As no surprise to anyone, the characters from Disney-Pixar’s Up (in theaters May 29th) are going to be doing character meet-and-greets at Walt Disney World:
Beginning May 15th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you can meet Carl, Russell, and Dug from the new Disney-Pixar animated feature Up.These live characters will be located in the Animation Building through October.
As of today, Disneystore.com (formerly Disneyshopping.com before a quick name change took place just a few days ago) is now offering a large assortment of merchandise from the U.S. Disney Parks:
Among the Walt Disney World and Disneyland merchandise available are Mickey Mouse ear hats, character autograph books, photo albums, toys (including the monorail playset and some of its accessories), apparel, snowglobes, big figures, small statues, home decor, and much more. You can start shopping right now at this link.
The OC Register’s Around Disney blog has more information on the new Wii version of Toy Story Mania! being released this fall:
Disney Interactive Studios has announced plans to release “Toy Story Mania!” this fall for the Nintendo Wii console.
Although many aspects of the game are still in the works, a demo version of the Wii game was premiered recently and will be showcased in June’s E3 Expo, an annual gathering for computer and video gamers.
“From the success of the ride, Disney felt that the Wii was a good fit to bring the ride home,” Senior Show Producer Richard Robledo said.
The game was produced by the Irvine-based company Papaya Studios. Because of the company’s close proximity to the theme park, game designers got to spend time understanding the game.
The toss in space game is show producer Robledo’s favorite. “Especially when you’re playing with a friend, it’s a good competitive one. You can kind of steal each others points,” he admits.
“We’ve been working a lot with the WDI group, learning what they went through and how they built their story. In this game, we’re hoping to expand that story so you get a little more insight into Andy’s room and the toys and how they’re setting up the different games,” Senior Show Producer Linda Jo said.
Toy Story Mania! for Wii is very similar to the Toy Story Mania attraction, which opened last summer in Disney’s California Adventure and at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.
The game version includes the five carnival galleries found in the ride, such as balloon pops, plate tosses and darts. In addition, game developers came up with new and original galleries along with a series of mini games, for a total of 30 different games.
“Half of this game is pretty much shooting galleries, which is similar to the ride,” Jo said. ”We don’t exactly copy it, because we want to make sure that the toys are constantly changing things, and then we expand on that – that’s where we get, like, the block hit, a hammer game, and all sorts of games that you’d find at a carnival.”
Other new elements of the Wii version include a fishing game and a butterfly-catching game hosted by Bo Peep.
“We just kind of imagined when Andy’s away, what type of games would the toys build that would be fun to play,” Jo explained. “The audience is the toy now.”
Because the characters from the movie are a focal point of the game, the original voice actors from the movie are used in the game as well (Although the voice of Woody, originally played by Tom Hanks, is instead played by Hanks’ brother James).
In developing the game, designers wanted to make use of the variety of functions that the Wiimote can perform.
“It’s not always pointing and shooting. We want to expand off of that. You’re skeeball-ing, you’re throwing, you’re fishing,” Robledo said.
Robledo challenges some experienced gamers to a game of Toy Story Mania.
While working with Imagineers, Papaya game designers noticed the emphasis on the attraction’s use of layered targets.
“It’s great, because sometimes when you’re playing by yourself you might not see all the good things that are in one level,” Roledo said. ”When you’re playing together — even though you’re trying to outscore each other – you’re going to see new things that you couldn’t score with by yourself. They helped us understand the teamwork.”
The only aspect of the attraction noticeably missing in the Wii version of the game is one of those pesky spring-action shooters, notable for their ability to build the riders’ arm muscles — or to just make them really tired.
While some games use the Toy Story Mania attractions concept of point and shoot, other games make use of the Wiimote features, such as this skeeball game.
Tips
Jo: “Just keep testing out the different targets in there. The targets aren’t just, well, the targets. There’s a progression to them; you keep finding things to unlock and find out what leads to another surprise or bonus.”
Robledo: “On block hit, you’ll notice in the background the parachutes. At one point, a crate is going to be falling. If you hit that crate, you get more balls, which in turn will give you more points, because you have more blocks to hit.”Toy Story Mania! will be released in stores this fall and will retail for $49.99.
D23 also has some information on the Toy Story Mania! Wii game at this link.
Courtesy of the fantastic new WDWNTube video site, we have two Magic Kingdom entertainment videos to share. The first video is of the updated Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade that debuted on May 3rd:
The second video comes to us by Robert Ashburn of Figmentsmedia.net and is of the new Stitch’s Supersonic Celebration show in Tomorrowland:
Our second photo report from Mothers Day comes to us from the lovely Myrna Litt:
A nice Oswald shirt
A long line for the swinging gondolas of Mickey’s Fun Wheel
Some shots from up in the air on the Fun Wheel
Work on the Grand Californian Disney Vacation Club addition is coming along nicely
Spikes on the Mickey face to keep the birds off
ORLANDO, Fla., May 11, 2009 – Walt Disney World Resort made a clear connection between itself and the recent “shine on” sightings in Central Florida by arriving at the Coalition for the Homeless this morning on a “prize patrol” bus with Mickey Mouse and a check for $60,000 in tow.
“Today is a fabulous day,” says Eugene Campbell, vice president of Community Relations and Minority Business Development for Walt Disney World Resort, with a smile. “We are sharing some of our magic by shining a spotlight on some very deserving non-profits and students who help make dreams come true in our community.”
For the next two weeks, Disney will disperse prize patrols across Central Florida to surprise, reward and recognize award recipients for two of its signature community outreach programs. Disney’s Helping Kids Shine Grants financially support non-profits that are actively involved in improving children’s lives. Disney Dreamers and Doers recognizes outstanding students who help better their communities through volunteer service.
By May 22, a total of 34 Disney’s Helping Kids Shine Grants and 15 top Dreamers and Doers Shining Stars will be awarded. Prize patrol reports and pictures will be posted on www.shineontoday.com so you can follow along on the journey across Central Florida and track the total giving.
Shawn Hutchison returns today with his first photo report in about a month. Let’s get to it:
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and every mom got a free carnation
Don Edgren’s new window on Main Street USA
And Rolly Crump’s new window
They’ve started to put some of the pieces back up on the Astro Orbitor
These colors don’t appear to have changed that much, but there may be different colored pieces coming
We here at Disneyland News Today would like to welcome Stephen Thomas as our newest staff photographer! While Stephen won’t be visiting the Resort as much as some of our other photographers, his amazing pictures and video will indeed make up for that. Let’s now get to Stephen’s first photo report:
The state of the Astro Orbitor as of yesterday. They started putting some of the pieces back up today
Mickey’s Fun Wheel re-opened last week
The sunburst on California Screamin’
The fountains being installed for World of Color
Corn Dog Castle closes June 1st to be re-themed
All of the details on Star Wars Weekends 2009 merchandise (excluding pins) has been released by Disney. Here’s a look at some of what they have to offer this year:
According to D23:
For one crisp spring morning, Main Street, U.S.A. transformed into Memory Lane as the tiny township welcomed its newest residents — Don Edgren and Rolly Crump — to the neighborhood. Before the park officially opened its gates for the day on April 29, family, friends and fans of the two Disney Legends gathered to celebrate the former Imagineers’ initiation into an exclusive club of fictional shop owners. Walt Disney Imagineering Ambassador Marty Sklar and Disneyland Resort President Ed Grier were also on hand to dedicate the store windows to these two men who played such vital and historic roles in the history of The Walt Disney Company.
Walt started the tradition of store window dedications back in 1955, the year his Magic Kingdom first opened its gates. Realizing that the shops lining Main Street, U.S.A. needed names, he decided to use the real names of employees who went above and beyond the call of duty to help him achieve his dream. Walt’s special way of saying “thanks” caught on, and since then, more than six dozen people have become the proprietors of fictional businesses that reflect their unique contribution to the park.
Don, who worked on the structural design and detail of Disneyland from late 1954 until its opening and coordinated the park’s expansion as a professional engineer with Wheeler & Gray, officially joined WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises (now known as Walt Disney Imagineering) in 1961. It was there that he established what Marty calls a “yes, Walt — can do” mentality shared among all Imagineers.
It was this positive attitude that helped yield classic attractions such as Pirates of the Caribbean and inspired the fictional firm of “Yesmen Engineering Associates” and its catchy slogan, “We know no ‘no'” for the pioneer’s personalized window. “They were constantly challenged by Walt and the creative teams that followed, including me, to do things that sometimes defied engineering logic,” Marty said at the event. “Believe me, we would not be here today if it wasn’t for ‘yes men’ like Don Edgren.”
In 1952, Rolly got his start at the Company as an in-betweener and later became an assistant animator on films such as Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp and Sleeping Beauty. In 1959, the skilled artist joined show design at WED and eventually became one of Walt’s key designers. Dubbed a “true original, even among Imagineers,” some of Rolly’s signature projects include the Tower of Four Winds for the 1964 New York World’s Fair and groundbreaking attractions like Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world and Enchanted Tiki Room.
With a love for the weird and the magical, it’s only fitting that Rolly has become the proprietor of “Fargo’s Palm Parlor,” a business where “the designs are to die for” and the “predictions will haunt you.” “Rolly had a special relationship with Walt, who appreciated his risk-taking with ideas,” Marty said. “His very personal, sometimes outrageous, art and design style continues to flow and the many collectors of his art, including me, continue to be inspired by his talent and his sense of humor. It’s a great privilege for me to help honor Roland Fargo Crump.”
After a unique musical tribute by Main Street, U.S.A.’s very own Dapper Dans, Mickey Mouse and Chris Dudley, “the mayor of Main Street,” unveiled the newly inscribed windows. Don’s daughter Kathy Partee took the stage on behalf of her father, who passed away in 2006, to say a few heartfelt words. “I know Dad is watching with a great deal of gratitude and pride,” she shared.
Rolly was honored to share the special moment with his good friend Don and took a few moments to tell the audience stories about working with Walt, who sometimes had trouble remembering his name. “I started off as Roland, then I was ‘Owen’ for awhile, and then I became ‘Orland,’ but of course, I would answer to anything he called me,” he laughed. “But the crowning glory was when he called me ‘what’s his name.’ So, he finally ended up giving me the nickname ‘Rolly,’ which I really appreciate.”
