D23 Expo - Brings News Of Changes

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D23 Expo, the official Disney fan club convention, brought news Friday of changes to Disneyland, just as the makeover of neighboring Disney California Adventure nears completion.

George Kalogridis, Disneyland president, told attendees that "Fantasy Faire" will soon replace the Carnation building near the park's hub and provide a place for Disney princesses to meet and greet, stage new performances and offer night-time dancing to teens.

He also said a larger, exclusive dining venue is under consideration to augment Club 33, a private membership club in New Orleans Square that has a two-year waiting list.
Carthay Circle Theater is the inspiration for this landmark addition under construction at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. Shown in a model at the D23 Expo, it's expected to open next year and include a sit-down restaurant.

The theme park update came on the first day of the three-day convention, a takeoff on San Diego's Comic-Con International. D23 head Steven Clark declined to estimate the attendance but said it was a fraction of the 125,000 or so that went to Comic-Con last month.

At 10-year-old Disney California Adventure, Kathy Mangum, executive producer, updated fans on the 12-acre Cars Land due to open next year. Its restaurant and shopping zone in "Radiator Springs" is patterned after towns along U.S. Route 66. The attraction is patterned after the two Pixar movies, "Cars" and this year's sequel, "Cars 2."

The centerpiece of Cars Land will be a rollercoaster, "Radiator Springs Racers."

The entrance to DCA is being redesigned to look like Hollywood in the 1920s, when Walt Disney arrived to set up his animation company (the fan club's name comes from that year, 1923).

The centerpiece will be a recreation of the Carthay Circle Theater, where "Snow White" debuted in 1937. Bob Weis, creative executive vice president, said a sit-down restaurant is planned in the building.

Weis also discussed early plans for Shanghai Disneyland, where groundbreaking took place this past spring.

The highlight of this new theme park, due to open in about five years, is a castle that will be incorporate nods to all the Disney princesses, but include features not evident in other Disney castles -- a restaurant, performance space and a ride that dives underground.

One idea of showing off a dragon in the dungeon has been nixed, he said, because the dragon is a national symbol for China. This realization came after Disney designers began working closely with their Chinese partners.

The park is to include two hotels, a lake and more land for future development.

For Walt Disney World fans, the session also brought an update to the expansion of the Magic Kingdom's Fantasyland that will include an indoor ride modeled on the Seven Dwarfs mine train.

Bruce Vaughn, chief creative executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, shared a virtual-reality video of the ride depicted mine cars that sway side to side, something roller coaster-averse goers will no doubt sit out.

Tom Staggs, who two years ago went from chief financial officer to head of Disney theme parks and resorts, said current work is the most in Disney history at any one time.

At another session during the convention, Disney designers peeled back secrets in the construction of the recently opened ride patterned on the "Little Mermaid."

They said they leave painting the characters' pupils until the last minute to make sure they are shown looking in the right direction. Until that's done, construction workers reported feeling like they were surrounded by zombies, the designers said.


Fantasy Faire, on the site of the Carnation building near the hub in Disneyland, will be a new venue for meeting Disney princesses, performances and nighttime dancing. ????????? D23 Expo
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