Here is the official press release detailing the new discounts and added benefits.

BURBANK, Calif. – January 24, 2012 – From Broadway to Hollywood, from the Big Easy to the Aloha State, D23: The Official Disney Fan Club has added a bevy of new benefits and special discounts to bring new ways for its members to save when shopping, traveling, dining, entertaining… even decorating their homes.

From Disney collectibles to accommodations near the Disneyland Resort, D23’s most recently added special discounts include:

• From Thomas Kinkade, the Painter of Light™, 20% off a D23 Member’s entire order at ThomasKinkade.com, including art from the Disney Dreams Collection

• A 10% discount off of services at Niki Bryan Spas, meaning D23 Members can save at all spa locations at Disney Parks in the United States

• Special D23 rates at the famed El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, including its upcoming presentation of Disney’s classic Lady and the Tramp

• D23 Member discounts at House of Blues locations at both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort

• $5 discount off any adult, child or senior ticket to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, an official NASA Visitor Center

• 20% off any single admission ticket to the famed Miami Science Museum

• From Howard Johnson Anaheim, just across the street from Disneyland Resort, 15% off an entire stay

• At LittleMissMatched, D23 Members receive 15% off all Disney merchandise online and in-store, including Downtown Disney locations at Disneyland and Walt Disney World

• For fashion-conscious Disney fans, 10% off of purchases made at the Apricot Lane Boutique at Downtown Disney Anaheim

• $23 off purchases of $149 or more in-store or online at collectibles boutique Charming Shoppe in Orange County, Calif.

• Savings of 20% from Fantagraphics Books, which publishes hardcover versions of classic Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck comics

In addition to these special discounts, Disney Vacation Club® — Disney’s innovative approach to vacation ownership since 1991 — is celebrating the opening of Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas in Ko Olina, Hawai‘i, with a special limited-time offer.  Starting February 1, 2012, D23 Members have an exclusive opportunity to receive a vintage work of custom-matted art from Walt Disney’s 1937 animated short “Hawaiian Holiday” by simply learning more about the magic of Disney Vacation Club membership by phone.

The newest D23 Member discounts and offers are in addition to ongoing special deals, a full list of which can be found online at http://d23.disney.go.com/Discounts/. Continuing D23 Member offers also include:

• Special pricing on the ever-popular Mary Poppins on Broadway, with orchestra-seat pricing starting at just $67 for D23 Members

• Two ways to save on admission to the renowned Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, just across the street from the El Capitan Theatre; save $5 per ticket by or buy one adult ticket and get a child’s ticket for free

• A 10% discount on purchases at Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko Olina, just down the street from Disney’s Aulani resort

• From and to virtually any airport in the country, 10% off all services offered by SuperShuttle, including its ExecuCar

private sedan service

• A 15% savings on all video game catalog titles and select hardware from game publisher THQ

• A savings of 10% at all Ralph Brennan restaurants in New Orleans and Metairie, La., including Red Fish Grill, Ralphs on the Park and Café NOMA, as well as Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen at Downtown Disney Anaheim

• 20% off all purchases made online at the ABC Store

• A savings of 20% on purchases made at Brookstone.com

This is just a sample of available the D23 Member discounts and offers–with more coming throughout 2012, saving members literally hundreds of dollars a year.

For Disney fans everywhere, becoming a D23 Member as simple as visiting www.Disney.com/D23 and selecting from a Gold or Silver D23 Membership.  Gold D23 Membership ($74.99 a year) offers a one-year subscription (four issues) to the glossy,award-winning Disney twenty-three magazine, plus four special, collectible gifts — unique surprises that accompany every issue of Disney twenty-three.

All new and renewing D23 Members, including Silver D23 Members ($34.99 a year), also receive a member-exclusive gift from the Walt Disney Archives Collection, and specially priced admission to the bi-annual D23 Expo, the largest Disney fan event in the world.

D23 Members can take advantage of the Official Disney Fan Club’s ever-increasing member benefits and offers, have full access to the D23 website (www.Disney.com/D23), and receive exclusive invitations to special, member-only events including private tours of The Walt Disney Studios and the Walt Disney Archives; D23-exclusive celebrations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts; and movie screenings of classic Disney films.

Here is the official press release:

GLENDALE, Calif., January 17, 2012 – Disney announced today the launch of DisneyBaby.com, a new online destination and product showcase for expectant and new parents, filled with inspirational ideas, tips from real moms and the most comprehensive collection of Disney Baby brand products on the Web.

At the heart of the site experience is Disney Baby Magical Moments, an easy-to-use tool for parents to upload their favorite baby photos and memories, adding to a dynamic collection of shared family experiences from other parents that flow throughout the site.  DisneyBaby.com features the mom-trusted Huggies brand, as its exclusive sponsor.

“Disneybaby.com continues Disney’s longstanding tradition of helping families create magical moments together,” said Jessi Dunne, executive vice president, Disney Moms and Babies for Disney Consumer Products. “Our new destination emphasizes the joys of parenthood by offering tools, products and everyday solutions in a fun but meaningful way that resonate with mom’s and dad’s desire to bond with their baby.”

To make the most of these special bonding moments with Baby, DisneyBaby.com is organized around key moments of the day: Getting Ready, In the Nursery, Dressing Baby, On-the-Go, Mealtime, Playtime, Bathtime and Baby’s Firsts.  Key site features include:

• Disney Baby Product Collections — Parents will find an extensive selection of Disney Baby products to meet Baby’s needs for every key moment of the day, including one-of-a-kind nursery products, on-the-go baby gear, delightful products for feeding and bathtime, magical toys, and Disney Baby’s softest, cuddliest clothes.  Parents and gift givers can quickly browse Disney Baby product collections and filter by gender, product type, Disney character and retailer.  Links to retailers’ websites are provided for purchase opportunities.

• Inspired Ideas – Chock-full of ideas that add a touch of Disney magic to everyday moments with Baby, DisneyBaby.com offers creative inspiration throughout the site, from nursery design tips to age-based playtime activities to DIY party ideas for Baby’s first birthday and more.

• Tips from Real Moms – Real moms offer go-to tips on a wide range of topics from making bath time fun for Baby to stocking the diaper bag with must-have essentials to games sure to get Baby giggling.

• Disney Baby Magical Moments – Disney Baby invites moms and dads to weave their own experiences with Baby into the very fabric of the site by uploading and sharing their favorite moments and photos.  Parents will watch them come to life as part of a vibrant panorama of shared experiences of parenthood.

“We continue to focus on building compelling new digital platforms to serve the needs of parents at every life stage, and are very excited to introduce a new destination that shows expectant and new parents how to add a little Disney magic to their growing family’s life,” said Brooke Chaffin, senior vice president, Disney Interactive Moms and Family.

According to Erik Seidel, vice president, Huggies Brand, the new site serves as a great channel for the Kimberly-Clark brand to offer useful tips, resources, and tools to meet parents’ needs so they can enjoy every moment of their journey, while strengthening the brand’s long standing relationship with Disney. “We are thrilled to serve as the exclusive site sponsor for what we believe will become a go-to site for moms everywhere.”  Huggies is a part of Kimberly-Clark’s portfolio of trusted brands that lead the world in providing essentials for a better life. For more information, visit www.HUGGIES.com.

About Disney Baby

The Disney Baby brand provides parents with essential products and information they need for Creating Magical Moments Right From The Start™.  From its launch of the Disney Cuddly Bodysuit™ in Spring 2011, and through products designed with parents in mind, Disney Baby offers today’s parents everything they need to bond with Baby at every stage.  The Disney Baby product line includes essentials for Apparel, Nursery, On-the-Go, Bathtime, Mealtime, Playtime and Baby’s Firsts.  A multifaceted digital resource for families, Disney Baby provides consumers with information and inspiration online via the website www.DisneyBaby.com, on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DisneyBaby), on YouTube (www.YouTube.com/DisneyBaby) and Twitter (www.Twitter.com/DisneyBaby).

First a disclosure from S.W.

We know park plans can and do change & evolve.  My drawing – a rough interpretation based upon the previously-discussed sources – meant for fun & discussion.  But, unlike most of my site plans, this is not a work of fiction.  It is a 2-D translation of the 3-D massing model, and the rough placement of vertical structures & paths is fairly accurate.    The actual content (what kinds of attractions those structures contain), on the other hand, is more based on informed guesswork (with a few bits officially confirmed).  Still, as far as the physical layout of the resort is concerned, what follows may be the closest thing to a park map (of the current iteration of Shanghai) any of us outside WDI will ever see.

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Enjoy!

Pick Your Spot By Night’s End

Decide if you want to end your night with fireworks and Fantasmic at Disneyland, or ElecTRONica and World of Color at Disney California Adventure. Park hopping may not be allowed if the parks get too crowded, so pick a park and stick with it.

Get To Park As Early as Possible

Plan to be at the park ALL day. No really! Both parks may reach capacity before noon, and you may not be allowed to enter or re-enter the park once the crowd-control restrictions are in place. This is not the day to go “off-site” for lunch, or return to your hotel room for a nap.

Be Willing to Skip Stuff

This is not the day for riding every single ride and seeing every single show. Utilize the Fastpass service wherever possible to reduce wait times, but be prepared for long lines. If you have a iPhone you can download a diversion like the Wishing Stars application to play between rides, or pick up a copy of the Disneyland edition of the Hidden Mickeys book to read while you’re waiting in line, and use a smartphone ap like Touring Plans to keep tabs on wait times.

Be Flexible

While a little planning can help make the day more enjoyable, you should also be prepared to be flexible and change your plans on the fly. Expect to grab a meal on the run if your preferred restaurant is too busy, skip a favorite ride if the line is too long, and explore parts of the park you may never have seen before.

Visit Movie-Based Attractions

Whether it’s Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, Captain EO, It’s Tough to be a Bug, or  Muppet*Vision 3-D, movie-based attractions offer an opportunity to get out of the crowds and sit down, even if just for 15 minutes. Visit the Blue Sky Cellar in DCA, explore the Disney Gallery on Disneyland’s Main Street, U.S.A., or go play with some new and not-so-new technology in Innoventions.

Don’t Waste Your Day For the Perfect View

Unless you’re willing to get there at park opening and sit on a bench for hours and hours, don’t even worry about seeing the midnight fireworks from directly in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. There’s a large group of folks who make it an annual tradition to hold that prime bit of real estate so they’ll have the perfect view of the festivities, and the area will be completely full by mid-morning.

One strategy for getting a good view of the fireworks is to wait until just after the Believe… in Holiday Magic show ends (it’s scheduled for 8:45 p.m. on December 31st), and then grab a spot as people leave that show. You’ll still have a three-hour wait until the Midnight show, so bring something to pass the time. You may also opt to view fireworks near “it’s a small world,” which is usually less crowded than Main Street.

Bring Warm Clothing and Be Able to Layer

It can get really chilly inside the parks at night. Locker rental is much cheaper than purchasing Disney-priced sweatshirts, scarves and gloves, so plan ahead.

Wait For the Rush to Pass

The Resort often suspends tram service immediately following the fireworks shows due to the number of people trying to exit the parks, so wait around a bit if you don’t want to walk back to the parking structure.

Great tips from MousePlanet. Of course if you are like me, you’ll completely avoid the park during busy times such as these. To be in the park during these type of events is not for the faint-hearted. However, if you dare, there is no better place to spend New Year’s Eve, that is if you follow these and other steps to ensure the best experience.

Guests can use winter backgrounds, classic character stamps, and spirited frames to create festive masterpieces, then can share them on Disney.com or download and print their artwork for an affordable holiday greeting card, personalized gift tag, or custom gift solution.

Visit the Mickey Mouse Card Maker to get started.

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The rest of this post is from the official press release. New benefits and savings include:

• $23 off orders of $149 or more at online retailer Brookstone.com

• 15% savings on video game entertainment from THQ, including the popular uDraw GameTablet

• A 10% discount on services offered by SuperShuttle and ExecuCar nationwide, including service to Southern California and Central Florida airports

• Special savings on admission to such popular Southern California attractions as:
  - The IMAX Theater at the California Science Center in Los Angeles
  - Madame Tussauds Hollywood
  - The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum and the Richard Nixon Library

• A cool 10% off purchases at Two Scoops Ice Cream Parlor in Ko’olina, Hawaii, close to the brand-new Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa

• Savings of 10% on a Ride-Along or Driving Experience at Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World® Speedway in Florida

• At Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, save $10 on any purchase of $50 or more

These new offers join a wide of range continuing benefits and cost-saving deals that are available to all members of D23, including:

• A 10% discount on services at all Mandara Spa locations worldwide, including spas at the Disneyland® and Walt Disney World Resorts

• D23-exclusive pricing and offers for tickets to Mary Poppins on Broadway and The Lion King in Las Vegas

• D23 Member offers from ESPN Zone in Anaheim and The House of Blues at the Walt Disney World Resort

• D23 Member pricing at ESPN’s upcoming 76 Classic men’s basketball NCAA tournament in Anaheim

• Savings of 20% on items purchased at the ABC TV Online Store

• Plus a host of other special D23 Member discounts, offers and benefits.

Full details regarding D23 Member benefits and special offers – which can save members hundreds of dollars a year – can be found at www.Disney.com/D23.

“D23 is a fantastic way for our fans to experience everything Disney has to offer – and we also want it to be a tremendous value to all of our members every day of the year,” said Steven Clark, head of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club. “From where they live, to where they travel and shop, we are excited to be bringing these opportunities to our members and to expand our benefits.”

D23 offers two levels of membership, Gold ($74.99 a year) and Silver ($34.99 a year).  All D23 Members can take advantage of the Official Disney Fan Club’s ever-increasing member benefits and offers.

Gold D23 Members receive a one-year subscription (four issues) to the glossy, award-winning Disney twenty-three magazine, which presents an in-depth view of Disney’s amazing heritage and exciting new creations and projects.

In addition to having Disney twenty-three delivered directly to their home in protective packaging, Gold-level D23 Members also receive four special, collectible gifts every year, each one a surprise and sent with every issue of Disney twenty-three.

All new and renewing D23 Members also receive a member-exclusive gift from The Walt Disney Archives Collection, and specially priced admission to the bi-annual D23 Expo, the largest Disney fan event in the world.

D23 Members also have full access to the D23 website – located at www.Disney.com/D23 – and receive exclusive invitations to attend special events created by D23 that are available only to its members.

D23’s ongoing special events included private tours of The Walt Disney Studios and the Walt Disney Archives; D23-exclusive celebrations at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts; and member-only movie screenings of classic Disney films.

So sit back, and get ready to be frightened!

1. Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride and Pennhurst Asylum Haunted Attraction

Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride is located deep in a 200-year-old forest full of overgrown trees creating the ultimate dark trail. Guests will be on edge even before ever entering the first scene. Combined with a digital custom soundtrack, pyrotechnics and continuous scares throughout the ride, this hayride attraction is sure to create an ultimate haunt experience. Additionally, The Pennhurst Asylum is one of the scariest haunted attraction sites in the world, mostly due to its setting – located in a 100-year-old, abandoned mental institute. The building itself will instill real fear and true horror in even the bravest of souls. The Asylum has been investigated by professional ghost hunters and featured on Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters several times and found to be truly haunted.

2. The Darkness

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, The Darkness rests inside a 100-year-old, two story warehouse and includes three attractions in one location. Experience two floors of fright with high tech animations, special effects, amazing scenes, over 50 live actors and much more.  The Darkness also includes Terror Visions in 3D haunted house with crazed, insane clowns. Lastly exit through the all new Monster Museum with real like horror movie props from movie like Saw.

3. 13th Gate

Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 13th Gate features levels of detail, set designs, and effects combined with outstanding actors and incredible makeup effects that can only be compared to the likes of Hollywood. With over 13 different indoor and outdoor fright zones that includes haunted asylums, claustrophobic cellars, a real snake-infested Louisiana swamp and much, much more, 13th Gate make this huge scream factory a top haunt on anyone’s list. New for 2011 is Necropolis 13, a 40,000 square foot New Orleans style cemetery complete with over 400 zombie-infested crypts and mausoleums.

4. Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses

Located in Ulster Park, New York, Headless Horseman Hayrides & Haunted Houses is situated in the historic New York Haunted Hudson Valley and offers a second-to-none haunted scream park that features a massive corn maze, 6 haunted houses, a haunted hayride, side shows, 5 gift shops, 4 eateries, and even professional actors riding around as the Headless Horseman himself. The property incorporates over forty-five acres of naturally landscaping that includes foreboding woods, surreal ponds, and fruit orchards and in which night falls, provides the perfect setting for the ultimate haunting.

5. Netherworld Haunted House

Located in Atlanta, Georgia, Netherworld Haunted House has long been recognized for their originality of innovative scares and unique characters. Netherworld features an over-the-top production that many in the industry consider to be the top horror attraction in the country. Created by film and television professionals, Netherworld is also noted for its unique themes, stunts, costumes and sets and has been featured on everything from Travel Channel to The Today Show. It was even used as a filming location for the movie Zombieland.

6. Cutting Edge Haunted House

Located in Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, Cutting Edge Haunted House is located in a 100-year-old abandoned meat packing plant in a section of Fort Worth historically dubbed as “Hell’s Half Acre.” The meat packing equipment is still in use, but now provides service for a two-story human processing area. Realistic looking human mannequins are hoisted up to the second level and brought through the entire meat packing process until the conveyor system brings the butchered corpses back to the first level. It takes visitors an average 55 minutes to explore Cutting Edge Haunted House who recently earned a Guinness World record as the “World’s Largest Walk Through Haunted House.”

7. 13th Floor Haunted House

Located in my very own city of Phoenix, Arizona, 13th Floor Haunted House is an intense, graphic, theatrical show that will take guests on a gut wrenching ride of visceral thrills and psychological horror. Featuring 60,000 square feet of shocking twists and horrifying turns, The 13th Floor  features over 100 performers, amazing costumes, and horrifying thematic experiences that rival television and film in the scope and scale of its production.

8. The House of Torment

Located in Austin, Texas, The House of Torment combines two haunted houses, The Reckoning and Cursed, into to one scary experience. The Reckoning is an apocalyptic saga that transports guests to a devastated city that has suffered through alien invasions, virulent out breaks and ample amounts of destruction. This house features massive movie quality sets, giant animatronic monsters, aerial stunts, thrilling special effects, and nonstop action. Cursed is an immersive experience taking guests on a journey through a haunted island where blood thirst savages attack and zombie pirates stalk the living.

9. Erebus 4 Story Haunted Attraction

Located in Pontiac, Michigan, Erebus 4 Story Haunted Attraction features unique scares that you can’t see anywhere else.  With over 30 years in the haunted house business, they are masters at creating elements that will grab you, bite you, and even land on top of you.  New for the 2011 season, is the War of the Worlds section where a war between humans and aliens is raging.

10. Asylum Haunted House / 13th Floor

Located in Denver, Colorado, Asylum Haunted House / 13th Floor is actually a combination of four haunted houses – Asylum, 13th Floor, Bloodshed and Zombieland, each with its own story line and scare factors. The frights begin in Gordon Cottingham’s Hospital for the Mentally Insane, The Asylum. Much deeper and darker than the previous levels, the Asylum is a damp and musty place infested with spiders, rats, snakes, and the endless screams of the tortured souls. And if that is not enough scare for you already, hold on to your hats as there re three additional haunted houses to follow.

11. The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse

Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, The Dent Haunted Schoolhouse is one of the most detailed haunted houses you will find in the nation, featuring Hollywood style animatronics, sets, actors and make-up.  Classified as haunted, The Dent Schoolhouse was an actual school although with a grizzly past. Originally opening in 1894, guests will learn of the true story of its murderous janitor, Charlie, and why locals have often referred to the school’s basement as “hell’s basement.”

12. 13th Floor Haunted House

13th Floor, San Antonio Haunted House from Vishwanand Shetti on Vimeo.

Located in San Antonio, Texas, 13th Floor Haunted House is housed in a 105 year old historic building and spans 40,000 square feet across 3 stories. Guests are take through several levels of horror starting from the depths of its decrepit, underground basement.  Through the wickedness of its massive gothic cemetery and into its horrifically haunted hotel, 13th Floor patrons will experience a barrage of special effects, animatronic monsters and impeccably detailed sets.

13. Nightmare on the Bayou

Located in Houston, Texas, Nightmare on the Bayou is located directly next to Houston’s oldest graveyard and features 15,000 sq. feet of hauntedness. Nightmare on the Bayou is entering its 12th year in operation and has grown bigger and better every year. 2011 features newly designed scenes, Hollywood quality props, professional animatronics and dozens of crazed actors whose sole purpose is to scare you to death.

Based on either your own experience or from the videos above, which haunted house do you feel is the scariest of them all? Let us know in the Comments section of this post.

Credit to Hauntworld.com for original list and descriptions.

The left side of the construction represents the future area of Be Our Guest Restaurant, Maurice’s Cottage, and Gaston’s Tavern. The large building on the right side will house The Little Mermaid attraction and Storybook Circus (not included in the frame) will begin at the far right of this attraction.  The New Fantasyland attractions, stores and eateries will open in phases beginning late 2012.

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Which event in WDW’s 40 year history is most memorable to you? Is there something notable that they missed in the Infographic?

If you haven’t been to Walt Disney World in a while, or if you’ve never been at all, maybe it’s about time you did. There are plenty of Orlando Hotels and packages available these days, finding one to fit your budget has never been easier. It’s your turn to experience Disney history.