The release of Solo: A Star Wars Story is less than two months away and at Disney Parks there’s no better way to celebrate the release of the film than to follow-up a showing by attending the Star Wars: Galactic Nights special event at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 27. You won’t want to miss the celebration as this one comes with a special celebrity appearance from one of the films actors.
In case you aren’t familiar, Star Wars: Galactic Nights is a thrilling Star Wars-themed event held after park hours from 7 p.m.-midnight. It will celebrate the entire Star Wars saga – including the latest film – with out-of-this-world entertainment, special photo opportunities, event-exclusive merchandise and F&B, and encounters with rarely seen characters that guests can only experience during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Today, we learned new details on how the May 27th event will feature exclusive “Solo: A Star Wars Story”-inspired content.
First up, actor Joonas Suotamo who plays Chewbacca in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” will make a special appearance at the event. The event’s Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away presentation will debut some new video moments from “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” And the park’s nighttime projection show, Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular, will debut a new action sequence from the film.
In addition, guests will also be able to shop for event-exclusive merchandise from the film, taste a Star Wars-themed cupcake with a glowing Millennium Falcon, snap pics with Chewbacca, and more.
The largest hurdle Disney World has had to overcome in bringing more Marvel attractions to its parks, other than those based on franchises like “Guardians of the Galaxy“, is the fact that Universal Studios owns the east coast rights to most of the Marvel lineup. Well in a shocking turn of events, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at the most recent shareholders meeting that Disney has negotiated a deal to bring the rights home to Disney and they will officially be adding a Marvel Land to Hollywood Studios.
“We think this will be a good thing. Marvel belongs home with Disney and we now have the opportunity to tell the stories of these characters in way like only Disney can.” Iger said. The audience laughed as he joked, “It’s always a little odd when you have to rent back your own property from someone who is renting it from you.” The deal is quite intricate he explained and there are no details on how exactly it was worked out. This comes on the heels of a recent announcement that Disneyland Parks around the globe are already getting Marvel themed lands and now Disney World wont be left out on the super hero action!
He was tight-lipped about some of the upcoming changes, but he did drop some bombs on what the future of Hollywood Studios will look like with the addition of Marvel Land. First and what will probably be most up setting for fans is that the area will be located around the Tower of Terror area where just like in California, the attraction will be converted to Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! Iger made the announcement as he unveiled the only piece of concept art that he used during his speech as you can see in the photo below:
The ride is expected to be operational by late 2020, well before construction for Marvel Land is complete. “The new attraction will anchor a broader universe of Super Heroes that will grow over time at Hollywood Studios”, Iger said.
There will be a Marvel themed restaurant, of course multiple retail locations, and other attractions, but the only other attraction change Iger mentioned during the meeting was Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith. The contract with Aerosmith was renewed not too long ago and it’s always a question of if they will continue renewing. Well I guess we have our answer, because in a statement that Iger let Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Bob Chapek deliver, he said, “Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will be transformed into an Ironman themed coaster that will immerse guests in a fantastic new thrilling adventure like never before.”
Iger said that the project can be expected to be fully completed by 2022 and those rides that will be getting overhauls will remain open for as long as possible to minimize the impact on guests during construction of new addition of Marvel Land. Work will begin on Tower of Terror first and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster will close temporarily while construction on the entire new land begins.
Fans have already been lighting up the internet as they are upset about the changing of more classic rides and it didn’t take long for the petitions to begin either. Change is hard and if you have loved Hollywood Studios since the day it opened in 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios, then this might be a hard one for you, but this is a change that is necessary for “Disney’s vision of the park’s future” Iger said in his final words at the meeting.
Walt Disney himself knew that his parks would continue to change and evolve. “As long as there is imagination left in the world”, said Walt. He also believed in a good laugh and a good joke so we hope you enjoyed this one. Happy April Fools Day… Oh yeah and Happy Easter. If anyone happens to be upset that the news isn’t true, don’t worry, there are Marvel Lands that are going to be popping up at nearly every other Disney Park on the Planet. And if you can’t make it out of Florida, we actually have our own Marvel Land right here… at Universal Studios. 🙂
Walt Disney Imagineering teamed with NVIDIA and Epic Games to develop new technology to drive the Millennium Falcon attraction that will be part of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland Resort and the Walt Disney World Resort when it opens in 2019.
When it launches, riders will enter a cockpit powered with a single BOXX chassis packed with eight high-end NVIDIA Quadro P6000 GPUs, connected via Quadro SLI.
When the attraction opens next year, park guests will visit the planet of Batuu, a remote outpost that was once a busy crossroads along the old sub-lightspeed trade routes. But you don’t have to wait another year to get a glimpse of it.
An in-progress animated sequence from the Millennium Falcon attraction was unveiled Wednesday. Produced by ILMxLAB and running in real-time, it gives fans the first ever glimpse of the incredible detail and immersion the attraction will offer.
Quadro Sync synchronizes five projectors for the creation of dazzling ultra-high resolution, perfectly timed displays to fully immerse the riders in the world of planet Batuu.
Working with NVIDIA and Epic Games, the Imagineering team created a custom multi-GPU implementation for Unreal Engine. This new code was returned to the Epic Games team and will help influence how multi-GPUs function for their engine.
“We worked with NVIDIA engineers to use Quadro-specific features like Mosaic and cross-GPU reads to develop a renderer that had performance characteristics we needed,” says Bei Yang, technology studio executive at Disney Imagineering. “Using the eight connected GPUs allowed us to achieve performance unlike anything before.”
Yang and Principal Software Developer Eric Smolikowski dove into more details during their GTC talk, “Walt Disney Imagineering Technology Preview: Real-time Rendering of a Galaxy Far, Far Away,” and discussed how Disney Imagineering took advantage of the latest NVIDIA technology and the technical modifications they made for the Unreal Engine, which allows eight GPUs to render at unprecedented quality and speed.
In case you aren’t familiar, Star Wars: Galactic Nights is a thrilling Star Wars-themed event held after park hours from 7 p.m.-midnight. It celebrates the entire Star Wars saga with out-of-this-world entertainment, special photo opportunities, event-exclusive merchandise and F&B, and encounters with rarely seen characters that guests can only experience during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Here’s what you’ll find this year:
The event-exclusive projection show, Star Wars: Galactic Destinations, will debut a new, surprise planet. Keep your eyes open!
New talent from the Star Wars galaxy will make a special appearance during the event.
Guests can meet an array of legendary Star Wars characters, many who are available only during Star Wars: Galactic Nights, including Rey, Captain Phasma, the 7th Sister, AWR Stormtroopers, Darth Vader and even EWOKS.
Fan-made Droids! Droid Builders, the international community of Star Wars fans who build their own replica robots from the Star Wars galaxy returns with new droids to surprise guests.
The Seize the Saga Scavenger hunt returns with a new immersive photo location. Guests who collect all the clues will be rewarded with exclusive artwork that will enhance their event credentials.
An exclusive Star Wars: Galactic Nights poster will be given to every guest.
Limited-edition, event-exclusive merchandise will be available featuring art from the upcoming movie Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Guests can savor their way through the galaxy with new menu offerings available only during this event. Tasty new items include loaded red curry duck fries inspired by the Battle of Crait and dueling gazpacho inspired by the famous lightsaber duel between Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Sith Lord Darth Maul.
Park access and all activities will be exclusive to Star Wars: Galactic Nights ticket holders.
Tickets are now available at all Walt Disney World ticket locations and are priced at $129 for adults and $124 for children ages 3-9
After our most recent trip to Walt Disney World we’re back with some updates on the progress of construction for Disney’s new gondola system. We were able to get a good look at the mechanical and aerial components that will make up the Disney Skyliner entrance area at the Hollywood Studios.
Just past the bus loop, within viewing distance of Tower of Terror, you can see the Dream Builders are hard at work.
One of the poles that will hold up the new transportation system has already been put into place.
And right next it on the ground you can see the actual parts that will attach the gondola to the cables.
The design style of the station at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will fit with that of the park’s main entrance and bus stations. Passengers traveling here from the Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort station can expect a new aerial perspective of the park’s iconic attractions.
When it’s finished, the transportation system will connect Disney’s Art of Animation, Pop Century and Caribbean Beach resorts and other locations with Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the International Gateway at Epcot.
There is no official date, but the Disney Skyliner project is expected to be completed by 2019.
Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is set open to guests on June 30 and Disney has just announced some more exciting experiences that guests will find when it opens to the public. There are so many things this land has to offer that it is truly the toy box of your childhood dreams and Disney has revealed that guests will be able to meet their favorite Pixar characters right in Andy’s Backyard.
Inside this new land, you’ll have the chance to encounter characters from Disney•Pixar “Toy Story” films, including Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl.
Woody, Buzz and Jessie will be greeting guests throughout Toy Story Land on a daily basis. And each character (along with the rest of the gang) will be joining in on the fun in a land where guests “shrink” to the size of a toy. Guests will be also be able to take a ride on Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster Andy has assembled from his Mega Coaster Play Kit, or take a spin on Alien Swirling Saucers, a galactic play set that Andy won at Pizza Planet.
Toy Story Land guests can also walk through a new carnival game box to experience Toy Story Mania!, which has been a guest-favorite attraction at the park since it opened in 2008. Now expanded with a third track, the popular attraction will allow even more guests to take aim at 3D objects – using everything from baseballs to cream pies – in a variety of whimsical, fast-paced games.
Walt Disney Imagineering marked a another milestone in their creation of the highly anticipated Toy Story Land when they welcomed Wheezy to Disney’s Hollywood Studios this weekend. The squeaky toy penguin from the Disney•Pixar “Toy Story” films is the latest of Andy’s toys to appear in Toy Story Land, which so far already features Jessie, Rex and Slinky Dog.
When Toy Story Land opens, guests will “shrink” to the size of a toy and join in on the fun Woody, Jessie, Buzz, and the rest of the gang are having in Andy’s backyard. Guests will be able to take a ride on Slinky Dog Dash, a roller coaster Andy has assembled from his Mega Coaster Play Kit, or take a spin on Alien Swirling Saucers, a galactic play set that Andy won at Pizza Planet.
Guests can also walk through a new carnival game box to experience Toy Story Mania!, which has been a guest-favorite attraction at the park since it opened in 2008. Now expanded with a third track, the popular attraction will allow even more guests to take aim at 3D objects – using everything from baseballs to cream pies – in a variety of whimsical, fast-paced games.
Families can also head to Woody’s Lunch Box in Toy Story Land for tasty meals and old-fashioned soda floats.
Have you ever wondered what happened to Walt’s plane after it was removed from the Studio Back Lot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios? Well after the famous plane, known as “The Mouse”, was recently spotted from high above, we now have the answer. Satellite Imagery shows the plane in good condition and out of public sight.
There were some initial reports that the plane was severely damaged and maybe even crushed, while it was being moved to a backstage location elsewhere on property. We now know that isn’t the case thanks to recent satellite images.
The twin prop plane is surrounded by barricades and being kept safe in a restricted backstage area.
The area is easily recognizable as the wastewater treatment plant operated by the Reedy Creek Improvement District. As we mentioned the area is off-limits so it’s best not to try to sneak a peek.
If you’ve ever experienced The Backlot Tour at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, chances are you’ve seen “The Mouse” – a white airplane with a Mickey Mouse icon on its tail. Before it made its home as part of the attraction the plane was actually used by Walt Disney himself.
The plane has a storied past and was used from everything from giving Walt a bird’s eye view to survey the future Walt Disney World property to shuttling Imagineers over to Florida to start their work on the project.
Walt purchased the Grumman Gulfstream 1 (G1) in 1964, and worked with his wife, Lillian, to select the plane’s interior design and color scheme. The plane seated 15 and featured a galley, two couches and a desk. Walt even designed his own special seat in the plane, which was in the rear left cabin. The seat was equipped with a special altimeter and air-speed gauge, which Walt added to satisfy his endless curiosity about flying.
The tail number on the plane has been N234MM since 1967, but it was N732G back when Walt Disney used the plane. Back then the plane was known as “George”. The new tail number of N234MM was originally called by the proper designation of “two three four metro metro,” but soon the FAA replaced the “metro metro” with “Mickey Mouse,” and so it was known for the remainder of its life.
The plane’s first trips took Walt and his Imagineers to and from California and New York to oversee the final preparations for Disney’s contributions to the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Later that year, Walt (pictured above, center) began surveying land in Central Florida, considering the site a possibility for his second theme park.
The plane also led Walt to find inspiration for the look of one classic Disney attraction. According to Mark Malone, son of Pilot Chuck Malone, Walt spotted El Morro fortress while flying over San Juan, Puerto Rico, and remarked that it would be the perfect look for his new Pirates of the Caribbean, which at the time was still in the planning phase.
In addition to taking Walt on his secret trips, the plane also took Disney characters on goodwill tours and visits to children’s hospitals around the United States. An estimated 83,000 passengers have flown aboard the plane, including Disney animators and several famous faces, including former Presidents Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, as well as Disney Legends Julie Andrews and Annette Funicello.
One of the most exciting things you may notice is the fact that it appears as though the plane has been repainted to its original colors. In some photos found on Nearmap by Blog Mickey you can see a much closer look at the plane and it looks like it’s in great condition.
Take an inside look at this amazing piece of history in the video below.
The airplane’s last flight took place Oct. 8, 1992, when it touched down on World Drive, west of Disney’s Hollywood Studios before it became part of The Back Lot Tour. What is most important is that it looks like Disney is taking good care of it and we hope the fact that it’s been repainted means that it will eventually end up on display again somewhere.
Tickets are now on sale for Star Wars: Galactic Nights, the one-night special event will return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May 27.
In case you aren’t familiar, Star Wars: Galactic Nights is a thrilling Star Wars-themed event held after park hours from 7 p.m.-midnight. It celebrates the entire Star Wars saga with out-of-this-world entertainment, special photo opportunities, event-exclusive merchandise and F&B, and encounters with rarely seen characters that guests can only experience during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Here’s a look at other event offerings:
Star Wars: Galactic Destinations Projections Transform The Hollywood Tower Hotel – Visible on the Sunset Boulevard area of the park the facade of the Hollywood Tower Hotel will transform via stunning projection technology to showcase familiar locations from across the galaxy. Favorite film moments, special effects, lighting, and of course the stellar Star Wars cinematic score supports each galactic location moment all night long. Star Wars Galactic Destinations is currently an event exclusive.
Existing Star Wars Entertainment Will Debut New Enhancements – The park’s existing Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular fireworks and the Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away stage show will both debut new saga elements for the first time during Star Wars: Galactic Nights.
Special Photo Ops – Throughout the park, guests can step into immersive and iconic scenes from their favorite Star Wars films in a series of incredibly detailed photo locations. These special photo ops will only be available at Disney’s Hollywood Studios during Star Wars: Galactic Nights
Character Encounters – Expect to encounter Star Wars characters from throughout the galaxy. Guests will also be able to view an Imperial Stormtrooper March with Darth Vader.
Exclusive Food & Beverage offerings – Taste your way around the galaxy with specialty food and beverage offerings created for Galactic Nights. Inspired by the stories and iconic characters of Star Wars, these tasting-sized sips and bites bring a delectable addition to this event.
Enjoy park attractions – Select attractions will be open to all guests – and some may even offer a special Star Wars twist on May 27 only.
Tickets are on sale now, with discounts available for Annual Passholders and Disney Vacation Club Members. In addition, intergalactic foodies attending Star Wars: Galactic Nights can now purchase the Galactic Tasting and Viewing Package, featuring Star Wars-inspired food and beverage and reserved seating to a panel providing an inside look of the making of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The Galactic Tasting and Viewing Package is now available for $30 per person.
On Friday Disney announced on ABC’s Good Morning America that Toy Story Land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will officially open June 30 2018, but we also got to see a new look at the entrance for Toy Story Mania!
The attraction has been a guest-favorite since it opened in at the park in 2008, but it now makes up part of the new land and guests will now walk through a new carnival game box to experience the Midway Mania.
Now expanded with a third track, the popular attraction will put even more guests in the action taking aim at 3D objects – using everything from baseballs to cream pies – in a variety of whimsical, fast-paced games.
