Disney’s Playlist sessions has another winner from the Broadway cast of The Lion King. Alton Fitzgerald White, who plays King Mufasa, performs a version of “They Live In You” found in his ‘Disney My Way’ album, performed at 54 Below in New York. With six… Read More »The Lion King on Broadway’s Alton Fitzgerald White sings “They Live In You”
Chicago won an Oscar for best picture in 2003 and before that it was last awarded 34 years prior, in 1968, to Oliver! From it’s Broadway run in 1987, Into the Woods already has a bevy of Tony’s in its closet, could an Oscar be… Read More »Deadline Hollywood handicaps Disney’s Into The Wood’s chances during award season
2015 is shaping up to be a big year for Star Wars fans. It really gets going with Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and ends with a December release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Dates for the 2015 event were just released.… Read More »Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios 2015 Dates
We have a really big update from Downtown Disney for you today. There’s a whole raft of updates to report as the popular shopping, dining, and entertainment district prepares to become Disney Springs.
In a previous update we explored the newly open Exposition Park Food Truck lot and we had our first peek inside the new parking structure.
The entrance to Downtown Disney is forever changed as a giant parking structure now occupies the former main parking lot for the westside. There’s still plenty of working going on, even on the parking garage itself. Eventually two walk-ways will connect the garage with Disney Springs. For now, there’s some extra construction walls to help corral pedestrian traffic into the West Side.
The biggest change is the re-opening of the walk-way through the former Pleasure Island area. This area will soon be known as “The Landing.” But for now, it’s still a mess of walls and storefronts that aren’t quite ready to open. You’ll note that they added some fake trolley tracks to the ground at the top of the hill and some concept art to show what that area will look like when finished.
There’s also been quite a lot of work on The Hanger and The Boathouse, two of the first dining experiences expected to open in The Landing.
Behind the Landing is “The Springs” and work is going on there too, with what looks like some of the first vertical structures being erected already.
More photos below the jump:
Read More »Downtown Disney becoming Disney Springs – Construction Update for November
Games are always a fun Christmas present to get for families. They’re lots of fun and give them a chance to spend time together.
I recently got a box of games from Wonder Forge to try out, so one evening, I gathered my best friends and some kids (a 6 year old boy and 9 year old girl) to put these games through their paces.
I can happily report we had a lot of fun with these games, though a few were a bit challenging to figure out at first.
Our overall favorite Disney Frozen Surprise Slides. This game is similar to the classic game Candy Land, but with the twist that you can pop out pieces on the board and change the game track. It adds an extra level of strategy to the game, but it’s easy to knock over game pieces doing this. Our 6 year old and 9 year old testers loved this game, and it was fun for the adults, too. Much laughter was had during the game. This game is for 2-4 players; Ages 3+ (beware of small pieces).
Our second favorite was Pictopia – Disney Edition Trivia Game. This trivia game uses cards with pictures of various Disney characters, film, and park attractions, with each card having several questions on it. It really is a test of how well you know your Disney trivia, and it can be tough for younger players, even though it says for ages 7+ on the game box. Even our 9 year old tester had trouble with some of the questions. I would say the adults can play the game as is, but if you have younger players (say 13 and under), maybe fish through the card pile and find some of the easier cards with characters and movies they may know. This game is for 2-6 players; Ages 7+.
We also enjoyed the Star Wars Face Off Dice Game. Played similar to Yahtzee, there is a Star Wars twist in that you can make matches based on the Jedi/Hero side or the Sith/Villain side, with different rules for each. Heroes get to try to make regular matches – a straight, 4 of a kind, full house – rolling until a villain dice shows up. Villains get one re-roll, and then must bluff what their hand is. If they win they get the points, if their bluff is called the other person gets the points. Our 6 year old was having trouble with the bluffing, but the 9 year old was starting to get the hang of it. Even if you omit the villains rules for younger kids, it’s still a fun game. This game is for 2-4 players; Ages 8+.Read More »Some Great Disney and Star Wars Games For Your Christmas Gift Giving (or For Yourself)
If you haven’t seen it yet, take a gander at the first Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens trailer. Did you watch it? Well watch it again just to take it all in.
While this trailer is extremely exciting, it also possibly confirms a few of the rumors that have been circulating about the plot. Fair warning, these are rumors but they could turn out to be potential spoilers.
We see John Boyega’s Storm Trooper character first thing in some form of distress. If the rumors are true, then he has just suffered a crash which seems likely since his distress seems focused on the fact that he doesn’t no where he is.
We get a first look of Daisy Ridley’s scavenger character as well, hopping on her speeder in some kind of a rush. While nothing is concrete, it’s safe to assume that the planet they are on is in fact Tatooine. Not counting the fact that it is a desert planet, it is historically known to have a prevalent scavenger motif.Read More »Pete’s Review: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens Trailer
We’re just a few days away from the official shipping date of Guardians of the Galaxy DVD/Blu-Ray. Marvel’s been slow-dripping previews of some of the special features. My favorite is this “Dance Off” from the bloopers section of the Blu-Ray.
You can still pre-order Guardians of the Galaxy on Blu-Ray or DVD for delivery on December 9th. Order today and save up to 50%!
Since Marvel’s big announcement of their Phase 3 line up, news has been scarce, though lately, it’s picking back up.
On the big screen, Frank Grillo, who played Brock Rumlow a.k.a. Crossbones in Captain America: Winter Soldier recently teased his appearance in the next Captain America movie.
“Winter Soldier was only a taste of what’s to come with the next film, and I couldn’t be more humbled and excited,” Grillo said. “They just kind of called and said, ‘What kind of shape are you in? We’re going to need a body scan.’ They scan your body so that whatever you wear fits you like a glove…. We all know what Crossbones represents in his world, so when they called me and said we gotta do the body scan, I was like ‘Okay!’”
In case you don’t know what Crossbones represents in this world: in the comics, he assassinated Captain America at the end of Marvel’s Civil War and since that happens to be the subtitle of the next Cap film, I think we’re starting to see what direction it might go.Read More »Marvel News Roundup – a strange new world
My family and I recently participated in the inaugural Avengers Half Marathon Weekend at the Disneyland Resort as guests of RunDisney, and it was just as super as you like your Marvel adventures to be. Yes, it was that powerful. We ran the Avengers 5K… Read More »Weekend Avengers and RunDisney