Are you planning a trip to Walt Disney World or Disneyland? You can watch free official Vacation Planning videos to help! [Read more…]
Prepare for your next Disney vacation with a free vacation planning videos
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ available on Blu-Ray/DVD and Digital HD in April
Get ready to bring Episode 7 home as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be available to own on Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere April 1, then Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD on April 5. [Read more…]
DVD Review: ‘Tomorrowland’ fans will enjoy the extras
By Quinn Roseboom
Disney’s “Tomorrowland” is now available on DVD, Blu-Ray and Disney Movies Anywhere. The disk contains a lot of bonus features, including deleted scenes [Read more…]
DVD Review: Experience a whole new world in a whole new way with ‘Aladdin’
By Anthony Armenia
One of Disney’s most highly anticipated animated features is out of the vault, or better yet, the lamp. “Aladdin” is now available on Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD. [Read more…]
DVD Review: See ‘101 Dalmatians’ like never before, plus in-depth bonus features
By Anthony Armenia
Disney’s classic animated film, “101 Dalmatians” is now available on Blu-ray, Digital HD and DVD. While the classic film holds up well and looks great re-rendered in high definition, the highlight of the release is all the bonus features. [Read more…]
DVD Review: ‘Maleficent’ worth owning, but extras are lacking
By Matt Roseboom
Disney’s live action Maleficent movie staring Angelina Jolie is now available on DVD. For my thoughts on the movie itself, see my previous movie review, “‘Maleficent’ is not the tale you know, but it’s an awesome one”. As you can tell from the headline, I really enjoyed the movie. But let’s take a look at the home movie extras. [Read more…]
New Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit ride video at Universal Studios Florida – World Premiere video
The on-ride video for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Orlando has been given a total creative overhaul, and Orlando Attractions Magazine has your first look at the updated video.
New Busch Gardens attraction lets you pretend to be a TV animal expert
Have you ever wondered how much concentration it takes for someone like Jack Hanna or Julie Scardina to do a television interview while holding a cute but squirmy animal? How do you focus on what you’re saying when you’ve got an owl monkey nuzzling your neck or a bush baby climbing on your head? The new Animal Connections experience at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay gives guests the opportunity to find out first hand what it takes to be an Animal Ambassador.
The 30-minute experience treats each new talent like a television star. Upon arriving, the guest is assigned a personal “production assistant” to guide them through their on-camera experience. After shooting a “head shot,” the guest is escorted to wardrobe and given the opportunity to freshen their makeup and hair in the green room.
Depending on whether the guest chooses “African Adventure” or “Rainforest Discovery,” they will be assigned one of Animal Connections’ furry or feathered co-stars, which include lemurs, owl monkeys, bush babies, macaws, porcupines and other exotic species. They are given several minutes to study a script full of facts about the animal they’ll be presenting.
Then it’s into the studio, where green-screen technology places the guest into his or her animal’s natural habitat. After taking a few minutes to acclimate to the animal, the script scrolls on the teleprompter, and the director rolls camera. A one-way glass allows friends and relatives to view the taping and take photos of their star’s performance.
Whether the guest gets it in one take or has to try a few more times, the result is a DVD of the performance bookended with some Busch Gardens animal footage.
Animal Connections is $29.99 per taping, which guests can do alone or as a couple. The price includes a DVD of the performance. It is located in the Crown Colony Plaza area of the park, between Edge of Africa and Egypt, where the Clydesdale horses used to be housed.
SeaWorld Orlando is expected to also add a green-screen video attraction once their horses leave the stables at the end of this month. This attraction is rumored to allow guests to have their faces painted and be superimposed on a safari adventure.
Both Busch Gardens and Seaworld announced that they would no longer have horses on display when The Blackstone Group purchased the parks from the Anheuser-Busch InBev company last year.
New details for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The Blu-ray and two-disc edition DVD of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was released today. A special Wizarding World of Harry Potter sneak peek feature on the extras disc reveals a few more details for the new land at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
The video features various Universal and Warner Brothers executives, along with many of the cast from the movies talking about the Wizarding World, set to open next spring. The cast included are Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Rupert Grint (Ron), Emma Watson (Hermione), Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid), Tom Felton (Draco) and Matthew Lewis (Neville). All told how they can’t wait to visit the park.
Here are some of the new details:
• From the Three Broomsticks restaurant you’ll be able to cross over into Hog’s Head pub where you’ll experience a hog’s head growling and sniffling.
• You’ll be able to buy a butterbeer, which looks just like a real beer with the froth on top, but it’ll be non-alcoholic. J.K. Rowling was at a butterbeer tasting and loved it. Steve Jayson, executive chef with Universal Parks and Resorts said, “The flavor of this is great, real comforting, nice and smooth going down – and you get a mustache.”
• In Honeyduke’s Sweetshop you’ll be able to buy Chocolate Frogs, Every Flavor Beans, Cauldron Cakes and Treacle Fudge.
• Ollivander’s Wand Shop will be an exact replica from the film.
• To get to the Dragon Challenge ride (high speed roller coaster), you’ll walk through Champion’s Tent and see various artifacts such as the Goblet of Fire.
• The Flight of the Hippogriff ride (family friendly coaster) will center around The Care of Magical Creatures Class. Hagrid will give instructions on how to properly behave and approach a hippogriff. You’ll need to keep eye contact, bow and it will bow back. Then you can get on the ride.
• Hogwart’s Castle will feature the queue to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. The queue will feature a lot of moving portraits and will take you by or through the Defense of the Dark Arts room, the Common Room and the Great Hall.
• Daniel Radcliffe (Harry) described the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride as a condensed form of the chaos of Harry’s life. Emma Watson (Hermione) described it as the best moments from all the films.
• The actors filmed scenes specially for the new ride in the summer of 2008. A movie clapboard reveals the name of the filming as “Strongarm.” Some have speculated that refers to Universal’s partnership with RoboCoaster Ltd. and that Forbidden Journey guests will ride on some sort of robot arm, such as the one featured in the new Sum of All Thrills ride at Epcot.
• The ride will feature a life-size Whomping Willow tree and the large spiders from the movies will make an appearance.
Here’s a preview of the video included with the newly released movie.
Be sure to get your copy of the Winter 2010 issue of “Orlando Attractions Magazine” to read a full feature story on the Wizarding World.
New video offers exclusive look at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The new “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” Blu-ray and two-disc special edition DVD (Avialable tomorrow, Dec, 8, 2009) will take you behind-the-scenes for an exclusive look at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The magical land based on the popular Harry Potter books and films will open at Universal Orlando Resort in Spring 2010.
The Blu-ray and DVD set include a special 11-minute video that reveals more about the The Wizarding World of Harry Potter than has been announced to-date. The sneak peek featurette includes interviews shot on location with stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and more – with each sharing new details and their excitement about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Also included are clips of the film series producers David Heyman and David Barron and the art directors working closely with the Universal Orlando Resort Creative team.
Never-before-seen footage includes:
• Glimpses into the ride experiences of Flight of the Hippogriff, Dragon Challenge and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
• A first-look at some of the delectable foods and drinks, including Cauldron Cakes, treacle fudge and Butterbeer.
• Universal Orlando Creative team members meeting with J.K. Rowling and the filmmakers.
Universal has provided a preview of the video included with the movie.
Be sure to get your copy of the Winter 2010 issue of “Orlando Attractions Magazine” for a full feature story on the Wizarding World.