Disney News

After 40 years of operation, Thursday, May 31st, will mark the final day of the Snow White’s Scary Adventures® Attraction at Magic Kingdom® Park. One of the fourteen remaining opening day attractions at Magic Kingdom® Park’s opening on October 1, 1971, the attraction will be removed to make way for the new Princess Fairytale Hall. 

Princess Fairytale Hall is part of the New Fantasyland® Area expansion that is taking place right now at the Magic Kingdom® Park. This royal area will become the new home for guests to meet-and-greet their favorite Disney Princesses. Design of the building calls for a castle-like entrance of stone and stained glass windows,  a large gallery with high ceilings and portraits of Disney Princesses, and elegantly finished rooms for guests to meet the Princesses in.

Princess Fairytale Hall is set to debut in late 2013. In the meantime, guests will find the Princesses in various meet-and-greet locations spread throughout the Magic Kingdom® Park. Consult your Times Guide for exact locations and times during your visit.

Fans of Disney•Pixar’s Cars will be running “full throttle” this weekend as the Walt Disney World® Resort presents Car Masters Weekend. The event, which is now in its second year, is a celebration of everything Cars.

This years activities include:

• Meet-and-Greets with Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Finn McMissile
• Movie marathon of showings of Cars and Cars 2 at AMC® Downtown Disney 24
• Test-drive RIDEMAKERZ®  model cars
• Car Show presented by Hess – with over 100 classic, muscle and exotic cars as well as some of GM’s newest models on display
• NEW  Appearance by automotive designer Chip Foose – contributing designer of Ramone from Cars
• NEW  LEGO® interactive zone
• NEW  Cars-themed topiaries
• NEW  Dance party with live DJs

Also just announced for this year is high-performance karting from the Richard Perry Driving Experience! This karting experience will challenge your driving skills in a high-action race environment while trying to score the best lap time in your racing group. Cost is $20 (plus tax) per person and is open to any licensed drivers age 16 and older. Each additional ride is $10. All participants must sign a waiver, and closed-toed shoes are required.

Hours for the Car Masters Weekend in the Downtown Disney® Area is 9:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. on June 2nd & 3rd, 2012.

On this Memorial Day, may we remember all of the brave men and women who have passed while serving and protecting our country.

“Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing this red, white and blue stripe.”  – Walter Elias Disney

Since the Magic Kingdom® Park opened back in 1971 through present, the Flag Retreat Ceremony has taken place in Town Square. As a tradition that was started in Disneyland® Park, this ceremony performed by the Disney Security Color Guard, The Main Street Philharmonic, the Dapper Dans, and a special Honorary Veteran of the Day selected from that day’s guests. Held daily at 5pm, the ceremony is a wonderful way for young and old to honor our military and our country.

Please enjoy our video of the Magic Kingdom® Park Flag Retreat Ceremony:

Tuesday morning, Walt Disney World® Resort photographer Matt Stroshane had an opportunity to catch a rare photograph at the early hours of the morning.

This shot shows Epcot’s® popular Future World Mission: SPACE® Attraction in the foreground as the flame from the SpaceX Rocket streaks across the background. At 3:44 a.m. Eastern, the SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (appox. 60 miles from Walt Disney World® Resort). This mission marks the first commercial company in history to attempt to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station.

For all those photo buffs, this photo is a 64-second exposure of f11 at ISO 100 utilizing a neutral density filter.