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Tonight we’ve been bringing you an in-depth look at the complete Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion on the show floor of the 2011 D23 Expo as part of a media preview. This article began as an early sneak peek at a few of the elements that are featured at this elaborate exhibit but has now been updated to include high-resolution photos taken for us by Josh Daws, as he walked through the pavilion. A complete video walkthrough of the pavilion will be added soon, so keep checking back as this post continues to evolve.
The pavilion is designed to lead attendees around in a circle (or carousel), showcasing a variety of ongoing Disney projects along the way.
Before we tour the exhibit through photos, see the pre-show video and take a complete walk around in the video below:
For the first time, a model of New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus is on display, revealing elements of what will be inside this replacement for Mickey’s Toontown Fair and everything else that’s on the way from the large expansion of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The model shows off the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Coaster, The Little Mermaid ride, Beast’s castle, and plenty of foliage that’s going to be added to the land.
Here’s a video excerpt from the longer pavilion tour above, focusing only on New Fantasyland, Storybook Circus, and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster:
Nearby, a full-size mock-up of a Seven Dwarfs Mine Coaster ride vehicle is stationed next to a video, displaying what the unique coaster car is capable of.
Another of the main attractions featured inside the “Carousel of Projects” is Cars Land, with full size animated “Cars” characters and ride vehicles on display, including Radiator Springs Racers and Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree.
A model of Buena Vista St and the Carthay Circle Theater are also on display for the ongoing makeover of Disney California Adventure. The model includes a look at the red car trolleys that will soon make their way around the park.
Imagineering is also showing off a technological work in progress in the form of the Great Destini, an interactive Audio-Animatronics figure that runs completely on its own. There’s no Imagineer behind the scenes here as Destini converses with guests, recognizing their words and facial patterns.
Disney is also offering a small look at Shanghai Disney Resort, with a rather tiny scale model - that doesn’t show off too much.
A large Disney Cruise Line ship marks one area of the pavilion with a preview of the Disney Fantasy, launching in 2012.
Adventures by Disney and Disney Vacation Club have their places inside the Parks and Resorts pavilion as well.
For more from the 2011 D23 Expo, keep checking back to http://www.InsideTheMagic.net/d23expolive to follow along with our live blog through Sunday. And visit http://www.InsideTheMagic.net/d23expo to get recaps, summaries, photo galleries, and plenty of video from the Parks pavilion and much more.
More photos from the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts pavilion at the 2011 D23 Expo:
(Photos by Josh Daws)
Are you even there Ricky?
WHy is this person doing your work?
I was on a plane headed for LAX during this media preview, so I enlisted Josh’s help to cover it for us. And I thank him for his hard work!
Kinda wierd reading “by Ricky Brigante” when you did none of the work.
I wrote the text of the article, edited/compressed/uploaded the videos, and compiled/resized the photos into the galleries. And I did all that until the equivalent of 6::30am Eastern time, which I was still operating on after flying across the country. So I wouldn’t say I did ‘none’ of the work. I would gladly have attended the media preview had I known about it in advance, but it was only scheduled within the last few days and I had already booked my flight months ago. I’m glad Josh was able to be there when I was not, and I was happy to only get 4.5 hours of sleep last night to bring it all to you. Things don’t just get posted on their own, you know.
Ricky had the difficult part in bringing this post to you. I got to have all the fun. Much kudos to him in turning my raw photos and videos into an engaging post late at night after a cross country flight.
Jeez. Why is everyone so negative? I am thankful that Ricky has paid for and put the work into setting this site up and bringing the podcast every week. I think some of you need an enema. Thanks Ricky. I really appreciate all you do.
He gave Josh credit in the first paragraph of the article. Chill pills needed for Alice and Rodney.
Thanks for the great coverage, Ricky and Josh!
Hi, Thanks for the great pics and coverage.
Can I make a request of the Ricky or Josh or whomever is there and has a camera? The Shanghai Massing model – disappointingly – shows us almost nothing about the park. But it looks like it was built on top of a site plan. If you could get a shot of the model from as high a vantage point as possible (ideally directly above it looking straight down), we might be able to glean more information about the park, it’s layout, etc.
Much appreciated and looking forward to updates.
Much appreciated.
There wasn’t much else to see on the model. They’re simply not sharing that information yet. But I did interview an Imagineer about it, which I’ll be sharing soon.
What’s with the complaining? People moan about everything. Ricky (and Josh), keep up the great work! Unfortunately, all of us who are very thankful for the great coverage don’t usually speak up and the whiners rear their ugly heads.