Kingdom Hearts 3, Star Wars Battlefront, and Disney Infinity 3.0 Headline Disney Interactive Panel at D23 EXPO

It was certainly another exciting panel with the Disney Interactive Panel on the final day of this year's D23 EXPO. Head of Disney Interactive Jimmy Pitaro started things off stage with saying, "I'm sure you'll all agree, there's no better time to be a Disney fan, a Marvel fan, a Pixar fan, and of course a Star Wars fan. Our mission is to create experiences with Disney at their hearts and interactive at their cores." He promised the fans that they will see never before seen footage, announcements, special guests, and exciting giveaways.

The panel began with an update on Kingdom Hearts 3 where Square Enix took the stage to begin.

Square Enix said all keyblade transformations will have transformations in the game, with each transformation being different. News first heard at D23 is Kingdom Hearts 3 will have a whole world on "Big Hero 6." Baymax even took the stage for the big announcement. No release date was announced, but we expect that to be released soon. 

Baymax Battle Concept Art for Kingdom Hearts 3

Baymax made it to the stage for the big announcement.

Next up was some news from Disney Mobile Games with their new mobile game Disney Magic Kingdoms.

Disney Magic Kingdoms will bring a fun and engaging experience to Disney fans any time, anywhere and will be produced by Gameloft.  Scott Humphries of Disney Interactive and Tom Morris of Disney Imagineering were there to give details. With Magic Kingdoms you will be able to build the Disney Theme Park of your dreams. It will all begin with starting with a castle centerpiece and real life Disney Park attractions like Space Mountain, California Screaming', and many more. 

As players build their kingdoms a story will unfold to battle iconic Disney villains alongside their favorite Disney heroes. Disney Magic Kingdoms will be available on iOS, Android, and Windows devices. 

Next up in the panel was a preview and update on Disney's new interactive game in Playmation.

Playmation lets kids be in the center of this interactive game in the play sets beginning with Marvel's The Avengers.

In the starter pack it will include an Iron Man repulser, Red Skull and Captain America toys. Later there will Hulk hands pack along with a Loki figure. With the new Hulk hands players will be able to pound enemies and slam the ground to create shockwaves. Playmation will be a fully immersive and interactive system when it hits store shelves in October. 

Playmation systems will be able to spawn over 50 enemies, each with different attributes. Also, there will 25 missions in each starter pack but there will be an app that links to the game for more content and interactivity.  Next up in the panel was Star Wars Battle Pod by Bandai Namco.

The Star Wars Battle Pod arcade game will weigh 1,200 pounds. There will be two versions arcade game and an at home battle pod. The Star Wars Battle Pod Premium Home Edition will have two versions: Rebel Alliance and Darth Vader editions. 

Denny Chiu from Bandai Namco said, "The game delivers the feeling of flight and immersive excitement in a way you simply can't get at home. That is until now." The Battle Pod Rebel Alliance Home version was then brought on stage for live. When customers buy the Rebel Alliance and Darth Vader versions, customers will receive their name on the credits.

Next up for the panel was EA's much anticipated game Star Wars Battlefront. GM of EA Justin McCully was there to give the presentation. EA was given unprecedented access to Lucasfilm Archives for the game. He said, "We want you to have that amazing feeling you felt playing with toys as kids. This is a game being built by true fans with a singular vision: To immerse you into your Star Wars battle fantasies."

Star Wars Battlefront will be brought together with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in the Battle of Jakku DLC that will be available for free. It will be free for pre-orders on December 1, while it will free for everyone else on December 8th. The EA team went to Abu Dhabi to make sure the free content was authentic as possible. 

The big announcement was from Playstation in collaboration with Star Wars Battlefront and Disney Infinity 3.0 a special edition Darth Vader Playstation 4 bundle to be released on November 17. Both bundles will also be bundled with 4 classic Star Wars games. It will also come with a custom controller. 

The Disney Interactive panel save the biggest and the best for last with the Disney Infinity 3.0 portion of the presentation hosted by John Blackburn and John Vignocchi. Disney Infinity 3.0 is due out in stores in two weeks on August 30. 

They began with a global debut of the Twilight of the Republic Play Set trailer. It wasn't news but all Star Wars characters will be able to crossover on all the play sets as well as the play sets covering all the sagas of Star Wars. The Rise Against the Republic Play Set will take players on galaxy spanning missions. The first big announcement of the presentation was about the new Marvel Play Set due out later this fall, it will be called Marvel Battlegrounds.

The Marvel Battlegrounds Play Set will be the first in Disney Infinity history to allow 4 players to play at one time. They then went on to talk about the new and innovative toy box for 3.0 where the El Capitan Theater and Flynn's Arcade will join the Toy Box. Over 5,000 virtual toys will available in Toy Box 3.0.

This year the MagicBand will unlock The Partners Statue inside of the Toy Box. Also, Disney Cruise Line will also be appearing in Infinity for the first time in conjunction with the Disney Infinity space that is built on board Disney Cruise. Your dream ship toy for the Toy Box will unlock with your Oceaneer's Club Band.

The next big announcement was for the Player Artist's Choice figurine that will be released sometime next year. 

Then it was time for the new characters to be revealed. First, Spot from Good Dinosaur will be released along with 4 Toy Box power discs in November. Judy and Nick the main characters from Disney's next animated film in "Zootopia" will also be joining the Disney Infinity 3.0 family.

Special Edition Star Wars Light FX figurines will be released as collectibles as well as being able to use in gameplay will be released in time for Christmas. The lightsabers with these figures will light up when placed on the game pad. 

Square Enix then joined the stage once again to reveal the ultimate unlock for 3.0 to be Sora's Keyblade from Kingdom Hearts. Every fan in attendance got the original Mickey figurine for Infinity 3.0 Toy Box and exclusively never to be sold in store The King Mickey Kingdom Hearts Costume Change power disc.

Finally just when the panel was thought to be over, there was one more special surprise announcement for Disney Infinity 3.0. Up until now no details were released about "The Force Awakens" Play Set until today. With the help of Jon Boyega and Daisy Ridley from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" the Finn and Rey figurines were revealed for the Play Set. 

That concluded the Disney Interactive Panel at this year's D23 EXPO. 

Disney Interactive at D23 EXPO, Rumors Swirling at Hollywood Studios, Update on Food & Wine, and More

Disney Interactive at D23 EXPO:

We are just a little over a month away from the much anticipated D23 EXPO. Today, Disney Interactive announced it will have a huge presence at the expo next month August 14-16. It will feature the biggest Star Wars and Disney video games in a special presentation in the signature 7,500 seat Hall D23 theater as well as in the Disney Interactive pavilion on the show floor.

In the Hall D23 presentation on Sunday, August 16, at 11 a.m., fans won’t want to miss never-before-seen gameplay, trailers, new reveals, and surprises from Disney Interactive’s most anticipated games. Among the games participating in the presentation are: Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition, Star Wars™ Battlefront™ from Electronic Arts, and KINGDOM HEARTS III from Square Enix. Disney Interactive will showcase more Star Wars characters and Play Sets new to Disney Infinity 3.0 Editionand provide the entire audience with limited-edition giveaways exclusively for Hall D23. Electronic Arts will give guests an in-depth look at Star Wars Battlefront, the authentic Star Wars gaming experience coming November 17. Square Enix will also bring special guests and surprises to Hall D23 to reveal new information from KINGDOM HEARTS III.

Here is what fans will see at Disney Interactive's pavilion on the show floor of the D23 EXPO which promises hands-on demos of upcoming games, innovative interactive experiences, and premium giveaways for all guests:

• Players will join forces with Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and Disney•Pixar characters in Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition, the next chapter in the best-selling “hybrid toy/video game” series. Guests will have the chance to play some of the new Disney Infinity Play Sets, Star Wars™ Twilight of the Republic, Star Wars™ Rise Against the Empire and Disney•Pixar’s Inside Out, and the fully enhanced Toy Box mode. Pavilion guests will also be able to visit the “Only in the Toy Box” Experience. Using a new augmented reality technology, fans can step into a virtual Toy Box environment and interact alongside their favorite Disney, Disney•Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars characters found inside Disney Infinity. Disney Infinity will also be giving away thousands of pre-release Disney Infinity 3.0 Edition figures featuring popular characters from across The Walt Disney Company (while supplies last).

• Pavilion guests will also be able to live out some of their Star Wars battle fantasies by going hands-on with Star Wars 

• Fans can experience the latest arcade sensation from Disney Interactive, Lucasfilm and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, Star Wars™:Battle Pod™. Featuring cutting-edge, arcade-style video gameplay, Star Wars: Battle Pod brings players right into the action with a totally unique experience featuring a dome-shaped screen, air jets, and rumble seat.

• In the pavilion’s game lounge, fans can take a break from the show floor and try out the hottest mobile games including Star Wars: Commander, Frozen Free Fall and LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum.

Rumors Swirling at Hollywood Studios:

Yesterday, was the final day of the Magic of Disney Animation at Disney's Hollywood Studios. With all the rumors swirling of the impending expansion project at the park, two new rumors have surfaced of what will take place of the Magic of Disney Animation.

WDWMagic is reporting that according to multiple sources that the building will be converted to a preview center for the impending makeover project of the park. It will be much like the Blue Sky Cellar at Disneyland that operated while California Adventure was being made over. You would see models, plans, and more as the planning and construction progresses.

With this model, guests would expect many updates throughout the progress and would include exhibits of past attractions and other items of historical interest much like of what you see in One Man's Dream. If One Man's Dream were to close like rumors are saying many of those exhibits would be moved over to where Magic of Disney Animation is in what would become the preview center. 

The other rumor that surfaced is from The Disney Blog and its sources saying the Magic of Animation building will become a preview of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" along with a meet & greet. In the new building guests would get a preview of the movie opening in December. There will be behind-the-scenes details, movie props, and a meet and greet opportunity with some of the new characters from the film. It will be much like what Disney did for Maleficent, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Cinderella but kicked up a few notches.

None of this of course has been confirmed by Disney and we will be wait for official confirmation of either of these rumors if true.

Updated Details on the 20th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival:

A few weeks ago it was announced that ABC's "The Chew" would be filming at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival as well as new marketplaces expanding for the first time into Future World. Today, the Disney Parks Blog continued on the expansion of the marketplaces into Future World.

As guests walk along Future World West, the new Artistry of Wine & Cheese festival area will feature the new Cheese Studio and Wine Studio. The new Cheese Studio will be offering a cheese sampler served on an artist's palette to pair with wines. The Wine Studio will offer premium wines on tap with each keg keeping wine's fresh and hold the equivalent of 26 bottles of wine. This will eliminate the use of bottles, corks, cardboard, and paper waste. These materials are recycled at other marketplaces throughout the park.

The 20th Epcot International Food & Wine Festival opens September 25 and runs through November 16, 2015. 

Teaser Trailer and Concept Art Released for Shanghai Disneyland's Pirates of the Caribbean:

The Pirates of the Caribbean themed land called Treasure Cove in Shanghai Disneyland got a tease of what it will look like released. The artwork in the video is much like what has been shown in previously released images and shows to scale of what to expect on the new attraction.

Shanghai Disneyland's version of Pirates will have cutting-edge technology and be much bigger in scale compared to its counterparts in Magic Kingdom, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris. The Shanghai Disney Resort has an announcement planned for this coming Wednesday, July 15 so stay tuned for details. You can see the teaser video on thedisneyblog.com.