The Disney Cruise Line announced today their new itineraries for 2013. Cruisers will be able to book cruises to new destinations including Greece, Italy, and Turkey! The Disney Magic will set sail for these European destinations with all European cruises departing out of Barcelona, Spain.

DCL also announced today that the Disney Wonder will be coming back to the east coast for some wonderful cruises to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean, making it’s home port in Miami, Florida! Ports of call may include Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Key West, Nassau, and of course Disney’s own private island, Castaway Cay. These cruises will begin in December this year, which leaves plenty of time for the Disney Wonder to stay right where it is now, on the west coast to bring guests to one of the most beautiful places in the country, Alaska!

The Disney Wonder will continue to travel to Alaska beginning in May 2013, departing from Vancouver, ports of call will include Tracy Arm, Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan. It sure looks like it’s a great time to start saving up for that Disney Cruise, especially with the Disney Fantasy about to set sail for it’s inaugural voyage. We’ll keep you updated as things draw nearer.

It’s time to welcome back the Muppets!

The Muppets are back and they’ve brought new friends along for the ride in an all new movie. This comedy stars Jason Segel (Gary), Amy Adams (Mary), and Walter along with all your favorite Muppet characters as they work to save the Muppet studios from being torn down by oil tycoon Tex Richman.

This adventure follows Gary, Mary, and Walter as they travel to Los Angeles to celebrate Gary and Mary’s 10th anniversary. When Walter discovers the horrible plans set forth by Tex Richman. In an effort to save the Muppet studios from sure destruction the group seeks out none other than Kermit the frog in an effort to the old gang back together for one last show.

This movie stands true to form of all the old classic Muppet movies with lots of songs and brings everyone who watches it the third best gift anyone can give, laughter. Being a long time fan of the Muppets it brought tears to my eyes seeing them back on the big screen. If you’ve ever been a Muppet fan I highly recommend taking the time to go and see it. You won’t regret it.

Beginning April 17th, Guests will have the opportunity to save 25% off their meals at select Quick Service Restaurants throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. In order to take advantage of this offer Guests will need to redeem a voucher which can be obtained 4 different ways.

1. The Times Guide (including Resort Times Guide for on-site guests)
2. Online: http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/
3. The bottom of select merchandise receipts
4. The bottom of select resort quick-service receipts

Vouchers must be redeemed before 11:30 am or between the hours of 3:00 and 4:30 pm only at select Quick Service locations throughout the parks and are valid only through April 23rd. Locations this voucher is valid at are as follows.

Magic Kingdom Park

• Columbia Harbour House
• Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe
• Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
• Pinocchio Village Haus
• Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant

Epcot

• Electric Umbrella
• Liberty Inn
• Sunshine Seasons

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

• ABC Commissary
• Backlot Express
• Studio Catering Company

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Flame Tree Barbeque
• Pizzafari
• Restaurantosaurus
• Tamu Tamu Refreshments

Vouchers may be redeemed through the 23rd of April and there is no limit to the number of coupons that can be used in a day. (Limit one coupon per transaction.) This discount is not valid with any other offer or discount and only at the locations listed.

Disney recently purchased two different groups that will help their interactive division reach more people. The first purchase was of the children’s social networking site Togetherville, which is directed towards children ages 6 through 10. Togetherville allows parents to teach their children about internet safety and social networking in a safe and controlled environment where the parents can monitor all of their child’s actions from anywhere. Children are able to do things such as post pre-screened status updates, comment on or “Heart” friends activities, create artwork, play games and brainteasers, watch videos, and send safe messages to friends. Togetherville connects with the adult’s Facebook profile and only allows children to connect with people they know so no outsiders can contact your child.

The second purchase was of a Finish Web Game Platform maker, Rocket Pack. Rocket Pack is known for their first and only game at the moment, Warimals, which is a game about the eternal battle between cats and dogs. The concept behind Rocket Pack is to develop games that don’t require any plugins or installation.

With Disney’s acquisition of these two groups we can only hope that over the next few years we will start to see more games produced with the Disney name. Disney is hoping that these purchases will turn a profit in 2013.

What would you like to see done with these purchases?

Started in 1981 the Disney College Program has provided students from accross the country and around the world the oppotunity to work at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts for 30 years now. To celebrate, they have created a Twitter account, Facebook page, and are even on Youtube now to promote their program.

The Walt Disney World Resort hires around 5,000 students each semester to work as part of the College Program, in roles ranging from Custodial, Merchandise, Attractions, Transportation, Housekeeping, Lifeguard, Quick Service Food and Beverage, and more.

If you know a college student who is looking for something fun and exciting to do, the Disney College Program may be just what they’re looking for. You can find information at any of the above links, on your local college campus, or at the Disney College Program website.

This year’s ESPN The Weekend kicked off today and will run through March 6th, 2011 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Activities for the weekend include the Atlanta Braves spring training as well as Fan Q&A with some of your favorite athletes and ESPN personalities. Below is a brief list of the events happening at the event, but be sure to check out http://espn.go.com/espntheweekend for a full event schedule.

Event Schedule

• March 3-4 – Contest of Champions Nationals (cheer/dance competition)
• March 3-5 – Atlanta Braves spring training
• March 3-6 – ESPN the Weekend
• March 3-6 – Disney’s Baseball spring training presented by Champion
• March 3-6 – Disney’s Softball spring training presented by Champion
• March 3-6 – Disney’s Lacrosse spring training presented by Champion
• March 3-6 – Disney’s Track & Field spring training presented by Champion
• March 5 – Champion 5 K at Dick’s Sporting Goods presents ESPN the Weekend (at Disney’s Hollywood Studios)

Today marks the first day of Epcot’s International Flower & Garden Festival. This year’s festival will run from March 2nd through May 15th, and will include over 75 topiaries, including for the first time Disney Pixar Characters.

In additon to topiaries, Guests visting Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival will have the opportunity to watch some bands play as part of the Flower Power Concert Series. Artists such as Starship, The Guess Who, and Davy Jones just to highlight a few. You can find a complete list of the bands playing and the dates they will be performing here.

If you’re headed to the park for the festival let us know what you think in the comments section below.

DBHN is 2 years old today! To celebrate we’ve redesigned our entire website and have relaunched it with an awesome new feature! As promised we have brought in the ability to update our website on a daily basis, which will allow us to bring you up to the minute information regarding the Walt Disney Company and it’s affiliates. So without any further delay, WELCOME!

This of course doesn’t mean that we won’t be posting on Facebook and Twitter anymore, but simply that we will use this as another tool to bring you information in addition to our newsletter.

While our new site is working out all of its kinks, we would ask that all of you using the site report any problems that you may have to Stephen, by emailing him at Editor@DonaldsBoatHouse.com.

Thanks for being there for us these past two years, and we hope to see you down the road in the future as well.

-Stephen Champion
Chief Editor