Disney Parks Live For Hollywood Studio's 30th Anniversary Celebration

I had a really big choice this week. Actual monetary work was interfering with my Disney life. Putting me in between a rock and a hard place. I could've either made it to today's 30th Anniversary Celebration of Hollywood Studios, or made it to Hollywood Studios for May the 4th's Star Wars Day. Obviously me being me, I chose the latter of the two. So I had to live vicariously through Disney Parks Live for the Celebration's parade & wait till Saturday to see the new Wonderful World of Animation Fireworks & Projection show. Needles to say, that choice left me a little bummed. After seeing this though, I think I really made the right choice. Though I'll miss out on my 30th Anniversary button, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything I can't see Saturday. This 30th Anniversary parade was a little disappointing. Not only was the commentary as annoying as the worst Macy's Day Parade coverage, a lot of what could've been big payoffs were very anti-climactic. I thought we were gonna see something really cool with Indiana Jones. Only to be very dissatisfied with the final payoff. Same thing goes for the big Galaxy's Edge reveal to a very not enthused Chewy firing his bowcaster. No Droids, no Kylo, no Boba Fett, no Phasma. This whole thing felt like a lot of missed opportunities. For that matter, it felt like it was thrown together today. The only success for ke out of this went to Toy Story. They stole the show in my opinion. At least the speech at the end & shout out to the cast was more entertaining than the commentary. I definitely know I made the right choice on this one. May the 4th be with me. On a bright note however, I do really like the new logo for Hollywood Studios. What do y'all think? Did y'all see something I didn't? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Wreck-It Ralph Is Getting A Hyper-Reality VR Experience!!

I haven't even tried Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire yet!! Nonetheless, the Walt Disney Company & ILMxLAB is teaming up with the VOID to create a hyper-reality VR experience for Wreck-It Ralph. Ralph Breaks VR will transport you into the world of gaming & the internet in a multi-sensory adventure. It's slated for later this fall, & I can't tell whether this will be a replacement or an addition. They're talking about how excited they are to visit other Disney Franchise worlds, & that had me leaning toward addition. Either way it sounds awesome. I might have to get Star Wars out the way now just in case. I'd love this place to turn into a choose your own adventure of sorts. That'd be friggin awesome. What about y'all? Down for some VR with Ralph & Penelope? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Disney Files A Patent Straight Out Of "Ready Player One"

I didn't have time to address this yesterday, but Disney has filed a patent for "moving floors". Much like what was seen in the VR fueled film Ready Player One. The major overall point being able to walk infinitely in a finite amount of space. They've broke it down to three different ways. The first using vibration tech to create friction to the user's feet. Allowing the platform to kinda steer the user out of any contact with walls or other users. The other will use rotating disks to influence direction. Each disk will rotate independently or as a whole to avoid obstructions. The final one mentioned is definitely my favorite of the three, & the most like the setup of Ready Player One . It involves magnets on the users shoes & on a treadmill beneath the floor. As the user walks, that moves the magnetic treadmill, allowing the user to walk forever in the same spot. The schematic pics below, give some more ideas, but this will be a major step for Virtual Reality. I can't wait to see if they can make this hit the light of day. I'm sure I'm not the only one that will spend a lot of time with this tech. Anyway, put your thoughts in the comments, like, & share.

Acrobatic Robots Just Skipped A Few Levels

Remember the flipping stickman robot from about a couple months ago? Well it evolved pretty quick. This thing is in full humanoid robot mode now, & ready for whatever. This video blew me away. I can't wait to see what these things will be used for. Obviously shows are the first thought. These things have awesome superhero written all over them. I mean, the one in the end basically IS Iron Man. I started drifting off & speculating other uses immediately though. Like what if these are used in-ride even? As moving animatronics? That would be friggin awesome! The main thing on my mind when I see this amazing achievement however is, I hope they don't use these to cut costs. The worst thing they could do is use these in place of an actor, as opposed to using them just to fill in where actors can't. Being somewhat expendable, I only want to see these achieve the impossible. Bring em on though. This is the next level of animatronic. I've seen them become as real as we can possibly make them look. Even cartoons now, with digital projection mapping. The is the next step, years in the making. Audio-animatronics can not only move now, they can be more acrobatic than myself. What do y'all think of this amazing development in robotics? Awesome, or one more reason to fear the emergance of A.I.? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Teaser For "Disney Loves Jazz, Soiree Of Jazz At Disneyland Paris" Released

September 29th 2018, the Walt Disney Studios Park at Disneyland Paris will present the first edition of Disney Loves Jazz , & what I would give to attend. Inspired by the jazz albums of the same name, Disney Loves Jazz  will take jazz bands along with internationally renowned artists covering Disney Classics with a jazz twist. The first volume of this immediately became one of my all time favorites. Hence this catching my eye. The song line up was amazing, & the covers were just perfect. That's coming from someone who does not do covers on top of that. This sounds like a whole lot of fun though, & I would love to see a version of this one day at Disneyworld. If not, maybe it'll become a thing, & I'll be able to drag myself Paris one day to attend there. Until then, I've got the albums. Anyone else love Disney Loves Jazz?  Let me know in the comments, like, & share.

Major Tokyo DisneySea Expansion! Tangled, Frozen, & Peter Pan!

The Oriental Land Co., Ltd. has announced that an agreement has been reached with The Walt Disney Company on plans for developing a new themed port at Tokyo Disneysea, including a new hotel. With this, the licenses for the Disney theme parks along with other licenses between The Walt Disney Company & Oriental will be extended to 2076. The expansion at Tokyo Disneysea will create an eighth "magical springs" themed port, comprised of three distinct areas recreating the worlds of the Disney films Frozen, Tangled and Peter Pan. The deluxe hotel will contain some of the most luxurious accommodations ever at Tokyo Disney Resort. Most excitingly, four new attractions will be developedfor this expansion. Operations are projected to begin in fiscal year 2022, with Oriental Land investing about 250 billion yen. The largest investment to date for existing facilities. This combined with the large changes coming to Tokyo Disneyland, scheduled to start operations in 2020, I'm gonna start putting back a little every year until a 2022-23ish trip to Tokyo Disneyland. This all came with this awesome concept art, letting us get a little taste of what to expect. Out of all of it, hands down, Peter Pan looks amazing. With Tangled coming in a close second. I'm loving this new immersion trend running through the parks. This is gonna be fun! What do y'all think? Are y'all trying to make future plans to Tokyo as well? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

New Details & Pre-order Available For "Play Disney Parks" App

Disney released more details onnew mobile app coming for use at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort this summer. Now available for pre-order, at the App Store and Google Play, the Play Disney Parks app will allow guests to play with family and friends while waiting in line for attractions. They're not really giving any exact details, just the activities will interact with select attraction queues, & the app will feature games that bring favorite Disney stories to life in immersive new ways. They've also mentioned that guests can earn and share digital collectibles when they reach achievements for experiences in the app, across the Disney parks. If that doesn't do it for ya, they're throwing in some Disney trivia as well. This will definitely help kill boredom while in the queue, provided you can keep your battery charged as well. There's some screenshots below, as well as the title page. I really want to see this in action before I judge it. How "queue interactive" it is will he the thing that really does it for me. If the app makes stuff happen, that's friggin awesome. If it's just another glorified cell phone game, I'll pass. What do y'all think though? Does this sound exciting? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Did You Miss The 6+ Hour Stream Of "FanDaze" At Disneyland Paris?

Disney made sure no one got left out for the inaugural Disneyland Paris FanDaze  party. For six-plus hours in Saturday they went live with almost every part of this amazing event. There's parades, interviews with artists & imagineers, & every character they could think up (including the debut of Ortensia), an awesome stage show with Max from A Goofy Movie  all capped off with a farewell parade. I watched some of this off & on live, then scanned through & caught what I hadn't seen. Probably going to watch it again with the whole family. This had to be the most entertaining live stream I've seen from any park. Disney went all out for this event. They need to take FanDaze on tour throughout all the parks. I'd spend multiple days just running around madly trying to meet all the 50+ characters. I'm so glad they went live with this. Do yourself a favor & scan through it at least to catch the parades (especially the DuckTales one) & Max's show. If you do have the time though, the interviews are great, & the character list features characters you'll never see from all over the years. Even Kuzco & Ysma were there. This is the most unbelievable event I've ever seen or heard of throughout all the Disney parks. Huge is an understatement. Unfortunately, I can't make it to Paris, but this was the next best thing. Extra thanks to Disneyland Paris for letting us all in on the party!

"Stickman" Robot More Acrobatic Than I Am

Some of the things that come out of Disney Research just blow my mind. This video is a perfect example of one of them. This is Stickman. Stickman does what I can best describe as perfect gymnastic dismounts. Even throwing in specific numbers of flips because, why not? If robots ever do take over, this place is going to be their first stop. After this one I'm convinced. As cool as this is though, I can't figure out for the life of me what it could be used for. Usually I can make up something. I'm just drawing a blank for gymnast robot. Unless we're trying to make stunts safer. Kinda takes the thrill away though. If anyone has any ideas what this could be applied to, put it in the comments. Like & share while you're there.

New "Play Disney Parks" App Coming In Time To Relieve Your Summer Queue Pains

Disney just announced an awesome new FREE app coming to Android & iOS sometime this summer. Play Disney Parks  is said to let us explore Disneyland & Walt Disney World in a whole new way. This app will access exclusive experiences that interact with the surrounding environment. Turning wait times into play times, there's more to discover the more you explore the Disney parks. This sounds really fun. Not only that, I'll take anything to keep the kids busy in line. No telling what they have in store for this. The various games in the park such as Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom  & the Agent P found in Epcot are so interactive. Playing affects hidden animatronics throughout the parks. I'm wondering if some of that will make it into this app? Can't wait to hear more about this one. This could shape up to being something really fun. What do y'all think? Any hopes & ideas on what features this app will have? Put it in the comments, like & share.

I Can Barely Wrap My Head Around Disney's New "Show Environment Room" Patent

This one is not as much technical as it is hard to even fathom. This is a pic attached to a patent I saw first on DIZ, published by Disney Enterprises Inc., titled "Multimedia System for Transforming Any Room Into a Show Environment". The pic is somewhat overwhelming, but I'm going to try to sum up their explanation of what all's goin' on. Building on Disney's recent pattern of immersion, this is a way to make a room more enjoyable through in-room entertainment. I'm gonna say this is with Hotel rooms in mind. Mainly because they really go into Hotel use, & their want to change the mindset behind Hotel rooms. Saying, "Conventional thinking in the hotel industry has been that it is desirable to make their guest very comfortable while they sleep but to otherwise encourage their guests to leave their room to partake in entertaining activities such as shopping and dining on-site or elsewhere in a resort or nearby city." So, now they want you to have a reason to stay in your room. That said, the wording uses Hotels as an example, but does also mention it could be used in a home & other waiting areas like those seen in airports & hospitals as well. Best guess though, this has Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge written all over it. They sound like they're totally trying to bring your room to life though. I could see this used in all the resorts eventually. The whole room is basically going to be an attraction. The system will generally include a controller for selectively operating a television like device, a video projector, an audio system, & other show components like, lights, fan, mechanical props, electrical, illusionary props, & so on. Basically, your room is a friggin' ride attraction. It will have the ability to "tell a story &/or magically transform the space into a multidimensional & immersive entertainment space." Mind Blown. I never thought I'd be excited to stay in my room at Disneyworld. I could speculate what they're going to do with this, but they've basically turned into your room into Happily Ever After. Infinity & beyond is literally the limit of this. This is the first step to Star Trek: The Next Generation 's holodeck. I'm ecstatic! Please, let this happen! What do y'all think? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Disney Research Just Blew My Mind With Body Channel Comunication

This video is crazy-amazing! I don't know how this works, or what they'll even use it for, but for the first time in awhile I'm amazed at the fact that it can happen. While I was first watching this, I was like, cool, this could probably be shrunk down into our magic bands, & make parks even more interactive. Then I saw the uses without the band, & totally freaked out when out when I saw them bridge the tech through another, unconnected person. What?!? That can happen now? I can't wait to see where they're going with this one. This could have amazing implications when it comes to the various interactive games around each park now, like Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom . Check it out though, see if anyone else can come up with some theories. Put em in the comments, like, & share.

The "it's a small world" Attraction In Tokyo Disneyland Looks Amazing With Disney Characters

I hope they do this here at Disneyworld. This just turned it's a small world into a Disney themed Easter egg hunt. I actually like this ride, but I've never enjoyed it like I just did watching this. WDW News Today put up this awesome video of the new updates given to it's a small world in Tokyo Disneyland, & I've already watched it twice. This attraction recently reopened with a Disney*Pixar overhaul, adding over 40 characters from our favorite films. I don't want to list them all, because that's part of the fun of watching. I will mention my favorite three though: Hercules with Pegasus, Timon & Pumbaa, & Dory with friends got me because they just came out if nowhere. Great little look at these new additions. Thanks WDWNT for putting this up. Check it out, & let me know what you think of the new additions. Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Marvel Heroes Are Invading Disney Parks Around The World

So, I've missed a couple things in the few days I've been away. The biggest of which being this huge announcement from Disney Parks Blog. Three themed areas will be coming to Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, & Hong Kong Disneyland, placing guests right in the middle of some superhero action. Developed in partnership with Marvel Studios & Marvel Themed Entertainment, beginning in 2020, Disney California Adventure will be continuing its evolution. With a new experience taking place of "a bug's land", & to be anchored by Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!,  you'll be joined by the Guardians of the Galaxy,  Spider-Man, & the Avengers in this new land. Meanwhile, the Marvel-themed area coming to Walt Disney Studio Park at Disneyland Paris will include the reimagined Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster into a hyper-kinetic adventure where you'll team up with Iron-Man & the Avengers. This opens in 2020, but now they have "Summer of Super Heroes" running from June 10th to September 30th. Where you can catch the heroes in a stage production featuring "cutting-edge special effects & spectacular projections." Last but not least, you've got Hong Kong Disneyland, where Iron Man Experience has become the resorts most popular attraction. Their expansion plan is already been put in motion with a new attraction teaming you with Ant-Man & The Wasp against Arnim Zola & an army of Hydra bots. This sounds amazing on so many levels. 2020 is starting to sound like a really good time to plan a trip finally to Disneyland. Who knows? That's a couple years. It could be enough time for me to think about traveling abroad to The Disney Parks of other nations even. The 8 year old me is going absolutely nuts that this is even happening in the first place. Superheroes in Disneyland? Brought to life like Disney does? Seriously? It's hard to wrap my own head around that I love I  a time where this is all possible now. Anyway, what do y'all think? Excited? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Disney Springs To Get New Cirque Du Soleil Show

This news makes more since than anything I've heard in a while. I'm actually not sure why this wasn't like this from the jump? Disney Parks Blog has just announced that after the Cirque du Soleil show La Nouba's run ends December 31st. It will eventually be replaced by a Disney Animation themed Cirque. Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, elaborated, sharing “We are incredibly inspired by Disney’s immense creative universe. We are convinced that bringing Disney’s magic to life on stage will touch audiences and bring them back to their childhood.” This is not only awesome, like I said, it's a total no-brainer. I'm excited to go see this Cirque du Soleil, & that's an excitement I've never really felt while at Disneyworld. I would totally be down for an all animation Cirque! What would be picked? Argh! Curiouser & curiouser. Excited to hear more about this, what do y'all think though? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

Check Out This Awesome "Princess Castle" Coming To Hong Kong Disneyland

This thing is amazing! Work will star on January 1st to begin to bring this enormous castle to life. It will draw inspiration from a variety of storybook influences & styles. Featuring new thematic spires & domes, this sky-reaching design will also include features inspired by the Disney princesses themselves. These will include decorations on the spires of Snow White's apple, Cinderella's coach, & Belle's rose. Wow, is it funny that we remember these items as theirs, when none of them was? Anyway, that's a-whole-nother can of worms. This castle is friggin beautiful though. I hope one day I get to see it in person. If it's anything like this concept art, I'm sure it will be a sight to behold. What do y'all think of this addition though? Put it in the comments, like, & share. 

New Park For Disneyland Tokyo & Toy Story Land For Disneyland Shanghai

This first part is still pretty far off in the future with further plans to be revealed in May 2018, & construction beginning in 2025. Viral Disney has reported that Disney & it's partners in the Oriental Land Company have revealed plans for an all-new Japanese theme park with the focus on it's host country with new characters. It will be focused on the culture of Japan much like California Adventure to California most likely. That's about all there is on that, but if you factor in Studio Ghibli they already have some very interesting things already sharing the Disney branding. I'm very curious to see where this is going, I've been thinking about planning a trip to Japan just for Disneyland. I might have to postpone it if this thing looks really cool. The next bit is way more fleshed out, but that's probably because it's right around the corner. WDW News Today reports Shanghai's Disneyland's Toy Story Land, opening summer 2018, has released some concept art & details about the layout. I hate to say, their Toy Story Land looks like it's gonna destroy ours. Shanghai's Toy Story Land looks huge with some awesome attractions. Slinky Dog Spin, where you'll take a seat inside Slinky Dog's spirals & race around a wavy roundabout. There's Rex's Racer, an RC car that goes forwards & backwards increasing height & speed. They'll have Woody's Round-Up where you'll swing to & fro in time to lively music in pony drawn carts. After that there's the obvious Meeting Post (Meet & Greet), Al's Toy Barn (Merchandise), & the Toy Box Café (Restaurant). The whole land is set up around immersion on a Pandora: World of Avatar level. There's a whole story of being shrunk down to toy size that goes with the land. I'm really blown away by these concept photos. If you haven't seen some of the ride videos already from Disneyland in Shanghai watch them. This park is becoming a must-see very quickly. What do y'all think of these amazing additions? Put it in the comments, like, & share.

I've Never Seen Anything Quite Like This Live-Stream Excerpt From Disney Cruise Line's "Beauty & The Beast"

Do yourself a favor & watch this excerpt from the debut of Disney Cruise Line's Beauty & the Beast. Disney Parks live-streamed the show from the time that Belle takes her father's place up to the end of the "Be Our Guest" performance, & I was blown away. I'm probably going to have to book a cruise now to catch this whole show. It took me awhile to get use to seeing the puppeteers work their puppets, but the way they did it pulled me in. I loved how seeing them, it felt like you could see the character trapped in the furniture. It gave a double performance to the roles. I thought the Beast looked amazing for a live action performance. The prosthetics & make-up were exquisitely on point. The most unbelievable thing however, was the set changes. I've never seen anything like that. The way the sets rose & fell from the ground was amazing. Coupled with the use of projections, I could almost forgo the show & watch the scenery change over & over again. I don't normally do the whole surrounded by water thing, but like I said, I might have to book a cruise to catch this. They outdid themselves with this one, making this look like a huge production in a pretty tight space. I don't watch plays, so I'm not sure if this whole sets rising from the ground & dropping from the ceiling thing is normal, but if not? They have created an amazing thing here, that I'm sure will be imitated by many. Check it out though, & let me know what y'all think of this live excerpt. Put it in the comments, like, & share.

"Magic Of The Holidays" Video Shows Festivities Throughou The Disney Parks

Disney put out this Magic of the Holidays video to show all the different ways Disneyworld & Disneyland will be celebrating the holidays this year. There's some amazing stuff in here. Sad I can't attend any of the Disneyland offerings, as my daughters would probably sell me to check out that restyling of the Haunted Mansion for the holidays. My thing is the Hollywood Studios set-up though. After Happily Ever After, I'm all into this projection thing. It's probably one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. I'm still trying to find some time to sneak away from my other life to see this before the holidays end. Currently it is an uphill battle. I've seen the Magic Kingdom for the Holidays, even going as far as attending Mickey's Christmas Party. Which was awesome by the way, all-you-can cocoa & cookies has to be the greatest add-on ever! I've saved my personal favorite for last though. Every year I try to find some time to go to EPCOT to check out Christmas as it was thought up & celebrated around the world. The stories are amazing, & help paint a picture of the real meaning to all of this Holiday stuff, celebrating family, celebrating life, & celebrating love. I hope I can steal a couple days away from the man & see my favorite places in the world as they celebrate the holidays. What did y'all think of this video though? Will anyone be trying to sneak away for any of this as well? Put it in the comments, like, & share.