The countdown has begun to the 20th anniversary of the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 13, 2013, and not surprisingly, our runDisney folks are hard at work putting their creative juices together to come up with some fun new twists for the race. Check out this video for all of the new details about the fun enhancements to the 26.2-mile course that will go through the four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks — and a few other places you probably never dreamed about.
To most, the numbers were shocking: The Avengers opened to a staggering $207.4 million domestic, coupled with $447.4 million overseas in just 12 days of release. When The Hollywood Reporter polled film executives and agents for insight into how Marvel and distributor Disney pulled off a record-breaking weekend, a few clear reasons emerged:
1. A Five-Year Marketing Plan
Avengers benefited from something no movie had before: It has been marketed to audiences since Iron Man first appeared at Comic-Con in 2007. When that movie became a surprise hit in May 2008 with a $98.6 million opening weekend, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige quickly unveiled his intention to make four more movies -- The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America — all of which would lead to a giant team-up. Avengers characters like Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) popped up in those movies, and the original Iron Man featured a coda segment devoted to the Avengers initiative. At the time, only comic-book fanboys understood the reference.
Disney’s latest Broadway musical Newsies, which was scheduled to close on August 19, has scored an open-ended run, the company announced today. The current cast is scheduled to stay with the production.
After a wildly successful three-week-only run at New Jersey’s Paper Mill Playhouse in September 2011, Disney brought the stage adaptation of the flop 1992 movie of the same name — which tells the story of the newboys strike of 1899 when paperboys across New York City formed a union to demand fair compensation from publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer – to Broadway earlier this year, and it opened on March 15 for a limited engagement.
Be among the first to experience how “The Happiest Place on Earth” just got happier! As a D23 Member, you and a guest have the opportunity to attend preview events on June 9 or June 10.
Our friends at Disneyland Resort have opened up a limited number of tickets for D23 Members to experience the re-imagined and expanded Disney California Adventure Park, including a preview of Cars Land and Buena Vista Street. While these extraordinary additions open on June 15 to the general public, D23 Members have the chance to attend one of two special days of previews on June 9 or 10. Each date offers three windows of time to experience Cars Land and Buena Vista Street (see sidebar for times). Plus D23 has obtained a very limited number of tickets to enjoy dinner during the evening experience at the Carthay Circle Restaurant.
Cars Land expands Disney California Adventure by 12 acres and immerses guests in the thrilling world of the Disney•Pixar blockbuster Cars. Guests will feel as if they have stepped into the town of Radiator Springs as they enjoy three family attractions showcasing characters and settings from the movie, plus Cars-themed dining and shopping locations such as Flo’s V8 Café, Ramone’s House of Body Art, and Radiator Springs Curios.
Starting June 15, guests will enter Disney California Adventure along Buena Vista Street, a place that transports them to an era when Walt Disney arrived with new dreams in California: 1920s Los Angeles. Buena Vista Street features Red Car Trolleys, inspired by the transportation system that once served Southern California, and the Carthay Circle Theatre, modeled after the site of the 1937 world premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Dinner at Carthay Circle Restaurant includes a three-course meal featuring modern cuisine that pays tribute to the bold and diverse flavors of Southern California, and a special wine presentation.
To celebrate these previews and the grand reopening of Disney California Adventure, the Disneyland Resort is spreading the happiness by donating a total of $500,000 to Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and the Anaheim Community Foundation.
Saturday, June 9
| Price | Time | Experience |
| $50 | 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street |
| $50 | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street |
| $75 | 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, with a private World of Color viewing afterward |
OR
Sunday, June 10
| Price | Time | Experience |
| $50 | 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street |
| $50 | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street |
| $75 | 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, with a private World of Color viewing afterward |
| $500 | 6 p.m. – 11 p.m. | Cars Land, Buena Vista Street, Dinner in Carthay Circle Restaurant, and private World of Color viewing, Carthay Circle Restaurant |
When Disney announced nearly three years ago that it had agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment for $4.3 billion, some in the industry and on Wall Street fretted that the price was too high, given that it represented a 29 percent premium on a stock that already was trading near a 52-week high. Shares of Disney fell 3 percent that day, and Standard & Poor’s placed the company’s credit rating on its negative watch list.
“There was a huge amount of pessimism” about the deal, recalls Tony Wible of Janney Capital Markets. “Now it looks like Disney might have underpaid.”
Marvel’s The AvengersLive Wallpaper Android personalization app, created by Cellfish, has been downloaded 1.3 million times, driven by the massive success of Marvel Studios’ blockbuster movie.
“We’re thrilled with fans’ response to our Marvel’s The Avengers Live Wallpaper app for Android. Clearly, people want to carry a little bit of the movie experience with them all the time, and our personalization options have responded to that need”
“We’re thrilled with fans’ response to our Marvel’s The Avengers Live Wallpaper app for Android. Clearly, people want to carry a little bit of the movie experience with them all the time, and our personalization options have responded to that need,” said Julien Mitelberg, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Cellfish.
The free version of Marvel’s The Avengers Live Wallpaper app features Hulk and Thor, as well as the Super Hero team’s iconic logo displayed against an animated backdrop with lighting, smoke effects, and sky movement, with fun options like a “screen crack” message and call alert. Premium versions allow users to add all of the Avengers characters to the scene, and unlock more individual character wallpapers such as Iron Man and Captain America. In addition, the premium versions include ringtones of audio clips from the film, and soundboard effects, where when users tap a character they hear phrases from the film. The premium Live Wallpaper & ringtone bundle is now available for only $1.99. Marvel’s The Avengers Live Wallpaper app for Android is available here: http://bit.ly/IIcyUg
UPDATE: All confirmation emails have been sent to accepted participants. Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog for news on future meet-ups and events.
UPDATE: All attendees have been selected for the Disney Parks Blog Cars Land Meet-Up, and confirmation emails are being sent now. A list of attendees will not be posted here, so please be sure to add meetups@disney.go.com to your email contacts to prevent communications being blocked.
You’ve been asking for a Cars Land meet-up, and now is your chance to be among the first guests to see Cars Land for yourself at our next Disney Parks Blog meet-up! Come with us as the lead Imagineers on Cars Land take 66 participants (see what we did there?) for a walking tour of Cars Land at Disney California Adventure park on Tuesday, May 29.
While Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have already planned a sequel to “The Avengers”, director Joss Whedon is still not sure whether he would reprise his helming duty or not. Still, the New York-born filmmaker admitted that he already has some “cool” idea for the follow-up movie.
Speaking to Los Angeles Times’ Hero Complex about his possible return to “The Avengers 2″, Whedon said, “You know, I’m very torn.” He added, “It’s an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else’s story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool.”
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Epcot guests will transform into secret agents to help Agent P thwart some of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s most daring plots. Agents will use a high tech detection device called a “F.O.N.E.” or Field Operative Notification Equipment to receive clues for each case. Solving the clues will take agents to different places throughout seven World Showcase countries at Epcot – Mexico Pavilion, France Pavilion, Germany Pavilion, Norway Pavilion, Japan Pavilion, China Pavilion and the United Kingdom Pavilion. Agents will scour each country for clues, evil “Inators,” and – with a little bit of luck – help Agent P defeat Dr. Doofenshmirtz.
The current Disney Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure will close this Friday, May 18.
Check out these photos of the new Cars inspired monorails at Disneyland in advance of Cars Land Grand Opening on June 15. WDW Daily News will be there to cover the event live so make sure to stop back for more coverage.
