As I shared on Instagram yesterday, the Magic Kingdom Park skyline looks a bit different today now that our crew from Walt Disney Imagineering has reached a major milestone in the development of TRON Lightcycle / Run at Walt Disney World Resort. Here you can see this image of the first piece of canopy being installed in what will become an instant iconic attraction and portal to The Grid here in Tomorrowland.
A post shared by Zach Riddley (@thezachriddley) on Sep 15, 2020 at 10:40am PDT
What we set in place yesterday is the first of nearly 40 pieces that will create a dramatic “curved wave” canopy, known as the Upload Conduit. Each section is strategically assembled before installation, including alignment of the steel, welding, grinding, some painting and electrical work. It’s an intricate process and something we’ll get to see rise before our eyes over the coming weeks and months. You can take a closer look at our work yesterday in this new video:
This canopy will be a massive, awe-inspiring structure flowing organically over you when you race beneath it aboard your Lightcycle, serving as a digital bridge for your transition into The Grid. As the Lightcycles whiz by, dynamic stripes of lights will follow along the canopy, creating a powerful visual for riders and bystanders alike. Just wait until you see this at night … it will be spectacular.
I’ve had the chance to ride our sister attraction in Shanghai Disneyland and I can tell you we are in for an amazing new addition to the Walt Disney World coaster family. I’m proud of all the work our Imagineers have put into this attraction so far, and am looking forward to seeing this beautiful piece of the digital frontier take shape on the horizon of Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom!
Follow me @thezachriddley for more on our design work taking shape across the Walt Disney World Resort.
From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com Filed Under: Behind the Scenes, Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, BtS, Imagineers, MK, Video, WDI, WDW
Fans of the Property Brothers will not want to miss this special episode of “Brother vs. Brother” as Drew and Jonathan Scott experienced the magic of the Disneyland Resort earlier this year. Tune-in to HGTV on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT as the Property Brothers compete against each other for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that only Disneyland can provide.
While visiting The Happiest Place on Earth, Drew and Jonathan also experienced classic Disneyland park attractions, such as Dumbo The Flying Elephant, Mad Tea Party and Jungle Cruise.
Fans of the show can also check out an extended look at the brothers’ time at the Disneyland Resort on HGTV’s exclusive digital series “Brother vs. Brother: Challenges Uncut.” This behind-the-scenes look of the episode will debut on HGTV’s IGTV, Facebook, website, and HGTV GO platform on Sept. 17, the day after the episode airs on TV.
HGTV superstars Drew and Jonathan Scott will stop at nothing to outdo one another and win it all in the blockbuster new season of “Brother vs. Brother,” with new episodes every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The twins—famous for their home renovation and real estate expertise—will engage in an all-out property and renovation battle in L.A.’s historic Hancock Park. Two mansions will serve as the battleground for the six-week competition to determine which renovated home will earn the highest net profit and which brother will emerge triumphant and victorious.
Don’t forget to tune-in to HGTV on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT to catch all the magic from this once-in-a-lifetime experience on “Brother vs. Brother.”
From our friends at disneyparks.disney.go.com Filed Under: Celebrity Visits, Disneyland Resort, Celebrity Visit, DLR
Today, we’re kicking off the fall season with a spooktacular treat – the launch of our first “Everything Halloween” page on the Disney Parks Blog.
The new “Everything Halloween” page is where you can find all of our Halloween stories, including updates on fall fun from Walt Disney World Resort and Disney destinations around the world, upcoming Halloween-themed Disney Magic Moments and other bewitching surprises.
The page is already filled with not-so-scary magic!
Main Street, U.S.A. at Walt Disney World Resort is now dressed in fall décor and we’re featuring stories on the decor as well as other seasonal offerings and experiences, like our Halloween-themed character cavalcade with Mickey, Minnie and pals.
Coverage also includes Disney cast members who have created extraordinary pumpkin-themed wreaths to adorn lampposts on Main Street, U.S.A. – putting you in the fall spirit when visiting.
And we’re also highlighting stories about the iconic Dapper Dans coming back to Magic Kingdom Park and performing as their undead alter egos The Cadaver Dans and details on costumes at Magic Kingdom Park during regular operating hours.
And you can expect to find even more Halloween magic coming soon, including special themed #DisneyMagicMoments you won’t want to miss. So, be sure to keep checking “Everything Halloween” daily for the latest updates.
Today marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, a time for us to celebrate the stories, cultures and contributions of Latinx individuals both inside and outside of our company. Walt Disney created Disneyland as a destination for everyone to feel welcomed. Today, our dedicated cast members are committed to ensuring that Walt’s legacy lives on by celebrating inclusivity among our cast and through the experiences we provide to our guests.
One of our talented cast members who plays a pivotal role in these efforts is Susana Tubert, Creative Director, Disney Parks Live Entertainment, who is based at the Disneyland Resort. We were fortunate to spend some time catching up with Susana about her work and some of the ways that her team has developed cultural celebrations that our guests know and love in our parks.
A Conversation with Susana Tubert
Can you tell the Disney Parks Blog readers more about your background and career journey? We know you’ve had an impressive career prior to joining Disney!
Thank you for that! Yes, one could say that my career has been a long and winding road. And yet, when I recently celebrated my seventh anniversary as Creative Director it became clear to me that all of the career opportunities I experienced prior to joining Disney prepared me for this wonderful leadership role at the Disneyland Resort.
I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I began studying dance when I was five years old and piano by age seven. Moreover, I was greatly influenced by my grandmother Cecilia, an accomplished artist – and a woman ahead of her time – who moved to Paris in the early ‘20s to study sculpture and painting with the great Masters. I must credit her fearlessness for inspiring my own!
In 1980, shortly after my family and I immigrated to the U.S., I settled in New York City with big dreams of becoming an actress, but the roles for Latinx performers back then were even more limited than they are now. So, while the search for my big break-out role continued, I trained extensively as an actor while I performed in Off-Off Broadway shows, bilingual TV commercials, and in original musicals which I wrote and composed for an experimental children’s theater company.
A decade later, eager to have more control over my life and art, I decided to reinvent myself by turning to directing. I was one of six emerging directors to be recognized with a Theater Communications Group/National Endowment for the Arts Directing Fellowship. That prestigious award led to so many incredible opportunities developing and directing award-winning plays and musicals in NYC and at major regional theaters, while I also produced and directed a short film.
In 2005, I was invited to craft the mission of a non-profit producing organization and its high-profile festival of groundbreaking theater from New York, Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain. Within a year and a half, our joint fundraising efforts paid off, as the Latino International Theater Festival of New York, Inc. had garnered support from major corporations, city and state officials, international governments, as well as media sponsors.
When in 2007 Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the inaugural TeatroStageFest, the event took the city by storm! It featured an exciting line-up of theater, dance and puppetry performances, master classes, panels, concerts, TeatroStageFamily programming and a playwriting competition for high school students. Between 2005 and 2013, I curated and executive produced seven culturally diverse festivals that reached thousands of multicultural and multigenerational folks who came together to experience “Great Theater for ALL Audiences!”
When it was time to draw the final curtain on TeatroStageFest, I chanced upon an online description of a job opening at Disney that would mark the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Four interviews later, I went from the Big Apple to the Happiest Place on Earth! I relocated to California to step into my role as Creative Director at Disneyland Resort and, as of this year, also at Walt Disney Imagineering.
We’d love to hear more about your role as Creative Director, Disney Parks Live Entertainment and what it entails.
As Creative Director, I oversee development of new entertainment concepts and shows, from the page to the stage. My role is to guide and inspire teams of hugely talented show directors, writers, designers, choreographers and composers on show content, design and execution of sets, lighting, audio, costumes, video mapping and music production. The Live Entertainment team collaborates on projects large and small, often with partners across the company such as Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios and more. The scope is ever changing and can include multimedia and fireworks spectaculars, parades, festivals, stage shows, atmosphere entertainment and character experiences, as well as special events produced together with the tremendously skilled Park Operations teams.
What are some of the new experiences you have led while in your role?
I have been fortunate to be at the creative helm of many signature entertainment offerings across the Disneyland Resort and beyond.
The team and I are really proud of the work we did on “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” and other experiences for Pixar Fest, as well as the Frozen Fun celebration, Pop-Up Disney! A Mickey Celebration in the Downtown Disney District, Disney Princess Breakfast Adventures at Napa Rose and of course, our contributions to the Disneyland Resort Diamond Celebration, to name a few.
With support from executive leadership, we’ve also had the opportunity to expand our entertainment experiences at Disney California Adventure park with inclusive and immersive cultural celebrations, including most notably, “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!,” Disney Festival of Holidays, Princess Elena’s Musical Grand Arrival, Plaza de la Familia, Lunar New Year Celebration and “Tale of the Lion King.”
In your role, you’ve led the Disney Parks Live Entertainment team in the development of new cultural celebrations that reflect the diverse guests who visit and love our parks. Can you share how you and your teams combine Disney stories with cultural relevancy to reach park audiences?
Over the past few years, Disney has produced an array of wonderful new movies and TV shows that reflect diverse cultural narratives — from “Black Panther” and “Mulan” to “Moana” and “Coco,” to name a few. What a perfect time to celebrate the universal values of these Disney stories and characters that have been traditionally underrepresented!
The first of these shows that the Live Entertainment team developed in 2013 was a Latin American holiday celebration for Disney California Adventure park that could complement its Christmas offerings. It was a great opportunity to develop a celebration that could be both culturally authentic and uniquely Disney.
“Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” invites our guests into a heartwarming Christmas street party that is hosted by Panchito from Mexico, José Carioca from Brazil, and, to the delight of everyone, Donald Duck, Mickey and Minnie who love to join their amigos in music and dance. To ensure that the show felt genuine, our team worked on infusing every aspect of the production with an authentic cultural perspective.
The vibrant Disney Festival of Holidays expands on the creativity of “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” through the inclusion of additional holiday festivities that entertain and educate – Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa and Three Kings Day, in addition to Christmas and Navidad.
Given the success of this immersive model, the Lunar New Year Celebration has also grown as it commemorates Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese traditions, and features “Mulan’s Lunar New Year Procession” with Mulan, Mushu and other beloved Disney characters, who are joined by Chinese performers.
Additionally, the Oscar-winning Disney and Pixar film “Coco” inspired Plaza de la Familia, where the everlasting bonds of family and the spirit of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated, and guests can write and post messages to their loved ones at the Tree of Life. A tribute to the film’s main character, Miguel, is recounted in “A Musical Celebration of Coco” as guests join the singing storyteller, dancing townspeople and Mariachi Divas on a journey from the Land of the Living to the Land of the Dead where Miguel gives his first performance surrounded by dancing skeletons. Last year, with the premiere of the live action film The Lion King, we developed a new adaptation of Simba’s beloved story called Tale of the Lion King. Told in the style of musical story-theater, the lead narrator Mwongozo (“guide” in Swahili) and the ensemble of 18 performers known as “Storytellers of the Pride Lands” stepped in and out of their characters to share a story that, in our own show’s mythology, had been handed down from generation to generation. Through an intensive process of research and collaboration with various cultural consultants, the show captured the spirit of African heritage through its musical arrangements, costumes, scenic elements, and props.
I am extremely proud of all the magical ways in which our Live Entertainment team brings to life these unique cultural celebrations year after year. They speak to park guests who love telling us know how moved they are to have their children see themselves reflected in our Disney stories!
And building on that last question… of all the experiences you’ve led here at Disney, what project stands out to you the most – either because it was the most challenging or the most impactful?
I would have to say that one of the most challenging and yet most rewarding projects for me was the creation of the fireworks and multi-media production “Together Forever – A Pixar Nighttime Spectacular” in 2018. It was my first time leading development of such a large-scale project. The show involved dazzling pyrotechnics in the sky, projections, special effects, a memorable musical score and a heartwarming story celebrating “friendship and beyond,” the theme of that year’s Pixar Fest at the Disneyland Resort.
From day one, the team and I knew we wanted to create an ode to the heart of Pixar. It was important for us to capture what makes Pixar films unique, and to show how they are driven by an emotional component that makes audiences fall in love with them for life! We set out to immerse guests in a full story with a beginning, middle and end, by curating a video montage that showed the five stages of friendship in so many of Pixar’s films: when characters first meet, fall in like, set out on adventures, overcome obstacles together, and in the end, forge everlasting bonds.
One of the most impactful moments of the show connected to the movie “Coco.” The moment involved a castle projection of Miguel looking up to the sky as a bridge of marigolds made from gold fireworks appeared above him. Upon strumming his guitar, Miguel and our guests found themselves transported to an immersive fiesta in the Land of the Dead where colorful skeleton townspeople partied on top of the rooftops up and down Main Street, U.S.A. It was colorful, festive, and inspired many guests to shout the traditional Mexican grito during this section of the show.
The second moment that lingers in my mind was towards the end of the spectacular. Every night, when the guests heard the first few notes of the theme song from “Up” and discovered Carl Fredricksen’s little house flying over the castle attached to a bundle of balloons, it prompted an audible gasp from the audience as the emotions overtook them. Sometimes getting right a simple and poetic moment in a show can be the hardest thing. But thanks to the dedication of John Addis, our talented show director, and the music producers, designers, and production team at large, it worked every single time!
Finally, if you could give advice to young creatives aspiring to do what you do one day, what advice would you give?
I would tell young people to first find their passion, then gain experience in multiple art forms and train to develop a solid craft, so they can be ready when opportunity knocks. I would also share the same life philosophy that my grandfather Carlos shared with me as a young girl. He taught me to persevere in the face of adversity by telling myself, “I already have the ‘no’ so I may as well go out there and look for the ‘yes’!”
With each new challenge we grow closer to the artist and individual we are meant to be. Looking back at the arc of my own career, I know that by having the courage to walk away from a “no,” I was able to pivot and either intentionally walk towards, or unexpectedly stumble upon, the next “yes!”
At Disney, creating entertainment that reflects our audiences, guests and fans from around the world is a critical part of telling the best stories. Looking ahead, as we continue to listen, learn, imagine and create, we look forward to sharing more stories of our amazing cast members who bring these important experiences to life. We also invite you to be a part of the month-long celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month as we share digital activations, #DisneyMagicMoments and more – follow along on social media using the hashtags #HispanicHeritageMonth and #DisneyFamilia!
With the release of the new Disney Editions book, “The Disney Monorail: Imagineering a Highway in the Sky,” Disneyland Resort Ambassador Justin Rapp recently had the chance to talk with two of the book’s creators, Jeff Kurtti and Paul Wolski. In the interview captured below, they gave Justin an insider’s view of the content and the context of the book, and offered a behind-the-scenes look at how it came about.
JUSTIN: I’ll start with the first step of the creative journey— How did you approach this subject as you started this project?
JEFF: The challenge, as it typically is with Disney titles, is to create a story with sufficient depth and authority or new ideas or materials to appeal to a Disney fan, but also to not leave a reader who is fresh to Disney intimidated or feeling baffled. In the books I’ve done, that’s the balance for—and a reflection of—the breadth of the Disney audience. I’m not terribly interested in statistics and data as much as I am in telling a story.
JUSTIN: That brings up an interesting point, I think. Why is the monorail so associated with Disney?
PAUL: In a way, the Monorail symbolizes Walt’s spirit of exploration, discovery and possibility—and Disney fans connect to those feelings. Disney has always treated the Monorail as a transportation and an attraction, and the story is always futuristic, optimistic—that very “Walt” idea of “progress.” A sleek and silent train of the future that you can ride today…
JUSTIN: We’ve had a Monorail operating at Disneyland for over 50 years. What was your first knowledge or experience of a Monorail growing up?
PAUL: Growing up in Florida, I knew of only “one Monorail,” and was not really aware of the evolution of the tech or of Walt’s deep commitment to it. I also knew superficially that many versions had evolved over the years, but in the book we feature a fun visual spread showing all seven “Mark” series Monorails, and include their years of operation, color schemes and notable physical features. It’s great to view and compare them in one layout.
JUSTIN: What was the origin of your story? Was this an idea that you and your co-authors brought to the table, or something else?
JEFF: We work a lot with a wonderful editor named Jennifer Eastwood, and she called one day with that “headline concept” for a book: “The Disney Monorail.” Like so many of us who are fans at heart, she remembered her childhood family vacations to Walt Disney World, and was lucky to have stayed at Disney’s Contemporary Resort almost every summer. So in Jen’s fond recollections, the Disney Monorail has a deep resonance and meaning. I think she knew a lot of other Disney fans feel that way too!
I couldn’t imagine a book that I knew would be so reliant on the collections at Walt Disney Imagineering without Vanessa Hunt as a collaborator, so I pitched that she co-author with me. Vanessa is not just deeply familiar with the Walt Disney Imagineering Art Collection; she has an aficionado’s understanding of the cultural meaning in the works—she’s a big enough fan to know what will be of the most interest. Her personal talents and art and collections experience combine for not just a skill with using the visuals to support and to advance storytelling, it’s given her a deep conscience about protecting the artists and artistic intent, and really protecting the quality of image reproduction.
Looking at how the visuals were assembling, I asked Paul to join us, and sort of “bring it all together,” which, of course, elevated the whole thing.PAUL: I’ve known Jeff for thirty years, and we’ve been good friends and colleagues, so our views are very simpatico. I was just so inspired by the story and the artwork of Disney’s monorails, and that notion of an “optimistic future,” I thought it would be so rewarding to bring together all the storytelling into a unified visual statement. Working with the vast number of images that Vanessa “curated” like an exhibit designer was a huge benefit to the overall “look” of things.
JUSTIN: No doubt one of the reasons the book is so visually stunning. It seems like every page is a kind of “reveal.” It did make me curious how you work as a trio to balance the storytelling.
JEFF: Unlike a lot of books, we all started out together. It wasn’t a procedural process where I wrote, then Vanessa picked art, then Paul did a design. We all worked in parallel to manage the storytelling in all forms, and create something where everything was harmonious.
PAUL: It also gave us three viewpoints, too, I think. We have a different experience and viewpoint on the subject. I’m a Florida kid, and Jeff was an Anaheim guy. Vanessa has her own point of view—generational and professional—on the subject.
In that way, the book begins to express itself, the work began to show, and tell us what it wanted to be, to best tell a compelling story. I think that the three of us temper and balance one another, and it enables us to create something with broader narrative and appeal.
JUSTIN: The art is truly varied and interesting, from early concepts to seemingly common things like signage and graphics.
PAUL: Vanessa assembled a gallery of WDI art pieces and photographs—many I had not seen before, and I’m sure have never been published. Several of them have been published, of course—but much of what we have seen before is from lower-quality sources such as photographic transparencies, some of them dating back to the 1980s. Vanessa insisted that all the art be from primary sources. So the art within this book even if we think we’ve seen it before, has rich resolution, focal clarity, and color accuracy that makes it new.
JEFF: I also had never really noticed how many early Disneyland design iterations, dozens of visions of various “Tomorrowlands,” feature a monorail as an expectation, as an expression of futurism. It’s there from the earliest notions of the Park.
PAUL: There’s something timeless about the Mark I design, as well as earlier depictions of futuristic travel that featured rounded curves and orbs. Now it’s a kind of retro style that has become an aesthetic that represents modern design
JUSTIN: That “Tomorrowland” vibe extends to the overall book design. I sensed inspiration from attraction posters, for instance…
PAUL: Regarding the attraction posters, the design of those graphics led me to really study the bold and clean graphic styling of the great Disney art director Paul Hartley. It resulted in a book that at once feels vintage and current.
Vanessa gave me a ton of reference—the WDI Collection houses scores of Hartley’s works for Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and the 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair. Posters, signage, tram cards and print collateral graphics were his forte. He was so prolific. His work in magazine and book design was the key resource for me. I looked through issues of “Mickey Mouse Club Magazine” and its successor, “Walt Disney’s Magazine,” published from 1955-1959, and the books Hartley art directed.
JUSTIN: Can you tell me something in the book that you’re particularly excited about?
PAUL: An idea that came about at the very last minute had to do with this really glorious huge 76″ x 32″ EPCOT concept rendering, created in 1975 by award- winning production designer John DeCuir, Sr. The dynamic width of the piece made it really hard to present without cropping it. It broke my heart to have to lose it. Then our editor suggested putting it at full-width on the inside of the dust jacket, as an “easter egg” for readers.
JUSTIN: That’s terrific. Thank you for sharing some insight on how these great Disney Editions books come about. I’m always fascinated to know how Disney projects are made—that “backstage” view is a big part of Disney culture!
