WDWNT Archive 2014 - Page 3 of 51 - A blast from the past!

“Taste of Hollywood” Returns to Hollywood Studios for the Holidays

WDWNT Author on December 17, 2014

This Christmas season, Taste of Hollywood to Go at Disney’s Hollywood Studios returns with a delicious meal-to-go and a reserved seat for Fantasmic! From December 24 to 31, the popular Taste of Hollywood To Go option will be returning with a few new entrees, all of which include a reserved seat for Fantasmic!.

The adult menu features a choice of a vegetable sandwich served with ginger-marinated tomatoes and cucumbers, quinoa salad and chocolate cake; shrimp salad served with pita, ginger-marinated tomatoes and cucumbers and mandarin orange cheesecake; golden fried chicken served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes, sweet corn and carrots and warm apple crisp; cold-cut roast beef sandwich with creamy horseradish served with classic potato salad, grilled asparagus and chocolate cake; or California sushi tuna roll served with avocado, orange and tomato salad, ginger-marinated tomatoes and cucumbers and spicy pecan-chocolate cluster.

Kids’ choices include a power pack with strawberry yogurt, apple wedges, carrot sticks with ranch dip, fish crackers, an organic apple cinnamon and oatmeal snack-size sandwich bar or a turkey and American cheese wrap with strawberry yogurt, apple wedges, carrots with ranch dip and a seven-layer cookie bar.

Reservations are now open, and can be made by calling 407-WDW-D407-WDW-DINE up to 24 hours in advance. If you do not have a reservation, you can check the day you are in the park for availability. Meals can be picked up from Min & Bill’s Dockside Diner from 11:00a.m. to 8:00p.m. Choice of Fantasmic! showtime is based on availability, with the number of seats based on the number of meals purchased.

PHOTOS: Maelstrom Attraction Currently Being Gutted, FROZEN Ride at Epcot Is More Than An Overlay

WDWNT Author on December 16, 2014

If you had your doubts about the budget or just how extensive the work on the new Frozen attraction at Epcot might be, you may want to look at this…

Photos from @JohnCFSS on twitter

Photos from @JohnCFSS on twitter

The photos above were taken under the door at the attraction’s entrance, the former lobby of the Maelstrom ride in Norway of Epcot’s World Showcase. The word demolition comes to mind as it looks like they have in many places ripped walls out or at least stripped them down to the structural steel.

Since the announcement of the ride earlier this year, there has been much debate about the budget and how extensive the attraction update might be. These photos are the first real proof that at least the entrance and exit of the ride will be vastly different from Maelstrom. It is still unknown if the boat flume will remain, but some sources have claimed that the ride will be entirely new, and these photos may make that easier to believe. However, it is still possible that a boat ride is behind these walls. Only time will tell.

Photos from @JohnCFSS on twitter.

Frank Oz To Voice “Yoda” in “Star Wars Rebels”

WDWNT Author on December 16, 2014

When I first saw this story, I kind of just brushed it off as no big deal. I kind of figured at some point the crew from Rebels would end up on Dagobah and meet up with Yoda (not that it is needed). Then I realized that “Frank Oz”, who was the voice and the man behind Yoda (that last part pertains to the Original Trilogy), is actually coming back to voice the character that he first helped give life to in The Empire Strikes Back.

In the previous series, The Clone Wars, Tom Kane provided the voice of Yoda. To have Oz come back is a bit of a big deal. Many people love imitating Yoda, but no one can voice Yoda like Oz does. A few months ago, James Earl Jones also came back to voice Darth Vader for Rebels. I just find it interesting that some of the original cast is contributing to the series.

The episode, “Path of the Jedi” will air Monday, January 5^th, 2015 at 9PM on Disney XD. It will also be available a week before online through the Watch Disney App on Monday, December 29^th.

Source: TVGuide.com

RUMOR: “Star Tours: The Adventures Continue” To Add Planets & Characters from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

WDWNT Author on December 15, 2014

The site Star Wars Underworld is claiming that an inside source has informed them that the first Star Wars additions coming to Disney theme parks post-purchase will be additions to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland based on characters and locations from “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Star Tours: The Adventures Continue was designed by Disney Imagineers and members of Lucasfilm to easily insert new destinations and characters at any time. With the current iteration of the attraction, any new film sequences could be created and programmed separately and then exported to the ride. meaning any addition would result in little-to-no downtime for the attraction. We have speculated about these additions several times on our podcast, but this is this first outside report.

Recently, we reported that Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that there will be a much larger presence of Star Wars themed attractions based on the new sequels and spin-offs. Adding new destinations based on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” to Star Tours would seem to go along with his plans.

Stay tuned as more information becomes available

12/12/14 Marvel News Mash-Up (Spider-Man Coming to MCU?, Fantastic Four Dead, Star Wars)

WDWNT Author on December 12, 2014

SONY And Disney Had Been Working To Bring Spider-man To The Marvel Cinematic Universe

SONY Pictures was recently hacked and some of their internal memos and emails were leaked onto the internet. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that according to one of the memo’s, SONY and Disney had been working together to reach an agreement that would bring Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that Disney owns. These discussions were mentioned by SONY’s Motion Picture Chief, Amy Pascal. The emails mention that SONY had extensive discussions with Walt Disney and the talks even included Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, and Kaz Hirai, SONY’s CEO. The emails revealed that the plan was to have Spider-man appear in Captain America: Civil War and that Disney/Marvel would co-produce a new trilogy of Spider-man movies. Unfortunately one of the emails mentions that the talks broke down and that SONY was thinking of doing animated Spider-man comedy based movies instead.

Luckily there is still some good news surrounding this. Latino Review reported this week that the deal is steal very much alive. Apparently SONY Japan, which is the parent company of SONY Pictures, is angry due to the recent email leaks that is hurting SONY’s reputation world wide. SONY Japan has been disappointed at how the Amazing Spider-man movies franchise has been handled and the leaked emails didn’t help matters. SONY Japan thinks the Marvel deal for Spider-Man is still on the table and they want to renegotiate as a return to “quality”, that a 60/40 (Disney/SONY) split can be negotiated and SONY Pictures’ hard-line stance of wanting creative control is now mostly moot in the eyes of the higher-ups. SONY is also planning on holding a Spidey-summit in January to decide what is the best direction to go.

“Avengers: Age Of Ultron” is also scheduled for re-shoots to film additional scenes in January. Still speculation on my part, but it is possible that the plan is to bring Spider-man into the movie as a cameo or after credit scene. There definitely is something in the works, let’s just hope that things work out well for both parties. And us.

Preview Art From Marvel’s Star Wars #1 Comic Book

StarWars.com got their hands on an exclusive preview of some panels from the upcoming Marvel comic book, Star Wars #1, and it looks fantastic. Let’s take a look!

Set directly after the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the series (helmed by the all-star creative of team of writer Jason Aaron and artist John Cassaday) will be the flagship of Marvel’s new canonical line of comics. Star Wars #1 comes out January 14^th, 2015.

Star Wars #1 Variant Covers

Talk about a lot of variant covers! Star Wars #1 officially has over 30 variant covers and there probably a few more that haven’t been released yet. Thanks to RebelScum.com, we get to see most of them.

Benedict Cumberbatch Is NOW Officially Doctor Strange

Fan art by JustaBlink

I think this is the third time I am saying this, but now it is official. This month, Marvel and Benedict Cumberbatch finalized the deal and Cumberbatch will be playing Doctor Strange on the big screen. Doctor Strange will open on November 4^th, 2016.

The Punisher Kills The Cast Of FOX’s Fantastic Four Reboot Movie

In case you needed any more proof that Disney/Marvel and FOX are not the best of friends, you just have to look at the most recent issue of The Punisher #12. Disney/Marvel and SONY seem to be getting on just fine and seem to be (hopefully) working out a deal to bring Spider-man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But FOX and Disney/Marvel, not so much. Marvel is ending the Fantastic Four comic just prior to the release of FOX’s Fantastic Four movie, which comes out next year. Rumor is that Marvel wants to avoid giving any kind of promotion towards the film. In the latest issue of The Punisher, Frank Castle gets rid of the cast that is playing the Fantastic Four. The cast for the upcoming movie is Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Jamie Bell and Kate Mara. In the panels below, it seems that The Punisher feels the same way I do about the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Thanks Punisher.

That’s all for this week!

VIDEO: Trailer for PIXAR “Inside Out” Available

WDWNT Author on December 12, 2014

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has released a new trailer for the upcoming Disney/Pixar animated feature Inside Out. Academy Award®-winning director Pete Docter has taken audiences to unique and imaginative places. In Inside Out, he will take us to the most extraordinary location of all—inside the mind.

Have a look at the new trailer:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRUAzGQ3nSY]

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it’s no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions:

Joy (Amy Poehler)

Fear (Bill Hader)

Anger (Lewis Black)

Disgust (Mindy Kaling)

and Sadness (Phyllis Smith).

The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley’s mind, where they help advise her through everyday life. As Riley and her emotions struggle to adjust to a new life in San Francisco, turmoil ensues in Headquarters. Although Joy, Riley’s main and most important emotion, tries to keep things positive, the emotions conflict on how best to navigate a new city, house and school.

Inside Out debuts in theaters June 19, 2015.

Character Names Revealed For “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

WDWNT Author on December 11, 2014

Today EW.com received and exclusive reveal of some of the new characters that were seen in the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” trailer. J.J. Abrams, the film’s co-writer and director, and Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, decided to reveal the identities of some of their new characters exclusively to EW—and they did it in a retro fashion that should bring a smile to anyone familiar with the phrase “Collect ‘Em, Trade ‘Em.” EW was presented with a mocked up version of the original Topps Star Wars trading cards that debuted in 1977.

Here are the cards revealed in card number order, which according to J. J. Abrams, the numbering of these cards bears significance:

Card #11: “BB-8 on the move!”

Card #53: “Poe Dameron in his X-Wing”

Card #67: “Kylo Ren ignites his Lightsaber!”

Card #74: “Rey on her speeder”

Card #76: “Finn on the run!”

Card #81: “Stormtroopers prepare for battle!”

Card #88: “X-Wings in formation!”

Card #96: “The Millennium Falcon”

New Concept Art and Details Revealed for “Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows”, Part of the Disney Vacation Club

WDWNT Author on December 11, 2014

Today, disney released concept art and details on the Disney Vacation Club expansion of the Polynesian Village Resort, now known as “Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows”.

The bungalows will be the first of their kind on any Disney property. The 20 Bungalows will sleep up to eight guests each and be just steps away from the new plunge pool overlooking Seven Seas Lagoon, not to mention an unparalleled view of the Magic Kingdom’s nightly fireworks.

The Polynesian bungalows

On the mainland, the villas will feature largest Deluxe Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. The 360 Deluxe Studios will sleep up to five guests each and have the ability to connect to another Deluxe Studio, the first time this has been done at a Disney Vacation Club Resort. Similar to Disney Cruise Line ships and The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, the rooms will each have a bathroom separated into two areas, one with a shower and sink and the other with a sink and tub/shower. Plus, they also will have kitchenettes and enhanced storage space for convenience and comfort.

Inside the rooms at the Polynesian villas

The first phase of the Polynesian Villas and Bunglaows will open in early 2015.

Disneyland Park to Serve Alcohol to Guests at New 21 Royal Street Upscale Restaurant

WDWNT Author on December 11, 2014

As soon as work wrapped up on the new Club 33 at Disneyland earlier this year, work began on a new establishment on the other side of the Club’s kitchen, located at 21 Royal Street in New Orleans Square. The location was originally intended to be part of Walt Disney’s apartment, but was most recently used as an executive dining room before the remodel.

The restaurant is expected to be the first in Disneyland history to serve alcohol to non-Club 33 members. Andrew Sutton will be the executive chef for the restaurant in what will also be the first true upscale restaurant open to regular park guests in Disneyland Park’s 60 year history.

No official announcement has been made by Disney yet.

UPDATE: Disneyland has since responded to this story and has stated the space will be a new private dining space for executives and Club 33 members only.

AVATAR at Animal Kingdom: New Details on Banshee Attraction; Boat Ride Canned?

WDWNT Author on December 11, 2014

Bob Iger was certainly busy telling everyone about the plans for the Disney Parks yesterday, and the long-running, controversial, and enormously-budgeted AVATAR project wasn’t left out. Iger recently scaled some scaffolding at Walt Disney Imagineering and took a test-ride on a mock-up of the Banshee ride for the new Animal Kingdom theme park land.

“It felt so real, so lifelike, there’s never been anything like it.”

The vehicles will be the banshees themselves, with movements that should “mimic a breathing beast”. Think of it as a next-generation Soarin’, but the environment on-screen will be presented hi-def 3-D as you ride in a giant alien creature.

The boat ride attraction for the AVATAR land was not mentioned as many report rumors that it may no longer be part of the project.