Tim and Anthony celebrate their 100th podcast episode together with cocktails (of course) and more talk about Disneyland's reopening. Plus, Pixar's Soul bags seven Annie Awards and Marvel releases a new trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

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Tim and Anthony are back, talking about what to expect when Disneyland reopens at the end of the month. Also, Anthony expresses his undying love for Universal Studios and Tim shares the story of how he should have ended up in Disneyland Jail.

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Tim Callaway and Anthony Reynolds did a thing...five years after they did their last thing together. The Mouse Castle is back (sort of).

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Disney's Zootopia opened last weekend with record-breaking box office numbers for a March release. Naturally, Anthony and I didn't bother to see it. No worries, we'll both rectify that this week. A 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes certainly got our attention. 

Disneyland's announced April 2 closure of Super Hero HQ caught us all by surprise. What will be next for the Star Wars Launch Bay's attic? A preview center for Star Wars Land maybe? And what will happen when Captain America and Spider-Man are sent packing to DCA? Will the Mad T Party be replaced by a Mad A (for Avengers) Party? It's time to get some rumors started.

Here's what else we've got Inside The Mouse Castle this week: 

• Keep those calendars marked. The Jungle Book begins sneak peek screenings at DCA and Disney's Hollywood Studios on March 18. Frozen--Live at the Hyperion opens at DCA May 27 and Rivers of Light, the new nighttime water show at Disney's Animal Kingdom, debuts April 22.
• It was no coincidence the Walt Disney Company had its annual shareholders meeting in Chicago last week. It was a fitting reminder that the Windy City was where Walt was born. To mark the occasion, Bob Iger announced that the Company would donate $250,000 towards the restoration of the Walt Disney Birthplace.
• Disney Cruise Line will launch two new cruise ships in 2021 and 2023, bringing their fleet total to six. The as-yet-unnamed ships will have 1,250 staterooms each and will be larger than DCL's current biggest ships, the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens comes out on Digital HD on April 1 and Blu-ray on April 5. Want a little variety with your trip to a galaxy far, far away? Retailers Target, Walmart, Best Buy and the Disney Store are all offering unique packaging and/or bonus materials.
• Big Hero 6 is moving to the small screen. An animated series based on the hit film will debut on Disney XD in 2017.
• A live-action movie version of The Nutcracker Suite? Disney is working on it and Lasse Hallstrom (The Hundred-Foot Journey, Chocolat) is slated to direct.
• Ten years after the original High School Musical hit big for the Disney Channel, casting calls are going out for High School Musical 4. Jeffrey Hornaday (Teen Beach Movie) will direct. 

Enjoy!

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There's nothing like a ticket price increase to get the Disney fan base stirred up. Make it "seasonal pricing" (or "tiered pricing" or "surge pricing"), however, and you'd better getting ready for major outrage. The price of single-day and multi-day tickets went up (for the most part) at all the Disney parks over the weekend, with single-day tickets now priced based on expected attendance. In a nutshell, you'll pay more to visit your favorite park on a busy day (say, summer or Christmastime) than you will during a quieter day (like an October weekday). What does it all mean and should you really be upset about it? Tim and Anthony sort it all out for you in this week's Inside The Mouse Castle.

Here's what else we've got going on:

• At the Academy Awards Sunday, Pixar's Inside Out was the unsurprising, but highly deserving winner of the Best Animated Feature Oscar. In their acceptance speech, director Pete Docter and producer Jonas Rivera had inspiring words about the importance of "making stuff" in the face of adversity.
• Rest in peace, Jack Lindquist, who passed away Sunday at the age of 88. Jack was a marketing genius who became Disneyland's first president and, later, a Disney Legend. His memoir, In Service to the Mouse, should be required reading for every Disney fan. Our condolences to Jack's friends and family. He will be greatly missed.
• Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters will officially open at Disney California Adventure on March 7. Annual Passholders can get an exclusive preview of the ride on March 4. This looks like a very fun ride--and hopefully a more reliable replacement for Luigi's Flying Tires.
• Guests attending the Food & Wine Festival at Disney California Adventure in April can take part in special Beverage Seminars at Sonoma Terrace. Fifteen dollars will get you admission and three samples of select beers, wine or spirits. To purchase tickets, visit https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disney-california-adventure/food-and-wine-festival-beverage-seminars.
• Marvel superheroes and villains will take each other on in Marvel Battlegrounds, the new four-player play set for Disney Infinity 3.0. A modern-look Captain America comes with the set and new character figures Ant-Man, Vision and Black Panther will also be available. Purchase the set online or in stores on March 15.
• Today's parting question: Does the thought of an It's a Small World movie make you cringe as much as us? Thought so.

Enjoy!

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Principal shooting has begun on both Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII and James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. Naturally, that sparks Anthony and I to devise a mashup crossover film combining the two franchises. And, oh what the heck, lets toss Jurassic Park (World) into the mix too. 

I guess it was a slow news week. Of course, that never deters us on in Inside The Mouse Castle. What we can't report on we just make up. Here's what else we have on tap in today's show: 

• Bob Iger officially confirmed what the rest of us pretty much already knew. There will be a standalone Han Solo film joining the Star Wars universe. No other details were mentioned except for a release date sometime in May 2018.
• Disney and Lucasfilm are in trouble with the Health and Safety Executive, Britain's answer to OSHA. Foodles Productions, A Disney subsidiary that oversaw production of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, was cited for safety violations related to the on-set accident at Pinewood Studios that injured Harrison Ford. Ford's leg was broken in June 2014 when it was struck by a hydraulic door aboard the Millennium Falcon.
• It's official! Kurt Russell has joined the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. Is he playing Peter Quill/Star-Lord's long-lost dad? We can only hope.
• The Food & Wine Festival is coming to Disney California Adventure on weekends from April 1 to May 1. We're already making travel plans.
• Coinciding with that, the Mad T Party is disappearing down the rabbit hole at DCA on March 30. No word yet on what will replace the nighttime dance party. Freeze the Night again? Something Star Wars-ish? We'll see.
• We're starting to like what we're seeing in the new trailer for Alice Through the Looking Glass. A lot of it has to do with P!nk's kick-ass cover of "White Rabbit."
• It was inevitable. Frozen is headed to Broadway. A stage musical based on Disney's runaway animated hit will debut in New York in spring 2018. Pre-Broadway performances can be seen in Denver in August 2017.

Enjoy!

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Pixar's Inside Out dominated the Annie Awards over the weekend, winning 10 awards out of the 11 categories it was nominated in. The journey into the mind of an 11-year old was named Best Animated Feature and Pete Docter was named Best Director. Inside Out also took trophies home for writing, storyboarding, editing, character design, character animation, music and production design. And finally, Phyllis Smith received a much-deserved Annie for providing the voice of Sadness. It was a busy night for Team Disney as their animated TV series Disney's Mickey Mouse received three Annies (storyboarding, editing and music). The Good Dinosaur, Wander Over Yonder, Gravity Falls and Avengers: Age of Ultron all received one Annie each.

Tim and Anthony recap the Annies and keep things animated with these other entertaining items in this week's Inside The Mouse Castle:

• Happy Birthday, Disney California Adventure! Disneyland's sister park turned 15 years old on Monday.
• Fresh off his Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning visited Disneyland on Monday and--as tradition dictates--was honored with a victory parade down Main Street, U.S.A.
• On Super Bowl Sunday, Disney debuted new trailers for The Jungle Book and Captain America: Civil War. One we were pretty excited for. The other not so much. You'll never guess which is which. Or maybe you have already.
• The Mouse Castle sends our condolences to the family and friends of Daniel Gerson. The screenwriter passed away in Los Angeles Saturday at the age of 49. Gerson co-wrote the scripts for Monsters, Inc. and Big Hero 6, among others. Rest in peace.
• This has us majorly excited: "Weird Al" Yankovic will lend his voice and musical talents to a new animated series on Disney XD from the creators of Phineas and Ferb. Milo Murphy's Law will follow the adventures of Milo, the fictional great-great-great-great grandson of the Murphy's Law namesake. Yankovic will play Milo with a voice cast that includes Christian Slater, Vanessa Williams, Sarah Chalke, Jemaine Clement and Mackenzie Phillips. The show premieres this fall.
• Want your house to smell like Disneyland? Anthology Candles has created a line of scented candles that borrow from your favorite park aromas like Dole Whips, churros, the Main Street Bakery and even the Haunted Mansion. That's all well and good, but call us when you've perfected Pirates of the Caribbean Grotto.

Enjoy!

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A man was arrested at Hotel New York at Disneyland Paris last week after bringing two semi-automatic pistols and a knife into the resort. No attack was carried out in the incident. The man was quickly processed by French authorities, appeared before a judge, and on Tuesday was sentenced to six months of house arrest at his mother's home just outside the French capital. 

As alarming as it was to hear about someone bringing weapons to a Disney resort, it was also concerning about how the story was covered in the media. News outlets were quick to point out that, included with the weaponry--which was found in the man's luggage as it passed through a metal detector--there was also a "guide to the Koran." The Daily Mail even went so far as to mention it in their story headline.

Question: Would the press have said anything if the man was packing a Bible?

Multiple terrorist attacks in Paris last year have understandably made the French people jittery about the threat of religious extremism in their country. But, was it right for the media to fan the flames of Islamophobia, especially after the police investigation found no evidence the man intended to commit a terrorist act? The man claimed he was carrying the weapons for self-defense (and if that was true, the guy is pretty dim to think he could get through hotel security).

In this week's Inside The Mouse Castle, Tim and Anthony share their thoughts about the Disneyland Paris incident and the state of security at other Disney parks. Don't worry. They also talk about the usual silly stuff too.

• Harrison Ford and Elton John join the list of celebrities appearing on the Wonderful World of Disney special Disneyland 60. The show will celebrate 60 years of the Happiest Place on Earth and will air on ABC on February 21 at 8:00 p.m. Ford is expected to reveal details about Disneyland's Star Wars Land expansion, while John will perform songs from The Lion King and his upcoming album in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming to Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD in April. You can pre-order J.J. Abrams' blockbuster now on Amazon.com.
• Also out now: the Walt Disney Signature Collection release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Blu-ray. You should get it. 
• A family is suing Walt Disney World for negligence in the death of the family's great-grandmother, who they claim was traumatized by witnessing her great-grandson receive a minor, non-threatening snakebite at Disney's Animal Kingdom. It's complicated. 

Enjoy!

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