While SOAPnet will eventually go away, there will be no “hard stop” to its broadcasts.  Rather, SOAPnet and Disney Junior will run concurrently for a period of transition.  More information was shared in this article today, which appears in CableFAX:

Now that an exact date has been set for Disney Junior ’s launch (Mar 23), does that mean SOAPnet is gearing up to bid adieu? Not exactly. As the preschool net gm Nancy Kanter told us last month, some operators will carry both Disney Junior and SOAP for a period of time (Cfax, 12/5) . Carriage agreements for Disney Junior have been announced with Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Bright House Networks and Verizon, and expectations are that those distributors will continue carrying SOAP until it is no longer available (ie, they’ll likely want to have the same offerings as competitors who haven’t signed deals yet). “We’ve always viewed the launch of Disney Junior as a transition, not a flip of a switch, and as such SOAPnet will remain available for an undetermined period of time as additional carriage deals for Disney Junior are finalized with distributors,” a spokesperson said.

And so it seems that SOAPnet fans will be able to continue watching their favorite shows on the cable network, for the time being, at least.

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Inspired by some of the most romantic moments in Disney animation, Cinderella’s Castle and it’s a small world will be covered in roses during one sequence, while transforming into a star-filled sky during another segment of the show. Additionally, stained glass windows will appear on the facades of the attractions depicting Belle, Cinderella and Snow White’s romantic stories.

The king and queen from Disney’s Tangled will also appear on the balcony, lifting a lantern to the sky in search of their missing daughter. Their lantern will soon be joined by hundreds of others, creating a sight that will be sure to draw excitement from the crowd.

This special romantic segment of The Magic, The Memories and You! will run through mid-April.

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Exotic Driving Course comes to the Richard Petty Experience at Walt Disney World. Beginning January 2012, guests can experience the Exotics Course, a new one-mile custom built circuit, which will be home to a fleet of “supercars” that guests can experience, including a Lamborghini, Ferrari, Audi, and Porsche.  Reservations can be made at exoticdriving.com.

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.  Sorcerers will be coming to the Magic Kingdom soon, as Merlin invites you to undertake missions, and fight the bad guys.  As apprentice sorcerers, guests will be armed with “magic spells” (special cards) which they can use to help vanquish “meanies” like  Yzma, Kronk, and others.  Look for this new interactive experience to debut in early 2012. Access to the role-play adventure is included with theme park admission.

The New Fantasyland Attractions.  One of the most exciting updates in the Disney universe will be The New Fantasyland coming to Walt Disney World.  The expansion, which nearly doubles the wildly popular part of the park, isn’t slated for completion until 2014.  However, the company has now shared that the first new attractions will begin opening in early 2012.  Guests can expect to see the newly re-themed Great Goofini roller coaster (previously The Barnstormer), as well as the new Fantasyland Train Station, and the “dueling” Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction.  Many other attractions will be opening in 2013, as Disney continues this historic expansion.

The Disney Fantasy Hits the High Seas and Disney Cruise Line Offers New Ports and Itineraries. Disney’s fleet of oceanliners will increase from three to four in 2012, when the Disney Fantasy sets sail in March 31, 2012.  The ship, which will accommodate 4,000 passengers, will sail week long itineraries out of Port Canaveral, Florida.  But that’s not all.  For the first time, DCL will also set sail from three new ports in 2012:  New York, Seattle, and Galveston, and with lots of new and exciting ports of call and adventures awaiting guests.

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Opens. Disney’s newest resort will usher in a first-of-its-kind experience, when the new property, inspired by Disney’s animation heritage, opens in May 2012.  The highlight of the new resort will be 1,120 themed with The Lion King, Cars, and Finding Nemo.  In addition, another 864 single family rooms will feature Little Mermaid theming.  The Nemo section is scheduled to open first in May 2012, followed by Cars in July, and The Lion King in September.  The Little Mermaid rooms will be available in late 2012.

Cars Land Debuts at Disney California Adventure. Make way for Mater, Lightning McQueen, and the rest of the gang, as the highly anticipated Cars Land opens at Disney California Adventure.  With three immersive attractions as well as shopping and dining inspired by Cars, guests will truly feel as though they’ve stepped into Radiator Springs.

Many more surprises are in store for Disney fans in 2012.  What are you most excited to see in the new year?

Adam Bonnett, Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Disney Channels Worldwide, says:

There’s no greater excitement than the arrival of a new baby in the house, and we are eager for our viewers to share in the relatable anticipation of a baby girl or baby boy joining the Duncan family that they’ve come to know and love.”

Voting began at 9:30 PM EST on Friday, December 2, and will run through December 16, 2011. Here are the ten possible names that viewers can choose from:

• If it’s a boy: Noah, Jonah, Toby, Bobby Jr. and Bo
• If it’s a girl: Sydney, Erika, Mallory, Talia and Jenny

To vote for your favorite name, visit DisneyChannel.com/BabyVote.

“To help D23 celebrate its third ‘fanniversary,’ we developed the most exciting lineup yet of special events to bring our members truly one-of-a-kind Disney experiences,” said Steven Clark, head of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. “We’re excited to visit our fans all around the country, and to create events we hope will surprise and delight them.”

Returning in 2012 will be some favorite D23 events, including the Sip and Stroll event in Walt Disney World that takes place at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival, which will receive a Halloween twist this year, becoming Sip and Scream (October 2012). The 2012 Holiday season will bring the return of two popular events, Disney and Dickens in Burbank (December 2012) and Walt Disney World’s Magic and Merriment event (tentatively scheduled for December 7-8 and 9-10, 2012).

D23 will also be continuing its popular series of movie screenings at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, CA. A new film series, From the Vaults, will bring some classic Disney live-action films back to the big screen, including Newsies (February 25), Sister Act (May 26), and Treasure Island (September 22). The 50 and Fabulous series will also continue, with a screening of In Search of the Castaways set for June 23.

One of D23’s most popular offerings have been their members-only tours of the Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Archives in Burbank. In 2012, these tours will be offered on four weekends throughout the year, doubling their capacity. The tours will take place February 11-12, April 28-29, September 8-9, and November 10-11.

Disney animation fans will have a lot to look forward to this summer, as D23 has announced that their next “Destination D” event will celebrate 75 years of Disney animation. Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animation will take place August 11-12, 2012 at the Disneyland Resort. The two day event will feature a gathering of Disney animation legends, top Disney animators, voice talents, and composers. Guests will be able to enjoy fascinating offerings that include demonstrations, presentations, autograph sessions, and screenings of rare animated footage from the Disney vaults.

Can’t make it out to Florida or Southern California? Don’t worry, D23 may be coming to a city near you! This spring, D23 will be hitting the road with the D23 Fanniversary Celebration. The events, which will be hosted by Disney archivists, celebrate more than 40 Disney milestones that will be celebrating an anniversary in 2012. Taking place in Orlando, New York, Chicago, Boston, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles, the events will revisit beloved Disney theme park attractions, films, TV series, and more. While the events will be open to the public, these Fanniversary Celebrations will offer special admission and surprises for the D23 members in attendance.

The biggest highlights of D23’s 2012 schedule, however, will take members directly to two important sites in the life of Walt Disney himself: Marceline, Missouri, and the Smoke Tree Ranch. These extraordinary new events, D23’s Journey to Marceline and D23 Presents the Smoke Tree Ranch Roundup, will give Disney fans a truly one-of-a-kind look at these important aspects of Disney history.

Marceline, Missouri was Walt Disney’s childhood hometown, and had a powerful impact on him and his work. D23’s daylong tour of the small town, which will be led by Disney archivists, will explore the town in ways that will have special resonance for Disney fans. The event will take place for D23 members in Marceline on March 14.

Located in Palm Springs, the Smoke Tree Ranch served as an important spot for Walt Disney. Finding the Ranch to be a source of unique inspiration in his later life, Disney referred to the spot as “my own laughing place.” D23 will offer a unique, immersive retreat at the ranch from January 23-25, where guests will stay in a Smoke Tree Ranch cottage and enjoy screenings, presentations, activities and delectable meals.

While these events already give us a lot to look forward to from D23 next year, be sure to look for even more D23 events that will be announced throughout the year, including an Epcot 30th anniversary celebration and a third anniversary party for D23 at the Disneyland Resort. For full details on D23’s 2012 special events and to join D23, visit Disney.com/D23.

If you’re disappointed about the change, rest assured that Downtown Disney will still be getting into the spirit of the season. Restaurants will offer special fall menu items, and the month of October will feature seasonal decorations and more entertainment. Suarez hopes that all of these seasonal specialties will “make it possible for guests to enjoy the offerings at Downtown Disney for a longer period of time.”

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First up is a look at the Beauty and the Beast section of the New Fantasyland. To the left, we see Maurice’s cottage, with the Beast’s castle in the background.

In Maurice’s Cottage, audiences will be able to participate in storytime with Belle herself. The attraction will also feature an audio-animatronic Lumiere, which is one of the most challenging audio-animatronics that Imagineers have worked on.

Also in the Beauty and the Beast will be Gaston’s Pub, themed to a hunting lodge full of antlers as it is in the film. The statue outside the restaurant and portrait inside will, of course, pay tribute to the vain and masculine Gaston himself.

Also included in the Fantasyland Expansion will be the new attraction Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid.” Take a look at the impressive exterior of the attraction, which features a statue of Ariel at the entrance, and a look at the attraction scene in which guests come face-to-face with the evil sea witch Ursula:

Princess fans will be able to meet their favorite Disney Princesses at the new Princess Fantasy Faire, which will take place in the spot currently occupied by Snow White’s Scary Adventures.

Replacing Snow White’s Scary Adventures will be the highly-anticipated new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction:

Finally, the Fantasyland Expansion will also include the new “Storybook Circus” area, which will feature a new version of the classic Dumbo the Flying Elephant attraction, complete with two spinners and an interactive queue:

There’s so much to get excited for about the Fantasyland Expansion, and we can’t wait to see it take shape. What are you looking forward to the most from the new Fantasyland Expansion? Leave a comment and let us know!

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Concept art copyright Disney

Each home is built according to the needs and specifications of the homeowner, and includes a customized medallion, like the one pictured here.

Enjoy the photos, and let us know:  what would your dream Disney home look like?

Photo copyright Disney.

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Take a look at these terrific photos from last night’s exclusive media event.  We can’t wait to take a spin in the Lightning McQueen Car.  And Mater is pretty awesome, too.

We’ll be reporting live from D23 all weekend long.  More exciting news to come!

New Sign Outside of the Attraction

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit with friends who were in town at Walt Disney World.  One thing led to another, and we found ourselves at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Friday night, the opening day of Disney Hollywood Studios’ updated attraction, Star Tours.

As we walked into the very crowded park, well after dark, we were greeted by a steady stream of milling fans, and didn’t think there was much chance that we would be able to get near the attraction.  But with time to kill and no real plans, we thought it worth a try, and headed over to see what was going on.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that the line wait clock read only 40 minutes.  Being girls with lots to chat about, and iPhones to play with, we thought that seemed reasonable, and hopped on line.

We weren’t disappointed!  Though the queue area got a little warm as it wound back underneath the attraction’s facade, and the giant trees that surround the area, the night was pleasant, and so were the people waiting with us.  And, with all of the work that Disney has done recently to enhance the waiting time of guests, seeing the queue is part of the fun! 

C3PO Talking to R2D2 in His Starspeeder

But we were especially excited to see our favorite droids, C3PO and R2D2, at the controls, and ready to send us on our way to the destination of our choice.

The line moved quickly, and while we don’t know exactly how long we waited, it wasn’t the 40 minutes posted.  Soon, we were into the loading area, and ready to board our starspeeder.

Boarding for our journey.

Our journey was about to get underway.  The familiar partition dropped, and there’s C3PO, but, much like his prececessor, he is not the pilot.  However, when Darth Vader shows up, looking for the rebel spy among us, R2D2 and C3PO take matters into their own hands, and off we go at light speed, to points unknown – and we end up on Krashyyyk, the Wookie Planet!

The film is stunning!  Every detail is crisp, including (SPOILER!) the Wookie that smacks into our windshield!

I didn’t actually feel that the scene was 3D, however, a photo snapped without benefit of our snazzy black glasses proved me wrong.

After our thrilling trip to the green and lush Krashyyyk, a daring spin through an asteroid field being tailed by a formidable opponent – that we managed to blow up – we were off to a spin through the Death Star.  Of course!

After much excitement, and a little luck, C3PO managed to guide us back to the Starport.  Whew!

My companion was a bit, well, underwhelmed.  She wasn’t familiar with the characters, having never seen any of the Star Wars films.  I liked it well enough.  It was beautifully done, and everything was so shiny and new.  Still, I would have preferred a trip to another planet.  And so, I will be back, to see if I can book passage to Naboo, or Coruscant, or even Tatooine.

I would like to have taken my snazzy glasses as a souvenir, but we dutifully handed them back in at the last.  I’ll look forward to wearing them again soon.