The Disney thread

[Rewind]

Disneyland and Walt Disney World raised parking prices -- again. Disneyland and Walt Disney World raised admission prices -- again. Now it's time for Disneyland and Walt Disney World to raise food prices -- again.

Your favorite Disney snacks are now more expensive
Travel+Leisure, Oct 10 2018

Dole Whip, Mickey-shaped pretzels, cotton candy — they’re all crowd pleasers and some of the best foods you’ll find at Disney parks. Only problem is, these salty treats and frozen sweets are about to cost you significantly more than on your last Orlando vacation. Food and drink prices have increased at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts.

Snack prices have changed across the board at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Popcorn and cotton candy now cost $5 each, up from $4.50, and churros cost $5.25, up from $4.50. Mickey pretzels with cheese are now $7, up from $6 — cheese is not optional, requiring guests to spend the extra buck — and Mickey ice cream bars are $5.75, up from $5. The cost of the chocolate-covered delights have increased 35% in the past three years.

Dole Whip, the pineapple soft-serve, is up fifty cents for cups (now $4.99) and floats (now $5.99). Turkey legs now cost $1.50 more, going for $13.25 each at Epcot’s Fife & Drum Tavern. Bottled drinks are up a full dollar at the Florida resort, from $3.50 to $4.50, and bottled water is now $3.50, up from $3. Fountain drink prices have increased at both Disney parks, with regular-sized sodas increasing from $3.29 at Walt Disney World and $3.59 at Disneyland to $3.99 at both parks.

At Disneyland, many snack prices have stayed firm — churros are still $4.75, Mickey pretzels $5.25 (plus an optional dollar for cheese) — but one popular item has changed: popcorn. A scoop will now cost $5, up from $4.50. Cream cheese-stuffed pretzels were $4.79 last July. Now, they're $7.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/tri...rices-increase

[Rewind]

Spoiler alert: The Spaceship Earth attraction is not a spaceship.

Disney to close Spaceship Earth at Epcot for two years
ComicBook.com, Oct 12 2018

The Walt Disney World Resort will close its Spaceship Earth attraction in 2020 for a two-year refurbishment, re-opening during Epcot’s 40th anniversary in 2022. The overhaul comes as the park undergoes a facelift to become "more timeless, more relevant, more family-friendly and more Disney."

As part of "Project Gamma," dubbed so by Walt Disney Imagineers, Spaceship Earth’s makeover will be so thorough the ride will have to undergo a two-year closure to overhaul its ride track and extend the ride length. Disney is also reported to be eyeing construction on new loading and unloading areas and the construction of new structures and a redone post-show building.

The innards of Spaceship Earth will see every scene refreshed through the Industrial Revolution segment, with major changes to alter the remainder of the ride, culminating in the ending dome scene that will be re-imagined using the latest projection mapping technologies when giving guests a look at earth from space. Its famous shell will see the sphere similarly covered in projection mapping, giving onlookers a colorful nighttime display. Changes to Epcot comes as Disney is bringing a Marvel-inspired coaster to the park, bringing the east coast its first Guardians Of The Galaxy theme park attraction.

https://comicbook.com/movies/2018/10...ose-two-years/

[Rewind]

In 1972, Ed Catmull and Fred Parke produced the first computer-animated 3D film. For A Computer Animated Hand, Catmull constructed a model of his left hand and drew hundreds of triangles and polygons on it -- the model, not his left hand. He digitized the model and used a 3D animation program to make a one-minute film of the hand closing, opening, turning and pointing. Hurry and watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdedV81UQ5k

Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull is retiring
Los Angeles Times, Oct 23 2018 4:10 PM

Ed Catmull, the Pixar co-founder who helped pioneer the computer animation industry and led Disney's animation business to its contemporary renaissance, is retiring. Catmull, 73, the longtime president of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, will step down from his current role at the end of 2018. He will stay on in an advisory role through July and will not be replaced. Catmull's retirement marks the end of an era for Pixar and Disney. At Pixar, he and co-founder John Lasseter were credited with transforming the studio into an animation juggernaut with such hits as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

Pixar President Jim Morris and Walt Disney Animation Studios President Andrew Millstein will continue to oversee operations of their respective studios, reporting to Walt Disney Studios President Alan Bergman, Disney said in a statement. The news comes just months after Pete Docter and Jennifer Lee were named chief creative officers of Pixar and Disney Animation, respectively. They replaced Lasseter, who left this year after facing allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior.

http://www.latimes.com/business/holl...023-story.html

[Rewind]

Walt Disney often pointed out that the Disney empire "started with a mouse." (Actually, it started with the Alice shorts and Oswald The Lucky Rabbit.) At the theme parks, the legendary Disney characters are being passed over in favor of Avatar, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Iron Man, The Muppets, The Twilight Zone and Guardians Of The Galaxy. What would Walt think?

An Indiana Jones mini-land may finally find a home at Disney's Hollywood Studios

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/...udios?fbclid=X

[Rewind]

Yo ho, yo ho, no more pirate's life for Johnny. I expect that a Pirates Of The Caribbean 6 with no Captain Jack Sparrow will be boycotted by millions of moviegoers.

Johnny Depp axed from Pirates Of The Caribbean as he battles financial and personal issues

http://wstale.com/tv-movies/johnny-d...rsonal-issues/

[Rewind]

In Toy Story 4, set for release on June 21, 2019, Bonnie turns a spork into a toy she calls Forky -- but Forky doesn't fit in with the other toys.......or does he? The character is voiced by Tony Hale of Veep and Arrested Development. A teaser for the film will precede Ralph Breaks The Internet, which opens November 21, and you can see it now on YouTube:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LDXYRzerjzU

"Forky"? Really?

[Rewind]

Disney just released a preview of the live-action Dumbo movie which will be released on March 29. The main characters in the 1941 animated film were elephants, a mouse, a stork and a group of crows. The upcoming movie is filled with humans -- but it appears that Tim Burton will not ruin Dumbo the way he ruined Alice In Wonderland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NiYVoqBt-8

[Rewind]

How does this woman know the bedbugs were real? They could have been Disney "cast members" in bedbug costumes.

Disneyland Hotel is sued by woman who says she was bitten by bedbugs. Her attorney has a history of winning big awards.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...114-story.html

[Rewind]

Disney today released its first preview of the 2019 live-action remake of the 1994 animated classic The Lion King -- although I think 90% of that so-called "live action" will be CGI. The opening replicates the opening of the original film -- and that little lion club is so goshdarned adorable! Hurry and watch!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O9EvBdzHvqI

[Rewind]

Sebastian was so embarrassed by this story, his face turned red. At least I think it did. It's hard to tell.

Princeton a cappella group cuts song from The Little Mermaid over 'toxic masculinity'
CBS News, Dec 5 2018 11:54 PM

A male a cappella group at Princeton University has pulled a Disney movie song from its act following a student newspaper column that suggested the lyrics helped promote "toxic masculinity."

The Princeton Tigertones have performed Kiss The Girl, a song from The Little Mermaid, for years. During performances at the Ivy League school, a female audience member would be brought onstage to decide whether or not a man from the crowd could kiss her. Noa Wollstein, who wrote the column, claimed the song's message is misogynistic and that too many women have been pulled on stage for unwanted encounters.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-toxic-n944531