Hong Kong authorities have announced a 3.6-billion-Hong Kong dollar-plan to expand the city's Disneyland theme park.According to the SAR's agreement with the Walt Disney company, 3 new sections will be built over the next five years, with the amusement park's total area increasing by 23 percent. 3,700 jobs will be created during the expansion, and 600 full-time positions will be created after the project is completed.
 The expansion is expected to generate as much as 100 billion Hong Kong dollars for the island city over the next 40 years.

An about-BLACKface that is…(kidding). While Disney’s animated film “The Princess and the Frog” due out for the holidays has generated lively discussions due to the protagonist being an African-American princess, none of the character archetypes have changed very much. The poor pretty girl longs to be a regal elite. The forces of evil try to stop her. A prince will save her. Faith supports perseverance…and so on and so forth.

However simple the fairy tale traditions, they will always have a timeless draw because of their universal qualities. But some critics of the new post-race princess have taken the kiddie merchandise conglomerate to task about her “realness” as a black girl.

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The Jonas Brothers concert movie comes to DVD and Blu-ray with four songs not included in the theatrical release, including two integrated into the film itself – "Can't Have You" and "A Little Bit Longer" -- extending the experience. The movie also includes guest appearances by chart-topping stars Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift. Need we say more?

The Deluxe Extended movie on Blu-ray comes in a 3-disc combo pack with both the 3-D and 2-D versions of the movie (with four free pairs of 3-D glasses), a DisneyFile digital copy of the film and bonus features including "Get Up Close and Personal," an intimate look at the brothers, and two additional songs, "Love Bug" and "Shelf."

If you really want to avoid the lines, you may want to get a Disneyland Magic Morning Ticket.
Seriously, the lines during the summer can be long. And even following all the tips you can find, you still might find yourself in a middle of a line, just wishing you were at home sitting on the sofa. One want to completely ignore the lines, is to come early. Disneyland provides this option when you buy tickets online at their website.
As an extra bonus, you get 'Magical Mornings'  -- extra time if you come on a designated day early. This brings you to the park before it opens to everyone else and you can spend time on the attraction rides instead of the lines
How this works is simple. On Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday you will be allowed into the park early, a couple hours before the other guests where selected rides (the most popular) will be open for you and your family to ride. This means you are at the Resort, ready to play about 2 hours prior to the opening and at that time you start riding once your tickets have been scanned.

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Ordinarily, it might take a lifetime of vacations to sample the representative cooking of China, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Italy, Norway, Mexico and Morocco.  For the World Showcase traveler, it’s a 1.1-mile walk around the lagoon, where all roads lead to authentic restaurants.
Italy
          
In the Italy pavilion, Tutto Italia (“everything Italian”) Ristorante showcases cuisine from different regions of Italy, with a seasonal menu with freshly made breads and pastries, handmade mozzarella and pasta, and an array of Italian wines.  But favorites that remain on the menu include eggplant Parmesan, fried calamari, penne Caprese, cannelloni al forno and spaghetti with veal meatballs.  And sweet endings like classic tiramisu and cannoli are hits, as are gelati and sorbetti.
          
“My inspiration for Tutto Italia was the incredible variety of cuisines that I have enjoyed during my visits to Italy,” said Chef Joachim Splichal of California-based Patina Group, which operates the restaurant. “I wanted to distill that experience and create a restaurant with some of my favorite dishes.

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On various Internet sites, including the "Captain EO @ Disneyland" Facebook page, Disneyland is being urged to bring back the Captain EO attraction to honor Michael Jackson.

Captain EO, which debuted at Disneyland on Sept. 18, 1986 (six days after its world premiere at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando, Florida), and ran continuously through April of 1997, was the 17-minute film you see YouTubed in two parts above.

Other sites where people are calling for EO's return to Disneyland include YouTube, Examiner.com and MovieLine.com.

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In the prime of his solo career, the Michael Jackson of "Thriller" and "Beat It" retreated to a public place that he made into his private fantasy land: Walt Disney World.Jackson, who died Thursday at age 50, made the Magic Kingdom his second home in the mid-1980s.

Working at Disney during that time was almost like being a member of Jackson's extended family. He was like the rich, eccentric uncle who used to pull into town at the most unexpected moments.

I was one of those Disney employees then. In that job, and later as a journalist, I was lucky enough to ever-so-briefly encounter one of the planet's iconic stars at two distinctive points in his arc.He was already unaccountably weird, yes, but he was also unassailably cool. When I was piloting a boat between Disney hotels, Jackson sightings sparked a minor commotion.

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There's absolutely nothing wrong with deciding that you want to go to the Happiest Place on Earth, drive down to Anaheim and buy a ticket. In fact, that sounds like pure fun! However, if you are going on a vacation, you might want to do a little more planning. And perhaps a little more searching for deals and discounts available right now on Disneyland Tickets.
To make the research a little easier, here's the list of what you can find online, right now for Disneyland Tickets:
Disneyland's Summer Fun Pass. For $33 a day, you can get vacation at both parks. Easy to purchase (on theDisneyland website) the tickets are good for both parks at the Resort (on the same day) and can be used for 45 days from the first day used. You need to buy three days to get the deal (so your total ticket price is $99) but that is only $30 more than a ticket at the ticket booths in Downtown Disney. Like mentioned above, this is only available for purchase at the Disneyland website.
Disneyland 3 day Park Hopper with Two Additional Days Free. This is a promotion by the AresTravel Company who is an official Disneyland Endorsed Ticket Agent. There are also other deals on their website which include extra days, discounts and other really great offers for getting tickets and hoppers to the Disneyland Resort.

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Walt Disney World online dining reservations system for its restaurants via is now available atSimply search for your dining location of choice in the "search box" or select the "restaurants" or "dinner shows" boxes below and find your location, and put in a single date or range of possible dates. If it’s available, you can book online with no charge. If that time or location is not available, an alternate will be offered to you. Guests can book 90 days in advance, and will need to provide the names of everyone dining, also the ages of the children. Modifications will still need to be made by phone at 407-WDW-DINE.  A credit card may be required to secure the reservation, depending on the locationDisney’s PhotoPass has introduced some new options for their CDs, including a CD that includes all of the stock photos you will find available for use in products other than the PhotoCD onFor just $39.95, you can own over 300 hi-res images of Walt Disney World stock photos including many not available on the PhotoPass site. Purchasing the Photo Gallery CD grants you a license to unlimited personal use of the images, but unlike traditional Disney’s PhotoPass photos, you are prohibited from distributing the photos. Additionally, for all of the photos you have uploaded and added Disney borders to, you can now order an archive CD for $19.95 which includes the license to print the photos with the graphics.

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Exhausted after spending a day at the "Happiest Place on Earth," real sleeping beauties have been bunking down at the Disneyland Hotel since 1955. While it's not exactly a Tower of Terror, the storied hotel is getting a bit dated. Disney recently announced that it would be giving the Disneyland Hotel a major overhaul of its interior and exterior aesthetics as well as its creaking and groaning electrical, plumbing, and other infrastructure systems. Work is scheduled to begin this August and be completed in 2012, and the hotel will stay open during the facelift.
Walt Disney's friend, Jack Wrather, originally built and operated the Disneyland Hotel. (It is now owned by the Disney company.) It used to be located across the street and a few blocks away from the park, and the Disneyland Monorail connected the two starting in 1961. The Disneyland Hotel now anchors one end of the massive Disneyland Resort, which includes two other hotels, Disney's California Adventure, and the Downtown Disney dining/shopping/entertainment complex.

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