News, Analysis and Reviews of the Disney Entertainment Business
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Looking for a sweet treat at Disney World? You have hundreds of options. But if you are seeking a thematically-designed one, Amorette’s Patisserie in Disney Springs is the way to go.
Located in the Town Center section of Disney Springs, tucked back alongside the World of Disney store, Amorette’s is known for their Instagram-worthy creations. From big Mickey or Pluto Dome cakes, to small hazelnut Éclairs ($7.00), Lemon Raspberry Profiteroles ($8.00) and Mickey “Mousse” cakes ($9.00), their sugar-laced offerings are scrumptious, and will give you the boost you might need to keep up your energy level for the rest of your park day. If the sugar infusion doesn’t interest you, there are a variety of sandwiches, coffees, wines and slushies available at this French-style bakery as well.
Over the years, Amorette’s has offered up a selection of what they call “petit cakes,” small, multi-layered servings of goodness that are only a few inches tall and a few inches wide. There’s usually an available cake themed to the latest holiday, Disney movie release, or Disney+ show. Some of the cakes have been hits, while others have been misses in the flavor department, but they have always been miniature designs of culinary skill. Among our favorites were the “TV cakes” featuring a different scene each week from the WandaVision Disney+ series, but, oh, how that cost us to keep going back and getting each week’s “episode” at around $20.00 a cake! Fortunately, the petit cakes are rich enough to satisfy several family members, but even so….
Amorette’s has come up with a winner in their most recent themed cake, The Little Mermaid rendition. It is a beautiful cake, filled with “gadgets and gizmos aplenty,” and a few starfish and seashells, too. At $22.00 (plus tax), it’s pricey, but a dessert-spectacular treat shared by three of us one evening. And this time, the flavors were lovely as well.
The layers of Ariel’s world were refreshing and the cake was nice and moist. Passion fruit chiffon and coconut layers were bright and summery in theme, alternating with a bit of pineapple jam. A cream cheese mousse provided a fluffy layer beneath the fondant, and the fondant layer itself was soft rather than the hard shell you sometimes get with fondant. Colorful starfish and seashells danced across the two-toned sea blue background. Crispy pearls gave a bit of texture, and sugared “rocks” and “sand” added to the picture. Mermaid Ariel was stamped on a candy disc on the side of the cake, and a teeny tiny version of a dinglehopper added a whimsical touch to the scene. The cake was made even cuter by the “fish scale” pattern stamped into the darker blue fondant on the side of the confection.
If you want to make this delightful treat “part of your world,” you’ll have to hurry, because it is a limited time offering.
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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.
I’m not a thrill ride aficionado. While the rest of the family is coursing through the darkened galaxy on Space Mountain, or soaking themselves splashing down Chickapin Hill, I’m probably running around the park collecting character photos. Photopass photographers are my absolute favorite cast members in the whole park. Admittedly, I once booked a really crummy character meal, knowing it was going to be lackluster at best, just so I could get photos with certain characters in their special holiday outfits. (Yep, looking at you, Hollywood Studios…)
So, when Disney World reopened following its COVID-19 closure, I held my breath, waiting to see how the characters would re-materialize in their old haunts. I knew that in a socially-distanced world, character meet-and-greets would be a big no-no.
My family had a late summer trip planned, and with specialty events like Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party cancelled, and the Food and Wine Festival scaled back, we weren’t so sure about spending the money on the trip. Plus, is it really closing time at the Magic Kingdom if you haven’t seen the Happily Ever After fireworks?
We cancelled our trip, rationalizing that if we weren’t going to get the most bang for our buck, we’d wait out the virus and try again at a later date. Plus, you know, virus.
Well, late summer came, and I found myself unexpectedly in Florida on a research trip. I swear, I didn’t plan to head to the parks. I even told my son I wasn’t going. But the plane wheels had barely touched down at MCO before my car pulled into Disney Springs, all on its own volition. I took care of some business the next day, but the siren’s call of the Kingdom was too much for me. I was soooo close! I could very nearly see the castle from the highway… I made a last minute reservation, and off I went.
The princesses were there to greet me as soon as I crossed under the train station. Heading from the shadowed tunnel into that brilliant sunlight as you enter the “world of Yesterday, Tomorrow and Fantasy” (you know exactly where I’m talking about!), there was a socially-distanced crowd staring right back at me. I knew they couldn’t be there to greet me, since no one except the cast member at the reservation line knew I was coming, but why were all those people looking in my direction?
Turned out they weren’t looking at me at all. They were waving happily back at the princesses holding court at the top of the train station. Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, and Ariel, along with the Fairy Godmother, were welcoming guests to their Magic Kingdom day.
I had barely made it to the hub when – cue the music – along came Tinkerbell spreading her pixie dust along Main Street. It was the first of several times I would see Tink’s float sparkling past the guests that day in an unscheduled “character cavalcade.”
Next it was off to Tomorrowland, to battle the evil Emperor Zurg. It’s always one of my first rides of the day when I’m in the Magic Kingdom. It was only fitting then that the first character I’d come across outside the ride would be Buzz Lightyear on the Tomorrowland stage. While I wasn’t able to get my picture with him, per se, Buzz was doing a great job entertaining the Space Rangers gathered at the foot of the stage without being huggably close. The Magic Kingdom was pretty quiet that day anyway, but each of the cadets assembled in front of the stage were able to get some individual attention from Buzz, with a pretty good angle for the Moms and Dads to get “selfie-esque” pictures with Buzz presiding in the background. Later in the day, Stitch would also show up, creating his own brand of mischief on the stage.
So far, so good. I’d managed to see a few of my favorite characters, and I’d only been in the park a short time. I cut across the hub again on my way to Pirates, but I found myself pausing in front of the castle for another unscheduled cavalcade. This time, Goofy and company came parading through, with dancers and stilt walkers leading the way. Goofy would pass my way at least two more times that day.
The big moment came when Mickey and Minnie paraded their way through the park, complete with their 90th Anniversary celebration outfits on. Later, Mickey and gang would replace the princesses on the train station balcony to interact with guests. I guess it was because it was time for the princesses to retire to their princess float so that they could go on a royal tour through the Magic Kingdom as they waved to miniature versions of themselves along their travel route.
Hidden throughout the park were a few other special treats to see characters. Coming around the back side of the castle, I was surprised to hear a few raised voices. It wasn’t really shouting, but it was louder than your average park conversation. Looking up at where the commotion was coming from, I spied Anastasia and Drizella, Cinderella’s stepsisters, bickering with each other, and entertaining guests from the second floor balcony of the castle. It was a slightly different take on the character interactions, because this time the characters were “face characters” who had the ability to “chat” with guests.
Toward the end of my day, I also had the opportunity to hear the brass sounds of the Main Street Philharmonic as they paraded through Frontierland.
While I didn’t see them during my time at the Magic Kingdom, there are also cavalcades by the Hundred Acre Wood gang, Aladdin and his friends, and even a spot for Jack Sparrow to give his own brand of advice to guests. You won’t see these activities listed in your times guide, however, because they are meant to be “spontaneous” in order to keep crowds from forming and getting too close to each other. The cavalcades were fairly frequent, though, and perhaps even more magical than if I’d lined up an hour before to see a parade, simply because they did occur so unexpectedly.
While I was only visiting the Magic Kingdom that day, each of the parks has their own style of character appearances to enchant guests, including floating parades on the river at Animal Kingdom.
It may not have been a personalized autographed session with Mickey, or a buffet with “the Fab 5,” but Disney certainly did a better job than I was expecting of incorporating character appearances into the parks. Character sightings were more abundant than I had anticipated, and while things may be different during the recovery from COVID-19, I was happy to see that our favorite characters hadn’t gone far.
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Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
(Editor’s Note: No one is quite sure when Disney’s live-action (and computer-generated?) remake of The Little Mermaid will start filming or be released. Thankfully, though, Chris Lucas has served up a wealth of fun information about the original, beloved animated movie.)
Here are some things you might not know about 1989’s The Little Mermaid, Disney’s 28th animated classic.
• Walt Disney himself loved the 1837 Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale about the Little Mermaid so much that he began developing a short, animated version in the 1930s. He’d hoped to make a feature film of it after Snow White, but World War II and financial issues put a stop to that and it never was produced.
• Walt’s gravesite in Glendale, California, where his ashes are interred, has a statue of the Little Mermaid in the garden. It’s a small replica of the famous one in Copenhagen, Denmark, that Walt so admired.
Courtesy of Top Disney
• In 1986, Disney animators revived the idea of a Little Mermaid feature. Like Walt, they chose to soften the original Andersen story, which is very grim.
• The Little Mermaid would be the very last Disney animated classic to use hand drawn ink and paint cells, Xerox duplication, and non-digital cameras and film to shoot.
• Millions of animated bubbles were needed for the underwater scenes, so Disney hired a Chinese animation firm to do the work to save time.
• Lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken were brought on board the project to structure it more like a Broadway show, including a musical number early on where the protagonist clearly lays out for the audience what they most want. Almost every Disney animated musical feature has followed that pattern since.
• Actress Jodi Benson had worked with Howard Ashman on a 1986 Broadway show called Smile so he recommended her for the title role of Ariel. She’s played it ever since. In addition, Benson is the voice of Barbie in the Toy Story movies and Weebo the robot in 1997’s Flubber. She also appears in the 2007 live-action Disney film Enchanted.
• Ariel’s “want” song, “Part of Your World” was close to a reprise of the song “Somewhere That’s Green” sung by Audrey in Ashman/Menken’s 1986 Off-Broadway hit Little Shop of Horrors. Disney producer Jeffrey Katzenberg wanted it cut, but luckily it wasn’t and is still one of the most popular Disney Princess songs.
• Originally, there was a very British butler/Major Domo crab assistant for King Triton, called Clarence (think Zasu from The Lion King, or Cogsworth from Beauty & The Beast). Ashman suggested that they change him to a Caribbean crustacean, giving his songs a Calypso beat. Actor Samuel E. Wright was hired to play Sebastian the Crab, and he gave him a Trinidadian accent. Sebastian was a breakout star and got his own best-selling CD of Calypso songs in 1990.
• For the look of the villainous sea witch Ursula, Ashman approved an homage to performer Harris Milstead - better known by the stage name Divine - who’d recently passed away. The role was written for Bea Arthur, but she declined, so Pat Carroll was cast. Carroll used some vocal and character touches of Madame Medusa from 1977’s The Rescuers and Cruella DeVil from 101 Dalmatians for Ursula, as well as a little from Hollywood legend Talulah Bankhead and Howard Ashman himself.
• Ursula was supposed to be revealed as King Triton’s sister - Ariel’s aunt - but that plot line was dropped from the finished film.
• Speaking of sisters, Ariel is one of seven daughters of Triton. They represent the seven seas. All of them have names that begin with the letter A, and each one has a tail that’s a different color of the rainbow.
• The role of Prince Eric was voiced by 16-year-old Christopher D. Barnes. His assistant, Grimsby, was played by 74-year-old Ben Wright, who’d voiced the role of Roger in 101 Dalmatians 28 years before. Wright died just before The Little Mermaid was released. The film was dedicated to him.
• The world premiere of The Little Mermaid was held at Walt Disney World (where some of the animation was done) in November 1989, at the AMC theater in Downtown Disney. It was shown on all ten screens.
• It cost $40 million to make The Little Mermaid. It took in more than that in under a month. In all, the film grossed over $200 million (which would be more than double that amount in 2020, adjusted for inflation) and was #9 at the box office in 1989, a very competitive year full of blockbuster films. The money it made helped to save Disney’s animation department from being shut for good.
• For the first time since 1977, a Disney animated classic was nominated for an Oscar. The Little Mermaid won two, both in the musical category. That started an amazing streak. From 1989 to 2001, Disney lost the Best Song category just four times. Twice it was because there were no nominations in that category for Disney, and once because they were up against "My Heart Will Go On" from the juggernaut that was 1997's Titanic.
• In 1990 The Little Mermaid was released on VHS. That marked the first time a Disney animated classic was ever made available on home video before at least one re-release to theaters. It sold 7 million copies in one month.
• The continued success of The Little Mermaid has led to two direct-to-video sequels, an animated TV series, video games, a 1997 theatrical re-release, a 2007 Broadway adaptation, a live TV singalong version, an upcoming live-action remake, and several theme park attractions.
On the PRESS CLUB C Podcast, enjoy Ray’s recent discussion with Chris Lucas about his career as an actor, author and Disney expert. Tune in right here!
The last week of April is officially “National Princess Week,” a week to celebrate the princesses in your life and “to encourage little princesses to play the part.” Perhaps livening up your quarantine days by throwing a themed princess party is in order. You can decide for yourselves if that happens to require lots of pink frosting, tea cups, seashells, bows and arrows, beignets or snowmen.
Hold on to your tiara, though: Don’t break out the Frozen soundtrack just yet. I have some shocking news for you. Arendelle’s Anna and Elsa are not considered “official” Disney princesses and are not part of the Princess Royal Court (insert screeching brake noises here!). How can that be? After all, they are both daughters of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle. For good measure, they’ve brought in a boatload of coin to Disney’s realm, as expected of any good Disney princess.
Why didn’t the Queens of Arendelle make the cut? They have been given formal welcome ceremonies at Disney World, and even host a sing-along at Hollywood Studios, give tours of Arendell at their ride-through in Epcot, and welcome visitors to the hour long meet-and-greet line at their Royal Sommerhus. They are obviously popular. But they have not yet been crowned as part of the official Princess Royal Court. Did you even know there was such a sanctioned list?
Originally, there were eight “official” Disney princesses included in Disney’s Royal Court: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, and Mulan. There are currently twelve “official” princesses, though. In order, they are:
1. Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) 2. Cinderella (Cinderella) 3. Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) 4. Ariel (The Little Mermaid) 5. Belle (Beauty and the Beast) 6. Jasmine (Aladdin) 7. Pocahontas (Pocahontas) 8. Mulan (Mulan) 9. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) 10. Rapunzel (Tangled) 11. Merida (Brave) 12. Moana (Moana)
In recent times, Disney even hosted public coronation ceremonies when Tiana (Princess #9), Rapunzel (Princess #10) and Merida (Princess #11) earned membership on the Princess roster (they haven’t held a ceremony for Moana (Princess #12) yet – she “joined” in 2019). Tiana’s 2010 coronation ceremony took place in New York City (why not New Orleans?); Rapunzel’s 2011 ceremony took place at Kensington Palace(!); and Merida’s (2013) happened at Disney World. Interesting factoid for you, and one which muddies the discussion, is that Tinkerbell, a mere leader of fairies, had a short-lived reign on the list until Tiana bumped her off the scroll.
In contrast to the Queens of Arendelle, two of Disney’s “top tier” heroines who ARE on the official list are Pocahontas and Moana … daughters of chiefs, but not necessarily “princesses” in the strictest sense of the word. Yet, they get the proverbial, if not physical, tiaras. Moana even insists she isn’t a princess, but Maui retorts, “If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, then you’re a princess.”
What about Princess Leia, now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise? Is she disqualified because she isn’t an animated character? Avatar is now a Disney property in the Animal Kingdom – does James Cameron’s Neytiri, princess of the Na’vi, join the royal court? There’s also Meg from Hercules. Pardon my literature background for a moment, but Meg is technically a princess twice-over, being the daughter of King Creon of Thebes in Greek mythology. She also marries Hercules, son of the king of the Greek gods, so – yikes – double princess pedigree. Princess Kida, the daughter of the king of Atlantis in Atlantis: The Lost Empire rescues her people, just like Moana …. and Merida… and Mulan. Do these ladies get to hang out in the princesses lounge as well? (There has to be a special princess lounge hidden away at the parks somewhere. If not, the Imagineers might want to get on that while they are reconstructing half of Epcot.)
What, then, is the criteria for becoming a Disney princess? Do you have to have an invitation to host one of the Disney character meals at Disney World? If so, then only Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Ariel and Jasmine at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall qualify, though some of those same royalty share meals at Cinderella’s Royal Table, and Rapunzel and Ariel host a Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast with their princes at Trattoria al Forno at the Boardwalk. (Sofia the First sneaks in at the Disney Junior Play ‘n Dine at Hollywood and Vine, so that blows that theory on me.)
If you go to an official Disney site (https://princess.disney.com/), the princesses to choose from there are the official twelve: Belle, Rapunzel, Ariel, Tiana, Moana, Cinderella, Aurora, Merida, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Mulan and Snow White. (They have their special crafts and activities there for your own little princess to enjoy.) HOWEVER, if you click the Disney+ link there to the “Disney Princesses collection,” it takes you to a series of movies that include Anna and Elsa in Frozen, and even Elena of Avalor, a new entry to the cannon from the Disney Junior channel. (Perhaps she’s not a full-fledged princess because she only has a TV series and not a full-length movie?) Then, oddly, the link also includes Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway (Princess Mia of Genovia) in The Princess Diaries, along with Princess Rosalinda of Costa Luna (played by Demi Lovato) with Selena Gomez in the Princess Protection Program. So, they’ve called them princesses, but they aren’t on the “official” court list. No animated avatar, perhaps?
Now that Disney owns 21st Century Fox, what becomes of Russia’s Grand Duchess Anastasia, the poor missing Romanov heir. She’s royalty, but perhaps she’s outside looking in at the official castle because her 1997 animated film Anastasia was directed by Don Bluth, who jumped ship from Disney before starting his own studio. Oops.
Maybe the princesses themselves offer us a glimpse of the resume requirements. In Ralph Breaks the Internet (Wreck it Ralph II), they quiz Venellope as to her princess qualifications:
Rapunzel: Do you have magic hair? Vanellope: No. Elsa: Magic hands? Vanellope: No. Cinderella: Do animals talk to you? Vanellope: No. Snow White: Were you poisoned? Vanellope: No! Aurora, Tiana: Cursed? Vanellope: No! Rapunzel, Belle: Kidnapped or enslaved? Vanellope: No! Are you guys okay? Should I call the police? Ariel: Then I have to assume you made a deal with an underwater sea witch, where she took your voice in exchange for a pair of human legs? Vanellope: No! Good Lord, who would do that? Snow White: Have you ever had True Love’s Kiss? Vanellope: Ew! Barf! Jasmine: Do you have daddy issues? Vanellope: I don’t even have a mom. Princesses: Neither do we! Rapunzel: And now for the million dollar question. Do people assume all your problems got solved because a big strong man showed up? Vanellope: Yes! What is up with that? Princesses: She is a princess!
Turns out (spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the movie) Vanellope IS actually a princess, though not one of THE princesses, but she had her memory wiped and doesn’t remember her royal status. In the end, she decides she’d rather be called president.
Of course, while we often assume that a princess character should be born of royalty (Snow White, Ariel, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Merida, and Aurora), or married to royalty (Cinderella, Belle, or Tiana), some of the girls reach princess-hood by virtue of an act of heroism (Mulan, Moana, and Pocahontas). Since there is no official roster of criteria for being one of the “Royal Court” princesses, we’ll leave you to decide what you think the true criteria is.
Now, I’ve probably buried the lead way down here at the bottom, and if you don’t want me to take the glitter off of your princess week celebration, stop reading right here. The first National Princess Week? It was started by Disney in partnership with Target, April 22, 2012. Julie Andrews (Queen of Genovia) was there to help kick-off the celebration, and the Princess Diaries DVD promptly went on sale.
I think I’m going to go watch The Little Mermaid now. I’ll look for my tiara later.
Beth Keating is a regular contributor to DisneyBizJournal.
