April 2014 – Page 8 – Disney News Today

An Evening at Markham’s – Tables in Wonderland Exclusive

An Evening at Markham’s – Tables in Wonderland Exclusive

Thursday, May 1^st, 2014, 6:00pm

$195.00 per person, plus tax, gratuity included

You are cordially invited to join us at the über exclusive, Markham’s restaurant, located at Disney’s Golden Oak Club, for an unparalleled culinary experience highlighting not only the esteemed talents of Chef Christian Rumpler and Chef Michael Gonsalves, but also select culinary personalities from across Walt Disney World® Resort. Sommeliers Melissa Schreiber and Wayne Rigsby have paired exceptional beverages with the 8-course menu for a true epicurean evening.

The event is limited to 30 guests and is exclusive to Tables in Wonderland members. Park admission not required.

Since Golden Oak is a private residential community, guests attending this event will be provided with security clearance. Upon reservation confirmation, information will be sent providing additional details about your Golden Oak experience.

Also, please note that Walt Disney World® Resort transportation to Golden Oak is not available and, as such, personal transportation is required.

Menu

In keeping with our desire to leave some things to the imagination, the menu below is meant to provide only a glimpse into the evening you will enjoy as our guest. We hope to deliver on the promise of surprising you with the creations prepared by our special guest chefs, providing an experience you will not soon forget.

Reception-Chef-Cítricos

Wild-caught Octopus, Focaccia Crostini, Preserved Lemon Chicken

Appetizer-Chef-California Grill

Pork Belly

1^st Course-Chef-Walt Disney World Global Food & Beverage

Lobster

2^nd Course Chef-Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts

Duck Breast

Intermezzo-Pastry Chef-Walt Disney World Resort

Cucumber Sorbet

Entrée-Chef-Disney’s Golden Oak

Bison Loin

Cheese Course-Chef-Victoria & Albert’s

Stilton Cheesecake

Dessert-Pastry Chef-Walt Disney World Resort

Opera Cake

For reservations, please visit the following website www.disneyurl.com/TIWGoldenOak for self-booking and instant confirmation. The website will go live and begin taking reservations on Monday, April 7, 2014 at 10:00am.

Please have the following information ready:

Tables in Wonderland Ticket Number starting with the “W” (i.e. if you purchased your Membership at Epcot® your card number would begin WEC)

First and Last Name of everyone in your party (maximum is Party of 4)

Home address

Phone number

Credit Card Number

Billing Address of the Credit Card (Your credit card will be charged at the time of booking, and you will receive an immediate confirmation email.)

Personal Email Address (Please use a personal email address as many work email addresses think the confirmation email is spam.)

Special Dietary Needs (if any)

Guest Policies

The event is limited to 30 Guests, and is exclusive to Tables in Wonderland members.

You must show your valid Tables in Wonderland ticket to gain entrance into the event.

Disney Plans to Increase Number of FastPass+ Entitlements Per Day and Include Park Hopping

Tom Staggs, Chairman Walt Disney Parks and Resorts said in a blog post –

“When we first shared a glimpse into our plans to take the Disney guest experience to the next level, we had just begun to unveil MyMagic+ at the Walt Disney World Resort. Our goal from the beginning has been to enhance the guest experience and make it even more immersive, seamless and personal than ever before.

Now, nearly 3.5 million guests have participated in testing, and the vast majority are telling us that MyMagic+ has made their trip even better. This is a big step forward in the evolution of our guest experience, and what we’re seeing in early returns is fantastic.

Guests are telling us that they really like being able to arrange the day the way they want to, with the flexibility to make changes on the go. They also are particularly excited about their experience with the MagicBand. They love the convenience, and we have received a lot of photos from guests showing the fun ways they are wearing them even before they arrive on property or after they return home.

As expected, most of our guests think that securing times to ride our attractions is one of the best ways to maximize the fun of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation. We’ve heard from a number of guests that they would like the opportunity to add additional FastPass+ entitlements during their visit, in addition to the three they can plan in advance. So, we’re working on providing them with the ability to add and enjoy additional entitlements on the day of their visit. Once they’ve used the three they’ve booked, we’ll enable them to select another at kiosks in the parks. And once they’ve used the fourth, they can select another, and so on. We also heard that other guests liked the fact that with the FastPass+ service they could use FASTPASS when they park hopped. So we’re working on a service enhancement to add that feature to FastPass+ as well.

One of the best aspects of MyMagic+ has always been that our guests can relax and better enjoy their time with us, all the while knowing that the attraction they want to ride, or the moment they want to experience, will be there, waiting for them.

And isn’t that what a vacation is all about? The more we can have everyone that goes to our parks feel like a VIP, the happier we’ll be with the experience we’re giving them. And that’s exactly what we’re striving for with MyMagic+.”

Disney Parks Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of ‘It’s a Small World’ Invites the World to Join a Global Sing-Along

In a historic, global event, guests and cast members at Disney Parks around the world will unite in song to celebrate the 50^thanniversary of “it’s a small world,” the classic Disney Parks attraction that opened as a tribute to peace and hope at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. Fans from around the world can join the festivities in a first-of-its-kind, online global sing-along atSmallWorld50.com.

On Thursday, April 10, 2014, hundreds of voices from Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, Disneyland Paris in France and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort will sing the unforgettable theme song of the “happiest cruise that ever sailed the seven seas.”

Fans around the world also are invited to join the global sing-along virtually. SmallWorld50.com launches today as a “global hub” of music and harmony where guests may record videos of themselves singing the classic song and create virtual “it’s a small world” dolls to benefit UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). UNICEF provides health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more to children around the world.

” ‘it’s a small world’ has inspired hundreds of millions of people through its timeless theme,” said Tom Staggs, chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. “Every moment of every day there are Disney guests enjoying ‘it’s a small world’ somewhere around the globe. The 50th anniversary of this attraction represents a celebration of the shared optimism, hope, and humanity of people throughout the world.”

New Video Features People Around the World Singing “It’s a Small World”

To help announce the celebration, Disney Parks released a video featuring people around the world singing, dancing to and playing “It’s a Small World.” Filmed across six continents in more than 25 countries, the video features international “performers” – including bagpipers in Scotland, Bollywood movie actors in India, a firefighter in New York City, and members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir – to create one worldwide video.

That video and others will be part of the launch of SmallWorld50.com, the global website for the attraction’s anniversary. Fans around the world are encouraged to participate online by recording on the Small World 50 website videos of themselves singing “It’s a Small World” and by creating virtual “it’s a small world” dolls to share with their friends through social media.

The Walt Disney Company will donate $150,000 to benefit UNICEF in honor of the 50^th anniversary of “it’s a small world,” plus $1for every sing-along video recorded on SmallWorld50.com and another $1 for every virtual doll created on the website, up to$100,000. Disney began its relationship with UNICEF in 1964 with the debut of “it’s a small world” at the New York World’s Fair. More recently, Disney and UNICEF have worked together to create a brighter tomorrow for thousands of children through programming that helps foster imagination and creativity.

Throughout the day, Disney Parks also will sponsor Google Hangouts that invite people from around the world to participate in the anniversary events. Fans are encouraged to visit SmallWorld50.com for details.

Disney Store adds to the Golden Anniversary celebration with the “it’s a small world” doll collection, inspired by the original Fantasyland attraction, and stores nationwide will offer fans a chance to celebrate at “it’s a small world” events. From Thursday, April 10, to Sunday, April 13, children are invited to visit a participating Disney Store to take a journey on an imaginary boat ride around the globe, learning how to say “hello” in various languages and singing “It’s a Small World” along the way. Guests are encouraged to call their local Disney Store or visit DisneyStore.com to confirm participation and details.

The Creation of a Classic

One of the most beloved attractions in the history of Disney Parks, “it’s a small world” is featured at all five Disney Resorts around the world. The original attraction premiered at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City, created by Walt Disney himself and WED Enterprises, which eventually became Walt Disney Imagineering (the creative masters behind Disney theme parks and attractions).

The attraction features a gentle boat ride through a Lilliputian land populated by colorfully dressed Audio-Animatronics dolls representing children from many regions of the world singing a simple song about universal harmony. A team of WED artistic geniuses, including Disney Legends designer Mary Blair and costumer Alice Davis, created its now iconic style.

In 1963, Walt Disney was asked to create an exhibit for the 1964 World’s Fair to salute UNICEF and children around the world. With Walt’s blessing, Marc Davis, one of the original Disney animators, designed the boat ride attraction through the regions and countries of the world. The first version of “it’s a small world” entertained and thrilled more than 10 million visitors in New York from 1964-65. In 1966, after some major enhancements, including an enlargement of approximately 33 percent, the attraction found a permanent home at Disneyland in California.

In the attraction, hundreds of dolls “sing” the familiar song, “It’s a Small World,” in five languages (English, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish). Academy Award® winning composers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who won two Oscars® for their work on Disney’s feature film “Mary Poppins,” were asked by Walt Disney to create a simple, yet catchy piece that could be sung in many different languages while guests traveled by boat through the attraction. The resulting song, “It’s a Small World (After All),” became one of the most well known and happiest of all Disney tunes.

Walt Disney Records To Release Aladdin Original Broadway Cast Recording Featuring Exclusive Bonus Content

The cast of the new Broadway smash, Disney’s Aladdin is currently in the studio laying down tracks for the Original Cast Recording of the show, to be released by Walt Disney Records digitally on Tuesday, May 27th. The physical album is set for release on Tuesday, June 17th and will also be available for purchase in-theater. The Aladdin Original Broadway Cast Recording will be produced by Alan Menken, Michael Kosarin, Frank Filipetti and Chris Montan and executive produced by Kurt Deutsch.

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, Aladdin features music by Tony Award® and eight-time Oscar® winner Alan Menken(Beauty and the Beast, Newsies, Sister Act), lyrics by two-time Oscar winner Howard Ashman (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid), three-time Tony Award and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice (Evita, Aida) and two-time Tony Award nominee Chad Beguelin (The Wedding Singer), with a book by Beguelin, and is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon). This new production features a full score, including the Oscar and Grammy® winning hit “A Whole New World,” and four other cherished songs from the film and multi Grammy-winning original motion picture soundtrack. The cast album also includes four Menken/Beguelin songs written especially for the stage and three Menken/Ashman songs that were cut from the original film, plus exclusive bonus content created especially for the album.

Disney’s Aladdin, the new musical comedy based on the Academy Award®-winning animated film, opened to critical acclaim onMarch 20^th, 2014 at Broadway’s New Amsterdam Theatre. USA Today raves, “Pure GENIE-US! Aladdin delivers a rush that will surprise you.” The Associated Press exclaims, “Disney hits magic again…a wonder to behold!” while The New York Times hails the show as “Fabulous… Extravagant!” and the Daily News declares, “Seriously, it’s amazing!”

Aladdin stars Adam Jacobs (Les Miserables, The Lion King) in the title role, Courtney Reed (In the Heights, Mamma Mia) as Jasmine, James Monroe Iglehart (Memphis, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Genie, and, as Jafar, Tony Award nominee Jonathan Freeman (Mary Poppins, The Producers, She Loves Me) brings to the stage the role he indelibly created in the animated film. The show also stars Brian Gonzales, Brandon O’Neill and Jonathan Schwartz as Aladdin’s sidekicks Babkak, Kassim and Omar, Clifton Davis as Sultan and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago.

A TV App From Disney Lets Travelers Browse Its Vacation Offerings

Taken from the New York Times –

A SMART TV app being introduced by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts on Thursday will let potential travelers use their remote controls to research vacations at theme parks and hotels and on cruise ships and packaged tours.

Brad Baker, director of digital marketing for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said the advent of smart, or Internet-connected, TVs had created “a really interesting space for us, since there is now a new way for us to be able to tell our story.”

The app — which will be free and available initially through the Samsung smart TV app store, and in early April, through the LG smart TV app store and on Blu-ray players — was developed with BrightLine, an interactive television advertising and technology company based in New York. It aggregates videos, photographs, interactive theme park maps and other information from the websites of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts businesses and from their social media channels. New to the app is a trivia quiz as well as some videos. It also lets viewers request additional information, by submitting their email address.

Rob Aksman, co-founder and chief experience officer of BrightLine, said it was appropriate for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts to commission an app because it had “a lot of rich content consumers care about.” The large size of screens on many high-definition smart TVs should also benefit Disney, he added, because “screen size matters when it comes to influencing consumer behavior.”

David Bank, who follows the Walt Disney Company for RBC Capital Markets, said Walt Disney Parks and Resorts generated approximately 20 percent of the parent company’s annual operating income. The businesses in that division include Disneyland Resort; Walt Disney World Resort; Disney resorts in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong, and one scheduled to open in Shanghai in 2015; Disney Cruise Line; Disney Vacation Club, a time-share company; Aulani, a Hawaiian resort; Adventures by Disney, a tour operation; and Walt Disney Imagineering, a company that designs and builds Disney parks, ships and resorts.

Mr. Baker said the app was intended to cater to families gathered around their high-definition, smart TVs. The app will be offered at present only in the United States market; Mr. Baker said if it were widely used, it could be offered through additional smart TV systems featuring Roku boxes and other technology.

He declined to quantify what Walt Disney Parks and Resorts was spending on the app’s development. According to Kantar Media, advertising spending, in all media, by Adventures by Disney, Aulani, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Disneyland and Walt Disney World ranged from $32 million in 2010 to $79 million last year.

John Greening, a professor of branding and marketing communications at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, said “the real magic of what Disney is doing is the depth of the experiences they’re showing; for example, there are over 40 videos on the different types of experiences you can have at theme parks. These things are going to be very effective in moving people down the pathway to purchase.”

Barbara Jones, a professor at the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, praised Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for “going to where people are. They’re spending more time with television, because this is arguably the golden age of television.”

Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at N.Y.U., predicted the app would help those prospective Disney guests who might be “intimidated” by the scale of Walt Disney World and the brand’s multiple offerings “feel more confident” about making their choices.

Walt Disney World Releases 2014 Epcot Sounds Like Summer Concert Series Lineup

Walt Disney World Resort has released the lineup for Epcot’s 2014 Sounds Like Summer concert series. The annual summer music festival features tribute bands that perform concerts at American Gardens Theatre in Epcot World Showcase.

Feel the rhythm as an assortment of high-energy bands pay tribute to the legends that inspired them. Enjoy Sounds Like Summer when each act takes the stage for an entire week at this rocking seasonal party—coming ‘round once again in June and July 2014.

2014 Epcot Sounds Like Summer concert series
(schedule subject to change)

Walt Disney World’s Epcot summer concert series runs from June 8 through the July 26, with acts performing several short concerts during each night of their run. All the 2012 Summer Like Summer acts return for this year’s series.

June 8 – 14: Hotel California ~ A Salute to the Eagles
June 15 – 21: Don’t Stop Believin’ ~ a Journey Tribute Band
June 22 – 28: Good Vibrations ~ A Tribute to The Beach Boys
June 29 – July 5: Don’t Look Back ~ The Boston Experience
July 6 –12: Stayin’ Alive ~ A Tribute to the Bee Gees
July 13 –19: Slippery When Wet ~ The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute
July 20 – 26: 2U ~ A Tribute to U2

Concerts take place three times each night, at 5:30 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. except for July 4. On Independence Day, Don’t Look Back ~ The Boston Experience will perform four times: 5:15 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9 p.m.

These concerts can be very popular. Not only do the shows take place during Walt Disney World’s busy summer season, some returning acts have built a following of local fans while new performers attract regulars in search of variety. Be aware that later shows, especially on the weekends, may be particularly crowded.

For these reasons, guests who are interested in seeing a particularly tribute band may wish to plan to see a performance earlier in the day. Please plan on arriving at American Gardens Theatre well before a show’s start, as seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Epcot’s Sounds Like Summer concert series are free, included with park admission to Epcot.

So sit back and relax, or get on your feet and dance to a collection of covers of the finest chart-topping icons the music industry has to offer!

Walt Disney Family Museum Presents – MAGIC, COLOR, FLAIR: The World of Mary Blair

The Walt Disney Family Museum is pleased to present MAGIC, COLOR, FLAIR: the world of Mary Blair. On view from March 13 to September 7, 2014, this comprehensive exhibition explores the artistic process and development of one of Walt Disney’s most original, beloved, and influential designer and art directors, Mary Blair (1911–1978). Blair’s joyful creativity―her eye-appealing designs and exuberant color palette―endure in numerous media, including classic Disney animated films, such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, andPeter Pan, and theme park attractions at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort, most notably “it’s a small world.”

Guest curator John Canemaker—an Academy Award, Emmy Award, and Peabody Award-winning independent animator, animation historian, teacher and author—organized the exhibition to reflect the arc of Blair’s career before, during, and after her years at the Walt Disney Studios through artwork, artifacts, photographs, and videos.

MAGIC, COLOR, FLAIR: the world of Mary Blair features some 200 works and explores all phases of Blair’s work by examining her artistic development in three major areas: “Learning the Rules”—her student days at Los Angeles’ legendary Chouinard School of Art, and her fine art regionalist watercolors exhibited in the 1930s. “Breaking the Rules”—her artistic breakthrough with boldly colored, stylized concept paintings for classic Disney animated features during the 1940s and 1950s, including Saludos Amigos (1942) and Peter Pan (1953); and “Creating New Worlds”—freelancing in the 1950s in New York where she became a popular illustrator for national advertisements, magazine articles, clothing designs, window displays, theatrical sets, and children’s books.

The exhibition includes Blair’s rarely exhibited student art, which was influenced by the illustrations of her mentor Pruett Carter, and her mid-to-late artworks from the 1930s as a member of the innovative California Water-Color Society which reveal an essential humanism and empathy for her subjects. The exhibition also showcases The Walt Disney Family Museum’s extensive collection of Blair’s conceptual artworks in gouache and watercolor—some of which have never displayed outside The Walt Disney Studios—that reveal the artist’s inexhaustible creativity in design, staging of imagery, visual appeal, and unique color sensibility. Also featured are original illustrations from several of Blair’s beloved Golden Books including I Can Fly (1951).

An imaginative colorist and designer, Blair helped introduce a modernist style to Walt Disney and his studio, and for nearly 30 years, he touted her inspirational work for his films and theme parks alike. Animator Marc Davis, who put Blair’s exciting use of color on a par with Henri Matisse, recalled, “She brought modern art to Walt in a way that no one else did. He was so excited about her work.”

In the mid-1960s, Walt brought her talents to a spectacular new phase by commissioning her to design large-scale, three-dimensional projects for his theme park attractions, using Audio-animatronic characters, wall murals and tile décor.

Walt played a significant role in Blair’s creative growth. His overall vision of the world and values (optimism, humor, love of tradition, families, and an avid interest in technology) were interpreted and complimented by her creative contributions. He continually championed her in his male-dominated studio giving her free rein to explore concepts, colors, characters, and designs that were definitely out of The Walt Disney Studios’ mainstream animation style.

Born in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1911, Blair won a scholarship to Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. After graduation in 1933, at the height of the Depression, she took a job in the animation unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) rather than pursue her dream of a fine arts career. In 1940, she joined The Walt Disney Studios and worked on a number of projects, including the never-produced “Baby Ballet,” part of a proposed second version of Fantasia.

In 1941, she joined the Disney expedition that toured Mexico and South America for three months and painted watercolors that inspired Walt to name her as an art supervisor on The Three Caballeros andSaludos Amigos. Blair’s striking use of color and stylized graphics greatly influenced many Disney postwar productions, including Alice in Wonderland, Song of the South, Make Mine Music, Melody Time, So Dear to My Heart, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella, and Peter Pan.

In 1964, Walt asked Blair to assist in the design of the “it’s a small world” attraction. Over the years, she brought her many artistic gifts to numerous exhibits, attractions, and murals at the theme parks in California and Florida, including the fanciful murals in the Grand Canyon Concourse at the Contemporary Hotel at the Walt Disney World Resort. Blair died July 26, 1978, in Soquel, California.

Thirty-five years after her death, interest in Mary Blair and her enchanting artworks continues to grow. Her early fine art watercolors and classic Disney film production concept paintings are popular with collectors. Contemporary artists still find inspiration in her independent spirit, and her ability to survive in traditionally male-dominated fields, her technical virtuosity, bottomless creative ingenuity, and powerful visual storytelling.

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