WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited The Magic Kingdom and Epcot on Saturday and has a ton of newsworthy photos to share with us (including Fantasyland Expansion progress), so let’s take a look:
A good portion of Epcot was being rented out for a party
Read More about Adam Roth’s 7/23/11 Epcot & Magic Kingdom Photo Report
From Darrell Fry on the Disney Parks Blog:
One thing that’s always struck me is our commitment to regularly reviewing the experiences we provide to our guests and challenging ourselves to bring new opportunities to life. Occasionally, this results in something coming to an end, as is the case with what I’m sharing today. In order to focus our efforts on ESPN’s growing year-round presence at Walt Disney World Resort, we have decided to no longer host ESPN The Weekend.
As you may know, the event was first created in 2004 in support of ESPN’s 25th anniversary and, along with ESPN Club, served as ESPN’s first significant presence here. While the event has continued for seven more successful years, our relationship with ESPN has evolved significantly and positively. This has resulted in new branding for the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, new opportunities for millions of athletes, coaches and fans, and hundreds of hours of ESPN programming, making our guests part of the show. In addition, the sports complex has become home to the ESPN Innovation Lab, which is the official development hub for ESPN’s 3D network.
Moving forward, our focus will be on creating events like the new ESPN RISE Girls Showcase and the ESPN RISE Games, which provide a stage for tens of thousands of athletes from around the country, and providing opportunities for guests to be part of events they’ve only before watched on television, such as the Home Depot College Football Awards and the Old Spice Classic.
We have just scratched the surface of what Walt Disney World and ESPN can do together and look forward to sharing information about new projects as they progress.
Lightning McQueen from the Disney-PIXAR Cars series finally debuted in the “Lights, Motors, Action!” Extreme Stunt Show at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Tuesday. WDWNT Reporter Adam roth was on the scene and has video to share of the new scene that replaces the Herbie the Love Bug sequence:
WDWNT Reporter Adam Roth visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios yesterday to catch Lightning McQueen’s debut in Lights, Motors, Action!. While he was there, Adam checked out Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream to see if some of the updated exhibits had finally been installed. Well, they finally have:
The Shaghai Disney Resort is already being previewed
Walt Disney Imagineering is responsible for the new Resort previews
A brief description of the Resort
The concept art we have seen already
Some Fantasyland exhibits were already here
The new exhibit is suspended on the wall above the display case
A compilation of Fantasyland concept art including Enchanted Tales with Belle, The Great Goofini, Gaston’s Tavern, Princess Fairytale Hall, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant
An overall look at the display
A monitor has also been installed which shows an in-depth look at Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid. Here’s video of the monitor loop:
Concept art for Scuttle’s Scavenger hunt can be found in the new video loop
Looks like guests will de deciphering some kind of code
In this artwork, guests find items washing up on the beach
Here we see a close-up of Scuttle who we assume will be a living character in audio-animatronics form
For the first time, we have a name and another look at the proposed shop across from the Mermaid attraction, Triton’s Treasures. We can also see the Ariel meet and greet area labeled as Ariel’s Grotto.
For more information on the Fantasyland Expansion as it becomes available, stay tuned to WDW News Today and WDWFantasyland.com!
To celebrate Disneyland’s 56th anniversary, a “flash mob” was held in town square yesterday as dozens of characters led a singing of Happy Birthday. Taken by Jae Brattain.
Adam Roth visited the Magic Kingdom on sunday morning and has a number of newsworthy photos from Fantasyland and beyond to share with us, so let’s take a look:
Construction walls up at the tram unloading platform  Transportation & Ticket Center
Read More about Adam Roth’s 7/17/11 Magic Kingdom Photo Report
DLNT Podcaster Jae Brattain took a trip to the Disneyland Resort this weekend to celebrate’s the parks 56th anniversary. He also took some newsworthy photos to share…
Artist Robert Olszewski was doing a signing in the Disney Gallery on July 17th
Fans attending Disney’s D23 Expo August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center will have the chance to experience “a great big beautiful tomorrow” as they immerse themselves in the future of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which is currently in the biggest period of global expansion in its history.
Drawing inspiration from a classic attraction that debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and has made stops at Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts invites attendees to hop aboard the “Carousel of Projects” for a sneak peek at concepts, designs, models, storytelling tools, and technologies currently being developed at Walt Disney Imagineering for Disney parks around the world.
Throughout the weekend, exclusively at the D23 Expo, fans will get a look at the latest details for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ 11 parks and five resorts around the world, as well as Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Disney Vacation Club, including:
In addition to the pavilion, D23 Expo attendees will also have the chance to attend numerous presentations and panel discussions. On Friday, August 19, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs will give guests in the 4,000-seat main arena an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest projects currently underway at Disney parks, featuring a few surprises along the way.
Imagineers and cast members who create and operate Disney’s parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other vacation experiences will take fans behind-the-magic with nine exciting presentations including:
In addition, and for the first time, the Parks and Resorts pavilion will also feature Mickey’s of Glendale, an outlet of Walt Disney Imagineering’s employee-only store, where—for just three days—guests can shop for “Carousel of Projects” souvenirs and collectibles and Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise not available anywhere else.
From Erin Glover on the Disney Parks Blog:
As we mentioned on Friday, work began yesterday at Disney California Adventure park to transform the current Golden Gate Bridge at the park’s entrance into a re-creation of the historic Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. The rendering above shows what the new bridge will look like when it is completed as part of the new Buena Vista Street area.
This new area will bring guests back in time to a classic era in the history of Los Angeles – when Walt Disney first arrived in California. You will practically walk in his footsteps through an environment inspired by iconic Los Angeles buildings and structures of the 1920s and ‘30s, like the Pan Pacific Auditorium (which served as the inspiration for the new park turnstiles that opened on Friday) and the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge.
In early 1927, Walt and Roy Disney moved the newly renamed Walt Disney Studios into its new facility – a one-story, white stucco building at 2719 Hyperion Ave. During the next few years, another Los Angeles landmark was taking shape just a few blocks down Hyperion Ave. – the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge. The bridge is a large, complex structure – still standing today and spanning Interstate 5 from Glendale, Calif., to the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles.
The artist’s rendering above shows the bridge as it will look next year when it is part of Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure park, with the Southern California Red Car Trolleys passing underneath and the Carthay Circle Theatre in the distance.
Fans attending Disney’s D23 Expo August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center will have the chance to experience “a great big beautiful tomorrow” as they immerse themselves in the future of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which is currently in the biggest period of global expansion in its history.
Drawing inspiration from a classic attraction that debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and has made stops at Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts invites attendees to hop aboard the “Carousel of Projects” for a sneak peek at concepts, designs, models, storytelling tools, and technologies currently being developed at Walt Disney Imagineering for Disney parks around the world.
Throughout the weekend, exclusively at the D23 Expo, fans will get a look at the latest details for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ 11 parks and five resorts around the world, as well as Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Hawaii, Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney and Disney Vacation Club, including:
In addition to the pavilion, D23 Expo attendees will also have the chance to attend numerous presentations and panel discussions. On Friday, August 19, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs will give guests in the 4,000-seat main arena an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest projects currently underway at Disney parks, featuring a few surprises along the way.
Imagineers and cast members who create and operate Disney’s parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other vacation experiences will take fans behind-the-magic with nine exciting presentations including:
In addition, and for the first time, the Parks and Resorts pavilion will also feature Mickey’s of Glendale, an outlet of Walt Disney Imagineering’s employee-only store, where—for just three days—guests can shop for “Carousel of Projects” souvenirs and collectibles and Walt Disney Imagineering merchandise not available anywhere else.
