Three Disney Parks Holiday Specials Coming Your Way; Voice Cast Announced for Big Hero 6 Television Series

Three Disney Parks Holiday Specials Coming Your Way:

The holidays are officially upon us and this year Disney Parks is bring us three amazing holiday specials. This year instead of just enjoying the amazing Disney Parks parade on Christmas Day, we will get two more holiday specials beginning on November 24 (Thanksgiving Day) and November 25.  

Each of the specials will be shot at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland and will feature special musical performances and celebrity appearances. This years shows will be hosted by Emmy-Award winners Julianne and Derek Hough. Here is the schedule:

“The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration” on ABC on Nov. 24, from 8-1 p.m. EST. Emmy Award-winners Julianne and Derek Hough will serve as hosts for this two-hour special from the Walt Disney World Resort, which will also feature “Descendants 2” star Sofia Carson, a duet by Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, and a performance by Kelly Clarkson.

“Disney Parks Presents: A Descendants Magical Holiday Celebration” on Disney Channel on Nov. 25 from 8-9 p.m. EST. Musical performers include Dove Cameron, Cameron Boyce, Sofia Carson and Booboo Stewart, “Descendants 2” star China Anne McClain, Trisha Yearwood with Garth Brooks, and Kelly Clarkson. ABC stars and Disney Channel stars will also surprise philanthropic families around the country with once-in-a-lifetime experiences at the Walt Disney World Resort.

“The Disney Parks’ Magical Christmas Celebration” on the ABC on Dec. 25, from 9-11 a.m. EST. Join holiday hosts Julianne and Derek Hough for a magical ride down Main Street and beyond for a celebration that brings together the beloved Christmas day parade with magical musical performances, surprise celebrity guests and heart-warming family stories. Musical performers on tap are Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks, Kelly Clarkson, Sofia Carson and Jordan Fisher.

What do you think of the new format of the Disney Parks Holiday special?

Voice Cast Announced for Big Hero 6 Television Series:

Back in March, a Big Hero 6 television series was announced for Disney XD for 2017. Today, we found out who will be voicing the characters. Yes, many of the voices from the movie will be returning for the tv series. There are also some new voices coming to the show. Here they are:

Confirmed to be returning are Maya Rudolph (Aunt Cass), Jamie Chung (GoGo), Scott Adsit (Baymax), Alan Tudyk (Alistair Krei), Ryan Potter (Hiro), Genesis Rodriguez (Honey Lemon), David Shaughnessy (Heathcliff), Stan Lee (Fred's Dad). Wasabi and Fred will be voiced by Khary Payton (The Lion Guard) and Brooks Wheelan (Saturday Night Live) respectively. 

Also joining the cast will be Jennifer Lewis (black-ish) as Professor Granville, Andrew Scott (Sherlock) as the villain Obake, comedian Andy Richter as Globby, Sean Giambrone (The Goldbergs) as Richardson Mole, John Ross Bowie (Speechless) as Mei, Diedrich Bader (American Housewife) as Bluff Dunder, Susan Sullivan (Castle) as Fred's Mother, and Haley Tju (Bella and the Bulldogs) as Karmi. 

The show will pick up right after the events of Big Hero 6. Hiro and the gang are ready to set out on high-tech adventures to protect San Fransokyo. When he isn't fighting scientifically enhanced villains, Hiro will be dealing with the trials and tribulations of college life at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.  

I am so excited to see Baymax and the gang on Disney XD. This a major fist bump, Ba La La La. 

Big Expansion Announced for Tokyo Disneyland; Details on Disney Pin Celebration 2016 Pixar Party

Big Expansion Announced for Tokyo Disneyland:

Today, a huge expansion was announced by Tokyo Disneyland and the expansion is expected to be completed by 2020. What are the details you may ask of this amazing expansion? A new Beauty and the Beast-themed area that will expand Fantasyland is possibly the biggest part of the expansion. A new attraction in Tomorrowland based off "Big Hero 6." A new character greeting facility will be built at the entrance to Toontown. Finally, across the way at Tokyo DisneySea a new version of Soarin' will be built. Here are the full details:

The major attraction being built in the new Beauty and the Beast-themed area will have the newest technology and last for a genuinely incredible 8 minutes. According to the press release, guests will board enchanted serving dishes that will dance in rhythm to the film's well-known music. It will follow Belle on a romantic musical journey inside the Enchanted Castle where she dances into the heart of Beast, just in time to break the fateful spell. Also included in the new themed land will be a new shop and restaurant, details on both were not announced. 

The new land isn't all that's coming to Fantasyland as a new 1,500-seat live Fantasyland Theaters will be built. It will be the first full-scale indoor theater for live entertainment at Tokyo Disneyland. According to the press release, the theater will be, "Signature Disney entertainment unique to Tokyo Disneyland and featuring the Disney Friends will be presented in this storybook theater environment." 

The theater will be built near the Beauty and the Beast-themed area, towards Space Mountain and behind the new Tomorrowland attraction. That new Tomorrowland attraction will be based off of Disney's Academy-Award winning film "Big Hero 6." The first attraction based off the film inside a Disney Park.

The attraction will be much like Mater's Junkyard Jamboree at Disney California Adventure. It will be an exciting musical 'whip ride' that will swing guests unpredictably round and round. The ride should last for about a minute and a half. The attraction will tentatively open in Spring 2020. 

Besides the "Big Hero 6" attraction a new outer space-themed shop will open, a first for Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea, will be selling multiple flavors of popcorn. The story behind the popcorn at Tokyo Disneyland is that throughout the park that sells popcorn with crazy flavors that are supposedly amazing.

Guests will be able to meet Minnie in the new character greeting facility being built at the entrance to Toontown. Announced in the press release, "After walking through Minnie’s design studio and her work area with interactive elements, guests can meet Minnie in person, take pictures with her, and generally spend a memorable time together." Again it is set to tentatively be completed by Spring 2020. 

Soarin' will make its debut across the way inside the Mediterranean Harbor section of the park and will open by fiscal year 2019. The attraction will premiere with original scenes and the newest visual images. If you notice though in the concept art the ride vehicle is much different that previous Soarin' attractions that use a hang glider. It almost looks like the flying machine developed by Leonardo Da Vinci. The attraction will be located across from Mysterious Island that is home to the iconic attraction, Journey to the Center of the Earth. 

Elsewhere inside Tokyo DisneySea, "newer versions of current attractions and entertainment programs" are also being developed. Who's ready to book a trip to Tokyo Disneyland in 2020?

Details on Disney Pin Celebration 2016 Pixar Party at Disney World:

Let's celebrate 30 years of Pixar magic with a party. The Disney Parks Blog today released details on this year's Disney Pin Celebration 2016 Pixar Party. The event will take place August 26-27, 2016 at World Showplace in Epcot. Here are the details from the Disney Parks Blog:

This “totally wicked” event is slated to take place August 26 (from 10 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.) and August 27, 2016 (from 9:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.) at World ShowPlace in Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort. Join us as we celebrate 30 colorful years of Pixar Animation Studios! This award-winning studio has produced a myriad of full length feature films, shorts, (Car) Toons, and television specials full of colorful characters that we love and cherish. The pins for the Pixar Party will feature characters from “Cars” to “Brave” to “infinity and beyond.” The event team shared as many details as they could with me, so here’s the scoop!

Admission to Pixar Party is $140 per guest and includes the following:

• Trading Board Games (four (4) vouchers per day)
• Pixar Party Scavenger Hunt
• Auction Opportunity (includes pre-production pins, artist proof pins and more)
• Meet Disney Pin Merchandisers
• Artist Signings with Disney Design Group Artists
• One (1) $30 Disney Gift Card

Other event offerings include:

• First opportunity to pre-purchase select themed Pixar Party merchandise via the Random Selection Process 
• Limited Edition Commemorative Gifts 
• Welcome Pin
• Pixar Party Scavenger Hunt Six (6) Pin Gift Set (previously found on trading boards)
• Goodbye Pin Set

Here’s a look at the Pixar Party event merchandise catalog. Some of these designs are absolutely “incredible!”

Hungry for more? There’s even a “Little Chef” Breakfast you can sign up for, which includes a breakfast buffet, trading time inside the Pixar Party venue (from 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.) and a limited-edition commemorative gift pin – available only to breakfast attendees. Keep in mind this package sells out fast.

Sign up for the Pixar Party beginning Thursday, April 28, 2016. Ticket Sales begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on DisneyParksMerchandise.com. Reminder: Event admission does not include theme park admission to Epcot but theme park admission is required to attend the event. Package limited to availability. No discounts will be offered in conjunction with this package.

So “just keep swimming” towards the Pixar Party date and in no time, you will be saying … “mine, mine, mine.”

Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are Coming to Disney Parks; Baymax is Coming to Disney XD for Big Hero 6 TV Show

Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are Coming to Disney Parks:

Disney's "Zootopia" will hit theaters this Friday, March 4th but two of the well-known characters will soon be on their way to Disney Parks. Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps will be coming to both Disney World and Disney California Adventure. 

At Disney California Adventure, Nick and Judy will be found on Hollywood Boulevard. At Magic Kingdom in Disney World, the party animals will be joining other characters in the "Move It! Shake It! Dance & Play It" Street Party. 

"Zootopia" brings rookie rabbit Police Officer Judy Hopps as she is forced to team up with the fast-talking con-artist fox Nick Wilde as they try to crack a mysterious case affecting the citizens of Zootopia. The film will hit theaters in 3D this Friday.

Baymax is Coming to Disney XD for Big Hero 6 TV Show:

Baymax is coming to television near you in 2017. Today, news broke out the lovable character will be  coming to Disney XD in the animated television series of "Big Hero 6." This is what Disney released this morning:

"Here’s what we know so far: The series picks up immediately following the events in the film. Hiro is the newest prodigy at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, and he faces daunting academic challenges …. not to mention the social trials of being the little man on campus. Off campus, the stakes are raised for Big Hero 6 as they must protect their city from an array of scientifically enhanced villains."

While we don't know any details of the villains they will face, the whole gang is definitely back in Hiro, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, Go Go, and of course Baymax. Of course this deserves a major fist bump, BA LA LA LA.