New Scene Being Added to Star Tours Around Disney Parks; RunDisney Races Put on Hiatus at Disneyland

New Scene from "The Last Jedi" Being Added to Star Tours Around Disney Parks:

As with "The Force Awakens," a new scene from "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" will be added to Star Tours around Disney Parks. The scene will take guests into the middle a battle scene on the planet of Crait, which we got our first look of in the first trailer from a few months ago. 

The scene will premiere at Disney Parks over the next few months, here are the dates:

• Disneyland - November 17
• Disney's Hollywood Studios - November 17
• Disneyland Paris - November 22
• Tokyo Disneyland - December 15

"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" soars into theaters on December 15. 

Source: Disney Parks Blog

RunDisney Races Put on Hiatus at Disneyland for 2018 and Beyond:

As first reported by WDW News Today a few days ago, all runDisney races for 2018 and beyond at Disneyland have been cancelled. The reason the popular races are being cancelled are due to the multitude of construction projects around the park. Here is a statement from George Savvas, a Disneyland spokesperson:

“While construction for the next several years will impact our ability to deliver the runDisney experience our guests love, we are excited about our future as the Disneyland Resort continues one of its largest multi-year expansions. For fans who love to be part of runDisney events, we will continue to offer races at our other properties around the world in 2018.” 

The final runDisney event for this year is fast approaching with the Super Heroes Half Marathon weekend taking place November 9-12, 2017.

Source: WDW News Today

New Clip from Pixar's 'Coco', Ron Howard Announces "Solo: A Star Wars Story", and More

New Clip from Pixar's "Coco" Released:

We are just over a month away from Disney Pixar's "Coco" and today we got a new clip from the film today. It features Miguel attempting to play a guitar with a mariachi and his grandmother stopping him telling he cannot have music in his life. Check it out below:

Grandma knows best. 💕 Watch a clip from #PixarCoco, and see the film in theatres this Thanksgiving! pic.twitter.com/C3OD16Cgak

— Disney (@Disney) October 17, 2017

Disney Pixar's "Coco" hits theaters this Thanksgiving.

Ron Howard Officially Announces "Solo: A Star Wars Story":

We finally have have a name for the untitled Han Solo anthology film thanks to director Ron Howard.  The film has just finished wrapping up production and Howard released a video on Twitter announcing the name of the film, "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Here is the video:

Hey #Twitterville we just wrapped production so here's a special message #StarWars pic.twitter.com/8QJqN5BGxr

— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) October 17, 2017

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" punches its way into theaters next year on May 25, 2018.

Details on "Big Hero 6" The Series Announced:

A premiere date for "Big Hero 6" the series on Disney XD has been announced for November 20 at 8 p.m. with a 1 hour special called "Baymax Returns." It will air simultaneously on Disney XD, Disney Channel, the DisneyNow App, and on Disney XD Video on Demand. 

Set once again in San Fransokyo, the television movie Baymax Returns explores that tear-jerking moment in Big Hero 6 after Hiro believes that his robot friend is lost in the portal forever, before discovering the chip his brother Tadashi designed to create Baymax. The series continues the adventures and friendship of Hiro, Baymax, and the rest of the superhero team, picking up immediately following the events of the feature film. We can’t wait to see them in action!
As if that wasn’t enough to fill our hearts with joy, beginning Friday, November 24, Big Hero 6 The Series shorts will roll out every Friday for six consecutive weeks on Disney XD, the DisneyNOW app, and Disney XD YouTube. We’ll be watching every single video on repeat.
Deep breaths everyone. There’s more. On November 20, “Pocket Baymax” launches on DisneyNOW. What is “Pocket Baymax” you ask? It is a customizable, interactive virtual assistant that brings Baymax to life—and it sounds like the best thing we never knew we needed.

Following the movie special of "Baymax Returns" two special full-length preview episode of "Big Hero 6" The Series will debut exclusively on the DisneyNOW App and Disney XD VOD.

Source: Oh My Disney

 

Ultimate Disney Christmas Vacation Package Announced; VIDEO: New 'Black Panther' Trailer Released

Ultimate Disney Christmas Vacation Package Announced:

Walt Disney World has introduced a special vacation package for the Ultimate Disney Christmas Vacation. Guests must arrive on December 21, 2017 and depart on December 26, 2017. This package is full of ultimate holiday fun and exclusive experiences that no-one else will get. Here are the details of the package:

• December 21, 2017 – One ticket per person in your party to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom Park
• December 22, 2017 – Access to special nighttime Extra Magic Hours at Pandora – The World of Avatar within Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park
• December 23, 2017 – A special holiday Character experience at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• December 24, 2017 – An invitation to a special Christmas Eve dinner celebration at Epcot
• December 25, 2017 – A special holiday gift delivered to your Disney Resort hotel room

This offer starts at $139 per person per night for a family of four at a select Deluxe, Deluxe Villa, Moderate, or Value Resort at Walt Disney World. A 4-day park hopper and ticket to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is included in the package deal. The package is limited and must be booked by December 10, 2017. 

VIDEO: New "Black Panther" Released:

A new "Black Panther" trailer has arrived from Marvel this morning. The film which stars Chadwick Boseman as the Black Panther is set to hit theaters February 16, 2018. A new poster was also released for the film along with the trailer:

First 'Last Jedi' TV Spot Airs; Final Candlelight Narrators Announced

First "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" TV Spot Airs:

The very first of what I'm sure will be many tv spots for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has aired. Just days after the trailer was released we got more dialogue out of Luke Skywalker as he asks Rey why she is there. We also got some new images in the tv spot.



"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" hits theaters December 15.

Final Candlelight Narrators Announced:

Two new narrators and two returning complete the list of celebrities for this year's Epcot Candlelight Processional. Disney Legend and actor Kurt Russell as well as Olympic Champion Laurie Hernandez will be reading at the processional for the first time. Meanwhile Jodi Benson and actress/comedian Ana Gasteyer will return this year as narrators. Here is the complete schedule for the Candlelight Processional which runs November 24 through December 30:

• Nov. 24- 26 – Laurie Hernandez – NEW!
• Nov. 27-28 – Matt Bomer – NEW!
• Nov. 29 – 30 – Ana Gasteyer
• Dec. 1-3 – Whoopi Goldberg
• Dec. 4-5 – Pat Sajak – NEW!
• Dec. 6-8 – Jodi Benson
• Dec. 9-11 – Kurt Russell – NEW!
• Dec. 12-14 – Warwick Davis – NEW!
• Dec. 15-17 – Trace Adkins
• Dec. 18-21 – Neil Patrick Harris
• Dec. 22-24 – CCH Pounder – NEW!
• Dec. 25-27 – Jaci Velasquez
• Dec. 28-30 – Chandra Wilson

The Candlelight Processional allows narrators to tell the story of Christmas along with a 50-piece orchestra and a massed choir. The show is performed 3 times nightly at 5:00, 6:45, and 8:15 p.m. at the American Gardens Theatre. 

*Narrators and entertainment are subject to change without notice.

Source: Disney Parks Blog

Tickets on Sale for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire; Disney Sets Dates for Filming of Holiday Specials

Tickets Now on Sale for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire:

The VOID and ILMxLab are bringing Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, a hyper-reality experience to Disney Springs in Walt Disney World and Downtown Disney in Disneyland. We now have dates for both of these experiences to debut and tickets are now on sale. It will debut at Disney Springs on December 16, 2017 and on January 5, 2018 at Downtown Disney in Disneyland. 

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire will transport guests deep into the Star Wars universe, walking freely and untethered throughout the multisensory experience with friends and family. In groups of four, teams will go undercover as stormtroopers to capture Imperial intelligence vital to the budding rebellion’s survival.

Check out this new video that was released with the announcement which gives us our first look at Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire:

Tickets for the experience are $29.95 per person and the experience runs every 15 minutes beginning at 9:00 a.m. and running until the last experience of the night which begins at 11:45 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

Source: Disney Parks Blog

Disney Sets Dates for Filming of Holiday Specials in the Parks:

Dates have been set for filming for the upcoming ABC and Disney Channel holiday specials from the parks that run during the holiday season. Filming at Disney Parks on location in both Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be from November 3-7. No name or official air dates for these events have been announced by Disney. 

Source: The DIS

Disney Cancels 'Gigantic' Its Version of "Jack and the Beanstalk"

In 2015, Disney showed off a massive model of an animated film they were working on based of the classic childhood story, "Jack and the Beanstalk", called "Gigantic" at the D23 Expo. Shortly before this year's expo the film which was supposed to premiere in 2018 was pushed back until 2020. Now as of yesterday the film and ideas are being shelved. 

It was an updated take on the classic fairytale in which Jack befriends a female giant. Meg Lefauve (Inside Out) and Nathan Greno (Tangled) were slated to co-direct the film. While Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Frozen) were slated to write songs for the film. Part of the reason the film was delayed from 2018 and 2020 was because Robert and Kristen were busy with writing the music for "Frozen 2" due out in 2019. 

Disney & Pixar Animation President Ed Catmull had this to say in a statement:

"It's impossible to know when we begin a project how the creative process will unfold, and sometimes, no matter how much we love an idea or how much heart goes into it, we find that it just isn’t working. With Gigantic, we've come to that point, and although it's a difficult decision, we are ending active development for now. We are focusing our energies on another project that has been in the works, which we'll be sharing more about soon, now set for Thanksgiving 2020."

No details on the new project were not released but Disney fans can prepare for the next two films in animation in Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 due out on November 21, 2018 and the much anticipated sequel in Frozen 2 due out November 27, 2019.

Now what does this mean for the parks? Rumors had been swirling for months before this year's D23 Expo that Disney had plans to build a Spain Pavilion at Epcot with an attraction based on Gigantic. That rumor was pushed back once it was delayed until 2020. Now it could be in jeopardy with the film being shelved.

Of course Disney can build a Spain Pavilion without an attraction based on 'Gigantic' but it seemed they had high hopes for the film since they had an attraction already in the works before the film even hit theaters. Now the film has been cancelled and now only questions remain. One of those big questions is: Will Disney build a Spain Pavilion at Epcot now that 'Gigantic' is shelved or will it choose another country to debut on World Showcase?

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ferrytale Dessert and Fireworks Cruise Returns December 1

The Ferrytale Dessert and Fireworks Cruise will be returning to the Seven Seas Lagoon with a spectacular view of Magic Kingdom fireworks and a night of sparkling desserts on December 1. The Ferrytale Fireworks: A Sparkling Dessert Cruise will run on most Friday's and Sunday's in December and January.

Besides a spectacular view of the fireworks which some night it will coincide with Happily Ever After and some with the holiday fireworks at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on some nights in December. Those nights will have seasonal desserts that will include holiday cookies and peppermint cheesecake as well as hot cocoa and a variety of toppings. 

Guests will step aboard the General Joe Potter ferryboat, named after the Disney Legend, about 1 hour and 15 minutes before the fireworks start at the Ticket and Transportation Center. In addition guests have a variety of activities they can participate on the cruise which include a Glow-in-the-Dark Scavenger Hunt, where you’ll search for Hidden Mickeys throughout the Ferryboat. Also when the fireworks begin, you’ll receive a pair of “Mickey Vision” viewing lenses, through which you might just be able to see one of your favorite characters appear in each burst of light!

Admission for this Ferrytale Cruise is $99 for adults and $69 for children ages 3 through 9 (tax and gratuity not included). Discounts for Annual Passholders can be made by calling 407-WDW-DINE and DVC members can apply discounts by calling Member Services. You can book this adventure by calling 407-939-3463 or you can book online.

Source: Disney Parks Blog