Disney World News Today

Star Wars Character Encounters can be found on Commissary Lane as well as the area around the Star Tours attraction

Chip and Dale make their debut as Ewoks at the 2013 Star Wars Weekends in Disney’s Hollywood Studios

A grand motorcade featuring all your favorite Star Wars characters!

From 6:00 a.m. on May 24 to 6:00 a.m. on May 25, enjoy all the monster-themed madness inside Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, as well as Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park in California. From special entertainment and monstrous merchandise to frightening food and boo-verages, this “All-Nighter” is shaping up to be one scary good time!

Everything kicks-off with special opening moments in front of the parks, leading up to park opening at 6 a.m., and then you’re off and running for 24 hours of fun!

At Magic Kingdom Park, Mike and Sulley from this summer’s new Disney-Pixar film “Monsters University” will pop in at the “Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It!” Street Party, and serve as Grand Marshals during a special pre-parade, complete with a cheer squad, flag corps and a marching band playing the MU Fight Song. You can catch this procession just ahead of each of that day’s two performances of the “Celebrate a Dream Come True” Parade.

In Tomorrowland, the Rockettower Plaza Stage plays host to a “Monster Mania” DJ Dance Party from 4 – 9 p.m. and “Monsters University Movie Night” from 11 p.m. – 5 a.m., featuring back-to-back showings of the original “Monsters, Inc.” and an opportunity to meet Mike and Sulley. Finally, you can dance the night away at Disney’s Up All Night Dance Party at Cinderella Castle, keeping things lively from 2 – 5:45 a.m

From 6 a.m. on May 24 to 6 a.m. on May 25, enjoy all the monster-themed madness inside Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, as well as Disneyland park and Disney California Adventure park in California. From special entertainment and monstrous merchandise to frightening food and boo-verages, this “All-Nighter” is shaping up to be one scary good time!

Everything kicks-off with special opening moments in front of the parks, leading up to park opening at 6 a.m., and then you’re off and running for 24 hours of fun!

At Disneyland Resort, the fun spreads out across two Disney Parks! Disney California Adventure park is having a Hollywood Viewing Party, screening “Monsters, Inc.” inside Muppets Theater and hosting Mad T Party outside in Hollywood Land. Both start at 9 p.m. and continue through the night. Elsewhere, the “Monsters University” gang will be out and about with the new MU float from the Pixar Play Parade, happy to pose for pictures with you.

Disneyland park celebrates with a Disney Character Pajama Party, starting after midnight in Mickey’s Toontown with classic Disney cartoons, a Mickey Mouse Party Zone with DJ and activities for kids, plus goodies available for purchase, like hot chocolate, milk and cookies and other treats. Over in Tomorrowland, there will be Star Wars characters to meet and the TLT “Monstrous” Dance Club at Tomorrowland Terrace, where you can keep the party going from midnight to 5:30 a.m. During the All-Nighter, the Royal Theatre at Fantasy Faire hosts a Royal Swing Ball, with a live band from 10 p.m. – 1:40 a.m., and beginning June 15 the “Jump, Jive, Boogie Swing Party” will return to the Royal Theatre for select nights during the summer. Keep an eye on the calendar page on Disneyland.com for dates and information

Motorcade of Celebrities: Ray Park, Jeremy Bulloch, Dee Bradley Baker, James Arnold Taylor and Ashley Eckstein

Levy Restaurants is again offering a summer cooking school for kids ages 6 to 12, who may be the foodies of the future. The kid-friendly cooking class takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Fulton’s Crab House, Portobello Restaurant and Wolfgang Puck Cafe. The Levy cooking school is $37 per child. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis until the event is full. To sign up, call 407-828-

This year’s Epcot International Food & Wine Festival will return to the park September 27-November 11. Here is the tentative list of performers who will participate in the Eat to the Beat concert series.

New acts coming this year include the Go-Go’s, Edwin McCain, The Manhattan Transfer, Wilson Phillips, Spin Doctors and Christopher Cross. There are also many returning favorites, including Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Boyz II Men

Mickey and Minnie have arrived in their new air conditioned meet and greet location in Animal Kingdom’s Discovery Island area

Meet Deb Wills and Deb Koma for a breakfast meet and greet at the Tomorrowland Terrace in the Magic Kingdom at 9:00am