When The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premiered on Disney+ last year, it was notably grittier than its predecessor, WandaVision, which served as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first foray into television.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — which saw the MCU returns Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) take on Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and the Flag Smashers in a post-Avengers: Endgame (2019) world.
The limited-run show also saw Mackie’s Sam Wilson officially take up the mantle of Captain America from Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), following the brief, but disastrous, tenure of John Walker/U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell).
Now, the powers-that-be at Disney+ have made some changes to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, scrubbing certain violent scenes and replacing them with more family-friendly versions.
Reddit user u/MooninMoulin first noticed the change, writing:
Hi everyone! Was just re-watching Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and something caught my attention. Episode 3, around 37:45, Bucky throws a metal bar at a woman. Back when it aired, the bar went through her shoulder, pinning it to the container; now it just bounces off.
Has this scene also been changed on your side? Does anyone know if there’s a way to switch back to the original scenes? I’m now thinking it’s probable more scenes from this show or others were altered. I hope this is not a case of non-negotiable retroactive censorship on Disney’s part.
Another user, u/Arkham4321 noticed that another scene has also been recently censored:
Just went to that episode and checked. They also edited the scene where Zemo kills the guy who made the serum. https://imgur.com/a/RyG7Ltc
Currently, no other edited scenes have been noted, but fans on Reddit are frustrated and confused by the changes.
This seems like odd timing to censor a Marvel series, with Marvel Studios’ most violent series to date, Moon Knight, due to release tomorrow, March 30, 2022.
Furthermore, Disney+ just added forced parental controls to all accounts due to the collective debut of Netflix’s darker Marvel series — Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and The Defenders.
Neither Disney nor Marvel Studios has issued a statement regarding the alterations to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Another hotel on Walt Disney World Resort property has sold for a massive price point.
New York-based real estate giant Tishman bought the 400-room Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek for $120.5 million on Monday, according to Orange County records. First reported by the Orlando Business Journal, this is a price of $301,250 per guest room.
The hotel opened in 2011 and is located at 14651 Chelonia Parkway on the southeastern end of Walt Disney World’s property.
The Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek is not an “official” Disney Resort property, but the hotel does offer shuttle services to the Disney Parks and is an official Disney Partner Hotel. While Disney Partner Hotels do not offer all the amenities of a Disney World Resort– like MagicBands– they do offer plenty of fun services and are conveniently located near Walt Disney World.
The Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek’s official website describes the hotel this way:
Set on 62 acres of family-fun, our resort ranks as one of the best hotels near Walt Disney World. Designed to be the ideal escape, guests enjoy a picturesque landscape and the tranquility of Blue Harmony Spa. Your stay includes five pools, our very own mini-golf course, two lazy rivers, and much more. The magical experience of Walt Disney World® Resort lives at Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek.
The other participating Official Disney Partner Hotels are: B Resort & Spa Lake Buena Vista, Best Western Lake Buena Vista, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando, Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, Holiday Inn Orlando, Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista, Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotel, Walt Disney World Swan Hotel, Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Waldorf Astoria Orlando Bonnet Creek, Four Seasons Resort Orlando.
PIXAR fans finally have confirmation of a theatrical release for the studio’s upcoming film directed by Angus MacLane and produced by Galyn Susman. Lightyear, starring Chris Evans as the legendary space ranger who inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy franchise seen in Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and Toy Story 4, will debut at the box office, and fans have PIXAR’s word on that.
PIXAR Animation Studios‘ upcoming action-adventure film, Lightyear, has long been scheduled for a box office release on June 17th, 2022, but because of recent news concerning PIXAR’s new films which continue to be released directly on the Disney+ platform and rumors about dissension among the ranks at PIXAR and Disney related to new film releases, fans have wondered whether the box office and Space Ranger Lightyear would ever meet.
But on Sunday evening during the 94th Academy Awards, PIXAR dropped a new TV ad that got fans really excited about the studio’s newest piece of genius animation.
The TV spot lasted 90 seconds, and though it wasn’t a new trailer, it did give fans some insight into the brand-new animated film, which claims to be the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear. The ad promised fans of the Lightyear movie not only a theatrical release, but also an IMAX release.
Beginning with the release of Soul in December 2020, every film from PIXAR Animation Studios has completely bypassed the theater, being released directly to the Disney+ platform instead. Luca followed suit in the summer of 2021, and most recently, PIXAR’s controversial Turning Red, which had been promised a first stop at the box office, was instead released onto Disney’s streaming platform on March 11.
According to Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, PIXAR’s Lightyear movie is a project that had its beginnings before the first Toy Story film was released. The idea of a definitive origin story for Buzz Lightyear was on the creative minds at PIXAR, but in the beginning, there was no specific timeline for that film‘s debut.
Lightyear is a space adventure set in the 1950s and 1960s. Fans will get to learn about the man behind the toy–the space ranger behind the action figure.
According to Disney, “Lightyear is a sci-fi action-adventure and the definitive origin story of Buzz Lightyear, the hero who inspired the toy, Lightyear follows the legendary Space Ranger on an intergalactic adventure alongside a group of ambitious recruits and his robot companion Sox.”
The film stars the vocal talents of Chris Evans, Keke Palmer, Dale Soules, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, James Brolin, Efren Ramirez, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Uzo Aduba.
Lightyear from PIXAR Animation Studios hits theaters on June 17th, 2022.
When Walt Disney decided to build a brand-new theme park in Central Florida, he knew he had to be secretive about it. Walt’s Disneyland Park was seeing massive success, and the ingenious creator knew that if people knew he was the one looking to buy land, the price he would pay would skyrocket. In order to keep things on the down-low, he created a number of shell companies to buy the land. Those shell companies would then be united as part of the Reedy Creek Improvement District with the passing of a government act in 1967.
Reedy Creek is technically its own little government. It has its own electric grid, its own medical services, and even its own Wi-Fi service. It has been nearly completely independent since 1967. During that time, things have been going well for both Disney and the state of Florida. Disney is one of the largest employers in the state, and Florida rakes in millions of dollars every year in Disney World tourism.
Unfortunately, the relationship between Disney and Florida has recently become incredibly strained. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education Bill — which Disney was very vocal about being against. Disney has said they will work to repeal the bill, and DeSantis has said that Disney does not run the state.
Every day, it appears that the relationship between Disney and Florida falls apart a little more. It is now being reported that several Florida legislators are looking at repealing the Reedy Creek act that granted Disney its own government. According to ClickOrlando:
“In effect, they’re their own city out there. They can zone the way they want. They can do things the way they want. They can even build a nuclear power plant if they want,” News 6 political analyst Jim Clark said.
Those rights are now being discussed among some Florida lawmakers who are thinking about repealing the Reedy Creek Improvement Act of 1967.
“I think that this is a feud that is escalating into a war between Florida Republicans and the Disney corporation which is the largest single-site employer in Florida,” Clark said.
Richard Foglesong, a retired Rollins College political science professor and the author of Married to the Mouse, said he believes talks of revoking the act is just a way of the Republican party showing what they stand for, but no real change will come out of those discussions.
“If you ask me whether it’s politically possible to take these privileges away from the Disney company, I don’t think so,” Foglesong said. “I think that cooler minds will prevail and that this is really a shot across the bow to try to bring the Disney company, Mickey Mouse if you will, into line with Governor DeSantis. I thought it was more of March Madness of the political kind, the thought that the Republican Party, which used to be the party of business, would want to take on of their biggest donors.”
If Republican legislators try to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, it would most likely only make the relationship worse. Disney is currently planning to move thousands of employees to the state. Lake Nona, Florida is set to be the new Imagineering hub. Disney will receive major tax breaks for doing so, but Florida would also get millions of dollars. It is already rumored that Chapek is being pressured to stop the move, and if legislators try to follow through on their threat, that rumor could become reality.
Disney has not commented on the possible repeal at this time.
The safety harness on the seat of a 14-year-old teen who fell to his death at the Orlando FreeFall amusement park ride last week was still locked when the ride ended, according to the official accident report obtained by USA Today.
Tyre Sampson fell from the drop tower ride when he and other riders were hundreds of feet above the ground, and according to the preliminary accident report, he fell when magnets on the ride engaged in order to slow down the ride as riders came down the tower toward the ground.
Ken Martin, a Virginia-based independent ride safety inspector and amusement park safety analyst says the operator’s manual for the Orlando FreeFall ride at ICON Park on International Drive in Orlando seems to lay responsibility for the accident that took the life of 14-year-old Tyre Sampson at the feet of both the ride manufacturer and the ride operator at ICON Park.
“I don’t understand why there are failures on multiple levels,” Martin explained. “Failures at the manufacturer’s level, failure at the owner-operator level.”
Tyre Sampson was in Orlando on spring break from St. Louis, Missouri, and went to ICON Park with friends on Thursday evening. He and his friends boarded the Orlando FreeFall drop tower ride at ICON Park, each one taking a seat on the ride. But only minutes later, Sampson had fallen hundreds of feet, from his seat on the drop tower ride to the ground below. He was transported to the hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
ICON Park‘s Orlando FreeFall drop tower ride had only been open for three months when Tyre Sampson died. It was inspected and opened in December 2021, along with two other thrill rides at the Orlando amusement park.
Sampson’s fall and death resulted in a full-scale investigation by both the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the governing body in Florida which is responsible for the inspection of rides at amusement parks that employ fewer than 1,000 people. (Larger theme parks like Walt Disney World Resort, Universal Studios Orlando, and Sea World Orlando are responsible for the inspection of their own rides and for the reporting of injuries on those rides.)
But according to the accident report and the latest information from the investigation, Sampson’s death wasn’t only related to the operator’s error. It was also related to a failure of the ride itself.
The ICON Park drop tower ride accommodates up to 30 riders at a time. Riders are seated in a ring that moves up a tall tower to a height of more than 400 feet. The ring then tilts riders forward before dropping them into a free fall toward the ground at a speed of 70 to 75 miles per hour.
The operator’s manual for the Orlando FreeFall ride states a maximum weight for riders, and Sampson was over the weight limit. One page of the manual describes limitations that pertain to “large people,” and warns the operator to “be careful when seeing if large guests fit into the seats.”
The manual further instructs the operator:
“Check that [riders] fit within the contours of the seat and the bracket fits properly. If this is not so, do not let this person ride.”
Ken Martin says no part of this tragedy was the fault of Tyre Sampson himself.
“This young man did nothing wrong,” Martin said. “It’s the owner operator’s responsibility to inform the rider what the requirements are.”
“The most spectacular thing that the industry has done lately is they put sample chairs outside the ride before you get into the queue line,” Martin explained during an interview. “Those model chairs are for you to sit down in and sit to see if you fit. If that chair existed at the entrance, that would be your first level of safety. It didn’t.”
Martin explained that the operator’s manual for the Orlando FreeFall drop tower ride says it would be almost impossible to operate the ride if all of the safety lights on the operator’s computer screen weren’t green. A green light on the Orlando FreeFall ride means that the restraint bars that go over riders’ heads and shoulders are locked down.
He also said that the preliminary accident report indicates that when the ride stopped on Thursday evening, the restraint bar over Tyre Sampson‘s seat was still locked down in place, despite the fact that Sampson was no longer in the seat. The report states the safety harness was “still in a down and locked position when the ride stopped.” It also lists three employees as witnesses.
“The safety bar has multiple positions,” said Martin. “And one of two things happened: the rider was able to lock it in the first position or the rider was able to hold the bar down across his chest.”
According to Martin, Tyre Sampson was too big to ride on the Orlando FreeFall. “A restraint system is not a one-size-fits-all,” he said.
Martin explained that the fact that the bar was down when the ride came to a stop doesn’t necessarily mean that it was engaged and working properly.
“I’ve seen people come out of lap bars that have been locked,” Martin shared.
According to Click Orlando, Ritchie Armstrong, CEO of the Slingshot Group, owner and operator of the Orlando FreeFall ride and the Orlando Slingshot ride at ICON Park, issued a statement on Tuesday. It reads:
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Tyre Sampson and absolutely devastated for his family and loved ones. We have suspended the operations of the Free Fallride and the Slingshot ride at Icon Park. We are fully cooperating with the authorities at the state and local levels who are investigating this tragic incident. We plan on providing additional information in the coming days, as we learn more.”
Riders and safety experts alike have questioned the absence of a secondary restraint, such as a safety belt. Ken Martin said that such secondary restraints are usually a standard component in similar rides. He said a secondary restraint could have been life-saving for Tyre Sampson.
