Toy Story Mania's Secret

This summer, a lot is happening for Disney and Pixar. Mainly, Disney's California Adventure will be in the middle of its huge expansion and Toy Story 3 will come out. These two events may not seem like they're attached to each other, but they are.


When the Imagineers created the Toy Story Mania! attraction, they knew that it would be incredibly easy to replace the existing games with newer ones. Unlike The Haunted Mansion and other attractions that need to be closed for weeks for renovations or decorating, Toy Story Mania! could be closed for only a day or two while they update the software projected on the ride's many screens.

And this is exactly what the Imagineers are planning to do. When Toy Story 3 is released in theaters, park guests will get an unexpected surprise during their ride of Toy Story Mania! when completely new games (presumably with the new characters) are present.


But that's not all. They also plan to dress up the attraction for holiday seasons. The Imagineers could put in new games involving snow and Santa Claus, etc. Also, did you know that ol' Don Rickles recorded hours and hours of his voice for the Potato Head Barker? What you hear now is merely a fraction of what the amazing, life-size figurine has to offer. Among the yet-to-be-heard audio is Christmas carols, that they would program the spud to sing if and when they dress up the entire attraction for the yuletide.


If you didn't love Toy Story Mania! already, here's another reason to: it will constantly be updated to keep the attraction fresh, seasonal, and updated to match the film franchise. The attraction will be always changing, and you'll never know what to expect once you go through the doors of Andy's toy box.

Source: Blue Sky Disney

Read More...

Monday Link Roundup [UPDATED]

Update: Here is the just-released Princess and the Frog official movie poster!

Here is a quick list of brief links that you oughta check out if you want to keep up with the latest Disney, Pixar, Movie, Gadget, and everything in-between news:

• Disney's upcoming 2D feature, The Princess and the Frog, has a newly released trailer! Here it is:

The Princess and the Frog looks different from what I expected, but it looks like it (hopefully) will be a great animated film. I cannot wait to see more of the Louis Armstrong-inspired character Louis the Alligator, animated by everybody's favorite lead animator Eric Goldberg, who was also the lead animator for the Genie in Aladdin.

• The LA Times has a great article documenting the history of Star Tours 2.0, the just-opened renovation to Star Tours in Anaheim.

• Upcoming Pixar has an article that discusses the line of brand new, vintage Up posters, similar to the one above.

• Here is a video of "Cluster Ballooning" that took place at Pixar as a part of Up's marketing campaign.

• DisneyStore.com has a ton of new Up merchandise, including a Dug the Dog plush, a Wilderness Explorer T-shirt, and more!

• Forbes has an interesting article about animation that I don't absolutely agree with, but it is still a good read.

• The re-release of Toy Story in 3D is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Read about it at /Film, read all about it here.

• Pixar has released their updated versions of RenderMan for Maya and RenderMan Studio.

• And, finally, the big news of the week is that Pixar is opening a new studio for shorts and other smaller Pixar projects in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada!

Read More...

Exciting New Things at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure

I just visited Disneyland for New Year's Eve. Despite the park being the most crowded I've ever seen it, the park has also experienced some recent additions (besides the Christmas decorations around the park and in several rides).

One of the new excting additions can be found in Disney's California Advenure. There is a new, small room next to the vinery called Blue Sky Imagineering. It is a room with dioramas, signs, information, and videos all about what the imagineers plan to do with DCA in the near future. Here are some pictures (They were all taken on the iPhone's low quality camera in less than desirable lighting, so I apologize for the picture quality):

The entrance to Blue Sky Imagineering

An introduction to the room that you see upon walking in the entrance.

A picture of Walt up on the wall, acknowledging that he is the great man that started everything.

An example of what DCA's "Main Street" will be like. (I can't wait!)

DCA's soon-to-come-true map.

Artists' Renditions of the new DCA.

Basically just what the room looks like.

A model of the red cars that will run up and down Buena Vista Street in Disney's California Adventure.

A model of the soon-to-be-renovated Paradise Pier with new shops and boardwalk games.

A model of the soon-to-be-renovated Paradise Pier with new shops and boardwalk games.

A model of the soon-to-be-renovated Paradise Pier with new shops and boardwalk games.

A model of the soon-to-be-renovated Paradise Pier with new shops and boardwalk games.

A model of the soon-to-be-renovated Paradise Pier with new shops and boardwalk games.

A diorama of California Screamin' which will be renovated to fit the theme of California in the 1920s.

A diorama of California Screamin' which will be renovated to fit the theme of California in the 1920s.

A diorama of California Screamin' which will be renovated to fit the theme of California in the 1920s.

A diorama of California Screamin' which will be renovated to fit the theme of California in the 1920s.

A diorama of California Screamin' which will be renovated to fit the theme of California in the 1920s.

Artists' renderings of an upcoming attraction. It will be a renovation of the swings which currently reside in an orange. The swings will be themed as The Band Concert, the Silly Symphonies cartoon and riders will be conducted by Mickey Mouse as they get caught up in a storm.

Artists' renderings of an upcoming attraction. It will be a renovation of the swings which currently reside in an orange. The swings will be themed as The Band Concert, the Silly Symphonies cartoon and riders will be conducted by Mickey Mouse as they get caught up in a storm.

Artists' renderings of an upcoming attraction. It will be a renovation of the swings which currently reside in an orange. The swings will be themed as The Band Concert, the Silly Symphonies cartoon.

A close-up the previous image where an iPhone is cleverly hidden.

Artists' renderings of the upcoming dark ride attraction based on The Little Mermaid.

Artists' renderings of an upcoming attraction. It will be a renovation of the swings which currently reside in an orange. The swings will be themed as The Band Concert, the Silly Symphonies cartoon.

Artists' renderings of DCA's try at a Fantasmic. I personally dislike Fantasmic, but hopefully this light and fountain spectacle will be more impressive.

Artists' renderings of DCA's try at a Fantasmic. I personally dislike Fantasmic, but hopefully this light and fountain spectacle will be more impressive.

Artists' renderings of DCA's try at a Fantasmic. I personally dislike Fantasmic, but hopefully this light and fountain spectacle will be more impressive.

Some of the developmental materials for my favorite ride in California Adventure--Toy Story Midway Mania.

Some more artists' renderings of the renovated park in general and how it will look like California as it was in the 1920s.

Some more artists' renderings and a mention of a 12-acre Cars land which will be coming in 2012.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

Some more artists' renderings of the renovated park in general and how it will look like California as it was in the 1920s.

Some more artists' renderings of the renovated park in general and how it will look like California as it was in the 1920s.

Some artistic renderings of what the new and improved boardwalk games will look like.

Some artistic renderings of what the new and improved boardwalk games will look like.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

A neat desk-type set-up with interesting curios and a cartoon-like map of the new DCA.

A close-up on one of the drawings found on the desk.

They have a little quiz you can take about the history of Disney in the 1920s, and this is one of the various screens you see during the course of play, but I found something very interesting and very exciting. Look at the logo near the top that is "engraved" in the metal. It is the WED logo for Walt Disney's first Imagineering division! (It stood for Walter Elias Disney) The name changed during Eisner's reign to Walt Disney Imagineering, but it appears that Lasseter may be bringing it back! One can only hope...

And there is even more news from Disneyland park in California! In Disneyland, a new addition is Sleeping Beauty's Castle Walkthrough. Here are some pictures I took while walking through the new attraction (these pictures were taken on an iPhone, so they are only 2.0 megapixels with less than desirable light). You walk up to an entrance on the side of the iconic castle, Then you walk through the story of Sleeping Beauty. It is told through a "storybook", lighting effects, models with forced perspective, and some of the Imagineers other fantastic techniques. Here are most of the items found in the walkthrough:

















And there is Sleeping Beauty's Walkthrough! It is now open in Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland in California.

Well there's all of the new things happening at Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.

Read More...