Disney News

Category: Attractions

  • Disney World Begins Digitally Inserting Masks on Ride Photos

    Disney World Begins Digitally Inserting Masks on Ride Photos

    Walt Disney World is reportedly digitally inserting masks on park guests who take their masks off on rides.

    Prior to this, the park would not provide parkgoers access to ride photos in which masks were not in place properly, meaning anyone else on the same ride would be affected by the actions of anyone not wearing their masks properly.

    The practice can be seen in a photo from the Dinosaur ride at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, according to a guest who posted the photo to the Facebook group Disney World Junkies. Take a look below:

    Photo: Tony Townsend

    In the photo a passenger can be seen in the back row of the ride vehicle with an oversized black mask over the face that seems digitally placed.

    On Disney’s FAQ page on masks, it states, “If anyone in your ride vehicle’s mask is removed during an on-ride photo, you will not see or receive that photo.”

  • VIDEO: Disney Parks Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Look at New Ratatouille Ride

    VIDEO: Disney Parks Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Look at New Ratatouille Ride

    During he fifth anniversary edition of “The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration,” Disney Parks revealed a behind-the-scenes look at the Ratatouille Adventure ride coming to EPCOT.

    The attraction will expand the pavilion and shrink guests to Remy’s size and scurry to safety in a dazzling chase across a kitchen with the sights, sounds and smells of Gusteau’s legendary Parisian restaurant.

    Take a look at the behind the scenes video Disney Parks posted to Twitter below:

    The loading area is made to look like to rooftops of Paris, with oversized chimneys and rain gutters. This is the area where riders will board trackless ride vehicles, which are made to look like rats.

    Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure opens in 2021. In addition to the Ratatouille ride, the expansion of the France Pavilion will include new shopping, dining, and more.

  • Disney Says the Inclusion Update to Splash Mountain “isn’t the last”

    Disney Says the Inclusion Update to Splash Mountain “isn’t the last”

    Disney Parks revealed earlier this year that a plan was in place to re-theme Splash Mountain from its current Song of the South incarnation to something designed after The Princess and the Frog, and now Disney has announced there are more inclusion changes coming to the Parks in the future.

    Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro revealed durring a virtual conference by the IAAPA that the redesign of Splash Mountain is now being put on the fast track.

    Not only that, more changes or additions to the park are planned that will foster inclusion. D’Amaro said the Princess and the Frog update “isn’t the last. There will be more to come”

    For decades the Disney company has based its employee training around the “four keys.” Those have been safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. Earlier this year, a fifth key was added, inclusion.

    The transition of Splash Mountain is one element of this new focus on inclusion. The ride’s current theme, while not explicitly…problematic, from a race perspective, is related to a movie that has some serious problems in that regard, and the redesign to The Princess and the Frog was clearly chosen not only because it works thematically, but because that film features Disney’s only African-American Princess character.

  • New Look at the Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster Ride Vehicles

    New Look at the Guardians of the Galaxy Coaster Ride Vehicles

    Disney has released an exclusive sneak peek of two of their ride engineers as they prep some of the ride vehicles for the new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster coming to EPCOT at Disney World.

    Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a family-friendly “storytelling coaster” that will feature a groundbreaking ride system with vehicles that rotate 360 degrees and can even do a reverse launch.  

    The attraction boasts a brand new ride system, and now we have a new look at the ride vehicles themselves, which have been designed with the same color scheme as the Milano, Peter Quill’s ship from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Check them out below:

    If you look closely at the colorful paint design on the ride vehicles (called coaches in roller coaster engineering parlance), each one is unique with different wear patterns and impact marks. Imagineers were inspired by markings that appear on NASA Space Shuttles and other spacecraft upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

    Keep check back on Disney Dorks as we share more on this truly out-of-this-world, awesome attraction as they make progress on construction and put these coaches on the track!

  • ‘Jingle Cruise’ Returns to Magic Kingdom for the Holidays

    ‘Jingle Cruise’ Returns to Magic Kingdom for the Holidays

    The holiday season is fast approaching and today a guest favorite holiday offering – Jingle Cruise – has returned to Magic Kingdom Park.

    Jingle Cruise is again themed as if the Skippers are homesick for the holidays and to add cheer, they decorated the attraction queue and boathouse with homemade decorations, gifts and items from back home.

    Many fans of the festive overlay to the classic attraction have already taken to the internet to share the transformation as you can see in the post below:

    Boats have temporarily been renamed with holiday monikers and the Skippers are armed with seasonal jokes. (Listen carefully in the queue, too – you may hear a holiday-themed radio broadcast playing in the background).

  • ‘Space Mountain’ Live-Action Movie in the Works at Disney

    ‘Space Mountain’ Live-Action Movie in the Works at Disney

    Continuing Disney’s trend of turning classic attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise into blockbuster movie franchises Disney is now developing a live-action Space Mountain movie.

    Space Mountain is an indoor rollercoaster in the dark based on Jules Verne’s 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon. The ride first landed at Disney’s Florida theme park, Walt Disney World Resort, in 1975. Two years later, the ride was implemented at California’s Disneyland.

    Logline details for the project, which is still in the early stages, are being kept under wraps, but it is described as a family adventure and is intended for theatrical release.

    Helming the project as producer and writer is Joby Harold — who is also currently writing and executive producing the upcoming Obi-wan Kenobi series for Disney+ — and his wife, Tory Tunnell, who is producing the film under their shared company, Safehouse Pictures.

  • Petition Calls for Splash Mountain to be Re-themed to Black Panther Instead of Princess and the Frog

    Petition Calls for Splash Mountain to be Re-themed to Black Panther Instead of Princess and the Frog

    Shortly after a petition hit the internet, Disney announced back in June that it was re-themeing Spash Mountain to the 2009 Disney Princess animated movie The Princess and the Frog and now another petition is gaining traction asking for the classic attraction to be themed to Black Panther, in honor of the late Chadwick Boseman.

    Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in September following a private four-year battle with colon cancer.

    Titled “Redesign Splash Mountain to Black Panther in honor of Chadwick Boseman,” the petition has gained more than 3000 signatures. You can read the petition’s official description below:

    This is to petition to change Splash Mountain to Black Panther.  Disney has announced to change Splash Mountain to Princess and the Frog, but in recent news encourage them to redesign splash mountain to Black Panther theme in honor of Chadwick Boseman.

    Splash Mountain currently stars the animated characters from Song of the South, the 1946 film long criticized for stereotypes of “spiritual” black men and its seemingly nostalgic view of the antebellum South.

    The current re-themeing plan is inspired by the all-time favorite animated Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.” The story picks up after the final kiss where guests will join Princess Tiana and Louis on a musical adventure – featuring some of the powerful music from the film – as they prepare for their first-ever Mardi Gras performance.

    According to the Disney Parks Blog, the idea for re-theming the 1989 thrill ride started over a year before the announcement and quite a bit of planning has gone into the reimagining so it’s not clear how much Disney will listen to the call.

  • Disney’s The Haunted Mansion Board Game Materializing in Time for Halloween

    Disney’s The Haunted Mansion Board Game Materializing in Time for Halloween

    Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still it may be family game night and Funko has just released a new board game called The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits that is perfect for foolish mortals.

    The haunted new game allows you to explore all the classic rooms of the ghost-infested manor, from the festivities-filled Ballroom to the Attic and out to the Graveyard and beyond in search of spirits. Beware, though, of the Hitchhiking Ghosts, who are notorious for “following you home” as that may spell your doom in the end!

    Take a look at the features and details below:

    • Socialize with the Happy Haunts by collecting matching sets of ghost cards.
    • Explore all the classic rooms of the ghost-infested manor, from the festivities-filled Ballroom to the Attic and out to the Graveyard and beyond in search of spirits.
    • Beware of the Hitchhiking Ghosts, who are notorious for “following you home” as that may spell your doom in the end!
    • Move around the mansion by rotating the Endless Hallway around Madame Leota’s Séance Room, collecting Ghost cards in front of them in sets, each of which are worth different point values.

    The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits board game launched September 30th on Amazon and at Walmart for $24.97.

  • Frozen Sing-Along Returning to Hollywood Studios

    Frozen Sing-Along Returning to Hollywood Studios

    “For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration,” is returning to Disney’s Hollywood Studios!

    For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration is a musical show based on Disney’s 2013 animated film Frozen and the songs from the film, located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Shanghai Disneyland Park. It was also formerly hosted at Disney California Adventure, Disneyland Park in Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland.

    Beginning Monday, October 5, you can once again join Erik and Aria, the Royal Historians of Arendelle, for their comedic retelling of the unique story of their kingdom, filled with delightful, sing-along moments from Disney’s “Frozen” and special appearances by Anna, Elsa and Kristoff.

    Disney said is a blog post that the Frozen Sing-Along “will be the same incredible show guests have loved for the past six years, with some adjustments to staging and audience seating to allow for appropriate physical distancing.”

    The show originally premiered at the Premiere Theater in the Streets of America section of Disney’s Hollywood Studios during the 2014 Frozen Summer Fun on July 5, 2014. The show moved into its current location at the Hyperion Theater in Echo Lake on June 17, 2015, the former home of The American Idol Experience.

  • New TRON Coaster Coming to Disney World Reaches Major Milestone

    New TRON Coaster Coming to Disney World Reaches Major Milestone

    Walt Disney Imagineering has reached a major milestone in the development of the new TRON coaster coming to Walt Disney World Resort.

    What they set in place this week is the first of nearly 40 pieces that will create a dramatic “curved wave” canopy, known as the Upload Conduit.

    Below you can see an image of the first piece of canopy being installed in what will become an instant iconic attraction and portal to The Grid in Tomorrowland.

    Each section is strategically assembled before installation, including alignment of the steel, welding, grinding, some painting and electrical work. It’s an intricate process and something we’ll get to see rise before our eyes over the coming weeks and months.

    This canopy will be a massive, awe-inspiring structure flowing organically over you when you race beneath it aboard your Lightcycle, serving as a digital bridge for your transition into The Grid.

    As the Lightcycles whiz by, dynamic stripes of lights will follow along the canopy, creating a powerful visual for riders and bystanders alike.