Video: Preview of "Epcot Forever" Coming to Walt Disney World Resort

After a 20-year run, it(s time to say a farewell to “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” at Epcot on September 30, 2019.  If you visit Epcot this Summer come to enjoy the show one last time with its breathtaking display of lasers, lights and fireworks, as WDW get ready to launch two new nighttime spectaculars as part of the park’s unprecedented, multi-year transformation. 

Debuting October 1, 2019, “Epcot Forever” will be an all-new, limited-time spectacle of fireworks, music, lighting, lasers and choreographed, special effects kites. The show will take us on a journey through the past, present and future of Epcot. Featuring a stirring collection of songs that paint a colorful picture of the park, this nighttime extravaganza will offer both a trip down memory lane and a look towards the future and all the magical possibilities still to come.

Disney Parks Live Entertainment is busy getting “Epcot Forever” ready for its opening day. Show Director Alan Bruun recently shared some details about the concept behind the show and the team’s collaboration with noted conductor and composer Don Harper, who is producing new arrangements of classic Epcot tunes to weave into the soundtrack of “Epcot Forever” which will continue into 2020, when the next epic nighttime extravaganza will make its debut.




Picture and video: copyright Disney

First-Ever Photo of a Black Hole Unveiled !

Here it is! The first-ever photo of a black hole! The M87 galaxy is 53 million light-years away from Earth. What we see in this picture is the silhouette of the black hole as it was 53 million years ago. It don't look like but this black hole is a monster. Its mass is 6.4 billion times that of the Sun!

How did they succeed to get this picture? Black holes are relatively small. It is therefore necessary to have an instrument of a monstrous resolution to see them. To give you a comparison, one must be able to distinguish an apple on the moon from the Earth. No current instrument is capable of it. Fortunately, there is a scientific magic trick called very long base interferometry, which combines the signals received by different radio telescopes spread all over the Earth, to create a virtual antenna several thousand kilometers in diameter. That's what the EHT did.

New Sesame Street Land and Ride Open at PortAventura - And at Sea World Orlando !

Not less than two Sesame Street mini-lands and attractions opened in less than a week, the first at Sea World Olando and the second at my favourite theme park in Spain, at Port Aventura.

We will start by the the Sesame Street of Port Aventura where this year, the season kicks off with the arrival of Street Mission, PortAventura World’s first dark ride and the first of its kind to be inspired by Sesame Street. The new ride is an interactive adventure for all ages where visitors have to help Detective Grover successfully complete a secret mission. The attraction consists of a pre-show and a 3D ride experience, featuring numerous animatronics and immersive experiences thanks to 3D video mapping technology.




Outside, the Sesame Street buildings themselves have a bit of  Toon Town design - much different than the one at Sea World Orlando as we will see - but that's okay.

The project has been created in collaboration with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, and Sally Corporation, one of the leading international companies in the development of dark rides and the design of animatronics. The interactive ride is titled "Sesame Street Street Mission" and the full Sesame Street land has cost Port Aventura $15 Million.



Riders embark on a now classic trackless vehicle - may be coming from Oceaneering, as it is often the case. Before that guests move in a queue decor with a quite well done pre-show using a mix of Animatronics and screen - you'll see all of it in the second video below. Then guests embark and the vehicle move in the ride decor and stops in front of screens. Riders are equipped with 3D glasses, not with laser gun but with a device looking like a remote control and they must shoot at targets on the screens along the ride, as usual. In addition to the screens the ride include many Audio-Animatronics, including one of Big Bird, the beloved Sesame Street character.






But where the ride is smart is when, just at the moment you start to think "oh, well, another kind-of Toy Story Mania ride..." it suddenly moves to a different kind of ride like Universal's Transformers or Disney's Ratatouille rides while riders can't still continue to shoot. You'll see all of it in the videos below.

So, let's start by a short official footage, just move a bit ahead to avoid the Grand Opening number.




I strongly suggest that you take the time to watch instead this second video showing everything, from the queue decor and pre-show to the ride itself.



As i've told you, another Sesame Street land also opened a few days ago, this time at SeaWorld Orlando - but without the "Street Mission" ride - and the whole area is, according to Midway Mayhem who filmed the footage below, "absolutely fantastic looking! Imagine stepping into your TV screen and onto 123 Sesame Street, seeing your favorite characters all around you." Check it in the video below!




One more thing about Port Aventura as the resort sixth hotel opens its doors in June, becoming the Resort’s first carbon-neutral hotel, consolidating its commitment to sustainability. The highlight in terms of accommodation, the new Colorado Creek hotel is located in the Far West area of PortAventura Park. The kotel will offer superior 4-star accommodation and will have direct access to PortAventura Park. This new hotel, scheduled to open its doors on 1 June 2019, will have 150 rooms, bringing the resort total to more than 2,200 rooms.

The Hotel Colorado Creek, inspired by the Far West gold rush and mirroring the style of this particular era, will offer its guests a wide range of benefits such as unlimited access to PortAventura Park, 1-day access to Ferrari Land, Express Premium wristband for PortAventura Park, exclusive breakfast buffet and free gifts for children.



The Colorado Creek hotel will also be the first zero-emission hotel when it opens at the Resort. This is a strategic approach from PortAventura World, which will be extended to other areas of the Resort to minimise its environmental footprint.

Together with Clean CO2, PortAventura World will offset its emissions by purchasing Verified Emission Reductions (VERs), a type of carbon credit, for projects that improve the environment and surroundings. Through this initiative, in 2019 PortAventura World will be contributing to the Malawi Borehole project. This project involves the restoration of wells for local communities in Malawi to provide 450,000 people with drinking water, a resource that almost half of the rural population currently does not have access to.

Pictures: copyright PortAventura World

Best Video of Ant-Man & the Wasp: Nano Battle Ride at Hong Kong Disneyland

Here is so far the best video of the new Ant-Man & the Wasp: Nano Battle Ride at Hong Kong Disneyland ( in terms of everything: filming, lighting, etc… although the ride is probably slightly darker in real ) filmed by SoCal Attractions 360. Enjoy!




Video: copyright SoCal Attractions 360

Bad News at The Horizon for Disney's Aulani Resort in Hawaii as an Atlantis Resort Will Be Built Right Next Door

Bad news at the horizon for Disney's Aulani Ko Olina resort on Oahu Hawaiian island as the project of an Atlantis resort right next door to Disney's hotel is apparently on track to move ahead and we have the first renderings showing its design.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the state Commission on Water Resource Management approved in January a water use and well construction permit for the Atlantis project, though the city is currently reviewing Oceanwide’s application for another building permit to build a retaining wall and significant shoreline path improvements.



Back in 2016 Chinese developer China Oceanwide acquired several acres of land in Ko Olina for a planned new luxury  Atlantis resort which would include 1,400 rooms and Atlantis-branded residences, restaurants, bars, conference facilities AND the now famous Atlantis water park and stunning aquarium. Recently, TravelPulse founder Mark Murphy told CBS: “What they’re trying to do is they’re trying to take that property they have in Dubai on the Palm Island and replicate it in Hawaii in a gorgeous setting. We’re talking about massive aquariums, wildlife, great experiences. It’s a fantasy world.”



And that's where the problem begin as Disney's Aulani resort and its superb theming by Imagineer Joe Rhode and his team is supposed to be the one with an Hawaiian "fantasy world". Guests of the Atlantis resort as you can see on the renderings above and below will not only enjoy Oahu's beach on one side but a huge water park with slides, lazy river, huge aquarium, etc,  on the other side, much bigger apparently than the water areas of Disney's Aulani. And guess what others guests will be able to see it through their windows without being able to enjoy it? That's right, Disney's Aulani guests, specially the ones with the rooms on the left side of Aulani hotel.




And there is an even bigger problem, this time in terms of architecture design. As you can also see on the renderings the Atlantis resort architectural style and the one of Disney's Aulani couldn't be more far one from the other. Personally i much prefer the architecture style of Disney's Aulani which i think fit better for an hotel in Hawaii, but having this Atlantis Resort with, let's say, a kind-of Tomorrowland architectural style right next to Disney's Aulani kind-of Adventureland style will be hard to swallow as there is no way Disney's guests will be able to avoid seeing the Atlantis. I'm sure the seaside land at Ko Olina is tremendously expensive but that's the kind of thing which indeed can happen when you don't buy / secure enough land...

Even if it will take some years before the Atlantis open ( if it goes through the final authorizations ) its construction will likely take 2 or 3 years which will mean lot of noise for Disney's Aulani guests during these years, not to mention that the construction of such a huge building is always an eyesore... not the kind of thing you expect for a tropical holiday in Hawaii… Note that actually, on the left of Disney's Aulani - looking from the sea - there is already another hotel, that you never see on Disney's Aulani official pictures as they take care to don't have it in the frame, which was built long before Disney built his resort, but this one is less of a problem. Also, the Atlantis resorts usually include a casino and we don't know yet if it will be the case at the Atlantis Ko Olina resort - may be not, it will depends probably of Hawaii regulations - but if yes, Disney is not going to like that at all.

A question that one could ask is why they don't use the famous architecture of the Atlantis resorts in the Bahamas or Dubai? It is possible that Sol Kerzner sold to the Chinese group the license to use the name Atlantis and the concept but not the architecture of his Atlantis resorts... or that the Chinese were not ready to pay the price to use the original architecture. The other Atlantis resort that the Chinese built in Sanya, China also does not look like the ones in the Bahamas or Dubai. But what is rather strange is that, when you look on the Atlantis Sanya website HERE where there is pictures not only of the others Atlantis resorts around the world but also the rendering below for the upcoming Atlantis Ko Olina, the hotel architecture on the rendering look like the ones in the Bahamas or Dubai, which in my opinion would have been a much better choice, and not like it looks on the above final renderings.

The description of the upcoming resort on the Atlantis website says: "Inspired by the ocean, providing contemporary elegance, Atlantis Ko Olina will celebrate the incredible natural elements of Hawaii's environment, landscape and architecture and its distinctive heritage and character. Overlooking both the stunning Honu and Kohola Lagoons, Atlantis will offer a sense of awe-inspiring discovery, encompassing over 26 acres of unparalleled excitement and larger than life experiences, revolutionary water play in Aquaventure Waterpark, The Ambassador Lagoon and The Lost Chambers Aquarium and incredible dining experiences."



Don't get me wrong, the Disney's Aulani resort will still be great and elegantly themed, no doubt about that, but it's never a good news to have a competitor right next door with plenty of exciting water attractions when you're the one who is supposed to be the specialist of this kind of thing.

Although the opening date of the new Atlantis at Ko Olina is not known yet, if the project goes ahead as planned it will likely take some years before it open, which is probably the only good news here for Disney.

Pictures: copyright Oceanwide Holdings.

Disneyland Paris LIVE Update: Formula 1 RoadShow Today on DLP Parking Lot !

There is currently today at Disneyland Paris, on DLP big parking lot, a temporary Formula 1 roadshow to promote the coming soon Grand Prix de France of Formula 1 at the Castelet. D&M contributor Max was there this morning and here are the shots, and even a video as a Formula 1 is running on a short track!

On the Google view below, circled in red the area where was organized this Formula 1 road show on DLP parking lot. In green the area with the small track for the Formula 1 car. See video below.



Watch the short video below and if you're today Sunday at DLP or nearby it's still time to go see this roadshow!

Stay tuned on Disney and more as a new DLP parks update is coming soon!

Pictures: copyright DLP Welcome

Universal Studios Singapore : Where in the Park Will Be Built Minion Park and Super Nintendo World ?

Universal Studios Singapore and Resorts World Sentosa  announced this week that a Minion Park and a Super Nintendo World will come to USS in the next years - see D&M article HERE. The announcement of two new lands for a park which has a such limited space is an important one, so where in the park will they build them?




For the first land - Minion Park - it was revealed that it "will replace the current Madagascar area". For those of you who are not familiar with Universal Studios Singapore you have the current park map above and i did some Google Earth screen captures as well. At the top you have one showing the whole park and the one below is showing the Madagascar land.



As you can see the Madagascar land - including the huge show building for the Madagascar flume ride is not small at all. Personally i will regret it for its lush tropical theming, its giant baobab, and even the flume ride, which was not perfect i agree - the ride was originally supposed to have some falls but from what i've been told they had huge problem of water leaking and had to redesign the ride and cancel the falls.

I'm not really enthusiastic to have the Minion park as the first land that USS guests will enter when they'll turn on the left at the end of the entrance Hollywood street, but i'm afraid we don't have the choice...

The other land coming to Universal Studios Singapore is of course the big Super Nintendo World and this one they didn't revealed where they'll put it. My guess is that it will be built where the  Waterworld area with the stunt show arena currently is. They certainly won't delete the Jurassic Park "Lost World" land, neither the Ancient Egypt land with the popular Mummy coaster and also Sci-Fi City because of the highly popular Transformers ride and Battlestar Galactica coaster. They won't touch also to the New York area and neither the Schrek - Far Far Away land where they built recently the new Puss the Boots Giant Journey family coaster. This leave as the best option to find room for the Super Nintendo World the Waterworld area.



As you can see on the above screen capture, the size of the area is surprisingly big, much bigger than it shows on the park map, almost 80% of the Jurassic Park land nearby, the main reason is that the stunt show and its arena are taking a huge space. So, i put my bets - an easy bet, i agree - that the Super Nintendo World will be built there. The Waterworld stunt show is still quite popular for a movie not really known in Asia, but it won't stop it to get the axe anyway.

Pictures: copyright Universal Studios, Google Earth