This is the moment we all have been waiting for. That little fish that taught us all to “just keep swimming” is back. On April 2nd it was announced that Disney’s Pixar will be releasing the sequel to Finding Nemo. The sequel will be titled Finding Dory. The movie, which will be directed by original Nemo co-director Andrew Stanton, is set for release on November 25, 2015 in the U.S. I cant wait that long!
I love Disneyland. My love for Disney reaches far beyond the park. I love anything that is connected to the name Disney. One can’t help but think happy thoughts when you hear the name Walt Disney. When there is anything Disney related I really try to check it out. Recently we decided to take a trek out to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA. The Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit were there for a limited time and I had to see it before it was gone.
I am a member of the Star Wars generation: saw the original movie at age 5 at the drive-in, collected the toys, played as Luke on the playground, doubted Vader was Luke’s father, and passed on my appreciation to my little brother. The summer before my senior year of high school my brother and I watched the original trilogy once a week. By the end of the summer we were saying the lines before the characters, and turning our bunk beds into X-wing fighters (If I were feeling nice I let him play Wedge and I took Luke). Now, my son has his own set of the movies, has dressed as a Star Wars character for Halloween multiple times, and we constantly have our own fanboy moments. I tell you this because like most of my Disney stories the importance of the role of Star Wars in my life comes back to family. When we went as a family to Disney World the first time, I had the pleasure of bringing my brother on his first trip to see The Parks, and, you got it, it was a Star Wars Weekend and the three McDaniel boys could hardly get on Star Tours fast enough. How amazing now that two of my passions come full circle together.
So I got your attention? Maybe, with better truth in advertising, the marquee would proclaim: “Tom Hanks as Walt Disney.” Yes, Tom Hanks landed the role of our favorite American icon in a movie concerning his chase to land the rights to Mary Poppins from a very distrusting author, P.L. Travers, portrayed by Emma Thompson. Reportedly, this is the first on-screen portrayal of Walt Disney.
On this week’s episode, Banks, JL and reporter, Nicole Siscaretti, cover this week’s Attraction news:
In addition, there are our weekly Hidden Mickey and Travel Tips. We hope you enjoy the return of The Show to it’s weekly schedule. Have fun!
On this week’s episode, Banks, JL and reporter, Scarlett Litton, cover this week’s Attraction news:
In addition, there are our weekly Hidden Mickey and Travel Tips. We hope you enjoy the return of The Show to it’s weekly schedule. Have fun!
First things first I would like to thank everyone who responded to my last blog post for CONVINCING me to see John Carter. I have been flying all over the country for business and finally had a minute to see this epic film this week. This was definitely something that needed to been seen on the big screen … the BIG BIG IMAX screen and in 3D. I do still have a bone of contention for how expensive these movies are at the box office. I mean I paid $16.50 to get into a random Wednesday night showing which seems a bit steep for a movie that will be no more than 25 dollars on Blu-Ray 3D in likely less than 6 months…but I digress.
Feb 28 (29), 2012
PhotoCredit:Walt Disney
Couple of things – happy birthday to me and happy one more Disney day to you! I can’t believe I am writing this from 35k feet and didn’t extend my trip one day so I could be part of the “magic” … but I trust there will be plenty of pictures to go around!
Anyway, I know I’m generally the TV guy and all, but I hope you will forgive me if I stray away from the media just a bit today because I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what a truly wonderful experience the Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon was. (I’m not THAT much of a couch potato, thank you very much!)
Just another rainy Sunday afternoon in Knox-vegas, TN so I’m unspooling yee olde faithful DVR and I got to thinking.
I’m not sure I’m proud of it but I classify myself as an “above average” consumer of media. Maybe it has something to do with what I do for a living (TV producer). I can rationalize that it’s “research” (insert laugh track). Either way, the fact of the matter is – I watch a lot of TV, go to plenty of movies, play my fair share of games and, much like you friendly reader, am always trolling this ever-crazy Internet machine.
There is a common thread amongst the people I’ve interviewed who are pursuing Disney; they tend to be involved with other Disney pursuits as well. Such is the case for Todd Perlmutter, co-host of the Disney Film Project Podcast along with wife, and Briana and Ryan who both are contributing bloggers here at the DDL. Each week they take a different Disney movie, watch it, and record a show about it, and tell secrets and background about it as well.
“It’s a lot of fun to do and very important to give back to the Disney community” says Todd. “I’m also a blogger and occasional developer for TouringPlans.com. Writing is something I really love to do, and writing about Disney makes it that much better. I also help keep the plumbing going at The Disney Driven Life as their resident tech guy. My official title there is Chief Technical Officer, but I’m a lot friendlier than that makes me sound.”
Over 100 million people can’t be wrong, so it’s official. Sunday’s Super Bowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots is the most watched TV show in U.S. history (estimated at 111.3 million people).
Now that the big game is behind us, it’s time to celebrate the season in which networks beg for our attention with new episodes from our favorite shows. That’s right! It’s SWEEPS! And ABC is no different. They want your eyeballs on both the network and online. This month they are hoping to get just that from fans of one of ABCs favorite families, Modern Family.
A Mickey shaped pool. A backyard safari adventure. A pirates life for you. Sure all of this can be found within the Walt Disney World Resort, but what if you could walk into your own backyard and find the same kind of magic day after day?
Well, friends, it looks like HGTV and Disney are ready to spread a little more pixie dust around the country as they will soon be filming another season of My Yard Goes Disney. And why shouldn’t they pick you?
With a website address that contains TheEnemyIsGood, a lot of people ask Connie M. which enemy is that? Connie laughs and points out how her blog started with a typo, she meant to nab “The Enemy is Food.” But with her new blog formally titled “Life is a Journey” in place, Connie was ready to blog, and embrace what she loved.
“The blog originally was started as a way for me to make a food diary but I gave up that idea when I realized that I am a sensory person and loved the sight, smell and taste of food. So…instead of trying to lose weight by dieting, I embraced my love of food but developed a new respect for it,” Connie said. “Slowly, I began to write less and less about food and now only occasionally include a photo of something I am enjoying on one of my little exploratory trips around Southern California. Or Disneyland!”
With a passion for Disney, what pursuits does Craig Duncan squeeze in between a full time job and family? How about working on ‘They Disney Brit’, the UKs largest and longest running Disney podcast, the ‘Destination Disney’ radio show and the ‘Eye on Orlando’ radio show both of which are aired live on Florida radio shows. Then there is ‘Mousemeets’ which is UKs Disney annual fan convention and ‘Mousemag’ a free bi-monthly magazine all about Disney written by the Disney Community for the Community. “We have also done something different with our associated web sites. We have made DisneyBrit.com one of the best sources for Disney related news anywhere in the world. EyeonOrlando.com is a pure Orlando holiday portal.”
Image courtesy of Disney Parks Blog (copyright Disney)
Here’s the Jeopardy Question: What is the new, exciting news from the House of Mouse? If you answered right, well, kudos to you-you are well on your way to becoming a Disney insider!
So here’s the scoop:
Open 24 hours is not something you would normally associate with Disney. But on February 29, 2012, Magic Kingdom and Disneyland will offer an unlimited day of fun. That’s right, the parks will be open ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT! The new goal? Not to close down the park but to stay all 24 hours! This special announcement premiered at 11:00 PM on New Year’s Eve for those that got to see it (supreme dislike for my local news which preempted the official announcement-ARGH!) But I had already heard the rumors and was quickly notified by my Tweeps of the “One More Disney Day” theme. So who’s in? And is there enough Red Bull to sustain you? I wish I could say I would be there, but alas, it’s not in the cards–unless I can finagle a belated birthday trip for Leap Year Day under the guise of my 40th Birthday present?!?
Try to imagine the ideal career, one that keeps you busy doing exactly that you enjoy doing. How does writing about Disney, travel and eating at fine restaurants sound? That’s exactly what Rona Gindin, author of The Little Black Book of Walt Disney World is doing. “I am living my ideal when it comes to my professional goals. I write about restaurants, travel and Disney World, from the comfort of my home. I have amazing clients who care about quality as much as I do. I get to snoop behind the scenes at all kinds of attractions and in all kinds of restaurants. And I get to share my discoveries with like-minded readers. It’s a good gig.”
Copyright: Disney
2012 is a good year to be a D23 member! “The Official Disney Fan Club” is celebrating the magic of Disney throughout the year and all members are invited!
D23 is celebrating its third year of existence (what they are affectionately calling their “fanniversary”) with celebrations all across the country. They have so much in store, including tours of Walt’s boyhood hometown, Marceline Missouri, an experience at Smoke Tree Ranch, and archivist tours that will be visiting Orlando, New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Photo Credit: Ayefour Publishing
Four Decades of Magic: Celebrating the First Forty Years of Disney World: a collection of essays, Compiled by Chad Denver Emerson, Ayefour Publishing, 2011, 379 pp.
Amid the pomp and circumstance certain to be part of the Walt Disney World 40th Anniversary celebration, what will likely be ignored is any reference to the Walt Disney World that never was.
Copyright: Disney
Tuesday in a press conference, Tom Staggs along with several other executives and James Cameron announced that they are in the early planning stages of bringing Cameron’s blockbuster movie AVATAR to the Disney parks. The long-term partnership will include a themed land in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They are in the beginning planning stages for this project, so there is no attraction plans or specific details about the land, just that construction will be starting in 2013 and will take approximately five years to complete.