Main Street Electrical Parade Returns to Disneyland From August 2 till September 30th & “Mickey’s Soundsational Parade” Will End on July 17 !

Disney Parks just announced that the Main Street Electrical Parade returns to Disneyland this Summer from August 2nd till September 30th!

"If you didn’t think summer at the Disneyland Resort could get any better, you may want to sit down for this. An all-time fan favorite, a “spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination,” is coming back to Disneyland park for a limited-time encore engagement! That’s right, the Main Street Electrical Parade, along with its half-million sparkling lights and “electro-syntho-magnetic musical sounds” will once again create magical summer memories for guests of all ages.

This limited-time encore engagement is set to begin on Aug. 2 with nightly performances through Sept. 30."

Talking about Disneyland parades, Disney Parks also announced that the “Mickey’s Soundsational Parade” "is livening up Disneyland park, now through July 17. This popular parade puts music in motion with Disney characters, performers and two new parade floats, which debuted earlier this year. Mickey starts the party in a larger-than-life opening as he and his drum corps kick off a lively, musical procession with Disney characters. Next, Chip ‘n’ Dale arrive with a giant new celebration cake, followed by Goofy pulling another new float, inspired by the classic and nostalgic Mickey pull toys. Hope you can catch this fan-favorite before its run ends on July 17."



Picture: copyright Disney

BREAKING: Disney Parks Confirms That WDW Country Bear Jamboree Show Is Here to Stay

Disney Parks has confirmed that WDW Country Bear Jamboree bears "are not going in hibernation anytime soon" and that "we’re looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2021", meaning that the show is here to stay, at least until Fall 2021 and hopefully beyond that date.

Here is Disney Parks statement: "With all of the news we’ve shared, we “fur-got” to mention our friends over at the Country Bears. Our Imagineers are always looking at ways to bring more magic to our guests through experiences and stories they know, but contrary to rumors, Country Bear Jamboree is not going into hibernation any time soon. In fact, we’re looking forward to celebrating its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2021 at Walt Disney World Resort, with Henry, the Five Bear Rugs and the rest of the gang. Until then, “we hope that you’ll be comin’ back again; that you’ll drop in and see us now and then.”

Now, what happened? As you may remember the whole story started by a rumor  posted by WDWNT saying that the Country Bear Jamboree would be replaced by a Toy Story "marionette" show. I double checked that and told you in my previous article HERE that apparently there was some elements of truth in WDWNT rumor but that in fact Disney Parks had not decided yet what they'll do. Now we know, and they decided to do nothing which is the best choice they could do, in my opinion. Fans were really furious as they consider the Country Bear Jamboree to be one of the attractions which are Walt's legacy ( even if the attraction opened after Walt's death the concept by Marc Davis was approved by Walt before he passed away ) and Disney Parks probably felt that removing the Country Bears was an idea that was not worth it. Specially considering that even inside the company internal voting was over 80 percent in favor of keeping the attraction.

So, here it is, the beloved Country Bear Jamboree show will stay at WDW Magic Kingdom, and that's the real good news of the week-end.

Picture: copyright Disney

The London Resort Theme Park is Back on Tracks and Signs a Deal with Paramount Pictures for Attractions Based on the Studio Movies

Believe it or not but the London Resort theme park project, touted as a British rival to Disneyland Paris, is back on tracks! Even better, Paramount is also back in the project after pulling out of the project two years ago, as London Resort developer has signed a deal with Paramount Pictures, the studio behind Mission: Impossible and Star Trek, for attractions based on Paramount movies to be built at the London Resort.

Paramount, which makes films including Transformers and A Quiet Place, has re-signed
The resort, aimed at rivalling Disneyland Paris, Disney World and Universal Studios, was scheduled to open this year but a series of delays has pushed back the proposed opening date to 2024. Its developers say it will be the size of 136 Wembley Stadiums, offer 3,500 hotel rooms and attract 50,000 visitors a day. Fifty rides and attractions based on popular film and TV shows have been planned.

We also learn in The Guardian article that London Resort has also turned to Pierre-Yves Gerbeau to get its £5bn project built. Gerbeau made his name nearly 20 years ago when he was hired to save the struggling Millennium Dome project, and has been appointed as chief executive of the company building the 535-acre theme park on the Swanscombe peninsula jutting into the Thames in Kent.

Where it becomes interesting is that Pierre Yves Gerbeau started his business career at Disneyland Paris in 1991, rising rapidly to become Vice-President of Park Operations and Attractions in 1997. His responsibilities included ticketing, the safety and maintenance of attractions, and sorting out the queues. He was credited with turning the attraction around after a difficult start.

““I am delighted to join The London Resort and to play my part in helping to create a world-class destination to rival all others” said Gerbeau. “The new partnership with Paramount is fantastic news, having Paramount on board is a major step towards realising that ambition. Now the best of Hollywood will be joining the best of British. Central to that strategy is to partner with the best brands from across TV, film, music and entertainment.”



Paramount, which originally lent its name to the resort when plans were announced in 2012, joins partners including ITV and the BBC signing deals to allow rides and attractions to be developed from shows such as Thunderbirds, Doctor Who and Top Gear. Aardman Animations, the company behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, had pulled out this year of a similar licensing deal with the resort.

Kevin Suh, president of themed entertainment and consumer products at Paramount, said: “The London Resort represents a truly global resort opportunity and we’re delighted to be playing our part in bringing iconic movies to life in truly immersive experiences and rides.”

Kuwait’s Al-Humaidi family, who own Ebbsfleet United, finances the park and the development company is chaired by the former transport minister Steve Norris.

Here is my take on all this: I know that a lot of you will believe that this London Resort will be a reality when you'll see it, but there is several things which make me put my bets on it again. First, the fact that a deal was finally signed with Paramount is an important point. Paramount is known to be very difficult to work with for the use of their IPs as theme park attractions and i suspect that London Resort finally accepted the deal that Paramount wanted, which may be was not accepted previously when Paramount went out some years ago. Of course Paramount has important licenses like Star Trek or Mission Impossible which would make great rides, if well done.

Two, the arrival of Pierre Yves Gerbeau, former Vice-President of Park Operations and Attractions at Disneyland Paris and who helped to save the Millenium Dome some years ago is also a good sign, as he's most probably someone who will be the right person for the job. So, we'll see...

Disney Parks Officially Shuts Down Rumors of Enchanted Tiki Room Changes

Disney Parks posted a statement and officially shuts down rumors of Enchanted Tiki Room changes. Yesterday, WDWNT posted a rumor saying that changes will come soon to WDW Enchanted Tiki Room to be replaced by a Moana show. It just took me a few minutes to double check if there was any truth in this and to announce on D&M Facebook page that it was not going to happen. A few hours later an official statement was posted on the Disney Parks Blog - see below - confirming that WDW Enchanted Tiki Room is here to stay as it is, so everyone can relax.




Disney Parks Blog statement: "A little birdie told us there are some rumors flying around about our beloved Tiki birds at Walt Disney World Resort. We’re sorry that our fans are being fed incorrect information by unscrupulous sources. While “toucan” play at that game, we deal in facts here at the Disney Parks Blog. Although we won’t address every rumor, we want to set the record straight: there are no plans for our feathered friends to fly the coop any time soon. We’re constantly evolving our stories, but these birds will continue entertaining our guests at the Magic Kingdom Park just as they have done since 1971.

If you want to put a feather in your own cap, here are the top five things to know and share with your friends about Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room:

- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room is home to 88 singing birds, and over 225 choreographed Audio-Animatronic performers in total.
- Walt Disney was inspired to pursue the concept of singing birds after seeing a little mechanical bird on a trip to New Orleans.
- The Tiki Room was originally envisioned as a restaurant with a show, but eventually became the classic attraction that we know today.
- A version of the attraction exists at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort and Tokyo Disneyland.
- While the Walt Disney World Resort attraction has gone through some changes over the years, it continues to delight thousands of guests each day!"

WDWNT posted an update after Disney Parks released the above statement. Of course they're not happy about it but WDWNT note that, although the statement mention that the Audio-Animatronics birds won't go anywhere, it doesn't mean there can't be an overlay of the show introducing the Moana character. If this had to happen, i suppose that the Moana Audio-Animatronic will stand at the center of the show like Stitch does in the Tokyo Disneyland Tiki Room version - see picture below - and i can see this eventually happening, so let's keep an eye on this.



In the meantime, if you want to see how could look a similar show with Moana instead of Stitch, check this video below filmed by Attractions Magazine and showing the entire TDL Tiki Room show.




Also, please note that a similar statement has NOT been posted by Disney Parks for the other rumor posted by WDWNT about the removal of the Country Bear Jamboree show, something that here at D&M we consider that would be a big mistake, read D&M last week article "Here is the Truth About WDWNT Rumor of a Removal of WDW Country Bear Jamboree Show" HERE.

Pictures: copyright Disney

Watch The Haunted Castle, Latest Ride Concept From Biondani Studios

Lionel Biondani is a big fan of Phantom Manor and the Haunted Mansion and also have great skills to create his own imaginary rides with Planet Coaster. In celebration to Phantom Manor re-opening and The Haunted Mansion 50th Anniversary he created "The Haunted Castle", and obviously had a lot of fun creating spooky decors.

Watch the video below and enter the haunted castle, the music used is the one of Phantom Manor and it fits very well with Lionel latest creation!




Video: copyright Biondani Studios

Is the Goal of Marvel Avengers: Endgame “Bring Back Event” to Become the No 1 Movie of All-Time ?

Marvel has announced the Avengers: Endgame “Bring Back Event” for the fans to see the epic film on the big screen one last time before it leaves theaters for good. As the film never really left some theaters, it’s being called a “Bring Back Event” to bring back the fans to see it again.

Well, that's the official version. Because, why Disney / Marvel would like to create a special event on a movie which was released just two months ago and still is in theaters? As the movie already made $2,751,033,03 at the Box Office worldwide - yep, 2.7 Billion! - it's not for the money they do it. So, why? Here is my bet: James Cameron's Avatar still holds the B.O record as the all-time No 1 movie with $2,787,965,087. That's "only" $36.932.048 more than Avengers : End Game, and my guess is that the folks at Disney and Marvel are frustrated that the box office of Avengers : End Game stopped so close to the goal of becoming the new No 1. So this "Bring Back Event", which may be should be called "Bring more money event"!

This special edition of Avengers: Endgame will be released on Friday, June 28th, and the fans who buy a ticket will receive the above exclusive piece of Avengers art. Fans will also have a video introduction by director Anthony Russo, see an unfinished deleted scene from the film, rumored to feature Mark Ruffalo's Hulk, as well as a tribute to Stan Lee.

Picture: copyright Marvel

Action of New Mickey Mouse Cartoon Short Happen in Thailand Floating Market

A new Mickey Mouse cartoon short has been released - in the new animated series that some love, others hate - and our friends in Thailand will like it as action is supposed to happen in "the land of smiles", in a floating market. For once the cartoon short is not too bad but they were not smart enough to use Thai music ( at least for the one you'll hear at the start whch sounds like Chinese music, not Thai )





Pictures and video: copyright Disney

Imagineering: How Disney's Tower of Terror Works - Plus: The Engineering Behind Disney's Floating Mountains of Pandora

So, you think you know all about how WDW Disney's Hollywood Studios Tower of Terror works? Mmmmh, may be not everything, and this great video posted by The Art of Engineering will tell you all about the engineering behind Disney’s iconic Tower of Terror attraction.




Don't go away as there is more about engineering, this time with a closer look at the design and construction of Disney’s floating mountains located within Pandora – The World of Avatar.







Videos: copyright Art of Engineering

Disney Releases New ‘The Lion King’ Trailer Featuring Beyoncé, Donald Glover duet, and James Earl Jones as Mufasa's Voice

Disney released a new ‘The Lion King’ short trailer featuring Beyoncé, Donald Glover duet on "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" song, and James Earl Jones is back for Mufasa's Voice as he did in the animated film. The new IMAX poster was also released this week-end.




Picture and video: copyright Disney