Disneyland has released three press videos, covering the Blue Sky Cellar and World of Color, that I wanted to share with everyone: At Blue Sky Cellar, guests are invited to preview works in progress at Disneys California Adventure by immersing themselves in a facsimile of an Imagineering workspace. Based on the belief that idea gathering … Read more
Continuing in our coverage of both the updated Blue Sky Cellar and World of Color, here’s some Disneyland press images just released showing concept art for World of Color, the updated exhibits in the Blue Sky Cellar, and the World of Color construction site (be sure to click on each image for a closer look at these beautiful photos):
Disney’s “World of Color” will bring new nighttime excitement to Paradise Pier at Disney’s California Adventure. This nightly panorama of spectacular water effects, colorful lighting and music will bring Disney animation to life with an entirely new creative and technical approach
The Alice in Wonderland scene is rumored to be the longest, starting off with “In The Golden Afternoon”
The Cheshire Cat’s face will appear in the mist screens as his body is created by twirling jets
The “marvels of earth, sea, and sky” will be covered in the show. Wall-E will represent the sky, Finding Nemo will represent the sea, but what movie will represent the earth is anyone’s guess. Also featured will be the “hopes and the tears, the joys and the fears”
Pocahontas paints with all the “Colors of the Wind”
A new website was unveiled today, the long rumored website produced as part of the Walt Disney Imagineering Blue Sky Cellar. At this new website (which you can find at DisneysCaliforniaAdventure.com) you can view concept art from upcoming attractions and areas such as Buena Vista Street, Goofy’s Sky School, Silly Symphony Swings, World of Color, … Read more
More details have begun to emerge on the spectacular looking World of Color show for Disney’s California Adventure. Brady MacDonald over at the LA Times Travel Blog has more: Disney officials proudly proclaim that the upcoming World of Color water show at Disney’s California Adventure will far surpass Disneyland’s Fantasmic and Epcot’s Illuminations in magnitude, … Read more
From Brady MacDonald and the LA Times Travel Blog: Disney’s California Adventure will unveil new concept art this week at the Blue Sky Cellar preview center for the World of Color water show debuting in 2010. In the “Alice in Wonderland” sequence from World of Color, the Cheshire Cat’s face will be projected on a … Read more
Two new additions have been added to the Disneyland Resort’s Halloween Time line-up according to our good friends over at the LA Times Travel Blog: Disneyland will add a “haunted” overlay to Space Mountain and a fireworks “spooktacular” for the Halloween season, theme park officials said. The “Halloween Time” event, which runs from Sept. 25 … Read more
The Orange Stinger is now closed, and its makeover to Silly Symphony Swings will begin very soon. According to the OC Register’s Around Disney blog: The spiral-peeled orange that marks the skyline of Disney’s California Adventure will soon be gone. The Orange Stinger swing ride closes for good beginning Tuesday. It will be re-born as … Read more
I’m back from a wonderful evening trip yesterday to the Disneyland Resort. Even though I visited both parks, this photo report only covers Mickey and Friends and Disney’s California Adventure. So let’s get to this photo report:
Some work going on at the Mickey and Friends Tram Station. The tram only loads on the right side at the moment
As I got into DCA, the Pixar Play Parade started, so here are some photos
The Ratatouile unit has finally returned to the parade
To prepare everyone visiting the Disneyland Resort during this holiday weekend, I wanted to go over the entertainment schedule for July 4th, as well as the park hours, to make sure everyone can successfully see what they want to see: Disneyland will be open from 8:00am to 12:00am all weekend. “Celebrate! A Street Party” will … Read more
Some helpful information for everyone planning to use Disneyland parking lots during their next visit. According to the Disney’s California Adventure Project Tracker, the Timon parking lot will be closing permanently on July 6th to make room for additional backstage work, as well as eventually to begin construction on Cars Land. My advice on parking … Read more
As Summer Nightastic! lights up the night this summer at Disneyland Resort, more exciting Disney attractions and experiences are on the horizon. GET A DISNEY STUDIO STAR MAKEOVER AT STUDIO DISNEY 365 Opening Friday, June 26, in Downtown Disney, Studio Disney 365 offers aspiring stars, age 3 and up, makeover transformations and an opportunity to … Read more
Disney Channel stars Selena Gomez and Jennifer Stone were like any other kids at Disneyland Thursday night, standing in giddy excitement next to Mickey Mouse.
That is, until the “Wizards of Waverly Place” actresses were presented with magic wands by the mouse himself.
With a flick of the wrist, fireworks burst over Sleeping Beauty Castle — the quintessential kickoff to Disney’s Summer Nightastic, the summertime run of shows at the Resort that include the fireworks display, the Electrical Parade and Fantasmic!, which plays out on Disneyland’s Rivers of America.
Disney’s Electrical Parade (California Adventure)
When a sparkling mass of lights emerged onto the street of California Adventure, the crowd stood in awe.
Tinker Bell, the latest addition to the classic Disney parade, first trotted out in 1972, led the way waving her magic wand from a hot air balloon.
“It was bright, and very green,” said Grad Night guest Prince Jones, from the School of Arts and Enterprise said.
“It was pretty cool.”
“We thought it was the right place to put Tinker Bell – leading the parade,” Director of Entertainment Doug McIntyre said of the new float, which features 25,000 lights.
“She has a sort of pixie dust-effect coming from her float, and we added it to all the floats. We knew we wanted to do some enhancements to the rest of the parade, so we thought by adding Tinker Bell to the front, we could add this pixie dust swirl that goes throughout the parade.”
The Electrical Parade has been a part of Disney since its premiere in 1972. The parade has undergone numerous changes, adding new floats, more lights. It has showed up in locations around the world.
This phase of the parade combines a bit of the old with a bit of the new; for example, the diamond mine float from Snow White and the Pleasure Island scene from Pinocchio return after a long hiatus.
“They had been sitting there in a warehouse, so we had them shipped over. When they shipped that parade (back to the United States in 2001), they left that unit behind, so we called them up and had them ship it out and refurbished,” McIntyre said. “It’s the way I remember the Electrical Parade from its old days at Disneyland. It’s nice to have it back.”
Meanwhile, a new control system allows for intricate control of the lighting and 11,000 LED lights used on the dancers’ costumes make the parade more energy efficient.
Then there is the music.
“Music is a big part of any of our entertainment experiences, and we knew we wanted to update the soundtrack,” said McIntyre, a 27-year Disney veteran. “The music was written in 1967, and with the technology of synthesizers, we’ve come a long way. We wanted to maintain the classic-ness of what the guests expect using ‘Baroque Hoedown,’ which is the piece of music used. We were excited to do it with all of today’s modern technology.”
When the parade premiered on June 17, 1972, it was called The Main Street Electrical Parade, but since then it has moved to California Adventure.
“Part of the dynamic of the business here is balancing the guest flow and the experience between both parks, so it was a perfect fit to bring the parade here,” McIntyre said.
TLT Dance Club at the Tomorrowland Terrace (Disneyland)
The Tomorrowland Terrace is not the place you want when looking for a quiet dinner to wind down after a hectic day of spinning teacups and meeting giant mice. On the other hand, if you are looking for a serious energy boost, then the TLT Dance Club is the place to be.
“Hannah Montana” star Mitchel Musso opened the night on a high note while appearing with his band for a surprise performance.
For 11-year-old Elizabeth Burkemper of Missouri, standing so close to one of her favorite “Hannah Montana” stars was a dream come true.
“It was, like, the most amazing experience of my life,” she said.
The rest of the summer is filled with a lineup of appearances by popular radio stations and Top-40 bands, including KIIS-FM, Tomasina, 104.3 MYfm and Instant Replay. The club has already been compared to the now-defunct Videopolis, but this one will have a 2009 spin, such as the ability to vote on what song should be played via text message.
Fantasmic! (Disneyland)
Fantasmic! has been a staple of Disney nighttime entertainment since it began performances in May of 1992. It is set on the Rivers of America in Disneyland.
Just like the Electrical Parade, this nighttime show underwent changes in preparation for the summer, with Fantasmic! now including new digital projectors, a 12-foot-tall crocodile and giant eels slithering through the water.
Although the highlight of the show was slated to be a 40-foot-tall dragon from the movie “Sleeping Beauty,” technical difficulties forced last night’s premiere to debut sans dragon. Stay tuned to Around Disney for a peek at the dragon later this summer.
Here are a few of their photos from the media preview of Summer Nightastic:
Selena Gomez and Jennifer Stone were at Disneyland to launch Summer Nightastic
D23 have put up 2 articles for the debut of Summer Nightastic today. The first covers last night’s media launch: On Thursday, June 11, Disneyland was packed with summer guests, and D23 was invited for a peek at all the new happenings as Nightastic! takes over the park this summer. First stop was the new … Read more
Summer Nightastic begins tonight at the Disneyland Resort, and in honor of that, here’s a new Disney press video with footage from all three main offerings, as well as interviews with Carla Carlile (show director for Fantasmic), Denny Newell (senior show director for Disney’s Electrical Parade), and John Addis (senior show director for Magical):
Summer Nightastic launches tomorrow at the Disneyland Resort, and Disney has released a press release for Fantasmic, as well as more pictures of the updated version of Disney’s Electrical Parade:
More powerful projection technology and some awe-inspiring new creatures – including 37-foot-long eels Flotsam and Jetsam – make “Fantasmic!” an exciting part of Summer Nightastic! at Disneyland. The long-running nighttime special-effects spectacular, presented on the Rivers of America in New Orleans Square and Frontierland, jumps off the screen like never before with stunning video and lighting effects that bring brilliant life to Mickey Mouse’s encounters with classic characters and menacing Disney villains.
Disney has released a short video and fact sheet about the return of Disney’s Electrical Parade tomorrow night as part of the already flailing Summer Nightastic promotion. The updates to the parade were much needed and the parade appears sparkling and new thanks to LED light technology and a recreated soundtrack: Tinker Bell leads the … Read more
