MI News Desk

The DPB announced yesterday the new WONDERGROUND GALLERY coming to the former Island Charters location at Downtown Disney. The new space is being described as distinctive, eclectic and uncommon. It will feature high-end artwork but also certain finds in home and lifestyle merchandise such as note card

Hello folks and welcome back to TravelEAR Abroad! We may have taken a brief respite last week, but we are back today to take you to a location I’m sure most of you are familiar with. So let’s travel down Route 66 for a stay in the Wigwam Motel.

I’m sure many of you travelEARS cannot wait to be able to go to Cars Land this summer. I know I’m super excited to be able to go! In the meantime, you can visit the Wigwam Motel, which is famous for being the inspiration behind the Cozy Cone Motel that is situated right in Radiator Springs.

The DPB is on an entertainment rampage as they unveiled more offerings coming to the Disneyland Resort this summer for guests. In Carsland, two new events will have guests dancing to the beat and escaping the heat.

Red the Firetruck will be featured along with a Volunteer Firefighter

The DPB announced yesterday that starting May 3 the Festival Arena will once again be used for guests with entertainment, character greets, and other fun activities. BBQ appropriate snacks are also expected to round out the offerings.

For fans of the characters, you'll be able to meet with the Country Bears, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Clara Cluck and of course Mickey and his pals in their country finery.

Happy Earth Month!



On Earth Day, April 22, bring your entire family to get outside and enjoy the benefits of nature with the following organizations at the Downtown Disney District at the Disneyland Resort from 12 – 5 p.m. Activities will be presented at no cost to encourage

Disney Cruise Line guests will join crew members onboard Disney ships and on Disney's private island, Castaway Cay, to participate in the "Walk for Wildlife." Disney Cruiise Line will donate $5,000 on behalf on guests and crew to the Jane Goodall Institute to support chimpanzee conservation efforts.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Apr. 19, 2012 – Two Disney Cast Members are the proud parents of children being honored next month in Washington D.C. as winners of the American Society of Safety Engineers’ (ASSE) annual ‘Safety-on-the-Job’ poster contest.

First-place honors went to Victor Fan, the 13-year-old son of Ming Fan, who works in merchandise at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, while 5-year-old Takoda Paschel, the son of Christie Paschel with Walt Disney Imagineering, placed third in his age group.
In addition to the awards ceremony and earning a savings bond, the winners will have their posters featured on billboards in Central Florida when North American Occupational Safety and Health Week kicks off May 6.

The uber fans at The Road to Pixar blog have a lot to celebrate lately. They've finally finished their project of re-creating the iconic yellow Pizza Planet truck of Toy Story fame. Authentic to the detail of the etch out YO in the back to the light-up rocket on the roof it's worthy of making a Pixar fan drool.

D23 unveiled today the new artwork that will grace the cover of the summer issue of Disney Twenty Three Magazine. No surprise is that the honor goes to Marvel's THE AVENGERS. In celebration of the May 4 release of the film, three separate collectible covers featuring different characters will be made available starting in May.

Mondo, the collectible art boutique arm of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, proudly announces the release of a series of 7 posters honoring MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, in theaters May 4. Mondo will be releasing character posters for each of The Avengers: Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor and a poster featuring the full Avengers team.

The El Capitan theater is going to the monkeys! “Chimpanzee” will be running at the historic Hollywood theater from April 20 – May 3.

Every screening of the film includes a wonderful pre-show "Animals from Around the World" with various live animals being brought out on stage!

This week we take a look at the ongoing and rapidly changing Matterhorn refurbishment. Some of the Main Street shops are set to be opening up early May. And Downtown Disney is getting ready to reopen one if it's most popular stores for imagination.

At Disney California Adventure, Carthay Circle Theater is getting it's finishing touches, and it's marquee just waits for it's letters. Buena Vista Street might be getting a corporate boost, and over at Cars Land, a warm day leads to a quiet day on Route 66. And we see the End of the Line for ElecTRONica.

Set to debut April 23, a new episode of the Disney XD program KICKIN' IT will feature the Harlem Globetrotters as a central part of the episode's plot. Two new clips featuring the famous basketball team have been released in advance of the debut.

From obscure to highly in demand, over 30 movie titles will be hitting Blu-ray shelves for the first time in 2012 from the Disney library. From Pocahontas and The Santa Clause to Hocus Pocus and Newsies to Ed Wood and Arachnophobia, there's bound to be something coming up this year that will get you forking cash over to Disney in the coming year.

The uptick in Blu-ray releases comes after last year's industry wide tallies of more than $2 billion in Blu-ray sales. The increase in consumer spending has dollar signs showing in the eyes of many an exec at Disney and with good reason as Disney had 5 films in the top 10 overall selling titles last year: The Help, Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Disney’s The Lion King, Disney/Pixar’s Cars 2 and Disney’s Tangled.