The MiceChat round up is back with the latest Disney and theme park news and discussions.  Mickey and the Magical Lamp is set for the Fantasyland Theatre at Disneyland. Should there be a Wreck it Ralph attraction?  What about the new MyMagic+ hitting Walt Disney World?  But don’t forget to check out the the news on yet another accident at Disneyland Paris. And despite record profits, Disney is planning more layoffs.  All this plus a new Communicore Weekly, a ride on Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a new Unofficial Universal Podcast and the addition of a Disney legend to the MiceChat crew!

Before we get started, we want to make sure you don’t miss out on our big 10th Anniversary events February 1st through 3rd. Our Cocktail Reception with Disney Legend Alice Davis as well as our Legends Breakfast with Beloved Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump and Famed Animator Floyd Norman are both nearly sold out. Most of our weekend evens require no tickets at all. Please visit this discussion for links to the store as well as information about how you can join us for our biggest ever event!  MiceAge 10th Anniversary Event Information HERE

Introducing Bob Gurr’s DESIGN: Those Were The Times
We are delighted to introduce you to a new MiceChat column from a name that almost all of you know, Bob Gurr. And if you aren’t familiar with the name, you’ve absolutely experienced the attractions he designed and collaborated on for Disney over his legendary career. Bob recently released an autobiography that was so well received that he’s been flooded with requests for a sequel.

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I’m very pleased to report that MiceChat has been awarded “Theme Park Fan Site of the Year.” Fantastic theme park site, Behind the Thrills, held an end of year vote to determine the best Fan Site, and MiceChat was the overwhelming vote getter. Congratulations to all of our readers and staff.

Happy 2013 to all!  We have several trips reports from Disneyland and DCA celebrating the New Year.  We also get a little more information on a new show that will rechristen the Fantasyland Theatre, this summer! ~ Aladdin

Disney California Adventure: New And Improved! (aka photo feature by me)
2012 brought many new sights for DCA. Regions Beyonds brings us some of their favorite photos from the DCA-Do-Over!

Finally Getting Around to Posting New Year’s Eve Photos
Ron W has this New Year’s Eve Trip Report, complete with photos from all around the Park that started it all!

Clear HD Video of New Years Fireworks at Disneyland!
fantasmiceddie24 was front and center for New Year’s Eve nd has video of the countdown to the New Year, along with Disneyland’s first fireworks show of 2013!

World of Color New Year’s Eve 13′ Fireworks Glow with the Show Ears. Panoramic View
SoCalbma bring us this Video of the countdown celebration for 2013 from DCA, in fountains and fireworks!

Exiting Disneyland through backstage
With the huge crowds that swarm Disneyland between Christmas and New Year’s, it sometimes makes a few sights available to the general public. rwsmith has a short video from behind Main Street, including a look at the back stairs entry to Walt’s Apartment.

Photo TR of my trip to Las Vegas and Los Angeles
Mikeland kept busy between Christmas and New Year’s Eve by seeing the sights all around Las Vegas and Los Angeles, including Disneyland and the Disney Exhibit at the Reagan Presidential Library!

Mickey and the Magical Map to appear at Fantasyland Theatre
Disney has revealed a few more details of the new show that Disneyland guests will have a chance to see, when the Fantasyland Theatre reopens this summer!

Disneyland Hotel: More Rare & Old Pictures
oldhotelguy has several more unique photos from the early years of the Disneyland Hotel

My Friend Visited Disneyland EVERYDAY in 2012!
The Disney Ninja brings to our attention a couple that reached their goal of visiting Disneyland every single day during 2012! See what their Fandomonium brought them! Of course, you just have to ask them: You just visited Disneyland every day in 2012 – What are the going to do next?

Welcome back, MiceChatters! Hope you’re having a great start to your New Year.  A few ideas, thoughts and rumors for your perusal this week. I hope you enjoy them! Are you coming to the great big Al Lutz birthday party, er, MiceChat and Miceage 10^th Anniversary? I’ll be there and hope you will, too! Post your ideas, rumors and thoughts and remember…you just might make it to the weekly Round-Up!  -Demigod-

Autopia Idea – probably not feasible but still fun to imagine.
MiceChat member B2D offers an idea that isn’t going to work at all at Disneyland, but it’s kind of fun to imagine what it’d be like if it did!

Wreck-It Ralph Attraction
Brand New MiceChatter MickeySmurfette24 posts an idea for an attraction based on the hit movie Wreck-It Ralph.

What If…
Member TiggerHappy wonders what if Disney started making other theme parks based on the other 49 states. Thoughts?

Labyrinth – Fantasyland
MiceChat member DJS returns with an idea for an attraction in Fantasyland based on the movie Labyrinth. Do you think this would be a good fit for Disneyland?

MiceTrip: Sail Away on the Disney Fantasy with MiceChat – October 19th – 26th, 2013
We invite you to join us on a very special MiceChat voyage to the Eastern Caribbean on the newest ship of the Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Fantasy.

The cat is officially out of the bag at Walt Disney World this week, as Tom Staggs recently revealed more of the details of what is now being referred to as MyMagic+, which we on the boards have known about for a while. This is definitely the big news of the week. Take a look and see how you feel about it. ~yoyoflamingo

Mymagic+ is here!
So, the announcement has been made, and while details are still not concrete, we have a lot more information than we had a few days ago. Exactly what is Mymagic+ and whether it is Big Brother’s Orwellian twin or harmless heavy sales pitch has yet to be seen until it begins to be rolled out in full. Share your thoughts here.

Honeymoon at Disney World
princessbelle92 asks about the price and opinions on a Walt Disney World honeymoon. Anyone have their honeymoon there or have any insight? Share here!

3 grenades found in Downtown Disney trash can
To ring in the new year, Downtown Disney started out with a dilemma – a garbage can with grenades inside. Read about it here!

Set your calendars for February 1, 2 and 3rd as we celebrate the 10th anniversary of MiceAge! To mark the occasion, we’ve prepared three days of celebrities, meets, events, prizes, friendship and lots and lots of fun. Tickets are available NOW, with many events sold out or nearly sold out. Don’t delay! Click the link and let us know if you see any events you’d like to attend: READ THE FULL SCHEDULE HERE

Welcome to this week’s not-to-be-missed Communicore Weekly, the epic SEASON ONE FINALE! We talk about Communicore, Disneyland Lies, Odyssey Bathrooms, and Daleks! Also, CLIFFHANGER! DISNEY HISTORY! – After 52 weeks, we finally get around to talking about our namesake, Communicore! BOOK OF THE WEEK! – George and Jeff take a look at 396 Pure, Unadulterated, Dyed-in-the-wool, 100% Made-up, Completely Fake Disneyland “Facts,” which is HILARIOUS. BATHROOM BREAK! – We finally reveal our favorite bathrooms to the world. FIVE LEGGED GOAT! – We found a Dalek in Tomorrowland! It’s this weeks Five Legged Goat! Also, EPIC CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!

In The Parks provides a ride through of Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad days before its major refurbishment in 2013.

Up next is the charming Unofficial Universal Podcast:

Up-close Cars Land Rose Float in HD and Tips for next time.
SoCalbma brings us a great HD Video of the Carsland float at the Rose Bowl Parade.

Knotts to update the Timber Mountain Log Ride!
TCadillac brings information from Knott’s Berry Farm that the Timber Mountain Log Ride will be updated.

Unofficial SeaWorld Podcast is coming…
KingEric lets us know that the Unofficial SeaWorld Podcast starting in January.

Universal Orlando Announce Mardi Gras Music Line Up
UUOPLee lets us know that Universal Orlando has announced their Mardi Gras music line up.

Uuopodcast #Ep 47
Episode 47 of the Universal Orlando podcast is up and being discussed here.

4 persons hurt in Disneyland Paris accident …AGAIN!
A incident with the steam trains at Disneyland Paris has caused injuries to 4 people.

Layoffs at Disney (Reuters)
indianajack was quick to find this article about possible layoffs in Disney corporate. Discussion will no doubt follow.

Barbaraann is hoping to Meet MiceChatters
January 27, 2013 is a Sunday, and Barbaraann will be in Disneyland. She is hoping that the usual Sunday Meet will take place in the Hub, and some MiceChatters will stop by.

This week we have a few photos of the Cars Land Rose Parade float, a robot band, and a Disneyland film from 1957. ~ Trekkie Dad

R.I.P Patti Page (1927-2013)
Hayley B recalls her favorite childhood song voiced by this singer.

Huell Howser dead at 67
He was an institution for tourism in California. His enthusiasm for tourist attractions, both large and small, will be missed.

Lost Boy wonders why this float won no awards, and OC2Epcot can only respond with photos.

Humanoid Robots Play Motorhead’s Ace of Spades
Retrocool found this amazing video from Popular Science. Did you notice the drummer has FOUR arms?

Our Friend The Atom (1957)
After seeing Retrocool‘s description of this film from the Disneyland TV series, I had to watch it all the way through to recall how we viewed atomic energy in the ’50’s.

Disney Seeks Emergency Stay of Judge’s Order on 3D Movie Conversions
Walt Disney Studios has filed an emergency motion in federal court looking to stay a recent ruling by the judge handling the bankruptcy of Digital Domain Media Group. At stake might be Disney’s ability to create 3D movies without fear of being sued for patent infringement.

Aladdin going to Broadway….will it stay at DCA?
A Broadway production of Aladdin is going to New Amsterdam Theatre. We know this has been discussed before, but now that’s it looking like a final decision has been made, DARTH MAUL wants to know if they’ll keep the show in DCA?

Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Barcode
With the flip of the calendar from 2012 to 2013, the Disneyland Resort has just closed the history book on one of the most successful years in the 58 year history of the Anaheim property.…

What’s Happening at the Walt Disney Family Museum – January 2013
While the interpretation of the Mayan Calendar may have been a tad off, the calendar for The Walt Disney Family Museum was right on the money! The Holidays are always a fun time at the…

Giggle Gang and Wowzer
A bit more than a week ago, clowns invaded Storybook Circus at the Magic Kingdom. My wife hates clowns with a passion. I’ve always been cautiously indifferent about them. There’s something creepy about them on…

Disneyland kicks off 2013 with new projects and Limited Time Magic
The Disneyland Resort kicked off the new year with festivities in both theme parks including new entertainment options at the recently-relaunched Disney California Adventure. But the New Year’s Eve festivities weren’t the end of new…

Dateline Disney World: Magic Kingdom Construction and Epcot Odds and Ends
Hello, and welcome to the first Dateline Disney World of 2013! This week, we’re covering news and construction updates from both Magic Kingdom and Epcot at Walt Disney World! If you’d like to support the…

Let’s Go On Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
There’s one ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom which has earned the lion’s share of attention since the park opened. In today’s From The Mouth Of The Mouse, I chat with Cynthia, who worked the Kilimanjaro…

Theme Parkeology with Vintage Walt Disney World Photos
I was glancing through the 1974 A pictorial souvenir of Walt Disney World, looking for some inspiration, when I ran across a specific photo that helped confirm a detail I’d been trying to corroborate for…

Introducing Bob Gurr’s DESIGN: Those Were The Times
We are delighted to introduce you to a new MiceChat column from a name that almost all of you know, Bob Gurr. And if you aren’t familiar with the name, you’ve absolutely experienced the attractions he designed and collaborated on for Disney over his legendary career. Bob recently released an autobiography that was so well received that he’s been flooded with requests for a sequel.  Today’s column is an introduction from Bob, join us again on Wednesday of this week for his first not-to-be-missed article!

The SeaWorld San Diego Post-Holiday Round Up
After a winter break, we’re back at SeaWorld San Diego for a construction update.  There’s a lot of work in progress and we’ll show you what will be coming for the Summer 2013 season.  We…

Progress at the Universal Orlando Resort and Mardi Gras Concerts Revealed
2012 ended up being an amazing year for the Universal Orlando Resort, with some great additions: Re-animated Spiderman, Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, Hollywood Drive in Mini Golf, Universal Super Star Parade, Universal Cinematic Spectacular, Sponge…

Disney New Year’s Resolutions
Every year millions of people make New Year’s resolutions. Statistically, these resolutions last until around February because, let’s be honest, how fun is it to starve yourself or give up enjoyable but “bad” habits?

Looking forward to Walt Disney World’s past
Time to step into the Wayback Machine and take a look at how the Walt Disney World public relations team tried to portray the Magic Kingdom just prior to opening. Back in April 1969, it…

Dorney Park in 90 Minutes
Those of us who are local to Southern California’s amusement parks are lucky enough to “drop in” to the parks for just a few hours. Last weekend, MickeyMaxx and I stopped by SeaWorld San Diego…

Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?
Werner Weiss discusses the 1946 Walt Disney movie that’s locked in the vault with Jim Korkis, author of the new book, Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South? The article begins with the ride…

A Great Big Broken Down Tomorrow
For years now, there has been a definite decline in the maintenance and upkeep for show elements at Walt Disney World. One of the most noticeable, as fellow MiceChat columnist Kevin Yee has pointed out…

Walt Disney World Be Our Guest Restaurant Dinner Review
We’ve had a few reviews of the new Be Our Guest restaurant located inside New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park. I’ve previously shared my initial thoughts of lunch at the restaurant during previews. Today, I’d…

Thank you for reading! If you are looking for more Disney and theme park news and information, please visit the MiceChat Forums and MiceAge, there is always a world of fun waiting for you. We hope to see you online again soon, Dusty and the amazing MiceChat crew! Sharing is caring, so give us a like, tweet or subscription!

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