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Spooky season is upon us! Between the dramatic décor, tasty treats and ghostly games, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Halloween at home. And now, thanks to our friends at Mars Wrigley, you can even virtually Trick or Treat using their new TREAT TOWN app.

TREAT TOWN is a first-ever digital trick-or-treating experience and the perfect way to keep a classic Halloween tradition alive with your family. Whether you sign up to be a candy giver or a trick-or-treater, the app allows users to collect candy, connect with friends and family and maybe even visit some surprise locations…

Now through October 31, trick-or-treaters can visit The Haunted Mansion for a unique trick-or-treating experience that only The Haunted Mansion can offer. You can virtually visit everyone’s favorite haunted estate from the comfort of your own home!

But, if you happen to be visiting Walt Disney World Resort, head on over to Magic Kingdom Park and climb aboard a Doom Buggy for a journey through The Haunted Mansion attraction.

Also, be sure to stop by the West Side at Disney Springs and bring your phone to start the virtual fun and games with TREAT TOWN! Don’t forget to snap a selfie while you’re there with everyone’s favorite hitch-hiking ghosts.

For more information on TREAT TOWN and how to get started, click here. Happy haunting!

From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com
Filed Under: Walt Disney World Resort

Full disclosure: This post contains a big spoiler if you haven’t watched Episode 5 of “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” called “Aardvark Love.” 

Once upon a time, a male aardvark named Willie met his match – a female aardvark named Peanut. The pair soon had their first date, and there was magic in the air. After several months, the perfect pair became a perfect trio, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Meet Karanga, a female baby aardvark born earlier this month at Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park. She is the first baby aardvark in her family – and in the park’s history, and keepers decided to name her after mom – Karanga means “Peanut” in Swahili.

You can watch the beginnings of this family story unfold in the latest episode of “Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom,” produced by National Geographic and now streaming on Disney+. The animal care team was along every step of the way of Willie and Peanut’s relationship journey. In fact, they played a role in pairing them together as part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is like a matchmaking service designed to help ensure healthy future generations for endangered and at-risk species.

A lot of thought and careful preparation went into Willie and Peanut’s blind date. In fact, seasoned animal care team members Missy, Elizabeth and Jennifer – who have a collective 60+ years of animal care expertise – used their know-how to create a special pre-date spa day for Peanut. Here’s a closer look at their “girl time” together:

The team was excited and a little nervous when the pair first met. With Peanut fresh and ready to dig in the dirt, would Willie want to join her? Would there be a spark? 

Fortunately, yes … it was love at first snout, which led to future dates and… well, nature took over.

Speaking of nature, aardvarks are a great example of diversity in the animal world and how a species adapts to its environment. These animals, from Sub-Saharan Africa, are perfectly equipped for rooting and burrowing in sand and dirt. You can see, Karanga has a long snout and tongue, just like mom and dad, that, as an insectivore, will eventually help her sniff out and devour up to 50,000 insects in one night. 

Dr. Beth has spent decades providing care for all kinds of mammals here and around the world – in fact, she just celebrated her 25th anniversary in veterinary medicine. Aardvarks hold a special place in her heart and she is very pleased with what she sees in the baby’s health and development so far. Within a few hours after her birth, Karanga had already started digging around in the dirt. This innate skill is important because it’s how aardvarks not only find food, but also how they build the burrows they live in to keep cool. 

Check out @drmarkatdisney on Instagram and @DisneyASE on Facebook for more behind-the-scenes content from our animal keepers and fun facts about the 5,000+ animals who call Walt Disney World Resort home. And take the fun with you when you download this week’s activity page.

From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com
Filed Under: Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Animals, BtS, DAK, Video, WDW

Today is World Energy Day, and we have some big news that we’re excited to share! Disneyland Paris is proud to announce that it is building one of the largest solar canopy plants in all of Europe! Pictured below, the solar plant will be developed in collaboration with Urbasolar and will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by more than 750 tons of CO2 per year. It will technically result in enough renewable clean energy to power 17% of the resort – equivalent to the annual energy consumption of a small city! 

This project is another step in our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and part of a global effort to our long-term goals of attaining net zero greenhouse gas emissions (Disney Parks Blog readers will remember the recently built 270-acre, 50-megawatt solar at Walt Disney World in 2019) and zero waste, while conserving water resources and reversing the decline of wildlife. 

The solar plant at Disneyland Paris began construction in July and is slated for completion in 2023, with our first milestone for the first phase in spring 2021. In total, it will encompass 17 hectares (42 acres) of solar canopies, using 67,500 solar panels for a production of 31 gigawatt-hours per year. 

Not only will the new plant shade guests from the sunlight, rain, and snow, but it will have a hint of Disney magic once the project is completed – illuminating a section in the shape of a Mickey Mouse head at night, which will be visible from the sky. 

In addition to these efforts, did you know that Disneyland Paris Parks and the Disneyland Hotel are already fed by geothermal energy through an innovative plant located at Villages Nature Paris, which uses naturally occurring underground heat and steam to help cover heating needs for the resort’s hot water and heating system? For more information on Disneyland Paris environmental efforts, visit: https://disneylandparis-news.com/en/our-commitments/environment/. 

Interested in learning even more about the environment and what you can do to help? Stay tuned on my Instagram handle @DrMarkatDisney.

From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com
Filed Under: Disneyland Paris, DLP