Kylo Ren finally debuted at Star Wars Launch Bay at Walt Disney World and we were on the scene to meet him:
Kylo Ren can now be met on the dark side inside Star Wars Launch Bay and also in the Disney Visa cardholder meet and greet experience replacing Darth Vader.
I visited Animal Kingdom this weekend to check out the new Lion Guard Adventure and while I was there I took pictures of what was new and noteworthy around the park, so let’s take a look:
Our usual look at Pandora: The World of AVATAR from the parking lot
The Lion Guard Adventure began on Sunday, based on the new Disney Junior series
Basically you find 5 character statues and then go to Planet Watch to take a photo and get a button
The statues are really nice looking at least
Flights of Wonder is closed for refurbishment right now
You can get a picture taking the pledge at Planet Watch
Then you get this button
Work continues on Tiffins and Nomad Lounge behind Pizzafari
Rivers of Light is rushing towards a possible March 2016 soft-opening
Posts for future signage for the show entrance now visible
This will likely be the standby entrance for the show by Finding Nemo: The Musical
Incredible detail, but we expect this from Animal Kingdom
Lighting towers going up now
Another look at AVATAR on our way out of the park
In another fun video, Disney today previewed the collection of merchandise for the 2016 Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival with Steven Miller:
Among the items featured were:
Figment flower pot
Figment retail MagicBand
Guy’s Garden collection
Yoda garden decorations
Figment appears for the first time ever on Dooney & Bourke purses
And much more which you can see in the above video. Disney also recently released the images for the pins guests will find at the event:
Last week, WDW News Tonight debuted to a record live audience and has since been watched or listened to on demand thousands of times. This week, we continue to push the envelope by making a Disney love connection, talking political correctness, and playing probably the most ridiculous game you could imagine…
WDW News Tonight is hosted by Tom Corless and Nick LoCicero, former hosts of WDW News Today: The Radio Show, but also features appearances by a number of other WDWNT correspondents.
If you are in the Orlando area, you can tune in to AM 1520 WBZW at showtime. For those outside the Orlando area, the show can be heard (and now watched via video stream) at Listen.WDWNT.com on your computer or mobile device. The show also utilizes new interactive avenues for our audience, including a live chat, the ability to call-in to the show, and live polling.
The show 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 this week’s show:
We hope that you will tune in this Wednesday at 9PM ET for another episode of WDW News Tonight!
We recently reported that Harrison Ford will have a special segment during the airing of The Wonderful World Of Disney: Disneyland 60 in which he will provide us with a sneak peek and update of the upcoming “Star Wars Land”. A promo video for the special has just been released by Entertainment Weekly and in the video you can see a quick look at the Millennium Falcon Ride rumored for “Star Wars Land”.
The Wonderful World of Disney: Disneyland 60 will air on ABC on Feb. 21 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Over the weekend, I paid a visit to Disney Springs to go to the movies (I saw “Hail Caesar!”, which I highly recommend if you love the Hollywood of the 1930’s and 40’s, similar to the era represented at Hollywood Studios), and I took some newsworthy photos to share while I was there. Let’s take a look at what’s new and exciting at what was Downtown Disney:
Greenery now growing on the Orange parking structure
Got artsy…
STK will have a great waterside view
Work continues on the new bus loop
As well as the second parking structure
Work happening on the backside of the Coca-Cola location
Not much progress has been made on the Planet Hollywood exterior
Zootopia banners outside of the AMC
Work continues on The Edison, Walt’s Lounge, and Neverland Underground in The Landing
Walls near DisneyQuest
It looks like all of the sunrise high-line is finally complete, not that the structures have any real use…
Italian Ice now greets guests as they enter from the West Side
A look at the construction in The Landing from the waterside
Jock Lindsay’s has become one of my favorite lunch spots at WDW
The menu just keeps getting better and the drinks and service are fantastic!
A look at the Town Center from The Landing
The backside of T-Rex is complete. It’s not pretty, but it’s done.
The Springs have appeared!
These shots have me fairly excited to see the finished product
Two new small kiosks have popped up by Fulton’s
The Town Center area connecting to Marketplace
Goofy’s Candy Co. got a new paint job… it’s not perfect…
It’s really rough in some areas
See?
Art of Disney locations are now carrying the new Enesco character maquette figures
These are the spiritual successors to the old Walt Disney Classics Collection, but I don’t see them succeeding in the same fashion
Disney Days of Christmas has resort specific ornamanets
Not all resorts have one, but I think they all will soon enough
Some new open edition pins
Some new pieces at the Wonderground Gallery
The ceramic Moonliner figures are finally in stock at Marketplace Co-Op
The Marketplace parking structure as seen from World of Disney
They actually had the Nautilus mugs in stock
The new Minnie Mouse line includes not just the pillow we showed you earlier this week, but also a blanket and storage bins
Work continues on STK, which should open soon…
I visited the Magic Kingdom for a few hours on Sunday morning and took some newsworthy photos to share with everyone, so let’s see what’s new and exciting:
Good morning Magic Kingdom
All of the Main Street Vehicles were out for the first hour of the morning, which was awesome
I was completely alone in the car, which was really neat
The Cinderella Castle ramps are finally finished, and they look great (even though I will miss the red pavement)
Instead of walking back down the street, I jumped in another Jitney
The vehicles formed a mini-parade of sorts, traveling in a line down the street
I kind of miss the attraction ads, but the Main Street ads are neat
While Buzz Lightyear is closed, the entire tunnel above aboard the Peoplemover is pitch black
Hopefully the “5 min hairstyles” will return
A new line of Splash Mountain merchandise was recently released, including adult t-shirts…
Sweatshirts
a mug…
Kid’s shirts
Another adult shirt
Ladies sweatshirt
The pins came out first, but match the rest of the line
New photo frame
Walt Disney Animation Studios has just released two brand new clips for their upcoming animated movie, “Zootopia”.
The first clip is called “Meet Clawhauser”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEj5qwsDn3o
The second clip is called “Have A Donut”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ2XkyDTW34
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.
I also visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios this weekend to see what was new and exciting, and here’s what I found:
Kylo Ren now on the times guide
More new Hollywood Studios merchandise continues to roll out
A magnet
Never noticed the old Star Tours goose droid parts in Launch Bay before
More Zootopia merchandise slowly pouring in
Same goes for The Lion Guard
New Star Wars kids clothing found inside Tatooine Traders
Not only was the large planter across from Jedi Training: Trials of the Temple leveled, it looks like they are installing more space for kids to be in the show
Kylo Ren is supposed to be added soon, so my guess is there will be three villains for kids to battle
A much smaller planter has appeared
Hopefully this will all be fixed, because honestly it looks horrible right now, but I understand the need for more viewing and stage space
The temporary stations don’t look very good either
Honestly, I can’t wait for Star Wars Land to move this out of the way
Work continues on the new awnings at Sunset Ranch Market
Interestingly enough, the newly covered areas have heaters for when it gets cold in Orlando (which isn’t for long)
Club Disney has ended, but should return for Spring Break or Summer
Don’t worry everyone, BLUE MILKSHAKES ARE BACK (at Min and Bill’s)!!!
No than long ago, Nick LoCicero (of WDW News Tonight) and myself went to lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom. For those unaware, lunch does not offer the all-you-care-to-eat feast, but rather a menu quite different from the offerings at dinner. In year’s past, it had actually been my favorite lunch location in the park (I never enjoyed counter service in this park until some recent changes and additions). Our real reason for dining here was to acquire the swanky new metal souvenir mugs that had recently debuted, but for research purposes, we decided to try some appetizers and other items we had not had before:
I hadn’t been to lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern in quite a while, so the menu had some changes
The main reason we went was to get this souvenir mug
The sweet corn fritters were good, but not as flavorful as some I had had in the past at other places
The clam chowder is a must for me here. It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but a tradition of sorts for me.
The lobster and crab dip for 2 was surprisingly good. Honestly, this can feed 3-4 people for an appetizer. You get an entire loaf of buttered bread and big bowl of the dip which was honestly far beyond my expectations.
The “BLT” with pork belly was delicious. The multi-grain bread was fantastic and the pork cooked to tender perfection. The arugula tasted very fresh as well.
Pardon the blurry pic, but I ordered the hamburger with mushrooms and provolone. Again, this is kind of just a tradition for me. I LOVE their fries and the hamburger is usually the right portion following the clam chowder. They recentlt changed the bun, which I would say is a improvement over the former. One of the better burgers on property if you’re in the mood.
The wreckage…
While the new souvenir cups are great, the new plate-ware and plain glasses seem a bit out of place…
Overall, this is still my favorite lunch spot in the park. It’s quiet and nothing was really bad. With the serene setting and solid menu, you would be hard pressed to find a much better table-service lunch in this park (although Plaza is another one of my favorites).
