2/2/15 Marvel News Mash-Up (Grey Hulk, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars)

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Will We See A ‘Grey Hulk’ In ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron?

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This first started when an image of the ‘Savage Grey Hulk’ Funco Pop vinyl figure was leaked online as a Hot Topic exclusive figure. What is interesting is the redness around his eyes is similar to the scene in the newest trailer suggesting that he is being controlled by Scarlet Witch.

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In the very first issue of the Incredible Hulk, The Hulk was grey and Stan Lee had always intended for him to be grey. But do to problems with the grey ink and how it did not blend properly with the rest of the colors in the comics, Marvel felt it was best to change his color to green.  This was explained by saying that the Grey Hulk persona and the Green Hulk persona are battling in  Bruce Banner’s sub-conscious. Due to his superior strength, Green Hulk aka Savage Hulk, won most of the time thus showing the Savage Hulk persona more often.

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So could this just be some exclusive figure for Hot Topic or did this image let the cat out of the bag? We wont know for sure until ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ comes out but I do think it is a possibility. Grey Hulk has Banner’s intellect and if at some point they decide to do a solo movie, maybe ‘Planet Hulk,’ they would need The Hulk not to revert back to Banner but also say more than just “Hulk Smash!”

People are saying that this very fast scene of the Hulk in the newest TV spot shows that he is grey. I kind of think it is just the lighting though.

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We’ll have to wait and see on this one.

New Images From ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’

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Empire magazine’s most recent issues features some new images from ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron.’

Newsstand and Collector Edition Covers:collagedsdsd

Some of these photos have a (very) few Easter Eggs in them. I put togther a side by side comparision to show the ones that I was able to find.

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Captain America:

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Do you notice something similar? Captain America’s costume in Age Of Ultron is the exact same costume as his Winter Soldier costume except it is painted a different color. Look at the stripes and that expalins why the middle red stripe doesn’t go down lower like the other two.

Bruce Banner/The Hulk:

collagetrrtrtIt appears that now when Banner transforms into the Hulk his eyes start to turn green. This has to be a homage to the original TV Series, The Incredible Hulk, starring Bill Bixby.

Thor:

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Tony Stark/Iron Man:

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Black Widow:

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Hawkeye with director Joss Whedon:

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Scarlet Witch:

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Source: Empireonline.com

Chris Evans And Chris Pratt Battle Over A Superbowl Winner

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After it was determined that the New England Patriots were to face the Seattle Seahawks in this year’s Superbowl, Chris Evans, a long time Patriots fan, sent out the following tweet to his friend, Chris Pratt, a long time Seahawks fan:

“Well, well, well @prattprattpratt, looks like our teams are going into battle. For the next 2 weeks, you are not my friend, you are my enemy,” Evans, 33, wrote.

Pratt responded with ‘@chrisevans OK. Seahawks win you fly yourself to Seattle, visit @seatllechildren hospital as Captain America, waving the 12th man flag.’

Evans responded with ‘@prattprattpratt I accept. And when the Patriots humiliate your seachickens, I expect Star-Lord to arrive at @chris_haven in a Brady jersey.’

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Even with the outcome last night, both men will be visiting both locations. These guys are some real life heroes for sure

Preview Of Marvel Comics’ ‘Star Wars #2’

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Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader for the first time in the newest issue of ‘Star Wars #2’

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Source: CBR.com

Sideshow Collectibles Corner

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Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron will begin hitting the theatres worldwide shortly! In the epic sequel, Earth’s mightiest heroes come together again to defend the world from the menacing Ultron! Sideshow Collectibles and Hot Toys are excited to continue the Avengers: Age of Ultron series and officially present the new sixth scale Captain America Collectible Figure! This figure is available exclusively at Sideshow Collectibles for $224.49 and expected to ship in the last quarter of 2015.

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That’s it for this time!

Tom Corless’ 1/30/15 Epcot Photo Report (Recalled Mug, Frozen, New Merchandise, ETC.)

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

I visited Epcot on Sunday afternoon and have some newsworthy photos from my trip to share with you today:

 

Welcome to Epcot

The now-pulled Epcot Starbucks mug was on shelves when I visited Sunday

And it was never seen again…

A mug with a different color monorail will eventually be made

If you look closely, you can see construction vehicles out behind The Land at Epcot, rumor has it additional Soarin’ theaters may be constructed

The “healthy” food cart between The Land and Imagination! recently got a new menu

In Canada, the Lumberjack show is making some modifications for a log rolling act

The seating area from Brazil at the Food and Wine Festival was kept as a nice spot for guests to relax

The new group in Morocco was out as I passed by

Some walls are up in the gardens in Japan

New Disney villains pins recently were released

Also, this really neat Dug pin

The front section of the Puffin’s Roost, which was once the Frozen meet and greet, is once again shop space

No visible progress on the Frozen attraction

The future site if the Frozen meet and greet building

Walls up outside of the Mexico pavilion for some reason

Several new shirts can be found at MouseGear

This Minnie Mouse shirt was in the men’s section, which might be a first

Kid’s shirts

Several new iPhone 6 cases were released, all in new, slimmer packaging

The old packaging can still be found

Figment iPhone 5 case

I’m not certain, but these princess pillows looked new

 

A new popcorn bucket featuring Test Track is now available

No Vinylmation Day at 2015 WDW Trading Event GenEARation D np

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Each year in September, Walt Disney World holds a weekend long, ticketed trading and merchandise event at the Epcot World Showplace. For years, it was pins only. Then, in 2010, they added Vinylmation to the the event. The following year, Vinylmation took over Sunday and was turned into its own ticked day. There will be no such day at the 2015 event titled GenEARation D.

GenEARationD_logoAccording to an official post on Disney’s Merchandise Blog:

The GenEARation D event will focus primarily on Disney Pin Trading. While you are welcome to bring Vinylmation figures to trade with other Guests, we will not be offering Vinylmation trading activities or selling Vinylmation figures at the event.

This is a huge and disturbing shift in the hobby. While many will rush to judgement and put the nail in the Vinylmation coffin, I’m not sure that death is eminent. This is however, very disappointing. With the lack of free trade nights at the parks, this was the one time of year, a large group of collectors, could really look forward to getting together and trading face to face. I will also miss the Vinylmation Talk that provided previews and months of content to discuss among the community. Many will miss the merchandise. I will not miss the trading with Cast Members at this particular event. I have said all along, that Vinylmation trading does not work the same way as pins, and that trade format for Vinylmation is just not as effective… as shown in the disinterest in standing in the lines for many attendees.

So what does this mean? That is a question we will be pondering online and on the Destination Vinylmation podcast for weeks to come, I assure you that. In short, I think this solidifies vinyls shift from its attempt to be the next “Pins” to being a boutique like art/souvenir item at the parks. Please leave your comments here in this post and we will share them on the next podcast.

Pins have made some significant changes as well including vouchers designating your number of trades and guaranteed pins that used to randomly placed on the boards. Read the entire Disney announcement here.

 

For all your Vinylmation news, please check out DestinationVinylmation.com.

PHOTOS: Trolley Car Cafe Starbucks Opens at Disney’s Hollywood Studios

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Tom Corless was at the Trolley Car Cafe soft opening today and took a ton of great pictures! On the corner of Hollywood and Sunset at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the location officially opens on Tuesday, but today guests are able to enter by obtaining a voucher. Entry is via the patio on Hollywood Blvd., with the exit through the side door onto Sunset Blvd.

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The menu is a standard Starbucks menu.

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The interior theming is spectacular!

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The utensil dispensers even have a Trolley Car Cafe logo.

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Not only does the interior look great, the food does too!

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These are the vouchers you need to get in for the soft opening.  They are handing them out at random on Hollywood Blvd.

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The Trolley Car Cafe has several different logos, all of which seem well done.

VIDEO: ‘Tomorrowland’ Superbowl Trailer

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

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Here is the new trailer for ‘Tomorrowland’ that appeared during Superbowl XLIX.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksax9gbhIhE]

Official synopsis: From Disney comes two-time Oscar® winner Brad Bird’s riveting, mystery adventure “Tomorrowland,” starring Academy Award® winner George Clooney. Bound by a shared destiny, former boy-genius Frank (Clooney), jaded by disillusionment, and Casey (Britt Robertson), a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity, embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space known only as “Tomorrowland.” What they must do there changes the world—and them—forever.

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‘Tomorrowland’ is scheduled to hit theaters on May 22nd, 2015.

Be Our Guest Restaurant Opening Lunch Reservations To All Guests, Food Pre-Ordering Available, Breakfast Coming Soon

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

So, for the past several months, guests who wanted to eat lunch at Be Our Guest restaurant in New Fantasyland either needed to be a resort guests with a FastPass reservation or arrive at the restaurant pretty early in the day to get a return time to eat at the establishment. Needless to say, the test was pretty disastrous, leading Disney to implement a new system starting next month.

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Much like a table service restaurant, Advanced Dining Reservations (ADR) will be available for the Be Our Guest Restaurant lunch by phone or through MyDisneyExperience starting February 25th. We assume this will be utilizing the established 180 day window for advanced reservations, but that has not been confirmed as of yet.

Guests will also be able to pre-order their food and drinks anywhere from 30 days to within 5 minutes of their arrival at the restaurant once they have a reservation, again via MyDisneyExperience. Pre-ordering isn’t necessary, you can still order at the restaurant as well.

Disney has confirmed breakfast will be added to Be Our Guest Restaurant as well sometime this year, but details on the counter service offering will be provided at a later date.

Walt Disney World Bus Wait Times Test Occurring Now; Guests Will Know When Their Bus is Coming

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Over the past few months, select resort hotel bus stops around Walt Disney World have had LCD displays installed that should tell them the estimated wait until a particular bus is going to show up. While not fully functional as of yet, Disney is now testing recently-installed long range readers to see how long it takes for buses to travel between two points, in order to give accurate bus wait times to resort guests.

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The readers are tracking guests’ MagicBands, at least reading when the guest leaves the bus station at one point and then arrives at the next point.

The test is currently taking place between Disney’s Port Orleans Resort and the Magic Kingdom. Should the test be successful, a widespread roll-out of the system will take place, giving guests resort-wide accurate bus wait times.

First Images From “Frozen Fever” Short Released

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

FROZEN FEVER

Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the first images from the upcoming animated short, “Frozen Fever.” “Frozen Fever” takes place a few months after the original movie, “Frozen.” It is Anna’s birthday and Elsa, Kristoff, Sven and Olaf are planning to throw a giant party for her. The only problem is that Elsa has come down with a cold and that complicates things.

Let’s take a look at some of the new images from “Frozen Fever.”

FROZEN FEVER

 

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Walt Disney Animation Studios’ all-new short “Frozen Fever,” which welcomes Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf back to the big screen, will open in theaters on March 13, 2015, in front of Disney’s “Cinderella,” a live-action feature inspired by the classic fairy tale.

RUMOR: Echo Lake Demolition Imminent? Are Gertie the Dinosaur and Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner at Hollywood Studios History?

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

It’s certainly no secret that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is on the verge of a major overhaul, and we’ve already heard several times from Bob Iger that a Star Wars land is on the way, but does that mean we will be losing two more Studios establishments to the construction zone soon?

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Rumors are swirling that the Echo Lake area may close to be demolished by March 2015. This would include the actual lake, Gertie the Dinosaur, and Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner, all opening day features of the Disney-MGM Studios.

The obvious thought would be that this would become part of the Star Wars themed land planned for the park, but it is unclear at this time. Similar rumblings have also claimed the adjacent Superstar Television Theater and ABC Sound Studio could be the next items to go come Summer 2015. Conflicting rumors have stated the Star Wars area would expand north and replace the Muppet-Vision area, but the removal of Echo Lake may save the Jim Henson creations from extinction.

Much is still unclear, but as we have been stating for several months now, it is clear that something BIG is up. We will provide any more information as it becomes available.

Tom Staggs Named Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company

WDWNT on February 26, 2015

Earlier today, Robert Iger announced the promotion of Tom Staggs as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of The Walt Disney Company. Below is the official press release released by Disney announcing the promotion.

Thomas O. Staggs has been named Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company, it was announced today by Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

A 25-year Disney veteran, Mr. Staggs is Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, overseeing the strategy, operations and creative development of the company’s iconic travel and leisure businesses. He will assume the role of Chief Operating Officer immediately, while continuing to lead Parks and Resorts until a successor is named. Disney’s senior management team, including all business segment leaders, will report jointly to Mr. Iger and Mr. Staggs, with the exception of the Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Chief Communications Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, who will continue to report directly to Mr. Iger.

“Tom is an incredibly experienced, talented and versatile executive who has led Parks and Resorts during a time of unprecedented growth and expansion, including the construction of Shanghai Disney Resort. His proven ability to lead a business as well as his successful tenure as Disney’s former CFO make him an ideal Chief Operating Officer, expanding his portfolio into all the company’s businesses,” Mr. Iger said.

“It’s a privilege to step into this role, and I am humbled and honored by the opportunity. I look forward to working more closely with Bob and the talented senior management team across the company to continue to build Disney’s future through unparalleled creativity, innovative technology and global expansion,” Mr. Staggs said.

Since 2010, Mr. Staggs has led Parks and Resorts’ global team of more than 130,000 Cast Members, Crew Members and Imagineers, with the segment delivering record revenue, profit and attendance levels. In addition to overseeing the development of Shanghai Disney Resort, and a new Avatar-themed land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park, during Tom’s tenure, Disney has launched two new cruise ships; opened Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Hawai‘i; added three new lands at Hong Kong Disneyland; doubled the size of Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom; and completed a multi-year expansion of the Disneyland Resort with the addition of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure Park.

Prior to that, Mr. Staggs served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Walt Disney Company. He played a critical role in the execution of the acquisitions of Capital Cities/ABC, Pixar Animation Studios and Marvel Entertainment. As CFO for twelve years, he spearheaded the realignment of Disney’s performance goals toward the combination of profit growth and strong long-term capital returns and free cash flow. He has been praised by Wall Street for his financial and communications skills, and was consistently voted the entertainment industry’s No. 1 CFO by Institutional Investor magazine.

Mr. Staggs joined Disney in 1990 as Manager of Strategic Planning and quickly advanced through a series of positions of increased responsibility, leading to his appointment as Chief Financial Officer in 1998. Before joining Disney, he worked in investment banking at Morgan Stanley & Co.