Disney’s ambitious expansion plan for their Golden Oak movie ranch in Placerita Canyon was approved unanimously on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Regional Planning Commission. The Golden Oak Ranch has long been the Walt Disney Studios goto location for small town and old west sets… Read More »Disney’s Golden Oak Movie Ranch Expansion Moves Forward
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.
Construction walls have appeared in the corner of Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom where the show building and facilities for the park’s popular show Festival of the Lion King will be moving. In January, we reported on leaked plans for the move, but saw little… Read More »Construction Begins on new Festival of the Lion King Location
As part of the New Fantasyland grand opening event, I had the opportunity to interview Imagineer Chris Beatty who was creative director for the expansion. During the roundtable discussion Beatty explained the process of designing a new attraction with a focus on the Seven Dwarfs… Read More »Imagineer Chris Beatty on Creative Process Behind New Fantasyland
Last night, the media was invited to get acquainted with New Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom at a special party. When Tom Staggs moved from Disney CFO to Chairman of Walt Disney Parks & Resorts he played an important role in moving the expansion away from a princess and pixie dominated attraction mix and into the more balanced mix of attractions it will become when the Mine Train opens in 2014. So it was great to have him give an introduction to the expansion, even if reading off the teleprompter isn’t quite second nature to him yet.
The presentation featured a few clips of Imagineers sharing their excitement for the land and a special new computer simulation of what riding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster would be like.
Here is the presentation given to the media in its entirety. If you just want to see the new version of the virtual Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Ride, I’ve highlighted that in it’s own video below the jump
That was it. The media will get a larger presentation on what’s new and what’s next on Friday morning. So stay tuned.
Read More »New Fantasyland Introduction From Tom Staggs
Tonight was the big VIP party for the grand opening of New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom. We were promised something spectacular and Disney did not disappoint. You may have been following the escapades of Gary over on his Dragon Tumblr blog as he hunted for the elusive fellow. But tonight was the big pay off.
The dragon swooped out of the sky above the Magic Kingdom just as if part of a fairytale. With a vengeful roar it spit fire and menaced the the populace. At least that’s what it felt like if you just squinted your eyes and believed.
I managed to snag some decent video here:
I understand that there are operational problems that prevent the dragon from performing more than just this once. I hope they get them resolved, because there is no doubt this creature belongs in the sky above Cinderella Castle.
Although internally, I knew it was just a fancy looking ultra-light, watching the flight made me feel like a kid again watching a creature that only existed in books and dreams actually flying around the park. It was that magical.
Earlier this morning, Disney snuck out and filmed some professional video of the dragon soaring around. I’ve included that below the jump:
Read More »Dragon really does fly over New Fantasyland Media Event
With the big media event to officially open New Fantasyland beginning tonight, we wrap up our look back at the construction of the Fairytale Forest section of the Magic Kingdom expansion with a general look at the construction and a look at the last attraction… Read More »Behind the Scenes Video of New Fantasyland Construction – Part 3
Guests visiting the Storybook Circus section of Fantasyland find themselves immersed in a small town where the Circus has just rolled in off the train tracks to set up its show. So far we have a two-ring circus full of flying elephants, daring airplane stuntmen, a sideshow, and a big top souvenir stand… so it should be no surprise that clowns will be part of the milieu. The clowns will be joined by the Silly Saxtet, a new musical group at the Magic Kingdom, with a playlist of circus favorites with a unique twist.
The Storybook Circus Giggle Gang is set to debut with the official opening of New Fantasyland later this week. According to the Disney Parks Blog the troop of clowns includes a variety of training and experiences, including some from the prestigious Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.