Disney’s Live-Action ‘Hercules’ Has a Director!

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

If there is one thing Disney knows how to do, it is put out a successful film. Whether it comes from Walt Disney Studios, Marvel, Pixar, or LucasFilm, Disney has some of the best screenwriters on the planet working for it. One area Disney has found particular success with in recent years is its live-action remakes. Fans flock to the theaters to see their favorite animated films come to life, like Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, The Lion King, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and more.

One of the more successful live-action remakes was the 2019 film, Aladdin. The film starred Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, and Will Smith as the Genie. The film was written by John August and Guy Ritchie, with Ritchie also directing the film. Aladdin was a massive hit for Disney and brought in more than $1 billion worldwide. Disney was so impressed with Ritchie’s work that we are now learning they are bringing him back to work on another one of their live-action films.

Aladdin

Deadline Hollywood has learned that Guy Ritchie has signed on to direct Hercules, which will be based on the 1997 animated film of the same name that starred Tate Donovan as the voice of Hercules and Susan Egan as the voice of Megara. James Woods was also hilarious in the original film as the voice of the God of the Underworld, Hades.

Hercules

Deadline Hollywood reported:

After watching his live-action transfer of Disney’s animated Aladdin become his first film to crack the billion-dollar gross mark, Guy Ritchie is back in business with the studio. This time, he’s overseeing a live-action film based on the Disney animated film Hercules.

The film will be produced by AGBO, the production company run by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe & Anthony Russo. The studio is in the process of hiring writers after Dave Callaham wrote a first draft.

This deal was made by CAA, before Ritchie last month exited the agency and went to WME.

Most of Disney’s live-action remakes stick pretty close to their animated originals, but one thing we do not know is if Disney will keep the music from the original film. “Go the Distance” is an incredibly popular song and a favorite amongst Disney fans, so many may be disappointed if Disney decides to change up the music. Hopefully, they will keep the favorites and maybe add in another great song or two!

Disney Pulls Out of Brightline Project – No Stop Coming to Disney Springs

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Uncategorized

For years, Disney has been working with Brightline to bring a train stop to the Disney Springs area of Walt Disney World Resort. The Brightline currently runs from Miami to West Palm Beach, but has been building track to extend operations all the way to Orlando. Both Disney and Universal were working with the train company to create stops at their respective Resorts, which would give Guests more airports to be able to fly into to get to the parks. However, in a move that not many saw coming, Disney announced that they are pulling out of the project.

The Orlando Sentinel reported on Disney’s decision and, according to Disney, they decided to pull out once they saw new plans for the project and realized the new route would not actually go through Disney. Per The Sentinel:

“As many people who are involved in this project are aware, the new route configuration does not support a Disney Springs station and as a result, we don’t anticipate being part of this project,” said Disney spokesperson Avery Maehrer, who declined to provide further detail.

Disney and Brightline have been in talks since at least 2018 over opening a station on resort property. Brightline expects to start service from South Florida to Orlando International Airport about one year from now and has been deeply engaged in planning for an extension from the airport to Tampa, passing along Interstate 4 near Disney.

But this spring, SunRail and International Drive interests announced planning for a rail corridor from the airport to the tourism district, which includes Universal Orlando, and that Brightline would pivot to cooperate in that route as well. The underlying expectation is for major federal grants to finance much of that corridor.

The new route would take the Brightline through International Drive, which is right near the Universal Orlando Resort, which is why the Resort is still a part of the project. Universal Orlando is currently building a massive third theme park called Epic Universe and will be adding 14,000 new employees in the coming years to work there. Adding in Universal’s employees to the ones who will need to work along the new route, more than 100,000 jobs will be added to the Orlando area in total, which makes the route a necessary one for new employees and Guests as well.

Epic Universe

Should Brightline decide to change the route once again and go through Disney Springs as originally planned, it is possible the company could decide to go back in on the project. Disney made it clear that the move to pull out of the project had nothing to do with the issues that the House of Mouse is having with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Disney World opens brand-new Disney Vacation Club Resort Villas

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Resorts

The Walt Disney World Resort has just added 200 gorgeous new villas to its growing number of Guest rooms and available accommodations in Central Florida.

Only days ago, Disney announced the opening of a new expansion of the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The new addition encompasses 200 new rooms, offering Guests several choices in accommodations and floor plans.

The new expansion at Disney’s Grand Floridian includes one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom villas which can sleep up to 12 adults. According to the Walt Disney World website, each villa offers a wide range of features and amenities, including:

  • A fully-equipped kitchen, so you can prepare meals and snacks from the comfort of your villa
  • Spacious living and dining areas where your family can share even more quality time together after you return from the parks
  • Separate bedrooms that offer space, privacy, and tranquility – so it’s easy to rest, relax and recharge your spirit after each exhilarating vacation day
  • A washer and dryer, so you can pack lightly and always have fresh, clean clothes
Two queen beds with a night stand across from a sofa and a dresser with a TV

The new villas also feature theming from everyone’s favorite practically perfect nanny.

“The storyline we have going through with the live-action from Mary Poppins – there’s just a lot of hidden elements Guests can find as they go through,” said Shawn Moore, a Design Manager at Disney World.

mary poppins decor grand floridian resort disney

The newly-opened villas are beautiful and still offer the same ease of access to the parks at Walt Disney World that Guests are used to at the Grand Floridian Resort. Each villa also gives Guests a spectacular view of the nighttime fireworks and projection show at Cinderella Castle.

Disney World welcomes Guests to experience the beauty and magic of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa on its official website:

disney grand floridian villas balcony

Revel in Victorian-style splendor and enjoy the comforts of home at this elegant Disney Resort hotel. Stay in a stately deluxe studio or multi-bedroom villa. Indulge in a luxurious massage at the full-service spa or receive a grooming service in the salon. Unwind outdoors as evening fireworks light up the sky over Cinderella Castle. Just one stop from Magic Kingdom Park on the complimentary Resort Monorail, this timeless marvel evokes Palm Beach’s golden era.

Disney’s Magnolia Golf Course Undergoing Most Extensive Redesign Ever

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Playing golf at Disney is about to get even more fun! As part of our long-running collaboration with Arnold Palmer Golf Management, we are currently redesigning part of the Magnolia course. There will be four holes – No. 14, No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17 – that will be reimagined with innovative layouts and landscaping.

Also, the course’s 18 greens will be upgraded to create even more pristine putting surfaces. Plus, holes No. 16 and No. 17 will be connected by a new, wooden cart bridge through the forest and several fairway and greenside bunkers are being installed along with more challenging tee boxes.

When we’re done tinkering with it, the course will be even more fun for our recreational golfers and their families as well as still challenging for the most skilled golfers in the world, including the PGA Tour pros who still occasionally play here after playing here annually when the Magnolia and Palm courses were part of the PGA Tour schedule for more than 40 years.

This redesign of the Magnolia course represents the latest enhancement to the course since 2015 when we upgraded the bunkers and cart paths and is one of several examples of how we’ve elevated various aspects of our golf courses, providing a more magical experience for our golfing Guests. And our timing couldn’t be better because the Magnolia course redesign is taking place during the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.

Two PGA Tour stars – 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia and 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland – recently got a sneak peek at the redesign and both walked away impressed.

Stay tuned for more details as the work progresses on the Magnolia course and get ready for when the new-look course debuts later this year.

BoardWalk Fall Lawsuit Filed Against Disney

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Disney Resorts

The Walt Disney Company is a massive corporation that employs hundreds of thousands of people, and Walt Disney World is a huge Resort that welcomes millions of visitors per year. Due to this, Disney is constantly dealing with lawsuits filed by Guests who visited The Most Magical Place on Earth. Guests will sue for various things and sometimes Disney will quietly settle and pay medical expenses and other times the cases are dropped as Disney proves they are not close to being at fault.

Recently, a woman filed a lawsuit against The House of Mouse for a fall that she took while visiting Disney’s BoardWalk. The woman claims that the injury happened in October 2020 — just a few months after Walt Disney World Resort reopened after its pandemic closure — but she filed the lawsuit earlier this year with the Orange County Court.

Disney’s BoardWalk can be found in the EPCOT resort area and can take Guests to both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. The BoardWalk is home to Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, a number of delicious restaurants like Flying Fish Café, and fun activities for families. Guests can also walk around Crescent Lake and get to Disney’s Yacht Club and the Beach Club.

Bar

According to the defendant’s lawsuit:

On or about October 19, 2020, the Plaintiff was an invitee at the aforementioned Boardwalk Resort owned, managed, controlled and/or maintained by Defendant when Plaintiff tripped and fell over decaying woods beams and uneven walking surface where the wooden boardwalk met the concrete walkway.

As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s breach of its duties, [the Plaintiff] suffered bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, aggravation of a pre-existing condition, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical and nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, and loss of ability to earn money. The losses are either permanent or continuing and Plaintiff shall suffer the losses in the future.

The plaintiff is suing Disney Vacation Club Management and claiming negligence on DVC Management’s part. The plaintiff claims that the company was negligent in the following ways:

a. Creating the condition which caused Plaintiff’s injury;
b. Failing to timely and properly inspect its property for potentially dangerous or
unsafe conditions, including the one previously alleged; and
c. Failing to warn the Plaintiff of an unreasonably dangerous condition;
d. Failing to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance, inspection, repair, or
warning of the premises;
e. Failing to provide adequate and reasonable maintenance of the property,
including but not limited to any fixtures;
f. Failing to provide proper lighting on the subject premises;
g. Failing to provide reasonably safe premises in other ways which may be
determined through discovery.

The woman and Disney Vacation Club Management are still currently in litigation on the lawsuit.

This is not the first injury lawsuit filed recently against Disney. A woman slipped and fell at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort in 2020 and died of blunt force trauma, and her cousin is suing Disney. Another family filed a lawsuit on behalf of their young son, who injured his hand on a metal sign at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports and had to have several fingers amputated.

Caribbean Beach

Another woman who is suing Disney claims that she went down a Disney World hotel slide, hit the bottom of the pool, and now suffers injuries that will last the rest of her life. A different woman has decided to sue Disney, claiming she was injured when an electric scooter ran into her while she was in a Park. Anyone can rent a scooter at a Disney Park, so scooter injury lawsuits are not all that uncommon.

Disney’s practice is to not comment on pending litigation.