Tokyo Disneyland Closure Extended to Mid-May

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

While the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation initially looked favorable in Japan, things have taken a turn for the worse. On the evening of April 7th, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency through May 6th for 7 Japanese prefectures. These include Chiba, the home of Tokyo Disney Resort, as well as Tokyo, Osaka, and others. As such, the Oriental Land Company has announced that the Tokyo Disney Resort closure will be extended though at least mid-May, to an undetermined date.

The opening of the vast New Fantasyland expansion is now also set for an unknown date to be determined later.

This closure applies to both Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. The Ikspiari shopping mall adjacent to Tokyo Disney Resort will also be closed during this time.

Guests with unused tickets dated or expiring between February 29th-May 31st, 2020 can have their ticket changed to an open-dated ticket expiring March 31st, 2021. Guests with Annual Passports will have the expiration date extended. Details will be released later.

Events scheduled to end during the closure, including Fantasmic!, Very Very Minnie, and Pixar Playtime were not extended. Ariel’s Greeting Grotto, Lilo’s Luau and Fun, and other offerings set to close March 31st also were not extended. However, souvenir food items and event merchandise will be sold for a short period after re-opening. Details will be announced later. No word on how this will affect the planned Disney Easter event that was set to begin March 27th at Tokyo DisneySea.

The Disney Resort Line is scheduled to continue limited operations as announced last week. The Disney Hotels closed on April 1st.

While we’re very disappointed to see this development, it’s for the best. The safety of Guests and Cast Members is the highest priority, and it’s critical that the COVID-19 situation gets closer to under control. No Disney parks are currently operating across the world.

Young Avengers Could Be Developed By Marvel Studios

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Source wdwnt.com

Calling all Marvel Fans! For a long time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been hinting at a Young Avengers project and it seems it may finally come to fruition.

Earlier this week Senior Editor of Geeks WorldWide, Thomas Polito tweeted that Marvel Studios was arranging to hear some pitches for an adaptation of the beloved comic.

It hasn’t been revealed whether the plan is for a film or television show yet. In fact, it is unsure if even Marvel Studios knows what direction they want to take the property in.

This is definitely an exciting announcement as the Young Avengers has been rumored to be added to the MCU for some time, and the comic itself, as you can imagine, has a big following.

According to ComicBook.com, Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios has previously stated that “anything from the books that we haven’t yet done in film is always on the table.”

So it seems it was only a matter of time, and the time has finally come. However, don’t get too excited yet, as the production process of any Marvel property could take up to years to be completed, and writing pitches is just the very beginning of it.

On the bright side, this was some much-needed MCU news. With Marvel’s plans to release six films and eight shows on Disney+ being thwarted by the Coronavirus pandemic, which included the delay of the release of “Black Widow” and the production shut down of “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier”, it’s nice to hear Marvel is still continuing to create future plans.

NatGeo@Home Debuts

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Saddle up, parents, teachers, and science lovers – National Geographic has an all new digital hub, NatGeo@Home, tailor-made for young explorers! Check out the details below from DisneyParksBlog:

Chock full of resources for those looking for a window into the world through entertaining, science-forward content, this free virtual base camp is a true boredom buster.

The new hub comes stocked with lessons for educators, hands-on activities, games, quizzes, videos, tips for parents and access to National Geographic Society’s Learn at Home portal – a curated collection of K-12 content made to spark the spirit of exploration. The resources on the site are organized by grade and come equipped with skill-building lessons on social studies, geography, science and more.

Through the Explorer Classroom available on the hub, kids can meet face-to-face with Nat Geo Explorers through live talks, as film makers, scientists and others, share their experiences from around the world. Upcoming Explorer Classrooms include a live chat with a conservationist working to protect the adorable but endangered cotton-top tamarin monkey and a conversation with the head of Nat Geo’s Shark Tales team.

NatGeo@Home is also a part of #DisneyMagicMoments, a one-stop shop for some of the best free Disney content for kids, families, and fans. The platform includes offerings from National Geographic, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Parks and beyond.

But that’s not all! Nat Geo Kids Books is also offering lively learning activities with a new series of downloadable worksheets filled with experiments, and fill-in-the-blank activities. You’ll also find content from popular book series, including the fact-filled Weird But True book, and Zeus the Mighty, a middle-grade series where Greek mythology meets cute talking animals. Browse the site for more great reads and books.

Tour Through Animal Kingdom With Imagineer Joe Rohde

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks

Have you ever wanted a personal tour of a park with an Imagineer? Well, we’ve got the next best thing! If you’re a fan of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, then you know the mastermind behind much of its ethos was Imagineer Joe Rohde, and he’s recently taken to Instagram (as usual) to share his detailed thoughts on many aspects of the park you may have overlooked. We’ve compiled some of those amazing details here for your easy reading pleasure with several more tours to come! Be sure to check out his Instagram for the full posts.

To start, Joe takes us to the front of the park, known as Oasis Gardens…

“The first thing you notice is not a presence, but an absence. What is not there is a human-based, urban, architectural environment. Instead there is a forest with two paths. Not to put too fine a point on the Robert Frostiness of this, but of course, we want you to take the path less traveled by, because that will make all the difference. Having more than one path is a simple metaphor for adventure… Even if nothing happens on the path you take… There’s always the mystery of that other path.

You cannot believe the number of versions of a park entry sequence we went through….[e]verything from empty zoo cages with their doors standing open, to a kind of 1960s organic hobbitish Village Trail. But this forest does the job. You are in a place about nature, and the priorities of nature, but you, being human, are also there so it must be about you too.”

Joe then takes us to the big centerpiece of the park – The Tree of Life!

“Because the park is dedicated to the themes of animals and their relationships to humans…we needed a non-architectural icon…something “natural.” Since nature is everywhere anyway, we also need to signify that this place is exceptional..in some way “magical.” Thus..a strange tree.

A tree whose body disappears under patient observation to become nothing but animals. A metaphor for the rewards nature can provide to the careful observer. But since we all know it has been made..it is a work of art…it also signifies the intent to communicate..to tell a story. In fact, the Tree promises two things. 1. This place is a story place about animals. 2.This place is a designed place full of virtuoso accomplishments.”

Joe also comments on the live animals you find out in front of the Tree of Life and their place in the overall story of the park.

“When we originally chose animals just around the tree, we chose them for their physical diversity, as demonstrations of the vast differences in shape as animals adapt to their various ecosystems. Kangaroos, porcupines, flamingos, macaws. Each of these animals has strikingly unique adaptations.

These are observations which can be made but are not required. Because this is not an educational facility per se, we want people to pursue ideas at their own pace. As they might do in nature.”

Joe finishes up this area, by discussing a place you may have always overlooked.

“We cannot leave the middle of the park without reflecting on one of my favorite places, the dining gardens of Flame Tree Barbecue. These have a very weird origin. Early in design of the park there was a shuffle of programming. The Tree originally had a restaurant under it with a view of the river. The Flame Tree location was an amphitheater. We decided to put a bigger show under the Tree so we abandoned the amphitheater and moved the restaurant to the amphitheater location. Because this happened after our landscape design was pretty well defined, we had to fit the restaurant into the amphitheater shape. That could have been a design problem, but it ended up creating a really wonderful space.

It’s loosely inspired by some of the places we visited in Bali – little pavilions surrounding a reflecting pond….The architectural ornamentation is inspired by colorful folk art mainly Oaxacan carvings, Peruvian Moche ceramics, and American folk art carvings…not Balinese at all. But the ensemble works somehow to make a very restful meditative space. If you haven’t hung out there it’s worth a visit.”

Again, make sure to check out Joe’s Instagram for his own pictures and many more adventurous stories.

2 Yrs Before Disney Parks Attendance Levels Recovers, Says Analysts

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

While the Disney Parks were pretty much packed right up until their inevitable closure in the lead-up to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with new social distancing guidelines in place and even the prospect of potential temperature checks to enter the parks, it seems guests will have a whole new set of factors to worry about when planning for their next Disney vacation. In fact, some analysts are claiming that Disney Parks may take up to two years to normalize in terms of park attendance after the COVID-19 crisis subsides.

In a piece by The Hollywood Reporter, Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall claims that Disney Parks will take two years to return to normal attendance in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cahall told investors, “We don’t think Parks can get back to anything close to full capacity until testing and/or vaccines are far more ubiquitous.” Cahall expects “zero park attendance” for the latter half of fiscal 2020 and only 50% capacity in fiscal 2021. For reference, Disney’s current fiscal year should end around September/October. As it stands, Wells Fargo is projecting that the current closures will last until at least then.

In a recent interview with Barron’s, former CEO Bob Iger mentioned that the company is already in talks to ensure that guests feel as safe and comfortable as possible once the parks re-open. Iger noted, “Just as we now do bag checks for everybody that goes into our parks, it could be that at some point we add a component of that that takes people’s temperatures, as a for-instance.”

Currently, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort are closed “until further notice.” The few essential Cast Members still working security, animal care, and maintenance at Walt Disney World are now allowed to wear face masks to slow the spread of COVID-19.