VIDEO: “Big Hero 6” Soundtrack Available For Pre-Order

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

The Big Hero 6 original motion picture soundtrack will be available at digital retail on November 4^th and on CD November 24^th and features an original song, “Immortals” from Fall Out Boy. The soundtrack includes score from Henry Jackman. The album is now available for pre-order.

Fall Out Boy was tapped to write and perform the song for the film’s sequence in which the Big Hero 6 team is transformed from a group of super smart individuals to a band of high-tech heroes.

“The idea of this kid stepping up on behalf of his brother is what inspired the song’s title ‘Immortals,'” says Patrick Stump. “Your victories aren’t exclusively yours, so the fact that all of these people are coming together to help him get to the finish line is really exciting.”

“They’re testing out their new super suits for the first time in the scene,” says Pete Wentz. “Some of it works—some of it doesn’t. You get the sense that they’re stepping into a bigger role. The story’s in the DNA of Fall Out Boy. It is an authentic story and it’s who our band is—we’ve always identified with the underdog.”

Jackman used a 77-piece orchestra and created a score that celebrates the comic-book style action of Big Hero 6, the embracing of technology and, of course, the special relationships that are forming.

“It’s very important to me in a score like this when there’s a lot of emotional content, as well as heroism and jeopardy and the rest, to allow the musicians to play together. If you can put everyone in a room together, it’s great. They bounce off each other.” “Music is really the emotion of the movie, beautifully stitching the scenes together,” says director Don Hall. “We wanted a score that was melodic with prominent themes, while pushing technical boundaries with electronica music, too. Henry Jackman was able to weave it all together brilliantly.”

The Big Hero 6 soundtrack is set for release at digital retail Nov. 4^th and on CD Nov. 24, 2014 and is now available for pre-order. A special bundle featuring a Baymax 7” vinyl single, the soundtrack CD and poster is now available for pre-order at Disney Music Emporium.

Watch the video here:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9PxOanFjxQ]

From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind Frozen and Wreck-It-Ralph, comes Big Hero 6, an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit), a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter). When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (voice of Jamie Chung), neatnik Wasabi (voice of Damon Wayans Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (voice of Genesis Rodriguez) and fanboy Fred (voice of T.J. Miller). Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called Big Hero 6. Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring breathtaking action with all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Big Hero 6 is directed by Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh) and Chris Williams (Bolt), and produced by Roy Conli (Tangled).

The film hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 7, 2014.

“Star Wars: Episode VII” Concept Art Leaks, Major Movie Spoilers Possibly Revealed

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

A lot of Star Wars: Episode VII concept art has leaked today and many of the pieces reveal some possible major spoilers for the movie. I’ll also tell you what I have heard so far about the plot of the movie and some of my theories that may or may not make any sense. Keep in mind that none of this has been confirmed by Lucasfilm, so we won’t know if this information is accurate until the movie comes out on December 18^th, 2015.

Concept Art:

A couple of things that I noticed:

Chewbacca has a robotic hand
Chrome Trooper
A Sith lightsaber
A downed Star Destroyer, TIE Fighter and AT-AT
There have been rumors of Daisy Ridley’s character living in an abandoned AT-AT and that is seen in the concept art.
The concept art of the Millennium Falcon looks a lot like the photos that were taken recently in the UK showing hangars covered with grass:

SPOILERS!!!

OK, this is the big one! Again this is just a rumored storyline. If you don’s want to know, turn back now. I warned you! Here is what I know from the rumored storyline. Luke has been missing pretty much since the end of Return Of The Jedi. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’s characters find Luke’s lightsaber and bring it to Han Solo, who confirms that it is Luke’s lightsaber. Han joins the two characters to search for Luke. Daisy’s character is strong with the Force and she wants to meet up with Luke so that he can train her in the ways of the Force and become a Jedi. At the end of the movie, she finally finds Luke but it is revealed that Luke has turned to the Dark Side and now she will be his new apprentice. If this is true, that’s a pretty big deal in the Star Wars Universe.

Is this Luke Skywalker?

So why would Luke turn to the Dark Side? I think the most obvious reason is that he was lied to by Obi-Wan: No matter how you slice it, Obi-Wan was a big fat liar! Obi-wan told Luke when he first met him that a pupil of his, Darth Vader, betrayed and murdered Luke’s father. Later on when Darth Vader reveals to Luke that he is Anakin Skywalker, his father, Luke is in shock and refuses to believe it. And what about this scene below from the cave in Dagobah in The Empire Strikes Back? Could it be foreshadowing that Luke will eventually turn to the Dark Side and be like his father, part man and part machine? Is he destined to wear his father’s mask? In Return Of The Jedi, Luke asks Yoda before he dies if Vader is his father and Yoda confirms that he is. Yoda then says, “Told you he did. Most unfortunate.” So Yoda was basically hiding it from him too. Then Obi-Wan appears to Luke in ghost form and Luke confronts him about why didn’t Obi-Wan ever tell him that Darth Vader was his father. Obi-wan never says he is sorry. He just tells him that when Anakin turned to the Dark Side, the good man that was once his father no longer existed and he became Darth Vader. So, what he told him was true, from a certain point of view. This always annoyed me because it is obvious that Ob-Wan did lie to him but instead of admitting it, he says “I never lied”. Then Obi-Wan goes on to say that he must face and defeat his father in battle, so Luke says he can’t kill his own father, but Obi-Wan is disappointed in Luke. Then Obi-Wan reveals another bombshell when Luke asks him about the “another” that Yoda mentioned. Obi-Wan tells Luke that he has a twin sister and Luke figures out that it is Leia. Nice. He couldn’t have told him that before the two of them kissed? Plus why even hide that fact from Luke when R2-D2 plays Leah’s message at Obi-Wan’s house? Never made any sense. After Luke defeats Vader in the Emperor’s Throne Room, he realizes that he is very close to turning to the Dark Side and stops himself. During the battle with the Emperor, Vader is mortally wounded and has one last moment with Luke. It has to be hard to accept that your father killed billions of people but there is still a part of you that says, “Well, he’s still my dad”. On Endor, Luke performs a private funeral ceremony and watches as he cremates the last remains of Vader’s body and uniform. But who is to say that he didn’t at the last minute take Vader’s helmet as a memento of his father? There has been other concept art showing Vader charred helmet (see below).:

Concept art leaked a few months ago:

If you look at the Prequels, the Jedi treated Anakin horribly. They never trusted him and the Jedi Council was mostly against him. They never went back and freed his mother from slavery and she died a horrible death. They were really a bunch of jerks at times. The only one who treated him well was Emperor Palpetine. Another fact that has come out recently is that Lawrence Kasdan, who did the screenplay for Return Of The Jedi, had originally planned at the end of Jedi to have Luke becoming evil and take the mantle of Darth Vader from his father after Vader died. George Lucas read the script and told him that we cant end the trilogy on a bad note like that, so he changed it. Even Mark Hamill was on board and wanted to see Luke turn to the Dark Side. So now Lawrence Kasdan is writing the screenplay for Episode VII, he could basically be doing what he wanted all along. Again, even though this rumor is floating around, it doesn’t mean its accurate. For all we know, J. J. Abrams could have started this rumor just to throw fans off, but after looking at these concept art photos, it does kind of look like what I imagined after reading the rumors that had emerged earlier this year. We will just have to wait and see… Star Wars: Episode VII is the first chapter of a new trilogy that takes place 30 years after Return Of The Jedi. The movie is being directed by J. J. Abrams and will reunite the original cast as well as new cast members to continue the Star Wars saga. Episode VII is currently being filmed in locations such as Abu Dhabi, Iceland and various locations in the UK. Star Wars Episode VII is scheduled to be released domestically on December 18th, 2015.

RUMOR: 5th Walt Disney World Theme Park To Be Built Before 2021, Located Near Flamingo Crossings?

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

A 5th Walt Disney World theme park has been a dream for many since Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened in 1998. We are currently living through the longest drought without a new theme park at Walt Disney World in the resort’s history: 16.5 years. As Walt Disney World reached its 40th anniversary in 2011, a new ten year plan for the growth of the resort was laid out, culminating in the 50th anniversary in 2021, which is sure to be viewed as the pinnacle theme park celebration in the company’s history. Sure, Disneyland is the original and Walt’s baby, but Walt Disney World was his last dream and has always been favored by management in the company for being the resort destination with the highest profits. This reasoning made it easy to believe rumors that a 5th theme park was one of the end goals of the ten year plan management devised for Orlando.

So, just a few days ago we told you about the groundbreaking finally taking place at Flamingo Crossings and why that seems to be important and indicative of larger plans for Walt Disney World in the next 8-10 years. Well, it seems it might be a good sign that a 5th park is coming, especially with some recent land purchases made by Disney in the surrounding area (hat tip to Screamscape to putting together some pieces of the story).

Disney owns 3000 total acres of land that are put aside for Flamingo Crossings project, located just outside of the colorful character borders of the Walt Disney World Resort on Western Way. 300 acres of this land seem to be getting some special attentions, a plot just behind the largest development pads for Flamingo Crossings. This plot may be home to Walt Disney World’s 5th theme park.

Why does this plot make sense? A lot of the reasons are those we presented for Flamingo Crossings: 429 is empty and the other side of WDW property is overburdened. Also, building the 5th park here would entice more companies to get involved in Flamingo Crossings. Disney has had trouble selling the plots until recently, but maybe the recent hotel development deal with Marriott was struck because they know something we don’t. One would assume Marriott was privy to this information before finally agreeing to build two hotels that will be the first tenants for the project. If Disney is telling possible investors that there will be a 5th park that their business can be steps away from, they are probably going to be much more likely to open up shop between Western Way and 429.

A lot of this is speculation at this point, but any big projects getting underway currently at Disney’s Hollywood Studios would be completed by 2017-18 and we know that all of the additions to Disney Springs, Epcot (Frozen attraction), and Animal Kingdom will be opening between 2016 and 2017, so the Disney World construction calendar is pretty wide open for the 3 years leading up to the 50th anniversary.

Does all of this mean a 5th gate? Will the park be located in Flamingo Crossings? Will the borders of the Walt Disney World Resort expand west? There are certainly a lot of questions to answer… and we’re not even getting into what the 5th park would be yet…

Iron Man Will Battle Captain America In MARVEL’s “Captain America 3”

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Yes, it’s true! Captain America will battle Iron Man in Captain America 3! According to Variety, Robert Downey Jr is in final talks to bring Iron Man back for a 5th time in Captain America 3. This week Marvel also sent out a tweet that they are rebooting the Civil War comic book and many wondered what that was all about since that was only out in 2007. It does seem that they are looking to bring the Civil War storyline to the big screen.

Originally when Disney and Marvel announced that they were going to release Captain America 3 on the same day as Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, my first reaction was that Batman V Superman was going to easily win. The only way I felt that they could actually have a chance is if they brought in Robert Downey Jr. and have Iron Man and Captain America battle it out. It looks like that was their plan all along. As a side not, Warner Brothers moved Batman V Superman to an earlier release date in order to not have a box office war on the same day.

So what is Civil War? A group of young super heroes battles villains in Manhattan resulting in many human casualties. The Government decides to implement a Super Hero Registration Act so that all super heroes identities must be public knowledge. Iron Man strongly supports the Government and assists in rounding up heroes to reveal their true identity. On the other side, Captain America is strongly against registration and feels that heroes revealing their identity will put their loved ones, as well as themselves, in danger. This leads to sides being drawn and an epic battle between all of the heroes in the Marvel Universe. Some are on Captain America’s side, some are on Iron Man’s side.

Now what is interesting is that Spider-man plays a major role in Civil War. Spoilers: Spider-man joins with Iron Man and reveals his identity to the world during a live television event, but he starts to have second thoughts about the registration act. Recently I reported that Spider-man may be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and this could be the movie, possibly a cameo at the very end of the movie, leading to a much bigger role in Avengers 3. It would make senses especially if Sony and Disney are looking to work with each other.

I think they will introduce the concept of Civil War in Captain America 3, but think that ultimately the actual Civil War will be the Avengers 3 story line, it’s just to big to have just Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr in it. I also have heard rumors months ago that in Avengers 3, Captain America will split off from the Avengers and form his own team, which could be the East Coast Avengers. Without a doubt this is very big news and has made the summer of 2016 something to look forward to. Captain America 3 will be released theatrically on May 6^th, 2016.

“Frozen” Easter Egg Spotted In “Big Hero 6” Latest TV Spot

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

The people over at BigHero6-BH6 must have really good eyes to spot this Frozen Easter Egg in the latest Big Hero 6 TV Spot. I tried a few times and then had to look at the reveal photos. Can you spot the Frozen Easter Egg? The reveal is below the TV Spot.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2N6tjwA9Nk]

I guess Baymax doesn’t like when people finish each other’s sandwiches.

Big Hero 6 is produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and is based on the Marvel comic where a young prodigy, Hiro Hamada, and his inflatable robot, Baymax, team up with a group of friends to form a band of high-tech heroes. This will be Disney’s 54th animated film release. Big Hero 6 opens in theaters domestically on November 7^th, 2014.

PHOTOS: New Theme Park, Movie, and Television Exhibits Added to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream at Hollywood Studios

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

While the New Fantasyland model was removed a few weeks ago, it seems some new exhibits are coming to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Over the weekend, some new vintage items and Walt Disney Imagineering models were added to the attraction:

Toys and merchandise near the Multiplane camera, some of it new, some pieces moved around

New Silly Symphonies items

Most of the items in this Mickey Mouse Club display are the same, but the Cubby shirt is new

Where the Zorro costumes once were, there is now Spin & Marty and Zorro merchandise items

The display which once held the Golden Horseshoe costume and the Columbia is now blacked out, so a new exhibit should appear here as well

New Mystic Manor from Hong Kong Disneyland model on display

A model of Buena Vista Street has now taken the place of The Little Mermaid ride model

Further updates to the exhibit should be on the way, so stay tuned for pictures of any new additions that may come.

10/13/14 Marvel News Mash-Up

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

Is Spider-man About To Join The Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Word this week is that there has been talks between Sony and Disney about possibly bringing Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I reported last week that Disney and Fox, who own X-men and Fantastic Four movie rights, are at war with each other and we wont see those franchises come to any Disney/Marvel productions any time soon. But Sony and Disney have always had a good relationship and continue to do so and there is a strong possibility that we will see Spider-man at some point in an Avengers movie.

This was reported by Hitflix.com:

While I can’t get the confirmations I need to verify the story, I’m hearing that there are some very cool “Spider-man” plans being discussed that would help Sony refocus their enormously important franchise while also opening up some connections in the onscreen Marvel movie universe that would blow fandom’s minds. Will it work out? I don’t know. I would love to be able to state for sure that it’s happening. What seems clear from what I’ve heard is that Marvel wants to be able to play with all of their characters, and if they can make that work creatively and on a corporate level, they will, and that means the world gets bigger again.

This year Sony released Amazing Spider-man 2, and although it was profitable for Sony, it was the worst performing Spider-man movie in the franchise’s history. This caused Sony to postpone the sequel and reconsider the future of the Spider-man franchise. Financially, Sony is not doing well and for the last few years have been reporting an operating loss for their company, which prior to this has never happened before for the company. Sony has gotten out of the cell phone business (Erickson) and computer business (VAIO) and other than the Spider-man franchise, their movie business has not been doing well either. Disney may not own the production rights to the Spider-man movies, but they own all of the merchandising licensees, which means Sony’s is just making profit from the movie distribution.

Originally Disney/Marvel were going to have Oscorp Tower, that was in the first Amazing Spider-man movie, in The Avengers movie as a cross promotion for both films, but Sony was unable to meet the deadline to submit the design before final editing of The Avengers was completed.

It is feasible that a deal can be struck where Sony will have Spider-man in Avengers 3 and that Disney may coproduce Amazing Spider-man 3. There definitely have been talks with Disney and Sony and without a doubt, Disney does want to get Marvel’s most popular character to be part of their Marvel Cinematic Universe.

First Official Image Of Daredevil Released

Marvel. com has released the first official image of actor Charlie Cox (Stardust, Boardwalk Empire) as Daredevil, which will be an ongoing series on Netfilx. I’m pretty sure this is just his first costume that he uses before he dons the traditional red costume (well, I hope so).

Here is the official synopsis for the Netflix Daredevil series:

“Marvel’s Daredevil” follows the journey of Matt Murdock, who was blinded as a young boy but imbued with extraordinary senses, now fighting against injustice by day as a lawyer, and by night as the super hero Daredevil in modern day Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

Back in 1979, Frank Miller began writing for Daredevil and infused some new life into the Daredevil legend. One of Miller’s stories, Daredevil: Born Again, is one of my favorite story lines of all time and tells a very dark story in which Daredevil’s identity is revealed to the public and how it affects his life and the lives of those closest to him. Born Again was published shortly after the Frank Miller story that forever changed comics and was responsible for bringing comic book movies into our culture, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986). The Dark Knight Returns comic heavily influenced Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and to me was the most influential comic ever written. The Dark Knight Returns turned Batman into the Dark Knight, who no longer played by his old rules and truly became a dark and menacing figure, no longer the Adam West Batman but a dark hero that criminals feared. Miller’s gritty and film noir writing style first originated with Daredevil. Back in the day, Daredevil was nowhere near as popular as Batman, but if he was, it’s possible Daredevil would have been what Batman is to most people today.

Matt Murdock, Daredevil’s secret identity:

Daredevil’s Netflix costume (center) is heavily inspired by comic book artist, John Romita Jr. (left). I’m sure we will see Frank Miller’s classic design (right) in the series:

Official Daredevil logo:

Marvel’s Daredevil is an upcoming live-action American television series developed by Drew Goddard, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. It will be produced by Marvel Television and ABC Studios, distributed via the streaming service Netflix, and will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It is the first in a series of shows that will lead up to a Defenders miniseries. Charlie Cox stars as Daredevil, The Man Without Fear. All episodes are set to premiere in May 2015.

Keanu Reeves Now Added To The List Of Potential Doctor Strange Candidates

Never thought of Keanu Reeves for Doctor Strange but he does have the look. Not sure about the voice though, keep thinking of Ted Theodore Logan. Now that Joaquin Phoenix is out of the running, along with Reeves as a potential candidate, are Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Leto, Tom Hardy and Ethan Hawke.

Reeves recently spoke to Collider.com about possibly playing Dr. Strange:

From a practical standpoint the idea of a longtime contract is sort of “errr” because you want to make sure the material is up to a certain level. Like the good or great level. I like the idea. I go to those kinds of movies. I grew up on them and comics and graphic novels. [But] I didn’t know Doctor Strange as a character, I didn’t read that as a kid. I’m gonna have to read it. I remember reading something… who’s going to play Doctor Strange? Would I be good for the role?

Disney Vs. Fox: Round 2

Last week I reported that Disney and Marvel are cancelling the production of all Fantastic Four comic books just prior to the release of next year’s Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. This is likely being done so that no free promotion will be provided for the Fantastic Four movie. ComicBook.com was at this year’s New York Comic Con convention this past weekend and took a photo of 2015’s newest X-Men story line called “No More Mutants”. Is the same strategy that Disney/Marvel used for the Fantastic Four movie being applied to the Wolverine and X-Men Franchises? It does make you wonder. Wolverine is also being killed off in the comics this month and not expected to return until sometime in 2016. (No one dies forever in comics)

So how much credence is there to this story? Well there are some points to consider. The next X-Men movie, X-Men: Age Of Apocalypse will not be released until 2016 and the next Wolverine sequel will be released some time in 2017. So as far as hurting the movie franchises, if that was the case, I think they would kill them off later rather than sooner.

That’s it for this week!

PHOTOS: In-Depth Look at Every Shelf of the Haunted Mansion Store, “Memento Mori” at Magic Kingdom

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

The Haunted Mansion store in Liberty Square finally opened this week, titled Memento Mori. The store will carry some existing Haunted Mansion merchandise, but mostly the over 100 new items for the attraction arriving now at Walt Disney World. WDWNT reporter Joe Hogarty visited the store on Friday and took a TON of photos, so let’s take a tour of the shop and all of the new items:

The exterior of what was the Yankee Trader and is now Memento Mori

Yes, you can get a lenticular “dying” portrait of yourself for $20

We begin our look around inside the store… try not to drool…

Art and collectibles first

Statues of the busts in the interactive queue

Jim Shore created pieces

Art

Examples of the guest lenticular portraits and the frames for sale

Note the new version of the playing cards available

Constance the Bride plush!!!

There’s even stuff for the kids now…

Smaller items

Hitchhiking Ghost Action Figures

There’s so much stuff…

The rather plain GHOST HOST hat is a head scratcher…

Apparel and such

New-ish iPhone cases

The popular ghost hearse die-cast vehicle is back after several years off the shelves, you can get the black one here and a white one at Disneyland

Some of the Haunted Mansion merchandise released last year made it into the store

Madame Leota, before she passed away, has a portrait on the wall of her store

Not that the cast members have specific costumes for the store

It’s scary to think that there is even more of this merchandise on the way…

Wine glasses

The infamous urn… you know someone is actually going to put ashes in that…

I can… ONCE I BUY ALL OF THIS!

The plates with the layout of the Haunted Mansion house… if it were a real house with no show building…

Amazing bookends, note that one book is titled “Tales of a Rat”

Bookends

More plateware

Spider-web shelving for the home-goods

Ladies apparel

iPhone 5 accessories

They sell some treats with a Haunted Mansion theme

Spooky green cotton candy

Green and purple popcorn

The Haunted Mansion “Beautifully Disney” line is now out

More for the ladies

Men’s apparel, including a Hatbox Ghost sweatshirt

There is a tie…

Some shelves feature the same merchandise from other areas of the shop, at least until more items arrive

Decals, magnets and window clings

Hitchhiking Ghost iPhone 5 case

Madame Leota iPhone 5 case

A cast member trying to get guests to enter the photo booth a get a portrait made

Hats…

These are insane…

Somehow, not as bad as these… 😉

The store has been very crowded since opening

Thankfully, some of these older items will be sticking around

The sign on the Fantasyland side

Notice Madame Leota in the center of the sign

The sign on the Liberty Square side appears to follow you

Hopefully a template for future attraction shops, Momento Mori offers unique, non-generic, attraction-specific merchandise. We can only hope sales will be strong enough to push forward more creative merchandise and retail spaces for neglected, headliner attractions like the Haunted Mansion.

So… how much are you going to be spending in this shop on your next visit?

10/14/14 Disneyland Resort Report: New First-Aid Building, Downtown Disney, Park Prep for 60th, & New Parade Speculation

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE: A natural successor to Disneyland News Today, the Disneyland Resort Report will be a re-occurring photo report and news series bringing you the latest from the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. In addition to this, each quarter, we will present a Disneyland Resort-focused episode of the WDWNT Podcast. We here at WDW News Today are happy to continue to cover our California counterpart and bring you the latest news and information regarding the topic.

Welcome to The Disneyland Resort!

In this picture, even the Monorail is the color of a pumpkin

A Festivus For The Rest of Us

In years gone by October was a fairly quiet time at Disneyland. Kids back in school, weather cooling down, maybe some introspection, as Fall takes us to a quieter frame of mind. Not today baby!

If you check your 16-month Advent Calendar, you will see that Halloween is now a gateway season for one long Holiday Time that will end in early 2015. Nowhere is that more true than at The Disneyland Resort.

Anything but a premium pass will soon begin to feel chipped away by holiday block out days. All of the remaining Mickey’s Halloween Party events are now sold out. Part of the second weekend of October was blocked out for many, mainly due to CHOC Walk: A yearly benefit for Children’s Hospital of Orange County. Park attendance during that weekend outpaced all but a few days of this past summer.

Park opening on Columbus Day. Columbus Day!

But, there are a couple of little “troughs” ahead, and they are great times to get your thirst for Disneyland slaked. Between Halloween proper and Thanksgiving weekend is one. The other is after Thanksgiving, for a week or two before the Christmas season shifts into twelfth gear. Your milage may vary.

Once “The Season” is over, we will be into Disneyland’s 50th year and Diamond Celebration. And as we speak, plenty is going on amid the clamor to make the year especially magic.

Is There A Doctor In the House?

As part of the creation of a Guest Access Corridor along the east side of Main Street U.S.A., Central First Aid had to be moved over, ever so slightly. The result is not something everyone may notice, but is a marked improvement over the previous facility, with a touch of Walt Disney’s personal story woven into it.

Two lovely building facades have replaced the nondescript “temporary” building that stood in this spot for decades.

First Aid services now take place in what looks like a small town “Medical Building.”

The inscription on one of the building’s windows reads, “Doc Sherwood M.D. – Family Practice.” Sherwood lived in Disney’s Missouri home town of Marcelene. He once commissioned a crayon drawing of his stallion Rupert from the young artist. He has the distinction of being Walt Disney’s first “customer.”

Next to the First-Aid Station is the Wish Lounge. A refuge for Make A Wish Kids visiting the Park.

Like the buildings on Disneyland’s Center Street, the new structure is tapered down in scale to create a forced perspective as it leads away from Main Street. In some ways the building is reminiscent of the well executed Storybook Circus/Carolwood Park Train Station at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Rationally all of these new buildings are a little too small for their stated function, but they have enough detail to be convincing, reassuring and ultimately believable. This small addition to the center of Disneyland reflects that same sense of scale and quality.

The gate awaits. This “floodgate” will be the north end of the Guest Access Corridor. The access route is expected to be used during pyrotechnics and parades on Main Street.

I Know It When I See It

Downtown Disney’s Wonderground Gallery recently held one of its fairly frequent, always interesting, artist signings. This one featured five (count ’em, five!) artists in attendance. Among this imaginative and talented throng were favorite Florida fantasy artist Jasmine Becket-Griffith and Hipster Mickey mastermind Jerrod Maruyama.

If you haven’t been to this gallery, which specializes in what might be called contemporary or revisionist depictions of familiar Disney characters and tableau, we are really at a loss to explain your inaction.

Jasmine Becket-Griffith signing art for a fan.

For more information on product or upcoming events, the Wonderground Gallery can be found on the internet at http://disneyparksmerchandise.com/parksauthentic/wonderground-gallery/

I’ll Stop The World And Melt With You

News that the characters from Frozen will soon be taking up residence in the Animation Building at Disney California Adventure Park is only… the tip of the Frozen iceberg, so to speak.

For the time being, their little snow covered chalet in Fantasyland is still the hottest place at Disneyland Park.

On a recent morning, the line to get a “return time” stretched past Village Haus, nearly to the edge of Fantasyland.

So who would have guessed that another facet of the Frozen franchise would suddenly appear at the Downtown Disney District? Anyone? Everyone?

Sound the Royal Fanfare (and act surprised), Anna and Elsa’s Boutique has arrived!

Frozen-haters: Walk on by.

This is a place for the little ladies to stock up on Frozen merchandise and, if they wish, get coifed and made up as their favorite Princess from the film. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique’s colder sister.

How slammed will this place be during the holidays?

Restoration Nation

Stylized tarps, with the image of the building they cover have been around for quite awhile in the California and Florida Parks. These covering Coke Corner even have the appropriate seasonal decorations worked into the art.

At any given time now, buildings on Main Street are under tarps as Disneyland readies for next years’ Diamond Celebration. What is interesting this time, compared to a decade ago, is the nonchalant, business as usual, approach to the freshening. The preparation for the 50th anniversary seemed a breathless, hero and goat making marathon with no certainty of completion. Since that time the Resort’s condition has not been let to slip to panic inducing levels of differed maintenance, so preparing the Park “for it’s close-up” seems like no big deal.

The “E” Word?

Last month Hong Kong Disneyland premiered it’s new nighttime parade, “Paint The Night.”

The creative team, led by Disney Entertainment wunderkind Steve Davidson, has, by all indication, a hit on their hands in a park that for the last couple of years has been in ascendancy. Billed as Disney’s first-ever fully LED parade, it is a dazzling, high-tech descendant of The Main Street Electric Parade and SpectroMagic. Sporting more than 740,000 individual lights, “Paint…” features seven units, in a pretty even split of Disney and Pixar show scenes.

Here’s some photos from the new pageant’s premiere:

Image © Disney

Image © Disney

Image © Disney

Image © Disney

What will be interesting from the stateside perspective, is how much influence this show will have on the the still un-named, new Disneyland Park nighttime parade planned for the Diamond Celebration next year.

(By the way, these pictures were taken at Hong Kong Disneyland where Main Street and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle are nearly brick by brick replicas of Disneyland U.S.A. So at least we know this parade would fit on the street.)

Well, what do you think they should call it? Stick with Paint The Night? Come up with something different? Or… use a name with the E-Word in it? Electric?

That’ll do it for now…

See ‘ya real soon!

Dirk Wallen’s 10/10/14 Disney Springs/Downtown Disney Photo Report (The Landing, EPCOT Center, Food Truck Park, ETC.)

WDWNT on October 24, 2014

WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Downtown Disney (Disney Springs as it will be known soon) yesterday and has some great newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:

The large waterfront building in The Landing is coming along nicely

It was supposed to open Summer, but Food Truck Park still isn’t finished

The concept art

There’s an EPCOT Center bag hidden in the artwork…

A look at the new boardwalk and the large new structure in The Landing, which is currently still Pleasure Island

Originally, the Landing was supposed to be just new dining options, but some retail space has been built

New, small retail locations can be found in front of Fulton’s

The first one appears to sell bar accessories

The second is called Sublime… no idea what it is…

The Marketplace bridge will be completed by early 2015, maybe even for the 2014 holiday season

Even though it is only a year old, the Rainforest Café volcano is being fixed up

Ghirardelli has a new sundae

They also have some great holiday treats

MINI CHOCOLATE!

Month: October 2014

VIDEO: “Big Hero 6” Soundtrack Available For Pre-Order

“Star Wars: Episode VII” Concept Art Leaks, Major Movie Spoilers Possibly Revealed

SPOILERS!!!

RUMOR: 5th Walt Disney World Theme Park To Be Built Before 2021, Located Near Flamingo Crossings?

Iron Man Will Battle Captain America In MARVEL’s “Captain America 3”

“Frozen” Easter Egg Spotted In “Big Hero 6” Latest TV Spot

PHOTOS: New Theme Park, Movie, and Television Exhibits Added to Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream at Hollywood Studios

10/13/14 Marvel News Mash-Up

Is Spider-man About To Join The Marvel Cinematic Universe?

First Official Image Of Daredevil Released

Keanu Reeves Now Added To The List Of Potential Doctor Strange Candidates

Disney Vs. Fox: Round 2

PHOTOS: In-Depth Look at Every Shelf of the Haunted Mansion Store, “Memento Mori” at Magic Kingdom

10/14/14 Disneyland Resort Report: New First-Aid Building, Downtown Disney, Park Prep for 60th, & New Parade Speculation

Dirk Wallen’s 10/10/14 Disney Springs/Downtown Disney Photo Report (The Landing, EPCOT Center, Food Truck Park, ETC.)

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