In a much anticipated move, D23, the Official Disney Fan Club has relaunched their website. It now includes more member-exclusive content, but the cost to become a member has been reduced to zero. Paid membership levels with additional benefits will remain. D23: The Official Disney… Read More »Official Disney Fan Club Opens Free Membership Level, Finally
The Main Street Bakery soft opened over the weekend and is set for an official opening tomorrow. In addition to many of your favorite Disney treats, new sponsorship from Starbucks will bring its product assortment including all the coffee drinks you would normally find. What… Read More »Main Street Bakery, Now With Starbucks
And now it’s time to close some tabs with stories I’ve been meaning to get to but just haven’t had the time. So draw a cup of coffee on that Keurig and pull up a chair, here we go: Up first is a story you’ll… Read More »Disney RoundUp – it’s back!
I did forget to cover one chapter of the Orlando theme park wars. I often see the question, why hasn’t Disney added Marvel characters to Disney’s Hollywood Studios yet? Disney has said they’re actively looking at ways to involve Marvel characters in the parks. They… Read More »Theme Park Wars Forgotten Chapter: The Marvel Universe
Concept art for Star Wars mini-park planned for Disneyland Paris
Orlando in the 1990’s was bookended by stiff competition between Disney and its rival Universal Studios. When Michael Eisner got wind that Disneyland’s cross-town rival Universal Studios was preparing to open in Orlando as well, he rushed the mouse’s plans for its own studio theme park into production, even opening a whole year ahead of Universal. Universal returned the favor by firing back with Islands of Adventure, which contained rethemed versions of the Beastly Kingdom attractions Disney had cut from its Animal Kingdom project just a year earlier. Universal even hired a lot of the Imagineers Disney had just laid off to help make IOA a quality theme park.
And then things calmed down for nearly a decade. Disney kept churning out new attractions (Expedition Everest, Toy Story Midway Mania to name two) while Universal Studios was the forgotten step-child in a larger corporation that was dealing with ownership and financial problems. Eventually that got all sorted out and two things happened that turned around the fortunes at Universal Orlando Resort.
First, Universal got the theme park rights to use the Kuka robotic arm roller coaster that everyone was excited about at IAAPA in 2004. Second, it was able to convince Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling that they would be better caretakers for her story than Disney. The Kuka robocoaster win had something to do with that, but Universal was also willing to give Rowling final approval on nearly every detail. Disney would not.
“Much Ado About Nothing”, directed, adapted and produced by Joss Whedon (director of “The Avengers” and now the unofficial Marvel God) was released last week (in a limited release and will be gaining theaters as its run progresses) to the tune of an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film is a re-imagining of the classic Shakespeare romantic comedy set in modern times, though utilizing the same exact script, and was filmed in black and white, in Whedon’s home within a 12 day shooting period.
I had the opportunity to catch a screening of the film last night and I enjoyed it immensely. I am not a huge fan of Shakespeare, but I have always enjoyed Much Ado, though the last time I viewed the play was 4 years ago. The first scene of the film appeared and I was incredibly confused. To jump right into Shakespearean speak is always a daunting task, but by the 3rd scene, I was enthralled. The film had multiple laugh out loud moments and an incredible score that needs an Oscar nomination. It is a must-see film in my book.
This was a passion project of Whedon’s, a nice palate cleanser between huge superhero films. While watching, I couldn’t help but think, why can’t Disney do this anymore? Last year they released “The Odd Life of Timothy Green”, which was JUST what I wanted. Was the summer release date a good choice for a movie of that nature? Heck no, but it was a refreshing change of pace for Disney and I loved it.Read More »Joss Whedon takes a break from Big Budget…why can’t Disney do the same?
The Walt Disney Studios just revealed their updated theatrical release schedule. Included in the announcement (reproduced below) are a name change for the upcoming Muppets film, formerly titled The Muppets… Again!, and the first official mention of a sequel to DisneyToon Studios’ Cars spinoff, Planes. SAVING MR.… Read More »Disney Reveals Updated Movie Release Schedule
Tuesday, Busch Gardens Tampa announced a new attraction heading to the park in spring of 2014. This comes after some constant growth for the park, starting with the opening of Cheetah Hunt, their newest coaster, in 2011, soon followed by their new ice show “Iceploration”… Read More »Falcon’s Fury flies into Busch Gardens