It’s day two out of three at E3, and although the expo gets quieter every year, it’s still plenty noisy. Let’s take a look at some news:

Disney Interactive Has a AAA Title at E3

Five years ago, had most people said the above, they would have been greeted with derisive laughter. Today, it’s true. Disney’s been the hottest booth for giveaways for the past couple of years, but with the addition of the Star Wars universe to Disney Infinity 3.0, the game/platform is officially playing in the big leagues, and even the most hardened gamers are now taking the Mouse seriously.

This year, the entire booth – and it is MASSIVE – is dedicated to Disney Infinity. There’s a section devoted to the artistry that goes into the development of the figures, a life-size Toy Box where you can grab a lightsaber, Pixar ball or other toy and brownscreen-play with Disney Infinity versions of Stitch, Baymax, Yoda, and other characters, lots of consoles for play, tons of maquettes on display and a loooong line (FOUR HOURS at some points) to experience a demo, take an interactive photo and receive a really, really cool you-can’t-buy-it-in-stores-yet gift for your participation. A really smart move this year was that Disney was right across from Square Enix, so Kingdom Hearts fans were steps away from information about Kingdom Hearts 3. Tetsuya Nomura made a surprise appearance Tuesday afternoon, and told eager Kingdom Hearts fans that they would see and learn more about the game from him at The D23 Expo 2015.

 

One problem that popped up, mainly because of the insane popularity of the Star Wars Disney Infinity figures, was that by the time the doors opened Wednesday morning, the queue at the Disney Interactive booth was already full. How was this possible? It was exhibitors from other booths on the floor. Attendees were told to disperse and come back in four hours.  People who had waited for hours outside the doors were upset, but had no choice but to go elsewhere. Noe and I went to Capcom.

I dug into the matter a little bit, because it stunk. It did. Disney Interactive wasn’t breaking any rules – unlike San Diego Comic-Con, which bans the practice, E3 has no rule barring exhibitors from queueing at other booths prior to show floor opening. No other company does this, either. And there’s the quandary. If Disney is the only one, then they’re the jerks to all the people from the other companies. If they don’t, then the attendees think they’re jerks. Maybe they can have the exhibitors over before the doors open, from 9 to 10 or something. I don’t know. It’s a tough situation that’s going to be difficult to solve.  Here’s the question I asked myself: is it worth four hours of my working time to get this figure? When I do contract work, I usually charge $50/hour. Is that a $200 figure? It’s not, so when Darth Vader gets to the store, I’ll buy it. Actually, I’m going to buy the Playstation sets. All of them, possibly twice.

We also got to mess around a little in Toy Box mode, in racing, and it’s really, really good. like, as good as that Kart game good. Noe was Tron and the track was Sugar Rush and Mr. Toad was there, and it was just really, really cool even though he came in second.

Other Disney properties getting attention at E3 are Lego Avengers and Star Wars Battlefront, with no giveaways whatsoever and a two-to-three hour wait just to play. I haven’t had a chance yet, but am going to try to hit it first thing on the last day of the show.

The delight of the show is Cuphead. What if Max Fleisher and Ub Iwerks made a video game together? This would be it:

Broken Dreams

One thing I never get tired of is leaky stories from disgruntled former theme park designers, in this case an ex-Imagisaur. Here’s my new favorite from the real life designer of some amazing fake theme parks!

Here’s a video of what would have been the theme song!

Brilliant stuff. Keep flying high Devin Flanigan, you rock my world!

A Jolly Holiday with Dick Van Dyke!

From The Walt Disney Birthplace:

We have some amazing news!

Our very good friends at Legends Events have put together an incredible evening starring the truly legendary Dick Van Dyke! The night celebrates the 60th Anniversary of Disneyland, and will help support the restoration of The Walt Disney Birthplace!

Here are all the exciting details:

A Jolly Holiday With Dick Van Dyke
Thursday, July 16th, 2015
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel at The Disneyland Resort

“Have you ever wanted to meet and dine with everyone’s favorite funny man and a true Hollywood Legend? Now is your chance!

“We are thrilled to announce a spectacular and truly Magical, Once-In-A-Lifetime opportunity to you!

“Please join us on July 16th at 7:00 PM for a ‘Jolly Holiday’ with the one, the only, Dick Van Dyke!

Dick has graciously agreed to join us for one night only to ring in Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary with you!

With your ticket purchase, you will enjoy a beautifully decorated private venue at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel, scrumptious food, an exciting Q & A with Dick Van Dyke, the opportunity to meet and shake hands with Dick Van Dyke, complimentary autograph (8″ X 10″ for General Admission/Full Poster for VIP Participants), a dazzling performance of songs from Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,and other Disney favorites by Dick Van Dyke and the Vantastix, and the opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind items including artwork and more in a silent auction to benefit The Walt Disney Birthplace!” 

“Twenty lucky participants will have an individual photo opportunity with Dick Van Dyke. VIP Tickets will have this included, General Admission will have the option to purchase.

“This will be a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious night you won’t want to miss!”

Click here to purchase tickets. 

If you go, and you want to help the Walt Disney Birthplace, place a bid in the silent auction, which is the part of the evening that is the fundraiser for the Birthplace. The items will be rare and magnificent and the evening will be a one-of-a-kind event that you will remember forever.

And here’s a message from Dick Van Dyke himself about the event and saving the Walt Disney Birthplace:

 

That’s all for today – I’ll have a LOT more from E3 and a TON about the upcoming D23 EXPO 2015 in my next column. Ta ta for now, have a great weekend!

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