Pirates of The Caribbean Special Comic Con Update Video

Very exciting video from Comic Con by the Captain himself ....



I can't wait to see this! Roll on 20th May 2011!!
Bloody Mary's all round!

EDIT: New video, this keeps getting taken down on youtube so I reverted to a source from Comic Con. Slightly skewed angle but hopefully this one will be a bit more permanent.

Reliving the Past - Kungaloosh

Ever since my trip in 2001 I had wanted to visit a magical place called 'The Adventurers Club', unfortunately we weren't there very long on our 1st visit so we missed out, again in 2007 we failed to pop our heads round the door of this grand establishment... finally 2008 we made it! Despite being up since 6am we just couldn't pass on this opportunity and had one of the best nights out EVER (even though Claude and Arnie got a bit to friendly with me in the mask room much to the disgust/amusement of my father!) Then came the horrendous news that it was closing for good along with the rest of Pleasure Island as it that part of Downtown Disney was not considered family friendly enough...

For those of you who haven't got to experience this amazing place I will give you a little background info...

Everything at Disney has some kind of theme and backstory and the Pleasure Island part of Downtown Disney is no exception. Merriweather Adam Pleasure landed at the shore of what is now Pleasure Island determined to make research lab and development facility for all his eccentric ideas as well as a playground for the well to do his motto being "Fun for all, and all for fun!". Pleasure lived on a show boat with his Wife (Isabella), 2 sons (Stewart & Henry) and his Daughter (Merriam), he set out to be the world foremost supplier of sails which with the out break of world war one and the demand for canvas ensured his fortune. Having out grown the showboat Pleasure and his family moved into a Bermuda style mansion overlooking Lake Buena Vista (which is now the Portobello Yacht Club) in 1918. By 1920 Pleasure had filled the mansion with all manner of exotic artifacts from their travels, his wife became so annoyed about this that she threatened to eject Pleasure from the house unless he found a new home for all his treasures. And thus the Adventurers Club was born.

What is the Adventurers Club (AC)?

The AC was a themed nightclub in Pleasure Island district of Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World styled after and explorer's club house at the turn of the last century. Guests were greeted by Graves the club's English butler as they entered the club on the The Zebra Mezzanine level before descending down to the Main Salon which houses the main bar. In the Main Salon there is a small stage where character actors would perform skits like the new member induction ceremonies, this was also home to Colonel Critchlow Suchbench (a cable controlled puppet) who would appear in his own private box over looking the main area,to help with festivities. The walls of the club are filled with many artifacts from all round the globe many of which are enchanted and would randomly come to life, one of the largest being Babylonia a giant stone face of the goddess of women and all things fertile. Off of the main Salon there were 3 rooms the treasure room, the mask room and the library, each one hosting different shows and events. The mask room was host to one of our family's happiest memories of the club, the walls are covered in masks from all over the world some of which come to life all led by 2 greek masks called Claude and Arnie. Firstly the picked on poor Joe who was wearing a retro T-shirt then their attention turned to me (I stood out like a sore thumb being the only person wearing a dress and right in their field of vision) and for the next 15 mins I was the butt of their 'Carry On' style humour, my dad tried to act horrified at their comments but I saw him smirk a few times! We then moved on to the Library where the main shows are hosted (these are the ones which are a bit more scripted than the improvisation in the smaller rooms), the show we viewed was the The RadioThon where they need to raise $2000 to keep the lease on their club. Obviously they always hit the figure... except on the very last night the AC was open which added to the story of it being shut down. There are far too many details to tell you about this fabulous club so if you want to find out more about what went on there wikipedia has some great info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventurers_Club


Virtual Adventurers Club

So the inspiration behind this post was a fabulous project finished by a guy known online as Brerben who has painstakingly recreated it using a mod of the half life 2 gaming engine. It took over a year and a half of 2 hour dedicated nightly session to complete and features many interactive elements that could be experienced in the real life club. When asked why he embarked on such a project he responded:
"the hope that someone (wealthy) will someday be able to use my video to build their very own Adventurers Club to the exact same specifications as the original one. A far-fetched dream, but you never know…”

Here is a video of the virtual club


if you are interested in downloading it you can grab it here

New Haunted Mansion Movie!

Exciting news from Comic-Con Guillermo del Toro made a surprise announcement at the end of the "Tron Legacy" Panel.... he is going to be making a new Haunted Mansion film based on the famous Disney theme park attraction. This is going to take a much darker tone than the family friendly Eddie Murphy release back in 2003. Del Toro is warning this is one not to take the kids to as true to his previous releases like Pan's Labyrinth it going to be a very frightening take on Haunted Mansion concept.

As some of you might remember Guillermo del Toro made an announcement at D23 that he was going to be teaming up with Disney to create darker films under the label "Disney Double Dare You" so I wouldn't be surprised if this was the first one to be made under that brand.

While I did quite like the original Haunted Mansion movie despite some of it's flaws I am very excited to see another take on it. Especially one that will capture more of the atmosphere from the theme park attraction, which I felt was slightly lacking in the original release. However the only thing that slightly concerns me is that it won't child friendly which could alienate a lot of families and might cause complaints in a similar way to Alien Encounter attractions in terms of it being too scary to be placed under the Disney umbrella.

I think at the end of the day I am hoping for something like the Pirates of the Caribbean films, still family friendly enough to be enjoyed by everyone but with enough atmosphere to capture the underlying essence of the attraction. The original release of Haunted Mansion was too comedic, over the top and lost some the life blood of the original attraction which was a shame, so if they tone down the comedy a bit and install some of the darker undertones they could be on to a winner.

Little Mermaid Ride Details - contains SPOILERS!

The Little Mermaid is one of my all time favourite Disney films, having grown up with this classic I am obviously anxious to see the new dark ride that is coming to Walt Disney World as part of the Fantasyland Expansion Project. Here are details that have been released about this exciting addition which is due to open 2013 at Walt Disney World and 2011 in Disney's Califorian Adventure (hope to see it on our 1 year anniversary in 2012!)

 

SPOILER

Loading Area: Panaoramic mural featuring all the main characters from the film.
1) Sebastian (Crab) & Scuttle (Seagull) set up the ride's back story
2) Submertion scene - environmental (cold air blasts) and visual effect to give the feeling of travelling under the sea
3) Part of Your World - guests travel through Ariel's treasure grotto
4) Under The Sea - Sebastian friends entertain guests with the famous song.
5) Poor Unfortunate Souls - Guests enter the lair of the Sea Witch and her 2 pet eels performing the magic to turn Ariel human
6) The next area guest ascend and come out of the sea.
7) Kiss The Girl - Eric and Ariel are in the rowing where they share love's first kiss
8) A storm brews as Ursuala gets angry that the contract is broken and Ariel can remain human
9) The finale scene is a closely guarded secret but will obviously be the happily ever after.
Unload Area: Ariel are in their Castle waving, King Triton is in the Sea Waving with Sebastian.

SPOILER END

After finding these details I am still very excited about how these scenes are going to come to life, though only thing that saddens me a little is the way they have changed the story at the Kiss the Girl scene, but these details are not set in stone so it could work out fine, I'll just have to see when I visit it in 2012...

If you have the 2006 Special Edition Release of the DVD amongst all the extras you can see some of the early ride concept sketches!

Exciting Pirates of The Caribbean Photo Release

At 10am PST today The Jerry Bruckheimer Films Facebook page will post up a very special photo for Pirates of the Caribbean and Johnny Depp fans! Make sure you check it out!

Update

Here is the pic u have all been waiting for...

a little less impressive than I was hoping for but at least it means that the wheels are turning and progress is being made!

15th Anniversary for the Wedding Pavilion at Walt Disney World

On the 15th July 1995 Disney's Wedding Pavilion became the first permanent wedding location at WDW, and has since seen tens of thousands of happy occasion with guests traveling from all over the world to fulfill their fairytale dreams.

Although I am a little late with this one, I thought I would report this wonderful event as it gives me an opportunity to post up a photo of this enchanting venue which will host my fairytale wedding Oct 2011.

Photo (c) Disney

photo (c) Stephen Vance

NEW Savannah Trek Adventure coming to Disney's Animal Kingdom

Exciting news released by Disney last week unveiled an exciting new addition to the special backstage tours they run. This new tour takes guests in small groups off the beaten track at the Kilimanjaro Safari attraction, deep into unexplored areas Harambe reserve. Your expert adventurer will take you around the guided trek giving you in depth information about the animals and their natural behaviours, climaxing with an exciting journey into the undeveloped forest area where guests will board a specialised vehicle to continue their adventure.

This will be a totally unique experience and totally separate from the Backstage tour at Animal Kingdom and will be available for all guests not just those staying on Disney property. That is all the details they have released so far but look out for this tour coming later this year!

New Babies at Disney's Animal Kingdom

photo: (c) Gene Duncan

There have been lots of lovely little additions to the Animal Kingdom (AK) family at Walt Disney World in Florida in the form of 3 baby warthogs and 2 oryx calves. 
The male trio of piglets were born on 1st July and are the first litter born to this proud mother who is doing a spectacular job of raising them. There are now 6 Warthogs in the AK troupe and the new arrivals will join their mother in Kilimanjaro Safaris in a few weeks. Unfortunately these wonderful creatures are not doing so well in the wild due to the destruction of their natural habitat. Lets hope these little cuties can help further educate park goers about the importance of caring for our environment.

photo: (c) Gene Duncan

2 male scimitar-horned oryx calves were born at the end of June, this is great news as this species is extinct in the wild due to poaching and other environmental challenges. These beautiful creatures are now being reintroduced back into parts of Senegal in Africa so hopefully with the continued work and support of people like the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund we will see them running free in the future.

During the birth of the calves one had to be delivered via cesarean due to complications and it was performed in full view of the public at Rafiki's Planet Watch in the Veterinary Center, guests have reported this as something truly special. So if you ever get the opportunity to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom it is definitely worth catching the train down there! 
TIP:
The best time I have found is first thing in the morning where you can see the vetenairy staff performing various check ups on the animals.

The Disney Worldwide Conservation fund established in 1995 on Earth Day (22nd April) since then, the DWCF has supported more than 800 projects with more than $14 million in grants to organizations and individuals working in 110 countries. Next time you are enjoying a day at Disney's Animal Kingdom stop by one of the shops and make a donation. You will also receive a badge (button) if you donate $1 or more to show your support and the great news is that Disney match your donation dollar for dollar! You can also donate in EPCOT at The Seas with Nemo and Friends where you donations goes towards marine based projects.

Welcome to The Happiest Place on Earth!

Just a quick note to welcome you all to my new blog WDWBuzz which is soon to expand to a fully fledged website, giving you all the up to date news about the Disney Company and it's theme parks. There will also be useful information on planning Disney holidays and in depth information about the attractions, resorts and even weddings.


A little about me...
I have been in love with Disney since I was tiny having grown up with classics like The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, being Lucky enough to visit Walt Disney World (WDW) 4 times and Disneyland Paris (DLP) 4 times so far. I am an artist and designer and I always find amazing inspiration from Disney whether in my traditional art or digital pieces. I am also a cosplayer (Japanese hobby of making costumes of TV, Film or Computer Game Characters) and have made an couple of Disney costumes so far Ariel, Pocahontas and most recently Belle.

I live with my fiance Joe and we are planning to get married in WDW Oct 2011 at the Disney's Wedding Pavilion which is a very exciting process which will also be documented on this blog.

Other Random Info:
Favourite WDW resort: Disney's Caribbean Beach
Favourite DLP resort: Hotel Cheyenne
Favourite Rides (in no particular order):
- Tower of Terror
- Expedition Everest
- Splash Mountain
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (DLP version)
- Haunted Mansion / Phantom Manor
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Spaceship Earth
- TTA
I would love to know your favourite resorts and rides so leave me a comment below!
That's all for now.... have a magical day!