This morning, a new meet and greet experience debuted at Disney’s Hollywood Studios featuring Star Lord and Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which of course also opened today in theaters.
The meet and greet is located inside Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, replacing what was the Moana meet and greet experience.
The queue remains small, and just features some star projections over big galaxy images that cover the walls.
The meet and greet experience itself is pretty neat, featuring Star Lord and a living-character version of Baby Groot that can actually interact with guests.
See the pair in action in our video:
The experience is now open daily from open to close hours for the One Man’s Dream attraction and will remain through the 2017 holiday season.
Not As Great As The Original…. But Still Has A Lot To Love
When the first Guardians Of The Galaxy came out, it surprised critics, fans and movie goers alike. The Guardians Of The Galaxy were a B-list, maybe even a C-list group of superheroes that no one had ever heard of. Well, most people hadn’t heard of them, but even those comic book fans that did wondered if Marvel was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Marvel was on a roll with their movies and I feared that bringing the Guardians Of The Galaxy to the movie-going public was going to really hurt their track record, because who would want to go see a movie where two of their major characters were a raccoon with a gun and a talking tree that said three words. Was I ever wrong! Guardians Of the Galaxy ended up being my favorite Marvel movie, even beating such movies as “Iron Man” and “Avengers” in my eyes. And it still is my favorite till this day for me.
With both critical and financial success, the sequel to Guardians was given the green light and is now the 15th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). So, is it better than the first one and is it a good or bad sequel? As far as comparing it to the first one, Guardians 2 is not as good as the original but it is a good, sometimes even a great, sequel.
The film starts off where we see an absolutely amazing looking de-aged Kurt Russell romancing Peter Quill’s (Chris Pratt) mother back in the 70’s. Forget about anything you had seen before showcasing a de-aged actor because we now have an absolute winner here. It is flawless and perfect. We then fast forward to current day, somewhere in deep space, where The Guardians are now working as a team and hired by an alien race to destroy a giant tentacle creature. It doesn’t take long until The Guardians are being pursued by enemies, and along the way, they are aided by Star Lord’s dad. Star Lord and his father spend time together, bonding and making up for lost time. Then at some point, the Guardians have to come together with allies and enemies to overcome an ultimate evil entity that is hell bent on destroying the Universe and starting all over again in the name of perfection.
I really don’t want to go any further than that because I feel any more might ruin the movie. There are a ton of significant events that take place, and a lot of them are shocking to say the least. But if you are a fan of the first movie, you definitely need to see this one because so many things happen that affect the team as a whole and it is a worthy follow up.
I was kind of worried with early reviews I had seen because it seemed as though the sequel was not getting the love that the first Guardians had received. After seeing the movie, I can understand why some critics had problems with it. Part of the problem is that the team is split up for most of the film. Star Lord (Chris Pratt) is with his dad, Ego (Kurt Russell). Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is with her sister Nebuala (Karen Gillan), Rocket (Voiced by Bradley Cooper) is with Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) and Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Drax (Dave Bautista) is with a new character, Mantis (Pom Klementeiff). What worked so well with the first movie is for the most part the Guardians were all together and they played off each other very well. But at times, it feels that in Guardians 2 that they are ping ponging form one story-line to another. Don’t get me wrong, those story-lines are still good, and each character still plays of very well with each other, but I think it would have worked better if there were less parings. It also does seem at times that the Star Lord and his dad story-line seems to drag and it can get a bit trippy at times. The movie also makes it way too obvious that the overall theme is “family”, to the point where you are thinking, “OK, I get it already.” The original was able to attract not only comic book fans, but also struck a chord with your average movie goer. I don’t know if that will happen this time.
Now with the bad out of the way, I’m happy to say that the good so outweighs the bad in this movie. One thing that James Gunn and the cast were able to accomplish from the first movie is that they made us all genuinely care about each character. That is amazing considering that they are nowhere near as popular as the likes of Iron Man, Captain America and Spider-Man. We loved the Guardians as a team, but we also loved them as individual characters too. DC tried that with Suicide Squad and they failed miserably. That movie lacked chemistry between the group and Guardians is the complete opposite. Every single character has amazing chemistry with each other. And let’s face it, these actors make us believe they are not just actors up there on the big screen. To me, Chris Pratt was Chris Pratt in Jurassic World, but he is Star Lord in Guardians 2. You don’t see ex-wrestler, Dave Bautista, you just see Drax. And Rocket and Baby Groot aren’t CGI, they are real. Everyone does an excellent job convincing us they are who they are playing.
One thing I that I really appreciated about this movie is that it was not more of the same thing that many sequels are guilty of. It really does feel like a comic book more so than a movie. This is the next chapter in their adventure and this is issue number two. And if you are a comic book fan, you really are going to love it. The worlds that were imagined and created here are beautiful and it is really hard to distinguish anything being obvious CGI. I can tell that Rocket looks more realistic in this movie and it’s something they really didn’t have to work on but they did. And the whole world is going to fall in love with Baby Groot! And again, whatever team was responsible for creating the most realistic de-aging process I have ever seen for a young Kurt Russell really needs to be applauded for their accomplishments. The comedy in this movie is even better than the first movie and there will be many times in which you will find yourself laughing outside loud. I would have to say that Drax is the funniest, followed very closely by Rocket and Baby Groot. And all of the jokes hit, nothing is cringe worthy at all and the humor provides you with genuine laughs. Like I had mentioned before, there is a lot of shocking things that happen in this movie, where you did not see them coming.
The soundtrack and use of songs in this movie is not as good as those found in the original Guardians movie. There are definitely some standouts like “Mr. Blue Sky” by ELO and “Brandy, You’re A Fine Girl” by Looking Glass. But some of the other songs I had never heard of, and that is rare for me. One of my favorite scenes from the first Guardians was during the opening credits in which Star Lord dances to Redbones’ “Come And Get Your Love”, and although hard to believe, I really feel they topped that this time. I won’t spoil it, but I look forward to seeing that scene over and over again and I am sure you will too!
Director James Gunn does another great job bringing incredible and beautiful worlds to life, providing us with another well done mix-tape for the movie, getting the best out of his actors and making us really feel for the characters we have come to love. But I feel he was a bit overambitious at times by throwing so many things at us and having so many characters and story-lines in the movie. There may be one or two characters that weren’t needed, like Sylvester Stallone’s character who seemed out of place. Sometimes less is more. Overall, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2 is a great follow up to one of the best Marvel movies ever made and it is a lot of fun.
And before I forget, remember to stay for all 5 after credit scenes. Yes, there are 5 of them, but for the most part, they are all worth it and some are very revealing. I do wish that they would just show them in quick succession instead of spacing them out all throughout the end credits. So if you want to see the very last scene, you have to wait until the last credit roles. It was a good one, but also feel it was something we had kind of seen during the movie too.
Beginning May 12th at Disney’s California Adventure Park inside of the Bug’s Life Theater, and beginning May 26th at Disney’s Hollywood Studios inside of One Man’s Dream, Lightning McQueen will be making a pitstop to showcase a special preview of the upcoming movie Cars 3. Artwork and maquettes from the production will also be on display.
Cars 3 will be racing into theaters across America beginning June 16th, 2017.
With less than 10 days until the ‘Happily Ever After’ Nighttime Spectacular debuts at the Magic Kingdom, Disney is trying to advertise for the show and hype people up as much as possible. Today, Disney has given us another look into this amazing show coming to the park. In today’s video, Imagineers show us how they prepared for this one of a kind show. Here is that video below from The Disney Parks Blog:
Happily Ever After debuts at the Magic Kingdom on May 12th.
The Walt Disney World Monorail system routes around the Magic Kingdom will be operating a little differently on several dates through the end of May 2017.
On these dates, the Resort Monorail will travel between Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Magic Kingdom. It will not stop at the Transportation and Ticket Center or Disney’s Contemporary Resort. The Express Monorail will make a stop at the Contemporary in addition to its regular stops at the TTC and the Magic Kingdom to accommodate guests.
The modified routes will operate on May 16th, 17th, 23rd, 24th, and 30th, 2017, from 11:30AM to 6:00PM.
Hosted by radio veterans and life-long Disney fans Tom Corless and Nick LoCicero, WDW News Tonight is a live, weekly, audio and video program presented on 105.5 FM, 660 AM, and AM 1520 WBZW in Orlando, Florida, as well as online at WDWNewsTonight.com every Wednesday from 9-11pm EST. The show covers the Walt Disney World Resort and other Disney news. The show combines the latest headlines, comedy, trending vacation topics, call in games, and in-depth discussions to bring Disney fans a one-of-a-kind 2-hour program covering the Disney Parks. While the show is being live-streamed in both audio and video, listeners and viewers also interact via a live chat online. The show is also available on demand as an audio download, online audio stream and can be watched live or recorded on YouTube.
Quite a few months ago, Walt Disney World finally announced that they had purchased new parking trams to transport guests in their theme park parking lots. We of course had spotted the trams long before this, just sitting around in the Transportation and Ticket Center parking lot long before this, but where awaiting the debut of the much-needed replacement vehicles. Now, Walt Disney World is finally getting around to painting these new trams with the color-coding system (somewhat similar to the monorail) that they promised…
The tram was spotted today at the TTC in all of its vintage stylings. While the color seems like a bit much, it is nice to see the older logos and typefaces in use.
There is still no word on when these will debut and what the other colors will be, but we will let you know as we (and fellow readers, like this one) spot more of them around.
General park surveys at Walt Disney World aren’t uncommon, in fact, you’ll see Disney research cast members out and about on the daily recruiting guests to take these upon their return home. Interestingly enough, the general surveys about Epcot that guests are receiving now include a questionnaire about the park’s mascot, Figment.
Figment is a character who dates back to the earliest days of the park and the original Journey Into Imagination attraction, which operated from 1983 until 1998. When the replacement attraction opened in 1999 with little to no Figment (and was also the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life), thousands of guests complained that he was gone (and that the ride was a piece of garbage). The requests were so numerous that Disney was forced to close the attraction only 2 years later and overhaul it to add Figment back in 2002. Sadly, this wasn’t a vast improvement, and now Journey Into Imagination with Figment is just months away from somehow outliving the 15.5 year run of the original attraction, which was often considered the by fans to be the greatest theme park ride ever built.
Of course, Bob Chapek officially announced that Disney Imagineers are hard at work at a plan to conduct a massive overhaul of the park, one that would likely include a replacement or update of the current Imagination pavilion, home to Figment. Sadly, it seems as though Figment could find himself without an attraction again if he doesn’t prove that he is still relevant to most park guests. Rumors have persisted that an IP-based attraction will replace the Imagination pavilion, but we won’t know for sure until Disney makes some sort of announcement, possibly at the D23 Expo in July.
What do you think? Does Figment need to have a ride at Epcot, or can he just be the park’s mascot?
Yesterday evening, we were lucky enough to gain access to a special cast member preview of Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s animal Kingdom theme park. While we are still putting together out thoughts on what we experienced, we do have three videos from the planet to share with you now…
First up, a walking tour from end to end of the outside area of Pandora:
Next, take a ride on the Navi River Journey attraction, a slow moving boat ride experience:
Lastly, see what might be the most spectacular (and longest) queue for any Disney attraction ever, the Flight of Passage:
Please note that the area will not open to guests until May 27th, 2017 and is only operating for previews exclusive to pre-registered cast members, annual passholders, and D23 members prior to that date.
On Saturday evening, I was lucky enough to be invited by a friend to a cast member preview of Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. While not yet open to the public, there are a series of previews for certain types of guests between now and the May 27th grand opening of the land. While I have still not experienced the Flight of Passage attraction and the Satuli Canteen (which we hope to during Saturday’s annual passholder preview), I have received a lot of questions about my experience, so I wanted to share what we saw during our 2-hour preview. Here we go…
Walking Around Pandora
We have seen lot of very pretty press photos, and the jaded theme park blogger in me was skeptical if I would care about trees and rocks. Turns out that I do.
Pandora is absolutely stunning and evokes all of the feelings I had the first time I gazed upon the Cadillac Range from inside of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure. The floating mountains are amazing, especially when you stand underneath them. They are unique in that they are in the center of the land, allowing you to see them from 360 degrees as you traverse the land and the attraction queues, each angle giving you a completely different, awe-inspiring view.
Every inch is covered in detail with no space left unattended to. Alien plantlife is everywhere, water features abound, military base ruins are scattered throughout, and impressive rock work covers the landscape. Even silly things like cast member-only access passageways have speakers that play noises like water dripping in a cave, or various animal noises. I swear, if there was something un-themed or that showed signs that we were in a Disney theme park, I couldn’t find them.
A few weeks back, a source told us that there was no attraction signage for the attractions, and I was skeptical as to how this would work. This is actually true in that there are no marquees for the two rides, but the ACE company has set up what look like temporary stations to guide guests into these experiences. Queues are filled with ACE branded lighting that appears to be temporary and cast members who are trying their hardest to keep you in the story at all times.
No signs of Mickey Mouse are present on Pandora either, as it is the first themed land constructed without Hidden Mickeys. Even the FastPass+ readers have Alpha Centauri Expedition logos rather than Mickey Mouse icons.
Beyond that, we found some fun diversions, including an interactive drum circle, a large plant creature that reacted to touch, and strange alien animals who squirt water at guests. This is what theme parks are all about. I love these little things you can do between rides and eating that are unexpected, but decidedly cool and fun.
Despite not having the charm of a small town around Route 66, I found myself wanting to just stand or sit around and watch the world of Pandora unfold around me. Picturesque spots with waterfalls, raised observation areas, and secondary pathways offer plenty to explore and an atmosphere so pleasant that it’s hard not to get caught up in it. I can forsee a lot of days where I will be grabbing a drink at Pongu Pongu and just walking around the land, watching the flurry of activity from guests, cast members, and entertainers alike. Although, the pathways may not be big enough for the expected crowds, but we’ll see, I guess…
I did find some charm in the Pongu Pongu refreshment kiosk, but we’ll talk more about that later this week (and I’m going to yell about the missing hula skirt a bit).
Na’vi River Journey
Initial reactions to the Navi River Journey have been underwhelming, but I found a far more positive experience than most. This isn’t a thrill ride, in fact, it’s Animal Kingdom’s first and only family-friendly dark ride.
The queue for the Na’vi River Journey
The show sets are of the highest quality. There are many areas where the depth of the forest seems to go on forever, making you second guess just how big the scene around you really is.
The projected animals of Pandora are somewhat underwhelming, utilizing the projection technology developed for the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and The Seas with Nemo and Friends over ten years ago, leading to moments where you can kind-of see through the creatures. That being said, the physical sets and some of the projection-mapping effects are second to none. I found myself arguing with my friends about the first Navi to appear in the ride and if he was a moving figure or a projection. He’s a projection, but one of the most convincing I have ever seen.
The ride isn’t flawless. It could probably use a few moving figures of larger creatures for sure, but it isn’t unenjoyable. This isn’t a showstopper and it really doesn’t need to be with the Flight of Passage next door. It serves a purpose for those who can’t ride the bigger thrill ride and adds ride capacity & variety to the park.
I like to think of but as Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Navi Shaman, and yes, that AA figure is as impressive in person as it looked on video.
We have a full walkthrough of the queue and on-ride video of the Navi River Journey to share with you as well:
Flight of Passage
Since it is currently not fully operational, very few guests at each preview event have had the chance to ride the Flight of Passage attraction, but the queue has been available for walking tours. Walking this queue, I have one thought to share: be afraid, be very afraid. The queue is long, longer than any I have ever encountered. If you thought the line for the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland seemingly went on forever, then you are going to be amazed as you weave through the 6-hours of inhabitable queue space that the Flight of Passage ride has available, if need be. Walking at a good speed through the entire queue with very little stopping took me about 10 minutes. 10 minutes to hike from the entrance to the pre-show area. That’s intense.
That being said, it might be the most well-thought out and immersive queue ever constructed for a theme park. The outside portion winds beautifully through the mountain range before taking you into the caverns where you’ll find massive cave paintings of Banshees. The queue then goes through the remnants of an RDA facility before entering the active research facility of the Pandoran Conservation Initiative.
You can walk through the entire queue in our video below:
Shopping at Windtraders
One thing Pandora is not short on is unique merchandise. I can’t express the excitement I felt to walk through an entire store that carries merchandise I have not seen anywhere else at Walt Disney World. Every inch is covered in unique offering you’ll only find here, making a shopping trip to Pandora something very special.
With how hard it is to find merchandise not shared between the Disney Parks around the world these days, a shop with items that can only be found in the land (and apparently will never be offered through the Shop Disney Parks app or DisneyStore.com) is incredibly refreshing.
You can have yourself turned into a Na’vi action figure inside the Windtraders shop
Despite my hatred of the film, I was quite enamored with a fair amount of the merchandise. I’ll honestly need an entire post just to talk bout how cool some of the items were. That being said, for every cool item, there is probably something that will never sell, but hey, that’s a much higher success rate that we expected.
There is also a face painting station called Colors of Mo’ara, if you are so inclined.
OVERALL
While I still need to ride the Flight of Passage and dine at the Satuli Canteen, it is clear that Disney and Cameron have succeeded. Disney took a movie franchise with almost no fandom and little affection from the general public and built something very special with it. In many cases, we complain that some movies don’t work well as theme park attractions because you have to try and tell the story in a very truncated format (because, let’s face it, very rarely do we get original stories based on movies rather than film retellings). In this case, we have a film with very little substance that honestly seems like it was made for an in-person experience rather than a near-3-hour film. I recall riding the Haunted Mansion or seeing the Country Bear Jamboree and thinking, “How are they going to make an entertaining movie out of this?” With AVATAR, If the theme park land had come first, I would have wondered the same thing.
Disney Imagineering has honestly made their critics of the last 6 years look pretty silly, providing an experience at a level seldom seen in many theme parks. The Harry Potter lands at Universal Orlando and Cars Land come to mind, and this project has all the feel of those. The size, the scope, the level of detail, the number of different types of offerings available to guests, they’re all there. Provided Flight of Passage delivers and Satuli Canteen is at least edible (both big “IF”s, trust me), I think this is an incredibly important addition to Disney’s Animal Kingdom that may make it the premier park at Walt Disney World (at least until 2019 and the opening of Star Wars Land). Don’t get me wrong, the Magic Kingdom is wonderful and amazing, but it lacks a large-scale experience with this level of immersion and detail, something that audiences seem to crave at this point in time.
Pandora: The World of AVATAR does more to connect audiences with this franchise than the movie’s 3-D gimmickry ever could.
Stay tuned as later this week we review the drinks and snacks of Pongu Pongu, the Banshee Rookery experience, and I talk about seven things we like and dislike (so far) about Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
