Join Lou Mongello from WDW Radio as he takes you on a virtual tour of Epcot’s World Showcase in Walt Disney World. He takes you around the promenade and through all 11 pavilions and shows you some of Walt Disney World’s hidden treasures and overlooked experiences. There’s more to explore in Walt Disney World than you might know – to find out more, visit WDWRadio.com
Disney G-Force takes top spot at box office
A trio of animated secret agent guinea pigs broke the spell of the new Harry Potter movie to take the top spot at the North American box office, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.
“G-Force,” a Disney live action and computer-generated animation family feature, earned $32.1 million in the United States and Canada, pushing “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” down to second place with $30 million in its second weekend.
The sixth movie in the boy wizard franchise dropped 61 percent from its huge opening last weekend — a fall-off that was in line with studio expectations — but is still on course for becoming the second biggest Potter movie so far, distributors Warner Bros said.
Michael Keaton joins the Toy Story 3 Ranks
Pixar showed up at Comic Con today bearing animated gifts and one big casting announcement. Michael Keaton is joining the Pixar family! His voice will be in Toy Story 3, where he’ll play Ken. Who’s Ken? Come on, you know Ken. Plastic guy, no genitals? Barbie’s boyfriend. That Ken.
No word yet on exactly how Ken will fit into the Toy Story 3 script. Somehow I imagine jokes about his lack of man parts will be beneath Pixar. Maybe he’ll compete with Woody for the affections of Bo Peep. We do know however, that Toy Story 3 takes place in a day-care center where Woody, Buzz and the rest of their toy-box friends are left when Andy goes away to college.
Disney’s ‘Tron: Legacy’ crosses into the 21st century frontier
Article is written by Jorge Carreon at the Examiner
Disney has one of the convention’s hottest tickets, presenting early footage from its trifecta of 3-D epics: Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” Robert Zemeckis’s “A Christmas Carol” with Jim Carrey and the return of the cult classic “Tron.”
The filmmakers and cast of the just named “Tron: Legacy” gathered in a packed conference room to discuss the film, offering a little sneak peak into what looks to be a film as groundbreaking as the original. Here are some highlights:
Steven Lisberger (Producer, Director of original “Tron”): The zeitgeist of  “Tron” has changed.  The first film had to cross the line and get to the new frontier. We needed to integrate it into modern life and make it represent the best that we are. The challenge was making it real.
Jeff Bridges (Actor, “Tron” and “Tron: Legacy”): His enthusiasm is kind of contagious. On this one, I was so happy to know that the source material was still involved. I knew it would have to be more than the first “Tron.”  They came up with a good story.  It’s like a very expensive student film in that “Let’s figure it out, we got to do this tomorrow!”  It’s exhilarating. Very fresh. Almost like an independent film.
The panel was reluctant to get into specifics, but the unveiling of footage revealed depicted a world that has evolved on its own, something more perfect and realistic than the black and white video game world of the 1982 film.  It is a striking vision and a far cry from the hand-tinting and white adhesive tape of the original, which heralded the advent of CGI.  Secrecy is still very much surrounding the project, which just finished principal photography.
Bridges: I’m kind of reticent. It’s kind of like a magician giving away his tricks. It was a challenge.
One big reveal was the announcement of who will be provided the score for “Tron: Legacy.” French duo Daft Punk has been tapped to provide the aural landscape of the film’s digital world. But “Tron-heads” take heart.  Wendy Carlos’ iconic score will not be a distant memory.
Joseph Kosinski (Director): We looked for a music collaborator that was just as cutting edge. Daft Punk were a perfect match.  We tracked down some of the original sound stems which will be incorporated into the film score.
This is the second appearance of “Tron” at Comic-Con. Last year, advance footage created a firestorm amongst fans and the producers promise a return in 2010.
Kosinski: Fans of the original film, there will be a lot in there for them to discover. Our crew worked very hard to make sure everything lined up perfectly.
Disney To Offer Movies On microSD Cards
Panasonic and Disney have teamed up to bring Disney movies on microSD memory cards, where these will accompany DVDs that hold a similar movie content, giving viewers more options when it comes to viewing their recently purchased movie. No idea on what the appeal would be here, and hopefully the price for the package would not be increased by a large margin just because a microSD has been included in the package. This might not even catch on since many portable media players out there don’t even come with a microSD memory card slot in the first place, so we’re thinking this will probably be confined to use in cellphones and perhaps even digital cameras. The first of these DVD+microSD bundles will begin shipping in November, where some of the initial titles will include the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “National Treasure” series, retailing for around $53 after conversion.
Disney Plans Alice in Wonderland Game for IPhone
Disney Interactive Studios has announced plans to release a video games based on “Alice in Wonderland,” the live action movie directed by Tim Burton that will be coming to theaters early next year. The iPhone and iPod touch are on the list of supported platforms, though the Mac is noticeably absent.
Burton, whose previous credits include The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, and Sweeney Todd, is directing the movie, which stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska as Alice. The story takes place years after the events in Lewis Carroll’s classics “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass,” when an older Alice finds herself once again in the surreal world of Wonderland — or Underland, as it’s known in the new film.
The video game picks up the story, where Alice, accompanied by friends like the Mad Hatter, March Hare, Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit, has to defeat the Red Queen and Jabberwocky. Each of the characters helps Alice to evade traps and solve puzzles.
The game is currently in development for the Wii, Windows and Nintendo DS, according to Disney, which plans to release those in February 2010 — no Mac version was announced. Also in development is Alice in Wonderland: The Mobile Game for iPhone and iPod touch, which will be released in 2010.
Disneyland Club 33
The latest D23 FANfare e-mail blast reports: “Ever since Club 33 opened on June 15, 1967, a waiting list for one of its 480 member slots has stretched from New Orleans Square to Tomorrowland and back again. Today you’ll wait at least 18 years for the privilege of using your name and ‘Club 33 Member’ in the same sentence.”
Club 33 is the name of the private club located in New Orleans Square of the Disneyland resort, with an indiscreet entrance located just next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant (you know, that lantern-lit restaurant you float by at the beginning of the Pirate of the Caribbean ride?). In addition to an exclusive membership, it’s the only place within the park permitted to serve alcoholic beverages–even if Disneyland does currently hold a park-wide liquor license.
The best part? Club 33 membership isn’t even close to being free. Or all that affordable. The three types of memberships, Corporate, Limited and Gold, require fees ranging anywhere from $10,450 to $27,500… in addition to $3,275-$6,100 in annual fees.
Not that any of this matters anyway–membership has been closed since April 2007, when the average wait time stretched to 14 years.
Alot of good information about Club 33 can be found here.
Disney’s A Christmas Carol Train Tour!!!
Be sure to catch the Disney’s A Christmas Carol Train Tour as it traves the country.  The next stop coming up this friday is Chicago Union Station!  The train will be there for only 3 days from July 24th to July 26th, so if you’re going to be in the Chicago area be sure not to miss it.  Be sure to drop by www.christmascaroltraintour.com for more information.
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol2
Tape of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews leads to computer virus
Only reason we are posting this is because ESPN is owned by Disney, and want everyone to stay away from getting their computers infected and not to buy into this garbage…..
Headline news from Orlando Sentinel:
A video made of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews undressing in her hotel room is now being used to spread a computer virus, according to sophos.com, an anti-virus software company.
A video of Andrews undressing was shot through the peephole of her hotel room and then quickly made its way to the internet in recent days. Soon after websites cropped up claiming to be links to the video but were actually a way to release a virus into the user’s system.
“Hackers are no slacks when it comes to taking advantage of a hot internet search trend, and they have been quick to set up bogus webpages claiming to contain the video footage of Ms. Andrews in her hotel room,” said Graham Cluley of Sophos.
The clips of Andrews, 31, a statuesque blonde who has developed a devoted following since starting at ESPN in 2004 , were posted online late last week, and searches for the videos have topped Google’s trend list for the past three days.
The grainy images shot through what appears to be a makeshift hole in a wall, show Andrews undressing and appearing nude in an unknown hotel room, apparently unaware that she is being filmed.
Walt Disney World History July 22nd & 23rd
Another great video from the guys at WDW History.
Disney’s Prince of Persia w/ video
Yesterday, Disney released the first, official posters for ‘Prince of Persia’, and, today, they have this first look at Ben Kingsley’s villainous Nizam. It’s looking like the marketing on ‘Prince of Persia’ is gearing up, and the chances of a trailer by the end of the week is looking more and more likely. Look for it to air in front of Jerry Bruckheimer’s other Disney collaboration, ‘G-Force,’ opening in theaters this Friday.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays a 6th century prince who holds the fate of the world in his hands in the sweeping fantasy-adventure ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.
“I over-prepared myself because I never knew how much they were going to ask me to do, so I just made sure I’d be hopefully able to do anything,” a playful Jake tells Thea.
The former ‘Brokeback Mountain’ star trained for months before the arduous Moroccan desert shoot, and has been training daily to maintain his action-hero physique, gaining five pounds of muscle.
“I guess I’ve gotten buff,” he shrugs. “There’s a lot acrobatics in the movie — a lot of running up walls, and jumping on things and Parkour, so it requires muscularity, but it requires a lot of aerobic ability too.”
When filming finally wraps, Jake promises with a smile, “It’s going to turn into fat and I’m going to be happy.”
‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ blockbuster producer Jerry Bruckheimer is bringing ‘Prince of Persia’ to life, based on the hugely popular video game and scheduled to open in theaters on May 28, 2010. The story finds Jake as Dastan, a young Persian prince who must join forces with the beautiful and feisty princess Tamina (played by ‘Quantum of Solace’ Bond girl Gemma Arterton) to prevent a villainous nobleman (Ben Kingsley) from possessing the Sands of Time — a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world.
“I’m running away from family and I’m running away from bad guys and I’m trying to prove my innocence,” says Jake, trying to keep the play-by-play plot details a secret. “There’s so many extraordinary elements throughout the movie.”
Here is the video from ET
Disneyworld Summer & Fall Events Schedule
Summer
- Sounds Like Summer Concert Series – June 15 – Aug. 9
Fall
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – Sept. 4, 11, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29, Oct. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 29, 31, Nov. 1.
- Trek Women Triathlon (Link Here) – Sept. 6
- Night of Joy (Link Here) – Sept. 10-11
- Athletes for a Cure Triathlon (Link Here) – Sep. 20
- Epcot International Food & Wine Festival – Sept. 25 – Nov. 8
- Expedition Everest Challenge (Link Here) – Sep. 26
- Race for the Taste 10K and 3K (Link Here) – Oct. 11
- Tower of Terror 13K and 5K (Link Here) – Oct 24.
- Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party – Nov. 10, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 29, Dec. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17,18.
- Castle Dreamlights – Nov. 10 – Jan 3, 2010.
- Children’s Miracle Network Classic (Link Here) – Nov. 12-15
- Festival of the Masters (Link Here) – Nov. 13-15
- Festival of the Seasons at Downtown Disney – Nov. 17 – Dec. 24
- Old Spice Classic (Link Here) – Nov. 26, 27, 29.
- Holidays Around the World at Epcot – Nov. 27 – Dec. 30.
- Osborne Familiy Spectacle of Dancing Lights – Nov. 27 – Jan. 3, 2010.
- Mickey’s Jingle Jungle Parade – Nov. 27 – Jan. 3, 2010.
- Pop Warner Super Bowl (Link Here) – Dec. 7-12.
- WDW Marathon Weekend (Link Here) – Jan. 7-10, 2010.