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March 2012

Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy – All Three Encounters


Disney Fantasy as seen from the Dream

While on the preview cruise of the Disney Fantasy, we were blessed to have three up close encounters with the Disney Dream, the Fantasy’s older sister by about a year. As it turns out we had a friend on the Dream who sent me some great photos of the Fantasy and I managed to get some great video looking in the other direction.

On the final encounter, I was lucky enough to be up on deck 13 with just a few imagineers inlcuding Joe Lanzisero who played a large part in the creation of the Dream and the Fantasy. Here he is with his famously curly hair blown straight by the wind and his creation the Disney Dream in the water behind him.

This video was taken around the same time as the photo of Joe.

More pics and video below the jump:

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Red Car Trolley Previewed at California Adventure

One of the key elements of the makeover of Disneyland’s second gate is the Red Car Trolley. Inspired by the historic Pacific Electric Red Cars that criss-crossed the Los Angeles area and were featured in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Red Car Trolley will operate… Read More »Red Car Trolley Previewed at California Adventure

Game, Set, and Dance. Dancing With the Stars Week 2 Elimination

The results show kicked off with a rousing dance from the pros. After a peek at the previous night’s backstage happenings, we learned that Melissa and Maks and Gladys and Tristan were safe, but that Martina and Tony were in jeopardy. Next Matt Nathanson and… Read More »Game, Set, and Dance. Dancing With the Stars Week 2 Elimination

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Game Implements Guest Restrictions

Update: In discussing this with someone involved with SotMK, the real restriction is that you can no longer advance beyond the level you are playing. So if you are currently working Medium or Hard levels, you can continue to play that, but once you’re done,… Read More »Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom Game Implements Guest Restrictions

Disney Pinterest Boards

Pinterest, the visual pin-board site, has become very popular lately. Studies are coming out claiming that Pinterest is rising in its ability to drive traffic, sometimes beating out Twitter. Many brands are starting to utilize Pinterest for marketing. Even some theme parks have official accounts on Pinterest,… Read More »Disney Pinterest Boards

The Avengers – Featurette

The Avengers - Marvel

While I was on board the Disney Fantasy, I saw a terrific 3D trailer for The Avengers. Afterward, I was the most excited I’ve ever been to see the movie. The 3D was fantastic, the villains actually seem capable of putting our heroes in peril and the heroes still manage to look and act cool. Everything I want in a superhero movie.

That said, a few of you may need some additional convincing.

To help with that Marvel has released a new featurette that includes interviews director Joss Whedon and some of the film’s producers.

“What we’re doing here is completely unprecedented,” Whedon says. “Marvel is taking the characters that they’re putting in their movies and bringing them all together in a team franchise movie experience, which really has never been done before.”

That trailer, if you haven’t seen it, is below the cut:

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Animation Magic comes to Animator’s Palate aboard the Disney Fantasy

The Animation Magic show in Animators Palate aboard the Disney Fantasy is a brand new addition to the Disney Cruise Line fleet. Guests draw their own characters only to have them appear later animated up on screen interacting with other characters. This lets each family member participate in the magic in a whole new way.

Here are the three characters created by the Frost family (mine is in the middle). The moment my character came to life, I felt not only whole new appreciation for animation, but a sense of “hey I can do that too”, even though I really can’t draw a straight line with a ruler.

Each section of Animator’s Palate has their own characters showing on the screens near them. Here is the show we saw from our table. If you’re planning on sailing on the Disney Fantasy soon, you might want to skip this so your joy isn’t dulled.

Pretty cool huh!

More on the technology behind “Animation Magic” below the jump:

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Castle 4-19: 47 Seconds

Last night’s Castle featured two bombs and a near miss. Of course, only one of those was a literal bomb. Along the way, the episode reminded me a bit of Vantage Point as Beckett and Castle had to piece together what happened with bits and pieces of what others saw at the scene of the literal bomb.

It opens at the scene of a TakeOver Wall Street protest. This show rarely seems to draw stories from the headlines, so I was a bit surprised to see this story in the show since it was obviously a version of Occupy Wall Street completely with 99% signs. Anyway, our first shot is of a reporter and her cameraman who are ready to go live with a broadcast about the protests. They’ve just started the report when a bomb goes off. In the aftermath, 5 people are dead.

Our usual gang shows up, but they are sidelined. Since it involved a bomb, the FBI are the primaries, but they do ask the local police to help them. Helping them starts with interviewing friends and relatives of the victims to find out if one of them was a target. One was a man on vacation, another a mom with two young kids. The third we learn about was one of the founders of the movement. But that doesn’t seem to be the motive.Read More »Castle 4-19: 47 Seconds