Myrna Litt is back with another fantastic photo report:
Latest construction on the Lucky Fortune Cookery
The indoor portion of the Toy Story Midway Mania queue was not being used
Silly Symphony Swings construction walls
The walls use the classic versions of the Disney characters from “The Band Concert”
Continuing our 2nd anniversary celebration with a tradition we began last year, WDWNT Videographer Matt Paul has put together a fantastic video looking back at the second year of WDWNT. The video is lengthy (which is why it is split into two parts) and is embedded via the WDWNTube video site. Enjoy:
On a side note, we are wrapping up our 2 year anniversary celebration with our first ever WDWNT Fan Meets at the Disneyland Resort. If you are going to be in Anaheim on August 1st or 2nd, be sure to join us! More information on the August 1st meets is available on Facebook and our forums, the same for the August 2nd meet also on Facebook and our forums as well.
According to D23:
Returning to life September 25 and continuing through November 1, Halloween Time brings fun for all ages to the Disneyland Resort with new screams at Space Mountain and a new, nightly fireworks show. Halloween Time offers families a chance to interact with some of Disney’s most beloved characters, dressed in seasonal costumes at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure parks. It also gives guests a unique opportunity to experience some spooky fun with Disney’s more sinister characters, the Disney villains.
For older kids and adults, Halloween Time offers a new attraction: Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. For the first time, riders will experience not only the thrill of flying through the galaxy, but the exhilaration of ghosts and ghouls screaming through space trying to contact them. Creepy creatures lurk around every turn as the eerie attraction provides thrilling drops like never before.
New this year is a fireworks spooktacular that will haunt the nighttime sky throughout the Halloween season. Jack Skellington, the Master of Scaremonies, invites everyone to join in the celebration, including a cast of Disney villains who get into the sprit with a wicked sense of fun.
Jack Skellington also returns to take over the Haunted Mansion and bring back “Haunted Mansion Holiday” to New Orleans Square in Disneyland. Transformed to a mix of Halloween spookiness and Christmas tradition, “Haunted Mansion Holiday” is inspired by the classic animated film Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack and his friends provide plenty of havoc and surprises as they celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Haunted Mansion in their unusual style.
For not-so-scary fun, Halloween Time offers special pleasures for children and parents. Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland will again transform for the Pumpkin Festival, where more than 300 “non-identical” pumpkins will be on display in shop windows. Meeting favorite Disney characters will be easier than ever as they stop to greet guests at designated areas on Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland and Sunshine Plaza in Disney’s California Adventure.special meet-and-greet areas will be located throughout Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.
Also available throughout both parks are special Halloween treats, including enjoyable Halloween menu items such as Zero’s Ghostly Ghoulash served in a dog dish in honor of Zero, Jack Skellington’s beloved pet dog. Special Halloween Time gifts can be found in Disneyland Resort shops. Gifts include jack-o-lantern mouse ears and collectable pins depicting Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends in Halloween costumes.
Guests will enjoy spine-tingling fun in Disney’s California Adventure at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, where a “supernatural” event happened on Halloween evening, 1939, forever haunting the building.
Also at Disney’s California Adventure, Sunshine Plaza becomes “Candy Corn Acres.” Mickey’s pal Goofy is up to his tricks once again, attempting to wow the world with his unusual candy corn treats. Candy corn carrots, candy corn pumpkins and candy corn signs are just a few of the candy corn items Goofy is preparing.
Back by popular demand is “Mickey’s Trick-or-Treat Party,” a one-of-a-kind celebration that returns to Disney’s California Adventure for 12 nights in October (2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 and 31). This separate ticket, nighttime event gives children and their families a chance to dress as their favorite princesses, goblins or heroes, and trick-or-treat throughout the park. It’s the ideal environment to have fun, eat special holiday treats, play interactive games, listen to “spirited” music and watch a nightly character cavalcade that celebrates the season.
I visited the Disneyland Resort yesterday for not only its 54th anniversary, but also for the D23 member only screening of “People and Places: Disneyland USA”. I had an amazing time, and got to see some pretty special stuff. So let’s get right into this photo report:
My first stop was to check out the new exhibits in the Blue Sky Cellar
Concept art for the Pocahontas scene in World of Color
The Lucky Fortune Cookery returns this September, now to the old home of Cocina Cucamonga
Paradise Garden Grill and Boardwalk Pasta and Pizza look to be the replacements for Burger Invasion and Pizza Oom Mow Mow
Read More about DLR Photo Report – 7/17/09 :: Featuring Video of the Updated Blue Sky Cellar
ANAHEIM, Callif., July 17, 2009 – Marty Sklar, Executive Vice President and Walt Disney Imagineering Ambassador, spent a lifetime making magic for the Walt Disney Company. After 54 years of service, he was honored with a tribute window at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday, July 17. The celebration coincided with the 54th anniversary of the opening of Disneyland, the place where Sklar began his Disney career.
The tradition of dedicating a second-story window along Main Street, U.S.A., was begun by Walt Disney as a way to pay tribute to the men and women who were instrumental in the creation and operation of Disneyland. Sklar’s window, unveiled on July 17, can be seen above City Hall at Town Square in Disneyland.
Sklar began his Disney career in June 1955 as editor of “The Disneyland News,” just one month before Disneyland opened on July 17, 1955. Sklar also worked personally with Walt Disney on several major projects, including the creation of landmark Disney attractions for the 1964 World’s Fair and leading the design of Walt Disney’s final vision, Epcot.
Sklar holds great memories of all 11 Disney parks around the world, but he has a particular fondness for Disneyland.
“Disneyland will always be a special place for me because it’s the only park that Walt Disney walked in,” Sklar said. “For me, retiring on this date is significant, having been here with Walt for the opening of the original Disney park.”
There have been a plethora of rumors floating around the web regarding what may be on the horizon for the four theme parks of the Walt Disney World Resort. It seems every time we reach a point in WDW history that we have no official word as to what is next, an incredible batch of rumors seem to run rampant (Those of you around in the late 1990’s probably remember rumors of Fire Mountain, Bald Mountain, and a Villains themed land for the Magic Kingdom). There is no need to fear, as Walt Disney World is probably on the verge of it’s largest theme park expansion in years, perhaps Disney is just waiting for the right moment to spring the news on the entire world (remember, the D23 Expo is just a few weeks away). To clear up some confusion, I wanted to take the time to make a post that recaps everything I have heard thus far on future plans, but keep in mind (as with any rumors) that anything listed below must be taken as a rumor until an official announcement is made by the Walt Disney Company. Let’s begin:
The Magic Kingdom
Fantasyland Refurbishment & Expansion: Since WDW News Today launched in July 2007, we have reported on rumors that a Little Mermaid dark ride attraction was coming to Fantasyland to replace Pooh’s Playful Spot and Ariel’s Grotto. It is important to keep in mind that this rumor pre-dates any formal announcement that Disney’s California Adventure would be building this long-proposed Disneyland Paris attraction. It seems likely that construction will begin soon in the Magic Kingdom, and the announcement by Disney a few months ago that they were looking for a “one-Disney” experience only bolsters the idea of this voyage “under the sea” taking place on both coasts. If this major addition takes place, it will most likely do more than add a major E-Ticket to the park in late 2011/early 2012, but will also add a large Disney Princess store and meet-and-greet area at the attraction exit (thus allowing the Princesses to leave the perhaps doomed Mickey’s Toontown Fair). This large addition may also force “Dumbo: The Flying Elephant” attraction to move to a new location. If the Little Mermaid dark ride comes to be, we can expect the remainder of the Fantasyland expansion to take place over the 4-5 years following, including: a Mad Tea Party with a new covering reminiscent of Disneyland Paris, the replacement of Snow White’s Scary Adventure with a “Beauty and the Beast” dark ride, and the addition of a Seven Dwarves Mine Train roller-coaster on the land now occupied by the old Fantasyland Skyway building. Also amid the rumored changes for Fantasyland are new facades for most Fantasyland attractions, shedding the “medieval fair” setting, and new visual effects and upgrades being added to both The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan’s Flight.
A competing (perhaps more current) concept follows the floor plans below (found on the Disney Report’s Soft Opening Blog), also adding Princess and Fairy themed areas with minor attractions while removing the entire north side of Mickey’s Toontown Fair. This plan also has Snow White’s Scary Adventure saved by building the Beauty and the Beast dark ride next door to a proposed “Gaston’s” restaurant. This would terminate the castle forecourt theme with a wall leading into the “deep woods” and lands themed to Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh. This plan also includes similar upgrades (mentioned in the first paragraph) to the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, with a new facade matching the look of the Hundred Acre Woods and a new Pooh character meet and greet area across the path. I had not seen this particular version of the plans before this week, but they are quite a bit larger than the plans I had spoken about above, making me skeptical as to how genuine this drawing actually is. We’ll just have to sit back for a little while and wait to see when and where construction walls eventually rise in Fantasyland.
Another New Tomorrowland: Rumors suggest that there are plans in the very early stages for an overall refurbishment and expansion of the Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland area. We’re still hearing that a “Wall-E” inspired Buy ‘N’ Large (BNL) takeover is in the works, with the concept being that we are entering a prequel to the film, just before Earth was covered in mounds of trash. Whatever the actual plan may be, it appears time may soon be up for Stitch’s Great Escape, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, and The Laugh Floor. Why would such young attractions be removed so quickly? Well, Stitch’s Great Escape has been received as one of the worst attractions in Disney history, The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor was always meant to be a temporary addition, and Space Ranger Spin hasn’t been as cool as it once was before high tech versions of it were cloned around the world and Toy Story Mania! opened last year. Again, Disney is in the very early stages of planning these changes, and we probably won’t see anything happen until the Fantasyland expansion is complete.
TLC for Some Classics: Just because there may be a wave of new attractions coming to the Magic Kingdom, doesn’t mean they will forget about some of the classic offerings. Since 2006, we have seen extensive refurbishments of Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, the Jungle Cruise, the Hall of Presidents, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (re-opens in late August), and Space Mountain (re-opens in November). If rumors are correct, the next attractions in line for a fixin’ should be The Enchanted Tiki Room and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress. In addition to these attraction fix-ups, a classic Magic Kingdom parade should also be seeing some exciting changes. Very quietly, Spectromagic has had some technological upgrades over the last few months, with most character costumes and the “finale rope” now sporting LED lighting. (these changes were quite noticeable, take a look next time you watch the parade). In addition, Mr. Smee and the Wicked Queen from Snow White are sporting completely new costumes. I would expect BIGGER changes to the parade before October 1, 2011, rolls around…
Epcot
Journey Into Imagination: Since October 1, 1999, we have been waiting for something meaningful to come to the Imagination! pavilion, and it seems our wait is almost over. We now know for a fact that Walt Disney Imagineering will be taking control of the pavilion at some point over the next twelve months, what is going to happen after that takeover is still debatable. We will most likely see the Dreamfinder reunited with Figment and perhaps the usage of the same trackless ride system that will be going into the upcoming Mystic Manor attraction at Hong Kong Disneyland. There hasn’t been much leaking on this project, but I have a feeling we will know much more about this project very soon.
The Rest of Epcot: Innoventions is going to continue it’s rapid evolution through the next few years, including the already announced addition of “The Sum of All Thrills” this Fall. The Universe of Energy is rumored to be next in line for a revamp after the Imagination! pavilion, followed by the now shuttered Wonders of Life pavilion. Test Track may see changes sooner rather than later, but that will be decided by the day to day performance of General Motors and how much longer they continue to operate. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth may be nearing the end of it’s run, but don’t be sad, not many nighttime spectaculars get the opportunity to run for more than ten years.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Monsters Inc.: One of the worst kept secrets in Disney Park history has to be the proposed Monsters Inc. family-style coaster that will be placed next door to the wildly popular Toy Story Midway Mania! attraction on Pixar Place. As has already been discussed on other credible sites, guests would enter the offices of Monsters Inc. following the events of the first film and somehow get involved in a wild door chase after Randall through the Laugh Floor and door warehouse. The coaster and the vehicles are supposedly going to be built by Vekoma and may look a little something like the trains seen at this link. While the Disney vehicles will probably sport a Monsters Inc. style transport door on the back of each seat, the attraction’s track layout might be one of the two featured on that very same webpage page. Just try to imagine the coaster below enclosed in a building.
The coaster would also fly through dark-ride style scenes, leading to us eventually saving Boo and defeating Randall by putting him through a trash compactor (yes, the smae ending from the “Ride and Go Seek” attraction in Tokyo).
Whew! That should do it for now. I know it’s a lot to swallow, but there is a ton of these rumors flying around at the moment and I wanted to make sure everyone was well informed. While some (or most) of these rumored changes won’t actually occur, it’s always fun to speculate. Be sure to stay tuned to WDW NEws Today as we get more information on all of these exciting rumored projects.
As if all the coverage of World of Color that we’ve had already wasn’t enough, Brady MacDonald from the LA Times Travel Blog has a scene by scene rundown of the show from yesterday’s media walk-through of the construction site:
I watched with awe Thursday as Steven Davison pantomimed his way through a sweaty and breathless preview of the World of Color water show coming to Disney’s California Adventure in spring 2010.
For those who’ve never had the pleasure of watching a performance by the Walt Disney Imagineering vice president of parades and spectaculars, it’s a treat to behold and a sight you’ll never soon forget. I’m always worried he’ll pass out from hyperventilation or hyperbole. (Watch video from Davison’s Summer Nightastic presentation.)
World of Color, which blends the nighttime spectacle of Disneyland’s Fantasmic and the Fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, is the first major addition of a $1.1-billion makeover planned for Disney’s California Adventure through 2012.
The water show will feature an array of dancing fountains, movie projections and lighting effects all tied to the original Sherman Brothers musical score from Disney’s Sunday night television show of the 1960s and ’70s.
As best as I can determine from my furiously scribbled notes of Davison’s thousand-words-per-minute summary, here’s the scene-by-scene rundown for the 25-minute World of Color show:
- The show opens with laser lights painting the night sky to the classic Sherman Brothers “Wonderful World of Color” song.
- Tinker Bell sprinkles pixie dust that enchants a famous quote by Walt Disney, causing the “D” in Disney to chase the fairy around the lagoon.
- An orange fountain, dubbed Little Squirt, makes his first appearance as the mischievous spirit of Walt Disney.
- The green Spring Sprite from “Fantasia” creates a World of Nature on the one-acre lagoon canvas.
- The Colors of the Wind segment, utilizing “water butterfly” fountains, incorporates the song “Just Around the Riverbend” from “Pocahontas.”
- Heimlich from “Bug’s Life” brings on the April Showers segment, which transitions into a raging sea storm.
- Employing a “paper animation” technique, the “Alice in Wonderland” segment includes Alice, White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat.
- Little Squirt returns during the “Little Mermaid” segment, which includes the songs “Part of Your World” and “Under the Sea” and features a fountain conga line.
- Crush from “Finding Nemo” surfs on the East Australian Current.
- Humpback whales from “Fantasia 2000″ breach and splash before sailing off through the stars.
- Wall-E and Eve dance a water ballet during the Colors of the Universe segment, which features full-projection water domes.
- Woody and Buzz from “Toy Story” play on a “water bed” in the Infinity and Beyond segment.
- Carl from “Up” arrives in his balloon house before the music transitions to “A Whole New World” as Aladdin and Jasmine fly by on a magic carpet.
- The story grows dark during Color of Fear, which features fire effects and a number of Disney villains, including the Firebird from “Fantasia” and Dr. Facilier from the upcoming “Princess and the Frog.”
- The wildebeests from “The Lion King” rush at the crowd in a water stampede.
- During the World of Tears transformation, a million points of light shine as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Beast are awakened with a kiss.
- Tinker Bell and Little Squirt return during a finale that washes the lagoon in a kaleidoscope of color.
- An encore utilizing “The Incredibles” symphonic score may or may not end the show.
My fingers are tired. I can’t wait to see the real thing.
And I have to agree with Brady on this one. Only word one can describe this show… AMAZING!
Disneyland has released three press videos, covering the Blue Sky Cellar and World of Color, that I wanted to share with everyone:
At Blue Sky Cellar, guests are invited to preview works in progress at Disneys California Adventure by immersing themselves in a facsimile of an Imagineering workspace. Based on the belief that idea gathering is best when the skys the limit, Blue Sky Cellar is designed to resemble an Imagineering charette, an extended creative idea development meeting. Guests receive an inside look at how Imagineers take blue sky ideas and refine them into the classic storytelling that characterizes Disney theme park attractions and adventures.
World of Color will combine hundreds of magnificent fountains, dazzling colors and an all-new kaleidoscope of audio and visual effects to take water-infused entertainment to a new level of artistry. The production will flood the senses, taking audiences on an imaginative journey into the colorful worlds of animated Disney classics such as Alice in Wonderland, The Lion King and Pocahontas, along with Disney•Pixar films Toy Story, Wall-E and many more.
In video released for the first time ever, you are treated to an exclusive time-lapse video of Mickeys Fun Wheel and Paradise Pier.
Continuing in our coverage of both the updated Blue Sky Cellar and World of Color, here’s some Disneyland press images just released showing concept art for World of Color, the updated exhibits in the Blue Sky Cellar, and the World of Color construction site (be sure to click on each image for a closer look at these beautiful photos):
Disney’s “World of Color” will bring new nighttime excitement to Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure. This nightly panorama of spectacular water effects, colorful lighting and music will bring Disney animation to life with an entirely new creative and technical approach
The Alice in Wonderland scene is rumored to be the longest, starting off with “In The Golden Afternoon”
The Cheshire Cat’s face will appear in the mist screens as his body is created by twirling jets
The “marvels of earth, sea, and sky” will be covered in the show. Wall-E will represent the sky, Finding Nemo will represent the sea, but what movie will represent the earth is anyone’s guess. Also featured will be the “hopes and the tears, the joys and the fears”
Pocahontas paints with all the “Colors of the Wind”
A new website was unveiled today, the long rumored website produced as part of the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. At this new website (which you can find at DisneysCaliforniaAdventure.com) you can view concept art from upcoming attractions and areas such as Buena Vista Street, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, World of Color, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Cars Land, and more. Also available to view are the videos that play inside the screening room of the Blue Sky Cellar. There’s also a flip book describing the big plans of each new addition, which also features some other really cool concept art.
Disney did a phenomenal job with this website, which gives people a chance to see some of the same things they can in the Blue Sky Cellar, but from the comfort of their own home. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today during the next couple of days as members of our team will be at Disneyland (including myself) to get pictures and video of the updated Blue Sky Cellar.
