Thursday, February 1, 2018

On Sale: FIVE AMAZING ORIGINAL ARTWORKS by the Great Former Imagineer Tom Thordarson Showing Concept of “Jungle Cruise with Dinosaurs”



Original attractions artworks are rare but can generally be found in auctions, but artworks of "never realized concepts" are more rare to find and i am selling FIVE AMAZING ORIGINAL ARTWORKS - so, these are NOT reproductions or prints - drawn by the great former WDI Imagineer Tom Thordarson who was the WDI Imagineer who designed the legendary “Journey to the Center of the Earth” attraction for Tokyo Disney Sea, one of WDI greatest ride and achievement of the last 20 years.

These original artworks show an awesome concept of “Jungle Cruise with Dinosaurs” - a version that finally "never was", as we know - and all artworks are drawn on "opaque paper”. Again, these are ORIGINAL artworks, each one is "one-of-a-kind", and they are the FINAL artworks, NOT sketches before the final ones. Three of the five artworks are signed by Tom Thordarson.

The size of each artwork is also pretty big: 24.6” x 19.2” ( 61,5 cm x 48 cm ). They are in perfect condition except one which has a small hole, 2” high ( which was already existing when i bought the artworks ten years ago ) that you can see on the first artwork below. The artworks were kept meticulously rolled in a sealed ube, in a non-smoking area, during the last ten years.

Now, because these are ORIGINALS artworks the price for the five may look a bit pricey but actually it is below the price that Tom Thordarson is selling others of his own artworks for the same size. I'm asking $7500 ( 6200€ ) for the FIVE artworks, which is equivalent to $1500 for each ( i don't sell each artwork separately ). Shipping is FREE worldwide and the artworks will be sent by Fedex, DHL or similar, rolled in a hard tube, and insured for the amount paid. Payment can be done by Paypal, credit card or bank transfer.

The price can be negotiate a bit and i will consider offers on this sale, so feel free to make a price offer if you wish. Those interested must send me an email at: amplittaye@gmail.com

Now, let's talk a bit more about the scenes shown on the artworks: each artwork shows a different dinosaurs scene for the ride. On one artwork the boat goes through a jungle with plenty of Brontosaurus...


On another artwork guests in the boat would have encounter Velociraptors...


On a different scene the boat with guests would come close to three T-Rex...


Another artwork scene shows a swamp scene with Triceratops and again Brontosaurus in the background...


And the last artwork is a very interesting one as Tom shows the movement that the Audio-Animatronic dinosaur would have done during the ride when the boat was coming closer.



Have a look at the pictures of each artwork, and please note that the coins that you see placed at each corner of the artworks were placed on them only to keep them flat during the photo shooting.

These are unique pieces of attraction development, and theme parks fans for whom the price is not a problem shouldn't miss them! Again, these are original artworks, each one "one of a kind" and if you're interested please send me an email at: amplittaye@gmail.com  Thanks!

Artworks: copyright Tom Thordarsson

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

LAST DAY to Enjoy The Special Offer on The Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality" Book! ( Ends Tonight at Midnight California Time! )



The special offer on the acclaimed Disneyland Paris book will end on January 31, meaning that you have only TWO days more to order the book and enjoy the special offer price. Copies of the Disneyland Paris book are still available in its English edition. The French edition is now out of stock but if you're French, and wish to purchase the book in its english edition a PDF file of the full French text of the French edition will be sent to you.

Here is all you need to know to order a copy of the "Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality" book for those who have never seen the book. First, it's a gorgeous 320 pages coffee table book with 750 pictures of the park including 250 WDI artworks, all DLP attraction posters, and dozens more of sumptuous artworks! The text by Disney historian Didier Ghez tell the story of the creation of the park from dozens of interviews of WDI Imagineers who built the park. It's also probably the best gift you can find for a Disney Parks fan - and it is true! Have a look below to the mosaic pictures showing a selection of pages of the book.









To place your order for the DLP book, please send me an email at: amplittaye@gmail.com with your shipping address. The price during the  special offer is 65€ ( instead of 85€ ) and shipping worldwide is 22€ ( except Belgium and Italy for which it is 29€ ).

As i've said above for French readers a PDF file of the full French text of the French edition will be sent.
Lecteurs Français: Etant donné que l'édition française est épuisée, un fichier du texte complet original en Français sera envoyé aux acheteurs Français ne comprenant pas l'anglais.
Egalement, Il me reste trois exemplaires de l'édition collector française, état neufs, 250€ pièce, si intéressé me contacter à l'adresse email ci-dessus.

Also, each order will receive two surprise gifts - actually there is more than two - and these are GREAT gifts that each DLP fan love!

You can pay with Paypal, credit card or bank transfer. For Paypal payments please send directly the full amount  including shipping ( 87€ worldwide, except for Belgium and Italy for which it is 104€ ) at: nme4@wanadoo.fr  If you wish to pay by credit card and bank transfer, let me know in your email and i'll tell you how to do.

If you've never seen the book before, don't miss the video below showing the full 320 pages of the book!



Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Will the Land of Anaheim Angel Stadium be the One Where Disneyland Resort Will Build a Third Theme Park ?



Two weeks ago, in an article titled "A roadmap to a third gate at Disneyland needs Gardenwalk" John Frost from The Disney Blog explained, now that the Gardenwalk property is on the market, why Disney should buy it as "it’s half a block away from Disney California Adventure and across Katella from one of Disneyland’s remote parking lots which has long been rumored to be the potential site for a third gate for the Disneyland Resort". John posted a satellite view of the whole thing and it's true that Gardewalk is just next door to Disneyland Resort, and Disney could create a kind of "East Downtown Disney" there easily.



I did a post on the D&M Facebook page linking to John article HERE and then, one day later, someone whom i won't reveal the name but who is a faithful D&M reader and a Disney insider ( not an Imagineer ) sent me a very interesting message in which he was saying:
"In regards to GardenWalk. I worked in Anaheim for many years and we did a walk with the city through GardenWalk. Disney was interested in buying but it came down to looking back at Downtown Disney and realizing that no vendors stayed, so Disney ended up placing Disney owned shops to keep shops open while vendors would leave. For example, House of Blues left and moved to Garden Walk. Also, the third gate area is currently a cast member parking called K lot (Katella lot) and Toy Story lot is behind K lot. They would need more parking structures before a third gate."

"Also, just down the road if the Angels of Anaheim baseball team move to the new stadium which will be build in Irvine area, Disney would buy that massive open area. For now, they make Anaheim cast members park at the baseball stadium on busy days and they get shuttled into the park backstage for work.

The fact that a third gate could not be considered until 2025 literally sounds accurate as it is the time frame of the new hotel in Anaheim plus the new structure parking. The best bet is for Angels Stadium to be moved to another city and take over that massive land. And Angel stadium if they leave is the best Disney's future potential. Check out the amount of land Angel Stadium sits on."





So i did a screenshot showing the land of Angels Stadium in Anaheim, that you can see below as well as aerial view of the stadium above. Definitely click on the screen captures to see them in big size.



But i thought that the land look a bit too far from Disneyland Resort and even from the Patella lot... I thought that they won't be able to make the junction between the two, even if the Angels Stadium was going elsewhere and the land became free. To what he answered:

"Well, just imagine they make Disneyland Resort cast members park here on busy days! Yes they will be able to make the junction when Bob Iger will approve the Walt Disney World driver less vehicles as behind Toy Story lot the city built a brand new street called Gene Autry Way that connects Disney property to Angel Stadium. I guess you could say it runs behind Toy Story lot. If Angel Stadium move, all the green area you see on the map will be up for sale. "





The red line on the screen capture above shows the way going from Disneyland to Angel Stadium.

Going back to have a look on the Google map where this Gene Autry way i agree that Disney have at least a road to connect. The high green space where the stadium is on the map is probably as big as Disneyland. I still find it a bit too far from the rest of DLR even with the roads to connect but we'll see if they move the stadium if Disney will buy the land.

To what my D&M reader answered: "They say that Disneyland is gridlock like Las Vegas and if Disneyland is going to expand they need to move out more. For example, Disney Sea originally was originally planned for Long Beach that is 28 miles away from Disneyland Resort. It’s going to be really interesting whatever plan falls through but right now it makes the most sense to purchase Garden Walk now that they've bought the land behind Garden Walk where the parking structure was supposed to be built. "

I agreed that that was right, they wanted to build a DisneySea there and the fact that it was near the sea was in favor of a Disney Sea park. But what i've also been told as one of the reason why Bob Iger didn't wanted to have a third park with a Star Wars land and a Marvel land was because Iger is apparently determined to use each square inch available in DL and DCA before creating a third park in Anaheim. The reason why comes from WDW where, because they have four parks there, plus the water parks, the operating costs are so high that at the end they make less money than in Anaheim, or so.

He agreed that "Iger did a great job removing backstage facilities and moving them off site as well as the horses ranch that took up valuable land behind Big Thunder Ranch. There is still a little room behind Haunted Mansion show building to play with if they really got serious. And possibly re-locating TDA could cause an expansion behind Toon Town in the future. I think a third park won’t be considered for a long long time... The Marvel land at California Adventure behind Cars Land is another project not even announced yet. Until they are out of room it won’t happen... back to Garden Walk I think it’s a good investment to have the land there."

To give you a better idea of how big is the land where Angel Stadium is i've copied it and placed it above Disneyland - see picture below - and i'm pretty sure that i've even forgot to include a parking lot west to the Stadium... As you can see the Angel Stadium land is really huge, there is no doubt that there is enough land there to build a 3rd theme park if they wish.


So, will Disney buy the Angel Stadium land and build on it its third theme park in Anaheim? I wouldn't bet on it at 100% but i think my D&M reader has a very good point and it could be a good bet indeed for a third park, probably an even better one than to have the Katella and Toy Story lots used for a third park. What do you think? Thanks to leave your thoughts about it in a comment below!

Pictures: copyright Google Maps

Marvel Studios Release a First Trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp !



Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp, and it looks great!





Picture and video: copyright Marvel

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Exclusive Pictures of Disneyland Paris Hotel Castle Club Secret "Founders Room"



Thanks to D&M faithful reader Robert Stallard we have more exclusive pictures of  Disneyland Paris Hotel Castle Club secret "Founders Room". As i told you in a previous article two weeks ago, due to the closure for renovation, the "Inventions" restaurant has been transferred temporarily to the California Grill restaurant where the popular breakfast with Disney characters is currently happening. Apparently the California Grill has been moved in the Founders Room which is located in the "Castle Club" on the 3rd floor.

Now, since the article was posted i've been told by a D&M reader that the Founders Room could become a new restaurant in the Disneyland Paris hotel, with the goal to have a 2 Stars Michelin restaurant. So far, so good. But on the other hand i've also been told that it might not be exactly that. As i've said, the Founders Room is located in the Castle Club section of the hotel, where there is already a private breakfast lounge and the rooms there are also more expensive than the floors below as they are on the higher floors and have the best views on the park. You can only enter the castle club by a special elevator where you need a special keycard for. A standard room for 4 people with two double beds next to each other will cost you around 1000€ per night and the suite rooms can go up to several thousands euros per night. So, the Castle Club is not for average guests.

Apparently it has always been a request from the Castle Club members to have "their" own private high end restaurant. Currently, the Founders room is mostly used for business meetings or for corporate companies private events but it seems that there is talks about doing a high end restaurant here but.... there is also some issues and so far it's not certain that it will be done. What is sure as you'll see on the pictures below is that the place, with its slightly art-deco style and furniture, is classy enough to make a great restaurant there.








Vintage pictures of Walt and his brother Roy are displayed in one of the windows of the Founders Room.










No doubt, the Founders Room is a great place to watch Disneyland Paris firework at night!












Talking about Disneyland Paris i remind you that it's now the LAST TWO DAYS to enjoy the great special offer on the Disneyland Paris book. To learn more about the book, how to order it and how to send your payment, jump to the article below or HERE while it last as there is just a few copies left!!!


Article pictures: copyright Robert Stallard, whom i thanks a lot for his kindness to share them with Disney and more! Make sure to visit his Facebook page Robert and Duffy HERE.

LAST TWO DAYS to Enjoy The Special Offer on The Disneyland Paris "From Sketch to Reality" Book!



The special offer on the acclaimed Disneyland Paris book will end on January 31, meaning that you have only TWO days more to order the book and enjoy the special offer price. Copies of the Disneyland Paris book are still available in its English edition. The French edition is now out of stock but if you're French, and wish to purchase the book in its english edition a PDF file of the full French text of the French edition will be sent to you.

Here is all you need to know to order a copy of the "Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality" book for those who have never seen the book. First, it's a gorgeous 320 pages coffee table book with 750 pictures of the park including 250 WDI artworks, all DLP attraction posters, and dozens more of sumptuous artworks! The text by Disney historian Didier Ghez tell the story of the creation of the park from dozens of interviews of WDI Imagineers who built the park. It's also probably the best gift you can find for a Disney Parks fan - and it is true! Have a look below to the mosaic pictures showing a selection of pages of the book.









To place your order for the DLP book, please send me an email at: amplittaye@gmail.com with your shipping address. The price during the  special offer is 65€ ( instead of 85€ ) and shipping worldwide is 22€ ( except Belgium and Italy for which it is 29€ ).

As i've said above for French readers a PDF file of the full French text of the French edition will be sent.
Lecteurs Français: Etant donné que l'édition française est épuisée, un fichier du texte complet original en Français sera envoyé aux acheteurs Français ne comprenant pas l'anglais.
Egalement, Il me reste trois exemplaires de l'édition collector française, état neufs, 250€ pièce, si intéressé me contacter à l'adresse email ci-dessus.

Also, each order will receive two surprise gifts - actually there is more than two - and these are GREAT gifts that each DLP fan love!

You can pay with Paypal, credit card or bank transfer. For Paypal payments please send directly the full amount  including shipping ( 87€ worldwide, except for Belgium and Italy for which it is 104€ ) at: nme4@wanadoo.fr  If you wish to pay by credit card and bank transfer, let me know in your email and i'll tell you how to do.

If you've never seen the book before, don't miss the video below showing the full 320 pages of the book!