Our latest photo report brings u back to Disney’s Hollywood Studios as it prepares for a transitional Holiday season, offering up a new lineup that Disney hopes will fill the void left by the Osborne Lights over the last two years.
Christmas Shopping
Plenty of blown-glass ornaments for sale at Celebrity 5 & 10, including a new Monorail ornament.
They’re a little pricey at $19.99 each, but they are pretty cool.
Some new holiday apparel for sale.
A few new Beauty and the Beast ornaments have joined the existing collection this year, including this light up rose ornament.
Mickey and Minnie Mouse have both received their own action figures of sorts, exclusive to the Disney Parks. They retail for $14.99 each.
The new Mickey Mouse ear baseball cap is already out.
Sunset Seasons Greetings
As the park prepares for the new Sunset Seasons Greetings offering, a whole lot of new infrastructure is going into place on Sunset Boulevard. The old, white lights for the palm trees have been replaced with these beauties, capable of color changing for show elements.
Some extra hardware was also installed on the star lights, likely to be used to integrate them into the show.
The Fantasmic billboard is likely gone for good as a new billboard that can be projected onto will go in its place. Maybe it will return in some form down the road.
Behind the billboard hides the infrastructure for the projectors that will turn the Hollywood Tower Hotel into a number of holiday items during the shows.
The projectors sit on the stands you can see behind these windows.
People seem confused about a new Paradise Pier billboard that appeared recently at the Studios. I don’t see the confusion as both lands exist in roughly the same time period. Sadly, Paradise Pier will become PIXAR Pier, but this will be a nice nod to the past.
Dirt Street U.S.A.
Construction continues on Two Story Land, opening Summer 2018.
The remnants of the catwalk above the soundstage waits to be sealed in.
On the other side, we still have no idea what this weird, tall section of building is supposed to be.
A dirt wall now seals PIXAR Place, which eventually will be no more once Toy Story Land opens and the entrance to Toy Story Midway Mania moves there.
Just before this dirt wall will lie a cast access road, with PIXAR Place then becoming a backstage area.
The construction walls behind Muppet Vision 3-D expanded outward, now coming into the attraction’s exit.
Here we see the building for the “Battle Escape” attraction in Star War’s Galaxy’s Edge.
This and That
Sunset Showcase courtyard was open, being used for extended queue for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster, as well as some character meet and greets.
The show building for Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster was recently repainted blue to blend into Toy Story Land better. It’s too bad it now doesn’t blend with anything on this side of the park. Why is every “soundstage” building a different color?
Work on Echo Lake continues, with the “logs” under the water now repainted.
With the Coco preview coming soon, the final room of Walt Disney Presents is pretty barren at the moment. The stickers on the walls were taken down and only on display case remains in use.
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In an innovative move, Disney Research has created a new technology to allow blind guests to “feel” fireworks. A short video can be viewed below, but to read more on this technology, click here.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19WMStqdXmM]
Using multiple waterjets, guests will be able to experience the same show that is happening in the skies, but with touch instead. Whilst fireworks are being used as an example, this has a multitude of different uses, possibly allowing guests to have new experiences at the parks that aren’t just visual.
Duffy’s artsy cat friend Gelatoni has arrived at Shanghai Disney Resort, and Disney is celebrating by launching a new line of Gelatoni merchandise, as well as food items.
All the new merchandise can be found at the Whistle Stop Shop located on Mickey Avenue. Everything from plush toys, to pins, shirts, home décor, and more are now available for all your Gelatoni shopping needs.
As for food, new Duffy, Shellie May, and Gelatoni panna cottas and cupcakes are available, as well as ice cream cones at Mickey and Pals’ Market Café, Remy’s Patisserie, and Il Paperino.
Gelatoni is Duffy’s cat friend that uses his tail to paint intricate paintings. When he first met Duffy, the Disney bear had dropped his ice cream, and Gelatoni used the spilled treat to paint a picture for Duffy. I’m not making this up. That’s honestly how they became friends. I don’t understand the logistics of substituting paint with ice cream, but that story is so cute.
Welcome to Shanghai, Gelatoni!
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The Ferrytale Wishes Dessert Party is returning as the Ferrytale Fireworks Dessert Party this December.
Prepare to set sail on the Seven Seas Lagoon for the return of a fireworks dessert cruise like no other aboard the iconic double stack ferryboat, the General Joe Potter. On select nights in December and January, Guests who sign up for Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise will enjoy specialty desserts and beverages and conclude the evening with viewing of the spectacular fireworks show (Happily Ever After or Holiday Wishes, depending on the night) that lights up the sky over Magic Kingdom.
Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise officially returns to the Walt Disney World Resort on Fridays and Sundays, from December 1, 2017 through January 28, 2018. Reservations are now open and can be made online or by calling 407-WDW-DINE. This is a pre-paid experience, available for $99, $69 ages 3-9, per person, including tax and gratuity. A 10% discount for Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Members, and Cast Members is available.
Starbucks is certainly on a mission to take our money and fill our cabinets, and now it seems there’s a new ceramic tumbler at every park (we showed you Epcot and DCA earlier this week). The Magic Kingdom has released theirs as of today:
These tumblers retail for $21.99 each. The cup features icons of the park, including:
- Cinderella Castle
- Tinker Bell
- Dumbo
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Partners Statue
- Hitchhiking Ghosts
- Space Mountain
- Big Thunder Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Jungle Cruise
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Tiki Totem from the Enchanted Tiki Room
