New Hidden Mickey pins

Steven Miller posted this article at Disney Parks Blog about the new Hidden Mickey pins arriving on a cast member lanyard near you soon. The new pins include themes such as Oswald, the Seven Dwarfs and Character Sketch Pads.

There will also be one shared collection between Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts. That collection features the “it’s a small world” attraction, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Festival of Fantasy parade getting closer

Disney Parks Blog reports that the floats for the new Festival of Fantasy parade arrived at Magic Kingdom, apparently shrouded by darkness and mystery.  We know that the new parade will include the Maleficent Dragon, but might it include Figment?  The parade is set to debut sometime in March.

It will be interesting to see if Disney will use the Magic Bands to have more personal interaction with parade viewers.  That would seem difficult but also very clever if they can do it.

Where In Walt Disney World?

This should be an easy one, I hope.

Where in Walt Disney World do you see this?

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

The Partners statue in front of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

Zz.

Oscar nominations ignore Saving Mr. Banks

The co-stars of the Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks did not receive Oscar nominations this year.  Many people believed that at least Emma Thompson would receive a nomination. This article at Yahoo Movies offers opinions of why this happened.

One reason given is that the movie was not about a socially important subject, in contrast to movies that received nominations. The Oscar committee typically is drawn to the heavyweight themes.

"'Saving Mr. Banks' may be fun for an evening of escapism," says Syracuse University media professor Robert Thompson, "But between a movie like 'E.T.' and a movie like 'Gandhi,' the Oscar's going to go to 'Gandhi.

Another reason given is that the movie sugarcoated Walt Disney's real personality and painted P.L. Travers in an over-the-top bad light.

...the man portrayed by Tom Hanks isn't the whole story, something that the Hollywood community knows quite well 

"The film is amazingly self-serving, and awkwardly so," explains Christopher Sharrett, professor of film studies at Seton Hall University. "It demonizes P.L. Travers as a crazed shrew — the sexism alone is beyond all reason. It is the 'Disney version' of how 'Mary Poppins' happened, a candy-colored fable that doesn't fool anybody. ... And 'Uncle Walt' was never this nice."

Top 5 Underrated Disney Cartoons

A new article on Forbes website on the top 5 underrated (and probably unappreciated) Disney Animation Studios movie. It's a good article and provides argument on why each one of these movies deserves to be viewed and appreciated more than what it has received.

While I agree with many of the selection, I think the article missed one movie that is frequently on the list of the most underrated Disney animation movie: Treasure Planet. Do a google search on this and you'll see why.

Do you have a movie that should have been included on this list?

Zz.

Donald turns 80 this year

This post at DisneyParks Blog reminds us that our favorite irrepressible duck turns 80 this year on June 9. Donald's 50th birthday was celebrated with a parade at Magic Kingdom in 1984.

In it, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse led the celebration down Main Street, U.S.A., riding atop a Donald Duck-themed float that was flanked with Donald’s cheerleaders. Donald’s fellow fowl friends – Daisy, Ludwig Von Drake, Uncle Scrooge, and nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie – also appeared.

It would be nice if there was a birthday party for Donald, or at least some kind of special memorabilia.

Avatar Land moving ahead

WDW Magic.com reports on the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Avatar Land at Animal Kingdom. The Festival of the Lion King show is being moved to Africa. 

Camp Minnie Mickey closed just days ago, and already the site is a sealed off construction zone. Earlier this week leaders from Disney and Lightstorm Entertainment took part in a ceremonial ground breaking.

Having this new Land tied directly to the movie seems risky.  The violence and militaristic themes of the movie would have to be kept far away, but if the 2nd Avatar movie contains as much violence this could create problems by association.   If Disney wanted some kind of exotic forest why not create one from imagination that recalls the best days of Disney Imagineering? 

Random WDW Picture

The amazing ceiling and chandelier at Animal Kingdom Lodge's Jambo House.

Zz.

"Seven Dwarfs Mine Train" Construction Pics

Following the recent release of more info regarding the "Seven Dwarfs Mine Train" attraction, I thought I'd post a few of the pictures I took of the construction of the ride during our Dec. 2013 vacation. So here they are:

Zz.

More "Seven Dwarfs Mine Train" Details Released

Disney has released more details on the highly-anticipated "Seven Dwarfs Mine Train" attraction at the new Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom.

"The ride cars were designed to give the guests a total immersive experience in the movie so they could relive what the dwarfs did in the movie itself," VanBeusekon said. "We've actually combed the movie, looked up the ride cars continually to kind of come up with the most detailed drawing we could get with all the little bolt heads, the lanterns, the way the wood is carved, the way the grain is shaped."
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"Sometimes we have to work forward and backwards," MacEachin said. "Make it look new and then make it look it old. This way we kind of know where the hit spots on the car are -- where it banged into and how they must have dumped something over into it."

For many of us Disney fanatics, this is what we love most about our beloved park, the attention to details. It is what separates Disney theme parks from other theme parks of the world. And of course, the story that accompanies the attraction is vital to the whole atmosphere of the ride.

Zz.

2013 New Year's Eve at MK

Happy New Year! Did you miss the fireworks last night at the Magic Kingdom to welcome the New Year? Here's a video of it as viewed from California Grill.



Zz.