Every day there’s a performance Nia Holloway arrives early to the theater to warm up for her role as Nala in the touring production of Disney’s The Lion King. Here she shares with us some of her rituals and a look at the makeup process… Read More »Transforming into Nala from Disney’s The Lion King Musical
The west coast got its Cars Land, an immersive environment that transports the guest into the world of Cars, but the east coast is getting some cars lovin’ too. The second phase of Disney’s Art of Animation just opened and guests are now able to explore the three wings and book a room in the Cars themed hotel rooms. You’ll find Lightning McQueen, Mater, Flo and other characters from the popular Pixar film “Cars” in a larger than life Radiator Springs set design.
In the new Cars wing, featuring 480 family suites, a freshly paved road leads guests on the greatest road trip ever, a cruise down memory lane to small town America — Radiator Springs. Parked at the entryway Sheriff and the infamous Doc Hudson welcome folks into town, along with other car “faces” parked along the road. There’s backdrops of Luigi’s Casa Della Tires, Tow Mater Towing and the Wheel Well Motel, creating an authentic setting lifted from the super-charged adventure.
All roads lead to the 60′s style Cozy Cone Motel where distinctive orange cone-shaped cabanas invite guests to kick back and then take a dip in the Cozy Cone Pool. High-octane theming is full-throttle inside the family suites, with orange cones imprinted in the carpeting and adorning the light fixtures plus animation-inspired artwork. Guests will feel as though they walked into a scene from the blockbuster film as a pull-out bed extends from the living room sofa (whimsically appearing as the back seat of an old hot rod), the tool chest is actually the dresser and the bathroom design is inspired by a car wash.
Below the jump is a gallery of images from the new Cars themed buildings and a teaser image from The Lion King wings that will open soon.
I recently had the pleasure of sitting in on a virtual roundtable interview with directors, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff from Disney’s animated feature The Lion King. In the talk they discussed the recent conversion to 3-D, how it impacted the film, it’s successful return to the box office, along with general questions about the making of the film. The Lion King 3-D’s theatrical run has been extended at least one more weekend and the Blu-Ray/DVD/Limited Edition 3-D Combo pack hits shelves on October 4th.