Shanghai Disneyland Update : A Look at Adventure Isle in Details

You've seen before this great rendering above showing Shanghaî Disneyland Adventure Isle. The file you've seen previously was a 2000px file, surely big enough to allow to zoom in it but not enough to see everything in clear details. I've succeeded to find a 8000px file and this one allows to zoom even more in the artwork without losing in quality. So, let's have a closer look at Adventure Isle, would we? Also, i strongly suggest you to click on each picture to see it in bigger size. You also have for each the official description from SDL.

We start by Roaring Rapids, the big E-Ticket ride of the land:

"Roaring Rapids will take guests on a white-knuckle adventure through the heart of Adventure Isle. Riding a raft propelled only by gravity and water, anything can happen as guests plunge down a mountain and into a dark cavern where the undiscovered secrets of an ancient tribal legend and the reptilian creature Q’aráq are revealed. Only those who venture into the mountain will encounter the massive, mysterious Q’aráq."

As you can see on the above artwork, the Roaring Rapids raft ride will not only have a drop but also will go inside the mountain - to meet the creature - and include too geyser and fire effects. The loading area is in the round building in the center with the queue going on first in the open air building below, on the bottom. Then the rafts will go down before turning left and go up to the mountain. When they'll come down before the arrival there will be some fire effect, then the drop, and a geyser sequence just before the unload.

On this next one we can see the rafts already up in the mountain before getting inside it. The mountain waterfalls should be impressive and highly enjoyable!

The scaffolding looking structure that you see near the mountain is the one for Camp Discovery:

"Shanghai Disneyland is the first Disney park to offer Camp Discovery, a place where adventurers of all ages and abilities will gather to explore waterfalls, ruins and dig sites in search of ancient tribal relics. They may explore natural wonders and ancient legends, trek past waterfalls and discover tribal ruins in an elevated ropes course created specifically for this land. Guests will be able to choose their own expeditions at Camp Discovery, with some opting for the thrilling natural wonders of Roaring Mountain and others choosing to see the views and become immersed in science, nature, and history."

SDL guests will not only climb up this structure but also explore caves located on the left side of the mountain. The building you can see on the left is probably the one for the Tarzan show, the show building for Soaring Over The Horizon being a bit further on the right behind the mountain.

There is more to see in Adventure Isle with the Tribal table restaurant and Explorers Canoes...

The Tribal Table restaurant located near the entrance to the Roaring Rapids ride will be "a festive, art-filled restaurant, inviting guests to come together for an appetizing meal in a sensory dining experience. Sights, sounds and smells will whet the appetite as guests enjoy the action of live cooking with fiery woks and rotisseries. This ancient gathering house in the Arbori village is the native heart and soul of the land, offering vivid flavors, a friendly atmosphere and beautiful artwork. The murals, artifacts and illustrations will dazzle visitors with scenes from a rich native culture".

Next door will be the departure point for the Explorer Canoes...

...which will go from Adventure Isle to Treasure Cove Lagoon...

...by moving around this little isle which separate the two lands.

And that's all for this closer look at Shanghaî Disneyland Adventure Isle, hope you'll enjoyed it and don't miss the Black Friday special offer on the Disneyland Paris book in the article below!

Pictures: copyright Disney - Shendi

Black Friday Promotion on The Disneyland Paris book!

The Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality" book had already a great Christmas Special Offer - for its English updated edition or its French collector's edition and i'm adding a "Black Friday" promotion valid from today Nov 27 until Monday Nov 30 thanks to which you can get for the same price of a regular copy - 75€ ( including worldwide shipping - except for Belgium or Italy for which shipping has an additional 15€ ) - a signed copy which will be dedicated to the person of your choice.

You can pay by Paypal, credit card or bank transfer ( or by check for French bank account only ) and if you have a Paypal account you can send the total amount, including shipping, directly to: neverlandeditions@gmail.com You can also pay directly by credit card with Paypal even if you don't have a Paypal account, just choose the option "pay with credit card" once you are on the Paypal website.



For all orders and specially if you want to pay with credit card, bank transfer or check, please send me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com and let me know if you want an english or french edition, and at what name you wish the book to be dedicated.

Make sure to check the video below which presents the whole book, page by page!

Shanghai Disneyland Fantasyland Update with New Artworks in High-Res!

New SDL Fantasyland high-res renderings have been released on the Shanghaî Disney Resort website, and i'm sure you're dying to see them so here we go! 

We'll start by the Journey to the Crystal Grotto boat ride - artworks above and below -which here replaced the classic Storybook Land ride, though with different kind of scenes all inspired by Disney Animation classics. I did a whole article about it not so long ago that you can read HERE so i will post only the official description and the new renderings.

Voyage to the Crystal Grotto will be an enchanting excursion that travels the waters of Fantasyland. Fanciful fountains and sculptures line the water’s edge, celebrating classic tales of magic and imagination. At journey’s end, guests will glide beneath Enchanted Storybook Castle, into a secret, underground chamber in which fountains of light will leap and dance in shimmering pools, surrounding guests with magic, music and color.  The experience is sure to inspire the dreams and imaginations of all who make this wondrous voyage.

Two more renderings showing the Beauty and the Beast and the Mulan scene were also released. 

Let's move next to the Peter Pan's Flight ride which not only may have a new ride system but also new scenes like this one below, a new version of the nursery scene at the start of the ride:

Aboard a “flying” ship in Peter Pan’s Flight, guests will sail through the skies over London and off to Never Land. There, Peter Pan will lead guests through a series of remarkable adventures to confront the villainous Captain Hook and his pirate crew. With an exciting, new ride system, guests will soar as never before into this action-packed story of the boy who encourages imaginations to fly. In this classic attraction, updated for Shanghai Disneyland, new Disney magic brings the ships closer to the action and face to face with the characters, as they are engulfed in Pixie Dust.

This next artwork was released before and most probably shows the passage from the real world to Neverland, but i may be wrong... as we can see a flying ship at the end of this stellar way, a scene that usually happen at the end of the ride.

This next artwork shows the Hunny Pot Spin ride:

In the Hundred Acre Wood, Hunny Pot Spin is a delightful family attraction where guests ride inside whirling honey pots – in honor of Winnie the Pooh’s favorite food. “Hunny” is the way Pooh labels his ceramic jars filled with honey. Beneath a canopy strung with honey-dripping hives, friendly bees hum the Winnie the Pooh song to accompany the twirling guests. How fast each honey pot spins is determined by the guests, who will add speed by turning a wheel in the center of the honey pot. The honey pots, labeled in English and Chinese, are painted in loving detail, and each pot appears to be dripping with honey that oozes down the side.

The artwork above has been released before but now that we have it in high res we can zoom in it and see a bit more clearly what it reveal. In the center you have of ourse the Hunny Pot Spin but on the right you'll see the entrance of the Winnie the Pooh dark ride, and it should be the same than at Disneyland, nit the Tokyo Disneyland version.

But the left of the rendering shows something very different as it is the Rapunzel tower and the Tangled Tree Tavern: 

Located in the Fantasyland forest, Tangled Tree Tavern is inspired by the Snuggly Duckling, the pub featured in Disney’s animated film Tangled, the tale of Rapunzel. Warped by time and the roots of the large tree nearby, Tangled Tree Tavern is full of rich details and an atmosphere befitting the boisterous ruffians and thugs in the film. Guests will enjoy a hearty meal in this lush woodland environment.

Let's move now to the Alice in Wonderland Maze:

Designed especially for Shanghai Disneyland, this maze is the first attraction at a Disney park themed to Tim Burton’s live-action film Alice in Wonderland. In the experience, guests will choose their own path as they wind through the delightfully whimsical world of Wonderland on their way to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Along the way, they may encounter the Cheshire Cat, the White Rabbit and sculptures of characters, including the tyrannical Red Queen. In a maze of sculpted hedges, stone garden walls, giant flowers, and whimsical sculptures, there’s fun at every turn in this delightful family adventure.

The last main attraction of SDL Fantasyland will be the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. SDL didn't released renderings for this one, something which we don't really need as the ride will be similar to the WDW version. Instead they've posted a video of the ride, shot of course at WDW Magic Kingdom. The main interesting visual may be the ride title itself which include Chinese text, see screen capture below.

That's all for today's Shanghaî Disneyland update, more coming soon!

Pictures: copyright Disney - Shendi

Walt Disney World Musical Commercial

WDW has released this video and i love it. It's a musical commercial for WDW parks and resorts with new lyrics on Mary Poppins songs and others, but the reason why i like it is because it's a long long time they didn't did these kind of musical Ads. It's typically the kind of things they were doing in the 70's or the 80's and although it's a bit kitch, it's perfectly enjoyable! Have a look!




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Captain America : Civil War First Trailer!

We were expecting the first Captain America : Civil War trailer in theaters with Star Wars : The Force Awakens but, surprise, Disney and Marvel decided to release it today!




In addition, here is a video from Mr. Sunday Movies which points out Easter eggs and references that you may have missed in this first Captain America: Civil War trailer above, as well as three more posters below!

Pictures and videos: copyright Marvel

Hong Kong Disneyland Mickey and the Wondrous Book FULL Show Video

We have now the FULL show video of Hong Kong Disneyland Fantasyland new show "Mickey and the Wondrous Book" and not only excerpts of it as posted previously. And i think it's a real good show that i suggest you to watch. Note: if the video below doesn't start at 11 min, jump to this time as the show itself doesn't start before that.




Video: copyright HK Main Street Gazette

First Trailer and New Poster for Zootopia

Walt Disney Animation released a new poster - here above in its French version - as well as a first trailer for Zootopia, their awaited next animated film!

ZOOTOPIA – FLASH, THE FASTEST SLOTH AT THE DMV — When rookie rabbit officer Judy Hopps (voice of Ginnifer Goodwin) has only 48 hours to crack her first case, she turns to scam-artist fox Nick Wilde for help, but he doesn’t always have her best interests at heart. Their investigation takes them to the local DMV (Department of Mammal Vehicles), which is staffed entirely by sloths. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, and produced by Clark Spencer,




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Tim O'Brien Awaited Biography of Legendary Imagineer Tony Baxter Now Available on Amazon!

Here is the Imagineer biography i was waiting for since a long time! Tim O'Brien, theme park specialist and award-winning photo journalist has published a fantastic biography of legendary WDI Imagineer Tony Baxter titled "Tony Baxter: First of the Second Generation of Walt Disney Imagineers" which is now available on Amazon for $16.99 HERE.

As you know Tony Baxter, former senior vice president of creative development at Walt Disney Imagineering was responsible for creating designs and carrying out the construction of attractions all over the world. During his 47-year tenure with the company, he oversaw the construction of multiple contemporary Disney theme park attractions, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Star Tours, Splash Mountain, The Indiana Jones Adventure, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and Epcot' Journey Into Imagination. Tony was also Executive Creative Director for Disneyland Paris park.

Tony, who is beloved by Disney Parks fans, was first hired at Disneyland Park in 1965 as an ice cream scooper on Main Street, U.S.A. at the age of 17. During his employment at the park, he held many different positions. He later caught the attention of WED Enterprises -now known as Walt Disney Imagineering. During his first 24 years he built up his rank within the company until he was given the position as senior vice president of creative development in Walt Disney Imagineering.

Tim O'Brien book tells the story of Tony fantastic career at WDI, and more, and it's a book you must really not miss. For those of you living overseas or who can't wait to read it, an Amazon Kindle eBook will also be available soon on Amazon!

Pictures: copyright Disney, Tim O'Brien

Shanghaî Disneyland Update

Here is a short Shanghaî Disneyland update to start the week with an article from Shanghaî Daily to which i've added WDI SDL artworks:

WALT Disney once famously said of his entertainment empire: “It all started with a mouse.” For visitors at the Shanghai Disney Resort, their entry into the magical world of Disney Parks will begin in a similar way at Mickey Avenue, a specially designed shopping and recreation area that pays homage to beloved Disney characters, including Mickey Mouse.

“Mickey Avenue is much more than a street. Mickey Avenue is a town,” said Geoffrey Woodward, a Creative Producer who is working with an international multi-disciplinary team in the design and execution of the main entrance of the theme park. “As we were developing what the main entry should be, we have learned that Chinese people love stories and characters.”

Based on this premise, designers and planners at Walt Disney Imagineering Shanghai saw Mickey Avenue as a channel where they could introduce guests to the company’s beloved characters — including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Goofy and Pluto — before entering the park’s other themed lands.

Indeed, one of the first icons greeting visitors is a fountain decked with a sculpture referencing “Steamboat Mickey,” inspired by the 1928 animated short that introduced the world to Mickey Mouse.

After walking through the resort’s gates, guests can browse Avenue M Arcade, a bustling commercial center offering apparel, accessories, gifts, home décor, jewelry, as well as an extensive array of items created especially for shoppers in China, which planners say is the largest shopping facility of its kind in the park.

There will also be plenty of sweet treats and delicious foods on offer at Mickey Avenue. For instance, there is Sweethearts Confectionery, a candy store that pays tribute to Disney’s first couple, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

A French-themed bakery based on characters from Ratatouille, Rémy’s Patisserie will offer a variety of breads, pastries and muffins, along with fresh desserts.

Mickey & Pals Market Café, a counter-service restaurant, will feature localized Chinese and international menus plus views of the nearby gardens, the Fantasia Carousel and the Enchanted Storybook Castle.

Meanwhile, the Market Cafe, designed as an open-air market, will feature four exhibition kitchens and a mural depicting Mickey and his pals planting, harvesting and sharing happy times together.

“This is the first time in the history of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts that we have built a main entrance like this, one that’s dedicated to Disney characters,” the creative producer said.

After making their way down Mickey Avenue, the next stop for visitors is the Gardens of Imagination.

“Mickey Avenue is a space defined largely by architecture, and the gardens is a space largely about landscaping,” said John Sorenson, Director and Principal Landscape Architect at Walt Disney Imagineering Shanghai. This 26-year Disney veteran worked closely from the creative team from the very beginning in order to create an inviting space for Chinese guests and families.

“It’s a celebration of nature. It has both quiet space but also very active space.” Guests can choose to explore the beautiful gardens, ride on attractions or find a great viewing location for the daytime and nighttime castle shows.

In the gardens, visitors can take a spin on the Fantasia Carousel, soar on the back of Dumbo the Flying Elephant or explore the sights and sounds of Melody Garden. It is also in this area that guests can find bridges and pathways leading to other areas of the park. As guests stroll along, they may also meet Mickey Mouse and his pals.

The area, covering more than three hectares, will contain seven individual gardens focused on themes of family, friendship and fun. These will include the Garden of the Twelve Friends, the Melody Garden, the Romance Garden, the Woodland Garden and so on.

Each garden will be filled with engaging activities, floral and woodland displays, and playful photo opportunities.

Over the past three years, Sorenson and his team traveled to China’s remotest rural areas and talked with local farmers to find flora compatible with the climate in Shanghai.

“A lot of trees you will see there are familiar to most people in Shanghai, but we also tried to find unusual Chinese native trees,” he said. “We spent a lot of time going to parts of the remote countryside of China and we perfectly achieved our goals.”

We'll end with a great video showing the Shanghaî Disneyland float at the Opening ceremony of Shanghaî Tourism Festival 2015 a few days ago, with the specially designed SDL float, Disney characters and more!

Pictures: copyright Disney - shendi

Text: from Shanghai Daily