News Destination D23 2023

[Figments Friend]

I love having the Muppets but couldn't they have found something for the performers to hide behind?

This.

There was time when Disney strived to ‘preserve the magic’…and having the Muppets’ operators visible during the live stage presentation at the actual event was jarring.
I sat in that room with the event audience and was honestly very surprised they chose not to hide the performers.

For children in the audience this must have been a little confusing….those that believed they were ‘real’ ended up getting a rude awakening.

But then again, even Jim Henson himself had no issues with the puppeteers being visible in certain situations.
Perhaps the D23 folks felt the fan audience would enjoy seeing a ‘behind the scenes’ opportunity to watch the puppeteers in action.
I am thinking this was likely the case…..

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[TTA94]

Interesting some of the things that are not that far away which were still not mentioned today.

Assuming it was anything exciting, wishful thinking one of them was a parade lol, Do you expect us to hear about these things in the coming weeks, months?

 

[Figments Friend]

I looked it up. There's 26 packs of 4 pins for that entire collection at $100 each. They might just be buying the whole series. That's seriously a lot of pins for just single series.

Mickey’s of Glendale Pin Catalog for Destination D23 2023 - Disney Pins Blog

Here is a look at the Mickey’s of Glendale Pin Catalog for Destination D23 2023! Releasing at Walt Disney World.

disneypinsblog.com

You may be right….they may have just purchased the whole collection, each of them.
Bag must have weighed like 60 pounds with all that metal!


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[Figments Friend]

You're a puppeteer, how neat. I took my nephew and niece when they were young to a production of Rudolph at Christmas one year and I thought they had recorded all the voices, but it was the actors doing all of the puppets and voice work. I'll bet you have a lot of fun doing that. And so cool with the original puppets from the Lion King. I've seen the production a few times and were totally enamored by it.

Thanks!
I have built and operated my own puppet characters for over 40 years now….mostly string puppets / marionettes but also some other more complicated types.


‘Legend of The Lion King’ was a very cool show.
Here is a great behind the scenes video shot by a CM back in the day to document how these figures were operated live by various puppeteers.
These were very talented folks, as were the people who built these fabulous puppets based on the Lion King characters.

This video clip also features the puppets that were on display at Destination D, so you can see them in action!
These are amazing creations.

Normally I would not try to ‘ruin the magic’, but since the Show no longer is in production this is a relic of the past that I am glad was documented in this way.





For those not familiar with this staged show that used to be at Magic Kingdom, here is a decent video of the entire show.
This gives you what the audience saw, and once again you can see the hyenas and good ol’ Pumbaa in action!





Here are a couple more photos I snapped at Destination D of these figures, very close up to show the paint detailing.

 

[KikoKea]

So, Stitch area remains empty of a ride, crowd-favorites street entertainers aren't returning, SE clanks along with an embarrassingly dusty descent, Imagination and Seas are but shadows of their former glorious selves, SM rattles too much and the Yeti can't move at all, but don't worry 'cause there's a new bar coming to MK!

 

[Figments Friend]

Holy **** the audience is not having it

Having attended the event, yeah, the audience was a bit meh during several moments.
The Parks panel was kinda meh….but folks sure got happy when that purple dragon bounced out.

Next to Bill Farmers’ rendition of Dreamfinder’s voice, I think that is the loudest I heard the crowd respond during any of the panels that I saw in person.
Jodi Benson received a really nice welcome from the crowd too…

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[Figments Friend]

The only person who had their s*it together was the sign language interpreter.

You noticed this too??

Half the time I was watching them while in attendence during the panels.
They were terrific, and made it more exciting then it was during some moments.



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[Rhinocerous]

So, Stitch area remains empty of a ride, crowd-favorites street entertainers aren't returning, SE clanks along with an embarrassingly dusty descent, Imagination and Seas are but shadows of their former glorious selves, SM rattles too much and the Yeti can't move at all, but don't worry 'cause there's a new bar coming to MK!

What I’m hearing is ‘they need a Dyson sponsorship.’

 

[Figments Friend]

Sorry, I am just now getting a chance to go back and read all the posts from this weekend….

…..and …..


OMG - that STARE from Josh is absolutely, unsettlingly, terrifyingly disturbing!



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[Rodj]

So, Stitch area remains empty of a ride, crowd-favorites street entertainers aren't returning, SE clanks along with an embarrassingly dusty descent, Imagination and Seas are but shadows of their former glorious selves, SM rattles too much and the Yeti can't move at all, but don't worry 'cause there's a new bar coming to MK!

I’m willing to put some of this blame on TDO, especially after getting confirmation that they were responsible for some of the current issues on ToT in the past few years and hardly any show effect maintenance being done.

 

[TP2000]

Maybe we’ll get a new show later. I mean the Epcot ending no longer fits but they probably don’t care

I doubt Josh even knows that it changed. Or that it may look weird to 2024 paying audiences.

Josh is merely a Pepsodent Smile in an empty suit at this point, and he apparently knows very little about the Parks.

Soarin' Over California doesn't really make sense at EPCOT.

Ideally it's a temporary change while they create a new world movie that fixes the terrible CGI.

You are right, Soarin' Over California doesn't really make sense at EPCOT. But then, California is really the only state where you could do this sort of film and get that huge range of geography and topography and climate and icons, from man made to God made, all in one state. With maybe a lesser version available for the other West Coast states of Oregon or Washington.

But anywhere east of the Rockies isn't going to be able to offer anything close to that while staying within the same state.

And Soarin' Over Florida would just be a short film of pancake-flat views that look far less impressive from the air than they do from the ground.

Until Disney/WDI actually does a full Soarin' Over America, the next best thing is Soarin' Over California. And I say that as a long-term Californian who had to abandon that state last year because it's become so unbearable to live in.

Disney needs to step up, spend some of the cash they've been wasting on their giant box office flops all year, and film a new Soarin' Over America film for both Epcot and DCA. A Soarin' film of the USA would be accepted wildly and willingly by the paying audiences in both parks, I am sure.

 

[KikoKea]

I’m willing to put some of this blame on TDO, especially after getting confirmation that they were responsible for some of the current issues on ToT in the past few years and hardly any show effect maintenance being done.

Ignoring neglected maintenance needs always comes back to bite them. Bad show, indeed!

 

[FigmentFan82]

Sorry, I am just now getting a chance to go back and read all the posts from this weekend….

…..and …..


OMG - that STARE from Josh is absolutely, unsettlingly, terrifyingly disturbing!



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He literally looks like a muppet in that picture. I think you can even see a bit of Iger's hand

 

[Figments Friend]

Unpacking now from an eventful visit…and realized I forgot to include this when I was sharing photos of all the free swag they gave out to attendees during the event.

This special issue of the official D23 magazine…with a sparkly, iridescent cover.
I think it was mentioned this was exclusive for the Event…but so much was going on in my head I can’t recall the exact details.

Pretty cool giveaway however.
Looks even better in person with the color shifting accents!

 

[Figments Friend]

I doubt Josh even knows that it changed. Or that it may look weird to 2024 paying audiences.

Josh is merely a Pepsodent Smile in an empty suit at this point, and he apparently knows very little about the Parks.



You are right, Soarin' Over California doesn't really make sense at EPCOT. But then, California is really the only state where you could do this sort of film and get that huge range of geography and topography and climate and icons, from man made to God made, all in one state. With maybe a lesser version available for the other West Coast states of Oregon or Washington.

But anywhere east of the Rockies isn't going to be able to offer anything close to that while staying within the same state.

And Soarin' Over Florida would just be a short film of pancake-flat views that look far less impressive from the air than they do from the ground.

Until Disney/WDI actually does a full Soarin' Over America, the next best thing is Soarin' Over California. And I say that as a long-term Californian who had to abandon that state last year because it's become so unbearable to live in.

Disney needs to step up, spend some of the cash they've been wasting on their giant box office flops all year, and film a new Soarin' Over America film for both Epcot and DCA. A Soarin' film of the USA would be accepted wildly and willingly by the paying audiences in both parks, I am sure.

This, 100%.

If not a film focused on America, then perhaps another ‘Around The World’ effort but not so CGI enhanced.
Just show the beautiful views from around the world…and make it exclusive to Epcot.
Would be nice.

‘Soarin’ Over California’ needs to be brought back to DCA and stay there.
Fits perfectly, and it’s the better of the two films.
I get that ‘Around The World’ fits the Epcot theme better, so I can understand it being placed there.
It needs a refresh however…perhaps after they finally finish the central hub behind Spaceship Earth.
They need to reshoot that ending anyway since the scene in the film is now somewhat dated.

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[Figments Friend]

Here are some more photos I snapped when visiting the 60 Years of Innovation display at the event, which focused on the history of WED / WDI Animatronic technology.

Small room with a small selection of exhibits, but what was there I was very glad to have the opportunity to see up close and personal.
As a big animatronics fan, this was one of three things I really wanted to experience.

 

[aladdin2007]

Thanks!
I have built and operated my own puppet characters for over 40 years now….mostly string puppets / marionettes but also some other more complicated types.


‘Legend of The Lion King’ was a very cool show.
Here is a great behind the scenes video shot by a CM back in the day to document how these figures were operated live by various puppeteers.
These were very talented folks, as were the people who built these fabulous puppets based on the Lion King characters.

This video clip also features the puppets that were on display at Destination D, so you can see them in action!
These are amazing creations.

Normally I would not try to ‘ruin the magic’, but since the Show no longer is in production this is a relic of the past that I am glad was documented in this way.





For those not familiar with this staged show that used to be at Magic Kingdom, here is a decent video of the entire show.
This gives you what the audience saw, and once again you can see the hyenas and good ol’ Pumbaa in action!





Here are a couple more photos I snapped at Destination D of these figures, very close up to show the paint detailing.


View attachment 742668





View attachment 742669





View attachment 742671

would have been great if that show could have been moved to AK as an attraction, festival of the lion king or no festival of the lion king....this one would have been really nice to still see going.

 

[Figments Friend]

More photos I snapped from the Animatronics display.

Some gems for sure.

‘Bubbles’ from what I am assuming was one of the two figures located at Disneyland’s version of ‘Country Bear Jamboree’.

Control rack underneath the above figure of Bubbles…
Each cylinder controls one movement, labeled above in a numbered sequence.
Having worked with animatronic figures, this was cool to see up close.

Pneumatic hand mechs from the late 1980s / early 1990s
Would love to know if these were used for specific figures or if these are just working test models.

Shedding a tear here….
On the left is what is left of WDW’s Auctioneer Pirate from PoTC.
On the right is a more modern head mech prototype built for Shanghai’s Davy Jones in the same Attraction.

 

[Figments Friend]

would have been great if that show could have been moved to AK as an attraction, festival of the lion king or no festival of the lion king....this one would have been really nice to still see going.

As much as I would enjoy that as well, I have doubts today’s Disney would want to pay for all of those live performers.

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[TP2000]

‘Soarin’ Over California’ needs to be brought back to DCA and stay there.
Fits perfectly, and it’s the better of the two films.

I agree. But what really needs to happen is to make an updated California version. The skylines of San Diego and Los Angeles and San Francisco have all changed dramatically in the past 25 years, for example.

Time to redo this concept for both coasts; an updated California version for DCA and a more genuine World version for Epcot. That is, if they're really as dedicated to it as they say they are. Or is Josh just using more of his cheap words again with his winning smile?