WDW Daily News

David Boreanaz (“Bones,” “Angel”), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead,” Boondock Saints), Matt Smith and Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who,”), Katie Cassidy (“Arrow”), William Shatner (“Star Trek,” “T.J. Hooker”) and comics legend Stan Lee are among the celebrities scheduled to attend Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, August 21-24 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.It is largest and longest-running of the 16 events in the 2014 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) and will also feature a top-drawer collection of well-known comics artists and writers and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions.

Reedus and Cassidy are scheduled to appear on Saturday and Sunday, August 23-24; Boreanaz and Shatner will attend on Friday and Saturday, August 22-23; Smith and Gillan are set for Saturday only; and Lee will be on site Friday through Sunday.

Popular celebrities on the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con roster include a host of “The Walking Dead” cast members, including Reedus, Danai Gurira, Scott Wilson, Sarah Wayne Callies and Michael Rooker.

Wrestling fans are geared for the appearance of five WWE standouts, including WWE® Superstars John Cena®, Batista™ and Bray Wyatt™, WWE® Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino™ and WWE® Diva Paige™.

“Star Trek: The Next Generation” enthusiasts are in for a special treat as six of its stars reunite for a unique celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the program’s final episode. The “TNG” bridge crew of Jonathan Frakes (“Commander William T. Riker”), Levar Burton (“Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge”), Michael Dorn (“Lieutenant Worf”), Marina Sirtis (“Counselor Deanna Troi”), Brent Spiner (“Lt. Commander Data”), and Gates McFadden (“Dr. Beverly Crusher”) relive the memories of the program’s seven-year run. Shatner will also host a special panel with the six on Sunday, August 24 from 5-6:45 p.m.

Others attending the Midwest’s largest pop culture festival include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Peter Criss (“KISS”), Anthony Mackie (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Million Dollar Baby), Evan Peters and Booboo Stewart ofX-Men: Days of Future Past, John Carpenter (Director, Halloween), Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness, Evil Dead), James Marsters (“Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” “Torchwood”), Nicole Beharie (“Sleepy Hollow,” 42), Elvira (“Mistress of the Dark”), Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”), J. August Richards (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) and Lou Ferrigno (“The Incredible Hulk,” “The King of Queens”).

Superstar comics creators scheduled to attend include Neal Adams (“Batman,” “Green Lantern”), Leinel Yu (“Hulk,” “Wolverine”), Rafael Albuquerque (“Superboy,” “American Vampire”), Salvador Larroca (“Avengers vs. X-Men,” “Captain America”), Jim Cheung (“Iron Man,” “Fantastic Four”), Emanuela Lupacchino (“Thor,” “World’s Finest”), Mike Zeck (“Spider-Man,” “Punisher”), Marv Wolfman (“DCU Online,” “Crisis on Infinite Earths”), Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “Army of Darkness”), Greg Horn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Avengers”) and many others.

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Wizard World Chicago Comic Con show hours are Thursday, August 21, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, August 22, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, August 23, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, August 24, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place all three days at the event, with celebrity Q&A’s, the Wizard World Film Festival, comics-themed sessions, costume contest, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Sunday, June 1, is also Kids Day, with an array of activities and programming specially designed for the younger Wizard World fans.

For our wedding anniversary this year, my husband and I decided to take the Backstage Magic tour that brings guests backstage at all four of the parks at Walt Disney World. The tour lasts all day, and we had a blast! We visited many locations on the tour, but our two favorite spots were the American Adventure and Central Shops.
We have viewed the American Adventure many times, but for the tour, we had the rare opportunity to go underneath the stage and see how all of the pieces of this show work. The show scenes are all in several giant lifts that safely and silently move them into place during the 28 minute show. We also learned that the films are projected via rear projection so that there is no need for a projector in the theater area. It was amazing to see how this attraction works. All of the animatronics are created with so much detail that it is hard to believe they are not real people. We learned that a third host for the show was considered. Mark Twain and Ben Franklin could have been joined by Will Rogers, but WDI discovered by polling guests that very few people knew who Will Rogers was. Therefore, WDI stuck with the two original hosts for the show. Also, all of the wigs that are made for the animatronics are actually made of real human hair! Our guide, Michael, also shared that Ben Franklin was the first animatronic ever to walk. In his scene with Thomas Jefferson, Mr. Franklin walks up stairs. Just to see all of these characters moving as well as the details in each scene was pretty amazing!

Our other favorite stop on the tour was Central Shops, which is located behind Magic Kingdom next to the railroad roundhouse. This giant building is where all of the magic happens! This building houses all of the projects that WDW is working at any given time. There are ride vehicles in various states of completion as well as animatronics and character costumes. There is an entire room devoted just to making signs for every park. We learned that two of the monorails were built at Central Shops, and all of the wood in the Grand Floridian lobby was assembled at Central Shops. Basically, if you enjoy seeing how things are made and how the magic is brought to life, then Central Shops is a place you should visit. This tour is the only way for non Central Shops cast members to be allowed admittance.

While the above two stops were our favorite, we did visit some other backstage locations at Creative Costuming in Hollywood Studios, the maintenance bay for the vehicles at Tower of Terror as well as the utilidors at Magic Kingdom. Lunch at the Whispering Canyon Cafe was provided as part of the experience. The tour started at 8:45 am, and it didn’t end until a little after 4:00 in the evening. We really enjoyed ourselves, and it was a fantastic wedding anniversary.

This day long tour is expensive; it costs over $200 a person, and photos are strictly prohibited in backstage areas. We felt it was worth the price for all that we were able to see during the day. Hopefully, we can take more of these types of specialty tours in the future! Until next time, have a magical day and keep moving forward!