It’s that time of the year again, Festival of the Masters (the 37th!) will be at Downtown Disney Orlando the weekend of November 9th thru the 11th. There’s always lots of artists, lots of LEGO, and more importantly lots of Vinylmation teases and custom artists. We’ll be there to report, but it’s free so if you get a chance, you should drop by!
From June 1-July 8, Epcot will be home to a special offering called “Brave – The Highland Games Tournament”. Being billed as a “kid-focused offering”, guests will get to play games like Mini Caber Toss, Cake Toss, Haggis Flip and archery. Also included is a small playground and a little something for the parents… FREE WIRELESS INTERNET ACCESS!
The event will take place on the Rose Walk (right where Future World blends into World Showcase), from 11 a.m.-7 p.m., daily.
WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom this past weekend, so let’s take a look at his photos, including an in-depth look at the Fantasyland model now on display at Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream:
Darth Vader cupcake
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Adam had himself frozen in carbonite in the ABC sound Studio, former home of Sounds Dangerous
Pretty neat for $120
Star Wars Weekends merchandise is in the tent behind Rock ‘N’ Rollercoaster again, Darth’s Mall
The huge Fantasyland model has moved in at One Man’s Dream
super cool
Princess Fairytale Hall won’t change the exterior of Snow White too much according to the model
A sign explains the model to guests
Some stuff isn’t labeled, like Triton’s Treasures, Ariel’s Grotto, and some minor facilities like restrooms, food stands, etc.
Some interesting points to note from this artwork:
So I guess they will be done by 2013 unofficially?
The Mine Train looks pretty awesome
A closer look at the Mine Train track layout
The recent rockwork expansion at Little Mermaid is present
Let’s take a look at the real thing
The two tents are covered
The Circus animals from the Splash ‘N’ Soak Station are peeking over the wall
A wall has appeared near the Silly Sideshow tent
A look over the walls at Casey Jr. Splash ‘N’ Soak Station
The Disney Parks Blog posted an article about merchandise related to Finding Nemo at the Art of Animation Resort and in it mentioned the Pixar 1 9″ Crush and 3″ Squirt combo will release in Spring of 2013.
The article also said we should see the Pixar Little Green Men and Tuck and Roll LE combos “in the coming months.” The Pixar 1 mystery box set releases on November 16.
WDWNT’s own Katey McGregor went on a special tour of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort on Monday and was nice enough to take a number of photos to share with us prior to the resort’s official opening on May 31st:
Pulling up to the resort
One of the large sketches on the exterior of the main building
A palette of colors dominate the check-in area, while early character concepts cover the opposite wall
An animator at work in the lobby. I hope this is a regular thing and not just something they were doing for the special event…
Some of your favorite characters looked a little different at first
Storyboard artwork covers a chandelier
This one is actually signed by hand by John Lasseter
More artwork on another wall
Landscapes of Flavor has 4 themed sections like the resort – Cars
The Little Mermaid
Finding Nemo
Lion King
The Ink and Paint Shop looks ready to go
The back of the Cars wing
Even the staircases are themed to the different films
The Lion King section is coming along nicely
I can kind of see Simba there…
Finding Nemo is ready to open on May 31st
A look inside the rooms
The bathroom looks like the sunken ship where the sharks live
Shower curtain
Squirt’s Righteous Reef
Ha…
Welcome to Radiator Springs!
A little bit of Cars Land in Florida
Sheriff hiding near the billboard as always
A picture with Doc Hudson
The Cadillac Range is on the buildings
Some of the town establishments were built
They even have the Cozy Cone sign
Sarge’s Surplus Hut
Guests are staying at the Wheel Well Motel
I didn’t know Luigi sold Lightyear tires
Another building has an entrance through Casa Della Tires
Guido!
The Cozy Cone motel
A look inside the rooms
The TV is on a toolbox
brilliant
The bathroom is a car wash…
Thanks for the report Katey!
Vinylmation fans were treated to a sweet surprise this past Monday with the surprise release of Kidada’s “Let Your Conscience be Your Guide” set. This limited edition set of 500 pieces comes complete with a nine-inch figure, a Vinylmation Jr, and a pin and retails for $74.95.
It is available only at DisneyStore.com, the North Michigan Avenue Disney Store in Chicago, the Times Square Disney Store in Manhattan, and the Walt Disney Studio. Like Kidada’s other Vinylmation figures and sets, this one features an incredible amount of detail. According to the description, it “showcases the positive and negative sides of temptation.” On the front of the nine-inch figure is a happy Pinocchio surrounded by all kinds of sweet treats at Pleasure Island.
The Vinylmation Jr figure is designed to look like Jiminy Cricket with eyes glancing in the direction of Pinocchio and a disapproving expression on his face. The back of the nine-inch figure depicts an unhappy Pinocchio with donkey ears and tail inside the mouth of Monstro the whale. Above Pinocchio are the words, “Go ahead. Make a fool of yourself, then maybe you’ll listen to your conscience!” The pin is a sculpted metal pin that reads “Official Conscience 18KT” and is a great addition! As usual, the box art for the set is as whimsical as the Vinylmation. The front of the box matches the candy theme of the front of the nine-inch figure, and in a great innovation, the back of the box also has a window and is designed to resemble a stage through which one can see the back of the nine-inch figure! Hopefully this type of packaging will be used in future sets of nine-inch figures.
Friday saw the release of the Vinylmation Star Wars Disney Characters set at the parks and the Brave set in Disney Stores as expected. It also saw the release of images of some upcoming designs. Here is a preview of the Phineas and Ferb figures, from the set of six open edition figures coming to Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disney Store next Friday, May 25.
The figures in this set will retail for $12.95. Kudos to the artist for adapting Phineas’ triangular shaped head perfectly to the rounded Vinylmation canvas!
The other preview released on Friday was of the rest of the figures being released during the Vinylmation Trading event, Mickey’s Circus. In addition to the three figures previewed earlier this year, there is this set of two three-inch figures of Bongo and Lulubell from the animated film, Fun and Fancy Free.
The combo was designed by Monty Maldovan and has an edition size of 500. It will retail for $26.95.
The last two figures for Mickey’s Circus are two nine-inch designs. Both figures will have an edition size of 100 and will each sell for $150.00 (we’re hoping this is a typo on Disney’s part)!
The first design is by Caley Hicks and features a Circus Seal standing on a platform while balancing a ball on its nose. The seal’s face is done in profile, allowing the canvas’ left ear to be used for the ball and the right ear for a hat. It may be a little tricky to make out the design at first.
The other nine-inch design is by Eric Caszatt and features a Circus Lion. This design is straightforward, and like the seal, is very colorful.
Mickey’s Circus Vinylmation Trading Event will take place at Epcot’s World Showcase on Sunday, September 9, 2012, from 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. Registration for the event is now open. Will you be attending? As the Kidada figure states, “Let your Conscience Be Your Guide!”
Thanks to Tomio Keisuke, we have a look at four new 2012 Christmas themed Vinylmation figures that will be released in Japan.
They will be released at Tokyo Disney Sea for 1200 Yen and be made available during their Disney’s Christmas celebration between November 7 – December 25.
At the release of the first Fantasia combo today at D-Street, Vinylmation Exchange’s Cheryl Harris Kramp snapped a photo of the Park 11 set list.
Of course Park 11 is Disney’s California Adventure themed and we have seen a few of these before, but the new ones are:
Crush from Turtle Talk with Crush. Francis from Francis’s Ladybug Boogie. Jack in the Box for Mad Hat ‘n Beach.. Mickey’s Fun Wheel. And from Cars Land DJ’s Dance ‘n Drive. The Combo Topper is Mickey with a California hat on. He appears to be perhaps a guest at the park? Or someone from the Redwood Creek or Grizzly area?
You can find more info about Park 11 at our explained page.
So, about that romance segment in “The Magic, the Memories, and You” that was ending later this month… it’s not. The romance segment which was added in February will be staying through the entire summer and will be joined by a new unique summer segment. The new summer segment features characters from Phineas and Ferb, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid, as well as Cinderella Castle’s transformation into a giant sand castle.
Concept art for the Cinderella sand castle
The following concept art shows what the show might look like on both Cinderella Castle and on the facade of “it’s a small world”, where it plays at Disneyland
The new version of “The Magic, The Memories, and You!” debuts on May 25th, 2012 at the Magic Kingdom and at Disneyland Park. If you want to check out the romance segment that is already running, here is our video:
If you’re a Star Wars fan who won’t be getting out to Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios this year, you’ll be very happy about what we have to share. Our friend Jeff Lange over at JeffLangeDVD.com and MouseSteps.com (both awesome sites you should check out all the time) captured some highlights of the first day of Star Wars Weekends 2012 for your enjoyment:
Here’s a very funny skit featuring some Stormtroopers that is performed while guests are waiting for Stars of the Saga
Some children were dressed up as Snig and Oopla (characters from various Star Wars Weekends activities)
Star Wars Weekends Celebrity Welcome with James Arnold Taylor, Ashley Eckstein, and Ray Park
And last, but certainly not least, this year’s Hyperspace Hoopla:
