WDW Announces Opening Dates for Frozen Ever After, Soaring Over The World, Jungle Book Show, Star Wars Fireworks, Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire, and more

Lots of opening dates annoucements were done today by Disney, all about new attractions coming at Walt Disney World! Beginning May 27, Disney's Animal Kingdom park will awaken at night with new rich experiences under the stars. There’s an exciting lineup of new experiences coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom after the sun sets, including nightly awakenings of the park’s iconic Tree of Life. On May 27, animal spirits will be brought to life each night by magical fireflies that reveal colorful stories of wonder and enchantment along with other amazing sights at the tree.

After the sun sets, you’ll also be able to explore Kilimanjaro Safaris and see the nighttime behavior of the wildlife and better tune into the unique vocalization of the animals like never before. Among the new experiences, the village of Harambe in Africa will become the place to enjoy “Wildlife Parti” and the spirited community of Discovery Island will come together to celebrate their love of the natural world with the Discovery Island Carnivale.

FastPass+ and dining packages for Disney’s Animal Kingdom night experiences will become available beginning tomorrow, May 21.



Also at Animal Kingdom on May 28th: The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic

Animal Kingdom Discovery River will awaken at night and become a stunning stage for performances of the limited-engagement show The Jungle Book: Alive with Magic, inspired by the hit live-action film Disney’s The Jungle Book. Shows will feature memorable moments from the film, including the iconic Shere Khan, and will be filled with music and special effects that celebrate the movie and classic songs, infused with an Indian influence.

Epcot Frozen Ever After ride, Royal Sommerhus will open their doors on June 21!

Two new “Frozen” experiences – the Frozen Ever After attraction and the adjacent Royal Sommerhus – will officially open their doors this June 21.

Located in the Norway pavilion at the park, Frozen Ever After offers guests an adventurous boat tour through the kingdom of Arendelle. Guests are first transported to the “Summer Snow Day” Celebration where Queen Elsa embraces her magical powers to create a beautiful “winter-in-summer” day for the entire kingdom. Next, guests will pass Troll Valley on their way up the icy North Mountain to Queen Elsa’s Ice Palace before their return trip to the Bay of Arendelle.

Fastpass+ will be available for Frozen Ever After. Guests can begin booking FastPass+ for this experience on Saturday, May 21.

The nearby Royal Sommerhus, Anna and Elsa’s summer home, will open its doors to guests and the royal sisters themselves will be there for greeting opportunities.

The Norway Pavilion will open at 9 a.m., along with the Future World area of Epcot.




On June 17th  Soarin’ Around the World will debut at Epcot but the classic Soarin' Over California is back from May 27!

Epcot guests will enjoy farewell flights when the classic Soarin’ returns to The Land pavilion in Future World starting May 27. The attraction reopens at Epcot in Walt Disney World Resort before the new film, Soarin’ Around the World, debuts next month at Disney parks in Shanghai, California and Florida. Disney FastPass+ service will be available starting May 21 for this limited opportunity to enjoy the classic Soarin’ experience at Epcot.

The classic Soarin’ film based on the popular Disney California Adventure park attraction, Soarin’ Over California, is a multi-sensory adventure with stunning views over California’s popular sites including the Golden Gate Bridge, Napa Valley and Yosemite National Park to name a few. You’ll swear you feel the mist from the ocean. Don’t miss your chance to experience Soarin’ Over California at Disney California Adventure now through June 15, and at Epcot through June 16.

Last Chance to Experience the Classic Soarin’ at Epcot Before Soarin’ Around the World Debuts on June 17



The new film, Soarin’ Around the World, debuts June 17 at Disney California Adventure park at Disneyland Resort and Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort the day after its world premiere at Shanghai Disneyland and highlights landmarks from across the globe.


June 17th will be also the debut of  Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at Disney's Hollywood Studios!

This new nighttime show, which will be the most elaborate fireworks display in this park’s history, will begin nightly performances on June 17. This elaborate show will combine fireworks, pyrotechnics, special effects and video projections that will turn the park’s Chinese Theater and other buildings into the twin suns of Tatooine, a field of battle droids, the trench of the Death Star, Starkiller Base and other Star Wars destinations. And the show, which will feature music from throughout the film franchise, will be punctuated with a tower of fire and spotlight beams, creating a massive lightsaber in the sky.



On June 17th Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire will also debut at WDW Magic Kingdom Cinderella Castle Frecourt  Stage.

“Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire” brings to life beloved Disney stories both classic and contemporary in a spectacular performance featuring an original song, memorable music, lively dancing, delightful costumes and special effects magic. Mickey and his troupe of Merry Makers have invited friends from other lands to join them in a grand celebration. So in addition to favorites like Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Goofy, the show also brings together a wonderful cast of characters from some of Disney’s newest classics: “Frozen,” “Tangled” and “The Princess and the Frog.”





“Mickey’s Royal Friendship Faire” celebrates the unique stories of the citizens who make up this magical kingdom and the wonderful things that can happen when we try new things, go to new places and get to know new friends.

Pictures: copyright Disney

D&M Soaring Over The World : Second Version With New Destinations !

I'll be on the move the next two days but i have something cool for you today. Remember my home made version of a "Soaring Over the World" movie two months ago? Most of you enjoyed it a lot, and now i enhanced the previous version with new destinations around the world, keeping some that were in the first one, adding new ones and of course always keeping Jerry Goldsmith original awesome score. And i think you will enjoyed it a lot again.

The first version was done using only Apple TV Wallpapers movies which all had the same definition and filmed the same way. In this new version the new clips don't always have the same definition but you might not notice it. There are others destinations that i wanted to include but unfortunately i couldn't find the needed clips, may be later in a third version... Hope you'll enjoy this new flight "over the world" while we wait for the real SOTW movie to open at Shanghaî Disneyland, DCA and Epcot next year, thanks to let me know in the comments!

D&M Exclusive Soaring Over the World Movie !

As we know, 2016 will be the year of a new Soarin' movie so be prepared to soar over the world at DCA and Epcot with "Soaring Over the World" and at Shanghaî Disneyland where the attraction will be titled "Soaring Over the Horizon". And all this in glorious 4K, if not more "K" with the newest and best digital projection system. At Epcot the attraction will be closed from January 4, 2016 until Summer and when it will reopen it will be with a third theater and technical upgrades in the two others existing.

Now, for those of you who are Soarin' fans - and who is not? - and can't wait for the new movie i've got some Soarin' awesomeness for you today, and that is thanks to ...Apple who, in their new Apple TV box included some gorgeous video screensavers for your TV, filmed exactly the same way WDI is filming the Soarin' footage ...and in different locations around the world! So, when i saw these i thought that not only the footage was awesome but also that it would be perfect for a Soaring Over the World "home made" movie, and that's exactly what i did.

Before you jump to the video one or two things you need to know. First, i used the beloved Jerry Goldsmith score from Soarin' Over California. The problem was that the score has been written for what was happening in the Soarin' scenes, and i had to do the editing with new footage which was not only not filmed for the purpose of an attraction movie but also not at the right speed! The Apple screensaver videos are voluntarily extremely slow, just what you need for a screensaver to create something hypnotic on a TV screen. So, i had not only to accelerate each video but to find the right speed which fit with Jerry Goldsmith music. Additionally, the Apple videos are all silent so i also had to found some "outdoor sounds" to add some life to the whole thing like seagull sound, or sea waves sound, etc... The last thing was to give to the movie the same sensation than we has watching the first Soarin', i.e a mix of contemplative beauty and spectacular shots delivering an exhilarating feeling. You'll tell me if i succeeded!

What you won't have is the kind of mini-script you had in the Soarin' Over California scenes in which there was not only beautiful landscapes but also humans skiing, surfing, etc... And of course, no golf ball coming right at you or no orange grove scent, and no Disneyland fireworks finale as there was no such thing in the Apple footage. But even without all this, and considering that this is literally the cheapest Soarin' movie in history with a cost of $0.00 (!) i'm quite happy with the result and i hope you will enjoy it too.

Here are the destinations over which you'll "soar" in the video: The video open with San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate bridge, a tribute to the opening of Soarin' Over California, then we'll fly West and soar over Hawaii, the Great Wall of China, London, Buckingham Palace, New York then enjoy a sunset over Manhattan, and end with stunning night shots of San Francisco Bay and London Thames river. As i said, no Magic Kingdom at the end and no fireworks but i've added a small visual effect...

Some of these locations, by the way, may be included in the "real" Soaring Over the World movie next year, starting by the Great Wall of China which is already announced. May be not Hawaii but New York and London could be part of the different destinations... So, have a look at the video, definitely watch it in HD and full screen, and don't go away as right after i'll tell you how to install these video screensavers on your computer to enjoy a never ending Soarin' day!





Hope you enjoyed the video, and now here is how to download and install these awesome video screensavers. Apple included 34 screensaver videos in the Apple TV and you can download them at this site HERE. Next, you'll need to download a small software called SaveHollywood which is a screensaver software using videos, exactly what we're looking for. It's totally free and it's downloadable HERE. Please note that this is a software for Mac, so if you're on a Windows PC you might have to use another one, which i don't know. If you have a Mac, after you installed the software the system preferences window should open. Check that it is SaveHollywood which is selected in the sidebar and go to the last step, click the "Screen Saver Options" to be displayed in this window.

Finally, you will need to add the videos in the options area. You can drag files from the Finder, or click the "+" button just below and select the files later, or even a folder if you have saved all movies in a subfolder. As for other options, the ones recommended to activate are "Playing in random order" and "Occupy the full screen" to find an interface similar to the one of the Apple TV. If your Mac has multiple screens, an option exist to restrict saver on the main screen only. If you do not check, you will have two different videos, as unfortunately there is no option to display the same file on both screens.

Picture and video: copyright Apple, Disney