Disney Store debuts new Marquee in New York City’s Times Square

Disney Store debuts new Marquee in New York City’s Times Square: "

A new Disney Store is coming to New York City’s Times Square with a grand opening on November 9th. However, last night they debuted the bright new video marquee for the store. It fits right in with all the other video heavy displays in Times Square. Having a large Video Screen is actually a requirement to have a store in Times Square and I’d say that Disney is doing it right.

The new store will feature all the great new interactive features, a two story princess castle, and more. Want to see the new store yourself? Head to Family.com for a chance to win a trip to the grand opening.

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Disney Store debuts new Marquee in New York City’s Times Square

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Disney Dream floats out of Meyer Werft dock

Disney Dream floats out of Meyer Werft dock: "

Early this morning near Papenburg, Germany, the third ship in the Disney Cruise Line stable, The Disney Dream, floated out of the dry dock of Meyer Werft in a special ceremony. I’ll miss my weekly peek at construction via the web cam, but look forward to seeing it in person when it reaches its home at Port Canaveral, FL.

USA Today’s Cruise Log was there and has the dramatic photos and here’s a video from the other side of the fireworks:

The full press release is below the cut:

After 20 months of construction, the Disney Dream cruise ship floated out of the enclosed building dock at the Meyer Werft shipyard today, completing a major construction milestone. The ship was greeted by thousands of visitors lining the shore to see the newest Disney Cruise Line ship, which features the first water coaster at sea and other cruise industry firsts designed to build upon Disney’s commitment to delivering unparalleled family cruises.

The “Float Out” is a special maritime event that celebrates the ship’s final stages of construction, where exteriors become complete and final touches are assigned to interiors. In true Disney-style, the celebration was punctuated with a fireworks display and the appearance of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The Disney Dream is scheduled to sail its maiden voyage on January 26, 2011, from Port Canaveral, Fla.

“Today marks a monumental milestone and begins the first of the finishing touches for the Disney Dream as we prepare to welcome guests aboard our newest ship,” said Karl Holz, president of Disney Cruise Line. “Our guests are counting down to the maiden voyage, and in just 88 days, they will get to experience all that the Disney Dream has to offer.”

The Disney Dream is the first of two new ships being built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. The Disney Fantasy is also currently in production and is scheduled to set sail on its maiden voyage on April 7, 2012.

“Today is a day of great pride for all of us at the Meyer Werft shipyard,” said Bernard Meyer, managing partner of Meyer Werft. “To finally see the largest ship this yard has ever built floated out and nearly complete is an inspiration within itself, and that coupled with the pixie dust Disney is known for, made this a truly magical moment for all involved.”

The Disney Dream will remain alongside Meyer Werft’s outfitting pier in the shipyard harbor for about two weeks, while testing is completed on the ship’s stabilizers, rudders and other functional features, and work on the ship’s interior areas continues. The ship is scheduled to leave the Meyer Werft shipyard and be conveyed down the River Ems, the second weekend in November, where its destination is the North Sea at the port of Eemshaven, The Netherlands.

Disney Dream Innovations

Known for establishing the family cruise market when the Disney Magic debuted in 1998, Disney Cruise Line continues to build upon this success with a focus on the legacy and heritage of The Walt Disney Company’s most known assets – master storytelling, world-class entertainment and legendary guest service. In addition to all of the features Disney Cruise Line is known for, the Disney Dream will have several new notable innovations for guests to enjoy.

* AquaDuck, a first-of-its-kind water coaster, is an exhilarating, high-speed thrill ride that combines all the ups and downs of a roller coaster with all the twists and turns of a water slide.

* Magical Portholes offer a “virtual window” to the world for inside staterooms, with a real-time view outside the ship where high-definition cameras feed live video to each stateroom.

* Enchanted Art immerses guests in Disney storytelling and looks like other hanging art pieces around the ship, but is actually a framed LCD screen with technology that recognizes a guest is present.

* Remy, an exquisite top-deck restaurant, only for adults, with incredible ocean views and French-inspired, gourmet cuisine by two award-winning chefs.

New Itineraries

With the addition of two new ships, Disney Cruise Line is able to more formally expand its itineraries to new destinations, including Alaska, while continuing to offer cruises to some of the line’s most popular itineraries.

The Disney Dream will sail three-, four- and five-night cruises to the Bahamas from Port Canaveral, Fla., while sister ship Disney Fantasy, is set to sail seven-night alternating eastern and western Caribbean itineraries, also from Port Canaveral, beginning in 2012. The Disney Magic will continue sailing seven-night eastern and western Caribbean cruises, before returning to the Mediterranean for another summer of cruising in this region in 2011. The Disney Wonder will begin 2011 by repositioning to the West Coast of the U.S., sailing seven-night Mexican Riviera cruises from the Port of Los Angeles, while spending the summer sailing first-ever Alaskan itineraries from Vancouver.

Based in Celebration, Fla., the Disney Cruise Line experience is focused on providing a setting where families can reconnect, adults can recharge and kids can immerse themselves in worlds of fantasy only Disney can create. Most recently, the company was recognized as the top cruise experience by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Disney Cruise Line was voted the No. 1 cruise experience in the magazine’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards in the mega-ship category.

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Disney Dream floats out of Meyer Werft dock

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First look at Disney's new Cars-themed adventure park ride

First look at Disney's new <i>Cars</i>-themed adventure park ride: "

Filed under: Toys/Games

Disney Cars ride - Click above for image gallery

When we were but knee-high auto obssessives, our two favorite rides at Disney World were Space Mountain and Indy Speedway. One gave us a genuine feeling of speed while the other let us pretend for a few fleeting moments that our driver's license wasn't quite so far away. Now it looks like youngin's out there will have a new car-themed attraction to check out in the Magic Kingdom, or more specifically, Disney's California Adventure Park. Motor World Hype has managed to get their hands on a few quick shots of the amusement park's new Cars-themed ride.



Called Radiator Springs Racers, the attraction is set to open sometime in 2012. In addition to the marginally-creepy looking cars in this particular ride, Disney is planning a whole section of the park dedicated to the Pixar film. The opening should coincide nicely with the Summer 2011 release of Cars 2... and it may just give us still-car-obsessed adults a good reason to revisit our youth.

Gallery: Disney Cars Ride

[Source: Motor World Hype]

First look at Disney's new Cars-themed adventure park ride originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet Mickey Mouse’s Older Brother Oswald The Lucky Rabbit In “Epic Mickey”

Meet Mickey Mouse’s Older Brother Oswald The Lucky Rabbit In “Epic Mickey”: "

Walt Disney’s first popular character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is coming back in the new video game from Disney Interactive Studios: “Epic Mickey.” Oswald will star alongside Walt’s most famous creation, Mickey Mouse, in the game. The two brothers must work together to help all of the forgotten characters who are trapped in an unpleasant world.

The video game is releasing exclusively to the Wii console on November 30th and there is also a special edition of the game releasing as well, which comes with a special controller designed to match the theme of the game.

“Epic Mickey” was imagined by Warren Spector, the creative director at the company Junction Point. Take a listen to what Warren and a number of other people who worked on the game have to say about the characters Oswald and Mickey Mouse.

Discover More: Epic Mickey | Disney Interactive Studios | Disney Characters | Disney News

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This Day in History: Walt Disney World Resort Officially Opens – 1971

This Day in History: Walt Disney World Resort Officially Opens – 1971: "

It’s rare that we post a “This Day in History” on the blog but this is something we thought you’d enjoy. On October 1, 1971, the Walt Disney World Resort officially opened, including Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Polynesian Resort and Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground. And on that day in 1971, William Windsor, Jr., was our record-breaking first guest.

Are you a Walt Disney World fan? If so, let us know what your “must-do” is when visiting.

Also on this day in history:

• Epcot officially opened – 1982


• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort officially opened – 1988


• Disney’s BoardWalk officially opened – 1996


• 
  Euro Disneyland Paris became Disneyland Paris – 1994

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Everything You always Wanted to Know about Walt Disney world!

Everything You always Wanted to Know about Walt Disney world!: "UPDATE! New titles added.

A frequent request we receive at 2719 Hyperion/Imaginerding is for books about the history of Walt Disney World. While there isn't one book that covers it completely, there are several titles you can digest that will give you a very good picture. There are a lot of titles available and they come from different sources; check out the ones that look most interesting.

The definition of a bibliography is:

a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.

--http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bibliography

This bibliography is by no means a complete list of books available on Walt Disney World; I have only added books that I own. Feel free to leave a comment if I have missed something good!



You can always keep up with the Walt Disney World-related titles we have reviewed by clicking here.





General Interest

The books included in this set focus on more than just Walt Disney World. I consider each title an essential part of any Disney enthusiast's library.

• The Imagineers. Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind-the-Dreams Look at Making the Magic Real. 1998. A spectacular title that looks at how the Imagineers create the theme parks. Concept art, anecdotes and pictures fill the volume. Has information on the development of attractions, lands and resorts. A must have!
  
  
  
  


• The Imagineers. Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real. 2010. A completely re-vamped update to the 1998 classic. Shares concept art, photos and paintings from Disney Parks around the world. The focus is mainly on developments of the past 15 years.You can read my review here.

• Kurtti, Jeff. Walt Disney's Imagineering Legends and the Genesis of the Disney Theme Park. 2008. Kurtti looks at Imagineering's (WED) heavy hitters and discusses their contribution to the modern theme park. Rare concept artwork and loads of biographical anecdotes present a look at early Imagineering. You can read my review here.
  
  
  
  


• Ridgway, Charles. Spinning Disney's World: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent. 2007. Mr. Ridgway recounts his years with the Walt Disney Company and what it was like to work at Disneyland and Walt Disney World. It reads like a love letter to the theme parks.
  
  
  
  


• Smith, Dave. Disney: The First 100 Years. 1999. An essential part of every collection, Disney Archives Head Smith has put together a chronological look at the Disney Company.

History

The following titles are specific to Walt Disney World and cover more than just an attraction. The Kurtti, Koenig and Beard titles are a must!

• Beard, Richard F. Walt Disney's Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow. 1982. This is the book that every fan of Epcot should own. An amazing amount of conceptual artwork and photos of the park during its first few months. In-depth information on the pavilions and anecdotes from the Imagineers. There are three editions: a pre-opening, post-opening and a short version. The difference in the post- and pre- is whether some of the pictures are in-park photos or close-ups of models.
  
  
  
  


• Emerson, Chad. Project Future: The Inside Story Behind the Creation of Disney World. 2009. Emerson takes an in-depth and straightforward look at the creation of Walt Disney World. It covers the purchase of the land and the political machinations tat took place. It includes a great timeline and listing of key players. You can read my review here.
  
  

• Gordon, Bruce; Kurtti, Jeff. Walt Disney World Then, Now, and Forever. 2008. Theme Park Exclusive. Gordon and Kurtti have written a history/souvenir guide for Walt Disney World. It does act more like a family scrapbook than a history book, until you delve into its pages. You can read my review here.

• Koenig, David. Realityland: True-Life Adventures at Walt Disney World. 2007. Koenig looks at the creation, construction and development of Walt Disney World. There is not another title that talks to as many former employees to reveal anecdotes and what happened politically. You can read my review here.

• Kurtti, Jeff. Since The World Began: Walt Disney World, The First 25 Years. 1996. The seminal title in any theme park enthusiast's library. Kurtti explores the first 25 years of Walt Disney World with photographs and rich historical detail. You can read my review here.

• Malmberg, Melody. The Making Of Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. 1998. This book goes into an incredible amount of detail on the initial ideas, design and implementation of Disney's Animal Kingdom. You can read my review here.

• Mannheim, Steven.Walt Disney and the Quest for Community. 2003. This book could almost be considered a biography of the Epcot that could have been. Mannheim writes a very through-provoking and enjoyable work on Walt Disney's plans for EPCOT Center and how they germinated and became reality (or didn't, in some cases). You can read my review here.

• The Story of Walt Disney World, Commemorative Edition. Various Years (1971, 1973, 1976). An official publication that looks at the first few years of Walt Disney World. It focuses on the building of the Magic Kingdom, the resorts and the rest of the vacation kingdom. It has a great stylized map and lots of pictures.

• Walt Disney World, The First Decade.1982. An official publication that looks at the development of the Magic Kingdom, hotels and the Village Marketplace. The book is like a time capsule with lots of great photos. You can read my review here.

• Walt Disney World, 20 Magical Years. 1991. An official publication that is part history and part souvenir guide. Great for pictures and as a time capsule. Updates Walt Disney World, The First Decade. You can read my review here.

Attraction Specific

• Broggie, Michael. Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom. 1998. Broggie presents a fascinating look at Walt's Railroad--part biography and part theme park history. The majority of the book focuses on the Carolwood-Pacific, but Broggie does discuss the Magic Kingdom and Ft. Wilderness Railroads. You can read my review here.
  
  
  
  


• Leaphart, David. Walt Disney World Railroads Part 1: Fort Wilderness Railroad. 2010. David has compiled an monumental and magnificent look at the Fort Wilderness Railroad. A must for any fan of Fort Wilderness, trains or early Walt Disney World anecdotes. Visit the author's website for more information.
  
  


• Leaphart, David. Walt Disney World Railroads Part 1: Fort Wilderness Railroad Gallery Companion. 2010. A companion guide to David's work on the Fort Wilderness Railroad. More pictures than you can shake a stick at!
  
  


• Surrell, Jason. The Disney Mountains: Imagineering At Its Peak. 2007. Surrell takes an in-depth look at every Disney mountain, from Matterhon to Everest, with side trips to some un-built mountains.
  
  
  
  


• Surrell, Jason. The Haunted Mansion: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies. 2006. If you are a fan of the Haunted Mansion, you need to own this book. Surrell starts at the earliest concepts and takes us through to the final incarnations, step-by-step. The concept art is wonderful.
  
  
  
  


• Surrell, Jason. Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies. 2006. An in-depth history of Pirates of the Caribbean, from concept stages to Disneyland Paris. We experience all versions of the attraction through the script, artwork and photographs.

Artwork

There would be no Walt Disney World without these artists.

• Hench, John. Designing Disney. 2009. Hench shares his thoughts on helping to design every Disney theme park. The text is insightful and the artwork is astounding. There is also a 2003 edition.
  
  
  
  


• Kurrti, Jeff; Gordon, Bruce. The Art of Walt Disney World. 2009. Theme Park Exclusive. Jeff and Bruce have collaborated again to create a sister volume to the wonderful Art of Disneyland. This large-scale book presents concept artwork from every phase of Walt Disney World's history. Many of the images are seen here for the first time. Every fan of Walt Disney World should own this title. You can read my full review here.
  
  
  
  


• Mumford, Dave; Gordon, Bruce.A Brush with Disney : An Artist's Journey, Told through the words and works of Herbert Dickens Ryman. 2000. A look at Herb Ryman's art--not just work done for Disney, but over his entire career. You can read my full review here.

Miscellaneous

Detailed-inspired travel guides, academic treatises and amazing photographic titles. Usually more of a time-capsule than a history title.

• Burns-Clair, Pam and Peri, Don. Walt Disney's First Lady of Imagineering Harriet Burns. 2010. Harriet's daughter Pam and Disney Historian Don Peri craft a fascinating and beautiful collection of anecdotes and tributes to Harriet Burns, as told by her family, friends and co-workers. You can read my review here.
  
  
  
  


• Childs, Valerie. The Magic of Disneyland and Walt Disney World. 1979. I reviewed the book here. This work is mainly a pictorial essay about Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Geared mainly for park detectives and people who visited the parks in the 1970s. You can read my review here.
  
  
  
  


• Hannaford, Dee. The Gardens of Walt Disney World Resort. 1988. One of the most beautiful coffee-table books ever produced about Walt Disney World. Amazing photographs of the gardens and natural areas help to create a snapshot of Walt Disney World Resort in 1988. Absolutely gorgeous and belongs in every collection.
  
  


• Imagineering Field Guide Series: Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdomand Disney's Hollywood Studios. 2005-2009. Written by The Imagineers, this series of guidebooks discusses some of the details and histories of the parks. They are designed to be taken into the park with you; hence the artwork can be fairly small, but exciting.
  
  
  
  


• Marling, Karal Ann. Designing Disney's Theme Parks: The Architecture of Reassurance. 1998. Marling presents a series of academic articles written by historians, critics and architects that look at the development of the Disney theme park. Wonderful photographs.
  
  

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