A highlight of the D23 Expo show floor is always the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion where Walt Disney Imagineering pulls back the curtain to give you an a sneak peek at the latest and greatest coming to Disney Parks. This year, the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion showcased the upcoming Shanghai Disney Resort in exhaustive detail, giving the biggest look Americans have gotten of the Chinese theme park to date. Imagineering also offered a look at Walt Disney World’s upcoming AVATAR-themed expansion, featuring a short preshow video, concept renderings and a scale model of the new themed land.
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We’ve got a detailed look at D23 Expo’s Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion for you today, so let’s get started!
WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS PAVILION Welcome to Shanghai Disneyland |
A video look around the Shanghai Disneyland exhibit
A Steamboat Willie fountain will greet guests at the entrance to Shanghai Disneyland.
The exhibit featured numerous video screens showing construction footage, photos, and art including a large screen above the center of the room showcasing design and construction highlights from every area of the Shanghai Disney Resort. You can watch that in its entirety below:
First up, Mickey Avenue acts as the entrance to Shanghai Disneyland, replacing the traditional Main Street with a character-filled neighborhood
Chip and Dale’s Treehouse Treats
Maquettes for window display busts.
The west side of Mickey Avenue
Avenue M Arcade will be the equivalent of the traditional Emporium store, the largest merchandise location in the park.
Ludwig Von Drake’s Fireworks Factory
The Wandering Moon Tea House will be a traditional Chinese restaurant and provide stunning views of the Enchanted Storybook Castle.
The Fantasia Carousel replaces the traditional princess-themed Disney carousel with a Fantasia-themed alternative and it looks fantastic.
Characters from the “Dance of the Hours” portion of Fantasia will be around the Carousel.
The Garden of the 12 Friends honors the Chinese zodiac in a lush garden setting.
Adventure Isle stands in for Adventureland at Shanghai Disneyland but doesn’t feature any of Adventureland’s traditional attractions. Instead of tiki birds and jungle cruises you’ll instead find the thrilling Roaring Rapids where you’ll encounter the Q’uaraq, guardian of the water.
Adventure Isle will feature the Storehouse Stage for live performances
The Tribal Table will be Adventure Isle’s main dining location.
Camp Discovery replaces the traditional Tom Sawyer Island and brings in a playground similar to Disney California Adventure’s Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
Treasure Cove is the first time Disney has created a theme park land exclusively themed to the Pirates of the Caribbean. Here, guests will find a next generation version of the classic Disney attraction, a major restaurant, a water play area, and the Fandango Theater.
New portraits of Jack Sparrow and Barbossa will be included in the land
Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure is Shanghai Disneyland’s pirate ride and will be a significant departure from the Disneyland classic.
The land will be themed to the 18th century Caribbean.
Pirates of the Caribbean costume
Siren’s Revenge will feature activities for guests of all ages.
El Teatro Fandango will be home to the “Eye of the Storm” stunt show and more.
Enchanted Storybook Castle is the largest castle Disney has ever built featuring a boat ride, a walk-through attraction, a boutique, a restaurant and more.
The Castle isn’t themed to any princess in particular but supposedly takes design queues from each of Disney’s princesses.
Voyage to the Crystal Grotto is the boat ride that will pass through the Castle.
Tile mosaics and details for the Storybook Castle
A new modern-day version of Peter Pan’s Flight
The ride will use roller coaster technology to bring a new thrill to the ride
The Alice in Wonderland maze, based on the Tim Burton film
The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, recently new at Walt Disney World, will also be present in Shanghai Disneyland’s Fantasyland.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh with spinning honey pots instead of tea cups.
A couple of Fantasyland’s costumes
Shanghai Disneyland’s Tomorrowland will, at least aesthetically, be the envy of every other Magic Kingdom-style park when it opens next year.
In addition to a next generation Buzz Lightyear attraction, a spinner ride and a performance area, Tomorrowland will be home to the first TRON-themed Disney attraction in the world.
Ride vehicle maquettes. Below, the TRON Lightcycle Power Run ride vehicle.
Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue ride vehicle model
The Jet Packs spinner attraction
The big E-Ticket for Tomorrowland is the TRON Lightcycle Power Run roller coaster
Buzz Lightyear Planet Rescue appears to feature fully-realized sets in a less-cartoony environment, unlike the painted flats that characterize earlier version of the ride.
The Jet Packs spinner attraction
The Shanghai Disneyland Hotel is the signature hotel of the resort, featuring an opulent art nouveau aesthetic throughout and including some of your favorite characters.
Lumière’s Kitchen restaurant will feature a Beauty and the Beast theme
The lobby will feature whimsical character statues
A significant contrast to the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, the Toy Story Hotel will act as the resort’s value resort, featuring a playful (if not garish) Toy Story theme.
Take a photo in a giant cardboard box!
DisneyTown will fill in as Shanghai Disneyland’s version of Downtown Disney, a free public shopping mall complete with shops, entertainment venues, restaurants and more.
DisneyTown will include a theater that will host Disney’s Lion King musical.
DisneyTown will be broken up into five themed districts: Broadway Plaza, Broadway Boulevard, Spice Alley, Marketplace and Lakeshore.
DisneyTown will feature a World of Disney store.
DisneyTown will be filled with Disney-inspired shops and restaurants including Spoonful of Sugar, a cafe themed to Mary Poppins.
Some Shanghai Disneyland merchandise
WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS PAVILION Journey to Pandora The World of AVATAR |
In addition to the massive Shanghai Disneyland exhibit, the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Pavilion also featured a special sneak peek at the upcoming AVATAR-themed expansion at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. The sneak peek consisted of a video introduction from the fictional Alpha Centauri Expeditions travel company that will be taking us to Pandora.
A.C.E. travel posters for Pandora.
Inside a small pre-show room, guests watched the introduction video from A.C.A.
Imagineer Joe Rohde would stop in from time to time to do the honors.
Joe Rohde video
The preshow emptied out into a larger room featuring a quarter-scale model of the new AVATAR-themed land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in 2017.
The lighting in the room changed to show both day and night views of the land and black light paint simulated the bioluminescent plantlife in Pandora. You can see this in action in our video above.
Whether you like or hate AVATAR, it looks like Pandora will be a visually stunning environment to explore and experience when this new land opens.
The land looks like it will have two entry paths
A few pieces of concept art were on display
Bronzes of creatures and some items from Pandora on display
Exiting guests could have their photo snapped with a bust of a Na’vi.
Enjoy retro fun just steps away from Disneyland at Howard Johnson Hotel & Water Playground A short walk from the park, HoJo Anaheim is conveniently located next to Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland with nearby dining, freeway access, FREE parking and FREE Wi-Fi. For more information on HoJo Anaheim, room rates, or to book your stay today, visit HoJoAnaheim.com/MiceChat Save with MiceChat & Passholder Discounts Every Day! The HoJo Anaheim is now offering daily discounts for MiceChat members and even DEEPER discounts for Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders! For more information visit the HoJo Anaheim Innsider Boards which features an up-to-date listing of available nights, or call (714) 776-6120 and ask for In-House Reservations to book. If your date isn’t listed, the HoJo Anaheim still offers rooms for 20% off their best available rate if you call (714) 776-6120. |
Weekly News & Information Round-Up | ||
Weekly Theme Park Hours August 17-23, 2015 |
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[B]Disneyland Park[/B] | [B]California Adventure[/B] | |
Daily: 8 am – 12 am | Daily: 8 am – 10 pm | |
[CENTER]For a complete listing of theme park hours, visit the Disneyland.com Theme Park Calendar[/CENTER] |
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[b][center]Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels[/center][/b] | ||
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August 17-23
The free Mouseaddict app for iPhone and iPad features more than five dozen categories of searchable resort information, weather forecasts, park and show schedules, the latest news and articles from MiceChat, and more. Download free on the App Store or at mouseaddict.com. |
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[center]Headline Roundup A quick look at noteworthy Disney theme park headlines from around the web.[/center] |
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Alright, that wraps up today’s installment in our ongoing D23 Expo coverage. What do you think of Shanghai Disneyland? Will you be making a visit to the new Resort when it opens next year? Let us know in the comments section below!
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