Shanghai Disneyland To Be Part Of Tourist Zone

The Shanghai government surely can't be accused of not taking advantage of the opportunity. They have revealed a massive plan to make the area surrounding the upcoming Shanghai Disneyland into a tourist resort.

The first phase of the government project covers 3.9 square kilometers which includes a theme park, hotels, car parks, a lake and commuter stations, according to the plan, on which the government is seeking public opinion. The municipality will extend two subway lines connecting to the site, according to the blueprint posted on the city government’s website yesterday.

The project’s first phase will cost 24.5 billion yuan ($3.7 billion), Mayor Han Zheng said on March 6. The Disneyland theme park in Shanghai, the first in mainland China for the Burbank, California-based company, is expected to attract 7.3 million visitors a year when it opens in 2015 in the Pudong area, the city government said in a statement on March 3.

Maybe they'll call it "Shanghai World"! :)

Zz.

No More Grad Nite At WDW

In a decision that has no bearing on me other than when I'm there at around the same time, Disney has decided to pull the plug on Grad Nite at Walt Disney World.

Disney World says the increase in theme park attendance in the spring has made scheduling the after-hours, separate-ticket event for high school seniors increasingly difficult. As an alternative, Disney will offer Florida school groups a special one-day, one-park ticket for $55 valid any time during the year.

Zz.

Behind the Scenes of Disney Dream Portraits by Annie Leibovitz

Videos of behind-the-scene footage of the making of Annie Leibovitz Disney Dream portraits.







Zz.

Cars 2 Theatrical Trailer

OK, the picture looks stunning. Let's hope the storyline is as good.



Zz.

Recreating "Up's" Flying House

Oh, if only it was as simple as in the movies.

A group of people tried to recreate the infamous flying house scene from "Up". They actually did it!



Now all they need to find is a grumpy old man, a boy scout, and some exotic bird-like animal, and they have the movie.

Zz.

Donald's Great Adventure - Don't Miss the Club Cool Poll

Hello Fans!

This is your wonderful Donald Duck reporting again with a very short reminder for you to not miss ZapperZ's Club Cool poll. You all know that I LOVE Beverly .... the drink, not a person! So I'm rooting for more very-good-taste people who can appreciate this wonderful drink to participate in the poll.

Yum. My bill is drooling just from thinking about it.

DD.

Random WDW Picture

Hum.... tired?

Zz.

Greetings

Hi. I'm also a new contributor. I like Vinylmations. Don't be surprised if I sneak a few comments about them and my favorite character, Stitch.

Hello

Hello my Disney mania. I'm your new contributor.

New Annie Leibovitz Disney Portraits

Just like clockwork, we have new Annie Liebovitz portraits of celebrities in various Disney-them photos.

The link includes a few photos from previous years.

Zz.

Keel Laying Ceremony For The Disney Fantasy

Video of the keel laying ceremony for the Disney Fantasy at the German shipyard. The video editing is a bit sloppy.



Zz.

Random WDW Picture

This is Thunder Mountain Railroad at the Magic Kingdom. It's the wildest ride in the wilderness!

Zz.

Tom Hanks And Tim Allen To Star In "Jungle Cruise"

Well, this could be interesting. The voices of Woody and Buzz Lightyear will themselves star in a live-action movie "Jungle Cruise".

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are planning to step on board Disney’s Jungle Cruise, a live-action movie adaptation of the popular riverboat attraction that first debuted at Disneyland in 1955, according to a studio statement. Disney signed a script deal with Roger S.H. Schulman, who received an Oscar nomination for co-writing Shrek. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman, fresh off their Best Picture nomination for The Fighter, are producing the long-gestating film.

Looks like they're hiring quality people for this. Let's hope the movie is better than what the skeptics are expecting.

Zz.

2011 Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival

For those of us who cannot be there for this year's Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival, this video is a good snapshot of what's going on.



Having been to this festival over the years, I can't help noticing things that they recycle each year. A lot of the topiaries are beginning to look quite familiar. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. In fact, it is good that they just simply don't throw things out but rather recycle them. Besides, for guests who have never been to one of these, they all look new! :)

Zz.

"Indispensable Guide" to WDW

Thanks go Gene for finding this link.

Here's another "guide" for visitors to Walt Disney World.

A few are well-known, tried and true, but there are new ones that are not that well-known. The writer has an interesting take on which park to go to depending on the weather, and has an interesting advice on where to park to save the parking fees.

When you're shelling out $82 a day for admission, tacking on another $14 for parking can feel like adding insult to injury. I'm proud to say my family hasn't paid for a spot in years. What many out-of-towners don't realize is that the parking lots at Disney water parks, miniature-golf courses and the Downtown Disney entertainment district are absolutely free.

From those locations, shuttle buses will take you wherever you need to go (note that some routes require transfers). Our all-time favorite spot is an unmarked overflow lot across the street from the BoardWalk Inn. Next to a Hess gas station, the lot is almost always half-empty and is a 10-minute walk to the resort.

From there, you can stroll over to Epcot, take a ferry ride to Hollywood Studios, or catch a shuttle bus anywhere else -- all free of charge.

Of course, in most cases, your trip to the parks is a bit longer and more tedious, and may require that you walk quite a distance. One can almost do the same thing with parking in Downtown Disney, and then taking a ride to one of the resorts, or walking over to, say Saratoga Springs and catch the resort buses to the parks (there are no direct park buses from Downtown Disney for this very reason).

Anyway, I suppose now that the cat is out of the bag, I wonder if these parking places are going to be fuller now. :)

Zz.

Toy Story Hawaiian Vacation Teaser

When was the last time you hear a movie company releasing a teaser for a SHORT FILM? But I guess, the Toy Story franchise has always been the exception since they've been the pioneer in a lot of things. So this teaser for their upcoming short film isn't surprising.



It's good to see the old gang again.

Zz.

Can The New Head Of Annie Awards Win Back Disney/Pixar?

There's a new person heading the organization handing out the Annie Awards, and he certainly has a major task of winning back Disney and Pixar to the organization.

Change could be coming to the Annie Awards with the election of Frank Gladstone as the head of the organization that runs these kudos honoring the best in animation. The recent 38th annual ceremony was mired in controversy after Pixar and Disney withdrew from formal consideration last August citing concerns with the voting process.

All I can say is that the Annie Awards without Disney and Pixar will be hollow and will have a serious credibility problem. It is in the best interest of the Annie, and also of Disney/Pixar, to iron this out. The animators, whose work these awards are supposed to recognize, are getting the short end of this debacle.

Zz.

Elton John Not Happy With Disney

Uh-oh. There's some unhappy feelings due to "Gnomeo and Juliet" success, and we're hearing now a bit of what went on behind the scenes in the production of this movie. It seems that Elton John, who has a major role in getting the movie made along with his partner David Furnish, is feeling slighted that no one from Disney has congratulated them on the success of this movie. It appears that, at least according to him, Disney didn't throw in its full support in promoting the movie, and that John Lasseter didn't want it made in the first place.

“Gnomeo and Juliet took us eleven years to make. We defied all the odds and all of the people at Disney who said, “this wouldn’t be a hit,” John said on air with one of his legendary outbursts. “And it’s the biggest hit, but it could have been a bigger hit if Disney got behind it more,” he added.
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Miramax financed the picture, which was animated at the Starz Animation studio in Toronto. John said Disney is red-faced over Gnomeo overcoming the odds to succeed at the multiplex. “They’re so ashamed, and they should be ashamed of themselves –they’re so afraid to congratulate us because John Lasseter of Pixar did not want us to make this movie that we still haven’t had a message of congratulations or well done,” he added.

Now, to be fair, I don't think this is any bigger hit than "Meet The Robinsons" or "The Princess and the Frog". It might cross over the $100 million mark in the North American box office, but it isn't the level of success of a Pixar movie. Could it have been bigger if Disney went all out behind it (assuming that Disney didn't)? I don't know. The movie isn't on par with a Pixar movie. The emotional element isn't all that deep. It was good for a few good laughs, and it certainly was better than I expected, but only because I had a more enjoyable time than I was expecting. So I have serious doubts that it could have been a significantly bigger hit had Disney fired up all of its promotional/advertising guns.

Hum.. now that we know that these things were happening, I guess we won't be seeing Disney-themed gnome merchandise anytime soon, eh?

Zz.

"Hall Pass" Nips "Gnomeo and Juliet"

It turns out that "Gnomeo and Juliet" didn't win the box office this past weekend after all. The final tally for the weekend shows "Hall Pass" getting $13.5 million, while "Gnomeo and Juliet" grabbing in $13.4 million.

Oh well. Still, it is showing quite a bit of staying power. The movie also benefited from the time of year it was released, with no new major movies coming out and everyone gearing for the late spring/summer season.

Zz.

Random WDW Picture

Dusk at the Hub, The Magic Kingdom, looking towards Main Street, USA.

Zz.