A new international trailer for Disney’s “Zootopia” has been released that features some new scenes, including the Popsicle scene above, that were not shown in the domestic trailer. Check it out!
Source: JoeBlo
Disney’s “Zootopia” will open March 4th!
As we announced during our historic 60-hour-boradcast back in November, WDW News Today is about to make waves (radio waves that is) with a brand new show! Starting on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 at 9PM ET you can catch an entirely new, revolutionary 2 hour program from WDWNT every week! You’ve read WDW News Today, but get ready to experience WDW News Tonight!
This new show will combine popular elements from several past and present WDWNT programs including comedy, news, in-depth discussions, interviews, and games, but will also include some new concepts never heard before. Think of it as The Daily Show meets the WDW News Today Podcast.
WDW News Tonight is hosted by Tom Corless and Nick LoCicero, former hosts of WDW News Today: The Radio Show, but will also feature regular appearances by a number of other WDWNT correspondents.
If you are in the Orlando area, you can tune in to AM 1520 WBZO at showtime. For those outside the Orlando area, the show can be heard at Listen.WDWNT.com via computer or mobile device. The show will also utilize new interactive avenues for our listeners, including a live chat, the ability to call-in to the show, and as well as a (For the first time in WDWNT history) live video stream of the show.
The show (as well as popular clips from it) will also be available for streaming and download the very next day at WDWNewsTonight.com. While this won’t offer the interactive features and excitement of listening live, it offers those who can’t catch the show on Wednesday night a chance be a part of the fun.
Coming up on our very first show:
We hope that you will tune in this Wednesday for the very first episode of WDW News Tonight!
The Nerd Alert crew is back for another round of more questions, more theories and more special guests as we present “Star Wars: The Force Awakens Roundtable Episode II! Join Joe Hogarty, Patrick Hackett, Ron D’Anna and special guests Fedra Ekres and Tom Corless!
This special episode will be available for download tomorrow morning through WDW News Today: Original Programing and iTunes!
Kylo Ren Art: eddieholly.deviantart.com
By Joe Notaro
In anticipation for the completion and opening of Pandora: The World of Avatar in 2017, it seemed appropriate to look back at an original plan that would have occupied the now future space that Avatar will inhabit. It seems time to resurrect the Stuck on the Drawingboard series.
Of all of the lands of Animal Kingdom that were operational on opening day on April 22, 1998, there was planned to be a land that visitors were both hopeful and excited to see constructed. Sadly that expansion never came, and now the land that replaced it. is being transformed into Pandora: The World of Avatar.
Beastly Kingdom was immediately a rock-solid plan in the minds of Disney executives. Animal Kingdom was supposed to feature animals of all types; those in real-life, those who walked the planet but have become extinct, and finally animals of the mystical realm. These plans would have placed Beastly Kingdom squarely in the area now inhabited by Camp Minnie-Mickey. What people do not know, is that Camp Minnie-Mickey had a remnant of the un-built Beastly Kingdom: A dragon shaped fountain within its boundaries. The plan of Beastly Kingdom was to create an area for all mythical and fantastical animals including Unicorns, Dragons, and sea monsters among others.
The land would have been broken up into two distinct areas: A good “realm” and an evil “realm”. Each of these “realms” of Beastly Kingdom would have a “weenie” or landmark distinguishing itself from the other. The good side would feature an attraction called Quest of the Unicorn, as well as a Fantasia styled boat ride. The evil side of Beastly Kingdom would have featured Dragon Tower, an old castle in ruins inhabited by a fire breathing Dragon. As such the land would have been one of the focal points of the park, and likely would have kept Animal Kingdom from its initial failures.
The area never came to be, and much to do with budgeting and finances. Rumor has it that Michael Eisner had to choose between the Beastly Kingdom area and the Dinoland area as costs soared on the park. Seeing as Disney was in production of the movie DINOSAUR, whcih was a pet project of Esiner’s and already had hundreds of millions of dollars sunk into it, they believed that would be the better land to create and promote (How did that film do?). As such Camp Minnie-Mickey was put in as a last minute placeholder so they could come back to the project later. Many of the Imagineers involved with the project eventually left the company in some sort of disgust at the failure of the construction amid the planning and man hours used in creation. Many of these Imagineers found their way to Universal, and were involved and used most elements from Beastly Kingdom in the creation of The Lost Continent. Proof of this was found in Dueling Dragons (Now known as Dragon Challenge) as the concept of two dueling dragons within a ruined castle was lifted straight from the Animal Kingdom plans.
In an interesting aside, maybe Disney executives had the right idea, as the land that former imagineers created has since been “swallowed” by the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and was never really all that popular with guests (nor was the park until Potter opened for that matter). It appears that some of the issues revolved around a convoluted story and a disjointed theme.
Some elements of Beastly Kingdom are still evident in Animal Kingdom even today:
Beastly Kingdom was an enormous undertaking that the Disney Company decided was not cost-effective or feasible with the opening of the park, or even in the years following once it was mostly copied for Islands of Adventure. Though there were and still are elements of the Beastly Kingdom concept included in the park (proving the seriousness of the creation of the land), this land has been permanently shelved in favor of AVATAR and Expedition Everest, two attractions also centering on mythical creatures, whether they are from ancient lore or the silver screen.
What we are left with is this simple question: what could have been and will AVATAR surpass what this never-created land might have been?
Walt Disney Animation Studios has released 2 brand new clips from their upcoming animated film, “Zootopia”. The first clip is called “Elephant In The Room”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8hYj0ROMo4
The next clip is called “Fur Of A Skunk”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6C5yxb5HMA
The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square and frigid Tundratown, it’s a melting pot where animals from every environment live together—a place where no matter what you are, from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew, you can be anything. But when rookie Officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with a fast-talking, scam-artist fox, Nick Wilde (voice of Jason Bateman), to solve the mystery.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootopia,” a comedy-adventure directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore and co-directed by Jared Bush, opens in theaters on March 4, 2016.
Disneyland Park has officially extended the Season of the Force event through Summer 2016 as of today.
While Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple and Star Wars Launch Bay are set to be perennial attractions for the park, Path of the Jedi, the automatic Jakku sequence on Star Tours, and Hyperspace Mountain will be sticking around also.
Rumors indicate that Hyperspace Mountain will leave for Ghost Galaxy in September, but will likely return again in November to promote Rogue One which will be released theatrically in December 2016. When will normal Space Mountain return? It may not until the Star Wars-themed land is completed honestly, but that is purely speculation at this point.
Star Tours will remained locked on Jakku as the first destination through at least September 2016, but we are expecting a Rogue One sequence to be added to the ride around November 2016, which perhaps will randomize the earlier sequences for the attraction again. There has been no word on if the Jakku sequence lock has been extended for Walt Disney World.
Earlier this week, I visited the Magic Kingdom to see what’s new and exciting around the park, so here are some photo finds of interest from my trip:
It started as a rather dreary day
Many of the Main Street Vehicles were out and about
One side of the Cinderella Castle ramp was open
Still a lot of work to be done
The new railing was installed on this side
Old news by now, but the Pork Shank is gone
You can get some stew…
Or there is the LeFou’s Winter Brew right now
These new Princess figure sets are starting to show up around the parks, the deluxe sets are $19.95
Single figures are $12.95
These safety recall signs are all over most merchandise locations
We had breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant
The pastry dish is still pretty small for 3-4 people to share…
Also, they had no large cups and you can only get one beverage per meal now as opposed to the three you could get originally (like a fountain drink, orange juice, and chocolate milk, per say)
Nothing major, but the fairly damaged covers for the water and smell dispensers in Philharmagic have been replaced with a new style
A few weeks ago, new lighting was in
It kind of abruptly ends before the room does, hopefully that changes. I don’t hate it, but it is an adjustment from the old look for sure. The photos may not do the lighting movement justice, so I took video as well (sorry for the lack of sound):
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ9S_1ujAus]
The finale scene screens are on and there has been reports that some guests have indeed seen their names up on the screens
It wasn’t working when I went through
The first Zootopia pin has been released
This awesome PVC Pirates of the Caribbean figure set was released recently, retails for $15.95
I had lunch at Skipper Canteen
The specialty drinks are still pretty meh…
The falafel appetizer was surprisingly good
The S.E.A. Shu Mai is by far my favorite appetizer at Walt Disney World
As far as entrees go, the pork was very good…
The noodle bowl not so much…
But the head-on shrimp was the overall favorite for the incredible seasoning on it that was just the right amount of spice
It turned into a beautiful day eventually, albeit cold
All of the characters in Festival of Fantasy were sporting winter wear
Merida apparently is always in winter wear…
The first circus float broke earlier in the week and has been out of the parade for a few days now, no word on when it will return
Even though it is cold, the evenings have been really beautiful all around the resort
Two new spring-inspired Outdoor Kitchens, three mischievous Disney topiary characters and an innovative musical play garden will debut during the 23rd Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival March 2-May 30, 2016. The popular spring festival at Walt Disney World Resort, known for its tasty edibles, sweeping floral displays and dazzling topiary creations, expands from 75 days to 90 days in 2016.
The new La Isla Fresca and Cider House Outdoor Kitchens will introduce fresh variety and flavor to the culinary offerings at a record 13 festival kiosks surrounding the World Showcase Promenade. Donald Duck’s mischievous nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie, make their topiary debut with Donald and Daisy in the park’s signature front-entrance garden. Xylophones, drums and chimes will take child’s play to tuneful levels at the new Harmony Gardens play area featuring “leader-of-the-band” Mickey Mouse topiary.
Live Garden Rocks concerts will set the beat with familiar pop tunes each festival weekend. And special “Fun Fresh Weekends” add new adventures to the seasonal event.
Guests of the 2016 festival can celebrate spring with gardens-full of Epcot options:
Forty 8-to-9-foot-tall Disney-crafted “flower towers” and sweeping beds of multi-colored blooms will add to the floral splendor of the park’s landscape. At least 70,000 bedding plants will surround the Future World east and west lakes alone; on the water, more than 200 mini-gardens will be set afloat.
For more information about the 23rd Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival, call 407/W-DISNEY (934-7639). Watch for details at EpcotInSpring.com as they become available. The festival, including all gardening programs and exhibits, is included in regular Epcot admission.
The always entertaining Steven Miller of the Disney Parks Blog shared a video today introducing “TAG”, or “Travel Accessories Gear”, a new line of items coming soon to the Disney Parks:
Among the highlights of the new line are…
Vintage style luggage tags
This amazing luggage strap (artwork seen below)
And this stylish Haunted Mansion neck pillow and sleeping eye mask set!
There are many more items featured in the video above as well, so you should probably check it out if any of these pieces look interesting to you.
The full line of Disney Parks TAG items will arrive this Spring at the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts.
French radio station France Info is reporting that a 28-year-old man not known to Disneyland Paris’s security services is being held after trying to enter Hotel New York at Disneyland Paris whilst carrying two firearms.
Another radio broadcaster reports that the man was carrying two low-calibre weapons, cartridges and a Qur’an. This has not been confirmed by the police.
The weapons were found during a security check, and the guest reportedly gave no resistance to the resort’s security team. As a security precaution, the man’s car has also been cordoned off by local police.
France remains under a state of emergency since November’s extremist attacks in Paris where 130 people were killed.
UPDATE: Disneyland Paris has issued an official statement:
“During a routine security screening checkpoint at one of our hotels, weapons were discovered in a guest’s luggage, through our x-ray machine. The police were immediately notified and the individual was arrested. We continue to work closely with the authorities; and the safety and security of our guests and cast members is our utmost priority”
