Walt Disney Imagineering Honored by Three THEA Awards !

Three WDI attractions have won THEA Awards - the equivalent of the Oscars for Theme Parks attractions - as it was announced yesterday during a ceremony in Orlando by the Themed Entertainment Association announcing the 2013 winners.

No surprise, Hong Kong Disneyland's Mystic Manor received a fully deserved Award for "Outstanding Achievement – Attraction, which noted the original storyline, special effects, Audio-Animatronics technology, musical score by Danny Elfman, and the trackless, wire-guided ride vehicles as reasons for excellence". TEA noted that “Mystic Manor exemplifies the seamless integration of the latest technology with true state-of-the-art storytelling.”

The next WDI attraction to received a THEA award was Enchanted Tales with Belle, at WDW MK New Fantasyland, and it won the Award for "Outstanding Achievement – Participatory Character Greeting for being “far more than the typical character greeting experience… It is a creative blend of excellent design, imaginative interactivity and technical wizardry.”

Last but not least WDI also won a third THEA award and this one was for...  Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary which received the Thea Classic award. "This landmark attraction is “the world’s first Audio-Animatronics show – introducing a new technology that soon became one of the dominant tools used by designers and engineers in our industry.” Disney won others Thea Classic Award in the past for Disneyland Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, Disneyland park itself, and Epcot.

The Thea Awards ceremony, a black-tie gala will happen April 5, 2014, at the Disneyland Hotel and Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Executive at Walt Disney Imagineering said “It is very rewarding to be honored by the Themed Entertainment Association, which represents our peers throughout the industry. We are especially proud that all three of these projects represent the best of Disney storytelling and the spirit of innovation we bring to our guests,”. Disney and more warmly congratulate the winners and every people who worked on these three magical attractions honored by a THEA award!

Pictures: copyright Disney

WDW New Fantasyland: Enchanted Tales with Belle - Full Show

You saw last Friday the Imagineering video that introduced the amazing Lumière and Wardrobe Audio-Animatronics but now, thanks to TouringPlans who uploaded these new videos on Youtube you'll be able to see the full show of the new "Enchanted Tales with Belle" attraction at WDW New Fantasyland.

The first video below show the entrance in Maurice's cottage and the first room. In the second video you'll see the great "magic mirror" effect and the direct entrance to the castle with Wardrobe AA. And the third video is showing the full show with Lumière and Belle in the last room. Watching the full show confirms that the Audio-Animatronics are incredibly perfect, and also that there is probably two rooms with Wardrobe, just like pre-show rooms before guests enter the main one with Lumière. It's interesting as this might help to have a too long wait as, while some guests will enjoy the show with Lumière and Belle, others will be already in the first room with Wardrobe, etc.. The whole show is definitely a show for very young children but it's good that WDI creates attractions for them and i'm sure they will enjoy it a lot. As for us, we will for sure be amazed with the theming, special effects and the brilliant Audio-Animatronics.










Picture: copyright Disney

Videos: copyright TouringPlans