New Magical Holiday Experience Coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney Parks just announced that a new magical Holiday experience is coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

"This holiday season, guests visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom will find festive new entertainment and holiday décor in every land of the park, from DinoLand, U.S.A. to Pandora – The World of Avatar. On Discovery Island at the heart of the park, the magic of the holidays will truly come to life, with incredible experiences both day and night.

It all begins when you cross the bridge to Discovery Island, finding yourself in the midst of a celebration of winter, hand-crafted by the eclectic community of artists who make the island their home. The village is filled with sparkling white holiday decorations. Colorful, animal-inspired luminaries line the rooftops, and wireframe lanterns in the shape of beautiful birds can be found perched throughout the area.



A holiday gathering of winter animals – realized in the form of life-size, artisan-sculpted puppets – frolics on Discovery Island during the day. Reindeer, foxes, polar bears, penguins and more interact with guests, accompanied by serenading musicians as they create a playful atmosphere of festive fun. 



As day becomes night, the rooftop luminaries and bird lanterns all around Discovery Island bring a warm and festive glow to the entire village. At the center of everything, the Tree of Life awakens with a series of wintry tales, complemented by a familiar and heartwarming holiday-inspired musical score. Between awakening moments, the Tree of Life continues to shimmer and sparkle throughout the night, alive with the magic of nature and the spirit of the holidays."

Artworks: copyright Disney

Pandora "Conservation Initiative Utility Suit" Coming April 22 to Pandora – The World of Avatar ...And The Secret of How They Did It

On April 22, at Disney's Animal Kingdom land of Pandora, in the breathtaking Valley of Mo’ara – amid the moon’s floating mountains, waterfalls and native flora – something new will emerge and WDI apparently succeeded to create in real the "Amplified Mobility Platform" which in the Avatar movie were used for combat, handling heavy cargo and traversing the grounds of Pandora, except that here it will be a "Pandora Conservation Initiative Utility Suit". Check the video below!




As you've seen the legs of the man body are not in fact moving the ones of the AMP,  contrary to the movie, simply because they couldn't make it this way in real... which leaves the question: how do they do to have the legs moving by themselves and avoid the whole thing to fall and always find a balance when the arms are moved ( this time by the guy )? I suspect the balance is achieved by using tilt and gyroscopic sensors like on the Segway, but i could be wrong. I wonder if WDI will release a video explaining how it works...

Editing: It didn't took long as Disney released a Behind-the-Scenes video about creating the Pandora Conservation Initiative Utility Suit ( see others posts below ) ...without revealing the secret of it.

However, thanks to Pedro, the kind D&M reader who sent me the answer we know how are walking the Pandora AMP that will be introduced on April 22 at DAK, and it's damn' simple!
"Answering to your question: The mechanism is very simple, the man is wearing stilts and the legs you see in the front are fake to make the illusion of the man controlling the machine but it is in fact the man itself who moves the legs of the AMP with stilts."




Picture and video: copyright Disney

12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas: First Details About All-New Show Coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Spring 2018 Featuring Russell and Dug from Disney-Pixar’s “UP

Disney Parks continues their "12 Days of Disney Parks Christmas" announcements with first details about an all-new show coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Spring 2018 featuring Russell and Dug from Disney-Pixar’s “UP”:

 "Beginning just in time for the 20th anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom next year, this new experience will offer guests the chance to see Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell and his furry friend Dug as they discover species of birds from around the world in their newest adventure at the Caravan Theater in Anandapur village. There will be “UP” close encounters each day with amazing winged creatures!

 As you plan ahead, we also wanted to let you know that in order to begin to prepare for the new show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, December 31, 2017 will be the final showing of Flights of Wonder. Until the end of this month, you can still experience Flights of Wonder at the park."

Picture: copyright Disney