The holiday season is once again upon us and as usual, it’s a time where we should think about those who are less fortunate than we are and try to make a difference in their lives. Over 60 years ago, Walt Disney became one of the original sponsors of the Toys for Tots foundation, which ensures that every underprivileged child receives a toy during the holiday season. Walt and his animators personally designed the original Toys for Tots train logo that is still used today and the first poster created for Toys for Tots. In this spirit, WDW News Today, the WDWNT Network, and our many friends and partners are putting on a 30-hour live broadcast to raise money for Toys for Tots. That’s right, in honor of Epcot’s 30th anniversary, we are expanding from 24 to 30 hours of constant broadcasting!
We hope you will join us beginning at 6PM ET on November 23, 2012 when the broadcast begins and will help us by making a donation to this great cause. The broadcast is taking place at WDWNTunes.com stating at 6PM ET on the 23rd and running until 12AM ET on November 25th.
Throughout the 30 hours we will be presenting special segments, programs, and content in hopes of breaking last year’s donation total of $3000. Here is a list of scheduled events:
11/23 10PM EST – The WDW News Today Podcast presents our signature segment, Back to the Future covering the complete history of The Living Seas/Seas with Nemo and Friends
11/24 11AM EST – WDWNT: The Pyramid game show for prizes
11/24 1PM EST – Live chat with Ron Schneider, author of “From Dreamer to Dreamfinder”
11/24 3PM EST – WDWNT: The Match Game game show for prizes
11/24 6PM EST – The Disneyland News Today Podcast counts down the top 10 Disneyland attractions ever
11/24 9PM EST – Live recording of WDWNTunes Around the Hub
11/24 11PM EST – Live new episode of “See Ya’ Real Late” with Tom Corless late-night talk show
We will be on the air for the entire 30 hours and even when there is nothing scheduled we will be chatting and interacting with you via the live chat. If the past three years have taught us anything, it is that you can expect the unexpected and you really won’t want to miss a minute of the action.
Donations for Toys for Tots will be accepted through the always safe and secure FirstGiving. You can donate directly through them at toys.wdwnt.com.
We thank you for taking the time out of your busy holiday weekend and hope you will help us make a difference for the 4th year in a row. We are so happy to use the blessings we have to make a difference in the world, and I know we can do it again with your help. We look forward to seeing you starting tomorrow night!
Disney Store announced Robots 3. It is a twist on the first two sets. This one, is all Disney characters as robots! It will still be a 12 figure blind box series. Both MC and I are super excited to see where this one goes. We also love the character selection so far with the first two figures shown to us not being a part of the Fab 5.
I stopped in at Disneyland a few days ago for lunch and on my way out I grabbed some pictures of construction progress on Fantasy Faire on Main Street.
This weekend, WDW News Today was invited to take part in a special two day launch event for the VISION House presented by Green Builder Media, a new exhibit inside Innoventions at Epcot. WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth was sent to cover the festivities:
The exhibit’s facade is far more realistic than its predecessor, featuring the exterior look and feel of a green household.
The attraction’s marquee is prominently featured above the entrance, most directly facing The Sum of all Thrills.
Pella, one of the many sponsors of the new exhibit, provided the windows for the exhibit, all of which feature their automated blinds system.
The first night of the special event featured a formal reception inside of Innoventions…
Sara Gutterman, Co-Founder and CEO of Green Builder Media led the event with thanks to all of the participating sponsors as well as all others in attendance.
Part of the facade is left unfinished to illustrate the unique design of the green building, including insulation within the walls.
The Vision House is officially on the roster of Innoventions East exhibits!
The evening included an unscripted tour of the Vision House to allow those present to see the extra layers of detail and ask as many questions as they wanted.
Outside of the exhibit, several touch screen kiosks will eventually offer guests the ability to connect with addition Vision House characters, all of whom are featured in the online Vision Tales extension of the Vision House/Green Builder Media brand.
It’s time for the tour to begin!
Each of the “zones” within the exhibit feature AMX panels which let the guiding cast member know where the other tour groups are in the Vision House.
The Vision House is designed with a far more realistic tone in mind, contrary to the futuristic push being the House of Innoventions.
The new layout of the exhibit is spacious and almost entirely open to guest exploration. All barricades and blocks within the former exhibit were removed and everything within the attraction is “touch friendly” for the guests.
The Vision House’s kitchen features Armstrong flooring and Bosch kitchen appliances, all of which can be purchased today. The entire exhibit uses the Nexia Home Intelligence System, which can be controlled via portable and wall-mounted touchscreen panels throughout the house.
The AMX controllers allow home owners to control the temperature of their homes, look up recipes, access the internet and much more.
Ron Jones, Founder and President of Green Builder Media took a few moments to give us his thoughts on the Vision House.
This is the first Vision House to be installed in a theme park, but he hopes it will not be the last!
This Bosch oven retains extra heat, requiring less time and energy to properly cook food items.
One of the very few areas within the exhibit that guests are not allowed to enter.
A section of the house’s wall has been cut away to show off a special insulation that helps to retain a house’s internal temperature, thus decreasing the need for temperature changes in the house’s air conditioning.
Believe it or not, this is a remote controlled toilet. The lid opens automatically at the touch of a button.
Bosch also provided the washer and dryer for the Vision House.
The Vision House belongs to the fictional Monteverde family, who are clearly Disney fans.
Moving into the baby’s room…
Notice how many of the decorations are made from recycled items.
Moving into the backyard, we get to see the garage…
As well as the greenhouse
Trane has provided the HVAC system for the Vision House
Lisa Monteverde converted the garage into her personal office according the story of the Vision House.
With so many sponsors involved, you’ve got lots of products to notice…
The exit of the exhibit features handouts for those interested.
Kohler provided the power management system for the Vision House
Is this a hidden detail?
It seems that Lisa Monteverde actually designed her family’s Vision House herself!
Shameless plug!
M for Monteverde!
Truly living with the land
In the interest of full disclosure, we were offered some wonderful treats a the event…
Back inside of the Vision House, we had the chance to walk around at our own pace to see other aspects of the house we may have missed during our first tour
Lots to see!
Here’s the real-life picture of the Monteverde family’s dog, Rounder
One lamp in the children’s room is made of an old laundry detergent bottle
The AMX touch screens feature images of the Monteverde Family during one of their recent visits to Walt Disney World
Hanwha Solar provided the solar panels featured atop the garage at the end of the exhibit
The Vision House event continued the following morning with the opening of the attraction for all guests
The space in front of the exhibit was used to offer presentations from several of the sponsors who played a part in creating the Vision House
Vision House has several extensions of the concept that take place outside of the physical exhibit. Vision Tales is one of these concepts.
Matt Power of GreenBuilderMag.com created the cast of characters affiliated with the Vision House/Vision House brand. He gave a great preview presentation of the online efforts associated with the Vision House that should continue guests’ interests in sustainability beyond their visit to Epcot.
Matt also showed us an early preview of the mobile app that will be released in the near future to further tie in with the brand.
A Chevy Volt is featured outside of the exit of the Vision House
Siemens is responsible for the charging system in place for the Volt
Special thanks to Green Builder Media for including WDW News Today in this very special event. We had an incredible time and we highly recommend a visit to the awesome Innoventions East exhibit, the Vision House presented by Green Builder Media!
If you want to take a full walkthorugh and hear more from those involved in the project, we have included a video below:
Disney announced that they will make a better effort putting out the Vinylmation when the movie hits the theaters from now on.
There will be four total 3″/Jr. LE Combo sets released around the March 2013 launch of Oz The Great and Powerful. They are all designed by Ron Cohee.
3″ Oz with Jr. Monkey LE Combo Set
3″ Glinda with Jr. China Doll Combo Set
Celebrating The Lone Ranger on the silver screen in the Summer of 2013 will be this 3″ LE Combo pack featuring Tonto and The Lone Ranger. They are designed by Eric Caszatt who took great care to give us an accessory crow on Tonto’s head instead of just painting it on.
The release of Pixar’s Monsters University movie in June will have it’s own 12 figure blind box series dedicated to it.
Mike and Sully, all ready for college, were shown off at Mickey’s Circus. Then we got to see the shining example of NOT being released with the movie hitting theaters… or Blu-Ray… POTC On Stranger Tides.
Disney has released even more press photos from inside the Finding Nemo wing of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort:
Nemo and Marlin in their home, an anemone
TThe giant Mr. Ray
Crush and Dory nearby
Squirt in the play area
Another look at Crush and Dory
WDWNT has a room booked to be amongst the first to stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort and will be providing live coverage of the grand opening on May 31st, 2012, so stay tuned!
Star Wars Series 3 is coming in May 2013 to be released at Star Wars Weekends at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This installment will have a Return of the Jedi Theme. They showed us a few figures.
3″ Gamorrean Guard
3″ Royal Guard
The following pictures are from Attractions Magazine at Star Wars Celebration VI
The huge refurb that has been rumored for Big Thunder for months now has just been announced. From Erin Glover on the Disney Parks Blog:
In the normal course of a Disney Parks attraction’s lifespan, there are periods of time when it is necessary to close for a major refurbishment. You may recall that this was the case last year with the Matterhorn Bobsleds, which now looks better than ever with its fresh snowfall. Up next at Disneyland park, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad will close January 7 for refurbishment, reopening in fall 2013.
Updates being made to the attraction will include:
New ride vehicles (but don’t worry – they’ll still look like the trains that you know and love!)
Track replacement (but the attraction will still follow its current course)
Repainting portions of the mountain itself (Walt Disney Imagineering has once again carefully studied Bryce Canyon for inspiration)
We’ll have more updates on these and other aspects of the refurbishment throughout the year, but if you’d like to experience the “wildest ride in the wilderness” one more time before it begins, head on over to Disneyland park by January 6 – its last day of operation until fall 2013.
With just a month left to go, Disney has released a video showing off some incredible details you’ll find at the Finding Nemo wing at the Art of Animation Resort when it opens May 31st:
