First Close-Up Look at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Millennium Falcon

Disney Parks provide a first close-up look at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Millennium Falcon. Behind-the-scenes look at development on Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge! Guests can take the controls of the fastest ship of the galaxy in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, one of two signature attractions coming to this all-new land at Disneyland (summer 2019) and Walt Disney World (fall 2019).

Picture: copyright Disney

New Press Release about Tokyo Disneyland Development !

New Press Release about Tokyo Disneyland Development!

New Facilities Opening in Spring of Fiscal Year 2020 URAYASU, CHIBA— Oriental Land Co., Ltd. has announced the names of the new facilities that will be opening in spring of fiscal year 2020* as part of the large-scale development of Tokyo Disneyland® Park.

The new facilities include a major attraction, an all-weather live entertainment theater, a restaurant and shops. This expansion will occupy an area of about 47,000 m2 overlapping Fantasyland, Tomorrowland and Toontown—three of the seven themed lands in the Park. The total investment for this expansion is about 75 billion Japanese yen.

Opening in Fantasyland will be a new area themed to the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. It will feature Enchanted Tale of Beauty and the Beast, a major attraction within Beauty and the Beast Castle, which towers about 30 meters above the surroundings. Guests will board ride vehicles that dance in rhythm to the animated film’s well-known music and follow Belle on a romantic musical adventure. With Village Shoppes and La Taverne de Gaston, Guests will feel like they have entered the world of the film as they enjoy the ambience of Belle’s village.

Also opening in the new area will be Fantasyland Forest Theatre, the first full-scale indoor theater for live entertainment at Tokyo Disneyland. Signature Disney entertainment unique to Tokyo Disneyland and featuring the Disney Friends will be presented in this storybook theater environment.

Themed to the Disney film Big Hero 6, The Happy Ride with Baymax attraction will open in Tomorrowland. Guests will join their own personal healthcare companion for an exciting musical “whip ride” that swings them unpredictably round and round. Also, a shop themed to outer space, The Big Pop, will offer Guests popcorn in multiple flavors that can be purchased together with popcorn buckets.

In Toontown, Minnie’s Style Studio will be the first Disney Character greeting facility in Tokyo Disneyland where Guests can meet Minnie Mouse in person. Dressed in some of her own creations, “fashion designer” Minnie will greet and take pictures with Guests. The largest redevelopment in the history of Tokyo Disneyland promises to enchant Guests even more with lots of brand new experiences in the Park.

First Official Pictures of Disneyland Paris Phantom Manor !

Disneyland Paris released the first official pictures of the renovated Phantom Manor showing the bride in the loading room scene and the Manor gardens! I remind you that the changes in the ride have been done to clarify the ride storyline and to create an end to the story, as the previous version was not perfectly understandable.

The ride is now rumored to don't reopen before April 2019 though it might happen before if DLP Imagineers succeed to resolve some technical issues.

First Trailer for Marvel Avengers 4 "End Game" !

Marvel Studios has released the first trailer for Avengers 4 which is titled "End Game" !

Watch Imagineer Eddie Sotto TED Talk, "The How of Wow!"

You probably all now the great TED talks, and recently the great Imagineer Eddie Sotto - who was show-producer for Disneyland Paris Main Street, TDL Winnie the Pooh, and many others great attractions - was invited to do a talk for TEDxBermuda during which Eddie explained "The How of Wow!" or how Disney parks magic is created. Don't miss this great video of Eddie, and below the video presentation text.

"Designer and former Disney Imagineer shows us how capture the sense of wonder that all children have and recreate it throughout life. He takes us behind the scenes of Disneyland and shows how the carefully designed environment eases us away from the outside world and brings us fully in to the fantastical experience.

Eddie Sotto was born in Hollywood, California to a family with strong Hollywood connections. His aunt, Marilyn Sotto, is a costume illustrator and designer who worked for Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Walt Disney Productions, and his grandfather Edward Sotto was a scenic artist at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and a portrait artist. His cinematic design style is largely self taught with mentors drawn from motion picture production designers and Disney's original artists.

Eddie has had a multifaceted career in creative design spanning over 30 years. He was Senior Vice President of Concept Design at Disney's Imagineering division, where he helmed his own Concept Development Studio and worked on key parts of Euro Disneyland and Disneyland Tokyo, as well as several of the world famous rides at the original campuses.

Exporting his skills beyond “The Mouse”, Sotto branched into creating for television, restaurant, hotel and UHNW residential interiors, even into spacecraft and private aviation, where he won a recent IYAA award for best Private Jet Concept. SottoStudios still consults to Disney on marketing strategy and Resort R&D."




Picture and video: copyright TED

Amazing Tokyo Disneyland Beauty and the Beast Attraction Behind-the-Scenes Video

Tokyo Disneyland released a fantastic behind-the-scenes video showing the making of Tokyo Disneyland Beauty and the Beast attraction, one of the most awaited ride coming in 2020 at TDL!



It shows not only the ride decors construction but also the amazing Audio-Animatronics of Belle, the Beast, the horse and more - as the ride will apparently have plenty of AAs…





 …as well as footage showing the ride vehicle in which up to 10 guests will be able to load.






The trackless ride vehicle will actually “dance” all around Belle and the Beast in the famous ballroom scene...



 Go ahead, watch this exciting video, the ride opening won’t come soon enough!




Pictures and video: copyright Disney - Oriental Land

Holovis Announces "Li-Fly", a Revolutionary Flying Theater

Holovis announced at IAAPA a new kind of flying theatre attraction concept which will revolutionize the flying theater experience as we know it. It's called Li-Fly and it uses a unique 3-DOF motion system that holds and tilts passengers into a vertical position before moving them over an ultra-high-resolution dome.

“We have advanced this popular attraction format from a traditional passive lean-back experience into an active one that actually delivers true sensations of flying,” says Holovis creative director, Peter Cliff and the company is apparently already in talks with several potential clients.



Right now, in normal flying theaters you're comfortably sit, on different levels depending of the row you choose but with Li-Fly you'll be in a totally horizontal position like one can experience in a flying coaster, for instance. Not as comfortable probably but it should provide a higher sensation of flying, specially considering all what the system can do as explained in a Blooloop article:

"The scalable attraction features surge (forward and backwards motion), one metre of heave (up and down movement) and seats that rotate through a full 360-degrees. With this combination of movements – plus the lying rather than sitting riding position – guests soar through the media content as if truly flying."



"Holovis has also unveiled a second model called Li-Fly Hex. This comes with 6-DOF motion including rotational and directional movement on three perpendicular axis. These are pitch (forward and backwards tilt), roll (side to side), yaw (left and right turn), heave (up and down) and sway (left to right)."


"Both Li-Fly and Li-Flex are offered as multisensory experiences combining visuals, audio, perfectly synched motion, SFX and real-time media. These are connected to data capture mechanics that measure rider reactions to take passengers on a personalised journey.

The multi-projector array in the dome is perfectly aligned, geometrically set up and colour matched using Holovis’s proprietary PixControl solution. This laser-based auto-alignment system ensures the projected images are pixel perfect every time. The system is simple to operate for non-technical staff.

The Holovis Hifiniti immersive dome audio surrounds each guest with a 7:2 shower of directional sound and audio effects, delivering an uncompromised spatial experience. Crossfades between multiple asynchronous audio tracks are also programmed to give smooth transitions between scenes and key creative triggers in the real-time media."

Now, there is no better way to explain what Li-Fly can do than to watch this Holovis video below, so have a look and let us know in the comments what you think and if you like to have this flying theatre system in a Disney theme park!




Picture and video: copyright Holovis

Disneyland Paris Thinking to Change the Name of the WDS, Adding Photovoltaic Panels on the Top of the Visitor Parking...

A new Forbes article reveal that Disneyland Paris has “initiated the steps to develop a park of photovoltaic panels on the top of the visitor parking to generate 33 Gigawatt hours (Gwh) per year representing around 15% of the electrical energy currently consumed".

Also, it appears that DLP is seriously thinking about changing the name of its second park, the "Walt Disney Studios":
"The consultation documents state that “it is still a theme park based on Disney films and franchises, therefore, the name Studios is still valid. But it is true that we are transforming the Walt Disney Studios Park, it is possible that we consider another name, but we have not made any decision at this stage.”

And there is more about WDS expansion:
 "Giving further insight into what lies in store once work begins in December next year, the documents add that “the extensions won’t be completely paved; just one-third of the surface will be covered with a slab. After that, many gardens, trees and plants will be added.”

Read the full Forbes article HERE.

Picture: copyright Disney

Taschen Release The Star Wars Archives 1977 - 1983 , "The definitive exploration of the original trilogy"

“My films have a tendency to promote personal self-esteem, a you-can-do-it attitude. Their message is: ‘Don’t listen to everyone else. Discover your own feelings and follow them. Then you can overcome anything.’” — George Lucas


After the Disneyland book, the Mickey Mouse book and the gorgeous one about Stan Lee, Taschen release another fantastic book: The Star Wars Archives 1977 - 1983 , "The definitive exploration of the original trilogy".

Star Wars exploded onto our cinema screens in 1977, and the world has not been the same since. After watching depressing and cynical movies throughout the early 1970s, audiences enthusiastically embraced the positive energy of the Star Wars universe as they followed moisture farmer Luke Skywalker on his journey through a galaxy far, far away, meeting extraordinary characters like mysterious hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, space pirates Han Solo and Chewbacca, loyal droids C-3PO and R2-D2, bold Princess Leia and the horrific Darth Vader, servant of the dark, malevolent Emperor.

Writer, director, and producer George Lucas created the modern monomyth of our time, one that resonates with the child in us all. He formed Industrial Light & Magic to develop cutting-edge special effects technology, which he combined with innovative editing techniques and a heightened sense of sound to give audiences a unique sensory cinematic experience.

In this first volume, made with the full cooperation of Lucasfilm, Lucas narrates his own story, taking us through the making of the original trilogy—Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi—and bringing fresh insights into the creation of a unique universe. Complete with script pages, production documents, concept art, storyboards, on-set photography, stills, and posters, the XXL-sized tome is an authoritative exploration of the original saga as told by its creator.







The author Paul Duncan is a film historian whose TASCHEN books include The James Bond Archives, The Charlie Chaplin Archives, The Godfather Family Album, Taxi Driver, Film Noir, and Horror Cinema, as well as publications on film directors, film genres, movie stars, and film posters.

The Star Wars Archives: 1977–1983 is a Hardcover, quarter-bound , 41.1 x 30 cm, 604 pages book and cost $200. You can order it either on Taschen website HERE or on Amazon HERE.

The current edition is in English. Note: The German, French, and Spanish editions will be available in 2019.



Pictures: copyright Lucasfilm - Taschen

New Poster and Trailer for Captain Marvel

Disney released a new poster and trailer for Captain Marvel and it starts to look better than i thought... The first trailer for The Avengers 4 is also rumored to come this week!




Picture and video: copyright Disney

Disney's Animal Kingdom Pandora Na'vi River Journey Never-Seen-Before Concept-Arts

You've seen recently some great artworks that Stephan Martiniere did for Shanghaî Disneyland Treasure Cove and Adventure Isle, and today here is some fantastic never-seen-before artworks that Stephan did for Disney's Animal Kingdom Pandora Na'vi River Journey attraction! It's amazing how the colors and lighting of Stephan paintings have been wonderfully reproduced in Pandora boat ride. Make sure to click on each to see them in big size!

Stephan Martiniere did plenty of others artworks in tribute to Disney animated films that you can see on Stephan website HERE.

Pictures: copyright Stephan Martiniere - Disney

Disney-MGM Studios : The David Copperfield Magic Underground" Restaurant Project That Never Was

Who remember the "David Copperfield Magic Underground" restaurant project that was supposed to open at Disney-MGM Studios in the late 1990's - and finally never opened. It was announced on a big billboard near the entrance of the park, and then, not only the billboard but the whole project really disappeared! 

You might be interested to know what happened, so here is more about this project-that-never-was: David Copperfield's Magic Underground was planned to be a restaurant based on Copperfield's magic. There was a sign on Hollywood Boulevard during the late 90s indicating the restaurant was coming soon. Signs were also located around Pleasure Island and signs outside Disney-MGM Studios. A Magic Underground restaurant was also going to open in New York's Times Square. Plans also included eventual expansion into Disneyland in Anaheim, California, as well as Paris and Tokyo. The restaurants were to have magic props and other items on the walls of the restaurants while magicians would go around to tables doing sleight of hand tricks. There was also to be a larger stage for larger stunts. The restaurant in Times Square was 85 percent completed, but, amid disputes between the creative team and the financial team, and enormous cost overruns, finances dried up from the investors, so the project was cancelled, and Disney cancelled the lease. Copperfield was not an investor in the project; the investors reportedly lost $34 million on the project".

 ...Well, since then Michael Eisner also have disappeared from the WDC, but it's for other reasons! Probably the only thing that survived from this project is this great and funny picture at the top of Eisner with David released by WDW marketing office when everything was going fine with the project... until today as i've been sent this other picture above coming from a 1990's issue of "Eyes and Ears", a cast-members magazine, announcing this restaurant that never was.

Pictures: copyright Disney