Princess Merida was officially welcomed to the Disney princess family in a special coronation ceremony held this morning in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

In attendance was Gymnastics gold medalist Gabby Douglas along with Sophia Grace and Rosie (viral sensations who got their start on ELLEN) along with a few famous Disney royals including: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana and Rapunzel.

As with all the other Star Wars films, Star Wars: Episode VII will have its film production based in the UK. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has been touring several locations and is no stranger to the UK having worked on films such as Raiders of the Last Ark and War Horse.

Star Wars: Episode VII will be directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Michael Arndt and is scheduled for a 2015 release.

The image we're using here is not official artwork. It is a hand-drawn and hand-painted piece by fan artist Adam Schickling.

We shared at the beginning of the month that Disneyland Resort would be including GLOW WITH THE SHOW program in the Magical Fireworks show. Disney today released a video from a special Glow-ears-only section on Main Street, USA.

The special fireworks viewing area on Main Street, USA, is reserved for "Glow with the Show" Ears owners! Ear hats are likely not going not be distributed, instead guests who already have a pair of ears will be allowed entrance on a first come first serve basis. The special viewing area dates are May 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19.

One of the true Disney fan highlights at each D23 Expo is the D23 “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” as it features tons of memorabilia, costumes, and props of Disney history.

D23 today announced that this year the exhibit will feature: the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins, ABC’s hit television series Once Upon A Time, and a look at the longstanding connection between Disney and L. Frank Baum’s beloved series of books about the land of Oz.

This year's D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center will be held from August 9 – 11, 2013.

Our friends at Pixie Vacations have let us know about one of their biggest booking promotion of the year for the Walt Disney World Resort: Free dining!

If you travel to Walt Disney World most dates in September, each person in your party will get to dine for free! Stay at select Disney Value Resorts and get Disney's Quick Service Dining Plan for Free. Stay at most Disney Moderate, Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts and get Disney's Plus Dining Plan for Free.

If you're looking to book, check out their site at PixieVacations.com.

Details are still rather sparse but Disney has made their latest announcement for their upcoming live-action Cinderella film with the casting announcement of Richard Madden (Game of Thrones) as the Prince.

Disney has previously announced that the film is being directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and starring Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and features Lily James in the title role.

In August of this year, the Disneyland Resort will be once again hosting the Disneyland Half Marathon which brings thousands of runners to the Anaheim area for the early morning run. runDisney today unveiled the new race medals: The 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K, Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K and the Dumbo Double Dare medals

The Disneyland Half Marathon course typically winds its way through both parks as well as other areas of the Disneyland Resort and even includes a loop through the Angels Stadium. Here's a look at last year's race.

Disney fan James Lopez on VIMEO has uploaded an in-progress video preview of an animated short he is creating based on the popular AMERICA SINGS attraction from Disneyland. Using the attraction's original audio recording, a frame-by-frame-recreation of the attraction is being brought to life as a 2D animated short.

According to Lopez, "I couldn't help but feel compelled to keep the spirit of [America Sings] alive in the form of classical hand-drawn (2D) animation." The project has been a hobby for the past 15 or so years.

Check out the video on VIMEO.

Disney VISA Cardmembers have early booking opportunity for FREE DINING vacation packages to Walt Disney World before the offer becomes available to the general public on May 9, 2013. This special offer is valid for arrivals most nights September 2 - September 25, 2013, and includes a selection of standard vacation package goodies.

In Marvel’s Iron Man 3, Tony Stark finds himself falling more than soaring as he struggles to overcome his anxiety and fear of donning the infamous suit that made him a super celebrity but that struggle is translating into an opposite upswing in box office dollars.

The film took in $174.2 million at the box office this weekend in the US and Canada, making it the year’s biggest opening and the second biggest opening of all time after only Marvel’s The Avengers. In just 12 days, the third installment of Marvel’s blockbuster Iron Man franchise – which began its international rollout April 24 – has taken in a staggering $677 million at the global box office.

In honor of Earth Month, more than 350 Disney Cruise Line guests and crew members got outside to participate in “Walk for Wildlife” events held onboard the ships and on Disney’s private island in The Bahamas, Castaway Cay.

To date, “Walk for Wildlife” events have generated more than $35,000 from a combination of company and personal crew member donations. In addition to the walks, Disney Cruise Line made a $5,000 donation to DWCF on behalf of guests and crew who sailed onboard during Earth Day.

From May 3 - June 19, 2013, the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood is playing host to a special engagement for MARVEL IRON MAN 3. MouseInfo was recently invited to check out the engagement of the film and to scope out the special extras that are included with theatre admission.

If you can make it to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood you'll want to check out the film here. On our visit we got to see the Madam Toussaud's figure of Robert Downy Jr.

In addition, on display is a special portion from the private collection of Stan Lee, legendary writer of Marvel Comics. This exclusive display includes rare comic books and an array of collectibles that Lee has acquired throughout his career. The exhibit is on display for the full duration of the engagement but we have a sneak peek at it after the jump!

The year Mother's Day buffet at the Disneyland Hotel returns once again this year on May 12. Disneyland Resort invites to you and your family to join Cinderella and ger princess friends for Disney’s Royal Buffet for Mother’s Day.

The cost per preson is $71.99 (not including tax and gratuity); $20.99 for ages 3 to 9. Premium Annual Passholders get a 15-percent discount, and all other annual passports get a 10-percent discount. Four hours of parking is free (then it’s $6 an hour).

This past weekend was "Star Wars Day" with many a fan greeting their fellow geeks with the "May the Fourth Be With You" tagline. Rumors and speculation began to swirl that George Lucas and Disney CEO Bob Iger would be making an announcement at the end of the Star Wars event being held at Disney Hollywood Studios.

Speculation jumped to lightspeed online on topics from cast announcements or title for the upcoming Star Wars film to grander pipe-dreams of Star Wars parks or expansion plans. The Twitter-sphere was a glow with the news and #IgerWatch even ended up trending.

In the end, announcements ended up about as real as the humorous image shown above posted to Twitter by @sketchyplace. The social media buzzstorm fizzled out with no announcement or appearance.

We now recap recap our top five favorite responses to #IgerWatch!