Say “Aloha” to the Polynesian Resort Lobby, Closes in March 2014 for Renovations

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

A few weeks ago, rumors began circulating that the lobby of Disney’s Polynesian Resort would be forever changed from the look it has now, one it has sported since it opened back in 1971. The huge water feature and somewhat of a mildew smell in the lobby have been staples of Walt Disney World for almost 43 years, but starting next month, it will be erased.

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The project is part of a remodeling of the entire resort taking place between now and the opening of the Disney Vacation Club wing of the resort that will open in 2015. The Wyland Gallery downstairs in the Great Ceremonial House has already closed to make way for expanded dining options (which may include a new restaurant, expanded Captain Cook’s, and maybe even a Dole Whip bar depending on who you ask). The Captain Cook’s counter service restaurant is also set to be closed from March until June of 2014 for major modifications. The Neverland Club, which closed a few weeks ago will reopen in late-April, may re-open as a new food service location as well.

The lobby will be the latest victim, currently slated to go behind work walls sometime in March. in area desks should resemble the podiums at Art of Animation where cast members can walk out from behind them to easily assist guests.

Only time will tell what actually happens and what remains a rumor. We will keep you posted as more becomes available over the coming weeks.

What do you think? Are you sad to see the old lobby go?

Dirk Wallen’s 2/17/14 Epcot & Disney Springs Photo Report

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Epcot and Downtown Disney this week and has some newsworthy photos of Walt Disney World to share with us, so let’s take a look:

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The Flower and Garden Festival is just a few weeks away

The butterfly garden is starting to rise

The playground near Imagination! is also being set up

Moving to Downtown Disney, work continues on the parking structure

The latest progress on the West Side Starbucks

This crane and construction materials are still mysteriously sitting out by the West Side parking lot and the construction trailers

Not much to see here

It appears that the back of Portobello is being themed to fit in once the new walkway to The Landing (Pleasure Island) opens

Some work happening where the stage is between Fulton’s and Portobello

The latest progress on the Marketplace bridge


Finally we can see some of the framework for the Starbucks in the Marketplace

Get Your First Look at Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” Trailer February 18 On “Jimmy Kimmel Live”

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

The world premiere of the trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC Tuesday, February 18 at 11:35p.m. Eastern Time.

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The movie’s star, Chris Pratt, will help debut the premiere which will also be posted exclusively for 24 hours on on Jimmy Kimmel Live’s YouTube channel. This will be the first opportunity that Marvel fans will have to see the official trailer for the highly-anticipated film, which will be released in theaters on August 1.

Directed by James Gunn and starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Benicio Del Toro, Guardians of the Galaxy will expand the Marvel film universe into space, where adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of a bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a group of misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. When Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

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Keep checking WDWNT.com for more Guardians of the Universe news and details.

“Disney twenty-three” Spring Issue To Celebrate Disney at the 1964 World’s Fair

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

The Spring 2014 issue of Disney twenty-three, the official magazine of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club, will celebrate Disney’s contributions to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.  The Fair, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, celebrated a time of optimism, growth, and progress, and marked the creation of landmark Disney technology, music, and attractions including it’s a small world, Audio-Animatronics® technology, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, and the Carousel of Progress—with its memorable theme song “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.” The magazine’s writers sat down with several Disney legends responsible for these iconic landmarks including Marty Sklar, Alice Davis, and Bob Gurr. Stunning concept art and rarely seen photography from the Fair complement the stories in this issue, available exclusively to Gold Members of D23.

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 The Spring issue will also include a look ahead at some of the latest entertainment coming from Disney. Ty Burrell, Tina Fey, Kermit the Frog, and Miss Piggy give readers a peek “behind the felt” at Muppets Most Wanted, which opens in March. Chris Evans talks about suiting up once again for April’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Plus, Jonathan Freeman discusses taking his characterization of the villainous Jafar from screen to stage, as Disney Theatrical Productions prepares to open Aladdin on Broadway this March.

Also included in the Spring issue of Disney twenty-three:

  • We celebrate D23’s fifth anniversary with a look at some of the club’s most memorable events
  • “Ask Dave” with Disney Legend and Chief Archivist Emeritus Dave Smith returns to print in the U.S. for the first time in nearly a decade
  • Disney trendsetters are all the rage—and on the page—in “The Hippest Place on Earth”
  • Regular columns including A Walk with Walt, PHOTOfiles, D Society, and more

All D23 Members are invited to visit www.D23.com for additional members-only content, including extended Q&As with Kermit, Fey, Burrell, and the irrepressible Miss Piggy from Muppets Most Wanted.

Other features coming to D23.com include:

  • A closer look at the artwork from it’s a small world’s Tower of the Four Winds at the New York World’s Fair
  • Details on which parts of the World’s Fair attractions made their way to Disneyland
  • A drive though the Ford Magic Skyway, with an extensive photo gallery

Also, D23 Gold Members will receive a reproduction of the “Souvenir Map and Small World Guide” from the centerfold of the commemorative it’s a small world, guide book in the Spring issue

Disney twenty-three is offered exclusively to D23 Gold Members as a benefit of their membership.

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CONFIRMED: Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade to End in June

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

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Walt Disney World’s only afternoon parade currently running is going away soon. Entertainers in Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade have been informed that the 13-year-old parade will conclude in June of 2014. Waiting until June would allow time for the new Festival of the Lion King theater to open in Africa, reinstating some of the much needed attraction capacity for the park in preparation for the Summer. We can only assume that either the parade warehouse in the way of construction staging for the AVATAR project or that the parade route will be altered to accommodate the new nighttime show on the way to the park.

The removal of the parade was confirmed by a Disney spokesperson since this story was first run.

PHOTOS: Construction Walls Come Down Revealing Beautiful Scenery of Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited the Magic Kingdom last night and found that the walls surrounding the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train attraction along the bridge to Belle’s Village had come down…

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A look at the track

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A beautiful waterfall near the bridge that trains will run across

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As you can see, trains were running as well

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A train speeding by on a banked turn past a waterfall and over a river… I think everyone should be excited about this by now…

VIDEO & CONCEPT ART: Disneyland Paris Opening Ratatouille Themed-Land in Summer 2014

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

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Disneyland Paris will be unveiling an entire realm of Ratatouille themed fun this summer with Ratatouille The Ride and “Le Bistrot de Remy” restaurant. The area will open inside Walt Disney Studios Paris park near the recently added Toy Story Land and Toon Studio. The attraction’s official name is “Ratatouille: L’Aventure Totalement Toquée de Rémy” and it allow guests to ride in a rat on a trackless ride system similar to Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland. Guests will enter all of the offerings through “La Place de Remy”, the courtyard area replicating the streets of Paris as seen in the PIXAR film. Check out the teaser video Disneyland Paris put out earlier this week:

It has long been rumored this attraction and restaurant may make their way to Epcot’s France pavilion, but it would appear that this is either still a blue sky idea or cancelled at this point.

WDWNT: The Magazine – The “Festival of Fantasy” Heads to Walt Disney World

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

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Since 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort has delighted guests with many memorable parades. Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park is the quintessential home for these theatrical shows which incorporate beloved Disney characters and movies. There have been little-known daytime parades in the past such as the Surprise Celebration, and widely-known night-time parades such as SpectroMagic; each had the responsibility of entertaining Magic Kingdom visitors for their respective periods of time. Now that the most recently running daytime parade, Celebrate a Dream Come True, has ended, its long-anticipated replacement, Festival of Fantasy Parade, is set to make its debut next month.

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Spectro Magic Parade

Many devoted fans of Walt Disney World will argue that the greatest Disney parade of all time was SpectroMagic. This show encompassed all that typically comes to mind when the word “Disney” is mentioned. Full of excitement, sparkling lights, Disney characters, and an enchanting musical score, this adored parade seemed to fit its role perfectly.

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Main Street Electrical Parade

Leaving the Magic Kingdom in 2010 to be replaced by the currently active Main Street Electrical Parade, Disney stated that SpectroMagic would eventually make its return. In the summer of 2013, Disney extinguished any hopes for this parade to once again be a part of the experience of the Magic Kingdom, which shocked its fans. Although the ‘Electrical Parade’ is still greatly loved by guests, it has been unable to reach the extremely high level of success that SpectroMagic attained with guests. Now with the Festival of Fantasy Parade on its way to the Magic Kingdom, one can only wonder if the void left by SpectroMagic will soon be filled.

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Festival of Fantasy will be a daytime spectacular with visually stunning and elaborate floats. Through images and the above video released by Disney, we know that the float designs will include the movies Brave, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Pinocchio. To the delight of the many Frozen fans, characters Anna and Elsa have been announced to be on the “Princess Garden” float.

Given that the Festival of Fantasy Parade is themed according to New Fantasyland, there is limitless creativity to be incorporated in the design of the costumes. New techniques used by the creative costuming team, such as 3D printing and 3D origami, give a unique overall appearance to the performers’ costumes. In comparison to costumes seen in other Walt Disney World parades, the remarkably innovative styles seen in the Festival of Fantasy are unprecedented. This modern look that appears throughout the entertainers’ attire and the floats is similar in style to that of Tokyo Disneyland’s Happiness is Here Parade. The modernization of both parades shows a growing trend in Disney productions to radiate contemporary feelings while simultaneously satisfying audiences by the use of cutting-edge technology and designs.

What has been your favorite Disney parade?  What are you looking forward to seeing in the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade?

Here is a sneak peak that Disney shared with us on the upcoming parade:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AW9w0o7kAM]

 

In memory of a fellow Disney fan and friend, Monique Tartt (1995-2014)

Dirk Wallen’s 2/4-2/8/14 WDW Photo Report

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney over the last few days, so let’s take a look at everything happening around Walt Disney World right now:

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Nikon photo spot now in place near the Rose Garden

Some more planter work happening near the hub… rumors suggest this may all be related to a new nighttime show for the park…

See ya’ later trash can…

The facade at the Enchanted Tiki Room is getting some work done

The Nikon picture spot at Splash Mountain isn’t quite picturesque yet…

The Splash Mountain refurbishment continues

Tarps up on the buildings in Liberty Square and the castle crane looming behind it

The Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin FastPass machines are being removed

Plenty of Valentine’s Day treats are available at Big Top Treats

Moving over to Disney’s Polynesian Resort, DVC wing construction is in full swing

I love these signs…

Gates up on the beach

The work out in the water on the rumored bungalows

Over at Epcot, the former Kim Possible kiosk area is now a MyMagic+ service center

Prep work for the Flower and Garden Festival is in full swing now

Another Nikon picture spot

The Darkroom at Hollywood Studios is still presented by Kodak

Yet there is a Nikon Picture Spot not too far away

The Monsters University meet and greet is becoming the Monsters Inc. meet and greet again

Backlot tour is still closed

Frozen billboard up in the backlot

Pirate Fairy and Jungle Book billboards up in the Animation Courtyard

Nikon picture spot at Animal Kingdom

A decent size line for FastPass+

AVATAR construction is happening folks…

Some work happening outside of Expedition Everest

A look at the new Festival of the Lion King theater from high up on Everest

Looks like there is a lot of work to still be done

On to Downtown Disney… Disney Springs… whatever it is…

Not much visible progress to the West Side Starbucks

Not much to see on Pleasure Island either

But there is something happening behind these walls

Here is the site for the large water-side building in The Landing

Bridge work in the Marketplace is happening quickly

The stage area near Fulton’s has been behind walls for a few weeks now

The staging area for the bridge is across from T-Rex behind the DVC booth

The Marketplace Starbucks is also coming along slowly

Guests watching construction take place

Cinderella outside of World of Disney received a backdrop on the construction walls for the Starbucks

Some strange new men’s shirts on sale

Team Mickey is now closed to become the Marketplace Co-Op

New Star Wars MagicBandits have arrived

There is also an R2-D2 MagicSlider!

PUSH’s Contract Not the Only Thing Expired, Disney May Continue Character

WDWNT on February 18, 2014

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This morning, as the PUSH scandal was reaching new heights, Jason Garcia, reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, tweeted that “Inventor and co-owner of PUSH says contract with Disney lapsed over concerns about intellectual property rights to the character.”  This got me (Jason Diffendal) thinking, I wonder if Disney’s lawyers figured out a way to do their own version of PUSH and not have to deal with contract negotiations with the current owner of PUSH.  Well, it appears that this just may be the reason that the contract with PUSH was not renewed.

PUSH the Talking Trash Can was registered for trademark protection with the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 11, 2000, and the trademark was officially registered on March 19, 2002 as Trademark # 2548953.

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However, the laws and requirements pertaining to trademarks are not trivial, and one important requirement is that, in order to maintain ownership of a trademark, the trademark must be in common usage on a regular basis, and the owner must file paperwork attesting to this fact.  The particular law is Section 8 of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. §1058.  Owners must file what is called a “Section 8 Declaration of Continued Use” between the 5th and 6th years after the registration date.  For PUSH, that would have been sometime between 2007 and 2008.   The USPTO will cancel any registration on either the Principal Register or the Supplemental Register if a timely §8 Declaration is not filed by the current owner of the registration during the prescribed time periods. (Full details here.)

Searching the USPTO’s Trademark Database for the current status of this trademark, I found this ominous statement: “Registration cancelled because registrant did not file an acceptable declaration under Section 8.”  So it appears that PUSH’s owner failed to file the proper paperwork in 2008 to maintain ownership of the trademark, and so the registration was cancelled on December 27, 2008.  This unfortunate turn of events means that PUSH is no longer owned by “Robot Productions, Inc.” (Note that the company has apparently changed their name since then.)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is entirely possible that Disney’s lawyers discovered this information and thus determined that Disney could create their own version of PUSH without infringing any intellectual property belonging to Robot Productions, Inc.  Whether this is actually the case, I do not know, but certainly Disney’s highly intelligent lawyers have done things like this in the past, so it would not be a surprise at all if this turns out to be true. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.