Disneyland is turning 60 this year and rolling out three new night time spectaculars as part of its Diamond Celebration. It’s time to party the night away and Disneyland is making that easier than every by kicking off its anniversary events with a 24-hour party… Read More »Disneyland kicks off 60th Anniversary with 24-hour party!
When I first heard that an upcoming pop artist named Donovan was redoing the fantastic song “Eye to Eye” from the under-appreciated animated Disney film, “The Goofy Movie,” I was skeptical. The original song, performed by Teven Campbell who provided the voice for Powerline, was… Read More »Pop Artist remakes “Eye to Eye” from The Goofy Movie
Disney’s just released a new poster for the much anticipated movie – Tomorrowland. On Monday, Walt Disney Studios will premiere a new trailer right after a Facebook chat with Director Brad Bird and Producer Damon Lindelof.
I love that they snuck a Space Mountain in the cityscape. Must be a gateway to this version of the future at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom.
The Q&A takes place Monday, March 9 at 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT only on Facebook: https://facebook.com/WaltDisneyStudios.
What do you think of the poster and will you join in the chat on Monday?
In case you want to jog your memory, watch the first Tomorrowland Trailer here.
“Tomorrowland” opens in U.S. theaters on May 22, 2015.
Plot synopsis below:
Read More »New Poster for Disney’s Tomorrowland, plus Q&A with Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof
Last week a small portion of It’s A Small World’s beautiful facade was charred by an off-stage fire caused when fireworks malfunctioned and lit a tree and construction tarp on fire.
If you missed the video you can see it here
It’s a small world’s facade has been under renovation, which is periodically required to keep the complicated structure looking show ready (especially with all the abuse it takes each Christmas season). Here is a show of the construction taken on February 6th, a few weeks before the fire.
That there is the occasional fire from Fireworks fallout is to be expected. Consider how many shells Disney launches each night and then multiply that by a year’s worth of fireworks shows. A small fire or two is bound to happen.
By all accounts Disney cast members acted swiftly and correctly that night. Guests were evacuated from the danger zone and the firefighters who are on hand every night for the fireworks display had the fire extinguished in less than 20 minutes.
In the photos below you can see that some of the trees took a minor beating in the fire and that some of the gold spires are now charred by the fire.Read More »Disneyland Small World Fire Aftermath
Bunnies bring easter eggs right? Maybe that explains why they’re all over Walt Disney World this time of year. It’s getting to be an annual tradition. The popular Egg-stravaganza egg-hunt is returning to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, and EPCOT from March 27-April 5, this spring.… Read More »Disney Parks Bringing back Egg-stravaganza hunt for 2015
We recently looked at seven attractions that Disney will likely never build again in their theme parks, everybody told me that while the list was accurate, it was also depressing. Today I want to offer a little more hope (in most cases) with ten technologies I expect to see in Disney use in its resorts and attractions soon.
I wrote about some of these in my book “Dispatch from Disneyland” back in 1999 by extrapolating from some very early experiments Walt Disney Imagineering was doing a the time. It’s great to see some of these becoming less speculative fiction and more non-fiction.
1. Increased personalization – This is one of the true promises of MyMagic+ and the RFID and NFC chips that make it possible. As a guest, you won’t just just hear or see your name or image in an attraction, but attractions will change their environment around you based on your preferences. For instance it could adjust sound level, brightness, scariness factor, etc.. Disney can analyze your shopping, dining, and attraction patterns and make suggestions on merchandise, food locations, and attractions may have have missed or when a short line is available for a suitable attraction. The list is pretty much endless and the technology to do most of this is here today.
2. Augmented reality – We’ve seen limited use of virtual reality in Disney Quest, but AR is more about laying facts, data, experiences on top of our existing reality resulting in a more immersive, connected experience. Aurasma is just a parlor trick compared to what we could see here. 3D Augmented Reality is in the near future. There are any number of demo videos out there, here’s a semi-recent one where it’s easy to see some of these ideas translated into theme park experiences.
3. Self-driving Podcars – Yes, it’s the future WALL-E warned us about, but just like the Monorail was the future of transportation back in 1959, the autonomous self-driving podcar is the future of all transportation. Walt Disney World is the perfect place to model this. I wrote a little about this before. The technology has become much more advanced in the last 18 months and Google even has a prototype vehicle which would work perfectly within the confines of Walt Disney World. Come on Bob Chapek, make it happen as your first big move as new Disney Parks & Resorts Chair.
4. Minority Report / Corning Glass – In the not too distant future any surface can be made interactive. Remember this video from Corning?
Yeah, that was 2011. They’re getting a lot closer to making it ready for retail. But first, it needs to show up in a showcase location, and really what better location that Disney, right? I mean you could redo EPCOT’s FutureWorld in this stuff and really blow everyone away.
5. Drones – The burrito drone may seem like a practical joke, but in a resort setting like Walt Disney World, having delivery to your room or spot at a water park by drone is a real possibility. Doesn’t have to be food either, could be lost magic bands, a toothbrush, a special gift from Mickey Mouse. Not sure how this would work inside an attraction, but I trust Disney’s Imagineers to figure it out.
6. Haptic feedback / ultrasonics – This technology will allow what you see in the virtual / augmented reality space to feel real to the touch. Disney Research has been doing a lot of work in this area and I expect to see it brought to theme park attractions in the not too distant future (maybe even in Avatar).
Read More »Ten Technologies That Will Be Coming Soon to Disney Theme Parks
If you look at some of the concept drawings for Disneyland, one of Walt Disney’s original ideas included a land called “Lilliputian land” that would be based on a mythical miniature city somewhere in Europe. That idea didn’t make it into the park when it… Read More »Monday Attraction Spotlight: Storybook Land Canal Boats
The new hot collectible at Disney’s theme parks is popcorn buckets. Disney has customized Haunted Mansion, Seven Dwarfs Mine train, and Dumbo, to name a few. The latest addition to the Premium Popcorn Bucket series is Cinderella’s carriage. This release comes just in time for… Read More »Cinderella Carriage Popcorn Bucket