The Mouse Castle Lounge 04-17-2015 - Star Wars Celebration, Day One

By Tim Callaway

Star Wars fans from around the world are at the Anaheim Convention Center for Star Wars Celebration, a 4-day extravaganza of presentations, exhibits, costumes and celebrity guests that are all about that time long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Team Mouse Castle is here all weekend, checking out as much as we can, talking to fans, attending presentations, totally getting our geek on. And in a year that will see the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December, all I can say is you can feel an awful lot of excitement among the tens of thousands of fans here at Star Wars Celebration.

Thursday, day one, was a huge day at Star Wars Celebration. The event kicked off with the highly anticipated appearance of Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy. And they did not disappoint. You might have heard something about it. There was this--I don't know--movie trailer, I guess, that premiered. 

That was the biggest highlight of the day in a day full of highlights. There were a lot of fans and a lot of fun. Thursday night, my buddy Scott Linder and I got together over a few cocktails at the Anabella Hotel to recap day one and to look ahead to what else is in store this weekend. It's not a trap. It's Star Wars Celebration in The Mouse Castle Lounge.

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Inside The Mouse Castle 04-14-2015 - 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' Premiere, 'Star Wars' Celebration and Selfie Sticks

By Tim Callaway

Avengers assemble!

The Avengers assembled at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood Monday night for the world premiere of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Go on the red carpet to hear from the film's stars Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evens, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, James Spader and director Joss Whedon with a cameo (of course) by Stan Lee.

Tim and Anthony don their super suits and discuss the high expectations attached to the newest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how Age of Ultron could make as much as $2 billion worldwide, placing it in the rarefied air of Avatar and Titanic. They also talk about a few other things in this super long, super entertaining episode of Inside The Mouse Castle. 

• 'Star Wars' Celebration, the massive gathering of Lucasfilm uberfans, gets underway this week at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams and producer Kathleen Kennedy will hold court at the first panel of the event Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Fans can line up to see the presentation beginning at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Wednesday night?!? (NOTE: after we finished recording this episode, 'Star Wars' Celebration announced that the Abrams/Kennedy panel--along with 30-plus hours of content--will be streamed live online at StarWars.com).

• It's official! The legendary Hatbox Ghost is finally returning to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion in May. We anticipate he'll (dis)appear in the area behind the "window" that mysteriously showed up recently in the attic across from the Bride. 
• In other Mansion news, Guillermo del Toro's new Haunted Mansion film is moving forward and will star Ryan Gosling.
• Steven Spielberg will direct his first Disney film, The BFG, co-produced by Disney, Dreamworks and Walden Media, is based on a story by Roald Dahl and is scheduled for release in July 2016.
• Ian McKellen will play Cogsworth in Disney's new live-action Beauty and the Beast. With a cast that already includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad and Audra McDonald, can expectations for this film get any higher?
• Disney is developing a new live-action retelling of Pinocchio, which naturally makes us nostalgic for the 2000 made-for-TV movie Geppetto starring Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
• Brad Bird is working on a script for The Incredibles 2. It's about time.
• Theme park guests can get a sneak peek at Bird's newest film, Tomorrowland, starting this Friday at Disneyland and Saturday at Epcot.
• The Matterhorn and Peter Pan are both getting upgrades for Disneyland's 60th. Down for refurb now, the attractions will reopen sometime in May.
• A fatal crash at the Exotic Driving Experience at Walt Disney World took the life of racing instructor Gary Terry over the weekend. Our condolences to his family and friends.
• Disney and Dali: Architects of the Imagination, a new exhibition at the Walt Disney Family Museum, opens on July 10th. It will explore the longtime friendship and artistic collaboration between Walt and the surrealist painter Salvador Dali.

The Boathouse

• The upscale restaurant The Boathouse opened at Downtown Disney (Disney Springs) at Walt Disney World this week. Who wants to share a $115 steak with us?
• Selfie sticks have been outlawed at Walt Disney World. Or not. Or maybe just on attractions. Who knows? Actually, we do.

Enjoy!

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Inside The Mouse Castle 04-06-2015 - 'Mulan,' 'Winnie the Pooh' and 'Star Wars' Weekends

By Tim Callaway

Big spring break crowds at Disneyland.

Yes, Disneyland is busy this time of year.

Anthony survived massive spring break crowds at Disneyland last week and reports back to us in this edition of Inside The Mouse Castle. How crowded is too crowded at the Happiest Place on Earth and when, if ever, does it stop being fun? Do day guests have a higher tolerance for crowds than annual pass holders? Today, we answer these questions and share our take on these other fascinating topics:

• Mulan and Winnie the Pooh join Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book and Dumbo as the latest animated titles being turned into live action films at Disney. Is the studio finally getting carried away with this trend? Probably not as long as they keep making big bucks at the box office like their predecessors Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent and Cinderella.
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has joined the cast of Moana. He'll voice the demigod Maui, who helps the intrepid title character on a search for a fabled Pacific island.

Johnny Depp with Penelope Cruz in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

• In Australia, production has shut down on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales while star Johnny Depp recovers from hand surgery in the U.S. Depp injured himself in an off-set incident unrelated to his fifth turn as Captain Jack Sparrow. Shooting is expected to resume on April 15th. The film is still scheduled for a July 2017 release.
• Star Wars Weekends return to Disney's Hollywood Studios beginning May 15th. Celebrity appearances during the event now include Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine), Frank Oz (Yoda) and Warwick Davis (Wicket). For a complete list of guests, visit disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2015/04/frank-oz-and-ian-mcdiarmid-among-the-stars-announced-for-star-wars-weekends-2015-at-disneys-hollywood-studios.

Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.

• Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows had their grand opening at Walt Disney World. The latest Disney Vacation Club properties feature two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living and dining areas and a plunge pool. They can each accommodate up to eight guests. Oh, and they're very expensive.
• Are the Muppets returning to TV? Sure looks like it as ABC has ordered a pilot for a proposed Muppets 2015 series project.
• A federal judge threw out a complaint filed by employees of Pixar, Dreamworks Animation and Sony Pictures Animation accusing the studios of systemic collusion and wage fixing. the case was tossed because a four-year statute of limitations had run out. The employees may refile their complaint within 30 days if they can demonstrate the wage fixing practices continued after September 8, 2010.

Tangled: The Musical.

• The Disney Magic is getting a new musical stage show for their seafaring guests...and it's not Frozen! Tangled: The Musical will begin performances on Bahamian cruises beginning November 11th.

Enjoy!

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