With the success of the Club 626 Dance Party in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney Imagineering has decided to test a similar concept at Animal Kingdom. The Truckosaurous dance party with DJ Dino-mite began its test run on Sunday and will continue daily through Thursday from 4-8PM in the Dinoland/Dino-Rama area accross from Primeval Whirl. We have video of the first test taken by WDWNT Reporter Banks Lee to share with you:
With the incredibly well-themed truck and the selection of songs from the DJ (including “Another Part of Me” from Captain EO and the Mickey Mouse Club Alma Mater), I think this is a wonderful addition to a park that most complain does not offer enough to do. We’ll have to wait and see if the public agrees and if WDI will make this a permanent addition.
WDWNT Reporter Taylor Martina visited the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Downtown Disney on Friday and has a number of newsworthy photos from his trip to share with us:
it’s finally exciting to watch Fantasyland progress, as we can now see details beginning to emerge!
Our good friend Jose Castillo caught the first stop of the “Star Tours” Florida mall tour at the Aventura Mall in Miami, Florida earlier today and has a number of photos of the special experience to share with us:
The set-up is fairly small, but packed in a pretty big crowd
Disney has started an official Facebook group for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue, coming to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disneyland Park. The group promotes what may be another name change for the attraction, now referring to it as “Star Tours 3-D”. Many of you may remember that the attraction was titled “Star Tours II” when it was announced at the 2009 D23 Expo before being changed again in June 2010 to “Star Tours: The Adventures Continue”. Regardless, I’m sure the group will be posting regular updates on the attractions as we inch closer to the grand openings, so it’s probably worth you clicking the “like button” on this one…
UPDATE
Disney has also announced a special sneak peek event taking place in a few Florida malls over the next few weeks –
While it appeared that Annual Passholder exclusive merchandise for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue was only going to Disneyland, Walt Disney World has confirmed that they will be getting in on the action:
In the coming months be on the lookout for new items in the Passholder Commemorative Collection as we prepare for the re-launch of Star Tours.
Spotting the Passholder logo will be ‘key’ to finding incredible new designs. Here’s a sneak peek of one of the items ‘in store’ for you this Summer, based on the Star Tours attraction.
Merchandise will be available at select locations this Summer. Please keep checking back for more information and details on release dates, prices, etc.
WDWNT Reporter Robert Ashburn visited the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday and took a number of newsworthy photos to share with us. There is a ton of change happening at Disney’s flagship park as of late, so let’s take a look:
Today, we’re happy to present a backstage look at the creation of Beast castle at Magic Kingdom Park, a huge milestone in the Fantasyland expansion.
In response to Monday’s post, many of you asked how tall the new castle is, or if it would even distract from the view of Cinderella Castle (this shot was taken from the queue at Dumbo the Flying Elephant). Well, the next few photos should put your mind at ease. As you can see, Beast’s castle actually uses forced perspective architecture to make the structure look more grandiose in size than it appears in reality.
Forced perspective works as sort of an optical illusion, tricking the eye into believing a structure is much larger or taller than it really is. This is done by manipulating the size and scale of a building, based on the perspective it will be viewed from.
The company’s use of forced perspective started with Walt Disney during the construction of Disneyland park in California. At that time, Walt paid special attention to the scale of each building, as well as the specific shrubs and trees that flanked them in order to create the best sense of height and drama.
As you can see in this comparison between the artist rendering and the current construction, the castle sits high atop what will be the Be Our Guest Restaurant, which is really the gateway to the castle’s interior. Here, the restaurant will offer quick-service lunches and table-service dinners inside the Beast’s elegant ballroom, gallery and eerie “west-wing.” The construction to the far left will become Maurice’s Cottage.
Word on the street is that WDI is preparing a video tour of the area for our Disney Parks Blog readers. More to come on this next week.
WDWNT Reporter Zach Larson visited Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the Magic Kingdom on Sunday and has a few newsworthy photos to share with us from his trip:
Almost all of the scaffolding is down from the Tower of Terror
The Disney Parks Blog had two interesting articles featured today connecting to “The Little Mermaid” and “Beauty and the Beast” realms of the Fantasyland expansion. First, a video with a behind the scenes look at the creation of the musical score for “Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid”:
Keep in mind that this video was produced to promote the upcoming California version of the ride, but it will be almost identical to the attraction opening in Florida in 2012. The second piece features the recently installed castle atop the “Be Our Guest Restaurant”:
Hi everyone. Today, we have a thrilling update for those of you who are excited to see the expansion of Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park come to life.
Walt Disney Imagineers are currently piecing together the Beast’s castle, which will sit high atop what will become the Be Our Guest Restaurant. The “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired restaurant, which is set to open in late 2012, will offer a lavish dining experience in the castle’s elegant ballroom, gallery and mysterious “west-wing.” The restaurant and castle will eventually be flanked by Gaston’s Tavern, Bonjour! Village Gifts, and the cottage of Maurice (Belle’s father).
Be sure to check the Disney Parks Blog later this week for some exclusive photos of WDI’s progress.
The castle construction is a major milestone in the expansion, which will nearly double the size of Fantasyland and include several new attractions, such as Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and enhanced versions of the existing attractions, Dumbo the Flying Elephant and Barnstormer.
The expanded Fantasyland is scheduled to open in phases, beginning in late 2012.
