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Roundtable
Contributors: Estelle Hallick (This Happy Place Blog), Alan Mize, Blake Taylor (BlakeOnline.com),
Andrew (Disney
Hipsters Blog), and yours truly.
Magical Updates
If I look at it that way, it's all okay. More people loving the Magic?
That's the way it should be.
Scaring Up Some Characters
Magical Updates
Estelle Hallick (This Happy Place Blog)
I've been very resistant to the changes on the Disney Magic ship. It's been
the only Disney Cruise Ship I've ever been on (as a kid and an adult) and I
feel very strong emotional ties to it. The latest video on the Disney Parks
blog explains the changes to the "grown up" district of the ship, and
that hurts because I spent literally all my time hanging out over here on a
trip last June.
I know, I know the bar and the club and the piano bar were all dated
(there's also this weird smell over there? I'm serious) so I understand the
decisions they are making. Not only for the people who have already booked
cruises but for those who are reluctant to book on the "older" cruise
ships. Make it sparkly and updated and the people will come.
In a week that should have been loaded with news, we're left proverbially
in the dust. Alas, the D23 Expo is not the source of any major announcements as
far as Disney theme parks are concerned...but the expo isn't our only source of
news, thank god! Earlier this year a new daytime parade was announced, and the
Festival Of Fantasy parade is sure to be a whimsical fan favorite when it
debuts early next year. To make way for
this new parade the loooooooong standing daytime fixture Celebrate A Dream Come
True will be shuttering in December.
Speculation has the last run on December 19th, though that date hasn't
been announced. If you're a fan of this
gaudy institution make sure you find time to experience it one more time!
Alan Mize
An Emotional Cast
I’ll admit that I’m not really a fan of the Meet & Greets. It’s not that I don’t like the
characters. I do. When I eat at Crystal Palace, I have my photo
taken with Pooh and the gang. And if I’m
walking through the park and I happen to come across a random character with
little to no wait, I’ll grab a quick picture.
I just don’t particularly want to wait in long lines to have a 45 second
encounter with a character that generally can’t talk. Having said that, I have waited in line for a
character Meet & Greet exactly one time and it was definitely worth
it. September 2012, on my first visit to
Disneyland, Jack Skellington was outside the Haunted Mansion and I was definitely
not going to miss the chance to see him in person because I had never seen him
appear at Walt Disney World.
Well, it looks like that is changing.
Last year, Jack and Sally made some limited appearances at Downtown
Disney as a trial run. It must have been
successful because Disney has confirmed that Jack and Sally will be appearing
in Town Square nightly during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. I’m sure the lines will be insanely long, but
this is one Meet & Greet that I think is worth the wait. Jack has the ability to interact with you and
if Jack’s “friend” is a good actor, you’re sure to be pleased with how
delightfully creepy he can be. I’ll be
down there this October but I wasn’t planning on attending the Halloween Party,
but now I may just change my mind.
Blake Taylor (BlakeOnline.com)
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Ryan P. Wilson (Main Street Gazette).jpg)
Much was revealed at the D23 Expo this past weekend, but
the bit of news that piqued my interest the most (that I really didn't expect)
was wind of details on Pixar's June 2015 release, Inside Out. Prior to now, we
had known that Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc. and Up) is in the director's chair,
and that the film takes place inside the mind of a little girl. That was just
about it.
Now we know lots more, and the details have really got me
hooked. The main characters will be different emotions, all living inside the
girl's head. There's Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling), Joy (Amy
Poehler), Fear (Bill Hader), and Sadness (Phyllis Smith). The voice cast sounds
perfect with this one... with two alumni from The Office, you really can't go
bad. I had a passive interest in Inside Out before, but now I am really excited
to see what Pixar has in store for us with this film. This is in addition to
The Good Dinosaur (May 2014) and Finding Dory (November 2015). Quite an
impressive roster.
Leslie Iwerks is partnering with Disney to create a documentary on the
almost bottomless history of the creative organization known as Imagineering.
The film is still three years away from being released, but that just tells me
that Iwerks is taking her time and making sure the story is well researched and
presented with as many nuances as is possible.
If I’m being completely honest with myself, I am actually slightly
disappointed that it won’t be a series of documentaries, as there is so much
history that can be covered under the banner of Imagineering. With so many
decades and so many avenues of thought and creation, Imagineering has become an
organization that more and more casual guests are becoming aware of. In fact, I’d
go so far as to say that Imagineers are the rock stars of the Disney Company
these days, and an occupation that many (including your humble reporter here)
aspire to.
2016 cannot come soon enough to see Imagineering on the silver screen, but
I’m sure I can find a way to fill those hours researching Imagineering on my
own!
Posts
1 comment:
I think the Leslie Iwerks documentary on imagineering sounds very interesting, there are so many things we could learn, one subject that I would be delighted to see more light shed on is the career of and influence on Imagineering of Richard F. Irvine, he seems to be one of the "founding fathers" of WDW of whom I know the least.
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