St. Patrick's Day Celebration

Celebrate St Patrick's Day in true Irish fashion at Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant at Downtown Disney. From March 16th through March 18th the restaurant will come alive with speciality entertainment including U2 Elevation, a tribute band of the world famous U2, A Miss Raglan Rose competition, Tuskar Rock band imported directly from Ireland, an appearance by Danielle Fitzpatrick star of Lord of the Dance, Stupid Irish Dancing Competitions and more!

Raglan Road is located between Downtown Disney Marketplace and the West Side. There is no admission fee for Downtown Disney, but there is a small cover charge ($10-15) for the St. Patrick's Day events at Raglan Road.

Three Caballeros Coming to Epcot

Donald Duck and his friends from the Disney animated feature Three Caballeros are coming to Epcot this spring. The characters will be found in El Rio Del Tiempo, an often overlooked attraction inside the Mexican pavillion. The ride, which many compare to "it's a small world" at the Magic Kingdom, has never developed a strong reaction in park guests and rarely fills to capacity. The original version took guests on a historic look of Mexico, with effects displayed on uniquely presented video screens. The highlight of the ride was the finale where fiber optic fireworks lit up a Mexican skyline. The new storyline is rumored to be about Jose Carioca and Panchito searching for Donald Duck throughout Mexico. Hopefully Disney will find ways to include some of the highlights of the original attraction in this new version.

Haunted Mansion to Receive New Effects?

The original Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland has received some updated effects over the last two years. Madame Leouta, the disembodied psychic in the crystal ball, now floats around the Séance Circle adding to the illusion. The attic scene with the ghostly bride has been overhauled with a new dark storyline in which the bride is revealed to have killed off her husbands to obtain their wealth. With the success of these effects in California, rumors are circulating of these changes coming to the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom. A summer refurbishment might be in the works that would give the classic attraction some modern effects to keep it fresh for current audiences. In addition to the effects mentioned above, some speculate of a rethink of the Grand Staircase scene. The Grand Staircase, in which riders pass gigantic spiders, is not found in Disneyland so whatever changes Imagineers conjure up would be unique to the Florida version. As technology progresses and attractions age, Disney will be looking for unique and different ways of keeping their classic attractions as popular as ever.