Category: InsideTheMagic

The son of a late Walt Disney animator humorously reminisced his time knowing the man who started it all in a recent viral video. Walt Disney, the man who proved to the world that a suitcase and a dream are all you need to make a huge impact in the world, left a massive legacy after his passing in 1966. With two massive theme parks, Disneyland and Walt Disney World, planned and overseen by the man himself — which would later grow into some of the most popular family destinations internationally — many films that have become timeless classics, and a company about to celebrate its 100th anniversary, saying that Walter Elias Disney created a worldwide phenomenon would not be an overstatement. Credit: DisneyWorking alongside his brother, Roy Oliver Disney, a group of legendary animators and Imagineers, and Cast Members across his company, Walt Disney slowly but steadily grew his dreams until they became a reality for millions of people to enjoy for generations. Recently, a witness of Walt’s legacy won the hearts of thousands of viewers after appearing in a viral video, drawing his best rendition of Mickey Mouse and talking about his experience with Walt Disney, saying, “he was genuinely a nice guy.” Credit: Walt Disney ArchivesThe video was posted on TikTok by Yellow Duck NFT (@yellowducknft), an account that travels asking strangers to draw over the silhouette of a duck to create NFT art. In it, we can see Steven, who

A select group of Disney Cast Members and Imagineers recently left their mark on one of the most anticipated projects coming to Disney Parks. Disney Parks worldwide are working on exciting projects, bringing new experiences to Guests in the coming years. We’ve recently heard of Splash Mountain closing and receiving a complete reimagining to welcome Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Louis, and Mama Odie at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Park, an all-new land inspired by Disney’s Zootopia coming to Shanghai Disneyland, a brand-new area inspired by Tangled, Peter Pan and Mary Poppins currently in development at Disneyland Paris, and a breathtaking expansion bringing Neverland, Arendelle, and Corona to life at Tokyo Disney Resort. Credit: Disney Parks BlogHowever, perhaps one of the most anticipated projects coming to Disney Parks worldwide is World of Frozen at Hong Kong Disneyland, which recently hit a historic construction milestone at the Hong Kong Disney Park, despite fans celebrating a massive removal from the land.  On November 22, Cast Members, including Hong Kong Disneyland Resort managing director Michael Moriarty, leaders, Imagineers, Project team, and the Test and Adjust team, came together to leave their mark on the brand-new land in the first Cast engagement activity of the themed land: “Ice Magic Signing Moment.” Credit: Disney Parks BlogPer Disney Parks Blog, the group signed their names on pieces of “Ice Magic,” giant snowflakes that were placed on the Arendelle Castle, allowing Cast Members to become part of the new themed land’s — and Hong

Genie+ has been a sore subject for many Disney Parks-goers for a while now. And with record prices for Genie+ soaring at Disney World, it’s becoming more expensive and less attainable for some Guests who are already spending a small fortune on their Disney vacation. However, earlier this week, we reported how there would be modifications to the Genie+ system within both the Disneyland and Disney World apps that might help Guests using this service. Credit: Disney Parks BlogRelated: Disney Officially Acknowledges Genie+ May Run Out This update would let Guests modify their Lightning Lane experiences in the app and look for other attraction windows. Guests could then be able to get Lightning Lane access to different rides as well as modify reservations without losing the original one, which was a pain point before for Guests. Though many Guests were originally upset with how the Genie+ and Lightning Lane paid services have taken over the previous free FastPass system, these new flexibility options may have softened the blow that Genie+ and Lightning Lane first gave Guests. Credit: Disney Parks BlogRelated: The Walt Disney Company Sued Over Disney Genie Service We were originally told that these new changes would be available within a week or so, but reporter @ScottGustin Tweeted today that these new changes are now live in the Disneyland app: Genie+ Lightning Lane modifications are now live in the Disneyland app. You’ll need to update the app (version 7.19) before you can use

Antonio Banderas discussed heroes, villains, and the return of Puss in Boots. Credit: DreamWorks AnimationShrek (2001) was a surprising success all around. Many animators at DreamWorks who fell behind while working on The Prince of Egypt (1998) were sent to work on the CGI film as a sort of punishment. This happened often enough that they would call the assignment, getting “Shreked”, some employees even referring to it as a Gulag. With this sort of mindset, it would be very surprising if any studio, let alone one that had produced so few animated films to that point, was able to churn out a quality product. Credit: DreamWorksRelated: “Shrek,” “Puss in Boots” get reboots by “Despicable Me” creator It goes without saying that the team at DreamWorks succeeded: The success of the first Shrek movie has inspired a cult following lasting over two decades, and paved the way for three direct sequels, Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), and a myriad of spinoffs, including television shows, holiday specials, and solo films. The success of this film also allowed for DreamWorks animation to explode, and produce dozens of other films since then, with a wide range of characters and stories. One such character, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), originally a sidekick to the big green Ogre (Mike Myers), rose to fame and two of his own solo films, Puss in Boots (2011) and now, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022). Credit:

Fans are not happy with James Gunn’s new plans for the DCU and might be willing to have Disney take over. Credit: Warner Bros.Related: Jason Momoa Reportedly Leaving ‘Aquaman’ Franchise For New DCU Role Disney is already very close to having a monopoly on the entertainment industry. With Star Wars and Marvel under them, the Walt Disney Company is a powerhouse when it comes to movies. Now, some fans feel like Warner Bros. have lost it. DC may be under their umbrella for now, but Gunn’s latest decisions to reboot the franchise will change everything. If the reboot does let go of DC’s main roster, then Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam (2022) will have a “short-lived” legacy with DC, Henry Cavill won’t return, Ben Affleck’s Batman, Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman and even Flash won’t return. All of this is quite shocking as these actors built the DC Universe that fans know and love. Credit: DC / Warner Bros.Related: Netflix Renews Fan-Favorite DC Series Now, fans are going to Twitter to share their frustration and some believe that Disney might be DC’s savior if Warner Bros. crumbles from their debt: Disney needs to buy the DCU Disney needs to buy the DCU — ovokosh ⁶𓅓 (@CIRC0L0C0) December 8, 2022 They might get their chance when WBD inevitably goes bankrupt https://twitter.com/markyfanacc/status/1600725783516889088 Disney should def buy DC now. Someone has to stop this madness Disney should def buy DC now. Someone has to stop this madness — Eternity

Star Wars: The Acolyte set photos? A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one! Credit: LucasfilmA significant departure for Lucasfilm, the new Star Wars series The Acolyte promises to break fresh ground for the franchise. With very little to go on at this point, fans have been buzzing about the prequel series, set 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) in an era dubbed, “The High Republic”. This will be yet another foray into this era, following the release of an entire book series bearing the name of the era itself, focusing on the Jedi Order of the time. Credit: LucasfilmRelated: Everything We Know About ‘Star Wars: The Acolyte’ So Far  Acolyte, however, is going to focus on the other side of that coin: the Sith. A “mystery-thriller”, according to Lucasfilm and showrunner Leslye Headland, the High Republic era Jedi Order will be investigating, and confronting forces that are “are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”. Whether or not Acolyte will connect with the Skywalker Saga in any way has yet to be disclosed, but the plot will at least lay the groundwork for the return of the Sith, and the eventual rise of Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) in the prequel trilogy. Credit: LucasfilmDespite a lack of detail, just today photos from the set of Acolyte were leaked online, and depict many of the key cast members in costume, as well as a few new surprises for the Star

After racing all over the release schedule, DC and Warner Bros. have now actually pulled the long-awaited The Flash (2023) movie forward in their calendar. Credit: Warner Bros.The movie, directed by It: Chapter One (2017) director Andy Muschietti and starring the controversy-stricken Ezra Miller, will now release a week earlier than previously slated — dropping on June 16 next year, replacing the previously scheduled June 23. The shift gives the speedster a longer lead on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), which it was previously set to go up against when that Harrison Ford tentpole drops on June 30 next year. Credit: Warner Bros.The move now places it in direct competition with Disney Pixar’s Elemental (2023), which also releases June 16. Box office pundits have noted the shift to place the hero spectacle up against a Pixar original is a sign of the shifting approach to theatrical; where studios would once have run scared of a Summer Pixar property dropping, they now enter the box office fray unafraid to challenge the lamp. On Twitter, @Luis_Fernando_J said: There was a time when no studio would open a movie head to head with a Pixar animation on SUMMER. Not anymore.WB moved up #TheFlash from JUN 23 to JUN 16, 2023, head to head with #Disney’s #Elemental, giving the #DCU film 2 weeks before #IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny on JUN 30 There was a time when no studio would open a movie head to head with a

Two brand-new nighttime spectaculars are arriving at Disney Parks in early 2023, and more details have just been revealed. For thousands of fans, a visit to their favorite Disney Park has to end with enjoying one of the breathtaking nighttime spectaculars. Whether you’re at Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Resort, or Shanghai Disney Resort, enjoying the fireworks, projections, water and fire effects, and heart-stirring music is a must-do for the young and the young at heart when visiting Disney Parks worldwide. Credit: Walt Disney World ResortDuring this year’s D23 Expo —which gave some exclusive peeks at coming projects in development at The Walt Disney Company from Anaheim, California — Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Josh D’Amaro announced some of the exciting celebrations that will take place at Disney Parks worldwide, and within the company, as part of the 100th anniversary of The Walt Disney Company, including a statue celebrating Walt Disney’s legacy, and two brand-new nighttime spectaculars coming to Disneyland Resort. Well, more details about the all-new nighttime spectaculars coming to Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Park were just shared by theme park and entertainment news reporter Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin). Credit: Disney Parks BlogGustin commented that Wondrous Journeys, the new fireworks show coming to Disneyland Park, will have a runtime of 13 minutes, roughly the same as the Disneyland Forever nighttime spectacular. World of Color – One, the nighttime show coming to Disney California Adventure,

Walt Disney World is full of exciting rides, attractions, and experiences and with rides such as Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at EPCOT and the upcoming TRON roller coaster at the Magic Kingdom, things are only getting better. But one of the most popular attractions at the Walt Disney World Resort has to be Flight of Passage. Located in Pandora in Animal Kingdom, this attraction blends mechanics from other attractions such as Soarin’ and Star Tours. Credit: Inside the MagicRelated: Very Popular Disneyland Ride Closing Indefinitely Next Month It first opened in 2017 to staggering wait times of 4+ hours, and still, years later, we can expect that during busy times of the year, wait times will climb to those large waits once again. Typically, the ride had around a two-hour wait, which is still pretty long for many! The attraction is a flight simulator that allows us, Guests of Animal Kingdom, to hop on the back of a banshee by linking to someone who is Na’vi. Through this, we are able to deeply explore Pandora, the world of Avatar, through sights, scents, and movement. We recently reported on some Guests complaining about the state of the attraction, and now, those worries continue to grow. The entire world of Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is incredible and something you definitely will not want to miss. And with a brand new entry in the Avatar franchise releasing in just a week, we are sure the land is about to have

In June 2022, The Walt Disney Company board officially extended CEO Bob Chapek’s contract by three years. They promised him a $20 million or more annual bonus based on company performance, despite Disney Parks fans’ dissatisfaction with the CEO. So it came as a shock late one Sunday night in November when The Walt Disney Company announced that Chapek had stepped down, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger would return to take the position for two years. Credit: DisneyAs part of his contract, Iger is required to select and train a new Disney CEO to take his place. Rumors are already swirling about who will take his place in two years – some insider sources claim Iger will instead sell The Walt Disney Company to Apple – and fans are firmly against some of the potential candidates. Chapek and Iger: A Brief History Iger hand-picked Chapek, former Chairman of Parks and Resorts, as his successor in early 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek reportedly had a falling out with returned Disney CEO Bob Iger in early 2022, with insiders suggesting the pair no longer communicated. Iger reportedly spoke freely about his disdain for some of Chapek’s decisions. Mr. Iger and Mr. Chapek at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge. Credit: DisneyNevertheless, Iger decided to move forward with Chapek’s hiring freezes and future layoffs. He’s also expected to fix mistakes made with Disney Plus, the streaming service he