Editor's Note: In addition to the new HKDL Halloween articles below - see the part two posted today - i've posted on my Innoventions Blog something quite extraordinary: the landing on Planet Mars of Mars Curiosity in Ultra HD 30fps Smooth-Motion!
You better don't miss this one, it's the first time of your life that you will see a film showing the red planet in such high-definition that it wouldn't be better if it was recreated by the wizards of Industrial Light and Magic! And all you have to do to watch it s to click HERE.

HKDL Halloween Introduces Boo-tique and Magic Mirror Effect in Merchandise Shops

I've let you know yesterday that hong Kong Disneyland Halloween season began, and you had a quick look at the Halloween merchandise. Actually the HKDL guys in charge of the merchandise introduced a cool "magic mirror" effect: when you place one of the Halloween t-shirts i front of a "magic mirror" creatures of the night suddenly appear, whether it is a vampire, a werewolf, or a Mickey Halloween family!

Don't believe it? Then have a look at the three videos below! Sure, it's a simple effect happening in HKDL shops but personally i think it's cool that they introduce special effects in the merchandise shops, and for sure no one will complain about this, right?

The Vampire effect...



The Werewolf effect...



The Mickey Family effect...



Always part of HKDL Halloween 2012: the Boo-tique - picture on top - a place where make-up artists will create on your face great Halloween make-up, as you can see on the pictures below.





HKDL Halloween is on until October 31st! See you soon for more news of HKDL, and in the meantime, don't miss the great HKDL Wallpapers HD App for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch!
Direct iTunes link HERE!



Videos: copyright Jimmy Yim

HKDL Halloween Season Begins !

Hong Kong Disneyland Halloween Celebration just began and will last until October 31st. I have great official pictures for you and please note that even if the press release below is saying that it starts from October 4, HKDL Halloween did in fact began on Sept 14.

The reason why they don't mention a start on Sept 14 is because, although the media day and the start day of the event was on Sept 14, all the Halloween night event days before Oct 4 are fully booked. Because of the huge success of HKDL Halloween event many corporations and big enterprises scheduled their company's private parties, or the coorporate night party with the local group are booked in advance. So HKDL announced the start day of the Halloween event on Oct 4. However, i guess that due to the haunted houses opening in the afternoon, a few hours before the private party starts, HKDL guests can go and enjoy the haunted mazes during daytime. Below the press release and in the merchandise section have a look to the interesting Frankenweenie collectible items!



At Disney’s Haunted Halloween 2012, the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe, two emerging forces of evil, are invading Hong Kong Disneyland and stirring up an intense clash to determine who will be the ultimate leader of the darkness that permeates every corner of the Park. From October 4th to 31st (Thursday – Sunday, including October 31st), brand new and unexpected frightful fun will be awaiting Guests at Disney’s Haunted Halloween. The Park will take the struggle for power to new heights with a smartphone app and an augmented reality (AR) game, together with various co-marketing promotions. “Choose Your Dark Side” now!



Ominous surprises permeate every corner of the Park, including the chance to virtually meet and interact with the recruitment leaders of the evil forces
Brand new Halloween fun can be found throughout Hong Kong Disneyland! Get ready to enroll at “Graves Academy,” a once prestigious learning academy where Master Graves is breeding the evil of the future. Guests should join forces to support their team when the Vampires and Werewolves meet for the ultimate showdown at “Main Street, U.S.A. – Clash of Evil.” Be there to witness which team will be victorious and the supreme ruler of all dark forces.



At the Tomorrowland – Party Zone, an array of music, dance, stage performances and interactive games bring Guests exciting entertainment options, including 4 nights of performances by the hot new pan-Asian girl band BLUSH, whose members come from five different countries in Asia. In addition, performances by Diablo – End of Line, TRON City Dance Crew, the ElecTRONica Program Dancers and the spectacular Laserman Show will light up the night. On Friday and Saturday nights, popular radio DJs will also take over the stage with their own brand of party games, elevating the atmosphere to new heights. There will also be slick demonstrations of artful yo-yo tricks by the Duncan® yo-yo team. Mickey, Duffy and the whole gang, clad in their new Halloween costumes, will process around Fantasyland to their own Trick or Treat locations where they look forward to meeting and greeting Guests. Fans of the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe can virtually interact with their recruitment leaders in a captivating virtual reality video experience—“Meet your Recruitment Leader of the dark side”—which Guests can even bring home to share with all their family and friends.









Wendy Chu, Director, Marketing, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said, “Disney’s Haunted Halloween has been a big hit with young adults over the years. With brand new haunted experiences found in every corner of the Park, Disney’s Haunted Halloween will continue to be one of the most popular destinations for Halloween revelers in Hong Kong. This year, the story of the clash between Vampires and Werewolves invites Guests and their friends to choose their dark side and take the challenge anytime via the game app while enjoying the new Halloween offerings at the Park, which include the chance to meet the two recruitment leaders – an opportunity that will surely capture the attention of young adults of every persuasion.”



City-wide “Choose Your Dark Side Challenge” game app attracts gamers
The Park is concurrently launching a creative power challenge game app for smartphones that employs the clash of evil theme, which will allow it to expand its target audience to include young adults who love to engage in games. After the successful implementation of AR in its Halloween offerings last year, the Park is taking this AR application to another level by incorporating it into a smartphone game. Frederick Chan, Director, Marketing, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said, “The Park is leveraging innovative AR technology to develop a creative storytelling game app for smartphones, spreading the frightful fun of Disney’s Haunted Halloween to every corner of the city, from print advertisements and co-marketing partner stores to outdoor billboards. Starting from September 20th, the “Choose Your Dark Side Challenge” mobile app will be available for users to download and play. Users can join to struggle for ultimate power between the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe as they collect dark power with a simple flick of their touchscreens, anytime and anywhere. Using the app’s built-in GPS function, they may even collect extra points by successfully locating dark emblems scattered throughout the city, as well as inside the Park.” Players who manage to track down at least one of the most powerful evil emblems, which are located in the Park, can enjoy the ultimate “Meet your Recruitment Leader of the dark side” experience in the Park.

“The recruitment leader of the Were Tribe is played by the popular Korean model Choi Ho Jin (Jin), while the leader of the Vampire Coven will be played by a renowned female model. Stay tuned to find out who she is,” Wendy Chu added.



A series of new innovative AR T-shirts in various styles, including Jack Skellington, Vampire Coven and Were Tribe themes, will be launched in the Park this year. Embedded with AR technology, Guests will be surprised when they wear their AR T-shirts in front of one of the “Haunted Halloween Magic Mirrors” located around the Park and either vampires or werewolves start jumping out from their T-shirts! AR T-shirts featuring Mickey and friends are also available for kids, with a Disney pumpkin theme appearing in the Magic Mirrors. Guests can even view the same effect with their webcam at home to extend the experience even further. In addition, Magic Access members can enjoy an extra surprise as they transform and virtually interact with their team members in front of the Magic Mirrors. Pictures can even be downloaded from the Magic Access Member Site for free!



Popular Halloween fun returns – with enhancements
The “Glow in the Park Parade” will return due to popular demand. Led by Jack Skellington and his creepy Pumpkin Men from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” the dazzling parade will once again amaze Guests. “Revenge of the Headless Horseman,” a traveling show set up in the heart of Adventureland, dares morbidly curious Guests to find out why the Headless Horseman is seeking revenge from the Barker.



Meet for a creepy photo with nocturnal mythical creatures, ghoulish souls and the Grim Reaper wandering the dark and fogged pathways of “Adventureland – Cursed Jungle.” Join in the frightful fun by indulging in a Halloween makeover or getting a spray tattoo at "Boo-tique" and celebrate Halloween in style. The fast and furious “Space Mountain - Ghost Galaxy” will have Guests screaming with excitement.



During your night of fun, do not miss out on the tempting Halloween-themed delicacies available both in Park and at the two themed hotels. A series of over 140 all-new Haunted Halloween merchandise items in various themes—including “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Mickey Family in Halloween” and the “Frankenweenie” collection from the latest Disney movie—will also be available for Guests to commemorate their experience. Various glamorous Halloween accessories are also available. This marks the first time Giordano and Disney Consumer Products teaming up to launch the “Disney Dark Collection inspired by Disney’s Haunted Halloween.” This glow-in-the-dark T-shirt series will be available in the Park by the end of September.














Guests who stay at the two themed hotels or those who purchase room and ticket packages may simply add HK$600 for a Halloween themed room makeover. And for the price of HK$4,088, Guests may enjoy a guided Halloween Dark Elite Tour, featuring a tailor-made itinerary for a maximum of 6 Guests. On top of direct entrance to all attractions and the two haunted attractions, they may also view the “Glow in the Park Parade” at a designated viewing area and enjoy an exclusive meet and greet with Disney Friends.





See you soon for more news of HKDL, and in the meantime, don't miss the great HKDL Wallpapers HD App for iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch!
Direct iTunes link HERE!



All pictures: copyright Disney - Hong Kong Disneyland

Steven Spielberg " Lincoln " Trailer !

Steven Spielberg's awaited "Lincoln" movie will be released next November, the movie trailer is now available, and it looks great! I have a very good feeling on this one, not only because Abraham Lincoln will be played by Daniel Day-Lewis who is a terrific actor - and not to mention others Academy Award winners Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones - but also because i think it's going to be a great Spielberg movie. Lincoln is such an icon in America that Spielberg can't fail or disappoint with this movie, an adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin's book.



For Disneyland fans Abraham Lincoln is also the first "human" Audio-Animatronic ever created - and still playing each day at Disneyland and Walt Disney World! You can watch below the movie trailer and i also embedded right under it the "Lincoln Hangout" organized by Google + with a selection of Google + members who had the luck to ask their questions to Steven Spielberg himself! Steven answered live from a Dreamworks office in L.A with Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is playing Robert Todd Lincoln in the movie. It's interesting as Spielberg is personally telling you what you can expect of this great movie!







Pictures and videos: copyright Dream Works - Touchstone Pictures

Frankenweenie : Tim Burton's Tribute to Vincent Price

One of Tim Burton's favorite actor was the great Vincent Price who passed away in 1993, and Tim has decided to pay a tribute to the legendary horror movie actor in the upcoming Frankenweenie with the character of science teacher Mr. Ryzkruski. It's a funny tribute to a beloved actor but did you knew that Vincent Price last performance happened when he recorded at WDI the Phantom Manor introduction - see picture below. In the early days of DLP guests could still hear his voice in the pre-show of the attraction. Sadly, DLP decided then to have a french version only but the famous laugh of Vincent Price can still be hear during the ride.



Have a look now at the Frankenweenie scene with Mr. Ryzkruski explaining to his class the power of electricity!




Pictures and video : copyright Disney

It's Hong Kong Disneyland 7th Anniversary ! Part Two: Exclusive Interview with Imagineers Tom Morris and Tim Delaney about HKDL Creation

Here is the part two of the exclusive interview of Tom MORRIS, Executive Creative Show Producer for HKDL. The interview was done in 2005 before HKDL opening. Tom Morris, senior show producer at Walt Disney Imagineering was previously the show producer for Disneyland paris Fantasyland. He was also the show producer for the gorgeous Sleeping Beauty Castle at DLP. And this time he will tell us more about the Hong Kong Disneyland’s Fantasyland.

You can read the first part of this article in which Tom talks about HKDL Main Street and Adventureland HERE.







ALAIN LITTAYE: There is a lot of Fantasyland’s favorite attractions which don’t exist at Hong kong Disneyland. Is it because Asian people are not aware about the old animated features ?

TOM MORRIS: It was partly that. We wanted to introduce a dark ride with the character which we thought will be the most popular out here, which is winnie the pooh. Winnie is really close in popularity with mickey mouse. Everyone knows winnie the pooh out here. So we wanted to test the dark ride notion first with that attraction. And we reserved space for future dark rides once we know what it is what the local audience wants...









A.L: The attraction of winnie the pooh is it identical to the one in united states, or the one in tokyo?

T.M: It’s similar to the one at walt disney world. it’s a pretty close approximation of the one of the magic kingdom in orlando.






A.L: There is something really unique in HKD Fantasyland, which is the “fantasy gardens”. My question is: why this choice,, and is it also a kind of tribute to the tivoli gardens in europe which were inspirationnal for walt disney for disneyland in anaheim?

T.M: Some of it might be tribute to tivoli gardens, but that’s really next door to the story book theater , as his architecture was inspired not only by tivoli gardens, but all of the big musical pavillions in music palaces that you would find in the european pleasure gardens, like tivoli gardens, or others in european cities. So story book theater really is a “hommage” to that. Fantasy gardens may be is a little bit tivoli gardens, too, but it’s really kind of a classic “english “ garden with different “folies” pavillion where guests will encounter the popular characters in a pleasant and relaxing environment








A.L: Talking about the story book theater, there is a show inside, the “golden mickeys”...

T.M: Yes, a very good show. It’s a musical revue, a retrospective in some respects of some of the great musical numbers, of some most famous disney animated features, like beauty and the beast, little mermaid, mulan, etc....

A.L: Does it looks like the “Encore” show at tokyo disney sea in the broadway theater?

T.M: Well, it has some similarities to that, but it’s most closely to the show of the disney cruise ship. It’s really based on that, but we made some adaptations...






A.L: What about the shops in fantasyland ?

T.M: We have some really good shops, the “merlin’s “ shop is very whimsical, it’s quite different than the one in paris, it’s more literally themed to the film “the sword in the stone” , may be a little more colourful, more playful than the one who is inside the castle at DLP... The one here have a lot of merlin’s inventions inside, some interesting special effects and lighting things inside...




T.M: I would say the most dramatically different space in fantasyland, from an interior stand point, is the “Banquet hall”. It’s a huge restaurant, i think it’s the biggest restaurant we’ve ever done in a fantasyland, and it is a kind of idea of “king stephen’s banquet hall”, but bigger, and a little more grand...Of course we couldn’t put king stephen’s banquet hall inside the disneyland castle, so we wanted that space for people really kind of feel that they’ve gone to a royal banquet or a royal feast...so, we’ve got tall ceilings, gothic architecture, and tapestries recreated from the “sleeping beauty”, glass windows, royal paintings, and sculptures. It really is a beautiful space and spectacular restaurant...







We also have a new bit of architecture, with “mickey’s philarmagic”, which takes place in what we wanted to make very clearly look like the village concert hall. So, in fact, the building is called the “fantasyland concert hall” , and it’s another kind of iconic piece of architecture for the land...







A.L: It’s a small world, one of Fantasyland’s famous attraction is not there, as pirates of carribean, haunted mansion or other e-ticket...Will they be added in the future?

T.M: There is a lot of area set aside reserved both outside and inside the boundaries for additional favorite attractions, but we have not decided which one yet. We reserved spots, “places at the table” for many of those classic attractions, plus new ones...but i don’t think we’ll know until after we open which direction we’re gonna go for the next first big attraction...now, we’ve already decided on smaller attractions that will open up in 2006 and 2007, the only one who’s been announced so far is the “autopia” , the first “all-electric” autopia (Note: the interview was done at the opening of the park before Autopia opening) . In addition to the autopia there will be three or four smaller attractions in the next two years, that will bring to the park a variety of different guest needs, such as inter-activity and high-tech technology, and that sort of thing...But we have not decided yet which of the bigger attraction we are going to do for 2008, 2009 or 2010. But certainly some of the favorite one ( NDR: like it's a small world ) are the one who are the most discussed...






We will now talk about HKDL Tomorrowland with another exclusive interview with Tim Delaney, the show producer of Tomorrowland. Tim was previously the show producer of Discoveryland, at Disneyland Paris, and, too, for California Adventure Paradise Pier as well as for Epcots Living Seas. Note that this interview was done when HKDL opened, before the opening of Autopia and Stitch encounter.



Alain Littaye: Tim, as we know, you were the show producer of Discoveryland at Disneyland Paris. The theme, there, was that Discoveryland was supposed to be the land of visionaries, and here, in Hong Kong, the theme is probably different. So,what is the story line of Hong Kong’sTomorrowland ?

Tim Delaney: Well, we wanted to create here something totally different, our biggest challenge was how to create something that is not only tomorrow, but also something that is timeless. So, we took the theme in this particular case of a “spaceport”. All of our attractions relate to space travels: we have Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, the Orbitron - this last one with a totally different style.




( below, a previous sketch for a Tomorrowland concept, finally not chosen )



T.D : So we took the idea of a space port ,we have different style of architecture...it’s a kind of space encampment , a space port where you go when you journey to other planets. We have two very large restaurants, the big restaurant call “starliner diner” have a rocket ship in the front and it’s a place where you go before you go in outer space : there is big posters of space travels inside, we have rockets, etc...this is a place where you go to have lunch and food before you go up to your journey into space mountain and buzz light year...It’s also one of the largest restaurant we ever built in a Tomorrowland with an incredible design







T.D: Throughout the land we’re using these motifs of these planets and an alien landscape to make you feel that you are in another world...You have to see the styling of the buildings to see how it looks like. It’s not mean to look like in the fifties, like disneyland was in 1955, it has much more of an organic field to it.....we are also using a lot of colours in the land, and the reason for that is that most of the time Hong Kong have grey skies and humid, so we want these colours to bring a kind of more of a familiar quality to our tomorrowland...Secondly, about landscaping, we have a lot of landscaping in covered areas, so we create a sense of the future and tomorrow with more human kind of space...

A.L: I’m pretty sure the design with all these planets is probably beautiful at night...

T.D: It’s magnificent, spectacular at night !




A.L: The Orbitron have a totally different look than the one built in Paris or Anaheim , and you have flying saucers instead of rocket jets ...

T.D: That’s right, we wanted to create an Orbitron in the center of the land that has more a kind of space-beacon look to it ...there is a very large 8 meter diameter globe at the bottom , it has a starfield with fiber optics in it and the flying saucers fly around, and we still have a kind of planet kynetics that are flying up above, and these flying saucers flying among all about ...it is a very visual thing , a very powerful looking thing...and the colours are all different here, we’ve kind of take a whole different colour scheme here because we wanted to make the colours much brighter , much cooler colours because it is so warming here most of the time.







T.D:...By the way , the 8 meter diameter globe also rotate and due to the painting technique, the whole land reflects in it, and, with the fiber optics, it’s a map of the universe that’s what it is, in fact. The kind of painting used for the globe is call Chromaship, it’s a special painting and what happens is that when the globe rotate the colour goes from a warm blue to a purple blue...






A.L: Talking about flying saucers, it reminds me the Eddie Sotto project for Tokyo Disneyland’s Tomorrowland. It was supposed to be called”Sci-fi City” , and one of the attraction was supposed to be small flying saucers flying around a huge flying saucer.
So, are the flying saucers in your Orbitron a reminiscence of this previous project?

T.D: No, not really...i just start it all over again from scratch.




A.L: Anyway, it is a good idea to have change the usual rockets for these new flying saucers. About Space Mountain, does this new version have a particular storyline?

T.D: Our Space Mountain continue the overall theme that is your amazing adventure in outer space. We have new effects, new images, the ride system is smooth and fast, and, as you know they’ve re-done space mountain in paris, they re-done the one at disneyland, too. And every time we do this we have new effects, new projectors, new imaging devises,etc...and, here in hong kong , we have the latest one, and they’re brilliant. We don’t really have an overall strong story, but we do have a very strong theme and it’s a really great effects show. And the reaction of the guests here is fantastic.
In fact, talking about effects, there is one effect that you have in paris, and that we have, here: it’s the explosion of a super-nova. But in a completely different format.






A.L: What about Buzz Lightyear? I supposed it’s the same ride that we can find in Anaheim or WDW?

T.D: It’s very similar to the one in Disneyland. But we have a totally different entrance for the attraction: we have a 12 foot monumental, kind of “heroic” Buzz Lightyear standing up in the front, and it’s a great photo location, and the ride is as great as in the u.s, of course. It’s amazing how people love this ride, really. And i heard they’re gonna add some internet competition...so people on internet can compete with people on the ride..
but .i don’t know how it’s gonna work, i just know they’re talking about doing that...





A.L: Do you have a kind of big theater like we have in Paris with “videopolis”?

T.D: We have two large theater in the park, one in adventureland, and one in fantasyland, but not in tomorrowland this time!

A.L: Are you going to add more attractions in the “phase two” of the park?

T.D: We are currently designing and actually we are under construction for one more major attraction and two more minor attractions that will open in july of next year. We’ll have a totally unique and different Autopia than the one you have in Paris. We’ll have electric cars, with lighting effects on the cars, and a different kind of unique on-board audio-system, and the landscape that you’re gonna go through is much more of an alien landscape , another planet kind of landscape...it will really be a fun drive...and actually we’ll also have one of the roadways who comes into the land , because most of the Autopia will be beyond the railroad, so part of the road will come into the land on an elevated highway and returns back down to the location of the attraction, so it really showcases the ride to the people in the land. And people will be able to walk underneath this elevated roadway that you see the cars are going by.












A.L: Do you think you will add later an attraction themed on the Pixar movie “The Incredibles”?

T.D: Right now we’re not doing anything on the “Incredibles” theme for Hong Kong Disneyland.
Before we leave, i’d like to tell you that the whole resort here is impressive, the location is great, the hotels are beautiful, the “disney promenade” from the hotels to the park is charming, and these hills in the background , behind the castle...i think it really is the best location we ever had for a magic kingdom!



This is the end of this long interview article but those of you who like WDI renderings will be happy to know that you can find 250 gorgeous WDI artwork in the great Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book which has until September 30 a great special offer!

Don't miss the special offer on the DLP book! : Order a copy of the acclaimed Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality book this month of September and save $45 including Free Shipping! You'll find all infos to order an ENGLISH edition HERE and for the FRENCH edition it's HERE. Watch below the video showing the whole book!

Choose quantity and enjoy an additional discount !

One DLP Book Collector Copy with Free shipping €100.00 EUR Two DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €185.00 EUR Three DLP Book Collector Copies with Free shipping €275.00 EUR

Pictures and artwork: copyright Disney - Hong Kong Disneyland