Just a few days ago, we showed you video of the Mr. Spell prop near Toy Story Midway Mania at Disney’s Hollywood Studios actually displaying text. Well, now there is some audio to go along with it. It still isn’t exactly working properly, but it seems we are getting closer and closer to a fully operational Mr. Spell:

Everything hasn’t completely grown in yet, but the Fantasia display already looks spectacular

This might be my favorite display ever!

Too cool…

Hyacinth Hippo, Ben Ali Gator, Lady Upanova, and friends make up the back portion

The princesses are out near International Gateway again

Woody and Buzz near the American Adventure

Beauty and the Beast in France

Lady and the Tramp in Italy

Mater and Lightning McQueen in Japan

Garden at United Kingdom

Pooh and Friends also in the U.K.

Piglet riding Eeyore

Peter Pan characters between Future World and World Showcase

China

Don’t forget, the festival starts tomorrow!

Rumors are still circulating that Disney is waiting for some Play Parade floats to arrive in Florida for the Spring, and we certainly hope these rumors are true. If not, one of the shortest and worst received parades in Disney history may have you squeezing in another ride on a DHS favorite instead of waiting for a parade.

Now that Block Party Bash is gone, we can turn our attention to the upcoming “PIXAR Pals: Countdown to Fun”. The new parade is scheduled to debut on January 16th, but as always, we can expect some early performances at some point in the days before the official first performance. There has been a lot of speculation as to what floats will be included in the parade since the announcement. We expect to see the existing Block Party Bash floats that carry characters from “A Bug’s Life”, “Monsters Inc.”, and “Toy Story”, but what are the floats carrying characters from “The Incredibles”, “Ratatouille”, and “Up” going to look like? Here’s our theory:

Either Walt Disney World has built a new float for “The Incredibles” or we can expect to see these floats make their way to Florida from California Adventure this week

Construction and new float height requirements are being cited for the removal of the PIXAR Play Parade from DCA, and this is one of the taller floats, so it would make sense to send it to the Studios.

The “Ratatouille” float was the tallest in the parade and was only used during busy Summer months, so we can assume we will see this at DHS

The “Up” float is another mystery, but the little seen pre-parade float from California in 2009 seems like a candidate

Another question is the parade soundtrack. Yes, we can expect to hear the PIXAR Play Parade main theme and the songs that were in that parade to play along with characters from “Ratatouille”, “The Incredibles”, “Monsters Inc.”, “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life”, but what about “Up”? These characters were never in that parade, so we should expect to hear something new for Carl Fredrickson and the gang. Again, this is all purely speculation at this point but are the most likely outcomes for this new parade we’ll see at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in 2 weeks. Stay tuned to WDW News Today as more information becomes available on the “PIXAR Pals Countdown to Fun”.

Park hours for the day

Star Wars Kooky Pen signing

The stores for 2010

Queen Amidala’s meet and greet

Chewbacca greeting guests at the speeder bike backdrop

Inside Muppetvision 3-D, the boxes around the screens in the handicap loading section don’t quite fit

The other screens look great

Toy Story 3 merchandise now in Pixar Place

Ever seen this inside One Man’s Dream?

If you look really close, you can see it was from Horizons at Epcot (it’s mostly scratched out)

Some new D23 stuff in this exhibit at One Man’s Dream

New York Street refurbishment continues

This would be great if the turkey leg wasn’t in it…..

Time to go Behind the Force of The Clone Wars animated series

A Star Wars Celebration V advertisement playing

Jeremy Bulloch (who played Boba Fett in the original trilogy) introduces Ashley Eckstein & Dee Bradley Baker from the animated series

Guests can pose as a Stormtrooper

Dark Side Depot is one of two stores for the event

A bunch of Disney/Star Wars merchandise will be exclusive to Celebration V

The Starspeeder 1000 from Star Tours 2 will be sold in toy form! More on this later….

Lord Vader just heard about Disney’s best kept secret….

This way to Star Wars characters

Stormtroopers and Zam Wessel invade Pixar Place

Looks like trouble

Should Darth Maul be so nice?

Jango Fett greeting guests

Alice in Wonderland billboard in the backlot

Star Wars sketches available in the Animation Gallery

Some great artwork available

Trivia contest for padawans

Time for Jedi Training Academy

Apparently, this is the villain from the animated series (I don’t watch it)

Nice outfits!

Hyperspace Hoopla remains the most popular event for a reason, Darth Vader dancing like Michael Jackson….

A lot of merchandise at Star Wars Weekends

Here’s another look at the Celebration V exclusive merchandise

Another look at the Starspeeder 1000 from Star Tours 2

At least there’s a lot of them

Villains in Vogue has had some changes recently

The Si & Am display is gone

Yes, they still have them. Yes, we’re going to plug our site again… www.VinylmationStation.com

Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster is once again open, even while work continues on the exterior

WDWNT Reporter Matt Paul visited the Walt Disney World Resort yesterday and has a plethora of newsworthy photos to share with us:

Getting ready for Star Wars Weekends at the Studios

Lighting for Mulch, Sweat, and Shears nighttime show during Summer Nightastic! is already up

This “Hot Set” is heating up….

Ponyo being advertised

Star Wars Weekends sets have been assembled for Meet and Greets

Darth Vader will be meeting guests here

“Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”

MuppetVision 3D is looking good after its recent refurbishment

A look at some of the screens and props in the pre-show lobby

Dorothy, Dina, and Max. Debby was sick, so the union sent him….

Work continues on the New York Street facade

Leaving DHS, the Best Friends Luxury Pet Resort is coming along nicely

The Four Seasons Resort looks almost finished from the outside

Moving to the Magic Kingdom, the Disney Clothiers (Emporium) facade is still being refurbished

Same goes for Casey’s

Chip and Dale now do meet and greets outside of the Supersonic Celebration Stage

Some walls near Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe

Still no visible progress

Ariel’s Grotto is coming down

“This ain’t gonna be pretty…”

Mary Poppins and Bert now meet at the carousel

Peter Pan’s Flight is still under tarps

Liberty Tree tavern still behind tarps

Toy Story 3 Merchandise is now available at the Frontierland Trading Post

To see more Vinylmation, check out The Vinylmation Station!

Pirate Goofy now meets guests outside Pirates of the Caribbean

Ariel and Prince Eric are meeting guests at the Adventureland Veranda

Ballpark Nachos are now available at Casey’s Corner

Celebrate Today banners have been removed from the Magic Kingdom. Could we be getting Summer Nightastic banners?

And now for a short trip back to the Studios…

A Prince of Persia billboard can be seen near Pixar Place

Can’t go to Hollywood without enjoying the citizens

Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster re-opens tomorrow

we’ll start on the West Side

Ridemakerz still looks out of place here….

Play area

I’ve heard of don’t touch signs….

Hidden Mickey

Not very busy in the afternoon

D Street seems to be doing well

Maybe it’s because they have Tron merchandise

Characters in Flight is flying

But it’s the afternoon!

Guess we’ll celebrate later….

Paradiso 37 is a great restaurant, give it a try sometime

Looks nice with P.I. Live out of the way

McDonald’s at the Marketplace closes April 30th to make way for Pollo Campero

Prince of Persia Lego sets in the Lego store

Toy Story Lego sets

Have you picked these up yet? Why not? Never too old for Lego!

A new “Digital Box” kiosk can be found in the store

can the box at the kiosk and it will display a three-dimensional image of the set

Internet building stations are now in the store as well

More and more Marvel moves into Once Upon a Toy

“Iron Man, Iron Man, does whatever an Iron can….”

Jedi Mickey and R2-MK now available

The facade of Disney’s days of Christmas store is under refurbishment

“Which One Did You Get?”

Vinylmation trading inside the Art of Disney. For more information on Vinylmation trading, visit VinylmationStation.com

Goodbye Downtown Disney

The Good Friends Luxury Pet Resort under construction near Port Orleans

Will this really be finished before the summer is over?

So we meet again Tron-o-rail….

New characters from the soon-to-be-released Disney•Pixar film “Toy Story 3” are being added to the joyful, toy-full adventure of Toy Story Mania! at Disney’s California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition to playing with new characters in Toy Story Mania!, there will be opportunities in both parks for up-close fun with another all-new character from “Toy Story 3” – Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear. He’s the bossman at Sunnyside Daycare in the highly anticipated animated feature film.

Toy Story Mania! – the 4-D interactive ride-game attraction inspired by the Disney•Pixar “Toy Story” films – is extremely popular with Disney Parks guests on both coasts. This high-energy, immersive adventure puts players squarely in the action as their game play triggers surprises that deliver a fourth dimension of fun. Toy Story Mania! engages guests in a whole new way with delightful characters of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2.”

Starting in late May, Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head and the gang are joined by a whole new set of characters from “Toy Story 3.” The new game greeting guests, “Rex and Trixie’s Dino Darts,” invites riders to shoot their virtual darts at all-new balloon targets in a primeval world filled with volcanoes and lava balloons, explained Sue Bryan, senior show producer, director, Walt Disney Imagineering.

Game players are welcomed by Rex (the nervous Tyrannosaurus rex) and his new friend Trixie (a blue Triceratops and one of the toy characters from the new film) cheering them on. The new game (it replaces “Bo Peep’s Baaa-loon Pop”) turns up the fun with more hidden surprises and the potential for volcanic levels of excitement. Other changes:

• The “Hamm & Eggs” game will now be hosted by Hamm and Buttercup (a toy unicorn with heart-shaped nostrils).
• In the prize scene, Trixie, Buttercup, Dolly (a doll), Mr. Pricklepants (a lederhosen-clad hedgehog) and one other surprise – all from “Toy Story 3” – will appear with Woody and Jessie.

“Our number-one goal in creating Toy Story Mania! was to come up with game-play challenges appropriate for all guests, from little kids to serious gamers,” Bryan said. “I love that we are keeping things fresh and new by adding these great new friends and fun to join some of the most popular characters of all time.”

More Fun in Store

Disney Parks guests not only get to play with “Toy Story 3” characters in Toy Story Mania! starting in late May – they get to see another new character from the film.

Starting May 9, Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear will join his “Toy Story” pals in the delightful “Pixar Play Parade” at Disney’s California Adventure and “Block Party Bash” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In addition, Disney’s Hollywood Studios guests can pose for photos with Lots-o’-Huggin’ Bear in the meet-and-greet area inside The Magic of Disney Animation. Over at Disney’s California Adventure, guests can pose alongside the “Toy Story” gang inside a life-sized “blister pack” as if they themselves are toys.

About the Movie

“Toy Story 3” welcomes Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), Buzz (voice of Tim Allen) and the whole gang back to the big screen as Andy prepares to depart for college and his loyal toys find themselves in… daycare! These untamed tots with their sticky little fingers do not play nice, so it’s all for one and one for all as plans for the great escape get underway. A few new faces – some plastic, some plush – join the fun. “Toy Story 3″ disney.go.com/toystory/ is a comical new adventure in Disney Digital 3-D. Disney•Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” debuts nationwide on June 18, 2010.

Blizzard Beach has re-opened from its annual refurbishment

Lodge Picnic Area offers plenty of shady spaces for your family to rent for the day

Some attractions are still not open due to weather

Wait times

A little too cold for Blizzard Beach, even though it’s covered in snow…

Work continues in the park

Spring Break 2010 shirt

Expect to see many of these trendy shirts for sale in D Street once it opens in a few days

Ridemakerz has opened in a temporary space on Downtown Disney’s West Side

Ridemakerz also opened a location at Disneyland’s Downtown Disney a few months ago

An official description of the store:

The RIDEMAKERZ experience invites guests into the ultimate car customizing shop where they can build a one-of-a-kind radio control car or “RIDE”. Between bodystyles and colors, tires and wheels, lights and sounds, accessories and decals, RIDEMAKERZ estimates there are more than 649 million possible build combinations, not including individual decal placement.

“The RIDEMAKERZ experience is pure fun, and the process is designed to spark creativity, encourage collaboration and build confidence,” says RIDEMAKERZ ZEO (CEO) Larry Andreini.

In a nod to real-world car culture, RIDEMAKERZ has agreements with several automotive manufacturers to offer versions of today’s most popular cars in its line-up. Guests, or “Customizers” can choose from the Ford Mustang and F-250 Super Chief Alternative Fuel Concept Truck, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R and C6RS, Dodge Ram, Challenger, and Viper, MINI Cooper S, and Scion xB. Retro hot rods, fire engines, racecars, cab-over tow and dump trucks, and many more favorites are also available.

Complete RIDEZ range in price from $10 to $32, depending on body and paint style chosen. Radio remote control can be added for an additional $25, and custom accessories range in price from $2 for grill guards, spoilers and hoods scoops to $15 for themed kits that include a wide range of complementary accessories. RIDEZ measure approximately 12 inches long, or 1:18 scale, and are easy to assemble with snap-in, snap-on components that do not require glue.

A car testing area is set-up for guests to take a vehicle on a “test drive”

Some display models

Pick a body

Pick a “sound system” for your car to play music

Pick your tires

Building station

This is a big space….

D Street will be opening in a few days

Moving over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, wait times are a bit long

Backlot Tour still closed

Despite rumors, it will return with a refreshed Catastrophe Canyon on March 28th

Matt decided to get artsy…

I know it isn’t popular, but I like the Sorcerer’s Hat just for moments like this

We move into one of my favorite parts of the park, Pixar Place

Rumors indicate that the Toy Story 3 version of Toy Story Midway Mania we first reported in June 2008 may open after a short refurbishment in September

Closed Backlot Tour

Wish the real New York City had traffic like this….

Studio Catering Co. has re-opened from refurbishment

A quick look at the updated menu

More nice pictures of the Sorcerer’s Hat (yes, it’s possible)

Time to hit the road!

Over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the Fantasmic! window display at Villains in Vogue has been replaced after ten years with “Disney’s Alice in Wonderland”

ESPN Insider VIP Lounge was set-up at the Prop Shop at the Studios

A piece of Block Party Bash from California Adventure

Puppets from the former Legend of the Lion King show at the Magic Kingdom

An ESPN Insider session going on

Simba is sleeping….

“I’m the baby, gotta love me!”

Tapestry of Nations puppets

The first Nemo meet and greet character

Thanks to a settlement, Luxo signage is down in Pixar Place

Toy Story 3 posters are up outside of the Magic of Disney Animation

The display area has been updated with a Toy Story 3 display as well

A look at the daycare center from the film

The original designs for Woody

The first side looks at concept art for the first two films

Another look at the daycare center

Original concepts for Buzz Lightyear

The other side of the display is all about Toy Story 3

Andy has grown up

The other members of the family have aged as well

New characters, including Mr. Prickle-pants

Buzz and Woody statues

Lot-So-Love Bear looks a little too much like a certain type of bear from my childhood in that sketch….

Sunnyside Daycare

Back around to the other side fro a closer look at Toy Story 1 & 2 artwork

Moving outside, there is a new “Rapunzel” poster (even though the movie is now called “Tangled”)

New Toy Story 3 poster

A line-up of Toy Story toys in one of the artist rooms

The Honey I Shrunk the Kids poster has been replaced and looks good

Some new trees have been planted outside the Great Movie Ride

The second sign is now being replaced

Special Streetmosphere characters out-and-about for ESPN the Weekend

Over to the Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain re-opened on Sunday

The logs look brand new

The seating section was simply re-painted on each log, with completely new front and back sections added and the rubber handle areas replaced

Looks nice

We seem to think the front section is shorter than it originally was

The ride looked brand new

New paint everywhere

The new lighting is very bright, but really makes it look like you are outside

He was working

The lights also have a leafy pattern

“Please don’t throw me into that Briar Patch!”

The trickling water was working as well

More new lighting

Some of the exit store has been changed around as well

Long lines for Splash Mountain