Grammy Award-winning singer Gloria Estefan poses June 26, 2010 with her new pals from the silver screen — “Toy Story 3” characters Jessie and Woody — at the Magic Kingdom park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“Toy Story 3,” the hit Disney-Pixar animated feature film, debuted in U.S. theaters on June 18, 2010. Estefan was on vacation at the Walt Disney World theme park with family and friends.
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Hey there, True Believers! Get ready for Your Universe to invade Little Big Planet!
Beginning July 7, you’ll have a wealth of official new Marvel Super Hero and Super villain costumes for your Sackboys and Sackgirls! Starting with the initial offering and continuing every other week following, we’ll introduce four different Marvel Costume Packs, each with five different costumes depicting Marvel’s mightiest Super Heroes and most dreaded Super Villains.
To get you fully prepared for the awesome onslaught of Marvel & LBP goodness, we’re unveiling all the glorious details for each costume right here on Marvel.com! We’ll kick things this Monday, June 28 with more art and information than you can shake a Skrull at. And since we love to tease our terrific fans, here’s the full list of upcoming LBP costumes to let your imagination run wild…
But wait! There’s more! We’re also unveiling a magnificently massive Marvel Level Kit, which includes four levels of adventure pitting your Sackpeople against the evil plans of Magneto. And of course, while you play through the levels, you’ll collect a huge assortment of Marvel-themed music, objects, materials, stickers and a special “Rooftop” background to help you CREATE your own fantastic levels.
Stay tuned to Marvel.com, the PlayStation Blog and LittleBigPlanet.com for more details on the Marvel Level Kit, Marvel Super Hero and Super Villain costumes and much more over the coming weeks!
Cast members from Disney’s THE LION KING (at Mandalay Bay) will be performing in Los Angeles at The Grove outdoor shopping and entertainment district during a free event on Friday, July 9 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Performers will include Kissy Simmons, who joined the Las Vegas company after appearing as “Nala” on Broadway; Buyi Zama, a native of South Africa, who has performed as “Rafiki” in seven productions of THE LION KING around the world; and Jelani Remy as “Simba,” previously seen in the theatrical touring production of High School Musical. Join the cast as they celebrate “THE LION KING Day” at The Grove, performing iconic songs from the Broadway phenomenon such as “Circle of Life,” “Shadowland,” “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” and “Endless Night” alongside the FAME Church Choir, Los Angeles.
As part of the celebration, guests can also join in the festivities by creating their own LION KING themed mask made from recycled products with Ann Closs-Farley Designs from 3-7 PM.
For Las Vegas, Disney hand-selected an acclaimed, international cast of performers from productions of THE LION KING across the globe including Broadway, Taipei, South Africa, London, Los Angeles, Australia, Toronto, Shanghai, Paris and Holland.
The Las Vegas production of THE LION KING is virtually identical to the other companies seen around the globe and is staged with all of the same spectacular music, sets, and costumes that have made it a worldwide phenomenon. The show is performed at Mandalay Bay Monday through Thursday evenings at 7:30 p.m. with weekend shows at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. For additional information, visit: www.LionKingLasVegas.com
Walt Disney World Resort is celebrating the accomplishments of Disney VoluntEARS, which gave a record 251,000 hours toward improving the lives of Central Floridians in 2009, by recognizing top standouts with awards and charitable donations.
This week, high honors were given to Steve Luttrell as VoluntEAR of the Year and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort VoluntEARS Team as the VoluntEAR Team of the Year. Both received $2,500 cash donations to the charity of their choice.
VoluntEAR of the Year
By day, Steve Luttrell works as a member of Disney’s Engineering Services team. Nights and weekends, you’ll find him on the baseball field, helping kids learn the values of teamwork and sportsmanship. Luttrell has dedicated hundreds of service hours to Dr. Phillips Little League and has changed the lives of hundreds of youth during his six seasons of involvement. Known for maintaining composure under pressure, Luttrell coaches young boys and their parents beyond the basics of baseball and demonstrates the importance of personal responsibility. A donation of $2,500 will be given to the Dr. Phillips Little League in honor of Luttrell.
VoluntEAR Team of the Year
A small but powerful team, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort VoluntEARS Team increased their Cast Member participation from 51% to 89% within a year; completing 29 projects in Indian River County in 2009. Activities range from a Habitat for Humanity build to a March of Dimes walk to involving youth in a beach cleanup event to help them gain environmental awareness. In honor of the team, $2,500 will be donated to the March of Dimes Treasure Coast Division.
The Walt Disney Company, through the Disney VoluntEARS program, provides opportunities for Cast Members to contribute their time and expertise toward positively impacting their communities. Later this summer, the EARS to You program will recognize Disney VoluntEARS with thousands of dollars in grants for local non-profit organizations. More information will be revealed near the end of July.
By day, Steve Luttrell works as a member of Disney’s Engineering Services team. Nights and weekends, you’ll find him on the baseball field, helping kids learn the values of teamwork and sportsmanship. Luttrell has dedicated hundreds of service hours to Dr. Phillips Little League and has changed the lives of hundreds of youth during his six seasons of involvement. Known for maintaining composure under pressure, Luttrell coaches young boys and their parents beyond the basics of baseball and demonstrates the importance of personal responsibility. A donation of $2,500 will be given to the Dr. Phillips Little League in honor of Luttrell. A small but powerful team, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort VoluntEARS Team increased their Cast Member participation from 51% to 89% within a year; completing 29 projects in Indian River County in 2009. Activities range from a Habitat for Humanity build to a March of Dimes walk to involving youth in a beach cleanup event to help them gain environmental awareness. In honor of the team, $2,500 will be donated to the March of Dimes Treasure Coast Division. The Walt Disney Company, through the Disney VoluntEARS program, provides opportunities for Cast Members to contribute their time and expertise toward positively impacting their communities. Later this summer, the EARS to You program will recognize Disney VoluntEARS with thousands of dollars in grants for local non-profit organizations. More information will be revealed near the end of July.
Voice123, LLC, a voice over casting website started out of Queens, NY in 2003, proved to be useful when it came time for PIXAR to cast the voice of ‘Spanish Buzz’ for the latest Toy Story movie, now in theaters.
The voice of Javier Fernandez-Pena was found by a PIXAR casting director through a web search, in which his Voice123 profile appeared. The recording took place in London, UK, on a Sunday in late 2009, and took four hours to complete.
The news of this job booking through an online casting website, comes on the heels of Voice123’s seventh anniversary, and is serving as proof that the traditional methods of casting for voice over work, through agents and casting directors, is changing to fit the needs of business quickly becoming dependent on digital resources for lower production cost, and increased value.
Here is the video of Spanish Buzz
At Walt Disney World Resort, we have a tradition of community service that is part of our culture. Through the Disney VoluntEARS program, Cast Members can contribute their time and expertise toward making a difference in Central Florida.
Disney annually recognizes these efforts with VoluntEAR of the Year and VoluntEAR Team of the Year awards, which come with $2,500 cash donations to the charity of the recipients’ choice. Top standouts for 2010 will be named later today.
But before we look ahead, it’s worth looking back at 2009 VoluntEAR of the Year Alais Salvador, who won honors for providing more than 2,500 meals for the hungry and creating a Relay for Life team, which raised more than $56,000 for the American Cancer Society.
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The original concept for this book about how Disney came to Central Florida originated in an unlikely place: A law review article that Emerson, a law professor, published with the Florida State University School of Law. This review comes to us from Attractions Magazine:
It’s a plot Jack Bauer would love – a clandestine project by one of America’s most brilliant business leaders punctuated with multiple code names, fake identities, make-shift affiliations, and unique regulatory arrangements. And while almost every traveler recognizes Walt Disney World as one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, what might surprise them are the secret and pain-staking measures Walt took to keep his intentions for a Disneyland-East under wraps.
Project Future explores one of the most comprehensive and successful private developments in U.S. history – the Walt Disney World Resort.
The paperback by Orlando Attractions Magazine contributor Chad Emerson takes Disney fans and theme park enthusiasts on the ride with Walt and his advisors in the early ‘60s as they evaluate locations like St. Louis, Niagara, Monterey, Calif., Ocala, Fla. and the Miami area as possible sites for the new “Disneyland-East.”
Author Emerson, a tenured member of the faculty at Faulkner University’s Jones School of Law and highly-respected theme park and attractions industry expert, puts readers in Conference Room 2E at the company’s Burbank headquarters as the most senior Disney officials sort through the optimal parcels of land to place the “real working city” and planned entertainment development.
Click here to keep reading.
Great news from Disney Parks Blog!
“Cars” is one of my all-time favorite films from Pixar and that’s why I’m so excited to give you a peek at the vehicle testing for Radiator Springs Racers. This thrilling new attraction is set to open in 2012 with the debut of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure park. Vehicle testing is an important milestone in the development process and that means we’re one big step closer to racing through this new land. Testing is expected to continue through the end of July, then the car comes off the track while construction is completed.
The bright cars you see here will each carry six guests through the twists and turns of Ornament Valley. Radiator Springs Racers covers a lot of ground – nearly half of the 12 acres in Cars Land! Check out our video and imagine what this high-speed adventure will be like.
Pixar’s latest short film Day & Night, playing in theatres with Toy Story 3, is available for purchase from the iTunes Store (U.S. and Canada) today.
I just purchased Disney’s Lots-O’ Hugging Bear for my little one at Target tonight. I have been waiting for him to come out! He smells so sweet and is really fun to play with. My little one says he is so soft and cuddly.
He is a little pricey at $49.99 but a very unique toy..even comes with a Limited Edition Certificate.
Check out the videos below!
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The Disney Magic cruise ship completed her first Northern European itinerary this week, making seven inaugural calls on ports in England, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Finland and Sweden. With seven new ports came the opportunity for us to share in the time-honored maritime tradition of Plaque and Key ceremonies.
So you might ask, what’s a Plaque and Key ceremony? During our inaugural calls, this is when the Captain and shipboard officers host port officials and community leaders onboard to exchange maritime plaques during an official welcome reception.
Captain John Barwis, along with Captain Mickey Mouse, did just that, beginning in Dover with the Chairman of the Port of Dover, Roger Mountford. Each plaque is particularly unique and serves to commemorate the date of the first call for a ship. Disney Cruise Line has its own ornately designed plaque, like the one you see in the photo above.
Click here to keep reading this article from Disney Parks Blog.
