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Tag Archives: Walt Disney Imagineering
Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom opens to Walt Disney World Guests in February
This immersive, role-playing game features unprecedented interaction with Disney characters who come to life in previously hidden areas throughout Magic Kingdom park.
Families, friends and individuals can take on the animated Disney Villains by casting spell cards featuring Rafiki, Rapunzel, Woozles and more than 60 other characters. Individually created by Disney artists and trading card game experts, these beautiful, collectible cards will come in packages of five free to Guests ready to take on the villains.
“Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom gives our Guests a new way to become the hero of the Disney story, taking Disney innovation to a new level,” said Jonathan Ackley, Producer & Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering. “It’s a great game of discovery and excitement that plays off our wonderful theme park and incredible family of Disney animated characters.”
Imagineers spent more than four years creating and perfecting this unique experience, which can be played in 15 to 20 minute segments throughout the Guests’ visit to the Magic Kingdom, or continuously for up to three to four hours. More than 95 minutes of original animation was created for Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom – equal to a full-length animated film.
While trading card games are popular with about 60 million people in the US, this is the first time players can experience the challenge in such a complex environment. Guests of all ages will love the storytelling, the engagement with Disney characters and the discovery of hidden details of the Magic Kingdom.
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Disney and GM Renew Contract and Create Magic for Guests at a Re-Imagined Test Track Experience
Disney and General Motors have renewed their long-term business relationship with a new multi-year corporate alliance.As part of the new alliance, GM will be actively involved with Walt Disney Imagineering in the development of a re-imagined, design-centric Test Track experience. The refurbished Test Track will be presented by one of GM’s most famous brands, Chevrolet. As Chevrolet marks its 100th anniversary, the new alliance agreement enables General Motors to tell its story in new and exciting ways to millions of Guests from around the world and continue as the official vehicle sponsor of Walt Disney World Resort.
“We are excited to renew our long-term alliance with General Motors,” said George Aguel, Senior Vice President, Corporate Alliances for the Walt Disney Company. “This unique agreement extends collaboration between two of the most recognized brands in the world, a relationship that spans over 30 years. The re-imagined Test Track Presented by Chevrolet will continue our shared goal of providing unique and innovative experiences that engage Disney guests in exciting and interactive ways.” ”
“As a global brand, Chevrolet is looking forward to welcoming Guests from around the world to the re-imagined Test Track,” said Joel Ewanick, Global Chief Marketing Officer for General Motors. “The best of Disney and the best of Chevrolet will come together to bring Guests an immersive experience in the design process of the vehicles they see on the road today and will see in the future.”
Plans call for closing the current GM Test Track in April 2012, with an anticipated opening of Test Track Presented by Chevrolet scheduled for fall 2012.
As part of the re-imagining, the Future World attraction will feature a sleek new “Chevrolet Design Center at Epcot” immersing Guests in the fascinating world of automotive design. Amid upbeat music, engaging media, dramatic lighting and a collection of Chevrolet concept cars and model vehicles, guests themselves will become automotive designers – and peer into the future of personal transportation in the process.
At interactive design and styling workstations, Guests will be able to create their own custom concept vehicles. The adventure will then shift into high gear as Guests buckle into their 6-person “SimCar” ride vehicle and put their design through its paces on the exhilarating hills, switchbacks and straight-aways of the Test Track circuit.
Their performance testing complete, Guests will move into a post-show area filled with special effects and be scored on how well their custom concept vehicle did. And of course, Guests will be able see the very latest Chevrolet vehicles in an all-new state-of-the-art showroom.
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- Disney Confirms New Test Track For Fall 2012 (everythingwdisneyworld.com)
- Test Track Closes for New Name Change and Design Center (chipandco.com)
How They Haunt – Behind the scenes of Disney’s Haunted Mansion
“Welcome, Foolish Mortals” are the words that you hear when you board one of Disney’s most popular rides, The Haunted Mansion.
The original ride opened in 1969 in Disneyland’s Magic Kingdom, and in 1971 at Walt Disney World. While the idea behind the ride was thought up by Walt himself, he was not alive to see the finished product. The Imagineers had to finish the ride’s design and construction on their own after Walt’s passing in 1966. The ride represents their ability to come together after such a tragedy and to produce something truly amazing on their own.
There are so many things going on in the attraction, from the gravestones with funny inscriptions outside, to the spooky ghouls and spirits inside, it is truly amazing, and I know I see something new every time I visit The Haunted Mansion!
Here are some of the ways Disney scares us with this attraction:
The Endless Hallway: This one is actually pretty simple, as you look down the hallway that appears to go on forever, there is actually a mirror at the end of it, which fools you into thinking you can see twice as far as you actually can, and since it’s dark, the mirror portion of the hallway just seems to continue on into darkness
The Crystal Ball: Madame Leota’s head is created through digital projection – the face is projected onto a head sculpture within the crystal ball. Fun fact – the other floating objects in this area are suspended by fishing wire
The Ballroom: A common thought is that the ghosts in the ballroom are holograms. This is actually not the case – how it really works is a row of columns in front of the mezzanine are supporting gigantic panes of glass, which are nearly invisible to the guests. The “ghosts” are merely the reflections in the glass of audio-animatronic figures, located in rooms above and below the mezzanine, where the walls are painted entirely black.
The Hitchhiking Ghosts: Ever wonder how they get the ghosts at the end of the ride to actually appear to be sitting next to you in your Doom Buggy? Well, its actually quite simple – the mirrors in which you are seeing the ghosts are actually two way mirrors, and the ghosts are audio-animatronics in a room behind the mirrors. They move along in sync with the Doom Buggies, and weak lights shining on them allow them to be seen through the mirrors.
A few random Haunted Mansion facts:
- When Cast Members are hired for The Haunted Mansion, they are given a book as a part of their training that explains the “official” backstory of the ride, as well as various safety rules/regulations, and detailed maps of the ride itself.
- Walt’s original vision was to have the attraction as something guests would walk through, but the Imagineers ultimately decided a sit down ride with the “doom buggies” made more sense
Remember….there are 999 Happy Haunts currently residing in the Haunted Mansion…who knows, maybe you could be their lucky 1000th resident!
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Raytheon Extends Sum of all Thrills Experience to the Home on MathMovesU.com
Raytheon Company is extending the reach of its Sum of all Thrills™ experience from the theme park into cyberspace through a new virtual thrill ride and math learning component at www.MathMovesU.com.
Whether at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort, or at their computers, students can now experience math and science in an exhilarating way: by designing and then riding their very own thrill rides. Raytheon’s goal is to stimulate excitement for math among students by linking the subject to hands-on, interactive adventures.
The new Sum of all Thrills™ online component offers an on-screen design experience similar to the exhibit at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®. Using mathematical and engineering fundamentals, students can construct exciting virtual roller-coasters, pilot jet-fighter planes, or race bobsleds that dip, dive and swerve through loops, turns and rolls.
Online users can also take advantage of added functionality such as posting their personal ride creations on Facebook and sharing them with friends. In addition to the added functionality, visitors to the theme park exhibit at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® can now access a special mobile version to take their in-park experience home: Riders simply text the code on the card they receive at the ride to THRILL (847455), or enter the code on MathMovesU.com, to view the actual ride they just designed.
“The popularity of the Sum of all Thrills™ ride has confirmed our original belief that fun experiences can and will get students excited about math,” said Pam Wickham, Raytheon vice president of Corporate Affairs and Communications. “By bringing the ride online, we are making it accessible to those who have not or cannot visit the exhibit at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, allowing even more students to connect the activities they love with the math that makes it all possible.”
Developed in collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering, Raytheon opened the Sum of all Thrills™ at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot® in 2009 to guests from around the world.
About MathMovesU®
Raytheon’s MathMovesU program is committed to increasing middle and elementary school students’ interest in math and science education by engaging them in hands-on, interactive activities. The innovative programs of MathMovesU include Raytheon’s Sum of all Thrills™ experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®, which showcases math in action as students design and experience their own thrill ride using math fundamentals; the “In the Numbers” game, a partnership with the New England Patriots on display at The Hall at Patriot Place™ presented by Raytheon; the company’s ongoing sponsorship of the MATHCOUNTS® National Competition; and the MathMovesU scholarship and grant program providing more than $1 million in annual funding to students and teachers. Follow MathMovesU and other Raytheon community outreach programs on Twitter @RaytheonCSR.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2010 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @raytheon.
About INNOVENTIONS at Epcot®
INNOVENTIONS is located in the heart of Epcot® at the Walt Disney World® Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Creativity and imagination abound as guests celebrate inspiration and the innovations that improve their lives and expand their horizons. Hands-on, interactive exhibits allow children and adults to be immersed into ideas that inform, entertain and inspire. For more information, visit www.innoventions.disney.com
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James Cameron Gets Further Inspiration at Disneyland Resort
On Friday, legendary film director James Cameron and fellow Lightstorm Entertainment production partner Jon Landau toured the Cars Land expansion site at Disney California Adventure park, accompanied by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs and a team from Walt Disney Imagineering.
While there are no immediate plans for an AVATAR-themed land at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Cameron and Landau used the visit as inspiration and to further familiarize themselves with the immersive Disney Parks experience as their team begins design work on the first AVATAR-themed land set to open at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.
The team studied the details and storytelling elements in the 12-acre world of Radiator Springs that will open at Disney California Adventure park in summer 2012, before touring other parts of the Disneyland Resort.
Source Disney Parks Blog
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