All aboard! Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway is Coming to Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland in 2022 !

All aboard! as Disney announced that Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway will be making its next stop at Mickey’s Toontown at Disneyland in 2022!

This first major Mickey-themed ride-through attraction at Disneyland park will put you inside the wacky and unpredictable world of a Mickey Mouse cartoon short where anything can happen! Once you step into the cartoon world of Mickey and Minnie, you’ll board a train with Goofy as the engineer. Then, one magical moment after the next leads you to a zany, out-of-control adventure filled with surprising twists and turns.

With an original story and lovable theme song, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway uses state-of-the-art technologies and dazzling visual effects to transform the cartoon world into an incredible and immersive multi-dimensional experience.

Earlier today, Disneyland Resort President Josh D’Amaro shared a fun photo of him getting a sneak peek of the plans!



It’s the perfect attraction for Mickey’s Toontown as the attraction allows guest to enter the world of Mickey Mouse cartoons and take on their own adventure. Join Mickey and his friends in the first major Mickey-themed ride-through attraction, where Mickey and Minnie are the stars and Goofy is the… train engineer!

Besides marking Mickey’s big ride-through attraction debut, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway also features a brand-new theme song and dazzling visual effects—so you’ll be smiling big and tapping your feet from start to finish during this immersive multi-dimensional experience.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway will also open at WDW Disney’s Hollywood Studios in spring 2020, and isrumored to come to Disneyland Paris Fantasyland in a near future.

FIRST-EVER LOOK AT CREATURES INSIDE HAGRID’S MAGICAL CREATURES MOTORBIKE ADVENTURE

FIRST-EVER LOOK AT CREATURES INSIDE HAGRID’S MAGICAL CREATURES MOTORBIKE ADVENTURE

Time to prepare for your journey into the Forbidden Forest!

This week, Universal Orlando is revealing more about the magical creatures you’ll encounter on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the new epic adventure opening June 13 in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. It will be the most immersive, highly-themed coaster experience yet, and take you on a thrilling journey with Hagrid to the Forbidden Forest to discover the wizarding world’s rarest magical creatures.



Now through April 19, the Universal Orlando blog give us a first-ever look at some of the creatures you’ll encounter…including one that’s never been seen in the films. A new creature will be revealed each day at 11 a.m. EDT to prepare you for the incredible things you may see during your trip into the Forbidden Forest as part of Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures Class.

Our fourth creature is a majestic being not to be confused with a horse or human.

Centaur 

A Centaur is a magical creature with a human head, torso and arms, joined to a horse’s body. They are, however, their own species and should be treated with great respect.

As you make your way into the dark forest on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, look out for this mysterious archer in the distance ready to strike. He stands at 8 ft. tall, which would probably make him a great athlete in the Muggle world.



Centaur Fun Facts:

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Hagrid is friendly with the Centaur herds as he regularly enters the Forbidden Forest to help injured creatures
According to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, these forest-dwelling beings usually live in herds of between 10 and 50 and are well-versed in magical healing, divination, archery and astronomy
Centaurs made their first appearance in the films during Harry Potter’s detention in the Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
As our reveal week comes to an end, it’s time to reveal our final creature – not seen before in the films. Careful, you may want to approach from the front…

Devil's Snare

While Devil’s Snare isn’t a creature, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mention this perilous plant from the wizarding world – often strangling people who touch it with its dexterous vines. Devil’s Snare flourishes in damp, dark environments and it has a strong dislike of light and fire – remember that for your journey!

Speaking of your journey, Devil’s Snare is one of the many challenges you’ll face on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. You may even find yourself entangled in a thicket of this dangerous plant but remember to remain calm! If you don’t, you may end up entangled in hundreds of its vines…



Fun fact about Devil’s Snare, it made its first film appearance in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when the brave Hermione told her friends how to defeat this dangerous force.

Cornish Pixies




Cornish pixies are electric blue tricksters who love to create mischief – often at the expense of others. These mischievous creatures fly, and have also been known to seize unwary humans by the ears and deposit them at the tops of tall trees and buildings – poor Neville Longbottom…



In Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, you’ll see these troublesome creatures wreaking havoc on an infamous blue car… and in places you may not expect. They’re about 13 inches tall and you’ll find more than 20 pixies throughout your adventure. Happy hunting!

Fun Facts:

According to Pottermore, Cornish pixies can produce a high-pitched jabbering that’s only comprehensible to other pixies
Cornish pixies made their first film appearance in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets during Gilderoy Lockhart’s Defense Against the Dark Arts class

Fluffy, the Three Headed Dog




Fluffy is a giant three-headed dog that’s known for being the trusted guard dog of the Sorcerer’s Stone. And, as many of you know, Fluffy has a weakness – he falls asleep to the sound of music.

In Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, you’ll confront this gigantic, beloved creature deep in the Forbidden Forest. Proceed with caution – he’s a guard dog first and foremost. And in this new adventure, Fluffy weighs 8,000 Ibs., which is roughly as big as two standard Muggle cars.



Fluffy, the Three-Headed Dog Fun Facts:

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Fluffy belongs to Hagrid, who adopted him from a “Greek chappie” he met in a pub
Experts on Pottermore say Fluffy was inspired by Cerberus – the dog that in Greek mythology guarded the gates of the Underworld – and, just like Fluffy, he fell asleep to the sound of music
Fluffy made his first and only appearance in the film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Stay tuned to see more reveals for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

Blast-Ended Skrewt 




For the first time ever, you’ll be able to come face-to-face (or face-to-rear) with a Blast-Ended Skrewt on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Described as a cross between scorpions and elongated crabs, Skrewts aren’t afraid to attack other Skrewts they encounter and have incredibly strong armor that can’t be penetrated by spells – proving to be a challenge for Hagrid since they hatched.

On your journey through the Forbidden Forest during Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, you’ll encounter Blast-Ended Skrewts up to 8 feet long with tails up to ten-feet high and topped with a massive stinger. The Blast-Ended Skrewt is the main lesson for the day but, as with all adventures with Hagrid, things don’t always go to plan…

Blast-Ended Skrewt Fun Facts:

Blast-Ended Skrewts were first introduced in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and also mentioned in Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
As you may have read in the book, Hagrid created these unique creatures by crossbreeding Fire Crabs and Manticores – fierce creatures in their own right
Skrewts create actual fire from their ‘blasting-ends,’ igniting at random intervals – so be wary during your encounter
Even if you’re far enough to avoid their fire, watch out as you may still catch a whiff of their powerful scent… known to smell like rotting fish

Pictures: copyright Universal Studios

Netflix in Talks to Buy 1920's Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Located Near Disney's El Capitan

Here is something which won't help to cool down the relations between Disney and Netflix, as Netflix is negotiating with the American Cinematheque to acquire the historical Egyptian Theatre built by Sid Grauman in the early 1920s as a pharaoh-themed theater on Hollywood Boulevard, just a few yards from Disney's El Capitan....



If this happened the venerable Egyptian Theater will be the first movie theater owned by Netflix. This deal which is expected to worth many tens of millions of dollars, will place Netflix in a better position inside Hollywood cinematic community, because Netflix by purchasing this theater will preserve one of Hollywood’s landmark movie theaters. Also non-profit Cinematheque will have a better financial position after this deal.

The deal won’t affect Netflix’s relationship with independent theaters that show its movies like Landmark and Ipic. Netflix and Cinematheque view this deal as a partnership. Netflix will screen its movies for weekday nights, on the other hand Cinematheque runs screenings, lectures and occasional festivals on weekends.

The historical Egyptian Theater hosted Hollywood’s very first movie premiere in 1922 which was a silent film entitled ‘’Robin Hood, directed by Allan Dwan and starred Douglas Fairbanks as Robin Hood, Wallace Beery as Richard the Lionhearted, Sam De Grasse as Prince John, Enid Bennett as Lady Marion and Alan Hale as Little John. Established in 1981, the Cinematheque in 1998 completed a $12.8 million renovation and facelift to the theater.

Full article on Egypt Today HERE.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Final Trailer !

X-Men: Dark Phoenix: the Final Trailer is released and the movie will be in theatres on June 5. I've always been a big fan of X-Men movies and this one looks great!




Picture and video: copyright Fox

Awesome Commercial For Universal Studios Hollywood Jurassic World Ride Opening This Summer !

Universal Studios Hollywood just released an awesome commercial announcing the awaited Jurassic World ride reopening with new theming, special effects and Audio-Animatronics at Universal Studios Hollywood this summer. Don't miss the last seconds of it, showing a scene of the ride as Universal did something very smart to bring to life one of the creatures, which wouldn't have been possible with Audio-Animatronics.

The new story line takes place within the Jurassic World parrk on the day of the escape of the Indominus Rex and the ride introduce several new dinosaurs from the 2015 sequels of the franchise. Guests will navigate lush environs of dense vegetation, traversing new areas besieged with towering dinosaurs meandering at just an arm’s length away. Encounters with such docile creatures as the Stegosaurus and Parasaurolophus will quickly turn awry as predatory Velociraptors and Dilophosaurus begin to wreak havoc, turning guests from spectators to prey. The adventure will culminate when a ferocious dino-battle sends the rafts down a treacherous 84-foot waterfall as the sole means of escape. The new version of the ride also includes a makeover of the iconic entry gate, now “illuminated with billowing flames.”

If you've watched already the commercial then you can read below - if not, watch out for spoilers!


But where Universal has been smart is to find a way to include “the magnificent aquatic Mosasaurus, which will mesmerize riders in her natural habitat from behind a 3-million-gallon glass encased aquarium observatory tank”.



What Universal apparently did is to use the same projection technique that was used in the King Kong or Fast and Furious attractions, i.e a long tunnel with screens on both side to give the guests the illusion they're going through a giagantic aquarium in which they'll meet with the Mosasaurus sea monster. And it's an even more brilliant idea than for the King Kong or Fast and Furious rides because here, as it is a flume ride, it will look more natural and believable than going through a Pacific island jungle to meet Kong.

I think that the ride will be much much better than its previous Jurassic Park version and i can't wait for its opening!

Picture and video: copyright Universal Studios

Inside Paris Notre Dame Cathedral After the Dreadful Fire - Video

Disney and more has posted all evening yesterday on the D&M Facebook page about the dreadful fire which happened yesterday evening at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and you can see pictures and the latest news by scrolling down HERE.

I have also a quite exclusive video shot today inside Notre Dame of Paris, showing the damages after the Fire. Big damages of course but the stained glass windows seems to be untouched. Most of the centuries old art pieces and relics have been saved.

Also, French newspaper Le Monde has reposted an awesome walk through video filmed two years ago with, as guide, Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of Historical Monuments. It’s a long walkthrough in areas of the cathedral where no one had access and where no one will ever be able to visit - like the “forest” , the wood frame which burned two days ago, from the 13th century, which needed more than 1300 trees to make it.

Unfortunately those who don’t speak French won’t probably understand the incredibly interesting commentary of Philippe Villeneuve, providing tons of details about the making of Notre Dame, but watch it anyway as you’ll see views shoot from vantage points where no visitors have ever been or will ever go! Don't miss it!




Video: copyright Le Monde

2019 Star Wars Celebration : Full Video of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Panel, Plus Artworks, Pictures and more

The Star Wars Galaxy's Edge panel happened this week-end at Star Wars Celebration and Disney had the good idea to realeased the full video of it so you'll be able to watch in a few seconds the Imagineers providing new details about the most awaited land of the year!

During the panel was also released a new concept-art for the outside of the Rise of the Resistance ride, the one above, showing how should look the area around the ride entrance with ships that have landed on Batuu as well as the Resistance Intersystem Transport Ship on the right side of the image.

Later in the panel we learn that Rex, the former Star Tours Audio-Animatronic pilot will become the DJ of the Cantina!



In the Audio-Animatronics section we have a first look to the Dok-Ondar audio-animatronic...

...a picture which was shot inside Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, see rendering below.




They've also shown some footage of the incredible Audio-Animatronic of Hondo Ohnaka of Ohnaka Transport Solutions - here is the concept-art for Hondo...



..and a picture of the impressive Hondo Audio-Animatronic, but you really need to see it in action so don't miss it in the panel video at 48 minutes!



We also have some stills of John Williams who has written music for Glaxy's Edge, visiting the site and a huge model.



But what we see - probably unvoluntarily in this footage with John Williams is just a few seconds sequence inside an office where are displayed artworks for Galaxy's Edge. Some of them have been released officially but there is many others which appear behind John Williams that we've never seen before, so, even if it's a bit blur, look well at the artworks behind John Williams and click on each pic to enlarge them, as i'm ready to bet that they show never-seen-before attractions scenes - probably of Rise of the Resistance - or outdoor shows.






Okay, time for the videos and we staart by this new footage showing Disneyland Star Wars Glaxy's Edge as it is right now!




And, as promised here is the video of the full Galaxy's Edge panel at Star Wars Celebration!





Pictures and videos: copyright Disney