align with the "limited time only" theme:

Youtube clips: http://thedisneyblog.com/2012/10/02/disney-parks-launches-new-tv-commercials/

*this is in no way an endorsement of that site, just a collection of all four adverts in one place.

 

[Jakemeister]

Great idea, I think the biggest pull it will have is for those in the immediate South-East (Ga and Fl). If you live in NY you're not going to change your Disney vacation week to see Tweedle Dum.

However, this is the exact sort of thing they should be doing all the time to keep interest peaked. I'm sure I won't go to the 13th hour thing, but I think I'll go try and see some of the villains, and I might even make a trip out for the special Frontierland characters. If they have atleast a vague announcement of everything before 2013 and then have a more built up announcement via Facebook or Twitter every week I think that would be awesome.

 

[SeventyOne]

Conspiracy theory time ... I think Jake's right, this seemed aimed at locals (and more specifically pixie dust-addicted APs). An attempt to placate the locals as FP+ is implemented greatly increasing wait times year-round?

 

[Hockeyman55]

Wow you mean WDW is going to go out of their way to cater to locals :ears: Hopefully next we get the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain overlays DL get

 

[Disneyhead]

I really just wish Disney would get off the neverending promotional bandwagon and just get back to the business of operating theme parks.

 

[mpace93]

They better bring out rodger rabbit for long lost friends week !

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I really just wish Disney would get off the neverending promotional bandwagon and just get back to the business of operating theme parks.

I agree with this. It was 3 years between the 25th to Millennium, and I think that's the best idea.

I was originally very down on this promotion but have softened up to it. Mainly I thought the events listed were the only events to be held. This was an error on my part.

After a few days now, I feel like this is a good promotion, but nowhere near great or something that will reverse the tide. Millennium had several new attractions, parades, and shows added (despite one being a much delayed attraction and the other one of the worst attractions ever); 100th had new parades and a few new attractions. The rest were just marketing and fluff (though the Dreams one where they had tons of gifts was pretty sweet). This one seems to be on par with the prize one; something nice when you go to the parks, but nothing amazing.

This promotion has two primary philosophies behind it.

1.) Obviously influenced by the huge success of One More Disney Day. Disney gets the idea that people are willing to take days off to come to the parks for a special day and buy special merchandise. The question now remains if they'll go every week for a year. Which goes into number two...
2.) Attract the locals at WDW. WDW has been focused on out-of-towners for a long time, ignoring offering unique offerings to offer a steady experience. This is bucking that trend. Even if we're not getting Haunted Mansion Holiday or something huge, it is a change in philosophy.

In the end, the success of this promotion will come down to quality. If every week we just get some new characters or boy band songs, it'll be a failure. If you offer unique events, late night offerings, and really push what can be done, I think people will respond positively.

 

[SeventyOne]

A little over 3 weeks out, no word on the first week's LTM. Somebody somewhere must be scrambling with a list of obscure holidays and retired character costumes.