Tag: disney

Disney Cruise Line to split time in Florida, Puerto Rico and California for early 2019

Disney Cruise Line will have all four ships based in Florida for at least part of the first half of 2019, but Disney Wonder will also be visiting Puerto Rico and California.

The cruise line revealed plans for its fleet for sailings from January-May with bookings open to the public beginning Nov. 2.

Once again, the line’s largest and newest ships will keep sailing from Port Canaveral, but will be joined in February by Disney Wonder after a series of sailings from San Juan, Puerto Rico in January.

Disney Wonder will then make its way via a 14-night Panama Canal cruise to begin two months of sailing the Mexican Riviera and Baja, California out of San Diego.

Disney Magic will continue to sail from PortMiami on four- and five-night Bahamas cruises, some with stops in Key West, and five-night western Caribbean cruises, some with stops in Cozumel, Mexico; Grand Cayman; and Falmouth, Jamaica.

Disney Fantasy will continue seven-night alternating eastern and western Caribbean cruises from Port Canaveral while Disney Dream will sail three- and four-night cruises to the Bahamas.

All sailings from Florida will include stops at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay.

Disney Wonder’s January sailings to and from Puerto Rico include its five-night shift from Galveston, Texas on Jan. 9 that includes a stop in Falmouth, Jamaica. Its three round-trip voyages from San Juan will be either six- or seven-night southern Caribbean sailings, and there will be one four-night repositioning sailing from San Juan to Port Canaveral on Feb. 3.

In Port Canaveral, Disney Wonder will sail three- and four-night Bahamas cruises similar to Disney Dream.

When in San Diego, Disney Wonder will offer two-, four-, five- and seven-night voyages hitting Ensenada and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

November 15, 2017
Google Maps Exposes the Millennium Falcon Disney Was Trying to Hide

The Millennium Falcon may have made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, but apparently its stealth mode leaves something to be desired. Han Solo’s famous “Star Wars” spaceship is hidden in plain sight — at least for viewers browsing the satellite views provided by Google Maps.

While “Star Wars” fans have been eagerly awaiting any snippet of information they can gather on the upcoming film “The Last Jedi,” a huge piece of the series has been hiding in plain sight.

Twitter user Kevin Beaumont unearthed an entirely identified flying object while exploring the grounds surrounding film and TV production facility Longcross Studios on Google Maps. The Google service, which allows users to navigate through the streets and natural wonders of the world through countless satellite images, uncovered a view of the Millennium Falcon from above, hidden near the U.K. studio by what appear to be shipping containers.

Lol Disney tried to hide the Millennium Falcon by surrounding it with shipping containers. Also, it’s on Google Maps. https://t.co/LgerDntmKQ pic.twitter.com/SfuYkmHJbl

— Kevin Beaumont 🤨 (@GossiTheDog) November 9, 2017

The large containers completely surround the Falcon, seemingly to prevent passersby from seeing the famed ship in all her glory. In fact, the satellite image shows cars traveling on the road right next to the containers, unaware of the treasure that lies behind them.
Disney’s secretive plan, however, was thwarted by Beaumont, who shared the image on Twitter, adding, “Lol Disney tried to hide the Millennium Falcon by surrounding it with shipping containers. Also, it’s on Google Maps.”

Longcross Studios, which lies just outside of London, has been the site of production for films like “Skyfall,” “Thor 2,” and “Fast and Furious 6,” and presumably plays a role in the making of “The Last Jedi” as well. Evidently, the studio has become a kind of storage facility for the Falcon while it’s not in use, and although the craft has been around since the very first “Star Wars” film, it seems she’ll live to fight another day.
Although we can’t say exactly how the Falcon will be used in the new film, there’s a good chance fans will be able to see the ship in action when “The Last Jedi” premieres on December 15.

November 14, 2017
Disney Cruise Line welcomes ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to Disney Dream

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is an animated classic turned live action blockbuster and now it has been transformed into a musical stage show as well. Disney on Thursday officially unveiled a live version of the hit musical film on the 2,500-passenger Disney Dream.

Playing in Dream’s 1,340-passenger Walt Disney Theatre, the hour-long production is about half the length of the movie but manages to squeeze in all of its iconic songs including Belle, Gaston and Be Our Guest — the latter transformed with visual effects.

The cruise ship version of Beauty and the Beast also incorporates high-definition projections splashed across a music box-like space to create elaborate, panoramic scenes designed to be visible in even the most remote corners of the theater.

Released in theaters in March and starring Emma Watson, Beauty and the Beast was the highest-grossing live-action musical film of all time. It had worldwide revenues of more than $1.2 billion. The movie was based on Disney’s 1991 animated film of the same name, which in turn spawned a Broadway musical that ran between 1994 and 2007.

The media received a sneak peek at the cruise ship version of the show in July at Disney Cruise Line’s rehearsal studios in Toronto. One twist that was on display was the use of puppetry for such iconic Beauty and the Beast characters as the candelabra/maitre d’ Lumiere and teapot/housekeeper Mrs. Potts. Expressive and elaborate, the puppets are made to be operated by actors who are visible to the audience — an artifice also used in the adaptation of the Disney blockbuster Frozen that debuted on the cruise ship Disney Wonder in 2016.

November 14, 2017
Loungefly Unveils Exclusive Disney Princess Debossed Bags

Loungefly has made some stunning Disney themed bags in the past, but we are really loving these faux leather numbers that they developed exclusively for ThinkGeek. The boldly colored bags feature debossed images of Jasmine, Snow White, and Mulan along with metal embellishments and a fun charm to complete the theme. The look isn’t over-the-top – quite elegant really.

The Jasmine satchel bag is available to order here – and it’s our favorite of the bunch. It includes a gold-colored magic lamp in metal, along with a magic carpet charm. The inside is divided into two main compartments with a small zip closure pocket in-between. There is also a small zip closure pocket and a small open pocket.

The Snow White satchel bag is available to order here and includes a gold-colored metal apple embellishment and a poison apple charm. The inside is divided into two main compartments with a small zip closure pocket in-between. There is also a small zip closure pocket and a small open pocket.

The Mulan satchel bag is available to order here and includes a gold-colored metal temple embellishment and a fan charm. The inside is divided into two main compartments with a small zip closure pocket in-between. There is also a small zip closure pocket and a small open pocket.

If you’re shopping for a big Disney fan this holiday, these bags should definitely be on your radar. You might also want to check out the super unique Disney bags designed by Danielle Nicole.

November 13, 2017
Parents Paypal Password Poached, Daughter Books Disneyland Dream Trip

A father was shocked to discover his nine-year-old daughter had guessed the password to his PayPal account in the middle of the night while everyone slept. before blowing £1,000 of his money on a dream trip for one to Disneyland Paris.
The 53 year-old-father, Ian Wilson, was fast asleep when Susan nabbed his mobile and went on a magical midnight money spree.

The schoolgirl spent £400 on flights and a hotel gift card, £214.08 on a VIP trip up the Eiffel Tower and £381.84 on theme park tickets and the Disneyland Express train due to depart the next day.

Mr Wilson, a welding inspector who lives with partner Tracey, 52, son Anthony, 12 and daughter Marie, 10, in Immingham, Lincolnshire, only realised what had happened three days later on October 27 when he noticed £1005.92 had been drained from his account.

He told MailOnline:

‘My immediate thought was that it was fraud so I phoned PayPal who told me the the payments had been made from a device they deemed normal for me and did not consider it to be fraud.’

That’s when he went through his phone history and found all these websites in the internet history. He asked Susan and she said it was her.

‘She was absolutely brokenhearted and very remorseful. She had no idea what she was doing, I could not even punish her for it.’

The tour was booked through Getyourguide, a German-based website while the flights and hotel were booked with budget airline Bravofly. Susan, who usually spends her holidays in Skegness, says she has no idea how she managed to book the trip and said she just likes playing on her father’s phone.

She does not even know what the Eiffel Tower is, she claimed. As soon as he realised what had happened Mr Wilson phoned Yorkshire Bank, Paypal and the travel companies in a bid to get his money back – but claims they refused to refund the cash after saying no fraud had been committed. But PayPal eventually refunded the money to an ‘elated’ Mr Wilson, who was told it was classified as ‘friendly fraud’ and happens frequently.

Now Mr Wilson is urging other parents parents to ensure their children do not have access to their internet devices as he now has a pin on his phone and says you should too. Though it would have made a much happier ending if they all laughed it off and went on the trip anyway.

November 12, 2017
These 4 TV Shows Could Make Disney Streaming a Must Have

In the wake of lower than expected earnings reports, Disney has announced a slew of new programs in the works intended to help jump start their the new Disney streaming service.

Disney is developing a new Marvel television series, a live-action Star Wars television series and a new trilogy of live-action films from a galaxy far, far away under Star Wars: The Last Jedi writer and director Rian Johnson.

The Marvel and Star Wars television series will make their exclusive debut on Disney’s forthcoming streaming service, set to launch in 2019, with the service also poised to offer television series based on Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. franchise and Disney Channel’s tween-aimed High School Musical franchise. Disney CEO-chairman Bob Iger announced the news Thursday.

Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. grossed $577 million worldwide in 2001, with its prequel, Monsters University, scaring up $744 million worldwide in 2013. Both movies starred John Goodman and Billy Crystal as blue-furred James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and one-eyed Mike Wazowski, respectively, best friends and work partners who work as top employees at Monsters, Inc., Monstropolis’ energy-producing company. One of the most popular franchises under the Pixar brand, Monsters, Inc. has a presence in several of Disney’s theme parks across the globe, including Disney California Adventure, Walt Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland.

Disney launched the High School Musical franchise in 2006, with the rom-com Disney Channel Original Movie giving way to a 2007 TV-movie sequel and a second sequel, 2008’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year, the first installment of the tween musical series to be released theatrically. The franchise will return to the small screen with High School Musical 4 under Jeffrey Hornaday, whI directed Teen Beach Movie and Teen Beach 2 — Disney Channel’s newest craze teen musicals.

These shows already come with a huge fan base and will now be around to attract new generations of audiences. What Disney Movies would you like to turned into a TV series?

November 12, 2017
Twelve Days of Disney Socks

Disney is knocking our socks off with this magical holiday gift and these guys are in super high demand. Target has created the ultimate gift idea, an advent calendar filled with socks for adults, and priced it at only $15. And that’s not even the best part — the socks are Disney-themed, which means that the lucky recipient of the calendar will end up with a dozen pairs of socks inspired by their favorite characters!

As if you needed another excuse to head to Target around holidays, right? The 12 Days of Socks calendar is perfect for Secret Santa, white elephant gift exchanges, or simply to keep your toes warm during the Winter season. You definitely can’t beat the price, and one can never have too many socks! Now excuse us while we buy this calendar for everybody on our list.

November 12, 2017
Disney To Remove ‘Wench Auction’ From Pirates Of The Caribbean Ride

Disney apparently no longer wants the red head. One of the most memorable scenes on one of Disney’s most iconic rides is getting a major makeover.

The company announced on Thursday that Pirates of the Caribbean will replace the auction scene in which women are sold off as brides with an auction for plundered goods.

New concept artwork released by Disney showed that the sign which read “AUCTION” and “Take a wench for a bride” will soon feature the words: “AUCTION” and “SURRENDER YER LOOT.”

That’s not the only change.

The character known as “the redhead” ― the object of affection as the pirates shout “we wants the redhead” ― will enjoy a role reversal. Instead of being auctioned off, she will become one of the plunderers.

“Our team thought long and hard about how best to update this scene,” Kathy Mangum, a senior vice president with Disney Imagineering, said in a news release. “Given the redhead has long been a fan favorite, we wanted to keep her as a pivotal part of the story, so we made her a plundering pirate!”

Here’s a closer look at her new role:

The latest changes received mixed reviews from the Disney fan community. Many weren’t thrilled to see alterations to a scene that had been part of the ride since the first version opened at Disneyland 50 years ago. How do you feel about the removal?

November 12, 2017
Live Action Star Wars Series to Air On Disney’s Streaming Service

Star Wars is getting the TV treatment with a forthcoming live-action series set to debut on Disney’s digital streaming service. The still-untitled service is set to launch in 2019.

Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger confirmed the project Thursday while on a quarterly earnings call with investors.

Additionally, Iger revealed that new TV series based on the 2001 Pixar film Monsters Inc. (which also spawned the 2013 sequel Monsters University) and the Disney Channel film franchise High School Musical also will debut on the service.

It also was announced that the Star Wars franchise will expand with the launch of a new trilogy of films fromLast Jedi director Rian Johnson. The new movies will be separate from the continuing Skywalker saga and “Johnson will introduce new characters from a corner of the galaxy that Star Wars lore has never before explored,” according to an official announcement made by LucasFilm, which is owned by Disney. Johnson will write and direct the first film in the trilogy.

That new trilogy comes as Lucasfilm also has Solo: A Star Wars Story due out May 25, 2018, and director J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: Episode IX, which is set to bow Dec. 20, 2019. The Last Jedi is slated for release Dec. 15.

In addition to original programming on the streaming service, Iger said on the call that Disney will consider licensing programming from third parties. The exec also noted that ABC Studios could end up producing for the new service. ‘We’ve talked about that a bit,” he said.

Although pricing is still being worked out, the plan is to offer the service for less than the price of Netflix, which currently costs $11 per month for its standard plan.

On the topic of Netflix, Iger noted that he doesn’t necessarily see the streaming service as a competitor but as a means of helping Disney become “a viable player in the direct-to-consumer space, a space that we all know is a very compelling space to be in.”

Disney’s ESPN service, meanwhile, will launch in spring 2018 and will be called ESPN Plus, Iger confirmed Thursday. The service will exclude sports that currently air on ESPN.

While this will mark the first live-action Star Wars TV series, George Lucas’ franchise has spawned five animated series, going all the way back to 1985’s Star Wars: Droids, which aired on ABC (long before ABC and LucasFilm were under the same corporate umbrella), as did the second series, Star Wars: Ewoks. The most recent animated entry, Star Wars Rebels, airs on Disney XD, a sister network of Disney Channel. Next up is Star Wars: Force of Destiny, which will debut on YouTube. Both Rebels and Forces of Destiny are produced by LucasFilm Animation.

Over the years, there have also been three live-action TV specials, most famously the widely lampooned Star Wars: Holiday Special that aired on CBS shortly after the original 1977 film’s release.

News that a Star Wars live-action series will be premiering on Disney’s streaming service has to be disappointing for ABC, which is also owned by Disney. Network president Channing Dungey expressed her optimism about ABC possibly airing a new Star Wars series at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour in 2016 and said talks about that possibility were ongoing.

November 10, 2017