Always right behind the good guys…

WDWNT on January 13, 2011

Super Rumor-

We got word from the twitter friend (@keithkrebs) that Disney’s Vinylmation Villains 1 series may be out in some Disney Stores as early as Friday, January 14th. This comes only one week after the release of the Animation 1 series. Steven Miller told use when we interviewed him last year that they would be coming in January, but on January 4th, “The Buzz” had an image that said, “Spring 2011”. This weekend at the parks the Star Wars set comes out. Would they release two at the same time??

We shall keep you updated, but while you wait check out our regularly updated Villains Explained blog post for information.

Our excitement level sky rockets!

WDWNT on January 12, 2011

Once we got over the excitement of the addition of Lightsabers to Luke and Vader’s Vinylmation figures, we missed the rocket pack on the back of Boba Fett. Well, the Disney Parks Blog released this turnaround photo today:

This set just keeps getting better and better! What other surprises do they have in store for us? We will see at the Midnight release party this Thursday, January 13th at D-Street in Orlando.
Another detail released today is the Star Wars set is a parks exclusive. It will not show up on the online Disney Store or at Disney Stores around the country.
Disney Design Artist Mike Sullivan is the designer of the Star Wars set. Here is what he had to say on the Disney Parks Blog:
“We began with several rough sketches of characters we wanted in the series,” explained Mike. “We selected characters from ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary. With so many memorable characters in the film, it was difficult to select just 12 figures. We worked closely with the great team at LucasFilm to make the final choices for this first series.”

Check out the complete blog post for yourself, and more pictures, here.

Are you wearing a costume for the release event? Make sure to bring some doubles for trading as we all sit outside D-Street Thursday night. And I can’t wait to talk to everybody in line about Vinylmation. Destination Vinylmation is around for fans of Vinylmation, so we welcome your input.

Friendly Foto Contest (Animation 1)

WDWNT on January 12, 2011

Nick and MC are battling for the chance to NOT stand in the line for Star Wars Vinylmation. Both hosts took pictures of the Animation 1 set and have submitted them for your judgment. The loser has to stand in line on Thursday night to pick up both people’s Star Wars set, the winner gets to run around and maybe even catch a movie!

To vote just hit the comment button at the bottom of this post and say which set you liked more, Nick’s or M.C.’s (Click each photo to see its full glory)

M.C. Nick

Which host’s set did you like the most? Which photo was awesome? Which one failed? Let us know with a quick comment!

Details Released For “Family Fun Weekends”

WDWNT on January 12, 2011

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Do you like fiestas, hoedowns, Mardi Gras, Lunar New Year and Disney Characters? Then you won’t want to miss the next eight weekends at Disneyland park. We’re calling them “Family Fun Weekends” and they run Jan. 14 through March 6.

Families know they can find magic and excitement whenever they visit Disneyland Resort, and the next eight weekends will offer a special reason to play at Disneyland park.

“Family Fun Weekends” are themed events that invite guests to enjoy music, dancing, and special food and merchandise, along with a chance to meet and take photos with some Disney characters in specially themed attire. This weekend, for example, Fiesta Mickey and Minnie Mouse will greet you at Festival Arena in colorful, folklorico attire.

Family Fun Weekends at the Disneyland Resort

These events take place weekend days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The first five weekends will be held at Festival Arena (at the back of Frontierland), and the final three weekends will move to New Orleans Square.

Here’s a brief description of the fun, and we’ll tell you more in the coming weeks.

Fiesta Disneyland – Jan. 14-16: The first weekend celebrates the Hispanic culture and experience in a colorful, lively event, featuring performance groups such as award-winning Mariachi Divas.

The Mariachi Divas

Disney’s Kickin’ Country Weekend – Jan. 21-23: This weekend will feature live music – including band Forth Worth West – and a Disney hoedown with Cowboy Mickey and Cowgirl Minnie Mouse.

Cowboy Mickey

Character Fan Days – Jan. 28-30: This is your chance to meet and take photos with some rarely seen characters. Think of this as the ultimate Disney character reunion – featuring the characters that you told us you would most like to meet. (We’ll announce the results of our Character Facebook poll later this week on the Disney Parks Blog.)

Lunar New Year Festival – Feb. 4-6 and Feb. 11-13: Two weekends will be devoted to Lunar New Year, when time-honored traditions and family celebrations are observed within the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures as the sun and moon begin their journeys for another year.

Mardi Gras – Feb. 18-20, Feb. 25-27 and March 4-6: Three weekends will be devoted to a lively, New Orleans-style Mardi Gras event, with vibrant excitement, jazzy music and sensational food of New Orleans. Where else? At New Orleans Square. Princess Tiana, along with a cavalcade of some Disney characters in their Mardi Gras finery, will appear at a photo location in the Court of Angels, staffed by Disney PhotoPass photographers.

Check back on the Disney Parks Blog each week, for more details on the weekend events.

Which of the “Family Fun Weekends” are you looking forward to most?

New Nautical Themed Exhibit Coming to The Disney Gallery

WDWNT on January 11, 2011

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Preparations continue for the arrival of the Disney Wonder to its new home in the Port of Los Angeles, as well as the inaugural voyage of the newest ship in Disney’s fleet, the Disney Dream in Port Canaveral, Florida. In the coming weeks, The Disney Gallery will pay tribute to all the ships on land and at sea, including some of those near and dear to our hearts at our very own Disney Parks.

Explore Castaway Cay Aboard the Disney Dream

This new exhibit, titled “Magic on the Water – The Art of The Happiest Fleet on Earth” will highlight nearly 60 years of nautical designs by Walt Disney Imagineers, from the smallest Storybook Land canal boat to the newest modern classic for the Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Dream.

From submarines and sailing ships to jungle launches and pirate bateau, water and watercraft have always played a key role in the design of Disney Parks. Through the years, the Disney maritime fleet has taken guests through uncharted jungles, under the polar ice caps, across lagoons to the Magic Kingdom and a World Showcase at Epcot, to a storybook land of enchanted fairytales and around the world on the happiest cruise to ever sail the seven seas.

“This particular exhibit is different from any other because it displays concept art from all our theme parks around the world. Tokyo DisneySea, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Paris, all join Disneyland Resort art to form a display of various types of interesting watercraft, Disney style” says Walt Disney Imagineering Director, Concept and Show Design, Kim Irvine.

'Ariel,' by Larry Nikolai

'Pirates Dream,' by G. Scribner

Also in store for you as we launch this new exhibit will be Disney Cruise Line-inspired original art, giclees and deluxe prints by notable Walt Disney Imagineers, Disney Design Group and Disney-inspired artists including Jeremy Fulton, Greg McCullough, Larry Nikolai, Noah, Randy Noble, George Scribner, Mark Seppala, SHAG, and Darren Wilson.

Special Tip: On Saturday, Jan. 29, Jody Daily, Jeremy Fulton, Kevin Kidney, Larry Nikolai, Noah and George Scribner will be on hand for a special appearance and signing from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at The Disney Gallery. For details visit www.ArtofDisneyParks.com.

So set sail with us on a retrospective voyage of memories – and prepare for an ocean of new ones.

Recording Today’s Podcast

WDWNT on January 10, 2011

Here is a rare peak behind the scenes at Destination Vinylmation. M.C. and I are in the studio this afternoon recording this week’s podcast.

Coming up in this episode:
  1. The latest Vinylmation News
  2. Animation 1 Explained
  3. Star Wars Preview
Look for Destination Vinylmation Episode 6 to be released Sunday night.

Now, Fully Armed and Operational

WDWNT on January 8, 2011

As I was looking at the Disney Vault page for an unrelated topic, I noticed that things had shifted since last time I was there. Thinking the release of Animation 1 this morning had shuffled things when added to the site I investigated and found that they had not updated the page with Animation 1 info, but with Star Wars info. So now we have all the turn-arounds for all 11 known characters.

There wasn’t really that much new we learned from the backs and sides; just a lot of capes (wouldn’t they have looked cool in fabric like the Animation 1 9″ Hippo’s tutu?). It’s interesting to note that they don’t show the lightsaber accessories we saw earlier today at D-Street. In the Animated 1 turn-arounds the Fairy Godmother shows offer her wand. I hope that doesn’t mean that they won’t come with lighsabers, and that those in the display were only for the display. (Something I doubt, but worry about)

What do you think of the figures are we’ve seen so far?