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
Three years ago today Avatar debuted on the big screen and changed the way cinema was experienced forever. It might take 3 more years before it opens, but we did get confirmation that a project that would build Avatar’s Pandora is still on track for… Read More »Avatar On Track for Disney’s Animal Kingdom
With the official grand opening for New Fantasyland this week, it’s time to take a look back at the construction effort it took to get us here. In today’s videos we have a look at Beast’s Castle and the restaurant beneath it, Be Our Guest.… Read More »Behind the Scenes Video of New Fantasyland Construction – Part 1
Imagineer Kim Irvine hosts a new video that takes us through some of the changes brought by recent remodeling along Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland. I can almost taste the delicious decor in the Candy Palace and am impressed with what they’ve done with the… Read More »Tour Main Street U.S.A. at Disneyland with Imagineer Kim Irvine
The Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow is the new walk-through attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios where guests follow in the footsteps of Jack Sparrow to see if they have what it takes to join his rowdy and daring pirate crew. In this video from Walt… Read More »Imagineers Dish on Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow and working with Johnny Depp
Some pretty amazing robot animatronic developments coming out of Disney Research Pittsburgh these days. The latest to be revealed is this robot you can play catch and even juggle with. Entertainment robots in theme park environments typically do not allow for physical interaction and contact… Read More »Disney Research Invents Robot You Can Juggle With
Storybook Circus was the first area of the expanded Fantasyland area to open a few attractions at the Magic Kingdom. The backstory for the area is that a small circus has come to the small midwest town of Carolwood Park. Over the last few weeks, many of the final details have been added, but the land wasn’t completely open yet.
It’s still not completely open, but yesterday they opened Big Top Souvenirs and the new Fastpass distribution tent for the land. All that remains now is a little landscaping and Pete’s Silly Sideshow, the character meet and greet for the land.
When Imagineering originally wanted to redo the Toontown Fair area, the numbers folk at the park asked that they keep the large tent store since it’s one of the best performing stores per square foot in the park. So the imagineers compromised, give us the budget to really make the tent themed to a circus and we’ll redo our plans for the area to keep the tents.
Read More »Storybook Circus opens Big Top and Fastpass Distribution
Disney’s Imagineers smartly keep a record of their projects, often documenting them with photos taken at regular intervals. As it turns out those make terrific time-lapse videos too. That is the case with the New Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom. Here is the latest… Read More »New Fantasyland Time-Lapse Video: Watch Two New Castles and a Disney Mountain Rise