The spectacular exhibit will feature imagery, costumes, props, set pieces and more, many displayed publicly for the first time by the Walt Disney Archives

BURBANK, Calif. – May 9, 2013 – D23: The Official Disney Fan Club and the Walt Disney Archives are proud to announce the return of the “Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives” exhibit to the D23 Expo. During the D23 Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center, August 9 – 11, 2013, this all-new exhibit curated specifically for the D23 Expo 2013 will feature: the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins, ABC’s hit television series Once Upon A Time, and a look at the longstanding connection between Disney and L. Frank Baum’s beloved series of books about the land of Oz.

“Treasures” will showcase a selection of crown jewels from the Walt Disney Archives Collection, many of which will be displayed publicly for the first time by the Archives. As the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins approaches, the Archives will be presenting a wide array of pieces from the Academy Award®-winning 1964 film including concept art and matte paintings, Mary and Bert’s carousel horses, the snow globe from the “Feed the Birds” sequence, costumes worn by many of the central characters and the recently acquired carpet bag, which Mary carries with her when she arrives at the Banks’ household. Also part of the exhibit will be the Fan Art Gallery, themed to Mary Poppins. D23 Members were invited to submit their work as part of the D23 Expo Fan Art Contest, and the winners’ colorful creations will be displayed in this year’s gallery.

On the heels of the global success of Oz The Great and Powerful, the Archives is proud to assemble artifacts illustrating Disney’s long association with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. Highlights include a costume from 1957’s “Rainbow Road to Oz”—a segment from The Fourth Anniversary Show, which celebrated Walt’s four years on television, starring many of the Mickey Mouse Club’s Mouseketeers—as well as concept art from unrealized attractions and Disney Studio productions. Also featured are props and costume pieces from 1985’s Return to Oz including the Tik-Tok puppet, “Powder of Life” tin, and Dorothy’s costume and slippers. And, of course, there will be an assortment of costumes from this year’s Oz The Great and Powerful.

Now finishing its second hit season, Once Upon A Time has become a huge hit among Disney fans for its ability to remain true to many of Disney’s classic stories while expanding their worlds with a modern twist. The Archives is honored to be presenting a selection of elegantly designed costumes from the show.

The D23 Expo 2013 will also feature the Disney Legends Awards—a tradition that pays tribute to the talented men and women who have made indelible contributions to the Disney legacy; the return of the D23 Expo Dream Store, featuring a wide selection of unique merchandise; an expanded Collectors Forum, where Disney fans can buy, sell and trade Disney collectibles, memorabilia and merchandise—and this year’s Forum will also include the worlds of Marvel and Star Wars—plus amazing live events, special celebrity appearances, panels and presentations and unique experiences from every corner of Disney, from upcoming feature film and television sneak peeks to what’s new and what’s next from our theme parks around the world.

Will you be attending the Expo? What do you most look forward to?  Have you been to an Expo in the past?  What was your favorite part?  Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post “TREASURES OF THE WALT DISNEY ARCHIVES” RETURNS TO THE D23 EXPO appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

With ticket in-hand, we started the 1-hour drive to Boston, giddy as can be. Kevin and I went with my parents, and the whole drive up my mom kept asking if we were excited, then when we said “YES!” she would say, “No you aren’t, because I’m more excited!” My parents are big Disney fans, too, so I guess it runs in the family.

On with the event!

We arrived a bit early, which was fine. The event was being held in a theater at a”fancy” hotel, the Revere Hotel. I didn’t really know what to expect, but assumed there would be a lot of booths and places to buy merchandise, like an Expo, but there wasn’t anything except a waiting room. We walked in and reassuringly saw a Disney banner with Genie letting us

know we were in the right place. Two friendly and cheery cast members welcomed us and gave us our pins, a flip book with 2 scenes from Frankenweenie (one of my favorite movies), and 2 movie art promo books, called “For Your Considerations” for Brave and Wreck it Ralph! Already, I thought, “I would pay more than $35 for all of this, even without the rest of the night’s event!”

The cast members really made me feel like I was in WDW. I wish I would have gotten a picture with them or asked them what they usually do for Disney, but I was way too excited for the event to start! I was quite surprised and extremely happy to hear a familiar voice call out my name! It was Betty and Dave from The Box! You may know them from their screen names: DaveBell and BettyMercier. I met them in person at the WDWRadio Dream Cruise 2.0 this past November and it was so great to see them again! That’s what I love so much about this community, we are all already friends, whether we’ve met yet, or not!

We entered the theater when it was time, and the second unexpected thing was realized: there were a lot less people than I expected! I saw that the event was sold out online before we left, but the theater was small and intimate. It was a plus, in my opinion. Yes, it would have been nice if more people could have the opportunity to buy tickets, but having fewer people there made me feel more special. It was as if the show was just for me, and I would be learning this secret information that no one else knew yet!

The show was introduced and we were reminded that we couldn’t take any photos, videos, or audio recordings once it started. Our show hosts then came out: Billy Stanek, D23.com editor, and Justin Arthur, Archives Collections Specialist at The Walt Disney Studios. They started out the show with a shout-out from anyone who tweeted that they would be at the show. I was 1 of the 3 people they shouted out to, of course, and I embarrassingly said “Woo!” when they called my name. And as with the beginning of all Disney attractions, an announcement came over the loud speaker telling us the theater would be moving backwards (into Disney history) and made a joke about pin lanyards.

Throughout the show, Billy and Justin went back and forth introducing different anniversaries, working from 1923, the start of the Walt Disney Company which is at it’s 90th Anniversary this year, all the way to the start of Animal Kingdom, Disney Cruise Line, and Mulan, from 1998, making this year their 15th Anniversary! Between each introduction from this duo, we saw pictures, audio clips, and film from what they were talking about. Most of it was footage rarely seen or heard!

Here are some notable points and facts from the presentation:

• This year marks Mickey’s 85th Birthday
• Disney Legend, Ub Iwerks would produce roughly 700 drawings per day! The average animator today produces about 82 a week!
• John Hench was the official portrait artist of Mickey Mouse for his Birthday portraits. We watched a clip of him speaking about the birthday portraits and he said that he painted this portrait (to the right) of Mickey with long pants instead of his usual shorts because, “he should have long pants by now.” The whole theater laughed at that, and we all sighed at the end of his interview when he got teary eyed and told Mickey Mouse, “I learned to love you a lot.”
• We watched a commercial called “The Collector,” which reminded me a lot of all of us. It was of a man who collected everything Disney, from an alarm clock, to Mickey ears on the top of his car!
• We watched rare footage depicting how Walt, Frank Churchill, and crew came up with the song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
• True Life Adventures brought on some interesting video segments, including “Scorpion Dance,” (watch it on YouTube, if you can) which was… weird… If you haven’t seen it, the clip is footage of 2 scorpions edited to look like they are doing a barn dance. We also watched a clip of a duck sliding on ice into a group of other ducks. The scene cut out right before the duck fully crashed into the rest of the others. Seeing this, Walt kept asking the film makers where the rest of the footage was. They explained over and over that they shut off the camera before it happened and the footage didn’t exist. Walt wasn’t impressed and told them to find the rest of the footage. After an exhausted attempt with no luck on finding the non-existent footage, the film makers made a trip up to Minnesota and filmed ducks there. Knowing that this opportunity wouldn’t naturally happen again, the film makers literally picked up ducks and slid them into the other ducks! When Walt saw the footage, he said, “I knew you had it.” Hah!
• Peter Pan‘s 60th Anniversary was introduced with the help of the Magic Mirror, which lead into a segment with a 3D depiction of a spinning Tinkerbell, by Marc Davis, which might not seem impressive until you realize it was drawn, frame by frame, without the aid of computer graphics.
• Ben and Me (60th Anniversary) and Hocus Pocus (20th Anniversary) had ties to Massachusetts! This was a great shout-out for our Boston-crowd!
• It was the 55th Anniversary for the Columbia ship replica, which used to sail around the Rivers of America, is now used in Disneyland’s Fantasmic as Captain Hook’s  ship!
• With the 50th Anniversary of Summer’s Magic, they showed a poster of the movie which displayed Richard and Robert Sherman’s names. It was a great opportunity to talk about them, but they didn’t. I had high hopes though, because next they talked about the 50th Anniversary of the Tiki Room, and I thought for sure we would hear about our guest from the Dream Cruise, but no luck. It was finally when they mentioned Meet the World, that our dear friend was finally mentioned!
• Tony Baxter spoke of the 30th Anniverary of the original New Fantasyland in Disneyland. He said it was scary because when they dismantled the old Fantasyland, the Fantasyland Theater was laying on the ground with the lights that were supposed to hang up around it laying around in the dirt. The timer for the lights was activated and all of a sudden, all of the lights were on. He said to the others working on the project (and of course, I am always paraphrasing here), “This is the heart of Disneyland!… What have we done!?” In this interview, he said that all the love and attention that they originally put into Storybookland is what they think the original Imagineers would have wanted to do full scale if they had the budget to do it at the time and that what they were doing with the New Fantasyland would be fulfilling that wish.
• We watched a promo for Horizons. I know all of you Horizons fans would have loved it! I was never able to experience it, though.
• We were showed a Maelstrom promo photo and our hosts pointed out that the actors were staring in amazement at a wall, which anyone who actually rode it could discover… hah!
• Tim Burton worked on a project called Hansel and Gretel which only aired once because it freaked the executives out a little too much!
• We saw Disney’s Animal Kingdom‘s original carousel idea, which you might remember from this past blog post. The idea was ex-ed because it was too glitzy to fit into AK’s conservation message.
• It was great to learn about the animator’s 3 week trip to China to do research for Mulan!
• And of course, Disney Cruise Line was mentioned since this year marks the 15th Anniversary! It’s a special place for our WDWRadio family!

Highlights of the show (for me, anyway):

• We saw a Tokyo Disneyland Commercial from 1983. It may have been one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. It includes Mickey Mouse in a line with a small group of men and woman, doing such ridiculous choreographed, synchronized dance moves. That wasn’t even the best part. They were singing “I’m Walking Right Down the Middle of Main St. USA,” in Japanese, in an empty theme park. I guess you probably had to see it to think it was funny, though, but the whole theater was cracking up in their seats!
• The Alice in Wonderland Attraction dedication video topped the hilarity of the Tokyo Disneyland video, but for a different reason. Have you ever seen what the 1958 version of Mickey Mouse in the theme parks looked like? Sorry if I am about to scar you for life, but here it is:I didn’t want to have to show you that, but it was necessary for you to understand that we watched that face ride with “Alice” and Walt in a 2 minute-or-so video. To top it off, the bunny character with them had a mask that didn’t cover the back of his head, so a full head of hair and bare neck was poking out, and that key Walt is taking from Alice… well only one side is painted and it was flopping all over the place. Hilarious commentary during the clip was done by our hosts Billy and Justin, such as, “The next clip we are about to see is funny… well, more like.. creepy,” “That kind of looks like the rabbit from Donnie Darko,” and, (in reference to the rabbit) “His roots are showing.”
• Welcome to Pooh Corner was mentioned because of the 30th Anniversary of the Disney Channel. This was one of my favorite shows growing up!
• During the Nightmare Before Christmas portion of the show, Disney Archives Specialist Justin Arthur slipped on a pair of white gloves and uncovered what was hiding under a black sheet. From under it he pulled out an original prop from the movie! It was a jack-o-lantern! I was super excited! There was a hole underneath to put in a light to light it up when necessary, and it was made of foam and rubber. We were able to take a picture of it after the show!

• During the pumpkin reveal, he also pulled out the gaucho doll that Walt was given as a gift during his trip to South America! It was made from felt, with a tag on the arm that said “To: Walt Disney” and it was still in great condition. I wasn’t able to get a picture of this, but here is one I found from D23′s website! Does the doll look like Walt? Because it is supposed to be a caricature of him!

If there are still tickets available to an upcoming D23 Fanniversary in your city, you MUST go! You’ll be happy you did!

Angie has been a WDW addict since her first visit at age 8, and since then her life has never been the same! She lives in southeastern MA with her boyfriend, Kevin (fellow Disney lover), and their 3 dogs, Flip, Josie, and Hildy, where she is currently training to become a professional dog trainer.  Please join Angie every week in “Fish Are Friends, Not Food: Eating Vegan in WDW!” Angie believes that WDW is the most magical place for people with special diets, so, should you have any special diet questions (especially about vegan and gluten-free dining) she’d be happy to help! Angie is also an artist, and you can see her work at www.angiecarreiro.com!

The post 2013 D23 FaNNIVERSARY, Boston appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

- Big Thunder Mountain TV Show
- Doofenslurper
- Tony Baxter
- D23 Fanniversary
- And more!

Thanks for watching! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello

The post WDW Radio LIVE – Big Thunder Mountain TV Show, Doofenslurper, Tony Baxter, D23 Fanniversary – Feb, 6, 2013 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

The highly anticipated D23 Expo 2013: The Ultimate Fan Event returns to the Anaheim Convention Center from August 9 – 11, 2013, once again bringing the entire world of Disney under one roof, and offering attendees unprecedented access to Disney films, television and theme parks as only D23: The Official Disney Fan Club can!

Highlights of D23 Expo 2013 will include:

• Disney Legends Awards–a stirring biennial event that pays tribute to the talented men and women who have made indelible contributions to the Disney legacy
• The 2013 Fan Art Contest themed to the upcoming 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins
• And all-new 12,000 square-foot Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives exhibit featuring costumes, props, and set pieces from Disney’s rich history
• Plus amazing live events, celebrity appearances, panels and presentations, sneak peeks, and unique experiences that celebrate the past, present, and future of Disney

In 2011, celebrity appearances included Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Garner, Dick Van Dyke, Willem Dafoe, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Jason Segel, Tom Bergeron, Jodi Benson, Lea Salonga, Anika Noni Rose, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Sean Astin, along with Disney executives and creative talent.

Read more details on specific prices on the D23 Web site: www.D23Expo.com

AND don’t forget that WDW Radio will once again be at the D23 Expo – join us at our booth for LIVE video coverage, contests, interviews, games and… a few surprises!!

In addition to great savings on D23 Expo tickets, members enjoy valuable discounts and special events throughout the year. 

Highlights of D23 Membership include:

• Disney twenty-three. A one-year subscription (4-issues) to D23’s exquisite magazine created exclusively for Disney fans. Each issue comes with a surprise collectible gift. (Gold Membership level only)
• Special Offers and Discounts just for D23 Members
• Annual Membership Gift from the Walt Disney Archives Collection. 2011’s gift is From Concept to Classic: A 23-Month Calendar Drawn From 75 Years of Disney Feature Animation
• Special Events. The opportunity to attend exclusive member events
• D23 FanFare. Bi-weekly e-newsletter sent just to D23 Members
• Personalized Membership Certificate and D23 Membership Card

For complete details on D23 Membership visit: www.D23.com

The post Special Early Bird Discount for the D23 Expo 2013 Ends December 31, 2012! appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Join us for another WDW Radio On the Road event at the D23 Expo 2013! We’ll once again have a booth in the Collectors Forum and broadcasting LIVE video throughout the entire event! We’ll be joined by special guests, have audience participation (including game shows with great prizes!) and much more!

Details coming soon! Stay tuned!

The post WDW Radio On The Road – Aug. 9-11, 2013 – D23 Expo Anaheim, California appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

In my last post, I covered the Diamond Ticket Destination D experience for the morning of Monday August 13^th, when I had the opportunity to tour the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank.

By the time we left the studio, we were all getting hungry, so after boarding our busses, we were driven across the road to the ORIGINAL animation building – the one where Walt and his team of talented animators worked back in the studio’s original heyday.  A short walk from the studio entrance took us to the Disney Legends plaza where a delicious hot buffet lunch had been laid out for us between the plaques and hand-prints of Disney celebrities past and present.  We had plenty of time to enjoy the food and wander around the plaza.  We could take photos and admire the fantastic Team Disney building which appears to be held up by none other than the seven dwarfs.  One thing I loved about this part of the Studios was that we could get up close to The Partners statue of Walt and Mickey.  In the parks, this iconic piece is surrounded by fences and landscaping.  Here, it was completely open for us to go up and stand next to Walt for photographs.  It gave us the opportunity to see up-close the wonderful detail in Blaine Gibson’s work.

After lunch, we were split once again in to smaller groups and our section was taken over to the original Animation Building.  We were taken in to Walt’s screening room and given a fascinating presentation about how the old animated features are being restored and cleaned for release on to DVD and Blu-Ray.  We were shown slides and footage allowing us to see the difference in quality between the original films and their new enhanced versions.  The difference was stunning and I was impressed by now much work goes in to cleaning up scratches and dirt marks from the originals’ negatives.  We also saw some shocking photos of what eventually happens to the old nitrate film that was used by the studios decades ago and how sadly much of this has already started to deteriorate.  When nitrate film begins to decompose, it turns in to a hazardous flammable substance and must be destroyed.  Until that time, Disney takes exhaustive measures to securely store the film, in an attempt to prolong the condition of the originals for as long as possible.  Now, movies are shot on safety film, which as the name suggests, does not possess the hazardous qualities that the old style used to.

Our next stop was at the Animation Research Library (ARL).  We boarded our busses again and were driven about 10 minutes down the road to a non-descript building on Flower Street.  Hidden amongst a housing estate, the ARL stands to preserve and archive the millions of pieces of art produced by the Disney company since its inception in the 1920s.  My impression before arriving at the ARL was that we would be stood listening to the employees there talk about some of the art they had and perhaps show us a few pieces to whet our appetites.  What we actually had, was a chance to walk around a number of rooms and vaults in the ARL and see hundreds and hundreds of sketches, cels, glass plates, macquettes and paintings.  And everything was original.  I thought I’d died and gone to Disney heaven!  Amongst some of the gems we got to see up close were original drawings from Steamboat Willie, paintings by Eyvind Earle, glass plates from Peter Pan and references models from every Disney movie you could think of.  The staff on hand were so friendly and gracious enough to answer every question we had to throw at them.  It was such a privilege to be stood so close to some of the most precious artwork I’ve ever seen and I think I could easily have spent the entire weekend exploring the ARL’s many filing cabinet, archive boxes and display cases.

Back on the busses, we headed back to the studios and were taken in to the Frank G Wells building which is home to the Disney Archives.  The main room of the archives is very small and intimate and we had the pleasure of Dave Smith’s company during our time inside.  He spent around 20 minutes talking us through some select pieces of Disneyana, including the original photos and IDs of Walt and his team featured in the documentary Walt and El Grupo, a first day press pass for the opening day of Disneyland, an Oscar which Walt received for one of his True Life Adventure movies, some original art-work and cels amongst other things.  After Dave’s presentation, we had the opportunity to look around the Archives in our own time and admire the wonderful collection of memorabilia on Display.  We could have our pictures taken with the Oscar (heavy!) and admire the enormous collection of books on display.  As somebody who collects pretty much any Disney publication I can get my hands on, this was a real treat.

After the Archives tour, we had around 20 minutes to relax on the couches in the lobby and take a look at the multi-plane camera which is housed in the building.  There were also several other archive displays behind glass, one of which was themed on Disney miniatures (which I believe Armchair Archivist Josh Turchetta did a D23 video for just a few weeks ago).

The final part of our studio tour was at the Ink and Paint department, just across the way from the animation building.  In the original Disney animation process, cels were hand inked and painted by a large team of cast-members who bought the animator’s drawings to life in glorious colour.  Now, a team of just five people work in this part of the studio, inking and painting cels which are sold as collectibles as that done traditionally during Walt’s day  It was fascinating to see the work being done up close.  The artist begins by inking the outlines of the drawing on to a cel and then, when dry, flips it over and colours in with specialized paints.  During Walt’s era, the paint would take 8 hours to dry, so a new formula was developed which would quicken up the drying time and therefore increase productivity on movies.  On the day we visited, the artists were working on cels of Cinderella and the mice.  This one piece (which was relatively simple) would take around 90 minutes to paint by one person and there were 270 cels to be made in the series.  If there is even the tiniest mark or scratch, the entire cel is shredded, destroyed and the piece must be started over.

Our time at the Ink and Paint building was over and so concluded our tour of the studios.  Our D23 escort walked us to the Studio Store (via Pluto’s corner where you can find the famous Dopey Drive/Mickey Avenue sign post, from the Reluctant Dragon).  We were given some time to shop and buy some exclusive merchandise that couldn’t be purchased in any other Disney Store.  For me, that included some pins and a Director Mickey vinylmation to add to my collection back home.

As one final surprise, D23 had arranged for a farewell buffet on the lawn outside the store, where we had an opportunity to chat to fellow members and swap stories from our day at the lot.  Becky Cline and Steven Clarke were on hand to wrap things up and we were given a parting gift of a souvenir photo and a copy of ‘Dreams Comes True’, which is a book featuring fairy tale art from the Walt Disney Studio.

It was a fantastic day and one I will not forget.  To have the opportunity to explore and see up close the workings of animation (past and present) was amazing and as a huge Disney fan, it was a dream come true.

The entire weekend was so well organized and our tour on the Monday was the icing on the cake.  Everybody I spoke to agreed that it was worth every penny and if you ever get a chance to attend anything like this in the future, I highly recommend you take the opportunity!

Cara lives in Portsmouth in the UK and has had a passion for all things Disney ever since she first saw “The Rescuers” when she was about 7 years old.  Her obsession started with Walt’s classic animated features, but expanded in to the theme parks when she spent her honeymoon in Walt Disney World in 2004.  Since then, she has had many trips to Orlando, Anaheim and Paris, and is a proud charter-day member of D23, doing her best to attend fan events as often as her wallet (and husband!) will let her.

The post Insider Report: D23′s Destination D Tour of Disney Animation Studios–PART 2 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

by Cara Richards

On the weekend of August 11^th to 13^th 2012, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend D23’s annual Destination D convention at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim – the theme for 2012 was ’75 Years of Disney Animated Features’.

Unlike previous Destination D’s, the 2012 event had a choice of ticket levels open to D23 members.  The basic ticket included the two main days inside the hotel (including fantastic panels featuring Disney celebrities such as Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg, Tony Baxter, Dick Van Dyke and Alan Menken to name just a few).  But for the first-time, a premium level (Diamond) package was offered to a select number of D23 members who were quick on their computers when tickets were released earlier in the year.  I was one of the lucky few who managed to secure one of these special passes at an additional cost and as a result, had one of the most exciting Disney trips of my life.

Lou hosted a great panel on show number 287 covering the details of days 1 and 2.  I ‘m excited to share with you what the Diamond ticket holders were treated to on day 3 – Monday 13^th August.  So hold on to your mouse-ears as you come along on an exciting journey to Burbank, California…

Before we board the Mouse-ka-Bus and head in to the hustle and bustle of tinsel-town, a few details about what Diamond ticket holders had to look forward to on the first two days.  We were treated to a Destination D shoulder bag, which included our welcome pack for the weekend – a Sleeping Beauty sketch book and pencil, a ‘How To Draw Jiminy Cricket’ character model guide, a Tinker Bell lithograph, a set of Destination D buttons and a Cast Member style name badge.  All lovely souvenirs.  In addition to this, we were given early entry in to the merchandise hall – so first pick of the goodies on offer! – and we also had the first five rows of seats in the main ballroom reserved for us, so that we could avoid having to queue for seats between dining breaks.  A small meet and greet was also organized on the Saturday afternoon, where I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Don Hahn, Dave Smith, and Bill Rogers.

So, moving forward to Monday, we were scheduled to meet bright and early at the Disneyland Hotel where a grab and go breakfast was waiting for us along with two large coaches, which would transport the 100 or so of us to the Disney Animation Studios in Burbank.  On the way, we were entertained with some vintage episodes of Disneyland, specifically about animation techniques which got us all in the mood for the tours to come during the day.

Upon arrival at the Disney Animation Studios, we were issued with stickers featuring one of four different Disney characters (I was Donald Duck!) and from here we were invited to enjoy some fresh fruit and pastries before being taken inside the main building to be split in to our different tour groups.  Before heading off, Darrin Butters (who has worked on a plethora of Disney animated movies, including Tangled, Prep and Landing, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons and Dinosaur) met with us and showed us the trailer for the new ‘Wreck-It-Ralph’ movie (which he has also done animation for).  We were then ushered off to our first location – the Story room.

We were sat down in a large meeting room and told about how the ideas for new animated stories are decided upon, much of which is done in the form of a brain-storm with no idea being dismissed.  Everybody is encouraged to suggest characters, plots, storylines and we even had a go at doing this ourselves, with the other groups later in the day adding to our suggestions in the hope we could put together a whole story plan by the end of the tour.  A member of the Disney story department then showed us how a story-board would be presented to an animation team and we got to see some actual storyboards from Wreck-It-Ralph (the scene where Ralph and Vanelope are arguing on the candy tree in Sugar Rush).  The cast-member who presented this scene to us did voices and actions and had a similar enthusiasm as can often be seen in old movie footage of Walt with his own team of animators decades ago.  Nowadays, most storyboard sessions are done through a computer, but it was nice that we were given an opportunity to see how it would have been done in the more traditional method.

Our next stop was at Pre-Vis and on our way we passed through a corridor where Studio Cast-Members were being encouraged to display their photographic skills.  The theme for this month was architecture and there were many impressive shots lining the walls of buildings and structures from all over the world.  Already we could see that this was a very creative building where EVERYBODY is given an opportunity to show off their talents.

The Pre-Vis presentation was done inside the actual blue sorcerer hat (which you can see from the building entrance).  It was designed to be Roy E Disney’s office and due to his extensive smoking habit, he even had a state-of-the-art air filtration system installed to get rid of the excess smoke – however, he decided to give-up smoking before he had a chance to try it out!  It was exciting to be in his office and the information we were given about Pre-Visualation was really interesting.  We got to see the different styles and themes used through the different worlds appearing in the new Wreck-It-Ralph movie and were shown how colour and design can convey the mood of a scene.

Next stop was the room where dailies are run for all the animated movies.  Here, the director and his team will sit for up to eight hours reviewing the days’ work and analysing it frame by frame.  We got to sit down in the director-style chairs and see some unfinished footage from Wreck-It-Ralph (are you seeing a theme here at all?) and the cast-members explained how as  a team they would discuss which pieces of the animation needed to be improved on and batted about ideas on parts that weren’t working.  This is also where positive feedback is received and where sections of the film can be built upon, eventually turning it in to the polished movie that we expect from a Disney production.

After leaving the screening room, we walked past some of the offices in the building (many of which are customized with shelves and shelves of stuffed toys, macquettes and custom art – all Disney of course) and made our way to ‘The Pod’.  This area of the studio is changed up every time a new feature is in production and true to the theme of our current tour, this time the pod was made up to feature the adventures of Wreck-It-Ralph.  The entrance to The Pod was made to look like an arcade doorway and there were even old 80s video game systems (including Pac-Man and Space Invaders) adorning the entrance.  Inside, there were bean-bag seats, foosball tables and vending machines where cast-members could relax between shifts.  A couple of tables were laid out featuring Sugar Rush scenes from Wreck-It-Ralph, made from real candy and there was art-work EVERYWHERE – a real feast for the eyes for any Disney animation fan.

Next, we followed some paper-planes which were suspended from the ceiling (in honour of the new short Paperman – which by the way is AWESOME!) and headed downstairs in to the belly of the building.  Our next stop was the voice-recording department.  For me, this is an area of Disney animation that I find fascinating.  We were given the opportunity to star as either Ralph or Vanelope and read some lines from the movie, doing our best to sync our voices with the animation on the screen.  In pairs, we were taken in to the recording booth and did our best Disney voices.  What a fun opportunity!  In a real-life situation, the voices are recorded BEFORE the animation, giving the animators prompts for facial expressions and movement in their work.  It was mind-blowing to think of the dozens and dozens of actors who have passed through this doorway and applied their voice-talents to so many wonderful Disney movies in the past.

As we walked down the corridor to our next location, we got to see a brief history of Disney animation in the form of sketches on the walls.  There were also a number of large ‘flip-books’ where our tour guides encouraged us to look at some of the wonderful work by animators such as Glen Keane and Frank Thomas.

Our next stop was in Rigging.  We were all sat down in front of PCs where we were presented with a large computer model of Disney’s latest hero (or bad-guy depending on how you look at it!) – Ralph.  We were given a brief lesson on how to animate him and were shown how to manipulate his body to put him in to different positions and change his facial expressions.  This was the ACTUAL Ralph computer model that the animators used when making the movie and after our brief lesson, it was fun to see what crazy positions other D23 members had put their Ralph in to – mine ended up looking like he was break-dancing!

We were told by our tour guides, as we left the Rigging room, that ALL employees at the Disney Studio are given the opportunity to take part in art-programs (regardless of what department they work in) and amongst other things, there are art classes held every day at the studio, where cast-members are encouraged to join in and perfect their techniques or learn new skills.  We got to see one of these class-rooms, where live models feature regularly; it which was decked out with easels, benches and a variety of art materials including paints, pastels and clay.

It was now time for us to go back downstairs and meet the other people who were touring the studios with us.  We got down to the ground-floor via an amazing stairwell where employees are encouraged to graffiti the walls!  There were sketches and doodles everywhere.  Some were Disney related, some featuring other well-known non-Disney characters (such as Warner Bros and The Simpsons/Futurama).  Many had witty comments or anecdotes written next to the art.  It made for fun reading as we headed back downstairs.

Back in the main lobby of the studio, we were guided en-masse in to the Studio Theater where Darrin Butters was waiting for us with goody-bags and a slide-show of photos of us on the big screen.  Our gifts included a Wreck-It-Ralph movie poster and postcard, a Paperman art-book, a Winnie The Pooh mug and a framed photo of the entire tour group taken outside the Animation Building when we had arrived that morning.  This was all bagged up in a Disney Animation Studios branded tote with a vintage-style Mickey Mouse button.  After asking us all whether we had enjoyed our time (a resounding YES! from everybody of course), Darrin proceeded to read out the completed story which we had as groups, written in the Story Board room over the course of the morning.  I can’t even remember much of the plot as it was so bizarre, but suffice to say it included a teddy bear, life-time passes to the parks and an evil roller-derby girl – very random!

In my next post, I’ll tell you about the afternoon session of our day at the Disney Studios.

Check back on the blog tomorrow to learn about Cara’s experiences in the afternoon session!

The post Insider Report: D23′s Destination D Tour of Disney Animation Studios–PART 1 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

PODCAST:

• Show #286: Week of August 12 – D23 Destination D Recap Roundtable and Disney Trivia Contest

VIDEO:

• Please join us in honoring Box Person Nolan Woodall with this video tribute.

ON THE BLOG:

•  Join Angie as she starts her series on vegan/vegetarian dining in Walt Disney World.

• Walk down Memory Lane and revisit an extinct WDW shop, the House of Magic

• Learn how to use multiple Disney-styled fonts in your next crafting project!

• Check out examples of Disney school supplies to start your school year in magical style!

• Are you a Disney fan in your twenty-somethings?  Caitlin is now writing a column about you!

• Disney from Down Under shares the reflections of an Australian Disney Fan.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• August 31: Deadline for submitting an entry to the first WDW Radio PINspiring Disney contest

• September 28: 1st Annual WDW Radio E-Ticket Weekend!

• September 28-30: WDW Radio Online Auction to benefit the WDW Radio Dream Team

• November 4: WDW Radio Cruise 2.0 begins!,  Flag contest submissions DUE

SNEAK PEEKS INTO NEXT WEEK:

•  Look back on the extinct attraction, Alien Encounter!

• The WDW Radio Exchange returns with advice for people traveling to Disney with TEENS who have NEVER been to Disney.

WHERE IN THE WORLD???

Were you watching carefully?  What state was Lou in when he took this picture during his return from Destination D?

The post WDW Radio Week in Review appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Hello and welcome to The WDW Radio Show – Your Walt Disney World Information Station. I am your host, Lou Mongello, and this is show #287 for the week of August 12, 2012.

I just returned from attending Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features, presented by D23 at the Disneyland Hotel. It was a weekend filled with presentations by Disney artists and Imagineers such as Tony Baxter, producers like Don Hahn, John Musker and Ron Clements, Disney Legends, voice talents, fun, and Disney history and much more. We looked into the future through sneak peeks at Wreck-It Ralph, Paperman and Frozen, and capped off each night with amazing concerts by Dick Van Dyke and Alan Menken. On this week’s show, we’ll recap the events and share our thoughts of the event, D23 and the future in our roundtable discussion recorded live in Disneyland.

I’ll then have the answer and winner for last week’s Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week, and pose a new question for your chance to win a Disney prize package!

Be sure and stay for the announcements, so sit back, relax, and enjoy this week’s episode of the WDW Radio Show.

Thanks for listening! Be sure to tune in next week!

Information and Links from This Week’s Show:

• Lou’s interview with Alan Menken – Show #196
• Lou’s interview with Don Hahn – Show #160

Additional audio from Destination D interviews coming to this page soon! Please check back!

Question for YOU: Are you a D23 member? Do events like Destination D make you wnat to join and attend future events like these or the D23 Expo? Leave your answer in the comments section below

• Listen to this week’s episode for the Walt Disney World Trivia Question of the Week for a chance to win a Disney prize package!
• Private Tours of Walt Disney World with Lou Mongello
• Disney Meets and WDW Radio Meets of the Month in Walt Disney World – Get dates and locations on our Events page
  • August Meet of the Month info
• Watch & chat during our LIVE WDW NewsCast Wednesdays at 7:30pm ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com
• For more videos, subscribe to our WDW Radio channel on YouTube or the show in iTunes
• Get Celebrations Magazine on your iPad/iPhone in iTunes App Store
• Check out the Disney Food Blog e-book: The DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining – Use code WDWRADIO to save 20%! Money-back guarantee!

Follow Lou on Twitter and

The post Show # 287 – August 12, 2012 appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.

Topics in this week’s Disney news include:

- New Fantasyland Expansion Grand Opening
- My Disney Experience now available for iOS
- Free WiFi at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
- D23 Destination D and D23 Expo news
- And more!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK – Do you like the idea of everywhere Wi-Fi connectivity in the parks, or would you prefer to be disconnected while enjoying your Disney experience? Leave your answer in the comments below

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Join us every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. ET at WDWRadioLIVE.com for a LIVE interactive video news show covering Walt Disney World. Be a part of the broadcast and discussion and discuss the news real-time in the chat room.

Thanks for watching! Be sure to tune in next week!

- Lou Mongello

The post Video: Disney News – Aug. 5, 2012 on WDW Radio LIVE from Disneyland appeared first on WDW Radio - Your Walt Disney World Information Station by Lou Mongello.