Walt Disney Imagineer Finds Missing Snow White Animatronic

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

Walt Disney Imagineering recently rediscovered a Snow White audio-animatronic that has been missing since the 1990s.

Now, Disney Parks will display the sculpted figure in a new exhibit honoring Walt Disney Animation Studios’ history as part of its Disney100 anniversary celebration. Since the beginning of Disneyland Park at WED Enterprises in 1955, Disney Imagineers have utilized special skills to transfer some of Disney fans’ favorite cinematic characters and settings to real-life counterparts at theme parks worldwide.

In fact, The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder exhibition, which recently opened, will display more than a hundred art pieces used in creating classic Disney films and 3D models, which form the foundation for their transformation from the screen to attraction, or attraction to the screen.

Moreover, the exhibition as assembled by Walt Disney Imagineering’s Executive Creative Director Kim Irvine, is the largest ever featured in the Main Street, U.S.A. gallery and extends to the entrance of The Disneyland Story presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln. Kim’s parents both have famous ties to the Walt Disney Company, and artwork from her father Harvey Toombs’ career as an animator on films like Dumbo (1941) features in the exhibit, along with an original animator’s desk and storyboards provided by the Walt Disney Archives.

If Harvey’s name sounds familiar, it’s likely because his wife and Kim’s mother, Leota Toombs, was integral to the creation of the original Haunted Mansion, even serving as the facial model for Madame Leota! The exhibit also focuses on Disneyland’s opening day history with an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, its contributions to animation via a multiplane camera model, and a new piano version of “When you Wish Upon a Star.”

However, the piece Creative Development manager Dave Caranci was most excited about is a rediscovered sculpt of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)  Old Hag/Evil Queen, which he has searched for going on three years. Allegedly, the figure of the caged witch once found in shops across Main Street and Fantasyland between the 1980s and ’90s went missing towards the end of the 20th century, only for Caranci and Irvine to find her a few months ago while touring a company warehouse.

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs | Disney+

Caranci told Disney Parks Blog, “We know our Guests are going to be as excited to see her as we were,” which any visitor with valid Park admission and same-day reservation can do during the yearlong 100 Years of Wonder Celebration at the Disneyland Resort!

No Price Increases Anytime Soon And Other Updates

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Vis DisDining.com

Today the Walt Disney Company held its Q1 earnings call to discuss earnings in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. While CEO Bob Iger didn’t address any new additions or significant updates during the call, he did hint to some pretty remarkable things that are going to make Disney fans (many who have felt left out for a long time) very happy.

Chief among those is that Iger has hinted that there won’t be price increases coming to the domestic parks anytime soon. This was not a direct quote but one could infer it from statements he made including saying that recent price increases, particularly the December increases (which were put in place before Bob Chapek was fired), “alienated a lot of guests”. He went on to say that one of their core beliefs has always been that the Parks should be accessible to most people, even if it is just a once in a lifetime trip. This is a stark departure from the “playground for the rich only” mentality of Bob Chapek. This leads us to strongly believe that we won’t see steep increases in theme park tickets or resort hotels in the near future.

Disney Enchantment

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the Park Pass Reservation system isn’t likely to go away anytime soon, but we already suspected that. Iger reiterated how integral the reduced capacity in the domestic parks has been for the guest experience. Though he again left cryptic hints about what could be on the horizon saying he is “working with Josh D’Amaro to bring franchises in to increase park capacity without sacrificing guest satisfaction.” He went on to say that they won’t increase capacity without cause but specifically mentioned park additions as means to increase capacity. He cited the Pandora the World of Avatar and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge additions and related them to increased peak attendance. Those statements coupled with the blue sky ideas pitched at D23 lead us to believe a new land or addition is coming soon!

All in all this was the most positive we have felt from an earnings call in a long time. Big things seem to be on the horizon and while Bob Iger wasn’t exactly forthcoming with details, he gave enough information to leave us very excited about what is to come. We will, of course, watch these developments closely and bring you updates as they occur.

Disney Announces Special ‘Mandalorian’ Debut

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney+

Jon Favreau‘s The Mandalorian is getting a special debut that Lucasfilm has never done before.

Fans know that March 1st is when Season 3 of The Mandalorian is set to debut and bring fans to Mandalore, Coruscant, and other planets in the new brand story with everyone’s favorite duo. Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin will try to redeem himself by going to Mandalore, while some stories will focus on Coruscant due to the Empire’s secret dealings being exposed.

It’s still unclear how Giancarlo Esposito’s Moff Gideon will fit into the story, as there are plenty of rumors that the cloning story seen in the Sequel Trilogy might continue to play a role in the series. For some reason, Gideon wants Grogu’s blood, and Season 3 might finally give some answers.

Disney, on the other hand, is making room for all fans whether or not they have Disney+ and have announced that part of  The Mandalorian Season 1 will be debuting on television. According to Gizmodo, fans can watch the first episode on Freeform, ABC, and FX on February 28 at 8 pm EST.

This nostalgic revisit of the first episode will be a great way to relive that special moment when Mando found Baby Yoda, and the internet was forever changed. Surprisingly, Disney is planning to show one episode, but this is now the second time they have done something like this.

Grogu in 'The Mandalorian' Season Three

First, it was with Diego Luna’s Andor due to the series not having a lot of viewership right off the bat, but The Mandalorian has been Disney+’s flagship for views ever since the streaming platform debuted back in 2019. For Star Wars to give the first episode away to be broadcasted is not normal for the company and makes fans wonder if Disney is getting desperate for more subscribers.

Due to their recent financial issues causing Bob Chapek to be swapped with Bob Iger, it would make sense that Disney might be relying on The Mandalorian to provide more fans joining the platform. The series constantly breaks records, and it won’t be surprising if Season 3 follows suit and shatters more.

Guests Jump Off Disney Attraction, Rip Ride Apart in Resurfaced Video

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

A video has gone viral showing Walt Disney World Resort Guests not just breaking rules, but intentionally tearing an attraction apart.

Walt Disney World Resort is known as “The Most Magical Place on Earth.” In contrast, some Guests seemingly can not follow instructions from Disney Cast Members and, unfortunately, ruin the fun for others.

Disney World has four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Guests can stroll down Main Street, U.S.A in Magic Kingdom and spot Cinderella Castle. While in Magic Kingdom, Guests can enjoy rides such as “it’s a small world,” Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more attractions. If you’re are searching for animals, Disney’s Animal Kingdom should be their next stop Guests can enjoy attractions such as DINOSAUR, It’s Tough to be a Bug!, Avatar Flight of Passage, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and many more.

EPCOT contains attractions such as Soarin Around the World, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Mission: SPACE, and many more attractions. Guests visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios can visit attractions such as Toy Story Mania!, Mickey and Minnie’s Runway Railway, Slinky Dog Dash, and the epic Star Wars Galaxy Edge.

Recently, however, a resurfaced video has gone viral showing some of the worst behaviors from Disney World Guests.

OOCParks tweeted the resurfaced video, which shows these Guests jumping out of their boats while riding “it’s a small world” to move characters and try and take a panda with them on the boat. One Guest starts throwing something at different objects while outside of the boat. While watching the video, you can see Guests rocking the boat side to side, making it cause water come over the sides.

Disney World does not allow Guests to remove themself from the boats or take objects from attractions. These types of actions will result in bans from the Park and could also result in major arrests, as well.

Please be respectful of not only Disney Cast Members and fellow Disney Park Guests, but also of Disney rides when visiting the Parks. These rules are in place for the safety and well-being of everyone visiting.

Disney CEO Bob Iger Announces Workforce Reduction of 7,000 Jobs

Posted on by Mathew Corn Uncategorized

At 4:30 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, the Walt Disney Company broadcasted a live audio earnings call, during which the first fiscal quarter of the 2023 fiscal year was discussed.

During this call, CEO Bob Iger revealed that the Walt Disney Company would experience a workforce reduction of 7,000 jobs, despite earnings that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations.

A reduction of this size effectively removes a little over 3% of the Walt Disney Company’s entire workforce (which consists of approximately 220,000 as of 2022). This massive workforce reduction is in an attempt to cut costs.

To put it plainly, Disney CEO Bob Iger has announced that 7,000 jobs will be cut in order to save billions of dollars. Specifically, the Walt Disney Company is attempting to earn cost savings of $5.5 billion. Of that $5.5 billion, it’s been confirmed that $2.5 billion are being allocated into “non-content costs,” according to Bob Iger. At this time, that’s as specific as the Walt Disney Company has been regarding the “non-content costs” themselves.

Immediately after making the announcement, Disney CEO Bob Iger claimed he did not make the decision to lay off 7,000 employees lightly, saying, “I have enormous respect and appreciation for the dedication of our employees worldwide.”

At this time, we are unsure which branch will be affected by the massive number of job cuts. However, in the fall of 2022, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek had also announced job cuts and had even hinted that more would be coming in the future. It seems that Bob Iger confirmed this during Wednesday’s earnings call.

Bob Iger and Bob Chapek

Although we are unsure of which departments of the Walt Disney Company will take the hardest hits as far as workforce reductions go, we do know that Bob Iger is focused on reorganizing the company into three specific segments: two different entertainment units (one focusing on streaming, film, and TV, and one ESPN segment focused on sports), and one unit focused on Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products.