A rumor shared by the WDW News Today suggests the revamped Fantasmic show in Disneyland will replace the Peter Pan segment with Pirates of the Caribbean.
That's cool and all, but get this. They plan to use "projection mapping" technology, the same technique used on Cinderella Castle during Wishes and the Chinese Theatre during the Galactic Spectacular, to transform the sailing ship Columbia on the Rivers of America into the Black Pearl. The projections would be able to follow the ship as she moves during the show. Cool, huh?
Ok, but that's not the coolest part. The same technology is going to be used, according to this rumor, to change actors from living pirates to skeleton pirates and back again. Apparently they can install an RFID chip, like in your MagicBand, in a costume and them program the projector to follow the chip and change the actor's appearance back and forth according to timing and location on the set. He steps into "moonlight" and, BAM, skeleton. He steps out and BAM, back to flesh and blood. Just like in the movie.
This would be incredible, but, given pieces of this technology are already in operation, it is something I think Imagineering can make happen. They would really "just" be stitching together existing tech. But man oh man would I love to see it in action!
Showing posts with label Fantasmic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasmic. Show all posts
Friday, September 30, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
55 Days: Extended Star Wars Fireworks and Animal Kingdom Hours
Yeah, I'm still catching up on the countdown.....
Kenny the Pirate announced yesterday that October's WDW park hours had been adjusted, allowing for extending the Star Wars fireworks at Hollywood Studios and the after dark experiences at Animal Kingdom. If you aren't familiar with Kenny the Pirate, you should be. He is huge into character meet and greets and is the absolute king of helping you find exactly the character you want to meet. But beyond that, he is great for keeping abreast of park hours, show times and pretty much anything that affects your planning for a Walt Disney World trip. I'd recommend signing up for his email alerts via his website here as well as following him on Facebook and Twitter.
Lately Disney planning has been more challenging than in the past due to the frequency with which they change shows and times and hours and such. I'm not complaining, mind you, this is the result of new experiences being added for the most part, so hooray that. But it is tricky making plans as far out as Disney encourages and then keeping an ear to the ground to see if the changes require moving ADRs or FastPass+ reservations or even shifting plans for which park to visit on which day. You've got to plan but remain flexible and sometimes that's a hard balance to keep.
In this case, we were ready to forgo Fantasmic (for which we'd secured FastPass+es) to be able to catch the Star Wars fireworks, but as it turns out they will not be offered on the night we are at Hollywood Studios. Kind of a bummer, but it means we can stick with our plans there that day. But Animal Kingdom's longer hours are another story. The park will be open until 8:30 pm rather than the previously announced 6:30 pm on October 31. We won't be there until November 2, and new hours haven't been released for November yet, but I have every idea those days will be extended as well. If this is the case, we'll cancel our Morimoto Asia ADRs and plan to stay in Animal Kingdom to enjoy the new nighttime experiences. There is even a rumor that Rivers of Light may be up and running by the end of October, which would mean trying to find an ADR at an Animal Kingdom restaurant that offers viewing and dinner combos.
Oh darn, looks like I'll have to keep hanging out on all the Disney websites..... Poor me :-)
Kenny the Pirate announced yesterday that October's WDW park hours had been adjusted, allowing for extending the Star Wars fireworks at Hollywood Studios and the after dark experiences at Animal Kingdom. If you aren't familiar with Kenny the Pirate, you should be. He is huge into character meet and greets and is the absolute king of helping you find exactly the character you want to meet. But beyond that, he is great for keeping abreast of park hours, show times and pretty much anything that affects your planning for a Walt Disney World trip. I'd recommend signing up for his email alerts via his website here as well as following him on Facebook and Twitter.
Lately Disney planning has been more challenging than in the past due to the frequency with which they change shows and times and hours and such. I'm not complaining, mind you, this is the result of new experiences being added for the most part, so hooray that. But it is tricky making plans as far out as Disney encourages and then keeping an ear to the ground to see if the changes require moving ADRs or FastPass+ reservations or even shifting plans for which park to visit on which day. You've got to plan but remain flexible and sometimes that's a hard balance to keep.
In this case, we were ready to forgo Fantasmic (for which we'd secured FastPass+es) to be able to catch the Star Wars fireworks, but as it turns out they will not be offered on the night we are at Hollywood Studios. Kind of a bummer, but it means we can stick with our plans there that day. But Animal Kingdom's longer hours are another story. The park will be open until 8:30 pm rather than the previously announced 6:30 pm on October 31. We won't be there until November 2, and new hours haven't been released for November yet, but I have every idea those days will be extended as well. If this is the case, we'll cancel our Morimoto Asia ADRs and plan to stay in Animal Kingdom to enjoy the new nighttime experiences. There is even a rumor that Rivers of Light may be up and running by the end of October, which would mean trying to find an ADR at an Animal Kingdom restaurant that offers viewing and dinner combos.
Oh darn, looks like I'll have to keep hanging out on all the Disney websites..... Poor me :-)
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
60 Days: FastPass Day!!!!!
I know I already wrote of my FastPass+ plans, but 60 days out is FastPass Day, so I thought I'd tell you how it went.
We finally got John's band schedule nailed down, and we are going to be leaving for Disney from Cary on the Saturday night before Halloween, so our park visits will begin on Sunday, October 30 and we'll leave about lunchtime on the following Thursday.
My FastPass+ strategy is pretty unique to our trip. Most of the published touring plans have the goal of getting as many attractions fit into as little time as possible. We have different priorities. It's a good example of why you should either know Disney's systems well enough to sort out your own plans, or talk to someone who does before you make your own plans. To be right for you, they need to fit your needs. In our case, we have some sort of special circumstance affecting each day's plans.
On Sunday, we're headed to Hollywood Studios, but doing so on likely just a few hours sleep. We will be leaving directly from a band competition on Saturday night, maybe as late as 8 or 9 pm, so we may not get to Coronado Springs until the very wee hours. I don't know how early we will get up, but we will definitely not be rope dropping. We only get two FastPasses for this park, and Rock'n Rollercoaster wasn't available (hoping that doesn't mean it's closed....), so our first reservation is for Tower of Terror in the early afternoon. I looked through the other options and didn't see anything that was likely to offer a huge line we needed to avoid, so I made our second FastPass for Fantasmic, ensuring us seats for a show we haven't seen in probably ten years.
Monday is Magic Kingdom day but we have the Keys To The Kingdom Tour in the morning and MNSSHP at night, so our window for FastPasses runs from about 3-7 pm. I made one for Jungle Cruise at 2:30 thinking we may be able to make the hour-long window, then for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and finally one for the Dumbos just before the party begins just because I had one more and Dumbos fit.
Tuesday is Epcot, but we are looking to spend a good bit of time at the Food and Wine Festival, so I took that into account. I figure we'll rope drop this park and hit Soarin' first so I made my first FastPass for Test Track at 10 am as our second stop (or third if we can fit Livin' With The Land in first). I spread our next two out into the afternoon and evening with Mission space around 3 pm and Spaceship Earth around 7 pm. My idea is bounce back and forth between Future World and World Showcase so we can graze at the food booths. We'll see how that works.
Wednesday is the most "normal" day we have and it will be Animal Kingdom day. We'll rope drop the safari then head to Expedition Everest with our first FastPass. It's an Extra Magic Hours day, so that should work out well. Our next FastPass is for Dinosaur in the early afternoon and our last is Kali River Rapids just before the park closes at 5 and we head off to dinner at Morimoto Asia, hopefully giving us ample time to dry.
We'll be leaving Thursday, but will spend a good half day at Magic Kingdom first. I just fit in two FastPasses for this day with Space Mountain early then Tomorrowland Speedway at 1 so we can keep that our traditional last ride before we leave.
I think I've done well. The only other advance FastPass experience I have was on a one-day Epcot trip, but it worked well so I believe I have a handle on this. I will certainly be reporting back on the results!
We finally got John's band schedule nailed down, and we are going to be leaving for Disney from Cary on the Saturday night before Halloween, so our park visits will begin on Sunday, October 30 and we'll leave about lunchtime on the following Thursday.
My FastPass+ strategy is pretty unique to our trip. Most of the published touring plans have the goal of getting as many attractions fit into as little time as possible. We have different priorities. It's a good example of why you should either know Disney's systems well enough to sort out your own plans, or talk to someone who does before you make your own plans. To be right for you, they need to fit your needs. In our case, we have some sort of special circumstance affecting each day's plans.
On Sunday, we're headed to Hollywood Studios, but doing so on likely just a few hours sleep. We will be leaving directly from a band competition on Saturday night, maybe as late as 8 or 9 pm, so we may not get to Coronado Springs until the very wee hours. I don't know how early we will get up, but we will definitely not be rope dropping. We only get two FastPasses for this park, and Rock'n Rollercoaster wasn't available (hoping that doesn't mean it's closed....), so our first reservation is for Tower of Terror in the early afternoon. I looked through the other options and didn't see anything that was likely to offer a huge line we needed to avoid, so I made our second FastPass for Fantasmic, ensuring us seats for a show we haven't seen in probably ten years.
Monday is Magic Kingdom day but we have the Keys To The Kingdom Tour in the morning and MNSSHP at night, so our window for FastPasses runs from about 3-7 pm. I made one for Jungle Cruise at 2:30 thinking we may be able to make the hour-long window, then for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and finally one for the Dumbos just before the party begins just because I had one more and Dumbos fit.
Tuesday is Epcot, but we are looking to spend a good bit of time at the Food and Wine Festival, so I took that into account. I figure we'll rope drop this park and hit Soarin' first so I made my first FastPass for Test Track at 10 am as our second stop (or third if we can fit Livin' With The Land in first). I spread our next two out into the afternoon and evening with Mission space around 3 pm and Spaceship Earth around 7 pm. My idea is bounce back and forth between Future World and World Showcase so we can graze at the food booths. We'll see how that works.
Wednesday is the most "normal" day we have and it will be Animal Kingdom day. We'll rope drop the safari then head to Expedition Everest with our first FastPass. It's an Extra Magic Hours day, so that should work out well. Our next FastPass is for Dinosaur in the early afternoon and our last is Kali River Rapids just before the park closes at 5 and we head off to dinner at Morimoto Asia, hopefully giving us ample time to dry.
We'll be leaving Thursday, but will spend a good half day at Magic Kingdom first. I just fit in two FastPasses for this day with Space Mountain early then Tomorrowland Speedway at 1 so we can keep that our traditional last ride before we leave.
I think I've done well. The only other advance FastPass experience I have was on a one-day Epcot trip, but it worked well so I believe I have a handle on this. I will certainly be reporting back on the results!
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
95 Days: Every Role a Starring Role
Working for Disney. It's a dream for many a Disney Geek, and I am certainly one who shares that dream. Due to the wonders of social media, I've heard all the criticisms of Disney as an employer......they pay too little, value employees not enough, make unreasonable demands. But if I do it, it will be a retirement gig, so I hope to not care much what I'm paid, and after the career I've had, unreasonable demands are a big ho hum. I'm ready, sign me up, put me in coach.
I always figured I could do about anything that didn't require a ton of skill or special knowledge. I'm not above anything, really. I wouldn't turn down a chance to be the barf scooper in Town Square if it meant I got to work....OH MY GOD!!!!....IN Town Square. I have a CDL and good driving record, so I thought maybe a bus driver or a tram driver. Then, on our trip last September, I saw THE DREAM JOB. Amphicar Driver (or captain, I guess). Those things are the coolest. And the driver gets to wear an old timey captain's hat. I am a sucker for a hat. I would be great, too. I would chat up the guests, tell them all about Disney Springs, flirt with old ladies. I was born for that gig. Now, I just have to retire comfortably, move to Florida, and convince Disney Casting I'm their guy.
If you've ever dreamed of a Disney Job you might want to check out the Every Role A Starring Role video series from Disney Parks Blog. I stumbled across it last night looking for the Live Streams saved on YouTube and got completely sucked in. I haven't watched all 70 videos, but have seen most. They are short and cover the gamut from Show Director for all of Disneyland Parks to the dude who sells balloons. There are resort jobs and park jobs, behind the scenes jobs and on stage jobs. I particularly enjoyed the Stage Tech video about the people who do for Fantasmic what I've done for our local community theatre. The series is limited to Disneyland, so there's no Amphicar Driver segment, but it does feature tram driver, monorail pilot and Mark Twain Riverboat captain.
As expected, it's all unicorns and rainbows from these people, they all say they love their job. The thing is, they really seem to mean it. And these are mostly not actors. They don't all even say the name of the series correctly in their little introduction. Some are comfortable on camera and some less so. I loved it for it's authenticity, taking into account it's Disney PR. It's very well done PR, and I respect that and can relax and enjoy the chance to dream of a DISney job for myself.
I always figured I could do about anything that didn't require a ton of skill or special knowledge. I'm not above anything, really. I wouldn't turn down a chance to be the barf scooper in Town Square if it meant I got to work....OH MY GOD!!!!....IN Town Square. I have a CDL and good driving record, so I thought maybe a bus driver or a tram driver. Then, on our trip last September, I saw THE DREAM JOB. Amphicar Driver (or captain, I guess). Those things are the coolest. And the driver gets to wear an old timey captain's hat. I am a sucker for a hat. I would be great, too. I would chat up the guests, tell them all about Disney Springs, flirt with old ladies. I was born for that gig. Now, I just have to retire comfortably, move to Florida, and convince Disney Casting I'm their guy.
 |
| I would look SO good in that. And the HAT! |
As expected, it's all unicorns and rainbows from these people, they all say they love their job. The thing is, they really seem to mean it. And these are mostly not actors. They don't all even say the name of the series correctly in their little introduction. Some are comfortable on camera and some less so. I loved it for it's authenticity, taking into account it's Disney PR. It's very well done PR, and I respect that and can relax and enjoy the chance to dream of a DISney job for myself.
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