Disneyland Park Update

Update for April 13 – April 20, 2008

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News and Views

2008 Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival begins| Julie Andrews honored at Disneyland | Disney makes a mark at the 2008 Newport Beach Film Festival | Farewell to VMK | MouseAdventure sets new records | This and That

2008 Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival begins

The greatly expanded Food & Wine Festival began Friday at Disney’s California Adventure. The event, which runs daily through May 5,features daily complimentary events such as cooking demonstrations and wine and spirit education seminars, plus weekend events featuring celebrity chefs. A complete daily schedule of the complimentary events is available on the event schedule page (link). We have included detailed menu information about the Taste of California Marketplace and Sparking Bar offerings, as well as the “Inspired” menu items added to selected DCA counter-service restaurants during the Festival.

Chef Jamie Gwen is scheduled to host several of the Junior Chef sessions. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Disney has also confirmed that culinary media personality Chef Jamie Gwen is hosting the first two Junior Chef sessions each Saturday and Sunday throughout the Festival, assisted by a “Goofy” sous-chef. If you plan to attend any of the celebrity chef autograph sessions, Festival managers suggest that you arrive at Disney’s California Adventure early enough to purchase copies of the chef’s book(s) before the signing (Festival Marketplace hours vary daily, but will generally open with the park on weekends). Quantifies of each author’s books are limited, and you must present your Disneyland Resort receipt at the signing.

New for 2008, the Festival Welcome Center provides schedule information to park visitors. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Taste of California Marketplace:

• Lobster Lollipops – lobster tails breaded with panko, bread crumbs, served with roasted bell pepper remoulade.
• California Skewers  – grilled beef and chicken skewers with vegetables and a chipotle glaze ($5.25).
• Pepper Crusted Beef Tenderloin Slider – served on a brioche roll topped with crispy onions and citrus mojo criollo sauce ($5).
• Wild Mushroom Risotto  – shiitake and crimini risotto with asparagus tips finished with creamy mascarpone, Italian parsley, fresh grated grana padano and crostinis ($3.75).
• White Cheddar Soup  – featuring Karl Strauss Pale Ale with smokey bacon served in a Boudin sourdough mini-boule ($4).
• Hummus with Pita Chips  – traditional hummus topped with diced red bell peppers, carrots and cucumbers. Served with pita chips ($3.75).
• Festival Cheese Plate – grana padano, huntsman cheddar bleu, and derby cheeses with elderberry wine, accompanied by lavender honey, grapes and a lavosh crisp ($5).
• Seasonal Berry Trifle – served in a martini glass layered with fresh strawberries, lemon pound cake, vanilla custard and whipped cream ($4).
• Ghirardelli Chocolate Marquise – luscious Ghirardelli chocolate mousse on a bed of dark chocolate praline, hazelnut and almond crunch ($4).

Adult beverages:

• Dynamite Merlot ($4)
• Mirassou Chardonnay ($3)
• Mirassou Pinot Noir ($3)
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. Hefeweizen ($3.25)

Park visitors pack the complimentary culinary demonstrations. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Sparkling Bar menu:

Wine Flights:

• Each wine flight offers a tasting (2 oz.) pour of three different wines served together.
• First-Class Flight – Banfi Rosa Regale, St. Hilaire and Fairy Tale Cuvee ($15)
• A Marriage Between Grapes – Brassfield Serenity, Flora Springs Poggio Del Papa and Miner Family Aia ($20)
• Highway 5 to Napa – Baileyana Edna Valley, Buena Vista Carneros and Hill Family Napa ($16)
• Hanging Ten in Malibu – Saddlerock Chardonna, Semler Syrah and Rosenthal Surfrider Red ($16)
• Old Vines – XYZin 10 year, 50 year and 100 year-old Zinfandel vines ($22)
• Perfect Pinot – Acacia Carneros, Buena Vista Carneros and Sapphire Hill Russian River Valley ($22)
• California Royalty – Chappellet Signature Napa, Silver Oak Alexander Valley and Nickel & Nickel Carpenter ($45)

Appetizer Selection:

• Spicy Marinated Olives ($7)
• Spanish Jamon Serrano with Melon ($13)
• Wine Country Cheese Platter – three hand-selected cheeses with country bread ($15)
• Cured Salmon Flatbread with Dill Creme Fraiche ($12)
• Duo of Bruschetta – tomato-Basil Tapenade ($9)
• Assorted Cookies, Fruit and Valrhona Chocolage Dipping Sauce ($10)

The new Sparking Bar did a brisk business on opening day. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Food and Wine “Inspired” additions to DCA menus:

Award Wieners

• Gourmet Portabella “Philly”  –  grilled portabella mushrooms featuring Karl Strauss Amber Lager reduction of sauteed onions and bell peppers topped with pepper jack cheese. Served with choice of apple slices or chips. ($6.79)
• Acacia Vineyard Pinot Noir ($7.50)
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Company Hefeweizen ($6.50)

Corn Dog Castle

• Gourmet Cheese Corn Dog – delicious corn dog infused with chili and cheddar cheese. Served with choice of apple slices or chips ($5.79).

Pacific Wharf Cafe

• Chinese Chicken Salad – julienne chicken, greens, fried wontons, almonds, carrots, sesame seeds and scallions with a cilantro and soy ginger dressing ($8.69).

Cucina Cuccamonga

• Bunuelo Fritters – traditional Spanish dessert, airy dough with berriers, lightly fried and tossed in chinnamon sugar and dusted with powdered sugar ($3.29).
• Beaulieu Vineyards Reisling ($7.50)
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Company Hefeweizen ($6.50)

Farmer’s Market

• California Wrap – marinated grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, apricots, sliced red flame grapes, cilantro and baby spinach lightly tossed in a dressing of non-fat yogurt laced with amber honey, wrapped in a spinach tortilla. Served with choice of apple slices or chips ($7.99).

Pizza Oom Mow Mow

• Chilled Shrimp Pasta Salad – angel hair pasta tossed with shrimp, fresh basil and tomato concasse in a light pesto vinaigrette ($9.29).
• Sterling Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc ($7.50)
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Company Hefeweizen ($6.50)

Taste Pilot’s Grill

• Beaulieu Vineyards Reisling ($7.50)
• Widmer Brothers Brewing Company Hefeweizen ($6.50)

Julie Andrews honored at Disneyland

Executive Vice President and Imagineering Ambassador Marty Sklar and Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier unveil the newly redecorated Jingles. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

The Disneyland Resort recognized Julie Andrews for her role as the ambassador for Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebration by dedicating “Jingles,” the lead horse of King Arthur Carrousel, in her honor. During a park ceremony last week, Marty Sklar, Executive Vice President and Imagineering Ambassador and Ed Grier, President, Disneyland Resort unveiled the newly redecorated horse, and also presented Ms. Andrews with a hand-carved miniature replica. Both horses feature a hand-painted saddle shield and blanket decorated with the initials “JA,” an umbrella, the number “50,” Mary Poppins’ boots and a silhouette of Mary Poppins. Jingles sports golden hooves, and the miniature wears a replica of the “D” lapel pin Ms. Andrews wore as ambassador.

Marty Sklar points out the painted detail on Jingles’ saddle and blanket. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Julie Andrews expresses delight in the gift of a miniature version of “Jingles.” Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Fans arrived at the Disneyland Resort as early as 10 p.m. the night before the ceremony to stand in line for a wristband entitling them to purchase a copy of Andrews’ new autobiography Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. Wristband distribution began at 7:00 a.m., but over a hundred people who arrived after 6:00 a.m. were turned away when the wristbands ran out. Disney had announced that any unsold copies of the book would be available for sale to customers without wristbands starting at 1:00, but event managers were advising stand-by customers as early as 11:30 that the book had sold out.

After waiting for hours to obtain a wristband, fans join another line to purchase the new Julie Andrews autobiography. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Hundreds of Julie Andrews fans gather in Fantasyland to watch the rededication ceremony. Photo by Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix.

Disney makes a mark at the 2008 Newport Beach Film Festival

In a first-ever collaboration with the Newport Beach Filn Festival, Walt Disney Studios is represented at a pair of events at the 2008 Newport Beach Film Festival.

On Friday, April 25, author and Disney historian Jeff Kurti hosts “An Evening with Richard Sherman.” The Academy Award-winning songwriter is expected to perform a selection of songs from his extensive Disney songbook. The performance is presented at Palm Garden at The Island Hotel Newport Beach, with a reception immediately following the show. Tickets to the concert and reception are $25 each, and are available through the Festival Web site (link).

On Wednesday, April 30, the Festival presents “A Special Evening of Disney Animation Rarities” at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach, hosted by Academy Award nominees Roy E. Disney and Don Hahn. The duo is scheduled to screen rarely seen Disney animated shorts and experimental films including “How to Hook-Up Your Home Theater,” “The Little Match Girl” and “Destino,” a collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. The event begins at 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $15. Purchase tickets through the Festival Web site (link).

Farewell to VMK

Disney announced last week that the popular Virtual Magic Kingdom online game will cease operation on Wednesday, May 21. According to “Yavn,” (the screen name of one of the VMK producers), “VMK was created and launched as part of a promotion to celebrate Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary. The game/promotion has ran well beyond the original time it was intended to.” Yavn encouraged players to check out Disney’s other games like “Pirates of the Caribbean Online, Disney’s ToonTown Online, Club Penguin and the upcoming Fairies and Cars online virtual worlds.”

The unexpected announcement prompted hundreds of the game’s fans to contact Disney directly to protest and sparked online petitions that gathed well over 5,000 signatures in under 48 hours. In a follow-up message posted to the VMK Web site, Yavn wrote “Please know that the decision to close VMK was not made without a great deal of thought and discussion—because we loved creating VMK just as much as you loved playing it. We considered many options prior to closing but ultimately determined that VMK had accomplished its goal and then some. VMK was a valuable part of the Disneyland 50th Celebration, but it was never meant to live on forever. It’s now time to focus our resources on our new virtual worlds.” The Walt Disney Internet Group’s e-mail response to player protests reads, in part, “We have received an outpouring of feedback regarding our decision to close VMK. We are overwhelmed by the responses and enthusiasm of our guests, but unfortunately our decision to eventually close VMK is set.” 

The announcement has also spawned some opportunism and outright scams. One of the “Save VMK” Web sites just happens to contain advertising for another online game, and some fans have reported that their VMK accounts were hacked after they signed up on yet another protest site. In response to these sites, Yavn posted a warning on the VMK site that cautioned, “These are not Disney sites and are in no way affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. You are putting your online safety at risk (not to mention getting an inbox full of spam) by sharing personal information like your email with these sites.”

MousePlanet’s Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix, an avid VMK player, offers more details and thoughts about the pending closure in her MousePlanet Blog (link).

MouseAdventure sets new records

The Spring 2008 MouseAdventure drew record numbers of teams and players to the Disneyland Resort for a day of fun and frustration under the blazing California sun. The record high for this date in Anaheim was previously a blamy 85 degress, but the uncanny weather-influencing powers of MouseAdventure meant our teams got to enjoy a new record of 98 degrees. A full report and event results will be published as soon as the staff and crew recover from the weekend.