Just recently, the Collector made a little trip to the Disneyland Resort. Here is Benicio Del Toro, the actor who portrays him in the Guardians of the Galaxy Universe as he shares his excitement for the new ride coming to the Disneyland Resort in this video from the Disney Parks Blog:
Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout opens May 27th at the Disneyland Resort in California Adventure.
Disney Music Emporium, a pop-up store that sells collectable Disney music-related products, will be returning to the D23 Expo 2017. During the event, fans will be able to purchase new limited music releases from various Disney artists and composers.
Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection Robin Hood, a two-disc set, will be released for the first time during the expo. Disc one of the collection includes songs and score from the film. Disc two includes unreleased demos and bonus tracks performed by Louis Prima. The CD collection contains liner notes, as well as a 20-page booklet featuring new artwork inspired by Robin Hood from Lorelay Bove, a visual development artist who’s worked on various Disney films including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and more. Those that purchase the collection will receive a special lithograph featuring the back cover artwork, though there will only be a limited quantity available.
The Disney Music Emporium shop will also host a handful of album signings throughout the weekend of the expo including composer Michael Giacchino (Rogue One, Inside Out, Up), composer Tyler Bates (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Vol. 1), Moana voice actress Auli’i Cravalho, Dove Cameron and Sofia Carson (Descendants 2), and Lorelay Love (Visual Development Artist at Walt Disney Animation Studios). Jordan Fisher and Temecula Road (Hollywood Records artists) will also have signings during the expo.
Fans wishing to partake in signings will have to wait in line, although guests that purchase specific music products at the Disney Music Emporium will be issued wristbands that will secure them a space for an album signing. Click here to see a list of the music-related items that will be sold at the Disney Music Emporium, and click here to see a list of album signings that will be held.
Former Disney Infinity artist Thomas Estrada has shared an unfinished concept cinematic video that was in the works for the canceled Moana Play Set for Disney Infinity 3.0.
Thanks to YouTuber Infiniteer Adventures, the concept intro video has been shared via his latest video. Take a look below to get a glimpse of what could have been for this canceled Moana Play Set.
Here is what former Disney Infinity team member Thomas Estarda said in regards to the concept cinematic, “FX Artist, the late Mychael Miller and I were working together exploring a 2D-style ‘Tapa Cloth’ Moana intro when Infinity was discontinued.”
It’s been a while since we’ve seen any new information about canceled Disney Infinity projects, but this isn’t the first we’ve seen of the Moana Play Set. Just last July we got our first look at the canceled Play Set for Disney Infinity 3.0, complete with Moana and Maui figures.
A bunch of Pandora merchandise just landed at DisneyStore.com, including the Limited Edition ACE-branded MagicBand 2, three Limited Release T-Shirts, and much more!
First is the ACE-branded Magic Band 2, in a Limited Edition of 2000. Retail is $32.99 and is limited to one per person.
A collection of three Limited Release shirts, one for kids, one for women, and one for adults, is also available. The Disney Parks Limited Release Buy One Get One 40% Off promotion is applicable to these shirts. They are only available for two weeks, through June 7, 2017.
Four open-edition pins, a lanyard, and a lanyard medal are also available for the pin collectors out there. Sadly there is no Vinylmation…
As of the time of writing, these items are not featured on the DisneyStore.com homepage. You actually have to go to the Disney Parks menu item, and under the Collections heading will be the link for Pandora: The World of Avatar.
Amusingly, if you just go to DisneyStore.com and type “Pandora” in the search box, you get no Avatar merchandise, just jewelry and charms.
Even if you type “Pandora The World of Avatar” the first two search results are a charm and a bracelet.
You actually have to type “Pandora World Avatar” to get the parks merchandise without having to wade through expensive beads.
The Windtraders shop in Pandora: The World of AVATAR at Disney’s Animal Kingdom has some rather unique merchandise experiences, one of which is the ability to adopt a “Shoulder Banshee” creature to bring back with you to Earth.
These creatures are available near the front of the shop after you wait in a small queue area for your turn to make an adoption. Interested guests are then brought closer to the perches where dozens of the Ikran sit (Ikran is what the Na’vi call these creatures). Guests are given a few moments to pick out a Banshee that “speaks to them” (you can try a few on and test the controls until you are happy with one), then you can choose to adopt and take a pledge to do so. You can see us go through this entire process in our video below:
Once the oath is taken, guests may purchase (or adopt) the creature, and a display perch at an additional charge. The price to adopt a Banshee is $49.99 and no discounts of any kind are applicable. Perches for the Banshees are $14.95 and can be discounted (annual pass, cast member, etc.). Perches are obviously not a mandatory purchase with any Banshee.
Why are these so cool? As illustrated in the video above, the creatures have three ranges of motion (wing-flap, head turn, and mouth movement) and also have sound effects. On top of that, they are just a really neat thing to wear on your shoulder and certainly garner a lot of attention around the parks (at least during these early days of their existence). Cast Members on Pandora are very receptive to those wearing the creatures, and we saw some really cute interactions during our previews, especially with younger guests.
The Banshee stay attached to you via magnets underneath, with a magnetic pad provided that you can put under the shoulder of your shirt to hold them in place above it. I was worried that they would easily fall off, but they stay on there pretty well. The magnetic pad for under your shirt and a belt clip for the controller are provided upon purchase. The Banshee can also be boxed upon purchase should you decide that you don’t want to wear it just yet (or ever, I suppose).
Magnetic shoulder harness
The motion is all accomplished by a pneumatic control connected via a black wire to the back of the creature. The control is probably my only grievance with the piece, as it can be a bit hard to use at times, especially for children, but it’s not enough to not want to take one of these guys home with you.
I did buy the perch as well (for both of my adoptions), which is really great for home display. The long cord connected to the Banshee is held nicely underneath the stand, and there is even a place to lock in the controller on the back, out of sight. I highly recommend this if you will want to display it at home.
Once Pandora: The World of Pandora opens on May 27th, 2017, don’t be surprised if you start seeing these shoulder Banshees all over the Walt Disney World Resort.
Marvel has released the third and final trailer for “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and it shows off a ton of new tech that Tony has built into Spidey’s new suit!
This new trailer shows off a variety of game modes that players can expect in Driven to Win like Stunt Showcase, Best Lap Challenge, Playground, Takedown, and Battle Race. Judging by the trailer, it looks like the game will also include some cutscenes with voice acting from the movie’s cast.
The trailer also shows a glimpse of four-player local co-op, but it’s important to note that this mode will not be available for the PS3 and Wii U version of the game.
Cars 3: Driven to Win will release on June 13 and is available for pre-order right now. The game will launch on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Switch, and Wii U.
The WDWNT Store at TeePublic is having a huge sale right now, with all t-shirts priced at only $14.00 (with stickers, mugs, and more also discounted), but only through Sunday night!
Check out our newest offerings that we have just launched:
And you thought the Sphero BB-8 was impressive? Wait till you get a load of this! Check out these two very impressive videos.
Introducing Ultimate Lightning McQueen:
Jay Ward Talks Ultimate Lightning McQueen:
Years ago, this would have been an obvious CGI commercial but times have changed and this really looks like the future of toys. Well, expensive toys. If you want Ultimate Lightning McQueen to be in your collection, this little baby will set you back $299.
From Sphero:
This. Is. Lightning McQueen.
Ultimate Lightning McQueen is the top of the line racer packed with personality. With animated eyes, an animatronic mouth, and emotive suspension, experience Lightning like never before.
A seven-time Piston Cup Champion, Ultimate Lightning McQueen was born to race. Connect to the app, hit the gas, and see Lightning respond to your commands with his personality on display, thanks to emotive actions and speech. Watch him lean into hairpin turns and drift like a pro.
When you’re not driving and drifting with Lightning, sharpen your pit crew skills in Pit Stop Panic, create scripts for Lightning to perform in his next Rust-eze spot in the Acting Studio, or kick back and relax by watching Disney•Pixar’s Cars with Lightning while he reacts to the movie.
Features
Free Drive – Slide your finger on the driving pad to guide Lightning… he’ll go wherever you push the joystick, drift, do donuts, and even react to his expert racing moves.
Pit Stop Panic – Train hard and join the pit crew. Lightning coaches you as you race the clock changing tires, fueling up, and getting racers back on the track.
Acting Studio – Direct Lightning McQueen as he prepares to be on camera. Create scripts with your favorite phrases and actions for him to perform.
Drive-In – Watch Disney•Pixar’s Cars with Lightning and watch him react to the movie. Select this option with Lightning plugged in to charge, start the movie, and hear all he has to say.
