Saturday, January 11, 2020

Did the Star Trek Experience Concept Inspired WDI Imagineers for Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance Attraction ?



When Star Trek Experience opened in January 1998 at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, this attraction based on the Star Trek entertainment franchise and created by Landmark Entertainment was not only successful but had something unique at that time. Instead to have the regular queue decor and pre-show, guests were going from a themed museum that included numerous items from Star Trek history to a pre-show experience with a teleportation to the Enterprise transporter room.


Guests were then moved to the legendary bridge of the Enterprise, then to another scene, a red alert which hurry the guests in the hallways of the Enterprise which was leading to the main attraction, a simulation ride, for a battle against the Klingons.



At the exit, after Captain Picard thanked the crew, a custodian led the group to an elevator and then out to the Deep Space Nine Promenade and Quark's Bar.  More about this experience with more Eric Heschong artworks on D&M HERE.


The whole experience lasted at least 20 minutes, just like Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Rise of the Resistance, which also take the guests in several pre-shows and legendary setting this time from Star Wars, and although Rise of the Resistance is a state-of-the-art trackless ride instead than a large simulator like on STar Trek Experience, the principle of the "experience" which immerses guests in a world, Star Trek at Las Vegas Hilton, Star Wars at DL or WDW DHS Galaxy's Edge, is somewhat the same. So, did the Star Trek Experience concept inspired Galaxy's Edge Imagineers for Rise of the Resistance? Hmmm, i think we can put some bets on it, ot at least that Imagineers reminded the now extinct Las Vegas attraction.

Now, expedition Theme Park did a great video about the history of Star Trek Experience - and also talks about the first concept developed by Landmark Entertainment which was a full size Enterprise in the middle of Las Vegas. Here are some spectaculer artworks of this first concept, like for the others artworks above click on each to see them in big size.











And now, on with the show, as the video include footage of almost everything that guests were going through in this great Star Trek Experience.




Artwork: copyright Landmark Entertainment

Friday, January 10, 2020

Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance is Now in Cast-Members Previews at Disneyland Galaxy's Edge - 360° Video


Star Wars : Rise of the Resistance is now in DL Cast-Members previews days at Disneyland, Anaheim - only for CM and their guests! The pre-show and ride itself are identical to the one at Disney's Hollywood Studios Galaxy's Edge but the queue decor until the pre-show sequence with Rey and BB8 is much longer in my opinion, as you'll see in this 360° video filmed by Its The Duoo.

Please note that you need to watch it on either Chrome or Firefox as Safari don't take in charge the 360° videos, or on the Youtube App on your mobile device. Also remember that you can - and even will need - to move the video with your mouse or your finger on a mobile to change the POV of the 360° video. 




Video: copyright Its The Duoo

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Watch How Amazing Is the Avatar Inspired Mercedes AVTR Concept-Car




As you've seen two days ago, James Cameron unveiled Avatar 2 concept-arts during the presentation by Ola Källenius, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-BenzCars, of the “Vision AVTR” concept-car, a vehicle with a look inspired by Cameron’s Avatar movie. Cameron joined on stage and talked about working with the German car manufacturer on the “Vision AVTR” concept vehicle, including about the importance of sustainability.

The concept-car will not be unfortunately, as most concept-cars, commercialized though some ideas may come in normal cars in the future. And, boy, all the ideas put in this concept-car are truly amazing, and i have great pictures and not-to-be-missed videos of it for you!

For once, let's start with the videos and this first short one is the official one released by Daimler, it will show you briefly this amazing concept-car.




But the video to DON'T miss is the next one below filmed by Supercar Blondie, explaining how stunning is the Vision AVTR inspired by Avatar.




And now more details and great pictures of the Mercedes Vision AVTR coming from Mercedes official site HERE where you'll learn even more about the Vision AVTR! According to Daimler, the “Vision AVTR” name stands not only for “Avatar” but also “Advanced Vehicle TRansformation.” The company says the concept vehicle has an “organic design language” and “combines inside and outside into an emotional whole” in a look inspired by several creatures from Cameron’s movie.











Describing the Vision AVTR as “a living creature,” Daimler said the car has 33 “bionic flaps” on the back — reminiscent of reptilian scales — that can communicate with the driver (and “through the driver”) via naturally flowing movements in subtle gestures.



The car has the ability to drive the front and rear axles in the same or opposite direction, which means the Vision AVTR can move sideways by approximately 30 degrees in a “crab movement.”





Other creature-y features of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR: Instead of a conventional steering wheel, there’s a multifunctional control element in the center console that recognizes the driver by his or her heartbeat and breathing. A curved display module creates a visual connection between passengers and the outside world, according to Daimler. In addition, a passenger can simply lift their hand to have a menu selection projected onto their palm.












The concept car also uses organic battery technology made of recyclable materials that is completely free of rare earths and metals and is compostable. The Vision AVTR uses sustainable materials, including seats covered by “vegan Dinamica leather” and a floor decorated with an Indonesian wood called Karuun."






Pictures: copyright Daimler

Videos: copyright Daimler, Supercar Blondie

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Why HK Government Request to Allow the Use of HKDL Second Park Land for Housing Will Be a No-No for Disney



If you follow D&M Facebook page you may have read that "Hong Kong Disneyland urged to allow site earmarked for second theme park expansion to be used for transitional housing". As explained in this South China Morning Post article "Hong Kong city’s housing minister has urged Hong Kong Disneyland to give up the land reserved for the theme park’s future expansion to unlock land for transitional homes – a complete U-turn on the government policy of not allowing residential use there.

Chan said on Monday that he hoped Hong Kong Disneyland would show social responsibility “We have a contract with Disney that the piece of land will be specially reserved for future extension of the theme park, and should not be used for residential use,” Chan told legislators at a housing panel meeting. “But we hope Disneyland can consider its social responsibility and allow an exemption, so that the site can be used for transitional housing, until it has some long-term uses.”

The land is located "to the east of HKDL on Lantau Island and measures 60 hectares and was reserved for a possible second-phase development of Disneyland under a 2000 deal. Some short-term use of the site was allowed until more long-term plans were worked out. There have long been calls to use the land for housing." By some estimates, it is enough space for 20,000 flats able to house 80,000 people.

The reason why HK Government want the land is because "unaffordable property prices in Asia’s financial hub have been identified by Beijing and local authorities as a cause of social anger as the city grapples with months-long pro-democracy protests. The public housing waiting list now averages 5.4 years for the 149,500 or so applications submitted. Authorities are under intense pressure to identify land for new housing estates, but have been criticised for not moving quickly enough".

So, on the insistence of lawmakers, "Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan has urged Disneyland to consider its social responsibility and give up the site for transitional residential use, despite a government agreement on the land being used for phase two expansion. The contract, with a 20-year option to purchase the land, renewable for two five-year periods, specifically says that until a decision has been made, it can only be used short term for sport, cultural and recreational activities and the like. A lack of road, water and electricity infrastructure has also limited its use."

No need to say that Disney is most probably extremely embarassed by the request and here is why. Have a look at the picture below showing the aerial shot of HKDL 2nd park land, empty for now. I've indicated where is what for those of you who are not familiar with HKDL.



Now, as said above the land "has enough space for 20,000 flats able to house 80,000 people". Even is the land is big, you won't put 80,000 people on this land in low-rise buildings and it will request to build high-rise towers, like they build everywhere in Hong Kong. Then, all these people will need shops where yo buy food, all kind of facilities, eventually a school for their children, etc... I mean, 80,000 people  is really a lot of people, even by China's standards. In France it would be considered as already a big medium size town.

But there is worse as, as you've seen in the picture above the land for the second park is located right in front of the entrance of the current park, like Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, with eventually a bit more space between both parks. Now, think how it will look with high-rise buildings built on that empty land. To help you i've been on Google to find a picture of Hong Kong buildings shot more or less from the same angle and paste them on the picture showing the empty land. It's quickly done with Photoshop and i'm pretty sure that the proportions are not perfect, but you'll get the idea.



Now, do you see where the problem is? Even if we don't talk about the logistic of having 80,000 people living next door to the park, the high-rise buildings would mean a HUGE visual intrusion problem, so big that there will be no way that HKDL Imagineers could succeed to hide it, thus destroying the immersive feeling and magic of the park. And that's why Disney can't accept HK Government request to give the land for "transitional housing", and why it will be a no-no.

For more details, make sure to read the South China Morning Post articles HERE and HERE.

Important Editing: D&M reader Allan let us know about a previous SCMP article, saying that the “transitional housing” could be made of prefabricated modular housing assembled and stacked on site, and could be limited to three stories high, which at least could resolve the problem of visual intrusion that will be impossible to avoid with high-rise buidings:

"Construction of Hong Kong’s first social housing development would be made from prefabricated units and could be completed quickly under a government-backed pilot project for the needy. Unlike traditional methods of construction, prefabricated modular housing is built and completed off site, then delivered to the location to be assembled and stacked. Such structures could be limited to three stories to avoid complicated and stringent design requirements, a source said.



Some 80 to 90 prefabricated modular housing units could provide temporary homes for the city’s less fortunate. By using some modular units, and putting them together like Lego, they can build the houses in a relatively short period of time."

You can read the full SCMP article HERE.

Original Picture: copyright May Tse

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

James Cameron Unveils Four Stunning Concept Arts Showing the Worlds of ‘Avatar 2’ !


James Cameron provided in Las Vegas a first look at four concept arts for his awaited “Avatar 2” sequel, scheduled to be released late 2021. Disney — which now own 20th Century Fox — has scheduled the release of “Avatar 2” for Dec. 17, 2021, followed by three more “Avatar” films in 2023, 2025 and 2027.


From Variety article: "Cameron showed off the images from Pandora’s future world at Daimler’s keynote Monday night at the 2020 CES, where the automaker presented its own far-out concept: a Mercedes-Benz inspired by the world of “Avatar” developed in collaboration with Cameron, billed as “a completely new interaction between human, machine and nature.”

Cameron promises that “Avatar 2” will feature more vehicles and machinery in addition to the multitude of alien life forms from the original 2009 movie. “I also love the hard stuff. The vehicles, spacecraft, aircraft, ground vehicles, weapons, the hardware. I’m a total geek when it comes to that stuff,” Cameron said in an interview with CNET’s Roadshow. “We have a lot of cool vehicles for you.”






Cameron joined Ola Källenius, chairman of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-BenzCars, to promote his upcoming film and talk about working with the German car manufacturer on the “Vision AVTR” concept vehicle (pictured below), including the importance of sustainability.

According to Daimler, the “Vision AVTR” name stands not only for “Avatar” but also “Advanced Vehicle TRansformation.” The company says the concept vehicle has an “organic design language” and “combines inside and outside into an emotional whole” in a look inspired by several creatures from Cameron’s movie.

Describing the Vision AVTR as “a living creature,” Daimler said the car has 33 “bionic flaps” on the back — reminiscent of reptilian scales — that can communicate with the driver (and “through the driver”) via naturally flowing movements in subtle gestures. The car has the ability to drive the front and rear axles in the same or opposite direction, which means the Vision AVTR can move sideways by approximately 30 degrees in a “crab movement.”



Other creature-y features of the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR: Instead of a conventional steering wheel, there’s a multifunctional control element in the center console that recognizes the driver by his or her heartbeat and breathing. A curved display module creates a visual connection between passengers and the outside world, according to Daimler. In addition, a passenger can simply lift their hand to have a menu selection projected onto their palm.

The concept car also uses organic battery technology made of recyclable materials that is completely free of rare earths and metals and is compostable. The Vision AVTR uses sustainable materials, including seats covered by “vegan Dinamica leather” and a floor decorated with an Indonesian wood called Karuun."

Don't miss the videos of the amazing Vision AVTR in the special D&M article HERE!

Pictures: copyright Disney, Daimler

Monday, January 6, 2020

All About Epcot World Showcase Russia Pavilion That Never Was




We'll start the week with a great article about the Epcot World Showcase Russia pavilion that never was. As you know several additional pavilions were envisioned for Epcot, including an Africa pavilion - i will re-post the great previous D&M article about it soon - but also Switzerland, Venezuela, Philippines, Denmark, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Israel pavilions , and... a Russia pavilion. Recently a never-seen-before video appeared on Youtube - you have it at the end of this article - providing for the first time details and artworks about this Russia pavilion that never was. As usual i did screen captures of almost each shot of it and for the first time you're going to have a closer look at what Epcot guests will have experienced if it had been built. Please note that the video was really in low-res so i did my best to have as good as possible screen captures. Note that the description below is a transcript of the video commentary, so it can't be more accurate.

Also, from now on each Disney and more article will include at the end a link thanks to which you'll be able to donate if you enjoyed the article. Disney and more needs your support, so thanks by advance for your donation that you can send through Paypal RIGHT HERE.


The Russia pavilion was envisioned to be built in the north west corner of World Showcase where, next to Germany pavilion, five acres of land were available for the newest pavilion of World Showcase.

Condensing this giant country in a single pavilion was the task of Walt Disney Imagineering. Working from intensive researchs and consultations with Russian artists and advisers WDI imagineers were crafting a pavilion that would give Epcot audience a brief journey into the heart of the Russian experience.

And among them someone who will become years later the creative leader for Disney's Animal Kingdom, Imagineer Joe Rhode, here with WDI Imagineer Marty Sklar on his left ( on the right on the picture ).







From the ancient past to the ever changing present, the famous domes and spires of St Basil's cathedral will rise over the red brick walls of Moscow's Kremlin.








Beyond the walls lies rustic logs buildings carved and decorated in Russian style.

Statues and famous monuments set on a wide plaza evoke the genius of Russian art and poetry.




The main attraction of the pavilion will be a 800 seats theatre presenting a show entitled "Russia". 


To create this attraction Disney is combining forces with Europe premier theatre designers to produce an innovative state-of-the-art theatre to tell Russia's epic stories. 




Peasants and Tsars, poets and revolutionaries, common men and extraordinary heroes fill the tale of Russia's never ending quest for herself.



From the days of old Kiev to revolutionary barricades in modern Moscow the continuing evolution of a great people becomes the focus of this dynamic show.





The giant theatre itself would have come to life with epic scenes of Russia history...



The coronation of a Tsar or the revolution of 1917, or the launch of a Soviet spaceship are all part of an extraordinary journey filled with a cast of epic figures across the centuries...  in a setting unlike any other at Walt Disney World. 




Spectacular set pieces, film montage, a cast of Audio-Animatronics figures and a sweeping musical score will bring to life the songs, the triumphs and the passion of people of Russia.









In addition to the main show the pavilion will also figure a ride based on a classic Russian folk tale: Ivan and the magic pike where guests will board a magic troika to the enchanted colorful world of slavik fairy tales. 



There, they will follow the adventures of lazy Ivan, a good heart which an encounter with a magical fish will send him on a quest in landscapes of medieval Russia.





Strolling to the rest of the pavilion guests may start to dine on traditional food...


...shop for crafts...

...or visit a gallery displaying Russian art and cultural artifacts.

In the center of the pavilion, an open square where guests will find traditional Russian dances and the immortal melodies that composers have given to the world.





Music, history, drama, the treasures of Russian genius and the warmth of a people, a nation's story that enforce the world in its timeliness, all here at Walt Disney World newest World Showcase pavilion. 







As we know the Russia pavilion never became a reality at Epcot World Showcase and if you want to learn more about why, check this previous article from Jim Hill HERE.

All-right, and now i suppose that you're dying to see the video from where these screen captures are coming from, so here it is and jump directly to 3.40 minutes as the part about the Russia pavilion starts at that time.

Disney and more needs your support, so if you enjoyed this article thanks by advance for your donation that you can send through Paypal RIGHT HERE.



Artworks and pictures: copyright Disney