2017 D23 Expo

Disney has announced the date for 2017 D23 Expo.

Set for July 14-16 at the Anaheim Convention Center, the biennial Disney fan event brings together the media giant’s theme park, music, gaming, television and movie properties — including “Star Wars,” Pixar and Marvel — under one roof.

Supposedly, this is also around the same time that ComicCon in San Diego is normally held, although the exact date for 2017 hasn't been announced. This is a rather curious development.

Zz.

Magic Kingdom after hours ticket

The Orlando Sentinel posted this article about Disney selling a special ticket for the privilege of being in select areas of Magic Kingdom for three hours after regular closing on certain dates.  This is being portrayed as a special event. 

The Disney After Hours price is $149 per person.

The park will close to regular day guests at 10 p.m. on April 28 and May 5, and it will close at 11 p.m. on April 14, April 21, May 8, May 12 and May 19. Folks who have purchased the After Hours option will be allowed to stay in select areas of the Magic Kingdom for three additional hours.

Check-in for the event takes place at Magic Kingdom's main entrance beginning at 7 p.m.  The $149 ticket allows entry into the theme park at that time.

The article states that a grand total of 5 attractions will be open during the extra 3 hours, but that might be just a partial list.  Also it appears that no regular restaurants will be open.  So it seems that the only imagineering being done at Disney these days is by the accountants.

What Remains of "River Country"

A photographer was able to snap photos of the remains of "River Country", Disney's first water park at Walt Disney World.

I too am a bit surprised that Disney decided to simply abandon this site rather than clean it up and re-purpose it into something else. There must be more to this than what we already know.

Zz.

Costumes For "Rivers Of Light"

Orlando Sentinel is showing the costumes for the two main characters in the highly-anticipated Disney's Animal Kingdom's "Rivers of Light".

The two main storytellers of the show are Aseema and Aditya. Disney says the characters transcend time and location, thus their costumes reflect multiple time periods and cultures, from Native Americans to Far Eastern cultures.

Aditya is described as the "embodiment of fire and light" while Aseema is the "human embodiment of water." Their costumes reflect this, with mixes of warm and cool colors and patterns and beading representing fire and water. Each storyteller has an acolyte, or student -- Ambu and Ketu -- which wear costumes "more conducive to that of an apprentice with pants and sashes."

This will be high on our list of things to see when we finally go to WDW in October, which is our earliest trip there.

Zz.

BB-8 Visits JPL

The adorable BB-8 visited NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, and hanging out with his "buddies". He looks like he belongs there.

Zz.

Disney thinking of charging resort fees at WDW?

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that some people have received a survey from Disney asking their opinion of being charged an extra $15 per night fee to cover Magic Bands, Magical Express and other services at WDW.  So, for a 7-night stay this amounts to an extra $105.  The article wasn't specific about who might have received the survey, or about a wider range of reaction than the two responses quoted (both negative). Of course this comes across as another attempt to nickel and dime people.  If there is any hint of adding this fee to DVC members, it's easy to predict what their reaction will be.  As usual, time will tell if this will actually materialize, but it does seem to paint Disney in a negative light. Maybe Disney thinks the airlines and banks have done this so it should be no problem for us. 

How To Draw Flash From Zootopia

Here's a video on how to draw Flash from Zootopia.



I think there's something terribly wrong here. It should be drawn veeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyy ssssssloooowwwwwlllllyyyyyy.......

:)

Zz.

Carrot Recorder Pen

First of all, if you haven't seen Zootopia, GO! It is a drag-down romp of a good time with plenty of social commentaries that come just in time during this nasty US presidential election. Besides, you don't to miss the sloths stealing a movie, do you? When was the last time you heard that?

In any case, you can now own one of those carrot recorder pen that Judy Hopps owned in the movie. Heck, I might just get one so that I can record incriminating evidence! :)

Zz.

No More Turkey Legs At Animal Kingdom?

I read this news report that Disney has removed turkey legs from Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, but I don't find anywhere on the reason why they did that.

The removal of the legs from Animal Kingdom was tied to a regular review of menu offerings, she said. The park recently added a full rack of ribs and more side items at its recently renovated Flame Tree Barbecue restaurant. A new restaurant called Tiffins is expected to open at Animal Kingdom this year.

Oh well. At least this is still available at the other 3 parks.

Zz.

Disney To Add 2 More Ships

Just got this news today.

Disney entered into a memorandum of agreement with the Meyer Werft shipyard in Germany. The schedule calls for the new ships to be completed in 2021 and 2023.
Each new ship will be roughly 135,000 gross tons — slightly larger than the newest Disney Cruise Line ships — and each is currently planned to include about 1,250 guest staterooms. While design plans, ship names and itineraries are still in development, the Walt Disney Imagineering team already is dreaming up exciting new ways to create the world's most magical oceangoing adventures.

Can't wait!

Zz.