Archive for the 'Disney's Hollywood Studios' Category
How to get free tickets to Disneyland and Disney World in 2010
September 29, 2009 3:01pm
Starting in 2010, Disney will give away free theme-park tickets to 1 million people who spend a day volunteering in their community.
The give-a-day, get-a-day marketing campaign — which replaces the wildly successful 2009 free-on-your-birthday promotion — starts Jan. 1, 2010 and runs through Dec. 15, 2010.
Volunteers must pre-register online at the HandsOn Network — which represents more than 70,000 nonprofit agencies nationwide — to be eligible for the free ticket.
The tickets are valid at six theme parks in the U.S.:
Disneyland and Disney World to launch official Disney theme park blog
September 28, 2009 10:54am
The Disney theme parks will finally join the blogosphere today in an attempt to bring some of the rabid faithful currently chatting at unofficial fan websites under the corporate umbrella.
Check out the new blog at http://disneyparks.com/blog/.
The blog will be the official source for information about new rides and attractions, exclusive videos and photographs as well as in-depth coverage of events at Disney theme parks in the United States.
Star Tours reboot coming to Disneyland and Disney World in 2011
September 12, 2009 12:01pm
The 1980s-era Star Tours attractions at Disneyland in California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida will get a complete overhaul by 2011, Disney announced today.
In the new 3-D version of the venerable simulator ride, visitors board a Starspeeder and join a high-speed pod race through the desert canyons of Tatooine in a scene from the “Star Wars” movie series.
When, where and how: Marvel characters in Disney theme parks
September 9, 2009 9:13am
I’ve heard the same refrain for the last week or so: How will Disney ever incorporate the dark and edgy Marvel comic book characters into its family-friendly fairy tale theme parks?
While at first glance the task seems daunting, upon further reflection the opportunities appear endless. It’s certainly not a question of “if” but rather “when, where and how.”
It’s been fun to imagine the juxtaposition of Marvel’s assassins, terrorists, serial killers and vigilantes mixing on Main Street USA with Disney’s princesses, fairies and army of anthropomorphic animals. But Marvel also has a deep bench of heroes and villains in its 5,000-character catalog that would blend seamlessly into Disney’s theme parks.
The early contenders will almost certainly come from the ranks of Marvel’s past films (”Spider-Man,” “X-Men,” “Hulk,” “Iron Man,” “Fantastic Four”) and upcoming releases (”Thor,” “Captain America,” “Avengers,” “Silver Surfer,” “Ant Man”). There’s even a few minor characters that would fit perfectly in specific Disney attractions and themed lands.
Disney’s done it before with “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “The Muppets,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and even Aerosmith.
And while Disneyland might not be the ideal match for Marvel characters, the superheroes fit like a skin-tight spandex suit in Disney’s “studio” theme parks.
So, keeping in mind that Mickey and Spidey have only been in-laws for less than a fortnight, lets take an unofficial and speculative look at how the marriage of Marvel and Disney might play out in the company’s theme parks around the world:
Get your mouse ears on for the opening of the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco
September 7, 2009 5:59am
Walt Disney, the man whose creativity spawned an international entertainment industry, will finally get his due Oct. 1 when the Walt Disney Family Museum opens in San Francisco.
The interactive museum is in San Francisco’s Presidio, a former U.S. military facility that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The museum will focus on the life and times of Disney, creator of Mickey Mouse, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and Disneyland, among other internationally known characters, films and businesses.
Highlights will include Disney’s successes and disappointments and the creation of characters that have become an indelible part of pop culture in the U.S.and abroad.
Theme park news: Another Dale Earnhardt coaster, Snow White wins lottery, Hello Kitty attraction, Coney Island closure
August 29, 2009 6:27am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
POV video: Carowinds announces $23-million Dale Earnhardt-themed Intimidator coaster for spring 2010 with stadium-style seating and T-shaped lap bar.
Universal Studios Orlando unveils eight Halloween Horror Nights mazes: Saw, Wolfman, Chucky, Dracula, Frankenstein, Silver Screams, Leave it To Cleaver and The Spawning. Six scare zones: Lights Camera Hacktion, Cirque Du Freak, Horrorwood Die-In, Apocalypse, Containment, War of Living Dead. (Orlando Attractions)
Disneyland’s Snow White wins $5.2 million lottery jackpot, feels “like Cinderella.” (O.C. Register)
Busch Gardens Tampa adding Sesame Street Safari of Fun for Spring 2010: kiddie coaster, flume ride, carousel, swing ride, water play area. (Orlando Sentinel)
Theme park news: Another Disney World death, Dale Earnhardt coaster, Star Tours 2.0, Say No to B.O.
August 22, 2009 6:02am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Walt Disney World actor dies during rehearsals for Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Investigators searching for “any pattern” in three Disney World employee deaths this summer. (Orlando Sentinel)
* Video: Kings Dominion in Virginia announces $25-million Dale Earnhardt-themed Intimidator 305 coaster for 2010.
* Katrina-battered Six Flags New Orleans to reopen as Nickelodeon Universe-New Orleans theme and water park by late 2010. Theme Park Insider: Why it won’t work.
* Dollywood’s Splash Country water park in Tennessee announces Slide Rock Racer side-by-side mat racer slide for 2010. (Screamscape)
* Disney dispatches Star Wars storm troopers to guard “imperial dignitaries” at D23 Expo. Is Star Tours 2.0 coming to Disneyland?
Theme park news: Wildebeest water coaster, Kennywood launch coaster, Epcot tequila bar, water park Speedo ban
August 15, 2009 9:34am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Holiday World announces the $5.5 million Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster, for May 2010 at Splashin’ Safari water park in Indiana. Photos. (Coaster Warriors)
* Kennywood in Pennsylvania announces an as-yet-unnamed $5.5 million launch coaster with a 90-degree drop and three inversions for 2010. Video. (News Plus Notes)
* D23 Expo announces dates and times for keynote speakers Iger (CEO), Cook (Studio), Rasulo (Parks) and Lasseter (Pixar).
* Photos: “Princess and the Frog“ movie exhibit opens in Animation attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. (Laughing Place)
* Princess Tiana (”Princess and the Frog”) to join finale float in Once Upon a Dream parade at Disneyland Paris. (DLRP Magic)
Theme park news: Bye-bye Big Bad Wolf, Club 33 waiting list, fact-checking Epcot’s future, Darth Vader dance-off
July 25, 2009 7:04am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
> Popular Mechanics fact-checks five Epcot rides that predicted the future. (Orlando Updates)
> Waiting list for one of 480 membership slots at Disneyland’s private Club 33: 18 years. (OC Weekly)
> Video awesomeness: Darth Vader dances to MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This” at Star Wars Weekends 2009 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Longer version. (Orlando Attractions)
> Free X2 after-hours ride time on Friday nights this summer at Six Flags Magic Mountain plus 2 free tacos and milkshake with paid admission.
Walt Disney World monorail crash kills driver
July 5, 2009 4:14pm
A Walt Disney World monorail driver was killed early this morning when two trains collided as visitors were leaving the theme park, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Stunned employees and park visitors tried to reach Austin Wuennenberg, the 21-year -old monorail driver who was trapped in the crushed cockpit, local news reports said. (Watch eyewitness video of the crash scene from Orlando TV station WKMG.)
Wuennenberg was pronounced dead at the scene, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
The monorail trains collided around 2 a.m. Sunday at the Transportation and Ticket Center, located at the parking lot of the Magic Kingdom, according to Walt Disney World spokesman Mike Griffin.
