Saturday, October 31, 2015

Shanghaî Disneyland Tomorrowland Imagineers Reveal More Details About the Land


Imagineers Mellissa Berry, Scot Drake with others WDI Imagineers have designed the new Tomorrowland for Shanghai Disneyland, and in an interview to Shanghaî Daily they talk about their vision of the future for this new Tomorrowland: 
“We didn’t want to refer to any existing architecture as we worked to create a whole new tomorrow world,” Berry, executive producer at Walt Disney Imagineering Shanghai, told Shanghai Daily.
A former TV and film producer, Berry, former TV and film producer, has been working on Shanghai Disneyland project for over five years. She and Scot Drake, executive creative director of the new Tomorrowland, have worked with a group of Imagineers from all over the world to brainstorm the concepts of a future world and turn them into physical structures.
It is a Disney tradition to set up a centerpiece themed land to showcase Walt Disney’s great vision for a big and beautiful tomorrow.  The Walt Disney Imagineering Shanghai team aims for the Shanghai iteration to offer a new vision into the future. To achieve their “tomorrow” goals, Berry and Drake set off in 2009 with other Disney Imagineers to scour cities around the world looking for inspiration.
They went to the Eden Project in England where plants are collected from around world. They visited the famous gardens in neighboring Suzhou and experienced the West Lake show in Hangzhou. They also attended World Expo in Shanghai several times in 2010. “When we first set foot in Shanghai, we were amazed to find the city itself has been a world of the future,” Drake said. They invited scientists and environmentalists to become involved in their brainstorming to ensure the best thinking and designs were considered.
Berry and Drake also visited Yuyuan Garden, studying the architectural philosophy behind Chinese landscape design. “We analyzed the multi-level buildings, how the pathways unfolded, the moon gates and the shade areas in this historic city garden,” Berry said. “While there would be no direct reference, we wanted to interpret this ancient design philosophy in a modern way.”

A feature of Shanghai’s Tomorrowland will be the world’s first Tron Lightcycle Power Run, a roller-coaster-style attraction that involves patrons boarding two-wheeled lightcycles on a high-speed, indoor-outdoor track.
Visitors can also join the new target-shooting adventure called Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue, break the bonds of gravity on Jet Packs, and celebrate the entire Star Wars saga. The Stargazer Grill restaurant will offer spectacular views of Shanghai Disney Resort as well as the stage below.
An architectural highlight of the complex, the Lightcycle track is covered by a massive, undulating canopy. The entire covert is edged with a dramatic, blue-green ribbon that changes color as it rolls across, “like the tail of a dragon,” said Berry.
“Guests waiting to board will have fun imagining a future world as they listen to the evocative soundtrack and watch the Lightcycle trains twist and turn all around them, all under a color-shifting canopy,” she said.
To create the canopy that Berry said “embodies harmony with nature” and will be like landing lightly on the earth, the team used many cutting-edge design tools."
There is more to read in the full Shanghaî Daily article so jump HERE.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Disneyland Paris Update : Works Begin on Frontierland Big Thunder Mountain and Rivers of the Far-West Geysers


Here is a new Disneyland Paris update and, that's it the long refurbishment on Big Thunder Mountain and Rivers of the Far-West Geysers has finally started and will last until ...January 2017 ! Not only Big Thunder Mountain and the arch will be repainted but the geysers which were not working since many years should work at last again when this long renovation will be over, and that's a damn' good news!

Thanks to Max, D&M collaborator and DLPWelcome webmaster we have the first pictures and right now they're installing a "life base camp" for the workers as well as a walkway over the water to access easily Big Thunder Mountain. This is done in the back, near the geysers so not really visible by DLP guests although they probably can see it from Phantom Manor graveyard which will be a good viewpoint to observe the works in the coming months if they don't put fences there...







The base camp which will serve for the workers.


Below, the walkway over the water and the "stone" arch which will be repainted.


For those of you who don't know it yet DLP Big Thunder Mountain will get the new finale in the last lift with explosion projection mapping, just like at Disneyland!


At the entrance of the park the works on the new ground in Fantasia Gardens is finished on the right part and i have to say that it looks nice.



As guests go through the park entrance they instantly notice the huge scaffoldings of Main Street USA Station. The renovation of the station is done to redesign the queue, to update the sound system, lighting, restore the organ, woodwork, carpentry, roofing and stairs, and of course also paintings, and this will last until September 2016. On the ground floor, the lockers unused since 15 years will be replaced by benches and a new ground to avoid any risk of falling which apparently existed with the current one.



Tomorrow Oct 31 is the big day for the awaited Halloween Party and the "Halloween Disco - Very Dance Party" will happen in the back of Discoveryland. Max has pictures of the structures being installed and soon ready to receive all the equipments for the nightclub with bubble machine, smoke, flames, and spotlights.





So, happy Halloween to everyone and see you soon for a new DLP update! In the meantime, i remind you that the Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality" book is still available but may be not for long as the stock is very low now, so if you don't own yet this beautiful book, it's really better to order it now.


Price for one copy in English updated edition or French Collector's edition is 75€ + 15€ shipping worldwide. You can order the book easily by sending me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

Paypal, bank transfer or credit card payment are accepted. If you want to pay with Paypal you can also send directly the 90 euros to:  neverlandeditions@gmail.com

As the Euro is iterally crashing since months it also mean that the book is now at its best price ever for our American friends! It really is the best time ever to order the book as you save money too thanks to the Euro / $US change rate!

To order your copy just send me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com and specify if you want an english or french edition.

Note: If you want to order a French edition don't use the Paypal button below which seems, for unknown reasons, to don't work for an order of french copies ( the Paypal button works fine for an order of English copies ). If it don't work send me an email or send directly the 75€ from your Paypal account to: neverlandeditions@gmail.com


Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality - Include shipping
 
 

And if you don't know the book, don't miss the video below showing each page of this beautiful book!




Pictures: copyright DLPWelcome, Disney






Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Phantom Manor Suite Played During Hollywood in Vienna 2015 Concert !


You probably have seen - or at least heard of - the famous New Year Concert which happen each year in Vienna legendary Musikverein concert hall. Well, recently - and all my thanks to Justin, a D&M faithful reader - a concert titled "Hollywood in Vienna 2015" happened apparently n that same concert hall with the orchestra playing a selection of famous Hollywood themes.

And included in the scores chosen for the concert was the Phantom Manor suite that you will hear in the video below at exactly 6.33 minutes!





Artwork: copyright Disney


Twilight Zone Creator Rod Serling Discuss Writing and Storytelling in These Rare Videos !


If there is something on which we all agree, it's that the Twilight Zone 1960's TV series are among the best TV series ever aired and that Rod Serling, its creator and for many episodes the script writer, was a genius. Unfortunately Rod Serling died at 50 in 1975 and interviews of him are rare to find.

But today i've found something even better than an interview and it is a series of conversations between him and apparently some script writing students, titled 'Writing for Television, Conversations with Rod Serling". Which is great as Rod gives precious advices on how to write a script! I've embedded the playlist so normally each part should play one after another , if not jump to Youtube HERE.





In bonus, i don't resist to post this great Twilight Zone 1960's comic book cover!



Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Order Your Copy of The Disneyland Paris Book "From Sketch to Reality" While it is Still Available !


The Disneyland Paris book "From Sketch to Reality is still available in ENGLISH or FRENCH edition but the stock available is running low so if you don't own yet this fantastic book it's better to order it now. Price is 75€  ( + 15€ shipping only worldwide except Belgium or Italy for which the shipping is 25€ ). AND you can get a signed copy for the same price, instead of 105€ which was the regular price for a signed copy. The copy will be signed by me at your name or another name of your choice if you wish to offer the book to anyone you love. The book will make a GREAT gift for Christmas or an anniversary!

You can order the book easily by sending me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com
and specify if you want an english or french edition. Just make sure to let me know your name and shipping address AND at what name you want the book to be signed.

Paypal, bank transfer or credit card payment are accepted and you can use the Paypal button below. If you have a Paypal account you can also send directly the 90 euros to:  neverlandeditions@gmail.com

You can also pay for the book directly with your credit card through Paypal EVEN if you don't have a Paypal account! All you need to do is to send me an email with your order ( at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com ) and i will ask Paypal to send you a payment request. You will receive an email from Paypal and by clicking on the link you'll be able to pay with your credit card on the Paypal website with no need to open a Paypal account if you don't have one! 


Note: If you want to order a French edition don't use the Paypal button below which seems, for unknown reasons, to don't work sometime for an order of french copies ( the Paypal button works fine for an order of English copies ). If it don't work send me an email or send directly the 75€ from your Paypal account to: neverlandeditions@gmail.com


Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality - Include shipping

Don't miss this amazing book, and a GREAT surprise gift also comes in addition for all buyers!

Here is a description of the book and you can also watch below a video showing the whole book!

Description of the book:



The book is a gorgeous "coffee table book" with 320 pages and 750 pictures - of which 500 are park and attractions photos and 250 are Walt Disney Imagineering renderings!

The size is 9 x 12 inches, all pages are in color and it's hardbound with a glossy dust jacket. The text (by Disney historian Didier Ghez), was written after more than 75 interviews he conducted with all the Imagineers who created the park. He goes into just about everything you wanted to know about this unique place that many describe as the best "Magic Kingdom" ever created by WDI.

It took five years to create the book, but it was worth all the time we spent on it, and the book looks just as good as we had hoped for at the beginning - in fact Imagineer Bruce Gordon told us that it was "probably the best book ever done on a Disney theme park". Coming from Bruce who did with David Mumford the great "Disneyland, The Nickel Tour" book, it was more than a compliment.

The first chapter about Main Street has 52 pages and introduces the reader to the "legend" of Main Street, USA. You'll learn all about the Disneyland Paris Railroad, the unique "Discovery" and "Liberty" Arcades; find out about the architecture, the restaurants (like "Walt's," a tribute to Walt Disney, but also inspired by Club 33 in Anaheim) and the shops; with dozens of photos, renderings, models, and reproduced for the first time here, all the "cities of the future" posters located in "Discovery Arcade."



The second chapter on Frontierland discusses the park's western side with extensive sections about its major attractions, "Big Thunder Mountain" and "Phantom Manor." In fact the book has the longest sections ever put together in a book on all the major attractions. The Pirates of Caribbean section in the Adventureland chapter is 26 pages, Phantom Manor has 16 pages devoted to it, as does Space Mountain, it's a small world, etc. The photo material was so great that we kept adding more pages to the book, which was supposed to have only 240 pages when we started... we ended up with 320 upon completion!



The Frontierland chapter also covers the Mark Twain, the River Rogue Keelboats, Fort Comstock, all the restaurants, the shops and Cottonwood Creek Ranch.and featuring stunning photos of Disneyland Paris from the air by Yann Arthus Bertrand, author of The Earth from Above that make spectacular "double-pages," and allow the reader to discover the park from a whole different angle.



The Adventureland chapter is even more interesting, as many elements of the land exist only in Paris - such as the Bazaar and Aladdin to Africa and the ex-"Explorer's Club." Plus there's a long section about "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril," "Adventure Isle" and "The Swiss Robinson Treehouse" and, of course, "Pirates of Caribbean" the land's major attraction and featuring its amazing Audio-Animatronics! All in all there are 56 full pages about Adventureland, and as in the previous chapters, there are dozens of photos, lots of concept art, and many shots of Imagineers at work. There's even a great bonus here, with the Marc Davis artwork for "Pirates" also included.



56 full pages are also dedicated to Fantasyland. There's an extensive look at Sleeping Beauty Castle, sections on all the dark rides (Snow White, Peter Pan and Pinocchio), as well as a look at "Alice's Curious Labyrinth," the "Mad Hatter's Tea Cups," "Storybookland," and "Casey Jr." There are even 14 pages about "it's a small world" with stunning photos of nearly all the scenes in it. Here the reader can discover a new attraction that exists only at Disneyland Paris, with a great view from above of Alice's Labyrinth.

Discoveryland also gets 52 pages of special treatment, with sections on the Visionarium, the Nautilus, Star Tours, Space Mountain, and everything you wanted to know about the other attractions in this land – Autopia and Orbitron. In fact the Nautilus chapter takes you on a visit with photos of every room of this detailed walk-through and two double page photo spreads, one which makes you feel you're inside Captain Nemo's grand salon, and the other showing you a unique view of Discoveyland featuring the Nautilus and Space Mountain in a kind of "CinemaScope" view.



When the book was released in early 2002, the Walt Disney Studios didn't exist, so you won't see them in the book. But there's still one last chapter about the hotels of the park, and Disney Village too, with the great Buffalo Bill Wild West show that entertains hundreds each evening.

And because every day in a Magic Kingdom should end with a parade and fireworks, we have the Main Street Electrical Parade that close the book, with also an Herb Ryman gorgeous painting in the very last pages!




Monday, October 26, 2015

Shanghaî Disneyland Mickey Avenue High-Res Artworks


It's always good sometime to check twice and i realized that i had missed some HD renderings related to Mickey Avenue released on the new Shanghaî Disneyland website!

So, the first one below is showing the Carthay Theater located at one end of Mickey Avenue facing SDL Castle and it's obviously a zoom on a part of a larger rendering. Nevermind as we learn something interesting if we have a closer look at it, and i'm talking about the terrace of the Carthay Theater where we can see people eating or having a drink. Which mean that there should be a restaurant upstairs and with one of the best view of the park as it will face the Gardens of Imagination and Enchanted Storybook Castle. Great place too to watch the parade or fireworks!


Next is another HD rendering showing the inside of Tony's Ristorante and this one too seems to be a zoom on a larger original artwork.


The last rendering is one we've seen before but here in HD and it's for the Confectionery shop.


That's all for today about Shanghaî Disneyland!

Pictures: copyright Disney, Shendi

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlight HD Video


It's well known, Tokyo Disney Resort generally always get the best versions of Disney attractions. The two parks are so successful that Oriental Land, owner of the parks, has plenty of money to spend in new rides - lucky them!

And when it's about parades it's just as true as you will see with this HD video from Nikko P of the upgraded Tokyo Disneyland Electrical Parade Dreamlight thanks to new floats and updated lighting with LEDs lights on the previous floats.




Picture: copyright Disney, Oriental Land

Video: copyright Nikko P