Chris Lastrapes’ 5/17/10 Mini-DLR Photo Report

DLNT Reporter Chris Lastrapes took a small trip to the Disneyland Resort today and has some newsworthy photos to share…

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Thanks for the Mini-Report Chris

“Start Your Engines!!!”

From the Disney Parks Blog:

Vroom, Vroom…Vroooooom! If you’re in Disney’s California Adventure park this week, you just may hear the sound of engines revving. It’s very exciting because you’re actually hearing the first early ride system tests for Radiator Springs Racers, the new E-ticket attraction coming to the all-new Cars Land, which opens in 2012.

Cars Land Welcomes First Test Vehicle

This Radiator Springs Racers test vehicle arrived this morning, and while you’re not likely to get a good view of the car on a visit to the Park, we’re sharing some fun behind-the-scenes photos we took earlier today.

Conner Purzycki’s 4/30/10 DLR Photo Report

I took a trip to the Disneyland Resort last Friday and have plenty of newsworthy photos to share.

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Thanks for Reading!

Jamie Nakagiri’s 4/30/10 DLR Photo Report

DLNT Reporter Jamie Nakagiri took a trip to the parks last friday and has several newsworthy photos to share.

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Blue Sky Cellar Goes Digital

A new website was unveiled today, the long rumored website produced as part of the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. At this new website (which you can find at DisneysCaliforniaAdventure.com) you can view concept art from upcoming attractions and areas such as Buena Vista Street, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, World of Color, The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, Cars Land, and more. Also available to view are the videos that play inside the screening room of the Blue Sky Cellar. There’s also a flip book describing the big plans of each new addition, which also features some other really cool concept art.

Disney did a phenomenal job with this website, which gives people a chance to see some of the same things they can in the Blue Sky Cellar, but from the comfort of their own home. Stay tuned to Disneyland News Today during the next couple of days as members of our team will be at Disneyland (including myself) to get pictures and video of the updated Blue Sky Cellar.

TLT Renovation

D23 has put up a couple of interesting things today that I want to share with everyone. First up, a great look at the Disney’s California Adventure renovation is provided in the Summer issue of Disney twenty-three magazine:

In the summer issue of twenty-three, Steven Clark and Jeffrey Epstein take readers on an exciting walk into the future of Disney’s California Adventure, revealing what Imagineers have in mind for park over the next four years. As you might expect, spectacular plans are unfolding — everything from a brand-new entryway and the majestic Carthay Circle Theatre to the spectacular World of Color nighttime extravaganza, the calypso under-the-sea beat of the new Little Mermaid attraction and an entirely new themed land that will be home to Lightning McQueen and his four-wheeled friends! Happy browsing!

Secondly, they have an interview with Disneyland Entertainment Productions Senior Show Director John Addis about the upcoming TLT Dance Club coming to the Tomorrowland Terrace this summer as part of Summer Nightastic:

If a hot nightspot inside Disneyland featuring today’s most popular music sounds like a familiar concept, you have something in common with Disneyland Entertainment Productions Senior Show Director John Addis.

“I opened Videopolis back in ’85,” John says, referring to the vibrant video dance club that once stood where the Princess Fantasy Faire now resides. “They packed the place. Kids would go and learn dances together.” John says they wanted to bring the concept into 2009, and the Tomorrowland Terrace, which has frequently featured contemporary performances throughout the years, was the perfect spot for the new TLT Dance Club (skywalkers-in-training, have no fear, Jedi Training Academy will continue during the day — TLT will heat up nightly from 7–11 p.m. starting June 12). “We’re going to have plasma screens in the venue, and you can actually text and your text messages will go up on the screen… I’m not quite sure how they’re going to police that,” he says with a laugh. Guests will also be able to text in their favorite song to a posted number. “At 8 o’clock at night they do ‘Celebrate at 8,’ and they will take all of the songs that everyone wants to hear and they’ll do a countdown to the No. 1 song.”

John also notes there will be a host who will keep the night grooving with games, trivia and trademarked Disney fun. Music, of course, will be the heart of TLT, with DJs from Southern California radio stations and local bands keeping things lively. “The asks are out, as they say,” jokes John about possible performers and DJs. “But I haven’t heard anything definite. I’m excited about the live music. Friday through Sunday we’re going to have live bands.”

The bands, notes Disney Entertainment Productions Producer Ray Coble, may be familiar to Disneyland-ers. “We’re welcoming bands that we use and know are very successful like the 80z All Stars and also looking at some new ones.”

Adds John, “I’d love to expose people to new groups. It’s great to have a new group come in, people follow them and suddenly… they’re Rascal Flatts!”

Does that mean Miley may turn up at TLT? “We’re looking into Hollywood Records and Disney Channel emerging artists — and maybe even some established recording artists — coming down during that Friday to Sunday time,” John hints. “What we’ve done is taken an area that needed to have some fun, and I think it’s going to!”

Radiator Springs Coaster

It looks like there might be a change in the planned ride system for Radiator Springs Racers, according to Screamscape:

It’s been months since we’ve heard any kind of update about Cars Land, but the latest rumor sent in this week is a doozy. One of the big assumptions about the Radiator Springs Racers ride, based on the concept artwork, is that the ride was assumed to be using a new version of the same ride system Disney first put to use on Test Track in Epcot years ago. That alone was enough to make some people cringe because the Test Track ride system was far from perfect and caused the opening of the ride to be delayed for many months. Even when it did open, the system was flawed and the ride was well known for frequent and prolonged breakdowns. California natives also introduced to a stripped down even more troublesome branch-off of the same general concept that was used to great Disneyland’s biggest attraction failure, Rocket Rods. To be fair Disney Imagineers did use the Test Track ride system again, and fixed the problem, to create the Journey To The Center of the Earth attraction at Tokyo DisneySea. However if the latest rumors for the Radiator Springs Racers are true, we may be seeing an entirely new ride system being created, one based more on the concept of using a tried and true roller coaster track system that Disney will attempt to hide from view. Apparently Disney is said to be working with one of the major coaster design companies on this concept right now. Anyone know more?

Amazing New DCA Concept Art

Posters with some lovely concept art have sprung up on the back side of the Blue Sky Cellar building, & there are some lovely pictures up on the DCA Project Tracker on MiceChat. There are 3 posters, one for Buena Vista Street, one for Paradise Pier, & one for Cars Land. At least one piece of new concept art is revealed on each poster, like an overall map of Cars Land, an amazing overview map of the park as of 2012 (much like the original map for Disneyland), & much more. There are also descriptions of the lands on the posters. And what may be the new logo for the park is revealed on the overall map, which actually uses Walt Disney’s real handwriting.

Be sure to check it out, you won’t be dissapointed!

DCA Expansion Rumors

Here’s a couple of rumors on the DCA expansion from Screamscape:

2011 – Walt Disney Plaza – Confirmed – (7/8/08) We’ve heard a bit more about the Walt Disney Plaza area, confirming that the Carthay Theater building will simply be an empty shell for the time being. However we have heard that the upstairs section may be used as another exclusive Club 33 style VIP Room. It was also mentioned that there may be some kind of Disneyland fireworks viewing area from here as well. We’ve also got a little more information about Hollywood Land, the new name likely to be used for the Hollywood Pictures Backlot. When the renovations are complete this area of the park is supposed to hold the majority of the track for the new Red Car Line trolley system, running guests from here to the new main gate area. The cars are said to hold only about 20 people each.

2012 – Cars Land – (7/8/08) We’ve got some new rumored details about the whole Cars Land area of the park, though keep in mind that as the last of the big projects set to go in, lots of changes can still be made before it opens. From what info is being leaked right now, there is a plan to make Flo’s V8 Café a functional quick service restaurant for the land and Fillmore’s Organic Fuels will likely end up being a drink and smoothie stand. While not much else has come to the front about the main Radiator Springs Racers ride, we did hear that Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree may be themed to fit the whole tractor tipping theme, so I’ve got to wonder if Frank will be involved somehow. I’m also not certain exactly what kind of ride this will be as some believe it will be another spinning flat ride while others thing it could be some kind of custom track ride.

2009/2010 – Goofy’s Sky School – In Development – (7/7/08) According to another source Disney will use the Goofy’s Sky School name and not “Flite School” as we had heard last week.