Join hosts Joe Hogarty, Patrick Hackett, Ron D’Anna, Jack McCarthy and Taylor Katcher as they share their thoughts on “Doctor Strange”!
This special episode is now available for download through WDW News Today: Original Programing and iTunes!
In today’s quarterly earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Iger stated that Disney will be looking to build more resort hotels in the not-too-distant future at both the Walt Disney World Resort and the Disneyland Resort.
Of course, a new resort hotel has already been announced for the Disneyland Resort, but the call seemed to hint that more would be constructed following that. At Walt Disney World, there are no announced new resort projects other than the ongoing expansion at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Rumors do point to an expansion of Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and an additional tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort sometime in the next few years.
Iger stated that they were not ready to announce any of these or other resort projects at this time.
This morning Emma Watson revealed the first official poster for “Beauty And The Beast” on her Facebook page:
The poster is for Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast. The film, which brings the story and characters audiences know and love to life in a stunning, cinematic event, is directed by Bill Condon and features an extraordinary ensemble cast which also includes Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Audra McDonald, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.
“Beauty and the Beast” will be released in U.S. theaters nationwide on March 17, 2017.
Source: Emma Watson
Reporter Tim Alcoser returns with another fantastic photo report from the Disneyland Resort as the holiday season descends on Anaheim. Who’s ready for food, decorations, and an inexplicable giant crane? WELL THEN, LET’S GO!!!
The Festival of the Holidays has kicked off at Disney California Adventure.
The entire park is already in its holiday finest as well.
An archway near the Carthay Circle Theater welcomes guests to the Festival of Holidays.
Banner sup around the main thoroughfare.
Booths had lines before they even opened for the day.
The drummer group is particularly enjoyable, catch them if you can!
Some extra carts tacked with holiday merchandise have been rolled out for the season.
The ever-popular Cars Land goes overboard with decorations celebrating the California car culture.
Even Stanley gets a Santa cap!
Work continues on the conversion of Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout.
While MagicBands are never coming, so many of these touch point readers have been installed around the resort. One has to be curious if they will find some way to utilize them in a new system.
While the show is being retooled, FROZEN: Live at the Hyperion is down to just two shows a day.
The Doctor Strange preview is currently running at the Sunset Showcase Theater, former home to MuppetVision 3-D.
An actual costume from the film is on display inside.
The holiday season is in full swing at Disneyland Park as well.
The Jingle Cruise has returned to Adventureland.
There is a massive crane parked outside of Pirates of the Caribbean…
It is boxed in a small fenced area, but it is really, really, really hard to miss.
Work continues on the Rivers of America and a whole new Fantasmic show.
The Columbia is getting ready for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequence.
Star Wars land off in the distance.
The borders off the land that will separate it from the rest of the park are already taking shape, but the same can not be said for anything else in the project.
“Story”.
We’re waiting too. This remote outpost planet is taking too long!
The Main Street Vehicles are decorated for the season.
Work continues on the new tram lanes.
Not only will the tram lanes be changing, but guests will also need to go through security before they enter the Downtown Disney area.
Star Wars land construction, as seen from the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure.
See ya; real soon from the Happiest Place on Earth.
An International trailer for “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has been released and it contains some nice new footage. We get a better look at Darth Vader in costume, and it also looks like Jyn Erso may be wearing a Kyber crystal, the crystal used to power a Jedi’s lightsaber, around her neck. Check it out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN07YwLMRoA
Source: We Got This Covered
Once again, thanks to Infiniteer Adventures, we have new concept art for some more unreleased characters for the cancelled Disney Infinity 3.0.
This time we have Belle and Beast, who’s designs are inspired by the upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. As you can see in the video and pictures below, Belle’s figure holds a striking resemblance to Emma Watson, who will be portraying Belle in the new film.
https://https://youtu.be/HK0HlLi_6Z4
As with most Disney Infinity figures, these probably would have released around the same time the movie hit theaters, so March 2017 in this case.
Just like the many other unreleased figures we’ve seen over the months, it is a shame that we won’t ever get our hands on these. The designs look fantastic.
I have heard some crazy rumors in my lifetime, but never in a million years could I fathom that a Disney theme park would remove its castle. Surprisingly, it seems that Hong Kong Disneyland park will be…
Sleeping Beauty Castle at Hong Kong Disneyland
Rumor has it that Hong Kong Disneyland is unhappy with the carbon copy of Sleeping Beauty Castle that they received from Disneyland back in 2005 when the park opened. While the small castle looks rather beautiful with the real mountains behind it, the castle itself is rather unimpressive.
2005 was a very different time at Walt Disney Imagineering and in the Walt Disney Company. Some might even call it the dark ages. The company was still under the direction of Michael Eisner, who was frightened by the failures of Disneyland Resort Paris, a project in which they spent time and money to build a gorgeous park that just never grew the audience they expected. He also was on his way out of the company as many shareholders were becoming restless with many of the company’s decisions.
In designing and executing Hong Kong Disneyland, the company wasn’t looking to break the bank. In fact, at one point in development, the Castle wasn’t even going to have a backside, it would be hollow like a movie set. Like I said folks, the dark ages.
Still, it was cheaper to just copy what had been built in California, a small Castle with little interior. It seems that Hong Kong is a little jealous of little brother Shanghai Disneyland’s giant Storybook Castle and wants a bigger and more impressive park icon of their own.
Storybook Castle at Shanghai Disneyland
If the plan comes to pass, a larger castle (smaller than Shanghai, but completely unique in design) will be built on the site of the current Sleeping Beauty Castle in Hong Kong. This would mark the very first time that a castle was torn down in a Disney theme park.
This project is part of a rumored second expansion phase of the park that would include new attractions as well. The last expansion phase added Mystic Manor, Grizzly Gulch, and Toy Story Land to the park.
An announcement from Disney is expected soon.
What do you think? Does this seem like a good idea or should the current castle be left alone?
Toy Story Land is coming to Shanghai Disneyland! Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company, along with Bob Chapek, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Fan Xiping, chairman of Shanghai Shendi Group, recently celebrated breaking ground on this new expansion, which will open in 2018.
The expansion started even before opening Shanghai Disneyland in anticipation of the park’s needs. The characters from Toy Story have been well liked in China ever since the release of the first film in the franchise back in 1995, and Shanghai Disney Resort already has the only resort hotel in the world dedicated to the characters and stories from Toy Story.
As you can tell from the logo, Toy Story Land at Shanghai Disneyland will be both authentically Disney and distinctly Chinese, making it a one-of-a-kind experience for guests. Everyone’s favorite toys from one of the most popular franchises ever will come to life and play in a fully immersive land with three attractions and a themed character greeting area. It is unclear what the 3 attractions will e and if they will be unique to this version, or simply copied from the existing lands or the upcoming Hollywood Studios project.
Just days after switching to seasonal operation and menu, the AristoCrepes at Disney Springs has brought back crepes and it’s names.
The savory crepes are gone and what remains are three of the sweet crepes. You can find the old menu in our original review of the AristoCrepes. The new snack items that were introduced after the crepes were removed are still available as well.
The sweet crepes temporarily moved to Amorette’s Patisserie in the interim, but are now back at AristoCrepes. Amorette’s now has a separate crepe menu:
Walt Disney World has launched a new television ad for the holiday season, including our first look at Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! in action:
