Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2023 Edition

[HokieRaven5]

And tap into that first park, or just have a reservation?

Yeah it’s the same as the hopping rules for everyone else. Have to tap into your first park and then you can go over to MK

 

[jlundeen]

Yeah it’s the same as the hopping rules for everyone else. Have to tap into your first park and then you can go over to MK

Thanks @HokieRaven5 ... so needlessly complicated.

 

[1lilspark]

You can hop to MK on weekends if you have a reservation at another park.

Granted I haven’t done it since the spring but I had zero issues.

Thanks that’s what I figured…

 

[HokieRaven5]

First Look at New Mural Coming to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure

Hailing from the vibrant state of Louisiana where creativity flows as freely as the Mississippi River, artist Malaika Favorite has managed to channel the state’s lively spirit and transform it into a masterpiece that will decorate the walls as part of the queue of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, an attraction inspired by the animated film, “The Princess and the Frog,” opening at Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort next year.

Taking inspiration from the numerous murals and other works of art that decorate building exteriors throughout New Orleans, Princess Tiana’s desire to adorn the location with art is in keeping with the spirit that artwork is to be enjoyed and accessed by everyone.

When we were exploring how to introduce guests to the story of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as they prepared to embark on the attraction, maintaining the authenticity of Princess Tiana’s experience as a young Black woman striving to achieve her dream in the soulful backdrop of New Orleans was one of our highest priorities. It only makes sense that an extensive search for an artist who could bring our vision to life brought us to Malaika’s doorstep.

Malaika’s art currently graces the halls of the Baton Rouge Gallery with a striking collection that explores the cultural heritage of African Americans and who we are as a people. Her artistic talent has been evident since she was old enough to hold a paintbrush. By the first grade, teachers were already paying her to commission pictures and posters. Her skills have only continued to blossom since then as she transforms canvas, wood, and metal into eye-catching displays.

Continuing the storyline from “The Princess and the Frog,” Malaika’s mural for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure features a collage of breathtaking scenes displayed on two of the building’s exterior walls as you enter the indoor queue. These scenes highlight Tiana’s professional journey and the creation of Tiana’s Foods. When Tiana was young, her father made her promise to “never, ever lose sight of what is really important,” and the mural will reflect those elements: family, friends, food, music, art, and bringing folks together.

I am humbled by the level of research and detail Walt Disney Imagineering has paid to bringing the authenticity of New Orleans to Disney parks and resorts to immerse guests in this empowering tale. When you visit Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, we want you to feel like you have truly stepped foot inside the next chapter of “The Princess and the Frog” in a way only Disney can bring to life.

Guests can experience this remarkable collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Malaika Favorite in full when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens at Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida in 2024.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/10/...-disneyland-theme-park-expansion-at-workshop/
Anaheim residents, business leaders weigh in on Disneyland theme park expansion at workshop
by Michael Slaten
PUBLISHED: October 11, 2023 at 7:50 a.m. PDT

Anaheim residents and business leaders piled into City Hall Monday night to give the city’s Planning Commission early feedback on the Disneyland Resort’s expansion proposal.

While ostensibly the Monday commission meeting was a workshop focused on the DisneylandForward plan’s 17,000-page environmental impact report, many residents used the opportunity to voice their support or concerns with the project.

The seven-member Planning Commission heard presentations from city staff and Disney representatives about the proposal to update a 1990s plan to give the company more flexibility to add attractions, hotels and restaurants in areas of the resort property currently outside where the theme parks already are. The proposal would not add to the Disneyland resort’s current footprint or the caps on what it is allowed to build.

Disney’s Global Development Vice President Rachel Alde said the company is committed to working with residents and “we are simply asking to utilize the entitlements that we already have for the theme park and hotel and spread it across the lands that we already own and control.”

The focus of the proposal is along the western side of the resort and the southeast side on the Toy Story parking lot where there are single-family and multi-family homes nearby.

Beverly Griggs, who lives close to the park, said she moved to Anaheim to be closer to Disneyland, and that she has been pleased with the answers the company has given her about the development proposal. Griggs did express concerns about pests possibly intruding on her house if the theme park moves more of the guest amenities closer.

“When you are gonna move churros, cotton candy and popcorn a hundred feet away from my house, I want to make sure that the procedures are in place to make (sure) those little guys don’t come across,” Griggs said. “When Disneyland closed down for the pandemic, we had rats and roaches. And as soon as Disneyland reopened, they went back.”
The Planning Commission will vote whether to certify the environmental impact report at a later meeting. The proposal is expected to reach the City Council later this year.

Joe Haupt, a consultant for the company, called DisneylandForward a 40-year project and said it would bring thousands of jobs and new tax revenues for the city. Haupt said the company has made extensive outreach efforts in the community for the past few years.

“Many of the design concepts and design features you’ll see in the project today came out of those interactions with our neighbors,” Haupt said.

Objections to the DisneylandForward project from residents included concerns about more traffic in the resort area and that Anaheim hasn’t built enough housing to accommodate a surplus of workers.

Many hoteliers and building trade groups showed up in support of the DisneylandForward proposal on Monday,
praising the expansion plans as good for Anaheim and asking for the Planning Commission to eventually certify the environmental impact report.

Fred Brown, the general manager for the Desert Palms Hotel, said Disney has been an instrumental partner for hotel development in the city and construction will have an impact, but that is temporary.

The Desert Palms Hotels is near the southern end of the California Adventure theme park, and Brown said he occasionally hears people screaming on a roller coaster, but “other than that I’ve never heard any complaints from my guests for noise.”

Frances Noteboom, who’s lived by the resort for more than two decades, said she can count on her hand the number of disturbances the theme park caused her and that she’s been assured that the mitigations for noise will meet her expectations.

“Initially we were upset such a huge project could be built so close to our residential neighborhood, but as time went on, we came to accept that the Disney corporation can, with permits, extend on their land as they see fit,” Noteboom said. “The good thing is we’ve engaged with the principals of the project and they have listened to concerns and acted on our suggestions.”

Residents may submit comments on the environmental impact report through Oct. 30.

 

[SealedSeven]

Continuing the storyline from “The Princess and the Frog,” Malaika’s mural for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure features a collage of breathtaking scenes displayed on two of the building’s exterior walls as you enter the indoor queue. These scenes highlight Tiana’s professional journey and the creation of Tiana’s Foods. When Tiana was young, her father made her promise to “never, ever lose sight of what is really important,” and the mural will reflect those elements: family, friends, food, music, art, and bringing folks together.
I am humbled by the level of research and detail Walt Disney Imagineering has paid to bringing the authenticity of New Orleans to Disney parks and resorts to immerse guests in this empowering tale. When you visit Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, we want you to feel like you have truly stepped foot inside the next chapter of “The Princess and the Frog” in a way only Disney can bring to life.

Guests can experience this remarkable collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Malaika Favorite in full when Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opens at Disneyland park in California and Magic Kingdom Park in Florida in 2024.

Been noticing they've dropped the "Late" in the opening of Tiana. They'd always use "Late 2024", but even during D23, it's just been 2024.

Hoping this means they're ahead of schedule and could open earlier than planned.

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

Oh man, "Joe Haupt, a consultant for the company, called DisneylandForward a 40-year project"

 

[LKing]

“When you are gonna move churros, cotton candy and popcorn a hundred feet away from my house, I want to make sure that the procedures are in place to make (sure) those little guys don’t come across,” Griggs said. “When Disneyland closed down for the pandemic, we had rats and roaches. And as soon as Disneyland reopened, they went back.”

++=>

 

[starlite_]

Oh man, "Joe Haupt, a consultant for the company, called DisneylandForward a 40-year project"

I know where I'll have my retirement party.

 

[Brian Noble]

Very few have been wholly successful in my opinion.

How many TV series ever are wholly successful without dropping off? It's not like it is easy to do.

I haven't watched all of them, but of the three I've seen, WandaVision an Loki 1.0 were both fantastic. Falcon/Winter Soldier was only okay, but also felt like world building setting up something later.

[I am behind in my Marvel. In Mutlverse I just finished Shang Chi, which exceeded my expectations, but have not started Eternals yet.]

Din Tai Fung

This is excellent news. The closest one to Anaheim now is down in Costa Mesa, and even I would not drive down there just for dinner, despite the fact that their soup dumplings are out of this world good.

 

[BrianL]

How many TV series ever are wholly successful without dropping off? It's not like it is easy to do.

I haven't watched all of them, but of the three I've seen, WandaVision an Loki 1.0 were both fantastic. Falcon/Winter Soldier was only okay, but also felt like world building setting up something later.

[I am behind in my Marvel. In Mutlverse I just finished Shang Chi, which exceeded my expectations, but have not started Eternals yet.]

When shows are just mini-series, they can be pretty successful - there are plenty of good ones. Most of the Marvel shows seem to drop the ball in the final episode or two. Even Loki S1 had a very, very lackluster finale with no real closure. I know that one was alwasy intended to have an S2, but the first season still needed a proper climax and resolution. I did watch the first episode of S2 and it was good - Ke Huy Quan really saves it though!

 

[Chernabob]

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/10/...-disneyland-theme-park-expansion-at-workshop/
Anaheim residents, business leaders weigh in on Disneyland theme park expansion at workshop
by Michael Slaten
PUBLISHED: October 11, 2023 at 7:50 a.m. PDT

Anaheim residents and business leaders piled into City Hall Monday night to give the city’s Planning Commission early feedback on the Disneyland Resort’s expansion proposal.

While ostensibly the Monday commission meeting was a workshop focused on the DisneylandForward plan’s 17,000-page environmental impact report, many residents used the opportunity to voice their support or concerns with the project.

The seven-member Planning Commission heard presentations from city staff and Disney representatives about the proposal to update a 1990s plan to give the company more flexibility to add attractions, hotels and restaurants in areas of the resort property currently outside where the theme parks already are. The proposal would not add to the Disneyland resort’s current footprint or the caps on what it is allowed to build.

Disney’s Global Development Vice President Rachel Alde said the company is committed to working with residents and “we are simply asking to utilize the entitlements that we already have for the theme park and hotel and spread it across the lands that we already own and control.”

The focus of the proposal is along the western side of the resort and the southeast side on the Toy Story parking lot where there are single-family and multi-family homes nearby.

Beverly Griggs, who lives close to the park, said she moved to Anaheim to be closer to Disneyland, and that she has been pleased with the answers the company has given her about the development proposal. Griggs did express concerns about pests possibly intruding on her house if the theme park moves more of the guest amenities closer.

“When you are gonna move churros, cotton candy and popcorn a hundred feet away from my house, I want to make sure that the procedures are in place to make (sure) those little guys don’t come across,” Griggs said. “When Disneyland closed down for the pandemic, we had rats and roaches. And as soon as Disneyland reopened, they went back.”
The Planning Commission will vote whether to certify the environmental impact report at a later meeting. The proposal is expected to reach the City Council later this year.

Joe Haupt, a consultant for the company, called DisneylandForward a 40-year project and said it would bring thousands of jobs and new tax revenues for the city. Haupt said the company has made extensive outreach efforts in the community for the past few years.

“Many of the design concepts and design features you’ll see in the project today came out of those interactions with our neighbors,” Haupt said.

Objections to the DisneylandForward project from residents included concerns about more traffic in the resort area and that Anaheim hasn’t built enough housing to accommodate a surplus of workers.

Many hoteliers and building trade groups showed up in support of the DisneylandForward proposal on Monday,
praising the expansion plans as good for Anaheim and asking for the Planning Commission to eventually certify the environmental impact report.

Fred Brown, the general manager for the Desert Palms Hotel, said Disney has been an instrumental partner for hotel development in the city and construction will have an impact, but that is temporary.

The Desert Palms Hotels is near the southern end of the California Adventure theme park, and Brown said he occasionally hears people screaming on a roller coaster, but “other than that I’ve never heard any complaints from my guests for noise.”

Frances Noteboom, who’s lived by the resort for more than two decades, said she can count on her hand the number of disturbances the theme park caused her and that she’s been assured that the mitigations for noise will meet her expectations.

“Initially we were upset such a huge project could be built so close to our residential neighborhood, but as time went on, we came to accept that the Disney corporation can, with permits, extend on their land as they see fit,” Noteboom said. “The good thing is we’ve engaged with the principals of the project and they have listened to concerns and acted on our suggestions.”

Residents may submit comments on the environmental impact report through Oct. 30.

Thanks for posting this! I wanted to look yesterday, but it was behind a paywall when I tried.

 

[wabbott]

Thanks for posting this! I wanted to look yesterday, but it was behind a paywall when I tried.

Sometimes a news story will come up if you toggle to the reader view in Firefox

 

[Brocktoon]

How many TV series ever are wholly successful without dropping off? It's not like it is easy to do.

I haven't watched all of them, but of the three I've seen, WandaVision an Loki 1.0 were both fantastic. Falcon/Winter Soldier was only okay, but also felt like world building setting up something later.

[I am behind in my Marvel. In Mutlverse I just finished Shang Chi, which exceeded my expectations, but have not started Eternals yet.]

WandaVision and Loki S1 are widely considered the best D+ Marvel series. Falcon/Winter Solider is mostly setup for the upcoming Thunderbolts and Cap:Brave New World films. If you liked Falcon/Winter soldier ... give Hawkeye a shot as I felt that was a solid action series and fits into the upcoming winter holiday season well

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney Vacation Club announced an additional Moonlight Magic event will be held at Disney's Animal Kingdom on December 13. Details:




Scott Gustin

 

[HokieRaven5]

Update Narcoossee’s has hours listed for October 15

View attachment 799731

Reservations are available at Narcoossee’s. Also officially reopening October 13

 

[HokieRaven5]

Imagineers are testing free-roaming robotic characters today in Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland Park.



Scott Gustin

 

[Jennasis]

Park reservations and hopping come 2024

 

[Brian Noble]

Even Loki S1 had a very, very lackluster finale with no real closure.

I don't know. I thought [SPOILER ALERT] "Loki Variant just broke the multiverse" was a pretty good ending. It might not have been closure, exactly, but it did create some good tension that was irreconcilable between the two Variants, and then "resolved" it through unitary action. It was a very good cliffhanger and a fine starting point for a good long series of stories.

I mean, it worked pretty well for Genesis Chapter Three.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wbez.org/stories/whats-...rthplace/10d3a2ae-dc7f-4224-a71c-685715d2dde7



Animation giant Walt Disney and two of his brothers were born inside this house at 2156 N. Tripp Ave

What’s That Building? The Walt Disney Birthplace​

Chicagoans will be able to see inside where the famous animator and theme park creator was born for the first time this weekend.

By Dennis Rodkin
Oct 12, 2023, 6:00am CDT

With a white picket fence, a big front porch and an old-time wooden screen door, the house at 2156 N. Tripp Ave. looks like a throwback to something you might see in a live-action Disney movie made in the 1950s or ’60s.

The house is a Disney production of another kind: It was designed by Flora Disney, the mother of animation and movie giant Walt Disney, and built by her husband, Elias Disney. The couple moved in with two young sons in early 1893 and had three more kids, all born here.

One of the three was Walt, who would grow up to make movies like Cinderella, create Mickey Mouse and have massively successful theme parks. Walt was born in the house Dec. 5, 1901, roughly eight years after the birth of his brother Roy, who would grow up to be the business partner who ran the studio while Walt did the creative work.

Wood trim was re-created throughout the house.

On Saturday, Chicagoans for the first time can get a look inside the house where these two brothers were born. The showing is a feature of Open House Chicago, the annual weekend organized by the Chicago Architecture Center when about 170 buildings throw open their doors for free tours.

“Walt came from humble beginnings in a little house in Chicago but he didn’t give up on his dreams,” said Rey Colon, the former Chicago City Council member who manages the house for its owners, Dina Benadon and Brent Young. “This house is symbolic of that, that even from humble beginnings you can follow your dreams and change the world. Walt did that.”

But there’s a caveat: The house has not been open publicly until now, so it’s likely to draw a big crowd on Saturday afternoon. So people who want to maximize their Open House Chicago time might want to focus on other sites.

Elias and Flora moved from Florida to Chicago in 1890. Elias worked in construction on the World’s Columbian Exposition in Hyde Park and started building houses that Flora designed. Along with the home for their family, the Disneys designed and built two others on the block, still standing at 2114 and 2118 N. Tripp Ave. Elias was also the building contractor for St Paul’s Congregational Church, built in 1900 around the corner at 2255 N. Keeler Ave. and now the home of Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Betania. According to Werner Weiss, the keeper of an encyclopedic Disney website called Yesterland, Elias Disney and Rev. Walter Parr of St. Paul’s were such good friends that Elias named his fourth son, Walt, after the pastor.


Iglesia Evangelica Bautista Betania is around the corner from the Walt Disney Birthplace.

The Disney family left Chicago in February 1906, when Walt was 4 years old, and moved to a small town in Missouri. Six decades later, Roy Disney said the family moved to get away from crime in Chicago. Describing the area as a “rough neighborhood,” he said two boys in a family they were close to “were involved in a car barn robbery. Shot it out with the cops, killed a cop. One of them went to Joliet [Correctional Center] for life.”


The Walt Disney Birthplace will be open to the public on Saturday, Oct. 14 for Open House Chicago.

Some of the family, including Walt, moved back to Chicago in the 1910s. Walt spent a year at the old McKinley High School (now Chicago Bulls College Prep) and took art classes.

In subsequent years, the Disneys’ old 18-by-28 ground-level cottage on Tripp Avenue was lifted up onto a foundation, giving it an English basement typical of Chicago homes, expanded off the back and divided into a two-flat.

In 1991, city officials started talking about landmarking the building, but the owner of two decades pushed against the idea. Six years later the effort fizzled because by then the owner, June Saathoff, was firmly against it. Landmarking, she said, “would impose unfair restrictions” on the property, such as preventing demolition and requiring landmarks officials to sign off on changes to the windows. City officials dropped the idea, deferring to the property owner.

Saathoff sold the building in 2002 for $190,000, according to the Cook County Clerk, and it sold again in 2013 for $173,000 to Benadon and Young.

The home looked nowhere near as charming as it does now. It was wrapped in white aluminum siding then and had no front porch. The house has been transformed, using clues from a pair of photos from the Disneys’ years in the house, details of the other two houses Elias and Flora did on the block, and what Colon calls “forensic demolition,” where they stripped away latter-day details to find out what was underneath.


The green part of the house in the back was added later, while the yellow section is the original structure.

Among the discoveries were original wood trim in a hall closet they used to re-create trim throughout the house. When they pulled up a layer of flooring on the second floor, they found not only the original floor but a secret compartment in the primary bedroom’s floorboards. Colon later learned from a Disney archivist that Walt saved the tin box that fit into that compartment, where his parents kept their kids’ birth certificates and other important papers. The front screen door’s Victorian wood curves are re-created from a photo of Walt and his baby sister, Ruth, that has the door in the background.

Inside the Walt Disney Birthplace.

Under the aluminum siding, owners found what they say they believe is original 1890s wood siding. On the long side of the house, they’ve delineated the Disney-years house from its later addition: yellow is the original part, and the green part toward the back is what was added later.

The work is far from finished. Colon, who estimates the work so far has cost “an easy million,” says plans call for a very Disney-esque feature. The rear interior wall of the original house has no windows, because there are latter-day rooms on the other side. Colon says Young and Benadon envision putting up artificial windows with high-tech display screens that show a re-created early-1900s scene out back. “You’d see and hear horses riding by,” as the Disneys would have, he said.

There’s no firm timeline, Colon said. In 2015, the owners told the Chicago Tribune they might have it open by the end of that year. Eight years later, it’s not done.

Even so, visitors show up all the time, sometimes unannounced. Colon said he often gets calls from people visiting Chicago from other countries who want to see the building, and he lets them in. He has seen them arrive wearing Mickey Mouse ears or other Disney clothing. He showed one man through the house who spoke in a Mickey Mouse falsetto the entire time. He finds Disney character dolls and books left on the front steps in tribute.

“I grew up watching Disney on TV and Disney movies like everybody else,” Colon said. “I consider myself a fan, but when I see these people I feel like I’m a lightweight.”