Disney’s Magic Kingdom Mountain Range is about to get its fourth member – Snow White’s Mountain (just trying that on for size, no official name for the mountain has been revealed). The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train that rolls across the low hills of the mountain is getting closer to opening and in fact past an important milestone this week. In an online chat Imagineers revealed that a ride vehicle has been fitted to the track and can now be maneuvered by hand completely around the track. That’s big as it means systems testing can’t be too far behind.
The ride height for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster was confirmed to have a height requirement of 38″. That puts it above Barnstormer at 35″, but less restrictive than Big Thunder which requires 40″. That’s about what was expected. I would have liked to seen 36″, but I understand it’s a new ride system (with first of their kind ride vehicles), so better to be cautious when first opening.
I made it back to the Magic Kingdom this weekend to film another Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster construction update. It’s great to see how much further its come since just two weeks ago. That said, there’s a lot left to do, but we are finally beginning to see some of the final shape the mountain will take.
This new mountain in the Magic Kingdom mountain range (yes, I’m calling it that) will be the last part of New Fantasyland to open. The exact date has not been announced, but it’s currently scheduled to welcome its first guest sometime in 2014. So cross your fingers and hope for good weather so we can all visit the gem mine as early in the year as possible.
Want more? Plenty of photos of the construction below the jump:
We check in again on the progress Disney is making on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It’s schedule to open in 2014, the last of the New Fantasyland expansion area to be finished. Hard to see much change since we last updated the project, bit it’s there. There’s more finished rock-work and more of the yellow rock contour installed. On the exterior portion they’ve really started to do some detail work in the tight twisty portion of the track.
Still, we’re a long way from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs moving in. All we know so far is sometime in 2014. I wish they’d hurry up.
We just posted our construction update for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train that featured the completed track, a few themed elements, and a lot of exposed steel. Now Disney’s Imagineers have taken possession of the first car destined to roll across those tracks. It’s still… Read More »First Car from Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Arrives at Disney World
From near the Winnie the Pooh ride, the mountain is decidedly unfinished.
Construction on the final attraction that is a part of New Fantasyland is coming along nicely, if a bit slow. The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is currently schedule to open some time in 2014. If you look at the ‘back half’ (the side facing the Little Mermaid attraction) you would be forgiven to thinking it was almost done. But a look at it from the Winnie the Pooh side and you’ll see they have a very long way to go.
The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco has lined up a great series of screenings and talks for the end of the year. The special Snow White and the Stop Motion exhibits also continue through the spring, including screenings and talks about Snow White. Don Hahn’s film “Christmas with Walt” is a historical look at how it was celebrated in film, at the parks, and by the Disney family. Legendary Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr will give a talk on how Walt was able to inspire his Imagineers to build Disneyland in less than a year. Finally, this Wednesday, head down to the museum to celebrate Walt’s Birthday.
Recently The Disney Blog sent special reporter Joe Webb down to the Walt Disney Family Museum to cover the opening of a special exhibition entitled “Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation”. The WDFM has also announced details for a new special exhibit “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of a Classic” which we have below the jump. But first Joe’s report:
Just down the road from the revolutionary Industrial Light & Magic, an effects house using the latest in computer animation technology, the Walt Disney Family Museum is presenting an exhibition dedicated to a different type of animation technology more than 100 years old. Between Frames: The Magic Behind Stop Motion Animation (on display from September 27, 2012 to April 28, 2013) explores the history and evolution of stop motion animation in the United States as “part of a new exhibition program showcasing artists and art forms that inspired and influenced Walt Disney and his animators,” WDFM CEO Gabriella Calicchio said.
For animation fans, learning the history of stop motion is a worthwhile endeavor. Exhibition curator Anel Muller states, “I’m very excited about this exhibition, obviously… One of the most interesting things I uncovered is the people behind stop motion animation.” People like Ray Harryhausen, Phil Tippett, Henry Selick and Tim Burton who helped bring this art form to new generations of moviegoers and Saturday morning television viewers. Muller obtained numerous drawings, models, puppets, interactive armatures and replicas used in various films, television shows and commercials including Gumby, King Kong, Star Wars, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Visitors will see everything from a replica of King Kong from the 1930s to models of Coraline and Robot Chicken from the first decade of 21st century.
One of the main goals at the Walt Disney Family Museum is inspiration through education. While one may not immediately connect stop motion with Walt Disney himself, the Museum notes that Walt began his animation career in Kansas City using this type of animation for advertisements. The galleries exist to educate visitors on Walt Disney’s history and accomplishments which will hopefully inspire them to follow their own passion. This goal is not lost on Muller. “I hope that when visitors leave this exhibit that they feel a surge of inspiration, that they will find creativity in their own lives,” she said.
Walt Disney’s original animated masterpiece, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” is still the best Disney animated film in my opinion. No other film set new artistic standards and created an industry like Walt’s first animated feature. This year marks Snow’s 75th anniversary and the film will be celebrated with a state-of-the-art digital presentation at the New York Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 29 at the prestigious Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The film will be introduced by acclaimed animator/director/historian Eric Goldberg, who served as supervisor of the Genie character in “Aladdin,” co-directed of “Pocahontas” and counts “Fantasia 2000” among his credits. Festival attendees will also get a sneak peek at Walt Disney Animation Studios’ newest animated short “Paperman,” an innovative new animated film that combines the best of both the CG and hand-drawn worlds. “Paperman,” directed by John Kahrs and produced by Kristina Reed (and utilizing Goldberg’s animation talents), will open in theaters in November with the hilarious arcade-game-hopping adventure “Wreck-It Ralph.”
“It’s an honor to be introducing ‘Snow White’ at this year’s New York Film Festival, marking the film’s 75th anniversary,” said Goldberg. “Walt used to refer to ‘Snow White’ as ‘the one that started it all,’ and he was right. The storytelling, the emotions, the cinematics and the comedy are all so true and so powerful, it’s astonishing to think this assured piece of filmmaking was the studio’s first feature effort. Anyone who is working or has worked in the animation medium owes ‘Snow White’ a huge debt, as it never ceases to inspire us. Walt and his team created something that is timeless: it isn’t a question of whether ‘Snow White’ is lacking in surround sound, computer graphics or stereoscopic 3D, it’s whether today’s films can measure up to ‘Snow White.'”
