Saving Mr. Banks

Here's a link to the trailer on YouTube for Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks as Walt.  The movie tells the story of the production and release of Mary Poppins.  The relationship between Walt and the author P.L. Travers was apparently not smooth and it is difficult to tell from the trailer how this will be presented.  One comment...Tom Hanks does not make a very convincing Walt Disney.  His diction and mannerisms look like someone trying too hard to impersonate Walt. At times he sounds a little like other characters he has played. Maybe this is just a first impression from the trailer, or maybe Hanks is just too well known to play Walt.  Casting mistake or misleading impression from the trailer? We'll see.

Disney to buy famous Japanese animation studio in 2014

The Ghibli Blog posted this story  by Daniel Thomas MacInnes  about Disney purchasing Studio Ghibli, the Japanese producer of well known animated films with directors Miyazaki and Takahata. The movies produced by Ghibli include Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle.  The studio also produced the film The Wind Is Rising, about the designer of the Zero fighter in WWII, although this film is Japanese language only so far,

The Walt Disney Company is in preliminary talks with Studio Ghibli to buy the Japanese animation studio, acquiring the rights to the studio's movie catalog and its wealth of characters.  This comes on the heels of Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise.

MacInnes states...

Honestly, I'm stunned.  I'll have more to say about this later tonight, once I can pull my jaw off the floor.  Still, we probably should have seen this coming, right?  Disney bought The Muppets, then Marvel, then Lucasfilm.  Miyazaki and Takahata are nearing the end of their long and storied careers, and Ghibli has struggled to find suitable successors for the Ghibli studio.

Bandwidth, we need bandwidth

According to this report at DIS News, AT&T will be the official WiFi provider for DLR and WDW.

AT&T will be adding "ten cell sites across Walt Disney World Resort; more than 25 distributed antenna systems to increase wireless capacity; more than 350 so-called 'small cells' to extend network connectivity; and more than 40 repeaters to boost the mobile performance for both guests and Disney cast members.

It would be interesting to somehow find out what percentage of guests use WiFi.  It must be pretty high - maybe 80%- and the new MyMagic+ system might should increase the usage.  A couple years ago the bandwidth was generally spotty or worse, especially in the rooms.  Over time the performance has gradually improved.  Maybe AT&T will make a noticeable difference or at least keep things from bogging down.

Waffle-inator To Make Appearence At D23 Expo

Looks like Disney will bring the Waffle-inator from "Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel" to the upcoming D23 Expo.

In the Waffle-inator Challenge, four players compete to free “Phineas and Ferb’s” Agent P from the clutches of the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz by hurling foam waffles at a massive screen to move Phineas and Ferb , while outmaneuvering Dr. Doof’s evil creations before time runs out.

The Waffle-inator, that will be built in the Grand Plaza near the D23 Expo entrance, is seen in “Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel” as Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest invention to take over the world. The TV special premieres Aug. 16 on Disney Channel and Aug. 25 on Disney XD. In the special, Phineas and Ferb team up with the Marvel’s super heroes, including Iron Man, Thor and the Incredible Hulk, to help them regain their powers and defeat Marvel super villains and Dr. Doofenshmirtz in an epic battle of good versus evil during which the Waffle-inator is involved.

I wonder how long of a line and wait time to get into one of that?! Knowing the pattern that is very common at D23 events, this should take a day and a half.

Zz.

Wedding Proposal Got Photobombed

These poor folks' special moment was accidentally ruined by a random tourist.

I think if you want to try something like this, either choose a time when it is less busy, or do it somewhere less crowded. Right on Main Street in the middle of a busy period is simply inviting something like this to occur. There are way too many people, and there will be a few who are oblivious to what's happening around them.

Zz.

The Disneyland Segway saga

A California court recently ruled that Disney has the legal right to ban people from riding Segways at Disneyland.  DIS News posted this long article talking about the recent legal decisions and the history of the case. Earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the class action case involving a lawsuit against Walt Disney World for not allowing people to ride their own Segways in the parks.  This ended the discrimination case as it applied to WDW.  A short while later a federal judge threw out the case against Disneyland.

The plaintiff may have one possibility of appeal left, but success is very unlikely.  Interestingly, the plaintiff's attorney tried to get Disney to pay for $124,000 in legal fees. This was refused by the court since the plaintiff "had not prevailed in any meaningful way".

Disney's position is that having people using their own Segways in crowded parks is a major safety hazard.  If you have ever used a Segway then you know that the device reacts to your every movement, and even keeping it still takes a bit of skill.  Just imagine having hundreds of personal Segways in the parks, along with the motorized scooters.  This is not a good picture.

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a tenacious litigant, however, so don’t be surprised if she tries to appeal either of these ru - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a tenacious litigant, however, so don’t be surprised if she tries to appeal either of these ru - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a ten - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a ten - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a ten - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a ten - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

The next day, the California Court of Appeals ruled that Disneyland’s safety based ban on Segways did not violate California’s disability discrimination laws. Baughman has demonstrated she is a tenacious litigant, however, so don’t be surprised if she tries to appeal either of these ru - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.nWdq05jg.dpuf

Disney submitted the declaration and deposition testimony of Gregory Hale, Disney’s chief safety officer. Hale is responsible for “safety, accessibility for guests with disabilities and technology advances in these areas for [Disney] theme parks, including Disneyland Park.” - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

The next day, July 18, the California Court of Appeals dashed what might be the last best hope for Segway advocates when it ruled that Disney could validly ban Segways at Disneyland.  Ironically, after almost six years of Segway litigation, Thursday’s decision was the first time any appeals court directly addressed (and upheld) Disney’s safety justification for banning Segways. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

the California Court of Appeals dashed what might be the last best hope for Segway advocates when it ruled that Disney could validly ban Segways at Disneyland.  Ironically, after almost six years of Segway litigation, Thursday’s decision was the first time any appeals court directly addressed (and upheld) Disney’s safety justification for banning Segways. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

Baughman’s biggest (and only) success occurred in 2012, when the federal court of appeals held that Baughman’s use of Segways at Disneyland could be “necessary” even if she could use a wheelchair.  The federal court of appeals made clear, however, that its decision did not “hold that Disney must permit Segways at its theme parks.”  While the appeals court ruled in Baughman’s favor, the federal judge found it did not mean Baughman had sufficiently prevailed to permit an award of attorney fees - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

the California Court of Appeals dashed what might be the last best hope for Segway advocates when it ruled that Disney could validly ban Segways at Disneyland.  Ironically, after almost six years of Segway litigation, Thursday’s decision was the first time any appeals court directly addressed (and upheld) Disney’s safety justification for banning Segways. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

Baughman’s biggest (and only) success occurred in 2012, when the federal court of appeals held that Baughman’s use of Segways at Disneyland could be “necessary” even if she could use a wheelchair.  The federal court of appeals made clear, however, that its decision did not “hold that Disney must permit Segways at its theme parks.”  While the appeals court ruled in Baughman’s favor, the federal judge found it did not mean Baughman had sufficiently prevailed to permit an award of attorney fees. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

Baughman’s biggest (and only) success occurred in 2012, when the federal court of appeals held that Baughman’s use of Segways at Disneyland could be “necessary” even if she could use a wheelchair.  The federal court of appeals made clear, however, that its decision did not “hold that Disney must permit Segways at its theme parks.”  While the appeals court ruled in Baughman’s favor, the federal judge found it did not mean Baughman had sufficiently prevailed to permit an award of attorney fees. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

Baughman’s biggest (and only) success occurred in 2012, when the federal court of appeals held that Baughman’s use of Segways at Disneyland could be “necessary” even if she could use a wheelchair.  The federal court of appeals made clear, however, that its decision did not “hold that Disney must permit Segways at its theme parks.”  While the appeals court ruled in Baughman’s favor, the federal judge found it did not mean Baughman had sufficiently prevailed to permit an award of attorney fees. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

Baughman’s biggest (and only) success occurred in 2012, when the federal court of appeals held that Baughman’s use of Segways at Disneyland could be “necessary” even if she could use a wheelchair.  The federal court of appeals made clear, however, that its decision did not “hold that Disney must permit Segways at its theme parks.”  While the appeals court ruled in Baughman’s favor, the federal judge found it did not mean Baughman had sufficiently prevailed to permit an award of attorney fees. - See more at: http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/07/20/its-been-a-bad-week-for-segways-at-disneyland/#sthash.qTwjLpXT.dpuf

EP-What?

Here are some of the possible meanings of the name "EPCOT". I wonder which one is the correct answer?

:)

Zz.

Saving the world from Tomorrowland

DIS News reports on some details of a new Sci-Fi movie titled "Tomorrowland". The movie is being produced by Disney Studios and is scheduled for release in December 2014.  The movie might star George Clooney and some other well known actors.

The plot release seems to be fairly on target with reports circulating a few months ago that said Clooney and several young ladies would have to save the earth from an alternate reality known as Tomorrowland.

In another DIS News post about TV shows and movies that are related to the parks, the new Tomorrowland movie seems to have been one of Walt's projects before he passed away.

Previously, the project was known under the code name 1952, which refers to a file box labeled "1952" that was found in Walt Disney's development lab after he died. 

Some time ago there was a report of a mysterious box found after Walt's death, and the movie appears to be a project described in "the box".   Hopefully the movie will not have a character named Tom Morrow. 

"Guardians of the Galaxy" Sneak Peak At This Year's Comic-Con

The filming of the movie has only started recently, but Disney gave attendees at this year's Comic-Con a sneak peak at the new Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy". And if this review of the sneak peak is of any indication, it sounds like this could be another monster hit for Disney and Marvel.

The crowd in Hall H at Comic-Con is not a great representation of the general movie-going public. For the most part, the thousands of people who fill the hall are hard-core fans who are willing to wait as long as 12 hours to get a seat. These are people who have paid good money not only for Comic-Con tickets but for the expense of traveling to the convention and paying for somewhere to stay. These people are dedicated.

I’m probably a better representation of the folks who Marvel will actually have to sell on the movie. Yes, I like blockbusters and comic-book movies but I wouldn’t know a Guardian of the Galaxy from a (more obscure) member of the X-Men. The Guardians of the Galaxy footage was a surprise during the Marvel presentation and at first, fans seemed somewhat wary.

But the footage won everyone (including me) over. The film is from director James Gunn who, until now, has made small, stylishly dark funny films like Super and Slither. Gunn clearly has a very specific vision. The footage was sharp and funny in a way we haven’t seen with other superhero movies. It had attitude to spare and was super charming. Oh and did I mention the bad ass raccoon?

See, I think this is what Disney should be doing, getting directors that are fresh, have a rather interesting and new angle, and willing to try something daring. This is the problem with "The Lone Ranger". It came from a team that struck gold with the first Pirates, and then rode its coattail with the sequels, despite the fact that the subsequent movies weren't that good when compared with the first. Yet, Disney management thinks that this is a "winning" track record or combination. "The Lone Ranger" proves that it isn't. Going with directors with a rather quirky and interesting take on one of these action-adventure-type movie might just be a way to break the monotony of this movie genre. "The Avengers" was one such movie, where fans of the blockbuster, action movie got their fill, while the rest of us were also thrilled at the humor and the tongue-in-cheek aspect of it.

Zz.

Measuring The Ridiculous Physics Of Disney's Hercules

OK, so I'm a physicist, and I'm a sucker for mundane analysis such as this. It turns out that Harvard Sports Analysis Collective have decided to focus on the physics problems in Disney's "Hercules". Now while this is an animated movie and there are a lot of liberties taken in such a medium (see "Looney Tunes"), there are aspects that can make a movie rather ridiculous if it occurs way too blatantly and too often. I'm not sure if it applies here, but you can judge for yourself.

For example, the first one they tackled in the article is the "flying donkey scene".

Poor Penelope was in the air for 7.7 seconds of screen time. With this measurement alone, we can deduce that she reached a maximum height of 73 meters, meaning she went on a ride higher than the eighth-tallest roller coaster in the world without so much as a seatbelt. Furthermore, we estimate that the g-force required to catch Penelope—a task Hercules managed with little to no stress—exceeds 19 g. Keep in mind that anything over 25 g is likely to result in serious injury or death to a human (and probably a donkey). At Penelope's speed, the force of the catch is equivalent to her crashing into a telephone pole at 84 mph.

To propel an average-sized donkey that high, the mass of the haystacks must have totaled 12,864 kg (28,360 lbs), which didn't seem to faze Hercules, who managed its weight with one arm. What's less clear is how Hercules's father expected Penelope to lug over 14 tons of hay into town. Donkey rights have come a long way.

So in this case, while we give a lot of liberties to Hercules and his powers/abilities, the fact that for something like this to have happened implied a haystack weighing THAT much, and being pulled by an "ordinary" donkey, makes it a problem.

You can entertain yourself, if you wish, with the others. :)

Note that this is unlike movies such as "Up", where there were considerable discussion on the possibilities of certain amazing things to happen, such as how to model all those balloons that were used to lift up the house.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

The Monorail through the Contemporary, viewed from the Top of the World lounge at Bay Lake Tower.

Zz.

39 Hidden Mickeys in Disney Animated Movies

A friend just sent this link to me. I think most of us Disney fans either already knew, or are not surprised, that there could be hidden mickeys in Disney animated movies. Although, looking at some of them, I am not that convinced that all of them are actual hidden mickey's or they are just wishful thinking on the part of Disney fans. Some of them don't look too convincing.

What do you think?

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

From the Kilamanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

In the wild, this fella would have been lunch already by now.

Zz.

Disney Studios first to reach billion dollars

This seems like a surprise given the results for The Lone Ranger, but Disney Studios is the first studio to reach a billion dollars box office this year.  See this post at DIS News.

For the eighth year in a row, Disney Studios has hit $1 billion at the domestic box office. Disney is the first studio to reach that mark this year, despite the poor showing of their most recent film, The Lone Ranger.

Obviously one should not read too much into the results for a single movie.  There's some interesting math here. The Lone Ranger has made roughly $60-70 million as of this writing, although this is hard to know exactly, yet the Studios is pulling in over a billion.  That makes a loss on TLR easier to digest.  Maybe this should encourage Disney to not get too risk-averse, and try some new and creative ideas (but probably not a Western).

Captain Jack's closing

Check this post at DIS News for a list of closings and rehabs at WDW for the next few months. Some of the longer duration closings are...

Walt Disney World Railroad- closed 9/30/2013- 10/20/2013
Peter Pan's Flight- closed- 9/30/2013- 11/13/2013
Jungle Cruise closed 8/19/2013- 9/30/2013

 It is also "rumored" that the popular Captain Jack's at Downtown Disney will be closing in mid-August due to the Disney Springs construction.

This band rocks

This post at DIS News talks about testing the new MagicBands at WDW.

Tom Staggs, Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, says tests are showing that the bands have indeed aided in boosting guest spending. His theory is that guests may be spending more because they are enjoying the technology.

 The MagicBands will work as hotel keys, park tickets and give charging privileges, so guests will never have to physically pull out their wallets.

Random WDW Picture

Haven't had a fireworks photo in here for a while. This was, of course, during Holiday Wishes.

Zz.

BTG backlash

An issue that has been simmering for a long time is discussed in this post at Laughingplace.com.  Regular visitors to WDW know exactly what this is about.

Not cool

DIS News reports that an unspecified defect is requiring removal of refrigerators from guest rooms at WDW, DLR, and Aulani.

Disney hotels will not have refrigerators in their guest rooms for a few months. A possible defect was found in the refrigerators used at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Aulani, so they have been removed or disconnected.

This does not affect Disney Vacation Club rooms, Fort Wilderness cabins, the Family Suites at Art of Animation and All-Star Music and the suites at the Disneyland Hotel. These rooms all have larger refrigerators.

Who was that masked man?

Yes, return with us to those thrilling days of yesteryear when Disney knew how to make good movies. According to this post at Yahoo Movies, The Lone Ranger is going to be a flop of the John Carter variety.  Even though Johnny Depp may help bring in a little more money overseas, he has now been in two consecutive financial flops.  Dark Shadows was also a financial flop, although I personally thought it wasn't bad.  I mean, who can't relate to a vampire?  But back to the masked man...

It's hard to imagine Disney executives aren't questioning the decision they made last summer to restart production on the Western after having shut it down when the budget began spiraling out of control.

"The frustrating part for us," Disney's head of distribution Dave Hollis told TheWrap Sunday, "is that we had all the ingredients here. You take a classic franchise, team the world's most successful producer, an award-winning director and the biggest movie star in the world and you think your chances of success are pretty good. But we just didn't make it work."

Looking at John Carter and now The Lone Ranger, it seems that Disney doesn't know how to take a classic story and make a popular movie out of it.  Maybe the "franchises" they are trying to rework are best left alone.  There's something that Disney doesn't get, or maybe they don't have the right people to do it.  Having all the ingredients is no guarantee that the recipe will turn out well.  A Western movie is very risky to start with since it's audience is going to be heavily US based.  Despite having the world's most successful producer, etc, The Lone Ranger is not going to resonate with younger audiences.  People were listening to the masked man and Tonto on their radios in the 1940's.

By contrast, look at Snow White.  The story was based on a much earlier gothic horror tale that became a dark silent movie.  Disney, meaning mostly Walt himself, took that and made one of the most memorable movies of all time. Walt was inspired by the old Gothic stories and knew what to do with them.  Another example is Chernabog, a monster that was based on another early horror story. The Disney corporation really needs that kind of creative genius again.

History of the Texas Disney rumor

Speaking of rumors, Yesterland.com has this informative and amusing story about the persistent Texas Disney rumor.  This news about a non-existent park that some are calling Longhorn Park goes back to at least 2006, and continues to surface.  The basis of the rumor seems to be that Disney may or may not have bought some property in Texas and this obviously means that a new theme park is in the works. The story includes some amusing photos as well as a history of a rumor that won't go away.

If the Texas Disney rumors were all true, Disney would now have parks planned for Austin, Bastrop, Beaumont, Brookshire, Castroville, Celina, College Station, Columbus, Conroe, Frisco, Frelsburg, Huntsville, Katy, Houston, Lampasas, Lubbock, Magnolia, McKinney, Melissa, Midland-Odessa, Montgomery, New Caney, New Waverly, Paris, Prosper, Round Top, San Antonio, Sealy, Streetman, and Woodlawn, Texas—and undoubtedly other Texas cities too (but I got tired of reading Google search results).

In an August 20, 2007, article in the San Antonio Express-News, business writer Sean M. Wood wrote, “Despite what your hairdresser, grocery store checker or barista at your favorite coffee bar tells you, the Walt Disney Co. is not building a theme park here.”

This is a disappointment because as a quote in the article says...

There are parts of Texas whose climate is not much worse than Orlando’s

Hollywood Studios rumor

The Orlando Business Journal posted this story about the possibility of DHS getting both Cars Land and Star Wars.

Quoting Robert Niles of Theme Park Insider...

“Multiple sources have told me the long-awaited dream of theme park geeks everywhere is actually happening. Disney’s moving ahead with both Cars Land and Star Wars Land at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World,” wrote Niles in his article.

 At Disneyland, Cars Land at DCA had the effect of reducing attendance somewhat at the main Disneyland Park(see my post of 8/24/12).  If Hollywood Studios gets Cars Land and Star Wars, would this draw traffic away from Magic Kingdom, or increase the overall traffic to WDW?  These additions, if real, would happen in the 2018 timeframe, according to the OBJ story.

4th of July, 2013 Celebration at Disney's Hollywood Studios

For many of us who couldn't be there this past 4th of July, here's a short video of the rockin' celebration at DHS.



Zz.

Roy E. Disney rededicates father's train

WDWMagic.com has this story about Roy E. Disney rededicating the Roy O. Disney train at Magic Kingdom.

Following the ceremony, Roy drove the restored train from Main Street, U.S.A., to Mickey's Toontown Fair with guests and Walt Disney World Railroad Cast Members onboard. After taking photos with the Cast Members and signing autographs for guests, Roy addressed the Cast, saying, "Keep up the good work. Take good care of this beautiful train."

 In related news, the railroad will be closed most of October to repair two bridges.  This apparently was planned work and not a result of Roy E. driving the traIn.

4th of July crowds lead to Magic Kingdom closing

WDWMagic.com reports that Magic Kingdom reached a Phase 3 closing status on July 4th due to large crowds.  Phase 3 is just short of complete closing to everyone, which would be a Phase 4 closing.  This link describes the different closing phases. 

The park was able to be reopened to everyone by that evening.  This pattern seems to be repeating on every holiday or even certain weekends.

Random WDW Picture

Old Key West resort.

Zz.

Spectromagic dumpster rumor

DIS News at wdwinfo.com has this post about parts of the Spectromagic parade floats reportedly found in dumpsters backstage. 

It seems that when Spectromagic was replaced with the Main Street Electrical Parade back in 2010, the floats were stored in an outdoor location that may not have kept the vehicles protected from termites and the varying Florida weather.

This parade was always very popular so we can look on the bright side and think that Disney is building a new and better Spectromagic parade.