Video: Talking Mickey Mouse Interacts with D23 Expo Attendees
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‘You must get great reception with those,’ said Mickey Mouse to a Mouse Ears-sporting attendee at the 2011 D23 Expo which took place last weekend. Gradually he stepped further away from the guest, asking the inevitable ‘can you hear me now?’ question over and over.
This is just one of the many interactions that took place at the D23 Expo in which guests got their first public, announced opportunity to speak with Mickey Mouse for the first time since Disneyland introduced the meet and greet character, decades ago.
Video: Imagineering’s Use of Technology for New Fantasyland Development
Disney Parks has released this video from Walt Disney Imagineering which takes a look at how Imagineers are employing current and newly-developed technology to help realize the fruition of New Fantasyland at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.
In essence, it’s a slightly more dumbed down version of what was presented last year at the NASA Summit by WDI Florida Vice-President and General Manager Jack Blitch, giving an overview of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) and pre-visualization (pre-viz) processes and how it even averted a real-world problem at the construction at the attraction for The Little Mermaid which could have cost the company considerably more money had it not been spotted beforehand.
D23 Expo: Disney Parks and Resorts and Imagineering Panels Schedule
Earlier this month, we shared the plans Disney Parks and Resorts has for its presentations at the 2011 D23 Expo taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center on August 19 – 21. D23 has now released the full schedule for the Disney Parks panels, which are in addition to the keynote arena presentation by Parks Chair Tom Staggs on Friday, August 19 at 3:30 pm. The individual panels and schedule are as follows:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 19
- The Making of The Little Mermaid — Ariel’s Undersea Adventure (1:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Stage 23) – Imagineers Lisa Girolami, Larry Nikolai, and Chris Crump take you behind the scenes.
D23 Expo: Disney Parks to Preview Upcoming Attractions Through ‘Carousel of Projects’
Fans attending Disney’s D23 Expo August 19-21 at the Anaheim Convention Center will have the chance to experience “a great big beautiful tomorrow” as they immerse themselves in the future of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which is currently in the biggest period of global expansion in its history.
Drawing inspiration from a classic attraction that debuted at the 1964 New York World’s Fair and has made stops at Disneyland in California and Magic Kingdom in Florida, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts invites attendees to hop aboard the “Carousel of Projects” for a sneak peek at concepts, designs, models, storytelling tools, and technologies currently being developed at Walt Disney Imagineering for Disney parks around the world.
VIDEO: Behind-the-Scenes with Haunted Mansion’s Hitchhiking Ghosts
Walt Disney Imagineering has released this new video which goes behind the scenes at the most recent additions to Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion attraction: the hitchhiking ghosts.
The video goes into quite a bit of detail and goes behind-the-scenes at the changes which include new audio animatronic figures and the attraction finale which now offers digitally projected animations featuring the beloved Gus, Ezra and Phineas which dynamically detects and interacts with the guest.
Stitch Kingdom first identified and reported on the patent behind this technology over a year ago and on March 12 of this year, nearly one month prior to the unveiling of the new additions, correctly identified that the tech was being applied to the Haunted Mansion.
Video: Imagineering Puts Finishing Touches on Disney Dream; Hi-Res Images of Exclusive Vinylmation
As the newest entry into the Disney Cruise Line fleet prepares to make her on-sea debut, Walt Disney Imagineering provides us this glimpse into providing the final touches on the interior of the ship. The lengthy video gives some great imagery of nearly-finished areas including the awe-inspiring atrium and its incredible LED-lit chandelier.
Orlando Families Wanted for New HGTV ‘Magical Backyard’ Makeover Show
JayTV, in association with HGTV, is in pre-production for a brand new series which will feature Orlando-area families who are looking to transform their backyards with potential into the next great Orlando theme park attraction (or reasonable facsimile thereof).
Casting is underway right now, so the producers are inviting interested families in the area to submit an application along with a photo of their family and a wide shot of their existing backyard to be considered as part of the show.
Former Imagineer Rick Rothschild Named President-Elect of Themed Entertainment Association
On August 19, the International Board of the TEA (Themed Entertainment Association) selected 40-year attractions industry veteran Rick Rothschild, founder and chief creative officer of FAR OUT! Creative Direction and creative director at Global Immersion, as its next President. Rothschild, best known for his three decades as creative executive with Walt Disney Imagineering, will formally commence his term in November.
Video: NASA Summit Provides Rare Insight into Imagineering; Little Mermaid 3D Model and Kim Possible Expansion?
NASA recently concluded its first Information Technology Summit in National Harbor, Maryland at which Jack Blitch, Vice President and General Manager of Walt Disney Imagineering Florida, delivered an amazing presentation to the attendees full of videos, photos and information rarely available to the eyes and ears of the public. Fortunately for those many of us who couldn’t attend the summit and attend the presentation, C-SPAN did and has made the summit available online, which we now present to you below:
During his twenty-plus years with Imagineering, Blitch served as Project Executive for the construction of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and worked other projects such as Star Tours, Tower of Terror, the new Tomorrowland, Blizzard Beach and Soarin’.
Walt Disney Imagineering to Sponsor ‘Come Out & Play 2010′ Weekend in NYC
Created in 2006, ‘Come Out & Play’ is a free weekend-long street game festival inviting players from all around the world to engage in real world games and activities — often based on video games — that encourage exploration of the home city.
Walt Disney Imagineering is a partner in this year’s festival which takes place in Brooklyn, NY from June 4 – 6. WDI’s contribution to the festival comes in the form of a real world MMO titled Unwritten Storybook in which up to 50 players will compete and collaborate with each other to accomplish various tasks such as building a castle or herding unicorns. You can learn more about this particular event here.
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