Marketplace Co-Op and Diagon Alley at the Universal Orlando Resort
Hello, and welcome to Dateline Disney World, or should we say Dateline Universal Orlando Resort? This week we explore the exciting addition of a new retail spot, the Marketplace Co-Op store in Downtown Disney.  So much shopping, and merchandise. Next we finally wander down the I-4 to Universal Orlando Resort’s new Diagon Alley.  Yes, it has been covered before in the Orlando Parkhopper and in other websites around the internet.  But what does the Universal addition mean to the Walt Disney World vacationer?  Should WDW fan boys break out of their Disney habit and go off property to explore this expansion?  You are about to find out.  But first, Disney plates, t-shirts, and tchotchkes!

TICKETS

Join us, if you dare, in the fog-shrouded streets of Ghost Town for the 8th annual MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt 2014. Leave the real world behind and enter a dream-land of spooky fun with fellow MiceChat readers.

There are two ticket types:

MiceChat Knott’s Haunt event ticket (Basic) – $119.99*

• Admission into Knott’s Scary Farm
• Backstage tour of a new maze before the event
• All you can eat Private Pre-scare Boofet dinner
• Special insider presentation during dinner.
• Early entry into Haunt
• Front of the line access to all mazes (excluding the up-charge Trapped maze)
• Skeleton Key access to select mazes
• Priority Seating for Elvira Ring-Mistress of the Park

MiceChat Knott’s Haunt event ticket with TRAPPED VIP Maze – $129.99*

• All of the above PLUS ADMISSION INTO TRAPPED: The New Experiment – special upcharge maze (Purchasing this ticket will gain you admission into the Trapped maze with the MiceChat group. By purchasing this ticket you will be randomly assigned a return time during event check-in at the beginning of the night. If you miss the reservation time you will forfeit your ticket.)

* Plus tax and PayPal processing fees

That’s right. You could buy your own ticket and wander around, aimlessly from line to line, starving to death from hunger, without a single person to hang out with. OR, you could pay one simple price and get an entire night of food, entertainment, friends, frights, and fun and exclusive insider opportunities!

MiceChat Walt Disney World Invasion – October 22nd through 29th, 2014: We’ll visit the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley at Universal Orlando, offer an optional Halloween Horror Nights event, hold a Walt Disney World GUMBALL RALLY, travel the World Showcase in our wonderful Food and Wine Festival Sip and Nibble event, enjoy Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, PLUS La Nouba, meet-ups, meals and more. Don’t miss this fantastic week of Orlando fun!!!

Contact [email protected] to book travel to Orlando. Sign up for our email list to be sent sign up information for the Gumball Rally, Sip and Nibble and other MiceChat Invasion events! REQUEST ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HERE

Sign up for information about the MiceChat Invasion and Gumball Rally

Join MiceChat for an adventure at sea!

MiceChat 7 night Alaska Cruise on the Disney Wonder – June 1st, 2015: Join us as we sail toward the top of the world on the delightful Disney Wonder. We’ll hold all sorts of special MiceChat meet-ups on board. Suggest group excursions you might want to join us on. Dine as a group to discuss our adventures and more.

Ask us for more details on any of our upcoming MiceTrips or for Disney adventures of your own by emailing us at [email protected]. It doesn’t cost you more to use our travel agent, it’s just more magical. Let us do the work, you enjoy the Disney fun!!!

Summer 2014 is in full swing and theme parks all across the country are fighting for your business. This month’s show is your guide to the best of what theme parks have to offer you this year. From Disney to Universal, SeaWorld to Knott’s Berry Farm and all points in between. Slap on some sunscreen and press play to hear our thoughts on where you should spend your hard earned vacation dollars this summer. This one is not to be missed!

Today’s Round Up is sponsored by:

Profits from the sale of every bottle of refreshing O-Zell soda supports the restoration of the Walt Disney Birthplace in Chicago. Pick up some delicious Victorian style natural soda AND help a great cause at the same time: O-Zell Soda 

One lucky family was invited to spend a night in the Haunted Mansion, in celebration of its 45th anniversary.  A plethora of Haunted Mansion merchandise is available, in celebration of the 45th anniversary.  And is it possible for anyone to have experienced all of Disneyland’s attractions during it’s 59 year history!~ Aladdin

Live Stream Tonight of Family Staying in Haunted Mansion
In Celebration of the Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion, its residents invited one lucky family to spend the night in the Mansion. The Ghost Hosts turned one of the stretching rooms into a sleeping chamber for the family to rest in peace. See photo’s of this special overnight stay here!

Can anyone here honestly say they’ve been on every Disneyland ride ever created?
DL CRAZE asks the intriguing question, has anyone been on every Disneyland ride ever created? Then Disneyland 1951 gives us some interesting information about the early attractions of Disneyland! How close do you think you have come to experiencing ALL of Disneyland’s attractions?

Haunted Mansion 45th Anniversary Artwork
The 45th Anniversary of Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion brings guest another merchandising bonanza, and some really nice artwork. This coming Saturday gives guests a chance to meet the artists and have them sign their work.

2014 July Disney California Adventure
Asa traveled from Hong Kong to experience the new DCA with their family. Here is their report, with thoughts about the recent renovation of the park. 

This week is more of a walk down memory lane with trips from the past and a restored 1974 Super9 film. – DisneylandFanAZ 

The Magic Kingdom at WDW’ – 1974 – HD Restored
In 1974, Disney produced this film and sold it on Super8. Now wdwms has converted this 40 year old treasure.

Walt Disney World Reminiscing
Barbaraann is anticipating an upcoming trip to WDW so to pass the time she has resurrected a trip from the past.

Walt Disney Face Character?
mtlchuck found some pictures of the ‘Share a Dream Come True’ parade from WDW around 2003 or 2004. So has Disney ever had a Walt face character?

Star Wars Hinting & Franchise Leveraging
cjwestby shares a news story about how Disney plans a ‘far greater Star Wars presence’ in the parks.

From Star Wars to Big Hero 6 Ideas! We have a variety of ideas and rumors this week! . ~ Trekkie Dad

Star Wars Land to replace…….Toontown?
While we’ve had many thread discussing the increasing presence of Star Wars at Disneyland, this one started by Nikefutbolero is a bit different.

‘Big Hero 6’ Preview After ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Preview
Will there be another movie preview at the Magic Eye Theater in Disneyland before Captain EO returns? The Disney Ninja thinks so.

Technology Magic Band soon at Disneyland Paris?
Looks like RFID is coming soon to Disneyland Paris, but will it just be cards or Magic Bands, as disneylandPfans suspects?

Tokyo Disneyland Timelapse Video
brianpinsky shares a time lapse video of the park that was posted by Tokyo Disney.

TDS Christmas 2014
We get a peek at the Tokyo DisneySea press release (in Japanese) for the Christmas offerings. Luckily DuffyDaisuki brings us the translation.

Technology Magic Band soon at Disneyland Paris?
In an interview with Mark Stead, Disneyland Paris will soon be offering RFID cards that may be similar to the MagicBands of WDW.

 

Some people just can’t wait for Halloween season in southern California. If you are one of these people, you might want to check out some of the threads below. ~ Trekkie Dad

Knott’s Scary Farm 2014 Info Thread.
Even if you’ve already read the article on our MiceChat home page, you might want to check out this thread where enthusiasts like RegionsBeyond discuss the details.

Who will die at The Hanging in 2014?
If you are a fan of the annual hanging at Knott’s Scary Farm, you can venture a guess at who will be the guest of dishonor in this thread.

Best 2014 S Cal Halloween locations/events
Yes, there are other Halloween events and locations in southern California besides Knott’s and Universal Studios, and jcruise wants to know which are your favorites.

Gringott’s model
Check out the model that mratigan built of the new ride at Universal Studios Florida.

Welcome to this week’s Communicore Weekly, where we talk about Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln Part 2, Summer of Yesterday, Massive Blu-Rays, and a Singing Harp! DISNEY HISTORY! – Jeff and George present part two of their look at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair! BOOK OF THE WEEK! – George and Jeff travel back to 1982 with Summer of Yesterday for the Book of the Week! 60 SECOND REVIEW! – There are a ton of new blu-rays to review in the 60 Second Review! FIVE LEGGED GOAT! – And finally, a Singing Harp is this weeks Five Legged Goat!

Direct Link | iTunes Link

Garner Holt at Scare LA Animatronics masters, Garner Holt Productions in a panel at Scare LA. Garner Holt: I was a Teenage Haunter.

The Haunted Mansion Show Episode 20: Special News for a Special Anniversary
On tonight’s relatively short episode, the Ghost Host of the Haunted Mansion briefly celebrates its 45th year of creaking hinges, strange and frightening sounds, flickering candlelight’s, and happy haunting ghosts. He also fills curious mortals in on cadaverous happenings in and around the graveyard; many of which involve the mansion itself. Happy Anniversary to Walt Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion!”

Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt Announcements 2014
Here is a full video of the Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt Announcements for 2014 that occurred on August 6th, 2014.

Garner Holt: I was a Teenage Haunter
What does Garner Holt have to do with Halloween?  Plenty. He may run the leading animatronics design company in the business, but he really cut his teeth in horror! Garner had the honor of closing out the Scare LA convention this past weekend in a panel discussion with MiceChat’s Doug Barnes.

• EPCOT Center: Master Plan 5
• Colossus Countdown at Six Flags Magic Mountain
• Disney World Port Orleans French Quarter Review
• Adventures of Ichabod And Mr. Toad/Fun And Fancy Free, Three Musketeers
• New Gift Shop Displaces Disneyland Paris Photo Shop

The Disneyland Resort Celebrates The Haunted Mansion and More
Refurbishments on Main Street, new arcades, turnstiles and more as we begin this In The Parks Disneyland update. The Haunted Mansion is celebrating 45th years of scares and we’ll fill you in on what’s in store for you (or should we say “What’s in STORES for you”).  We then glide over the emptyFinding Nemo lagoon to check the progress there.  The Magic Eye Theater will be closing soon to have Captain EO return, find out when.  We also get a first look at the newly designed disabled waiting area at the exit of Space Mountain.  Let us know what you think.  We then close out with a few musings from inside Disney California Adventure, and we share information on the big Knott’s Scary Farm MiceChat meet.  Tickets are on sale now too! We won’t get into the new Adventureland Trading Company game as  Dateline Disneyland covered it perfectly on Monday with an excellent comparison to its counterpart in Frontierland.

• Cranium Command at The Wonders of Life
• Exciting Knott’s Scary Farm 2014 Haunt Announcements
• The Five Most Awesome Things at Walt Disney World
• A Walk in Animal Kingdom – Part Two
• Marketplace Co-Op and Diagon Alley at the Universal Orlando Resort
• Bob’s True-Life Adventures – No.9 2014 Amalfi and Pompeii

If you have questions for Anthony our Editor or our MiceEars Grew they can be e-mailed at: [email protected] or Follow him on Twitter @CakvalaSC | Flickr: flickr.com/photos/cakvalasc/