Hong Kong Disneyland ready for chinese new year event !

Early february will mark the beginning of the new year. The chinese new year. Anyone who haven't been in Asia during this major event can't have idea how big and important it is for the chinese. And Hong Kong Disneyland certainly don't want to miss the most important festivities of the year, with of course the famous dragon procession - photo above!

Coming around only once every 12 years, this special ‘Year of the Mouse" Celebration is set to bring about an auspicious and fun filled Lunar New Year – Disney style! The celebration runs from January 22 to February 24, 2008, and will give a Mickey-twist to Chinese New Year.

So, specially designed decorations appeared in different area of the park, wether it's on the Hong Kong Disneyland central plaza....



Or all along Main Street...






Mickey Mouse is playing the traditional Chinese host as he welcomes guests to ‘Bai Nin’ at his home in Mickey’s House. With mouse-guides on hand, guests can check out Mickey’s favorite collections of keepsakes and treasures, during a tour of his home.




Mickey and Minnie, donning their brand new Chinese New Year costumes created by internationally renowned fashion designer Vivienne Tam, along with the designer herself, Bill Ernest HKD VP and a plethora of models, kicked off the ‘Year of the Mouse Celebration’ with a high energy fashion show.




Guests can also take part in Mickey’s Rockin’ the Mouse Castle Show, a musical extravaganza filled with Asian hits, electrifying dancers, Disney characters and pyrotechnics.



All photos : copyright Disney and Hong Kong Disneyland

"Toy Story" films will come back to theaters in 3-D !

A major news came today from Disney-Pixar : Buzz and Woody are about to go 3-D !

The Walt Disney Studios plans to debut digital 3-D versions of Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2."

"Toy Story" is slated to open October 2, 2009, followed by "Toy Story 2" on February 12, 2010. Both films would be released in advance of Disney-Pixar's "Toy Story 3," which is being produced as a 3-D motion picture and is slated to open June 18, 2010. Veteran Pixar filmmaker Lee Unkrich (co-director of "Toy Story 2") is directing the third installment.

John Lasseter -- director of the first two "Toy Story" films and chief creative officer for Disney and Pixar Animation Studios -- will oversee the creative side of the 3-D conversions for "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2."

In converting "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" to state-of-the-art 3-D films, the technical team is retrieving all of the original digital elements and rebuilding them in 3-D.

Originally released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1995, "Toy Story" was the first feature-length computer-animated film. The film received Oscar nominations for original score, original song and screenplay, and earned Lasseter a special achievement award. "Toy Story 2" was released in 1999 and received an Academy Award nomination for original song.

IGN movies add this John Lasseter comment: "The Toy Story films and characters will always hold a very special place in our hearts and we're so excited to be bringing this landmark film back for audiences to enjoy in a whole new way thanks to the latest in 3-D technology. I am sure that this is going to be nothing short of fantastic and people are going to be blown away by the experience. With Toy Story 3 shaping up to be another great adventure for Buzz, Woody and the gang from Andy's room, we thought it would be great to let audiences experience the first two films all over again and in a brand new way. 3-D offers lots of great new possibilities for the art of animation and we will continue to use this new technology to tell our stories in the best possible way."

Copyright Reuters and IGN Movies

Photo : copyright Disney-Pixar

Walt Disney Studios " Stitch Live! " will open in two months - New Photos !

Well, probably we will have some soft opening before that, but works are almost finished on this new WDS attraction, the fourth in one year after Crush's coaster, Cars race rally, and Tower of terror.



It will be exactly the same show that guests can see at Hong Kong Disneyland. I did it one year ago when i was there, and.........it's okay. Just okay. A "C" ticket - because of the technology involved - but not the one you are hurry to do again and again each time you go at the park.

However, young kids will love it, and there is even a little "labyrinth" game at the end where audience must help Stitch to find the way out of his spaceship. Anyway, it surely will be better than the Disney channel "attraction" - it was listed as an attraction, but it was a bad joke...



Below, some new pictures released by DLP - they, in fact, are coming from the HKD show, so we can't be sure that the room theming will look exactly like that at the WDS....we'll see!




Photos and artwork : copyright Disney and Alexandre Rosa
Artwork photo by WDS Fans

Watch more of Alexandre photos on his site HERE

The Tower of Terror media exclusive collector brochure

Generally, when DLP open a new major attraction, a big E-ticket - and the Tower of terror is a real one - the marketing dept have some good ideas to promote the opening, and this huge and great brochure that they've sent to journalists is a new proof of how good they can be when the park's management is not cheap on the marketing budget.
This brochure is going to be a real collector. Not only because the size of it - a "A3" format - is really big, print on strong paper and the layouts are very well done. The envelop itself looks like it travel 70 years before you received it!



Here is the cover of the brochure



Good mise-en-scène with TOT grooms and the first page after the cover ask the right question : are you ready to check in?



The next two pages - always looking "old" - are the " hotel register "



The next two show pictures of the lobby, the library and the boiler room, with de-saturated colours to help the photos looking old. But if you look closely at the bottom, there is also a kind of blue-print , except that it is the one of the Florida version of the attraction , not the WDS one! Oooops!



The next two pages is a huge picture inviting you to step inside the elevator



And the last one is about the Twilight Zone effect, with, on the right, the press release



Here is the back of the brochure



You won't find this brochure in the TOT gifts shop or anywhere else in the park, so looking on ebay will be probably the best way to find one in the future!

Walt Disney Studios Tower of Terror new official pictures

I had the pleasure to receive today a huge and great brochure that DLP marketing dept sent to journalists. This one is going to be a real collector. Not only the size of it - a "A3" format is really big, but the layouts are very well done. I will put picture of all of it on line tomorrow, so come back on the site to se them.
But include was a press photo cd with new pictures and today, i have made a selection for you of the most interesting one, including some of the inside of the TOT, but shot on an angle that only official DLP photographs are allowed to shoot.

Above is a beautiful night photo of the tower. And below a new shot with some of the bell boys.



Let's have a look at the making-of pictures. First a photo of the model.



Also released some rare shots of the building construction...




As we know the theming of the inside of the hotel is gorgeous, and full of real antiques bought by imagineers in antiques shop or Paris flea markets. Here is some unique photos when they were looking for them...




This head will ends in the window of the Hollywood Boulevard department store, not inside the Tower of terror



On these photos, some imagineers put the final touch on part of the decor




And here is the final result!







Here is a great picture of the library of the hotel.



And some new one of the boiler room.





Now, guess who is missing? Cmon' Mickey and Minnie, let's go for the big drop!




Don't forget to come back tomorrow to discover the collector's brochure!

All photos : copyright Disney

Indiana Jones 4 : Tour Indy's home - Video

There is no big news in Disney theme parks, as it is often the case during the months of january. But there is more and more news coming about the next Indiana Jones movie release on may 22. So, as Disney theme parks fans are usually ALSO Indy's fans, this is why i post regularly new topics about the awaited " Kingdom of the crystal skull ".

The official website for director Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has revealed a new featurette in which production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas (Superman Returns, X2: X-Men United) gives you a tour of Indy's home in the movie.

And for those of you who like theming, the theming of the Indiana Jones home done by the movie decorators is a brilliant one!
WDI imagineers wouldn't have done it better! Have a look!