Archive for the 'Hong Kong Disneyland' Category
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: Cedar Point water ride, Fantasmic dragon debuts, Rihanna at Magic Mountain
September 5, 2009 7:16am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Cedar Point in Ohio unveils the $10.5-million Shoot the Rapids water ride for 2010 set amid an illegal moonshine still.
* Report: Shanghai Disneyland to open in 2013 on a site four times the size of Hong Kong Disneyland.
* Video: New fire-breathing Fantasmic dragon at Disneyland looks stunning and pleases crowd in debut but seems a bit stiff and fails to “breath” fire.
Alien Invasion attraction landing at Hong Kong Disneyland for Haunted Halloween 2009
August 30, 2009 6:29am
Hong Kong Disneyland does Halloween in a decidedly un-Disney way — complete with jungle demons, dancing devils and menacing aliens.
In stark contrast to Disneyland’s family-friendly fall festival approach, the Chinese theme park’s Alien Invasion attraction looks downright scary: teenagers trapped in liquid-filled isolation chambers, oozing green pods with whipping tentacle tendrils, visitors drawn like zombies to a waiting spacecraft.
The storyline for the new walk-through attraction in Tomorrowland includes a tour through a spaceship and encounters with alien abductees, Alien Intelligence Agency investigators and extraterrestrials with sinister intensions.
It looks and sounds like tremendous fun. The yawn-inducing orange explosion of pumpkin and candy corn theming that layers Disneyland every Halloween has never done much for me. Just another color scheme between red, white and blue “patriotic” and “holiday” red and green. Here’s hoping the aliens invade California next Fall.
Also returning for Haunted Halloween 2009 at Hong Kong Disneyland:
Poll: Would you pay for FastPass perks at Disney theme parks?
July 22, 2009 11:19am
Disneyland issues VIP FastPasses to celebrities, fights the sale of the line-cutting tickets online and dreams of a day when visitors can reserve ride times via cellphone.
So that raises the obvious question: Would visitors pay to use the theme park giant’s currently free FastPass system?
Disney theme parks around the world offer variations on the FastPass ride reservation system, which allows visitors to return to an attraction at a designated time and enter via a shorter line.
* Hong Kong Disneyland sells a $25 Star Pass booklet that offers “priority entrance” to six of the theme park’s most popular attractions.
* Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla., is testing a new centralized FastPass distribution system in which visitors pick up all their line-hopper passes at a single location, according to Mice Age.
* Disneyland Paris provides VIP FastPasses to visitors staying at on-property hotels that offer “immediate access” to nine attractions at the resort’s two theme parks.
Vote: Would you pay for FastPass perks at Disney theme parks?
Theme park news: World of Color concept art, China building Neverland tribute, Obama records Disney World audio track
July 18, 2009 7:02am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
Pictures: World of Color concept art from Blue Sky Cellar at Disney’s California Adventure. New website. (Disneyland News Today & Mice Age)
“Mouse Ears” author David Koenig calls fatal monorail accident at Walt Disney World “years in the making.” (Mouse Planet)
Latest accident: Twelve hurt when two Disney buses crash at Walt Disney World. (Orlando Sentinel)
Blueprints: Fantasyland remodel calls for dueling Dumbo rides, “Gaston” restaurant & plenty of character meet ‘n’ greets at the Magic Kingdom. (Disney Report)
Disneyland unveils Halloween theme for Space Mountain, fireworks show
July 14, 2009 3:31pm
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 through Nov. 1, is included in the price of admission to the Anaheim theme park.
The “Ghost Galaxy” Space Mountain overlay, which originally premiered at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2007, features a new soundtrack and ghostly and ghoulish projections inside the darkened roller coaster building, according to Screamscape.
The Halloween-themed fireworks show, hosted by “Master of Scaremonies” Jack Skellington of “Nightmare Before Christmas” fame, will include nods to Disney villains.
Theme park news: Michael Jackson’s bumper cars, Princess Diana exhibit, Disneyland Halloween fireworks
July 11, 2009 7:29am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
Hong Kong Disneyland testing a pay version of FastPass dubbed Magic Pass. (Screamscape)
Theme Park Insider’s Top 3 New Rides of 2009: (1) Manta at SeaWorld Orlando, (2) Prowler at Worlds of Fun in Missouri, (3) Diamondback at Kings Island in Ohio.
Mice Age: Disneyland to add Halloween-themed fireworks show this fall.
World of Color fountains at Disney’s California Adventure to respond to cheers, return for encore if crowd loud enough. (Mice Age)
Theme park news: Kobe rides Terminator coaster; bring back Captain EO; Hong Kong Disneyland expansion
July 4, 2009 7:29am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Online petition: Bring back Captain EO as a tribute to Michael Jackson at Disney Parks. Watch EO in 3-D at home. (Distant Creations)
* New lands at Hong Kong Disneyland: Grizzly Trail (a.k.a. Frontierland), Mystic Point (supernatural rain forest), Toy Story Land. Marquee rides: Big Grizzly Mountain coaster, Mystic Manor (a.k.a. Haunted Mansion), shuttle coaster on a U-shaped track. (Disney and More)
* Spoiler: Tinker Bell does double duty as Dumbo during Disneyland fireworks show. (Mouse Planet)
Theme park news: Animatronic Obama, Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters, Hong Kong Disneyland expansion
June 27, 2009 7:33am
A roundup of my theme park Twitter updates for the last week:
* Prowler wooden coaster construction time-lapse video at Worlds Of Fun in Kansas City, Mo. 70,000 images, one per minute over eight months.
* First official POV video of iSpeed coaster at Mirabilandia in Italy. (Parksmania)
* Journey to the Center of the Earth 4-D movie starring Brendan Fraser coming to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., from June 12 to Aug. 2. (Screamscape)
* Scale-model pictures of Battlestar Galactica dueling coasters at Universal Studios Singapore. (CoasterForce)
