WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and the future site of Flamingo Crossing this week and has some newsworthy photos to share with us:
A panoramic view of Hub construction
Not much progress to see around the north sides yet
The new castle tower control booths are still being constructed
New pavement is finally being poured around the south side of the Partners statue
At Epcot, construction of the third Soarin’ theater is visible from the monorail
Out at Flamingo Crossing, work continues on the two new Marriott hotels: TownePlace Suites and SpringHill Suites
There are over 500 new items for sale at the Disneyland Resort as part of the 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration, so we thought it would be smart to make a post showing you all of the items currently available during this once-in-a-lifetime event:
BALLOONS!!!
Yes, they are selling big diamonds…
The leather jacket retails for $395.00
Shoe ornament
Pin bag
Precious Moments statue
Lenox tea cup and saucer
Jumbo pin
The back of the t-shirt has the opening dates of every current attraction
With little-to-no-warning, the new version of “The Great Movie Ride presented by TCM” finally debuted at Disney’s Hollywood Studios earlier today. In 26 years, this marks the largest changes to the ride (other than some minor additions to the finale montage on two occasions, the last being a decade ago).
The Great Movie Ride marquee has been updated to include “Presented by TCM”, it was Coca-Cola many years ago
Outside, all signage was changed overnight to include Turner Classic Movies.
The strange empty space under the attraction posters was finally filled by the TCM logo
Here’s an up-close photo of the new Turned Classic Movies emblem
The 2 displays on the exterior have received new signs for a TCM “Salute” to The Jungle Book and Mary Poppins
New banners in the Chinese Theater courtyard
The new TCM banners blend in well in the existing courtyard
Upon entering the queue, the interactive movie posters and displays we showed you a few weeks back are now running. The posters switch between a logo for the Great Movie Ride and movie posters that come to life with some animated element.
The new interactive movie posters inside the queue switch between The Great Movie Ride attraction poster and movie posters from TCM. Each movie poster has a subtle moving element.
New interactive displays accompany the props inside The Great Movie Ride queue
The pre-show is no longer a 20-minute loop of trailers, but now a 45-minute documentary that spans all of the movies and genres covered in the ride. What’s great here is that some of the trailers even remain in the pre-show, including The Searchers (“No you don’t Ethan. Ethan, no you don’t!”). As time rolls on, many of the older films in the attraction have been forgotten to time and the pre-show does a nice job filling guests in on lesser-known classics such as Footlight Parade or The Public Enemy. The new film does a nice job providing background information that may spark more of an interest in seeing these films, which for TCM is probably the purpose of sponsoring the ride. If you want to find many of these films, Turner Classic Movies is often the easiest place to go.
See the entire pre-show loop for yourself:
The inside marquee on the ride was changed after 26 years to reflect the new sponsor and tagline
The only physical change to the ride that guests can see is the marquee in the loading area. No longer a “Journey into the Movies”, the Great Movie Ride is now “The Ultimate Celebration of Classic Movies”. There’s also now movie posters just under the marquee that feature the new ads for the ride.
Robert Osborne of TCM and the cast-member physically driving the vehicle are now both your hosts. Osborne provides about 60% of the spiel for the ride (pre-recorded of course), while the live cast member still becomes a part of the show and throws in some remarks here-or-there.
The finale montage of the ride is now in gorgeous high definition, and luckily almost every memorable clip and soundbite has returned, repackaged in a rather nice manner.
See the attraction with new audio spiels and the new finale film montage:
The photo-op at the exit of the attraction (which bloggers tried to convince everyone was a new stroller parking area) was also installed overnight. Guests can pretend that their handprints are being placed in front of the Chinese Theater, which really is a photo opportunity that someone should have come up with many years ago.
The photo-op at the exit was unveiled as well
You can take a photo as if your handprints are being placed outside of the theater!
Overall, the changes are long overdue. While it is sad to lose the original pre-show, the clips do live on as the actual trailers for those films anyway. The finale montage was clearly handled with the utmost care as most every clip, line of dialogue, and musical note was brought back refreshed and in a seemingly more organized fashion grouped by genre (provided Disney or TCM had the rights to it). Yes, there is less live-spieling and more pre-recorded narration, but honestly, Great Movie Ride cast members have been forced to stick to the script word-for-word for at least 15 years now and the spiel was about as tired as could be. With the exception of losing the fantastic pre-recorded spiel about Alien and the spaceship Nostromo, this has to be seen as an improvement over the tired lines such as “the horror movie is my all-time favorite genre”, “no, it’s not George of the Jungle”, and “Can anyone tell me what movie this is?”. This long-overdue refreshing of the ride breathes new life and hopefully is just a taste of larger changes to come to the attraction at the expansion of Disney’s Hollywood Studios moves forward.
Thanks to some permits recently filed, we know where Walt Disney World is next looking to expand the Disney Vacation Club offerings at the resort: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. Yes, Wilderness Lodge already has Villas, but this will be something completely different…
The paperwork shows 26 waterside units on Bay Lake which we presume to be themed to log cabins. The concept is very similar to the Bora Bora Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort.
There will also be new and remodeled dining and recreation areas, including pools.
While not yet officially announced by the Walt Disney Company, the permits are filed and are now public record. Work should begin soon on the project.
Captain EO may still be gone, but guests at Epcot can now preview the first new PIXAR film in over 2 years, Inside Out. The roughly 15-minute preview opened to guests on Saturday, May 30th.
Concept art adorns the walls in the first room of the queue
You can’t see the outline of the Captain EO sign anymore…
A special introduction from the filmmakers (sporting Captain EO buttons to assure guests it will return) is played in the pre-show room before guests enter the main theater
While only a few minutes long, the preview is pretty spectacular. Not only are the clips enthralling and entertaining, but the in-theater effects (such as lighting and floor movement) are absolutely perfect. The entire crowd was clearly emotionally invested throughout the preview, crying and laughing along with the characters. At the end of the preview, thunderous applause rang out from the entire crowd. I have seen a fair amount of in-park movie previews in my time, and I can’t recall a crowd reaction like this EVER. If the rest of Inside Out is anything like this preview, I think we are in for an emotional roller-coaster ride that will be a Frozen-sized hit at the box office. We will have to wait and see when PIXAR’s Inside Out hits theaters in the U.S. June 19th (although the film is sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 20 reviews in already).
Announced today, “The NBA Experience at Walt Disney World Resort” is coming to Disney Springs.
The NBA Experience at Walt Disney World Resort is going to be a one-of-a-kind destination featuring hands-on activities that put families and guests of all ages right in the middle of NBA game action. You’ll be able to explore inside the world of professional basketball with numerous interactive experiences and enjoy a restaurant and retail store.
No opening date has been given, but it will open by the completion of the Disney Springs project in 2016. No exact location for the experience has been provided either.
The concept is very similar to the long-standing NBA City location at CityWalk at Universal Orlando Resort and rumors indicate that location will close before the opening of this new NBA experience at Walt Disney World.
Sunday, August 16, D23 EXPO 2015 will feature the world premiere of Disney in Concert: A Silly Symphony Celebration—a live concert performance featuring a 32-piece orchestra celebrating the Silly Symphony animated short films and their accompanying music, hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin.
Fans will delight in watching selected Silly Symphony shorts from Disney’s archives while the music is performed live in synchronization with the picture, presented using high-quality, newly restored digital film masters. The music will be performed as it would have been recorded during those historic days at the Disney Studios on Hyperion Avenue in the 1920s and ’30s.
This very special concert event will showcase the music of the Three Little Pigs, The Old Mill and many other classics. To ensure as many guests are able to see the concert as possible, two 70-minute presentations will take place on Sunday, August 16, one at 11 a.m. and the second at 2 p.m. in Stage 23.
For the first time ever, Disney Music Emporium, the online destination for collectible Disney music products, is creating a pop-up store on the show floor of D23 EXPO 2015. Over the three-day Ultimate Disney Fan Event, the Emporium will feature album signings by composers and Grammy®-winning Disney music producers.
Limited quantities of a wide assortment of music products, including Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels vinyl, Snow White and the Seven DwarfsMaster Score music sheet book, picture disc vinyl, plus lithographs and posters will also be available.
Additionally, visitors to the Disney Music Emporium will be able to pre-order the long-awaited TheSilly Symphony Collection box set, featuring the complete restored soundtracks from all 75 Silly Symphony shorts from 1929–1939, with over eight hours of music on 16 vinyl LPs.
The Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection CDs, including The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Disneyland, will be available in the Emporium. A limited quantity of lithographs for each title featuring the back cover artwork designed by Lorelay Bove (Visual Development Artist, Walt Disney Animation Studios) will be a gift with purchase. For more information on the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection, please visit: http://waltdisneyrecords.com/d23expo/legacycollection.html
With the purchase of select music products at the Disney Music Emporium, guests will be issued a wristband to secure a space for an album signing. For a list of album signings and artist appearances at the Pavilion, please visit: http://waltdisneyrecords.com/d23expo/signings.html
Keep checking WDWNT.com for upcoming D23 Expo 2015 news and info.
The new rendering of STK obtained by the Orlando Business Journal
The Orlando Business Journal obtained the preceding rendering of the STK steakhouse, a new venue opening this year in The Landing as part of Disney Springs. The multilevel restaurant will be the chain’s largest location, at 14,000 square feet, and includes a rooftop dining option.
WDWNT Reporter Dirk Wallen visited Animal Kingdom and Epcot this week and has some newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip, so let’s take a look:
Work has begun on the Frozen meet and greet pavilion between Mexico and Norway at Epcot
Still no visible progress on the Frozen attraction
Moving over to Animal Kingdom, the annual DisneyNature sand sculpture can be found outside of this park instead of at Epcot this year
Walls came down around Island Mercantile revealing new planters
It doesn’t look like the pin cart will be returning to this spot anytime soon
Rivers of Light construction from above… looks like something is being constructed out in the water
AVATAR construction as seen from the parking lot at Animal Kingdom; this building will hold the flying Banshee ride
The building from afar
What appears to be construction of an outdoor seating area for the Beastly Bazaar Starbucks
The viewing area for Rivers of Light is coming along slowly
Meanwhile, a hyena habitat is being constructed on Kilimanjaro Safaris
Should be a cool addition when the nighttime safaris debut
Similar to the Year of a million Dreams, guests who attend Disneyland’s Diamond Celebration starting in May will have a chance to win fabulous prizes as part of Disneyland Diamond Days sweepstakes that begins May 22, 2015.
Disneyland Diamond Days is a sweepstakes in which daily prizes are awarded to select visitors while they are in the park as part of the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration. In addition to the daily prizes, Disneyland Diamond Days will offer guests a weekly opportunity to win other prizes and experiences.
Appropriately, the most exciting prizes are authentic diamonds, custom-engraved for the celebration. One and two-carat Disney Diamonds will be awarded throughout the celebration, and the one-carat Disney Diamonds will even be paired with a stay in the Disneyland Dream Suite. Other weekly prizes include a clear, crystal Cinderella slipper adorned with a diamond-and-topaz pendant, and unique experiences, such as a private party in Fantasyland, a romantic cruise aboard the Mark Twain Riverboat, or a tailgate party in Cars Land. The available prize will vary each week.
Full official rules will be available at Disneyland.com/DiamondDays on May 22, 2015.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S., D.C., Mexico and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are age of majority as of date of entry. Specific prizes to be awarded in the weekly sweepstakes will be announced online at Disneyland.com/DiamondDays the preceding week. Sponsor: Disney Memories, 500 S. Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521, U.S.A.
