We’ve almost made it to February! And a new month means a new schedule of special merchandise events at the Walt Disney World Resort.
From February 5-23 guests can meet representatives from Precious Moments at Once Upon a Toy in the Downtown Disney Marketplace and celebrate the release of the Valentine’s Day collection. Doll creator Linda Rick will be at Once Upon a Toy on February 20-22.
Popular artist Greg McCullough will make a special appearance at the Art of Disney in Epcot from February 9-15. And Larry Dotson will be on …

Disney Parks is launching a new line of merchandise that was designed to remind guests of their first visit at a Disney theme park.
The program Disney Design Group artists create each year is called “Storybook” and this year their approach was to capture the feelings guests might have the first time they visit a Disney park.
The new merchandise design is meant to showcase the “emotions, the fantasy, and the wonder that guests might experience during a Disney vacation” according to Disney Design Group Creative Director Eric Caszatt.
The merchandise features two …

The recently-introduced “You Are Here” Starbucks coffee mugs at Epcot have been pulled from the shelves by Disney.
The Epcot mugs are part of the “You Are Here” series from Starbucks and featured Epcot icons in shades of blue, gray, and purple. The mug also featured the Monorail – with a purple stripe.
That color of Monorail was retired in 2009 after the pink Monorail backed into the purple Monorail, killing 21-year-old Disney cast member Austin Wuennenberg.
The Epcot coffee mug will be replaced with one that doesn’t include the purple Monorail, according …

Disneyland Resort is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year with a Diamond Celebration that includes three new nighttime shows and more.
The Diamond Celebration starts May 22 and both Sleeping Beauty and Carthay Circle Theater will be adorned with diamond medallions. The Disneyland Resort and the streets surrounding the resort will be decorated with Diamond Celebration décor and banners in Disneyland blue.
“We’ve conceived the Disneyland Diamond Anniversary as a celebration of this special place that started it all,” said Tom Staggs, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Disneyland was envisioned as …

Five Walt Disney World Resort hotels were recently listed on as some of the top 25 family hotels by Trip Advisor in their 2015 Traveler’s Choice awards.
Disney’s Art of Animation was the highest ranked Walt Disney World Resort hotel coming in seventh place on the list.
The other Disney hotels were the Wilderness Lodge (9), Bay Lake Tower (16), Port Orleans Riverside (18), and Beach Club (21).
Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii was number 8.
Of the 25 hotels listed for the Traveler’s Choice awards, 17 were located in the Orlando …

The 2015 Night of Joy is scheduled to take place September 11 and 12 at the Magic Kingdom and Disney has released some information on artists for this year’s event.
This year’s event will feature Grammy nominees MercyMe, duo For King & Country, Lecrae, and Francesca Battistelli.
Other performers include TobyMac, Skillet, and Jeremy Camp. New to this year’s Night of Joy are Seventh Time Down, I Am They, and Veridia.
The full lineup for the Night of Joy is:
Friday, September 11: TobyMac, MercyMe, Jeremy Camp, Colton Dixon, Big Daddy Weave, Francesca Battistelli, …

Another popular Walt Disney World attraction is getting its own merchandise line.
The Hollywood Tower Hotel Authentic collection is inspired by The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and it’s arriving in Disney Parks on Friday, February 13.
This new collection took a page from the design book of the Haunted Mansion Authentic line and features vintage ads. The logo for the Hollywood Tower Hotel is also featured on some of the items.
The new line includes cell phone covers, glassware, coffee mugs, a bell, T-shirts, and even a bellhop …

With just a little more than a month until the 2015 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival opens, there are some exciting updates about the festival.
The Outdoor Kitchens are returning to this year’s festival and a new Outdoor Kitchen is debuting this year – Bonitas Botanico. This kiosk will be located between the France and Morocco pavilions and will be serving dishes including Cachapas with Farmer’s Cheese, Seafood Ceviche, and a non-alcoholic punch called La Tizana.
This year’s topiaries will include the first Anna and Elsa topiaries inspired by Frozen. They’ll …

The worlds of Harry Potter and Disney Princesses are coming together – sort of.
Emma Watson, one of the stars of the Harry Potter films, has signed on to play Belle in the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast.
Watson posted the casting news on her Facebook page stating: “I’m finally able to tell you… that I will be playing Belle in Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast! It was such a big part of my growing up, it almost feels surreal that I’ll get to dance to ‘Be Our …

Fans of the fun Disney quizzes that seem to pop up every day online can now download a free iOS app that is full of just Disney quizzes.
Disney Interactive just launched the free app – Disney Inquizitive – and it features categories including Fantasy & Villain, House of Mouse, Action & Adventure, Style, Love & Friendship, and Throwback. There are already more than 60 quizzes on the app.
Users of the Disney Inquizitive app can track their quiz outcomes and build unique personality profiles. You can also see the quizzes your …