It’s official: space tourism outside our own solar system begins this May 27… Well, at least to Pandora – The World of Avatar, the new land of Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World. The date was announced by Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, during the Q1 FY17 Earning call. Remember that…
Shanghai Disneyland is the multi-billion dollar project that Disney has been working on with the Chinese government for years. The theme park opening was delayed and given the scope of the task, that was not so surprising. The official public opening is due June 16. However, right now, Shanghai Disneyland is in a sort of soft opening…
On April 29, Disney will continue its tradition of space related features with the release of “A Beautiful Planet,” an IMAX 3D documentary filmed on orbit and narrated by Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence. The official trailer is below. With TV productions like the Man In Space series, films as Mission to Mars or attractions…
The folks that publish the excellent Orlando Attractions Magazine also create videos on a regular basis, including a weekly production, The Show, about theme park news in the Orlando area. However, they shared on YouTube something new, immersive and so fun to watch: 360° videos. Technically, it’s a camera that records everything around it. Think of it as…
In France, Halloween is very far from what it is in the USA. However, it is followed, especially at Disneyland Paris where the park has a seasonal Halloween makeover. The only time we experienced such settings was way back in October 2002 when we made a family trip to Disneyland Paris. A lot has…
At this year D23 Expo, Andreas Deja received one of the highest honors possible for someone involved with the Walt Disney Company: a Disney Legend Award. Born in Poland, Andreas Deja started working for Disney animation at age 20. There, he met and collaborated with Eric Larson, one of the famous “nine old men”,…
In previous articles, I wrote about how to do a Disney vacation home movie. And what about a trailer? Of course, you don’t need a trailer for publicity purposes, but it’s fun to do one. It’s also a way to showcase your Disney vacation in a short time! After all, when speaking about going to…
This week, let’s throwback to 2013. This photo is of my two children looking Main Street from the train station. The promise of a great day to come! Do you have a Throwback Thursday you would like to share with us? Olivier S. (NDD#263)Born in France (and still living there) I discovered WDW in the…
In previous articles (here and there), we discussed how to improve your Disney vacation movies in general. Now, let’s take a look at how to edit an attraction or ride sequence. As it is part of a vacation movie, remember that it is not wise to do a full length POV (Point Of View) video…
On Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1st March, Van Eaton Galleries in Sherman Oaks (California) conducted an auction selling almost 1,000 artworks and collectibles about Disney theme parks, mainly Disneyland and some about Walt Disney World. All of these items came from a collector who wished to remain anonymous. The sales raised over $1.7…
With a group of friends, my family and I went on a two week trip to Walt Disney World in April-May. For the first time, we used Fastpass+ with the MyMagic+ web pages and the iPhone app. I must say it was quite good: coming from France, I appreciated the fact that I could book in advance…
This 5k race that takes place at Animal Kingdom (WDW, Florida) began in 2008, but Disney announced that the 2015 edition was the last. Expedition Everest Challenge is a bit different compared to other RunDisney events because it is a 5k (so 5 km or 3.1 miles) with obstacles (easy ones however) followed by…
We all know that Frozen is a worldwide success. One of the big challenges Disney faced was to find female singers up to the task of singing the demanding “Let It Go” in foreign countries. In France, Anaïs Delva (born in 1986) was chosen. With quite a high level education (diplomas in international business,…
Time flies by! The famous Space Mountain hits its 40th anniversary January 15, 1015. Yes, the roller coaster (and the oldest one in operation in the state of Florida) opened officially January 15, 1975. It was the grand new attraction in Magic Kingdom’s Tomorrowland at Walt Disney World. And just a few weeks after its opening,…
The Disney Company is always doing research and sometimes the research is done in partnership with institutions and universities… worldwide! That’s the case for the BeachBot, said to be the first sand drawing, autonomous robot. For this project, Disney partnered with ETH Zürich in Switzerland, a renowned engineering, science, technology and management university. The Zürich University of the…
Book review: The Unauthorized Story of Walt Disney’s Haunted Mansion As some of you may know, there is an official Disney book about the Haunted Mansion. Published in 2003, the title is “The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies”. With a lot of pictures, this book was about the famous attraction, but…
At about 250 miles above our heads, six astronauts live aboard the International Space Station (sometimes it’s three astronauts for some days when the crew changes by half). This station, as its name implies, is an international cooperation. It involves USA, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe. As part of the outreach about the ISS, it…
Traditions – they are what make your holidays and events special. Adding Disney to those traditions can make your holidays even more magical. Even if you have a tradition that has been passed down for generations, it’s never too late to add a few new fun ones! This month, we will highlight some of…
As part of our “A Month of Thanks” celebration, we asked our readers and contributors to share their stories about why they are thankful for Disney. Here is just one of those submitted. If you would like to share why you are thankful for Disney, please see this article or contact Maria (NDM 130)…
This massive book (320 pages and 12.6 x 11.2 x 1.3 inches in size) has received very positive reviews, even from people who are, by themselves, noted Disney historians such as Didier Ghez or Leonard Maltin. Thanks to my mother in law, I’ve received “The Fairest One of All” as a gift, and…
